Does E-Liquid Have an Expiration Date?

So you’ve finally found the vape juice flavor… 

… the flavor that you can vape on from sunrise to sunset… 

… the flavor that doesn’t disappoint you after a week or so…

… the flavor that doesn’t make your house smell like a candy shop…

Of course, you did what any sane person would — you bought a couple of new bottles of it immediately because you know how things go.

Girl finds great flavor of e-liquid. Girl buys one bottle. A few days later, the flavor (and the producer) drops off the face of the Earth.

So you thought… no freaking way — you ain’t fooling me twice. I’m buying everything that I can get my hands on.

But now you’re thinking: “Wait, does vape juice expire? If it does go bad eventually, did I just make a horrible mistake?”

So many questions, right?!?

Well, the TLDR is as it stands:

1. Yes, vape juice has an expiration date (more like a best-by date, really).
2. Yes, you can vape it after that date (provided you stored it correctly).
3. No, if it looks funky at all – separation, change of color – you shouldn’t use it.
4. 9 times out of 10, you’ll be fine even if you vape on funky e-liquid.

So no – buying in bulk is not a mistake.

To learn why – and how to make your e-liquid last – read the whole post below!

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So… Does E-Juice Really Expire?

Yes… e-juice does expire.

Like pretty much anything else that’s intended for ingestion or inhalation, e-liquid has a sell-by date determined by the manufacturer. If you take a close look at those 50+ bottles of your favorite flavor you’ve just purchased, you’ll notice that date stamped on there.

But… this doesn’t mean you should go into panic mode straight away.

The more important question you should be asking here is when does e-juice expire… or how long does it last?

And the answer to that question is – usually, vape juices last for about 2 years after they’ve been mixed – that’s the shelf life of e-liquid. That’s what most expiry dates say. So if you buy your stash today (and it has been freshly mixed with fresh ingredients), the good news is that you have between 18 and 24 months to use it all up. Still, it’s a good idea to always check the vape juice expiration date before pouring it into your tank.

Why Does Vape Juice Go Bad?

This is actually a great question.

As you already know, most e-liquids are made from four pretty basic ingredients: propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, nicotine extract, and food flavorings.

Surprisingly, though, neither food flavorings nor nicotine are responsible for the limited shelf-life of your bottles. Flavorings don’t actually go bad — they diminish over time, but they won’t spoil or turn rancid. And nicotine can be kept as good as new for 10+ years, provided it’s properly stored. That said, there’s a thing called nicotine oxidation. Basically, this chemical reaction happens when you expose nicotine to oxygen. The molecules start to degrade, the effect diminishes, and the color of nicotine changes.

But, that’s not enough for even an old bottle of e-juice to go bad.

No, the reason why e-liquids have an expiration date lies in the other two ingredients — vegetable glycerin and propylene glycol.

Under ideal conditions (no direct sunlight, cool room, no UV radiation), PG has a shelf-life of about two years. VG, on the other hand, has a shelf-life of about five years under those same conditions — however, it’s a bit more volatile and even minimal light can shorten that shelf-life.

I will say one thing about flavorings — although they don’t go bad, they will turn on you, flavorwise. After a while, the flavors will become muted (especially floral and fruit flavors — doughs and custards tend to last longer). This doesn’t mean that your vape juice has gone bad. What it means is that it has passed its best-use-by date.

Extra note — Salt nicotine have a longer shelf-life because they are not freeform nicotine, they’re salt-based, hence nic salts . And, if you’re vaping with zero nicotine, you don’t even have to worry about it evaporating and leaving your craving unsatisfied (because you don’t have a craving, get it?)

What Speeds Up The E-Liquid Degradation Process?

Ready for a surprise?

The three things that make vape liquid go bad faster than it normally would are the same three things that we rely on during the vape juice steeping process — heat, oxygen, and light.

You see, the steeping process is nothing other than the process of aging, a process of rest until it’s ripe.

We steep juice so that it gets more mature — like a good wine. A bit of aging does it good… it makes it smell better… it makes those flavors really pop… and it makes for a better vaping experience.

However, too much steeping and you end up with a rotten e-juice bottle.

If you were to shake, expose to light and air, and heat up your juice every day for six months, the effect would be the same as if you’d let it sit in a corner for two years. When it does goes bad, it just means that it’s gone through a very, very slow process of steeping. And now it’s all steeped out.

How Can I Tell That My Vape Juice Has Gone Bad?

How many times did you clean out your desk drawer only to find a stashed away vape juice bottle that you’ve hidden there God knows when?

And then you tried to figure out if it was good to vape or if it needed to go into trash?

Well, that’s a toughie, usually, but… there are some tell-tale signs that a vape juice is so past its prime that it would be a mistake to put it in the tank.

• There’s separation going on — you know how the bottle says to shake it before use? That’s because e-juice is made up of different liquids that need to come together before you pour them into your tank. Well, if it’s is too old, it might separate so hard that it never comes together — there’s crystals floating in there and other debris and shit. If that happens, you need to toss that bottle into the garbage. Check the bottom of the bottle – if it’s a glass bottle – to get a better view. As a general rule, the liquid should be consistent and uniform.
• Your juice changed color — and not just a tiny bit… It went from transparent to black in appearance! If you notice that, chuck that bottle of vape juice into the bin. It’s normal for high nicotine content juice to turn a bit brownish over time, but it’s definitely not normal for the color to become completely unrecognizable. If that’s the case, better safe then sorry because that’s most certainly expired e-liquid.
• Too thick or too thin — because there are a lot of chemical reactions happening inside a vape juice bottle over time, your juice might become either too thick or too thin. If the consistency looks very off, it might not be safe to vape. Not only that, but it could also mess up your coils by either clogging them (due to thickness) or leaking into your device. Too thin or too thick? Into the bin it goes.
• You can’t feel the nicotine — over time, nicotine can degrade substantially. Now, this is usually not a problem (especially if it’s been less than 10 years)… it just means that there’s less of it in there. But, if you’re vaping to satisfy your nicotine craving, a liquid that has gone bad won’t help you there.  This is often because it was exposed to too much heat or air (so don’t leave it out in the open or exposed to sun light).
• The smell & the taste are off — while this happens very rarely, if your vape juice smells or tastes rancid or putrid, you need to get rid of it. If it just smells nondescript — like you’re smelling pure water — the vape juice is safe to vape but the flavoring has degraded to a point where vaping it might no longer be enjoyable.

Will My E-Juice Go Bad In a Tank?

Honestly, I’ve never had a vape juice turn bad on me while it was in a tank. And you won’t either, most likely.

That’s because a loaded tank is usually quickly used up — the e-juice has no time to expire.

But…

If you were to drop your vape tank behind your couch and leave it there for a year, I can’t imagine a scenario in which your juice wouldn’t taste funny if you tried to vape it.

When you think about it, vape tanks create the perfect conditions for e-liquid to go bad — it’s warm inside; it’s exposed to sunlight, and you’re constantly agitating that crap out of it.

How to Store E-Juice So It Lasts Longer?

If you want your bottles of juice to last, you need to keep them away from light, air, and heat.

You have a few methods on your disposal to do that.

The easiest way – and the best way – to do that is to store it in a dark place like a cupboard, away from extreme temperatures, too much oxygen, and light – room temperature is fine. This way, you’ll ensure that all the components of the liquid are protected. That’s if you plan to use these vape bottles in a next few weeks or months. Just make sure that the lid or the bottle cap is properly closed to preserve all those food-based ingredients, which are the biggest factor of a juice going bad.

However, if you want to store your hoard for a long time, my recommendation is to keep your bottles of e-liquid in the freezer. Surprisingly, it has the right conditions for storage so it’s the best option. This way, you product will stay shelf stable and flavorful and without health risks – and it will not freeze – for a longer time (probably close to the sell-by date). As a rule of thumb, juices with higher amount of nicotine and more complex flavors tend to keep better in the freezer because they have more that can go wrong. So if you vape on those, you should keep them in the fridge as a precaution anyway – just remember to remove them a few hours before vaping to reduce the thickness.

For more info, check out his post on how to properly store your vape juice.

Wait… But Can I Vape On Expired Vape Liquid?

Errrrm… you probably shouldn’t.

I mean, not if your vape liquid is all dark and grimy and stuff. 

But that said, who hasn’t drunk from a carton of milk that expired yesterday, right? The same principle applies for expired vape liquid — if you can’t detect anything wrong with it, you won’t keel over just because you took a hit or two from a bottle that’s past its prime.

Here’s how I do it…

If I suspect that my vape juice is going to expire soon, I check the bottle for the expiry date. If I’m around the approximate expiration date (or a few days over it), I vape that baby without a second thought. If the juice has gone over the expiration date by a month or two, I double-check the liquid to see if there’s anything funky going on. If I’m not 100% satisfied that it’s safe, I’ll throw the bottle away.

Aaaaand….

If I’ve found an old bottle of e-liquid that’s been lying behind my desk since the beginning of time, I toss that out without even opening it. Who knows what can happen when you vape 10-year-old gunk? I don’t… and I definitely don’t wanna find out. And neither do you.

Have any more questions about the shelf-life of e-liquid bottles?

Make sure to comment below, and I’ll get right back to you.

Get a Practical & Economical Vape Pen for All That E-Juice You’re Hoarding

A great e-juice pen that is easy to use & doesn’t burn through your juice.

Yes, I’m Ready to Start Living My Best Vape Life With a Brand New Kind Pen (Click Here)