What nicotine strength should I use?
Not sure which nicotine strength you should be using? See part 2 of this guide: Choosing Your Nicotine Strength: nicotine levels in your e-liquid.
It is important to ensure you mix the right amount of nicotine into you e-liquid before you vape. Whether you are adding nicotine to shortfills, or making your own e-juice from scratch, you need to know how much nicotine liquid to add to your nicotine-free base liquid.
This guide provides all the information you will need to safely work out how to get the right nicotine in your finished vape liquid.
Terminology
Nic shots
What do nicotine levels mean?
The amount of nicotine in an e-liquid is usually written as a number of mg. The most common in the UK are 3mg, 6mg, 12mg and 18mg - this makes it really easy to calculate how much nicotine to add.
What often confuses people is the fact that this not the total number of mg in the bottle but the number of mg (milligrams) of nicotine in each ml (millilitre) of liquid.
It can sometimes be seen written as mg/ml (e.g. 3mg/ml).
If the bottle is bigger, the nicotine strength of the liquid remains the same, only you have a larger quantity of it.
Sometimes the nicotine strength is expressed as a percentage (although this is getting less common). This tells you what percentage of the liquid is nicotine.
Instead of 3mg, you will see 0.3%
Instead of 6mg, you will see 0.6%
Instead of 12mg, you will see 1.2%
The nicotine is in a solution of PG and/or VG.
What does 3mg nicotine mean?
This refers to the strength of the liquid.
3mg actually means 3mg of nicotine per ml of liquid.
In a 10ml bottle, there are 10mls of liquid, each with 3mg of nicotine in. So in a 10ml bottle there are 3mg x 10ml = 30mg of nicotine in total.
(mg x ml = total nicotine in the bottle)
What does 6mg nicotine mean?
This refers to the strength of the liquid.
6mg actually means 6mg of nicotine per ml of liquid.
In a 10ml bottle, there are 10mls of liquid, each with 6mg of nicotine in. So in a 10ml bottle there are 6mg x 10ml = 60mg of nicotine in total.
Shortfills
What is a shortfill?
Shortfills are nicotine-free e-liquids sold in a bottle that is “short-filled” to give you enough space to add your own nicotine liquid. This is to give you the choice about your nicotine consumption.
Commonly, shortfills contain 50ml of base liquid and are designed to make a 3mg e-liquid.
How do shortfills work?
Shortfills are designed to be easy to use. They contain a ready-made base liquid of PG, VG and the flavouring of your choice. All you need to do is add the nicotine, if you want any. Most shortfills are designed so that when you add nicotine, you end up with 3mg strength e-liquid.
50ml shortfill + 10ml nic shot = 60ml of 3mg e-liquid.
100ml shortfil + 2 x 10ml nic shots = 120ml of 3mg e-liquid.
To make higher nicotine strengths, see below.
How much nicotine do I need to add to make 3mg e-liquid?
To make a 3mg e-liquid, mix 1 part nicotine to 5 parts flavoured base (your PG, VG and flavour concentrates).
That means you divide the volume of the nicotine-free base liquid by 5, then add that much of the 18mg nicotine liquid. For each 50ml of nicotine-free e-liquid, you add 1 nic shot.
To make 100ml into 3mg strength liquid
100ml base + 20ml nicotine = 120ml of 3mg e-liquid
To make 50ml into 3mg strength liquid
50ml base + 10ml nicotine = 60ml of 3mg e-liquid
To make 10ml into 3mg strength liquid
10ml base + 2ml nicotine = 12ml of 3mg e-liquid
How much nicotine do I need to add to make 6mg e-liquid?
To make a 6mg e-liquid, mix 1 part nicotine to 2 parts flavoured base (your PG, VG and flavour concentrates).
That means you divide the volume of the nicotine-free base liquid by 2, then add that much of the 18mg nicotine liquid. You add 2 nic shots to every 40ml of nicotine-free e-liquid.
To make 80ml into 6mg strength liquid
80ml base + 40ml nicotine = 120ml of 6mg e-liquid
To make 40ml into 6mg strength liquid
40ml base + 20ml nicotine = 60ml of 6mg e-liquid
To make 8ml into 6mg strength liquid
8ml base + 4ml nicotine = 12ml of 6ml e-liquid
Once you know how strong you want your e-liquid, you need to calculate how much nicotine liquid to put into the shortfill to make that happen.
Either:
- Look above at the ready-made calculations for 3mg and 6mg e-liquids
- Use the e-liquid calculator below to work out how much 18mg nicotine to add to your base amount
E-Liquid Nicotine Calculators
If you are making your juice from scratch, click here for our e-liquid calculator.
If you have non-nicotine e-liquid or shortfill and would like to know how much 18mg nicotine liquid to add to achieve a required strength, click here.
Quick Reference Tables
| Amount of nicotine free base liquid | Amount of 18mg nicotine liquid to add | Total amount of liquid at 3mg strength | |
|---|---|---|---|
| makemyvape.co.uk | |||
| 100ml | 20ml | 120ml | |
| 50ml | 10ml | 60ml | |
| 10ml | 2ml | 12ml | |
| Amount of nicotine free base liquid | Amount of 18mg nicotine liquid to add | Total amount of liquid at 6mg strength | |
|---|---|---|---|
| makemyvape.co.uk | |||
| 80ml | 40ml | 120ml | |
| 40ml | 20ml | 60ml | |
| 8ml | 4ml | 12ml | |
Quick Shortfill Nicotine Calculator
