How is Disposable Vape Juice stored and how long will it last?
Have you ever found an old bottle of e-liquid lying around at home and wondered how long the shelf life of e-liquid is? Has it spoiled? Will it be harmful? Does it have an expiry date?
Vape juices do have expiration dates. You should be able to find the manufacture’s expiration date on the bottom or label of each vape juice bottle. Similar to what you’d find in food or drink.
Will there be any rules and regulations regarding the expiry of e-liquids?
There are no specific legal requirements for distributors or e-juice manufacturers to follow in terms of expiry dates, displays or advertisements.
The TRPR (Tobacco and Related Products Regulation) governing rules and regulations do not explicitly cover shelf life. Regarding shelf life, there are non-legally binding standards for e-liquids. This is a guide for responsible manufacturers to conduct product stability studies to adequately support the shelf life of their products.
As everyone knows, this date is quite a long time since e-liquids are considered “shelf stable”. After e-liquid is manufactured, it has a shelf life of about two years. This data may be shorter if the e-liquid bottle is opened, improperly stored, or depending on the type of vape juice.
The type of ingredients in e-liquid may affect expiration dates. We need to understand two common ingredients: PG and VG used as e-liquid thinner.
How long can PG e-liquid last?
PG (Propylene Glycol) is effective in preventing degradation over time. This means that e-juice with a higher PG content can last longer. Though again this depends on proper handling and storage of e-liquid.
How long can VG oil last?
VG (vegetable glycerin) e-liquid does not stop degrading over time like PG does. That doesn’t mean its expiration date has been brought forward. Mainly because if both e-liquids contain nicotine, they will reach that point of failure at the same time.
How to properly store e-liquid
Properly storing e-liquid is one of the best ways to ensure it stays as fresh as possible throughout its lifespan.
Direct sunlight, extreme temperatures, or exposure to too much oxygen are not good e-liquids for you. The best place to vape juice is a lovely dark, room temperature cupboard.
Some e-cigarette users prefer to keep e-liquid in the refrigerator if your summer is very hot. It’s a dark, cool place, so that makes sense, and we recommend it as a great storage spot.
The best advice is that as long as your e-liquid bottle is sealed when not in use, preferably not on a windowsill, next to an oven or radiator, you should be fine.
Oil consumption
How long vape juice lasts during consumption really depends on how much vape you smoke. It’s also very temperature dependent and therefore also dependent on the wattage you’re vaping.
If you vape in high heat, you can smoke 60ml very quickly in a week. Atomize with an average atomization power of 50 to 100W, and consume 30mL of juice per week.
Less wattage equals less consumption.
DTL vs. MTL Juice Consumption
People with direct-to-lung (DTL) e-cigarettes typically consume more e-liquid per day than mouth-to-lung (MTL) e-cigarettes, especially at higher wattages.
MTL juice is very efficient compared to DTL as tanks/atomizers typically run with 1.0 to 1.2 ohm resistors or higher ratings and thinner wires. This means that MTL devices require less power, usually in the 8 to 18 watt range, with most MTLs topping out at 18 to 20 watts.
MTL is also traditionally done on a single coil at lower wattages, while DTL is usually done with multiple coils at higher wattages. With more coils, you can increase the surface area, use higher wattage, increase the temperature and increase the drawing time. This all contributes to consuming more e-liquid!
How long should you leave the juice in the evaporator tank?
How long will your e-juice last in pods, cartridges or cans? This again depends on the type of juice, the jar and its use and storage.
In fact, you should not leave the juice out for more than 5 days. On the one hand, it usually gets too long and starts to taste unpalatable.
If you leave the tank too long without it evaporating, the coil will overflow and start leaking. How much and for how long depends on the tank/coil. Some juices can also crack plastic jars, some even glass jars.
A helpful tip is to make sure you use your juice regularly, changing up as many juice flavors as possible.
What happens when e-liquid goes bad?
There are also signs to guide you if your e-liquid has expired. The first thing you’ll notice is that your juice will taste different than usual, or just lack flavor. This also affects the smell of the vape juice in the bottle.
Another sign is a change in the color of the juice. The juice will naturally darken in color over time due to its exposure to oxygen. If it’s getting much darker than what you’ve seen before, it’s probably past its expiration date.
Is it safe to consume e-liquid after the expiration date? It is important to note that those for e-liquids are a guide like many expiration dates. At the expiration time, your e-liquid will not automatically spoil and become dangerous for vaping.
Summarize
Vapejuice degrades over time and at worst it won’t taste the same or taste anything at all. You probably won’t be able to smell it, and you won’t get the same hit or nicotine levels.
While we do not recommend that you vape expired e-juice, there is currently no evidence that doing so is dangerous.
