E-LiQuid Production Dates & Expiry Explained: A Guide For LiQuid Customers
Some of the most frequently asked questions we receive here at LiQuid are around the shelf-life of our e-liquid and whether or not they expire.
These are perfectly valid questions, but the nature of e-liquid means they are a little more complex to answer than one might assume. E-liquid does not 'go off' like other consumables like food and drink, and there are a few things to consider when assessing if your vape juice has passed its best.
That's why we have created this guide for our customers: to explain what the dates on our bottles mean, and give you the knowledge about e-liquid expiry to vape with confidence!
Table of Contents
Production Date Explained
- Why Doesn't E-Liquid Have An Expiry Date?
- How Long Is It Safe To Use An E-Liquid After The PoD?
- Where Can The PoD Be Found On The Bottle?
- What Happens To An E-Liquid As It Gets Older?
E-Liquid Colour Changes Explained
Why Does An E-Liquid Change Colour? - Why Can E-Liquid Bottles Of The Same Batch Be Different Colours?
E-Liquid Flavour Changes Explained
E-Liquid Steeping - Why Our Flavour Profiles Have Changed
- Old vs New E-Liquid stock
Troubleshooting Vape Kit Issues
How Your Vape Kit Can Change The Way Your E-Liquid Tastes Is Your Vape Kit Working Correctly? - An Ideal Vape Kit Compatibility Checklist
E-Liquid Produced On Date (PoD) Explained
As the name suggests, a Produced on Date or PoD is the date the given product was manufactured on. In e-liquid terms this marks the date the batch was bottled and made ready for sale on the LiQuid vape shop.
PoDs are less commonly used for consumables like foods and drink because they have a definite shelf-life, and therefore definitively expire and 'go off' past a certain amount of time. While e-liquids feel like they should follow the same rules, after all we do take them into our bodies like a food stuff, their nature means that they cannot be given such a concrete shelf-life.
Instead we use a PoD to let you know when the batch was made, and use that information to properly asses the usability of the e-liquid. We will explain the factors determining the quality of the e-liquid over time further in this article.
Learn more about e-liquid here.
Why Doesn't E-Liquid Have An Expiry Date?
The main reason e-liquids do not typically have an expiry date is because they do not 'go off' like food or drink. In actuality vape juices and the ingredients that make them up are microbiologically stable for up to 10 years, provided they have been stored correctly. Even after a few years, you won't often see mould growing in e-liquid unless a foreign body has entered the bottle at some point, and even then, it is unlikely.
This microbial resistance is largely down to the presence of nicotine, which has natural antibacterial properties. This may cause you to ask what about 0mg vape juice? Well alongside nicotine, Propylene Glycol (PG) is also naturally antibacterial. Even in nicotine free blends, PG is present both as a base and as part of the flavour concentrates we add.
Instead of going mouldy as one might expect, e-liquids change over time and can take on properties you may find unpleasant depending on how they are stored. This is the main reason you may choose not to use an older e-liquid, despite it technically not being "out of date".
How Long Is It Safe To Use An E-Liquid After The PoD?
Despite e-liquid technically not being prone to expiry in the traditional sense, there is still an ideal timeframe for consumption to ensure you get the best possible experience. Instead of going mouldy, e-liquids can change in colour, flavour and nicotine concentration.
Previously, like many other vaping brands, we advised customers that e-liquid should be consumed within 2 years to avoid experiencing any of these changes. In 2024 however we have updated our policy and have extended this window to 5 years.
We know that might seem like quite a jump, however it is for good reason. In the last 12 months we have made a number of changes to our operations and now produce our own flavourings and nicotine dilutions in-house. This gives us far greater control over the quality of our products, and our stability tests have shown that our e-liquids remain palatable for far longer than we previously experienced.
Provided they are stored correctly, away from direct sunlight and extreme temperatures, it is safe to consume our e-liquids up to five years after the PoD given on the bottle.
Where Can The PoD Be Found On The Bottle?
The Produced On Date of our e-liquid is batch-sprayed onto the base of our bottles as you can see in the picture.
If you are unsure of the age of your vape juice, simply check the base of the bottle - the PoD will be below the longer batch code.
What Happens To An E-Liquid As It Gets Older?
As we mentioned above, e-liquids do not 'go off' in the traditional sense, but rather change their properties as they age. While some of these changes might make the e-liquid less enjoyable to vape, they do not pose any known health risks.
Over long time periods an e-liquid may undergo:
Colour Changes
- E-liquid can turn darker over time or take on slightly different shades of red/amber/brown.
- Darker brown/amber colour changes are most often caused by nicotine being exposed to light.
- Other colour changes can be caused by the flavour concentrates as they naturally oxidise - we do not add any colourings to our e-liquids.
- Dark e-liquids may look scary, but are not necessarily unusable - even recent batches can turn dark quickly if left in direct sunlight, the change is purely aesthetic.
Flavour Changes
- Once an e-liquid batch is blended it begins to steep, much like letting wine breathe.
- The steeping process doesn't ever truly stop, as it is caused by the flavours oxidising and maturing - we allow all our batches to steep for predetermined times in order for their profiles to reach an optimum level before being sold.
- Many years past the PoD however, an e-liquids flavour can over-steep, causing it to change in unpleasant albeit harmless ways, such as becoming bitter, taking on different tastes besides the intended, or simply becoming very muted and losing flavour altogether.
Nicotine Destabilisation
- The nicotine in most e-liquids is actually a dilution of nicotine molecules suspended in a PG base.
- As time passes, the nicotine molecules in this dilution can destabilise and settle further down in the bottle.
- This means an older bottle of e-liquid may not be consistently dosed throughout, and shaking the bottle can only do so much to remedy this.
- While not a direct risk to health, uneven distribution means a tank-load from the top of the bottle may be weaker and less satisfying, whereas the last bits of the bottle may be far too strong.
Viscosity Changes
- In extreme cases, e-liquids can also change in viscosity when many years old. Becoming thicker or thinner, although thinner is far more common.
- This is more likely to happen if the e-liquid has been stored somewhere very hot, which can destablilise the mixture and create an oil-on-water effect as the flavourings split from the base PG and VG.
- Extreme cold can make e-liquid very thick, however this is almost always temporary, whereas splitting is a more permanent issue.
- While still not a risk to health, we advise disposing of split e-liquids as they almost always taste awful, and can cause issues like flooding your vape tank and coils.
E-Liquid Colour Changes Explained
E-Liquids changing colour raises the most alarm bells amongst our customers, and it is totally understandable. After all, if you are used to your vape juice being almost clear, it suddenly being amber might make you wonder if it has gone off somehow or that there may have been an error during manufacturing.
The reality is that there are a number of factors that determine the colour of an e-liquid and how it changes, with the good news being that colour has almost no implications regarding the safety of the vape juice for consumption.
Why Does An E-Liquid Change Colour?
- Flavourings - E-liquid flavourings don't often have natural colours but in some cases, such as those derived from liquorice as an example, they can vary in shade and also change a little over time as they steep. In most cases this is a slightly pink/red tint, or an amber colour, however this is most common in sweeter dessert style flavours, with most others being generally colourless.
- Nicotine - Often the most common culprit for significant colour changes in e-liquids over time, nicotine is naturally amber in colour, and so the base strength of the e-liquid alone can determine colour, with weaker 3mg/6mg bottles being clearer, and 12mg/18mg being amber or darker in colour. Nicotine is also photosensitive, which means it changes when exposed to light. This change almost always manifests as turning a dark shade of amber or even brown depending on the amount of time past the PoD and the conditions in which it is stored. Even new batches will turn dark quickly if they are left in the sun, so colour changes do not always mean there is an issue with safety or quality.
This is an example of a recent e-liquid batch. It is clear in colour having been produced in February 2024 and stored away from direct sunlight.
This is an example of a higher strength 5-year-old e-liquid. It has been in and out of sunlight and has turned a dark amber colour.
This is an example of a 10-year-old e-liquid under our very first brand FreshCig. This is actually a clear bottle, but the e-liquid is almost black - an example of how much colour can change over time - despite this, it is still safe to vape (although we wouldn't recommend it!)
Why Can E-Liquid Bottles Of The Same Batch Be Different Colours?
While we take every care to ensure our batches are consistent in colour, sometimes factors are out of our hands. Colour can vary between batches based purely on their storage conditions. As we move and rotate stock, sometimes bottles are exposed to more light than others, even from the same batch.
We appreciate this can sometimes be alarming to discover in your vape-mail, however we assure you it does not belay any issues of quality or safety, simply an unavoidable environmental factor which slightly impacts the aesthetics of the e-liquid - it's only skin-deep and the flavours should always be consistent not matter the colour difference.
E-Liquid Flavour Changes Explained
The flavour of your e-liquid is paramount to your enjoyment, and so we always do everything we can to ensure they are consistently high-quality and standardised so you can expect the same great taste from every bottle.
Despite this, sometimes things can change. changing flavourings and even the steeping process itself can cause slight changes in flavour, and understanding why this happens can help you vape with more confidence.
E-Liquid Steeping Explained
Steeping is a natural part of the e-liquid manufacturing process. When we blend large batches of our different flavours, we allow them to sit and steep for a time before bottling to ensure the flavour profile is exactly where we want it to be.
Steeping never truly stops, even after bottling. It slows down, but an e-liquid that is many years old could become over-steeped. This means the flavour can change so much that it no longer tastes as intended, or can lose its flavour altogether. Heat can speed up this process, so storing vape juice away from extreme temperatures is the best way to reduce the risk of over-steeping.
Better quality flavourings are more stable for longer, and we are proud to boast that ours are the most stable they have been in ten years, hence our decision to extend the safe use window from 2 to 5 years.
Why Our Flavour Profiles Have Changed
Many of our customers have commented in the last year that they have noticed our flavour profiles have changed slightly. Thankfully most prefer the new versions, but plenty of people still miss the way their old favourites used to taste.
The reason for this is because we no longer rely on third party flavour suppliers for our raw materials. Instead, we have invested heavily in R&D and now create our own flavourings in-house. We have taken every possible step to match our original profile 1:1 however flavours are tricky things and while we come very close, it is not always possible to achieve a 1:1 replication.
The long-term benefit to you is that while some slight changes have occurred, the overall quality and consistency of our e-liquids has greatly improved, and we have even better cost-control too, which means we will always be able to offer our e-liquids from as little as £1 where other brands are already increasing their rates like 88 Vape which is now £1.20 per 10ml.
Old Vs New E-Liquid Stock
While the vast majority of our current e-liquid stock now uses our new flavourings, we still have some odd batches of older stock which still have the original flavour profiles.
If you are a customer who preferred the older profile, speak to our customer care team, we may be able to arrange a shipment of older stock to meet your needs.
Be aware that older stock can be darker in colour for the reasons given above, but it is still safe to consume.
We rotate this older stock into our current picking locations to ensure it does not go past the 5-year safe use window, which is why you may occasionally receive old stock instead or amongst new stock - if this causes any concern please speak to our CS team, but rest assured it is perfectly safe to consume.
Troubleshooting Vape Kit Issues
Besides the ingredients, passing of time and environemental factors that can cause issues with e-liquid colour and flavour,
Learn more about vape kits here.
How Your Vape Kit Can Change The Way Your E-Liquid Looks & Tastes
Your vape kit settings and hardware can make a huge difference to e-liquid appearance and flavour. Take note of the following:
- Wattage settings - The power output of your device can make a big difference to flavour. Always stay within the power range recommended by your chosen coil. To little or too much power can mute the flavour or burn the coil causing it to taste awful and can turn the e-liquid brown.
- Airflow - devices with variable airflow can impact the flavour of your e-liquid. more open airflow allows more vapour to pass over your tongue, intensifying flavour - too little can have the opposite effect. If your vape kit has no variable airflow and is fixed, consider upgrading to one that does offer customisation if you are not getting the right flavour experience.
- Vape Coil - using the right coil for your chosen e-liquid is important in getting the most from the flavour. Equally, the age of the coil can be a big factor, with older more degraded coils delivering poor flavour compared to a fresh one and often turning the liquid brown.
Match Your Device To Your E-liquid - make sure you use a suitable 50-50 vape kit with a coil rated above 1.0ohm when vaping 50-50 e-liquids. Equally a sub-ohm kit with a coil rated below 0.9ohm is best for High-VG vape juice. ignoring this can lead to issues such as flavour and colour changes as well as coil burning/flooding.
Is Your Vape Kit Working Properly?
Sometimes vape kits can fail, and experience technical issues that can impact performance, keep an eye on the following if you are regularly experiencing issues when vaping:
- Automatic power adjustment - this is a common feature of modern vape kits, especially those for beginners. This is when the device reads the resistance of the coil you insert and sets the power accordingly. Over time vape kits can become damaged, and miss-read the resistance of the coil, leading to incorrect power settings being chosen which can damage the coil and effect e-liquid colour and flavour.
- Wattage settings - The power output of your device can make a big difference to flavour. Always stay within the power range recommended by your chosen coil. To little or too much power can mute the flavour or burn the coil causing it to taste awful and can turn the e-liquid brown.
- Check The Contact Points - When used for long periods of time, vape kits build up e-liquid residue which can get onto the electrical contact point when pods and tanks are attached. this can sometimes cause short circuits and firing issues which can impact performance - keep them clean with a dry paper cloth.
- Vape Coil - using the right coil for your chosen e-liquid is important in getting the most from the flavour. Equally, the age of the coil can be a big factor, with older more degraded coils delivering poor flavour compared to a fresh one and often turning the liquid brown.
An Ideal Vape Kit Compatibility Checklist
Most issues of flavour and e-liquid colour changing can be avoided by simply pairing the right vape kit with the right e-liquid and coil. The table below should help you troubleshoot your own vape setup to ensure you are using the right equipment for your e-liquid.
| E-Liquid Type | Ideal Vape Kit | Ideal Vape Coil | Ideal Power Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50-50 freebase | beginner or intermediate vape kit | 1.0ohm-1.8ohm MTL (check your devices compatible options) | 7-20 Watts (check your coils recommended range) |
| 50-50 Nic Salt | beginner or intermediate vape kit | 0.6ohm RDTL - 1.2ohm MTL (check your devices compatible options) | 15-30 Watts (check your coils recommended range) |
| 70-30 10ml/shortfill High-VG | advanced sub-ohm mod or pod-mod vape kit | 0.12ohm - 0.8ohm sub-ohm with large wicking ports (check your devices compatible options) | 30-200 Watts (check your coil/device's recommended range) |
Every vape kit is different, and there are no blanket rules, only best-practices to observe. Check out your devices tech specs - learn what coils are available and pair them appropriately to your e-liquid. You will almost always be able to strike a balance between flavour, vapour and general performance without running the risk of tainting your e-liquid - you just need to spend some time getting to know your options - if in doubt, give us a shout! We're always happy to help you get set up properly.
Learn more about MTL, RDTL and DTL vaping here.
Written By Oliver Norman
Our resident vaping expert with 9 years of industry experience. Ollie has worked in a massive range of roles over the years; from bottling on the shop floor to mixing e-liquid in the cleanroom, heading up Tech Ops and flavour development in the lab and beyond; Ollie has been with LiQuid for nearly a decade and now heads up our content marketing team making sure our customers get the best quality information to make informed choices on their vaping journeys.
He is a one-stop-shop of vaping knowledge from scientific technical info to current vaping trends, vape juice to vape kits and all points in-between - he's keen to share it all with you, from one vaper to another! As an avid user of nic salt e-liquids for several years, Ollie has compiled this guide to help other vapers learn everything they need to know to get the most from a nic salt vaping experience!
