IVG 100ml Shortfills 70/30
An IVG 70/30 shortfill is 100ml of 0mg e-liquid in a 120ml bottle. The 20ml of headroom is deliberate: it is where two 10ml nicotine shots go, bringing the finished bottle to 3mg/ml. Selling the bottle nicotine-free is what allows it to be larger than the 10ml limit that applies to nicotine-containing e-liquid in the UK.
The 70/30 VG/PG base is built for sub-ohm direct-to-lung tanks below 0.6 ohm, not for tight MTL pods. Nine flavours run across the range, including the shortfill-exclusive Rainbow Blast and Bubblegum, from Β£1.99. Sold to adults aged 18 and over only.
What a shortfill is and why it exists
A shortfill is a large bottle that has been deliberately under-filled. The IVG 70/30 shortfills hold 100ml of nicotine-free e-liquid in a 120ml bottle, leaving 20ml of headroom at the top. That empty space is not an oversight or a cost-saving measure. It is the whole point of the format.
UK rules cap any bottle of nicotine-containing e-liquid at 10ml. There is no way around that limit for a product that contains nicotine when it is sold. But the limit applies to nicotine-containing liquid, so a bottle with no nicotine in it at all is not covered. Manufacturers therefore sell large bottles at 0mg, under-filled, and the consumer adds nicotine at home using 10ml nicotine shots. The shots fill the headroom, the liquid ends up at a usable strength, and everyone stays inside the rules.
The result is by far the cheapest way to vape at volume. Where a 10ml nic salt works out at roughly 40p per millilitre and a sealed prefilled pod costs several pounds per millilitre, a 100ml shortfill finished with two shots brings the cost down to pennies per millilitre. If you use a sub-ohm tank and get through 10ml or more a day, this is the format that makes that affordable.
Who shortfills suit
- Sub-ohm direct-to-lung vapers running coils below 0.6 ohm at 25 watts or more.
- Anyone getting through 8 to 15ml of liquid a day, where 10ml bottles would be impractical and expensive.
- Vapers who want low nicotine β typically 3mg β with large vapour production and a soft throat.
- People who do not mind a minute of mixing and a short wait before a bottle is ready.
They are the wrong choice for a tight MTL pod kit. If your coil sits above 0.8 ohm, you want a 50/50 salt from IVG Original Salts or IVG PRO Salts instead. Everything on this page is sold to adults aged 18 and over, and nicotine is an addictive substance.
The 70/30 ratio and what it does
Every e-liquid is mostly two ingredients: vegetable glycerine and propylene glycol. Flavourings and, later, nicotine make up a small fraction of the total. The ratio between the two determines how the liquid behaves in hardware far more than the flavour name does.
Vegetable glycerine
Thick, mildly sweet, and the component responsible for visible vapour. More VG means a larger, denser cloud and a softer inhale. It is also viscous, which is why it needs wide wick ports and plenty of heat to vaporise properly.
Propylene glycol
Thin, carries flavour compounds efficiently, and contributes the throat sensation. More PG means sharper flavour definition and a firmer draw with less visible vapour, and it wicks readily into small openings.
A 70/30 VG/PG blend is the standard specification for sub-ohm vaping: enough VG for large vapour and a soft throat, enough PG that flavour stays defined and the liquid still wicks at a reasonable rate. Push higher β 80/20 or max VG β and flavour softens further while wicking gets slower still.
| Ratio | Viscosity | Throat | Vapour | Hardware | Typical strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50/50 | Thin | Firm | Modest | MTL pods, 0.8β1.5 ohm, 8β18W | 10mg or 20mg salt |
| 70/30 VG/PG | Thick | Soft | Large | Sub-ohm tanks, 0.15β0.6 ohm, 25β80W | 3mg freebase |
The most common mistake in bottled vaping is putting a 70/30 shortfill into a pod designed for 50/50. The narrow wick ports cannot draw the thicker liquid through fast enough, the coil runs dry between puffs, and you get a burnt taste within minutes. It is not a fault in the liquid or the pod β it is a mismatch. Match the ratio to the hardware and it does not happen.
The nine IVG shortfill flavours
Nine flavours run across the 100ml 70/30 line, listed from Β£1.99. Two of them β Rainbow Blast and Bubblegum β are exclusive to the shortfill format and have no salt equivalent, which is reason enough for a salt vaper to keep an eye on the range.
Blue Raspberry Ice
The house blue raspberry with cooling over the top: sweet, distinctly tart, candied rather than natural, and finished cold. Blue razz is consistently one of the best-selling profiles in UK vaping, and in a sub-ohm tank at 70/30 the sweetness opens up considerably compared with the same profile in a tight pod. A strong all-day candidate. Related products across the catalogue sit in Blue Raspberry Ice Vape.
Strawberry Sensation
Single-note ripe strawberry with no cooling and no second fruit behind it. Simple flavours are harder to execute than complex ones because there is nowhere to hide, and this is a clean example. It is also one of the gentler flavours on a coil β light-bodied and not heavily sweetened. See Strawberry Vape for everything carrying the profile.
Strawberry Watermelon
Soft strawberry over crisp watermelon at low acidity. Approachable, uncooled and unchallenging, and probably the flavour to pick if you are buying your first shortfill and do not want a surprise. Watermelon behaves well in a coil, so this is a sensible everyday bottle.
Summer Blaze
A layered summer fruit mix β soft stone fruit and berry together rather than one dominant note. Rounder and less sharp than the blue and sour builds. It suits people who find single-fruit flavours thin but do not want acidity, and it works well as a second all-day option.
Frozen Cherries
Black cherry with a heavy freeze. The cherry here is dark and deep rather than the bright fizzy-cherry style found elsewhere in the IVG catalogue, and the cooling is assertive rather than a light finish. Popular year-round despite that. More cooled cherry products are grouped in Cherry Ice Vape.
Riberry Lemonade
Berry and lemonade together with a carbonated character that lifts on the exhale. Softer than straight citrus, more interesting than a plain berry. Lemonade builds are a house speciality across the IVG ranges, and at 70/30 the fizzy note carries better than it does in a restricted pod.
Rainbow Blast
A mixed fruit-sweet profile in the rainbow confectionery style β several bright fruit notes layered over a candy base. Shortfill-exclusive. It is sweet and it will gunk a coil faster than the plainer fruits, which is worth knowing rather than worth avoiding; just budget for coil changes while you are running it.
Bubblegum
Classic pink bubblegum, sweet and unmistakable, the other shortfill-exclusive in the range. Bubblegum is a divisive profile that people either want constantly or never, and like Rainbow Blast it is heavily sweetened, so expect shorter coil life. It makes an excellent contrast bottle in a rotation dominated by fruit.
Vanilla Biscuit
Vanilla and shortbread, sweet and buttery, with the biscuit note doing most of the work. The only dessert in the shortfill line and the one flavour here that genuinely rewards time in the bottle β the vanilla rounds out and integrates over a week or two. It is also the heaviest on coils in the range, which is simply how sweet bakery builds behave.
The live listing for all nine sits in this collection, with additional stock and end-of-line bottles in Shortfills Clearance. Clearance lines do not restock once sold through.
Nic shots and the maths
A nicotine shot is a 10ml bottle of unflavoured nicotine base, normally at 18mg/ml or 20mg/ml and usually VG-heavy so it does not thin out a 70/30 shortfill. You add it to the headroom in the shortfill bottle, shake, and the whole bottle comes up to a usable strength.
The formula
Final strength equals total nicotine in milligrams divided by total volume in millilitres. A 10ml shot at 18mg/ml contains 180mg of nicotine. Add it to 100ml of 0mg liquid and that 180mg is spread across 110ml, giving roughly 1.6mg/ml. Add a second identical shot and you have 360mg across 120ml, which is exactly 3mg/ml.
| Shortfill | Shots added | Shot strength | Final volume | Final strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100ml in 120ml bottle | 1 x 10ml | 18mg/ml | 110ml | approx. 1.6mg/ml |
| 100ml in 120ml bottle | 2 x 10ml | 18mg/ml | 120ml | 3mg/ml |
| 100ml in 120ml bottle | 2 x 10ml | 20mg/ml | 120ml | approx. 3.3mg/ml |
| 50ml in 60ml bottle | 1 x 10ml | 18mg/ml | 60ml | 3mg/ml |
| 50ml in 60ml bottle | 1 x 10ml | 20mg/ml | 60ml | approx. 3.3mg/ml |
| 100ml in 120ml bottle | 0 | n/a | 100ml | 0mg |
Two 18mg shots into a 100ml shortfill for a finished 3mg is the standard combination and the one most sub-ohm vapers use. Note that the 120ml bottle physically takes two shots and no more β if you want a higher final strength you need either 20mg shots or a smaller starting volume. Shots are stocked in Beyond Nic Shots, and the wider large-format liquid range sits in Beyond E-liquids.
Mixing properly
- Remove the shortfill cap and the nozzle if it lifts out. Keep both β you will need them.
- Pour in the shots one at a time. Squeeze the shot bottle steadily rather than squeezing and releasing, which draws air back in.
- Replace the cap and tighten it firmly.
- Shake hard for a full minute. Longer than feels necessary. Nic shots are VG-heavy and genuinely need agitating into the base.
- Stand the bottle for half an hour so the air bubbles settle before filling a tank.
- Write the finished strength and the date on the bottle with a marker. You will not remember in three weeks.
A lazy shake is the most common mixing error. If you have not agitated it properly, the first tankful and the last tankful from the same bottle will taste and feel different, and you will wrongly blame the liquid.
Handling shots safely
Nic shots at 18mg or 20mg are concentrated nicotine in a small bottle. Keep the child-resistant caps on, store them out of reach of children and pets, never decant into unlabelled containers, avoid contact with eyes, and wash your hands promptly if you spill. Treat an empty shot bottle as if it still has residue in it, because it does.
Why shortfills are sold at 0mg
It is worth restating the regulatory logic plainly, because it determines everything about the format.
- 10ml maximum for any bottle of nicotine-containing e-liquid sold to consumers.
- 20mg/ml maximum nicotine strength in any e-liquid.
- 2ml maximum capacity for any tank or pod holding nicotine-containing liquid.
A 0mg shortfill sits outside the first two because it contains no nicotine when sold. Nic shots sit inside them: 10ml bottles at no more than 20mg/ml. Put the two together at home and the finished liquid is well under the strength ceiling. The 2ml tank limit still applies to whatever you fill, which is why every compliant tank you can buy in the UK is 2ml or smaller regardless of what you put in it.
Nicotine-free vaping is a legitimate end point in itself rather than only a stepping stone β some people use shortfills without shots at all. Dedicated 0mg products are grouped in Nicotine-Free Vape.
Direct-to-lung hardware and matching your setup
Direct-to-lung means drawing vapour straight into the lungs through wide-open airflow at higher power, rather than into the mouth first. It is a different action from a restricted mouth-to-lung draw and it takes a few days to get used to if you have only ever vaped MTL.
| MTL | DTL (shortfills) | |
|---|---|---|
| Coil resistance | 0.8β1.5 ohm | 0.15β0.6 ohm |
| Power | 8β18W | 25β80W |
| Airflow | Tight to restricted | Wide open |
| Liquid | 50/50 salt or freebase | 70/30 shortfill |
| Strength | 10mg or 20mg | 3mg after shots |
| Daily volume | 2β5ml | 8β15ml |
| Cost driver | Bottle price | Coil replacement |
Coils and wattage
Every sub-ohm coil has a recommended wattage range printed on it. Stay inside it and start at the bottom. A 0.4 ohm coil rated 25 to 35 watts should be run at 25 first, then worked up until the vapour is warm enough for you. Running above the range scorches the cotton and ruins both the coil and the flavour; running below gives cool, thin, muted vapour and wastes the liquid.
Airflow
Open it. A sub-ohm coil generates a great deal of vapour and needs air volume to carry it, and a restricted airflow on a low-resistance coil makes the draw hot and harsh. If the vapour feels scorching, open the airflow before reaching for the wattage control.
Priming a sub-ohm coil
Sub-ohm coils hold far more cotton than MTL coils and need more thorough priming. Drip liquid into every visible wick port and into the top of the coil until the cotton is visibly wet, fit it, fill the tank, and then leave it standing for a full ten minutes. Take three or four low-power draws before going up to your normal wattage. Skipping this is the single most common way to destroy a brand-new coil in under a minute.
Choosing a sub-ohm tank and coils
A shortfill is only half the setup. The other half is a tank and coil capable of vaporising a 70/30 blend properly, and the choices there matter more to the final result than which flavour you picked.
Mesh versus wire
Modern sub-ohm coils are almost all mesh: a perforated metal strip rather than a wound wire. Mesh presents a larger, more even surface area to the cotton, which means it heats faster, spreads the heat more evenly and generally produces cleaner flavour with fewer hot spots. Wound-wire coils still exist and work, but if you have a choice, mesh is the better default for a 70/30 liquid.
Resistance
Sub-ohm coils typically run between 0.15 and 0.6 ohm. Lower resistance means more power drawn, more heat, more vapour and faster liquid consumption. A 0.6 ohm coil at 20 to 25 watts is a restricted DTL setup that suits someone stepping across from MTL. A 0.2 ohm coil at 60 watts is a full DTL cloud setup. Start higher and work down; there is no prize for going straight to the bottom.
Tank capacity
UK tanks are capped at 2ml, which for a sub-ohm vaper means refilling several times a day. That is simply how it is, and it is another reason a 120ml finished bottle makes sense: you will be visiting it often. Look for a tank with a convenient top-fill mechanism rather than one you have to dismantle, because you will be using it four or five times daily.
Airflow design
Bottom-airflow tanks tend to give cooler, airier draws; top-airflow designs are usually better at resisting leaks. Either works. What matters is that the airflow opens wide enough that a low-resistance coil is not choked β a restricted airflow on a 0.2 ohm coil produces a hot, harsh draw that people wrongly blame on the liquid.
Buy coils in multiples
Coils are consumables and they fail without warning, usually at the least convenient moment. Keep at least three spares for whatever tank you run. Nothing sours a setup faster than a dead coil and no replacement in the house.
Moving from MTL pods to sub-ohm DTL
Most people arrive at shortfills from a pod kit, and the transition trips up more vapers than it should. Four things change at once, and knowing which is which makes the first week far less frustrating.
The draw changes
MTL is a slow two- to three-second pull into the mouth, then an inhale. DTL is a smooth, open draw straight into the lungs, more like a deep breath than a sip. If you try to draw on a sub-ohm tank the way you draw on a pod, it feels wrong β too much air, not enough resistance. Give it a few days rather than concluding the hardware is faulty.
The strength changes
This is the important one. If you have been on 20mg salt in a pod and you fit a sub-ohm tank with the same liquid, each draw delivers vastly more nicotine than the pod did, because a low-resistance coil vaporises far more liquid per puff. That is why DTL liquid is 3mg. The lower number is not a downgrade; it is the correct match for the hardware.
The consumption changes
From 2 to 5ml a day up to 8 to 15ml. Your liquid budget and your refilling routine both change accordingly, and so does the coil replacement cycle.
The throat sensation changes
A 70/30 blend at 3mg is much softer on the throat than a 20mg salt at 50/50. Some people find this a relief and some find it unsatisfying. If you miss the firmness, a slightly higher PG content or a cooler flavour such as Frozen Cherries adds back some of the sensation without raising the nicotine.
Should you switch at all?
Only if you want the vapour and the lower running cost, and only if you are happy maintaining hardware. Plenty of people try DTL, decide the extra vapour is not worth the refilling and coil changes, and go back to a pod. That is a perfectly reasonable outcome, and keeping a pod device alongside a sub-ohm tank is a common setup rather than an indecisive one.
Steeping after adding shots
Commercially produced e-liquid arrives fully mixed, so a 0mg shortfill needs no steeping in the sense that a home-mixed recipe would. What it does need is integration time after the nic shots go in.
The minimum
Shake hard for a full minute, then let it stand half an hour. That is enough to fill a tank and vape it without anything tasting wrong.
The better approach
Leave the mixed bottle two to three days in a cool, dark place, giving it a shake whenever you pass it. The added VG integrates properly with the base, the flavour settles, and the mouthfeel becomes noticeably smoother. The difference is real but not dramatic, and it costs nothing but patience.
Flavours that reward longer
Vanilla Biscuit is the clearest example in this range β one to two weeks rounds out the vanilla and lets the biscuit note come forward. Sweet confectionery builds such as Bubblegum and Rainbow Blast also settle a little over a week. Bright, light fruits like Strawberry Sensation and Strawberry Watermelon are at their best straight away and gain nothing from waiting.
A practical routine
Buy two bottles at a time. Mix both when they arrive, open one immediately and leave the second in a cupboard. By the time you reach it, it has steeped without you having to plan anything.
Flavour families and building a rotation
IVG's naming follows consistent conventions across all its ranges. "Ice" and "Frozen" mean a cooling agent. "Blaze" and "Blast" mean a layered mix rather than a single note. "Sensation" indicates a clean single-fruit build.
| Family | Shortfill flavours | Cooling | Sweetness | Coil impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red fruit | Strawberry Sensation, Strawberry Watermelon | None | Medium | Low |
| Mixed fruit | Summer Blaze | None | Medium | Low |
| Blue and candy | Blue Raspberry Ice | Medium | High | Moderate |
| Dark fruit | Frozen Cherries | Heavy | Medium | Moderate |
| Soft drink | Riberry Lemonade | None | Medium | Moderate |
| Confectionery | Rainbow Blast, Bubblegum | None | High | High |
| Dessert | Vanilla Biscuit | None | High | High |
Why rotation matters more at 100ml
A 10ml bottle is gone in a few days, so palate fatigue rarely has time to set in. A 120ml finished bottle at 10ml a day lasts nearly a fortnight, which is more than long enough for a flavour you loved on day one to taste like nothing by day ten. It is not the liquid degrading; it is your palate adapting.
The fix is to keep two mixed bottles open from genuinely different families and alternate. A sensible pairing from this range is Strawberry Watermelon as the neutral all-day and Frozen Cherries or Blue Raspberry Ice as the cold contrast, with Vanilla Biscuit or Bubblegum as an evening third. It costs nothing extra because the total volume is the same either way.
Why the same flavour tastes different as a shortfill
Five of the nine shortfill flavours share their names with bottles in the IVG salt and 50/50 ranges: Summer Blaze, Strawberry Watermelon, Strawberry Sensation, Frozen Cherries and Riberry Lemonade. People reasonably expect them to taste identical and are surprised when they do not. Three things account for the difference, and none of them is a fault.
The base ratio
A 70/30 VG-heavy blend carries flavour differently from a 50/50. Propylene glycol is the better flavour carrier, so the 50/50 version generally reads sharper and more defined, while the 70/30 version reads rounder, sweeter and softer. Neither is more accurate; they emphasise different parts of the same flavour.
The hardware
A sub-ohm mesh coil at 35 watts vaporises far more liquid per draw, at a higher temperature, across a much larger surface area than a 1.0 ohm pod coil at 12 watts. That changes which flavour compounds come forward. Sweetness and body tend to open up on sub-ohm; sharpness and acidity tend to be more prominent in a tight MTL pod.
The nicotine
A 20mg salt contributes a firm throat sensation that sits alongside the flavour and, for some people, masks part of it. At 3mg that sensation is largely absent, and the flavour arrives unaccompanied. This is why a profile that felt balanced as a salt can taste noticeably sweeter as a finished shortfill.
What to do with that
Do not assume a flavour you disliked in one format will disappoint in the other β the reverse is quite common. Strawberry Sensation, for example, can feel thin in a tight pod and considerably fuller in a sub-ohm tank, while a sour build often loses some of its edge going the same direction. If a name you know appears in a format you have not tried, it is worth one bottle to find out.
Cost: shortfills against salts and prefilled pods
The economics of the three formats are worth setting out side by side, because they differ by an order of magnitude.
| Format | Typical purchase | Finished volume | Rough cost per ml | What you also get |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100ml shortfill + 2 shots | Bottle plus two 10ml shots | 120ml | Pennies | Nothing β you supply coils and hardware |
| 10ml nic salt | Single bottle from Β£3.99 | 10ml | Around 40p | Nothing β you supply coils and hardware |
| Prefilled pod | Single pod from Β£7.95 | Sealed reserve | Several pounds | Coil, wick, housing and seal included |
The prefilled pod premium is not a mark-up. It pays for the coil, wick, housing and seal that are built into every pod and discarded with it, plus the convenience of never refilling, priming or changing a coil. What a shortfill buys instead is volume at the lowest possible price, with the trade-off that you maintain the hardware yourself.
The hidden cost of sub-ohm
Be honest about coils when comparing. A sub-ohm coil running a sweet 70/30 flavour at 35 watts may last a week or less, and coils are not free. Factor them in and the gap between a shortfill setup and a salt setup narrows, though the shortfill still wins comfortably at high daily volumes. Comparing formats fairly means counting the coil, not just the bottle.
For the middle ground β lower volume, less maintenance β the salt ranges in IVG Nic Salts and the sealed-pod platforms in Big Puff Vapes are the alternatives worth weighing.
Troubleshooting a sub-ohm setup
Dry, burnt hits
Either the coil was not primed properly, or you are chain-vaping faster than the wick can refill, or the wattage is above the coil's range. Prime thoroughly, wait ten minutes on a new coil, leave a few seconds between draws, and start at the bottom of the stated wattage.
Leaking from the airflow
Usually a flooded coil. Over-priming, leaving a filled tank lying on its side, or a large temperature change will all do it. Remove the coil, blot it, and reassemble. Check the tank's seals if it recurs on every fill.
Spitting and popping
Liquid pooling in the coil housing. Take a couple of short draws without firing to clear it, or fire briefly with the tank held upright and the mouthpiece pointed away from you. Reducing the wattage slightly often stops it.
Muted flavour on a new bottle
If you have just added nic shots, it may simply need a longer shake and a few days to integrate. If the bottle has been open a while and has darkened, that is nicotine oxidising on contact with air, which is normal ageing rather than a fault.
The tank empties faster than expected
Sub-ohm vaping uses a lot of liquid β 8 to 15ml a day is normal, and higher wattage, open airflow and longer draws all push it up. This is why 100ml bottles exist, and it is the reason a sub-ohm vaper buying 10ml bottles ends up spending far more than they need to.
Storage and shelf life
- Store bottles cool, dark, dry and upright. A cupboard or drawer, never a windowsill, a car or a bathroom.
- Keep caps tight. Oxygen is what darkens liquid and dulls flavour over time.
- Keep liquid in its original bottle. The child-resistant cap and tamper-evident seal are legal safety features, and decanting removes both.
- Store out of reach of children and pets at all times, including bottles you believe are empty.
- Label mixed bottles with the finished strength and the date.
Unopened shortfills carry a best-before date, usually around two years from manufacture. Once nic shots go in, treat the finished bottle as something to use within a few months rather than a year: nicotine oxidises steadily, the liquid takes on an amber tint, and the flavour drifts with it. Darkening alone is normal ageing, not contamination. Buy what you will realistically get through rather than stockpiling.
If you want to try a flavour before committing to 100ml, the smaller-format bottled ranges β IVG Original 50/50 and the salt lines β share several flavour names with this range, including Summer Blaze, Strawberry Watermelon, Strawberry Sensation, Frozen Cherries and Riberry Lemonade. The wider bottled catalogue is grouped under IVG Vape Juice, with end-of-line stock in Nic Salts & E-Liquids Clearance.
Reading a shortfill label
Shortfill labelling differs from a 10ml nicotine bottle in a few important ways, and misreading it is how people end up with a bottle they cannot use.
Two volumes, not one
The label states the fill volume and the bottle volume separately: 100ml of liquid in a 120ml bottle. Buyers occasionally see "120ml" and expect 120ml of liquid. You get 100ml, and the remaining 20ml is the space the nic shots occupy. If a bottle were filled to 120ml there would be nowhere for the nicotine to go.
0mg on the front
Every shortfill is 0mg as sold. If a large bottle claims to contain nicotine, something is wrong with it and it should not be on a UK shelf. The 0mg marking is the reason the bottle is permitted at that size.
Ratio and ingredients
The VG/PG ratio is usually printed on the back β 70/30 for this range β along with the ingredients: vegetable glycerine, propylene glycol and food-grade flavourings. With no nicotine present, the mandatory nicotine warning does not apply to the shortfill itself, although it does apply to the nic shots you add.
Batch number and best-before
Both are on the back and both matter. The batch number is how any query about a specific bottle is traced, and the best-before date tells you how long the unmixed liquid has. Keep the label intact and legible, and add your own note of the finished strength and mixing date once the shots go in.
If you want a strength other than 3mg
Three milligrams is the standard for sub-ohm DTL, but it is not compulsory, and the maths is simple enough to adjust in either direction.
Lower than 3mg
Add one shot instead of two. A single 18mg shot in 100ml gives roughly 1.6mg/ml in 110ml of finished liquid. This suits anyone who finds 3mg more than they need on a high-wattage setup, or who is running a very low-resistance coil where each draw carries a large volume of vapour.
Zero
Add nothing. The shortfill is a complete, usable 0mg e-liquid exactly as it arrives β it simply has no nicotine in it. Plenty of people vape it that way, either permanently or alongside a nicotine-containing device.
Slightly higher than 3mg
Use 20mg shots rather than 18mg. Two 20mg shots in 100ml gives roughly 3.3mg/ml. To go meaningfully higher you would need to start from a smaller fill volume β a 50ml shortfill in a 60ml bottle with one 20mg shot lands at about 3.3mg too, and decanting part of a 100ml bottle before adding shots lets you push the concentration up further if you genuinely want it.
Why not just add more shots?
Because the bottle physically will not take them. A 120ml bottle holding 100ml of liquid has room for exactly two 10ml shots. Anything beyond that needs a separate mixing bottle, and at that point you are hand-mixing rather than using a shortfill as designed. If you want a high nicotine strength, you almost certainly want a 50/50 salt in MTL hardware instead, not a heavily dosed 70/30.
Write it down
Whatever you settle on, mark the bottle. Finished strength, shot strength used and the date, in marker, on the label. It takes five seconds and it removes any doubt three weeks later when a second bottle appears in the same cupboard.
Ordering from IVG Refills
IVG Refills is an independent UK specialist retailer stocking the IVG catalogue. We are not IVG's own store and we make no claim to official status. What we offer is the bottled ranges and the pod platforms together in one basket, so a shortfill order, the nic shots to finish it and a spare pod for a second device all travel together.
- Free UK delivery on orders over Β£20. A standard charge applies below the threshold. A shortfill plus shots generally gets you most of the way there.
- Tracked 24 and tracked 48 services at checkout, with tracking issued on despatch.
- Age verification on every order. Nicotine products are sold to adults aged 18 and over only. Orders that fail verification are cancelled and refunded.
- Live stock. Availability on site is live, and clearance lines are not restocked once sold through.
Remember to add nic shots to the same order. A shortfill without shots is a 0mg bottle, which is fine if that is what you wanted and frustrating if it is not. Browse the full catalogue from our full store, or the pod side of the range in IVG Refill Pods.
Safety, disposal and recycling
Nicotine e-liquid is a regulated consumer product and deserves the same care as any household chemical, and nic shots deserve more care than the finished liquid because they are far more concentrated.
- Keep every bottle capped and out of reach of children and pets, including empties.
- Never decant liquid or shots into drinks bottles, food containers or unlabelled vials.
- Avoid contact with eyes, and wash skin promptly after any spill.
- Do not pour leftover nicotine-containing liquid down a sink or drain. Take it to your household waste recycling centre and ask where liquid chemical waste goes.
- Rinse empty plastic bottles before recycling, and check what your local authority accepts β many kerbside schemes reject small plastics and caps.
- Used coils are electrical waste and belong at a WEEE collection point or a retailer take-back scheme.
- Devices with built-in lithium cells must never go in general or kerbside recycling, where crushed batteries present a documented fire risk in collection vehicles.
If a bottle arrives with a broken seal, a cap that spins without pressing down, or visible leakage, stop and contact us with your order number rather than using it. The complete range is always available through the store, and every product we sell is intended for adult vapers aged 18 or over.
A short checklist before you order
- Check your coil. Below 0.6 ohm at 25 watts or more: a shortfill is right. Above 0.8 ohm in a pod: buy salts instead.
- Buy the shots at the same time. Two 18mg shots per 100ml bottle for a finished 3mg.
- Pick two flavours, not one. A neutral all-day and a contrasting second bottle prevents palate fatigue over a fortnight.
- Budget for coils. Sweet flavours such as Bubblegum, Rainbow Blast and Vanilla Biscuit shorten coil life noticeably.
- Mix on arrival. Shake hard, label the bottle, and leave the second one to steep while you use the first.
- Store sensibly. Cool, dark, capped, upright and well out of reach.
Related collections
- Nic Shots
- Beyond E-liquids
- Shortfills Clearance
- IVG Vape Juice
- IVG Original Salts
- IVG PRO Salts
- IVG Original 50/50
- IVG Nic Salts
- Nicotine-Free Vape
- Big Puff Vapes
Frequently asked questions
What exactly is a shortfill?
A large bottle that has been deliberately under-filled. An IVG 70/30 shortfill holds 100ml of 0mg e-liquid in a 120ml bottle, leaving 20ml of headroom for nicotine shots. UK rules cap nicotine-containing bottles at 10ml, but that limit does not apply to a bottle with no nicotine in it, which is how a 100ml bottle can be sold at all.
How many nic shots do I need for a 100ml shortfill?
Two 10ml shots at 18mg/ml gives exactly 3mg/ml in 120ml of finished liquid, which is the standard for sub-ohm vaping. One shot gives around 1.6mg/ml in 110ml. Two 20mg shots give around 3.3mg/ml. The bottle physically takes two shots and no more, so anything higher needs a separate mixing bottle.
How do I mix a shortfill properly?
Remove the cap and nozzle, pour the shots in one at a time, replace the cap firmly, then shake hard for a full minute β longer than feels necessary, because nic shots are VG-heavy. Let the bottle stand half an hour so the bubbles settle before filling a tank, and write the finished strength and date on the label.
Can I use a 70/30 shortfill in a pod kit?
Not sensibly. A 70/30 blend is too viscous for the narrow wick ports in an MTL pod, so the coil runs dry between puffs and you get a burnt taste within minutes. Pod kits with coils above 0.8 ohm want a 50/50 base β Original Salts, PRO Salts or Original 50/50. Shortfills belong in sub-ohm tanks below 0.6 ohm.
What flavours are in the IVG 70/30 shortfill range?
Nine: Blue Raspberry Ice, Strawberry Sensation, Strawberry Watermelon, Summer Blaze, Frozen Cherries, Riberry Lemonade, Rainbow Blast, Bubblegum and Vanilla Biscuit. Rainbow Blast and Bubblegum are exclusive to the shortfill format with no salt equivalent, while the other seven share names with bottles elsewhere in the IVG range.
Do I have to add nicotine?
No. A shortfill is a complete, usable 0mg e-liquid exactly as it arrives, and plenty of people vape it that way. Adding shots is optional and entirely under your control β none, one or two, depending on the strength you want. If you never add nicotine, nothing about the bottle needs to change.
How long should I leave a shortfill to steep after adding shots?
Half an hour after a hard shake is enough to use it. Two to three days in a cool, dark place is noticeably better, because the added VG integrates fully and the mouthfeel smooths out. Vanilla Biscuit benefits from one to two weeks. Bright light fruits such as Strawberry Sensation gain nothing from waiting.
What coil and wattage should I use?
A mesh sub-ohm coil between 0.15 and 0.6 ohm, run inside its stated wattage range and started at the bottom of it β typically 25 to 35 watts for a 0.4 ohm coil. Open the airflow fully; restricting it on a low-resistance coil makes the draw hot and harsh. Prime new coils thoroughly and wait ten minutes before firing.
Why does my coil die so quickly?
Usually inadequate priming on a new coil, running above the stated wattage, or a heavily sweetened flavour. Bubblegum, Rainbow Blast and Vanilla Biscuit caramelise on a coil far faster than Strawberry Watermelon or Summer Blaze. Budget for more frequent coil changes with the sweet builds and keep at least three spares in the house.
How much liquid will I get through?
Sub-ohm DTL vaping typically uses 8 to 15ml a day, against 2 to 5ml for an MTL pod. Higher wattage, open airflow and longer draws push it up further. That volume is exactly why shortfills exist: a finished 120ml bottle lasts a DTL vaper roughly a fortnight, where 10ml bottles would be impractical and far more expensive.
Are nic shots dangerous to handle?
They are concentrated nicotine at 18mg or 20mg in a small bottle, so treat them with care. Keep the child-resistant caps on, store out of reach of children and pets, never decant into unlabelled containers, avoid contact with eyes, and wash your hands promptly after a spill. Treat an emptied shot bottle as if residue remains, because it does.
How should I store a mixed shortfill?
Cool, dark, dry, upright and tightly capped, in its original bottle with the child-resistant closure intact. Once shots are in, use the bottle within a few months rather than a year β nicotine oxidises steadily, the liquid takes on an amber tint and the flavour drifts with it. Darkening alone is normal ageing, not contamination.