For new vapers, one of the most common questions they might ask is how long do vape coils last? As vaping slowly becomes normalized in the 21st century, questions like this are more commonly coming up in conversion. Well, let’s get right into it and answer your question!
How Long Do Vape Coils Last?
How long do vape coils last? It’s a valid question that does not always have a simple and straightforward answer. There are a lot of different variables that come into play when it comes to how long do vape coils last. The brand of coil, the type of eliquid you use, the strength of your vaporizer or e-cigarette, and how often you use it all come into play. If you find that your vape coils keep burning out you may be doing something wrong.
How To Break In A New Coil?
Most vapers start out by buying a vape pen or mod starter kit. Inside your tank, you will usually find a coil pre-installed. If so, unscrew it from your device. You need to make sure you break in your coil correctly to ensure longevity. Follow these few simple steps below.
If your coil has open slots where you can see through to the cotton, get your eliquid and squirt a small amount into each slit.
Next, make sure that you have seated your coil correctly and that it is relatively tight. Warning though, you don’t want to screw it in too tight, as this may damage your threading or rubber seal. Now, assemble the tank and make sure that it is all attached correctly.
Fill the tank to 3/4 full with your chosen eliquid, being careful not to overfill it. We Vape Mods recommends one of Naked 100’s best selling vape juice flavors.
You’ll want to let the coil sit in the tank for around 5 to 10 minutes. This will allow the wicking inside the coil to soak up your ejuice.
Close off your airflow and take a few deep breathes in to draw that eliquid even further into your coil.
Open your airflow up and turn on your device. Start off by vaping at a lower wattage than normal so as not to burn your coil.
Make sure to take short, sharp hits to begin with. While doing this, intermediately turn your wattage up in groups of 10.
Once you have reached your normal wattage limit and the hits you’re taking taste good, your all done. This is how to correctly prime your coil so that it will last you a decent amount of time.
How To Extend The Life Of Your Coils?
One of the fastest ways to burn out your coils is to vape on an empty tank. Always make sure you have enough ejuice in your glass to cover your coil. If not, you will eventually experience the dreaded ‘dry hit’. Dry hits are a tell-tale sign that you’ve burnt your wicking. You may get lucky and could possibly get a few more days out of your coil, but you will usually be left with a weird burnt taste after every hit.
It can also be handy to avoid high VG or explicitly sweet eliquids. If your not sure what VG is or even what is vape juice, make sure to check out our in-depth article. So the VG inside your ejuice can cause your coils and wicking to slowly become blocked. This rings true for eliquids that contain lots of sweeteners ( even though sweet ejuice flavors are preferred over standard flavors like tobacco.
How To Clean Your Vape Coils?
A simple way to extend the life of your coils is to take them out of your vaporizer once per week and clean them. Cleaning vape coils aren’t hard. All you need to do is wash your coils in a solution of isopropyl alcohol. Soak it for a few hours, give it a good shake and then allow it to dry. Avoid washing your coils in ordinary water. Always allow them to dry thoroughly before putting them back into your vaporizer and vaping with them. You’ll need to allow them time to prime again just like you would with a new coil.
How To Tell When A Coil Needs Changing?
One of the most noticeable signs that your vaporizer coil needs to be changed is that it will seem as if your vaporizer is going flat or losing power, regardless of the charge. It will be harder to draw on, there will be less vapor produced, and you’ll need to hold the firing button down longer. Coils generally last 1 to 2 weeks in larger sub-ohm vaporizers and 3 to 4 weeks in smaller pen style e-cigarettes.
You can also tell from looking at the top of your coils. At the beginning of your coils life, the cotton will appear white. As it ages the cotton will slowly become darker in color. Once your cotton is totally dark, it’s a good sign to change them over.