Switching from disposable vapes to a refillable device will change your vaping experience in a number of positive ways, but it’ll also add a bit of extra work to your routine. In addition to refilling your tank or pod periodically, you’ll also have to replace your coil – or your entire pod, if you’re using a pod system without a replaceable coil – once in a while to keep your device’s flavor quality as high as it can be.
One of the things you’ll quickly learn when you use a refillable vape, though, is that replacement coils and pods aren’t cheap. If your coils only last a couple of days before you replace them, you could actually end up spending more on coils or pods than you do on e-liquid – so it’s important to find the right balance.
So, how often do you need to change a vape coil? The answer is that it’s time for a new coil when the coil you’re using no longer produces a good flavor. That may take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. Exactly how long your coils last will depend on the e-liquid you use along with your personal vaping habits, and we’ll discuss those things in this guide. By the time you’re done reading, you’ll know everything you need to know about when you should change a vape coil, what causes coils to burn out and what you can do to make them last longer.
When Is It Time to Change a Vape Coil?
As we explained in this article’s introduction, it’s time to replace a vape coil when its flavor quality declines. Specifically, a coil begins to produce a burnt flavor when it’s due for replacement. This can happen for two different reasons.
- Residue can form on the heating surface as you use the coil. The residue primarily comes from the flavoring ingredients – especially sweeteners – in your e-liquid. The residue thickens with time, eventually causing the coil to produce a smoky, caramelized flavor.
- The coil’s cotton wick can burn. This can happen for a few different reasons, and we’ll describe those shortly. When a coil’s wick is burnt, the coil begins to produce a flavor that tastes like singed cotton. Some people actually say that it tastes a bit like vaping a t-shirt. If your coil’s wick is burnt, you may also feel a tickling or stinging sensation in the back of your throat when you vape.
It’s important to understand the distinction between these two situations because you can only prevent your coils from burning out if you know why it’s happening. The easiest way to know why a vape coil burned out is by paying attention to the flavor, as we’ve described above. However, you can also look at the coil after removing it from your tank or pod. If the coil looks dark and discolored, it’s covered with residue. If the coil still looks white and shiny, the wick is burnt.
How Can You Stop a Coil from Burning Out?
Every vape coil burns out eventually. There’s no way to prevent that from happening. Vaping generates a lot of heat, and all e-liquid leaves residue on a coil to a certain extent – so even under the best possible conditions, there’s no way to avoid the fact that you’ll have to replace your coil at some point. Nevertheless, it’s possible to stretch a coil’s life and make it last weeks rather than days – and if you do that, you’ll save a lot of money. Here’s how to prevent your coils from burning out for as long as possible.
How to Prevent Vape Coil Residue
Although all of the flavoring ingredients used in e-liquid can cause residue to form on a coil, the ingredient that causes residue to form most quickly is the sweetener sucralose. People love sweet flavors, so sucralose is added to most of the e-liquids that are on the market today. If you want your coils to last longer, though, you’ll need to either avoid sweetened e-liquids entirely or at least use something that isn’t sweetened heavily. The best Coastal Clouds vape flavors, for instance, are known for being very coil friendly.
When it comes to sweetened e-liquid, you really need to make a decision regarding what your priorities are. If you love sweet flavors more than anything else, it’s unavoidable that you’ll need to replace your coils more often. If you want vaping to cost as little as it can, though, you’ll need to avoid sweeteners as much as possible.
How to Prevent a Coil’s Wick from Burning
A vape coil’s wick burns because it’s dry. As long as the wick is always completely saturated with e-liquid, it can’t burn because the coil’s heating element will vaporize the e-liquid rather than burning the cotton. So, if your coils’ wicks are burning, it’s because there’s a situation that’s causing the wicks to dry out. Here’s how to prevent that from happening.
- When you install a new coil, prime the coil by putting a little e-liquid on each of the wick openings. This helps to ensure that the wick won’t have any dry pockets when you begin using the coil.
- After installing a coil and filling your tank or pod, wait several minutes for the e-liquid to soak fully into the wick before you begin vaping.
- If your vaping device has adjustable wattage, keep the power level low with a new coil until you’re certain that the coil is fully broken in. Remember that if you enjoy taking long puffs when you vape, you’ll need to vape at the low end of your coil’s suggested wattage range. Otherwise, the wick could dry out while you’re still puffing.
- Every time you puff on your vape, wait several seconds for the wick to refresh itself before puffing again.
- Never allow your tank or pod to become completely empty. Always add more vape juice when the e-liquid is lower than the coil’s wick openings.