If you vape regularly, you may occasionally experience unpleasant (to say the least) dry hits - those times when your electronic cigarette gives you a burnt taste. It is a widespread issue among vapers, especially newbies, which is primarily caused by the coils in the tank of your vaping device and the way you maintain them.
Furthermore, according to the experts from Vapekit, taking proper care of the coils in your electronic cigarette will allow you to prolong their service lives, saving you money on frequent replacements and helping you make the most out of your vaping experience.
Below, you will find several essential tips and tricks to incorporate to reduce the risk of a dry hit and make the coils work to the fullest. Read on, follow simple steps, and treat yourself to the tastiest hits possible!
Learn to Prime Your Coils Before Vaping
A coil is a heating element in your vaping device’s tank or atomiser and is usually surrounded by a wicking material - most likely, organic cotton, saturated with e-liquid. Thus, to prevent the coils from burning, it is essential to ensure that the wicking material is entirely saturated by e-liquid, there are no dry spots, and the tank is topped up with vaping juice.
However, even with a tank full of e-liquid, you still may have a burnt hit. This is where you need to ensure that you did prime the coils and did it correctly. Priming basically means placing a few drops of e-liquid on the coils and wicking material before you start vaping.
Keep in mind that you want to fully prime the wick (further than the area where you can see it) but not overdo it. Oversaturating the wicking material may lead to e-liquid leaking out of the tank as well as flooding the coil.
In order to get this right, you need to put a few drops of vaping juice on a wick and take a couple of primer puffs, meaning inhaling as if you were normally vaping but without pressing the fire button on your e-cig. This way, you will ensure the correct flow of e-liquid to the coil to prime it and avoid burnt hits later on. Make sure to do this every time you place a new coil in the tank.
Reduce the Power Settings
Vaping at the correct wattage is highly important: vaping at too low wattage may lead to flooding your coil while doing at too high wattage will burn it out. One of the first things you need to do is check the manufacturer’s recommendations and optional ranges of wattage for your particular coil.
While vaping at higher wattages may provide you with more flavour, it will also make the wick dry out faster. Consequently, consider reducing the power settings to prolong a coil’s life by vaporising less e-liquid.
Bonus Tip: Avoid chain vaping, i.e., continuously vaping one puff after another. This way, you’re putting more strain on a coil, preventing a wick from fully saturating. It would be best to wait at least five seconds between hits.
Keep the Tank Full
It is as simple as it seems - a topped up tank will ensure that the vaping juice does not go below the juice wicking holes, keeping the wick fully saturated at all times. As a result, make sure to always check how much e-liquid is left on the wick each time before you start vaping.
Know When to Replace the Coil
An average coil should last from two to four weeks of regular vaping. However, the lifespan of a coil depends greatly on your vaping style (chain vaping will leave more sticky residue faster), the type of vaping juice you use, as well as the wattage you vape at.
Most likely, you will need to replace the coil when you notice one of the following changes:
- decreased vapour production,
- reduction in flavour,
- gurgling sounds,
- leaking (in conjunction with at least one of the other changes mentioned above)
Clean Your Coils
However, there is no reason to rush things and throw away the coil when some of the changes mentioned above occur. You might just as well try and clean it first - in fact, cleaning the coil from time to time will allow you to prevent residue build-up and, therefore, prolong its lifespan.
To clean a coil, you can follow these simple steps:
- Remove the coil from the tank and clean it under warm running water to remove some residue.
- Submerge the coil in the rubbing alcohol or ethanol (overnight) and leave it overnight. You can also try white vinegar or lemon juice, but they won’t be as effective.
- Rinse the coil again to remove the rest of the residue and make sure to re-rinse it in distilled water one more time, as the chemicals in tap water can make the coil unsafe to vape later.
- Blow through the coil to remove excess water and leave it dry naturally to avoid damaging the wick later.
- Put a cleaned coil back into the tank and get back to vaping!
It is worth noting that cleaning the coil won’t make it look and work as a brand new one (you will feel the difference in flavour and vapour production), but it will surely make it last longer.
Bonus Tip: Avoid vaping e-liquids that contain artificial sweeteners or colouring, as they will most likely make the coil dirty faster.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, it is essential to pay due attention to the coil maintenance and not to neglect it if you want to make the most out of your coils. Of course, it is crucial to start with purchasing authentic oils and using high-quality vaping juices, but this won’t eliminate the risks of getting burnt taste from your vaping device.
As a result, you will need to get in the habit of priming the coils before vaping, cleaning them on a regular basis, and considering additional factors such as power settings, tank capacity, and your vaping style. Have fun!
