Nuka - Cola Quantum ( Fallout 3 ) Nuka - Cola Quantum is a consumable item in " Fallout 3 " . Characteristics . Drinking a Nuka - Cola Quantum will increase one ' s Action Points by 20 for 4 minutes and radiation by 10 . Mixed in a tin can with Abraxo cleaner and turpentine , it creates a Nuka - grenade , which is much more powerful than normal grenades . Nuka - Cola addict and fanatic Sierra Petrovita has created a recipe in which mixing Nuka - Cola Quantum with flour and vodka makes a delicious pastry . Locations . There are 94 bottles found in the base game , and 14 additional bottles included with the add - ons ; a total of 108 bottles . See the table below for a full list of locations . Bottles found in vending machines are random and are not included in this list . Bottles sold through a specific random encounter merchant are also not included . In addition , there is a random encounter on the map in which a traveling salesman will offer to sell a Quantum for 100 caps ( or 50 if a speech check or barter check is passed ) . This can happen a theoretically unlimited number of times , but he will only sell one Quantum per encounter . Random spawns can also be found in Nuka - Cola vending machines . When accessing one of the 178 vending machines scattered indoors and outdoors throughout the Wasteland , there is approximately a 10 % random chance of finding a Nuka - Cola Quantum . The contents of a Nuka - Cola vending machine load the first time you enter a cell and never reset . Therefore , to maximize this chance you should save before entering a new cell and travel to the vending machine . If it doesn ' t contain a quantum , load and try again . Remember , outdoor cells frequently encompass several map markers . With this in mind , it should be possible to get approximately 120 extra Nuka - Cola Quantum bottles with extreme dedication . The reason extreme dedication is a prerequisite is that some locations have two vending machines , meaning a 1 percent chance of getting 2 Nuka - Cola Quantums ( and a 18 percent chance of getting one ) . Furthermore , some vending machines are hard to find or are located deep inside an environment , so getting to them to determine the contents takes a lot of time . And to top it off , some locations like the Chryslus Building have 3 or more vending machines in certain cells . You ' re welcome to try to get 3 or more Quantums , but given the incredibly low probability ( 0 . 1 percent for 3 machines , 0 . 01 for 4 machines ) , this seems an exercise in futility . Ultimately , ~ 120 bottles ( from vending machines ) is a fair estimate of your net haul if you get approximately two bottles at every location with 2 or more Nuka - Cola vending machines , and 1 bottle at locations with only 1 Nuka - Cola vending machine . This number should be obtainable even if you make a few careless mistakes ( such as blundering into an outdoor cell early in your playthrough and then later realize it contained a Nuka - Cola vending machine ) . With the Quantum Chemist perk added by the " Broken Steel " add - on , every 10 normal ( not ice cold ) Nuka - Colas that you have in your inventory automatically become one bottle of Quantum . Since Nuka - Cola respawns in several shops with this perk the Quantum count is raised from approximately 211 to an infinite amount . This perk is extremely useful if you have already used too many Nuka - Cola Quantums to complete The Nuka - Cola Challenge quest .