Lemon Time shortfill | nic shots and mixing it right

A big bottle only part full, one or two nic shots beside it, and a label showing a neat round nicotine strength. With the Lemon Time range from Eliquid France, mixing looks obvious until you redo the sums. The final strength depends on the shot you pick, the ratio shifts slightly, and the range comes in four formats that are not prepared the same way. It is worth knowing which one you are holding before you unscrew the cap.

Lemon Time, what to know before opening the bottle

The 50 ml Lemon Time is a nicotine-free shortfill in a 50/50 ratio, sold in a 70 ml bottle. You can vape it as it is or top it up with one or two 10 ml nic shots. With 20 mg/ml shots, you get about 3.3 mg/ml with one shot and 5.7 mg/ml with two.

The maker describes every flavour as a lemonade paired with a fruit, with a cooling note. The 50/50 ratio appears on its own product page, and two retailers, La Petite Vaporette and Ecig Planète, confirm the 70 ml bottle filled to 50 ml. That format leaves room for exactly two shots, and no more.

Four formats under one name

The Lemon Time name actually covers four product families on the Eliquid France website. They share flavours but not instructions, which is the first source of mistakes when mixing a bottle.

Format	Nicotine	Ratio	Flavours
50 ml shortfill	nicotine-free	50/50	14
10 ml ready-to-vape	0 to 18 mg/ml	50/50	14
10 ml nic salt	10 or 20 mg/ml	not stated	8
DIY flavour concentrate	nicotine-free	100 per cent PG	8

The fourteen shortfill flavours

The large format comes as Blue Raspberry, Blueberry, Dragon Fruit, Ginger, Lemon, Mango, Orange, Passion Fruit, Peach, Red Fruit, Snake Fruit, Strawberry, Watermelon and White Grape. The Lemon flavour, the simplest of them, pairs lemonade with lemon.

The ready-made formats

The 10 ml bottle and the nic salt version arrive ready to use. They take no shot, since the nicotine is already in them. Nic salts cover only eight flavours, from Blueberry to Strawberry. In the UK, nicotine-containing e-liquid is capped at 20 mg/ml and sold in bottles of no more than 10 ml, which is why no large nicotine format exists.

Adding nic shots to a Lemon Time shortfill, the exact sums

The final strength is the nicotine added divided by the total volume, liquid and shots included. Working from the starting 50 ml instead of that total volume throws the estimate off.

With one 10 ml shot

A 20 mg/ml shot adds 200 mg of nicotine. Spread across 60 ml, that gives 3.3 mg/ml. With an 18 mg/ml shot, as in the maker’s own example, you get 180 mg in 60 ml, which is a neat 3 mg/ml.

With two 10 ml shots

Two 20 mg/ml shots add 400 mg to 70 ml, which works out at 5.7 mg/ml. The Eliquid France page quotes 6 mg/ml for two 18 mg/ml shots, yet the sum gives 360 mg in 70 ml, or 5.1 mg/ml. The rounding is generous, and the real figure is worth knowing.

What the shot does to the ratio

Each nic shot has its own PG/VG ratio, printed on its bottle. A 50/50 shot keeps the Lemon Time balance, while a shot richer in glycerine thickens it slightly. The difference stays small with one shot and becomes more noticeable with two.

How to mix the nic shot properly

Mixing takes a minute, as long as you follow a set order. A correct sum is no use if the cap is left loose or the bottle is not shaken enough.

Open the safety cap, remove the nozzle insert if the bottle has one, then pour in the whole shot. Close it firmly, shake hard for about twenty seconds and leave it a few minutes so the mix evens out. Then write the strength on the label, because a boosted shortfill looks exactly like an unboosted one.

One thing to avoid is adding a shot to a bottle you have already started. With less than 50 ml left, the real strength drifts away from the sum.

Which kit suits a 50/50 Lemon Time

A 50/50 liquid generally suits pod kits and tanks, on a tight draw as well as a restricted lung draw. Two traits of the range still call for some care.

A sweet recipe to keep an eye on

The range is built on a sweetened lemonade, and sweet recipes usually gunk a coil faster than drier liquids. The flavour then fades gradually, without any obvious incident. Our piece on why a Geek Vape coil does not last explains the effect.

A cooling note that hides the warning signs

The cooling note can mask the first signs of a drying wick. Stay within the coil’s wattage range, and at the first acrid taste, follow the steps in what to do after a dry hit.

The range concentrate for DIY

The 10 ml concentrate is aimed at people who mix their own liquid. Eliquid France recommends 15 per cent in a 30/70 base.

For 30 ml, you need 4.5 ml of concentrate and 25.5 ml of base. Because the concentrate is 100 per cent PG, the final mix lands around 40/60 rather than 30/70. For a first 10 ml test, use 1.5 ml of concentrate and 8.5 ml of base.

If the recipe needs nicotine, the shot comes out of the base, never out of the concentrate. For 30 ml at 3 mg/ml, you need 90 mg of nicotine, which is 4.5 ml of 20 mg/ml shot, so the recipe becomes 4.5 ml of concentrate, 4.5 ml of shot and 21 ml of base. The page gives no steep time, so taste after a few days and adjust one point at a time.

FAQ

These questions come up often when buying or preparing a bottle from the range, beyond the nicotine sums.

Can a Lemon Time shortfill be vaped without a nic shot?

Yes. The maker describes it as ready to vape or ready to boost. Without anything added, it stays at 0 mg/ml nicotine in a 50/50 ratio.

Does the nic shot change the flavour?

Eliquid France says the flavour is not altered. Mechanically, though, a shot does dilute the flavouring, since it takes the volume from 50 to 60 ml, a sixth of the bottle with no flavour in it.

Does Lemon Time contain menthol?

The product pages describe every flavour as cooling without naming the additive. Without that information from the maker, there is no way to say whether it is menthol or another cooling agent.

Where is the range made?

Eliquid France states that its e-liquids are made in France. The range also comes as flavour concentrates for anyone who prefers to mix their own.

Does Lemon Time come as a nic salt?

Yes, in 10 ml at 10 or 20 mg/ml, in eight flavours, Blueberry, Dragon Fruit, Lemon, Mango, Orange, Passion Fruit, Red Fruit and Strawberry. That format is mainly meant for tight-draw pod kits.

Lemon Time, a shortfill best mixed with a calculator

The right approach comes down to three steps. Identify the format, work out the strength on the total volume, and write the result on the label. With 20 mg/ml shots, the large format reaches 3.3 or 5.7 mg/ml, and the round figures on product pages always deserve a check.

On the hardware side, a sweet and cooling 50/50 calls for a coil you keep an eye on and a sensible wattage. These habits apply to any shortfill, and they let you prepare a Lemon Time bottle without unpleasant surprises.

Editorial content for adult readers only. Vaping products are not for sale to anyone under 18 in the UK, and nicotine is a highly addictive substance. This article is not a buying recommendation.