GUEST POST
The following content is a guest post. All content and opinions offered in guest posts are solely those of the author. They do not necessarily represent the views of this site.How to Stop Your Vape Coils From Burning Out
Guest post by Jason Artman from eCig One
Premature coil burnout is an unfortunate side effect of modern vaping trends. Today’s vaping devices go through so much e-liquid that, for some people, a 30 ml bottle of e-liquid wouldn’t even be a day’s supply. Today’s e-liquid is also part of the problem. More than ever, today’s vapers are choosing e-liquids with added sweeteners such as sucralose. Sweetened e-liquid has become so popular that some vape shops don’t even bother carrying unsweetened e-liquids. While sweetened e-liquid is one of the primary causes of premature coil burnout, though, it isn’t the only cause. Coils can also overheat and burn out if they’re pushed too hard or allowed to go dry.
You want your vape coils to last longer, and this article is here to help. We’re going to explain how to stop your coils from burning out.
1. Avoid Sweetened E-Liquids
These days, practically every e-liquid brand with wide distribution adds sucralose to its e-liquids. People love sweetened e-liquids because sucralose makes flavour profiles such as candy, bakery and cereal flavours really pop. An unsweetened e-liquid with a candy flavour profile might taste great, but if you take the same flavour profile and add sucralose, the e-liquid will taste almost the same as real candy.People love sweetened e-liquids, so vape juice makers give them what they want. The problem is that, when you go to your local vape shop, pretty much every big, bright bottle of e-liquid that you see will contain sucralose.
So, what’s the matter with sucralose? The problem is that sucralose doesn’t vaporize like the other ingredients in e-liquid. Instead, it caramelizes and forms a sticky film on your atomizer coil. Eventually, the film becomes so thick that it covers the heating surface of the coil and burns. When that happens, you’ll taste the flavour of burned sugar every time you vape – and apart from attempting to clean the coil, there’s really nothing you can do to restore the coil’s original flavour and performance. If you’re especially sensitive to the sucralose residue, you’ll also feel irritation in your throat when you vape.
So, how do you avoid sweetened e-liquids when that’s all your local vape shop carries? The answer is to seek out the e-liquid makers who were around before the sweetener craze began. Companies like V2 Cigs UK sell wide assortments of unsweetened e-liquids because that’s what they’ve always done – and because, eventually, sweetened e-liquids often fall out of favour with long-term vapers who are tired of replacing their coils every day.
If you switch from sweetened e-liquids to unsweetened e-liquids, you can expect your coil life to at least double.
2. Don’t Overwork Your Coils
If you’re already using unsweetened e-liquid, the second reason why your coils may burn out quickly is because you’re overworking them. If a coil runs too hot – or you allow it to go dry while you use it – you risk burning the coil’s cotton wick. There’s an easy way to tell whether your coils are burning out because of residue from sweetener or because of burned wicks – just examine your coils when you remove them from your tank. If a coil comes out with the heating wire looking black and crusty, sweetened e-liquid is almost definitely the cause of the problem. If the coil comes out with the wire looking bright and shiny, disassemble the coil and look at the cotton wrapped around it.
You’ll probably find that the cotton has a spot that looks burned. Even a slight darkening of the wick indicates burning and will alter the flavour you experience when you vape.
So, how do you stop overworking your coils? The first thing to do is examine the suggested wattage range on the side of the coil and ensure that your device is set to operate within that range. Even if you’re within that range, it’s still a good idea to lower your device’s wattage slightly if you’re constantly burning out your coils – especially if you’re the type who likes to vape with long, deep puffs.
What’s happening is that you’re using all of the e-liquid in the wick before the wick has a chance to replenish itself. Vaping at a lower wattage helps to alleviate that. It’s also a good idea to wait several seconds after each puff before using your device again. Refill your tank frequently; don’t wait until it is completely empty.
3. Use the Right E-Liquid for Your Hardware
When you shop for e-liquid, you’ve probably noticed that vape juice usually has a ratio of vegetable glycerine and propylene glycol printed on the bottle’s label. The ratio is important because it determines the type of hardware that works best with the e-liquid. These general guidelines will help you choose the right e-liquid for your needs.- If you use a rebuildable dripping atomizer (RDA), you’ll probably have the best experience with a VG concentration of 80 percent or higher.
- If you use a large vape tank with wide wick openings, you’ll probably have the best experience with a VG concentration of around 50 percent.
- If you use a small vape tank with pinhole wick openings, you’ll probably have the best experience with a VG concentration of 20 percent or lower.
The most important thing to remember is that if you use a small vape pen with small wick openings, you should avoid using an extremely thick e-liquid. That’s because thick e-liquids flow so slowly through small wick openings that you could inadvertently use your device before the wick has adequate time to replenish itself. If you do that, you’ll burn the wick.
About the Author
Jason Artman | Founder, eCigOne.comI am the founder and owner of the website eCigOne.com. I specialize in writing objective e-cigarette reviews, explaining how to get the most out of the vaping experience and providing advice to new vape shop owners