Longfill E-Liquids: How They Work and Why They're Worth Trying

What Is a Longfill E-Liquid?

A longfill is a 60ml bottle with about 20ml of flavour concentrate inside and the rest left empty. You fill that space yourself with nic shots and VG/PG base liquid to make a finished e-liquid at the strength you choose.

The whole mixing process takes about five minutes. Add two nic shots and 70/30 base for 6mg freebase in a sub-ohm tank. One shot and 50/50 base gives you 3mg that works in any pod kit. The concentrate stays the same each time, but your base and nic shots change the final liquid completely.

Longfills vs Shortfills: What's the Difference?

Both formats need something added before you vape them, but longfills give you a lot more to work with.

With a shortfill, the VG/PG and flavour are already done. You drop in a nic shot, shake it and vape. Quick, easy, no thinking required. Longfills ask more of you because the base isn't there yet. You're choosing the VG/PG ratio and building the liquid yourself. The upside is a lower cost per ml and the ability to hit nicotine strengths that shortfills can't reach.

How to Mix a Longfill E-Liquid

Once you've done this once it takes about five minutes start to finish. Here's the process:

1. Open your longfill bottle and check the concentrate level (usually 20ml in a 60ml bottle)
2. Add your nic shots first to keep the nicotine strength accurate
3. Pour in VG/PG base liquid until the bottle is full
4. Cap it, then shake hard for two to three minutes
5. Give it 10 to 30 minutes to steep if the brand says so (plenty of longfills are shake and vape)
6. Fill your tank or pod and crack on

How many nic shots you add sets the final strength. Most brands print a guide on the label, but here's the standard breakdown for a 20ml concentrate in a 60ml bottle:

Got a pod kit and prefer salt nic? Swap the 18mg freebase shots for 20mg nic salt shots. The finished strengths come out slightly higher and the throat hit is smoother at the same mg level.

VG/PG Base: Picking the Right One

Here's the bit most longfill guides skip over. The base you add isn't just filler. It decides how thick your finished liquid is and which kits it'll work in.

50/50 VG/PG base makes a thinner liquid. That's what you want for pod kits and MTL tanks. Go 70/30 VG or higher and the liquid gets thicker, better for sub-ohm coils and bigger clouds. You can buy pre-mixed base in either ratio or grab VG and PG bottles separately and dial in your own numbers.

That flexibility is the whole point. A shortfill locks you into whatever ratio the manufacturer chose. With a longfill, you match the liquid to your kit today and change it tomorrow if you switch setups. One bottle of concentrate, two completely different vaping experiences depending on the base.

October 2026 Changes Everything for Longfills

From 1 October 2026, the UK Vaping Products Duty hits every 10ml of e-liquid with a flat £2.20 tax. VAT gets charged on top of that too, so the real increase is about £2.64 per 10ml. For sub-ohm vapers buying 100ml shortfills, that's over £26 added to each bottle.

Now here's where longfills get interesting. The concentrate inside the bottle still counts as a vaping product and gets taxed. But VG and PG base liquids? VG and PG are used in food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries as well as vaping, which may influence how the duty impacts different products.

Manufacturers can see what's coming. Several brands are already working on super concentrates that pack the same flavour into 10ml instead of 20ml. Same 60ml bottle, same finished result once you add base, but half the taxable liquid inside. Less concentrate means less duty, and that saving gets passed on to you.

Think about how shortfills appeared almost overnight when the TPD capped nic bottles at 10ml. The vaping industry moves fast when regulations change. October 2026 will likely do the same thing for longfills. Sub-ohm vapers spending £10 to £15 on 100ml shortfills are going to feel that £26 duty hardest, and longfills are the most direct way to keep costs down.

Even nic salt vapers on pod kits have a reason to pay attention. Mixing with salt nic shots gets you the same 10mg or 20mg strength for less per bottle. Five minutes of your time to save a few quid every week adds up to a serious amount over a year.

Longfill Brands at Ecigone

We stock longfills from Just Juice, Dripping Desserts, Kings Custard, Chubby Juice and Doozy Vape. All of them are 20ml concentrated in 60ml bottles, ready for your nic shots and base.

Nic shots are on our nic shots page in 18mg freebase and 20mg salt nicotine. One shot per 50ml of finished liquid gives you 3mg strength as a starting point.

The full longfill collection has everything currently in stock.