Common Vape Mistakes

A lot of people overlook their coil. That little piece of metal and cotton in the centre of your tank (or pod) is pretty important though. It’s the part that heats up your e-liquid to turn it into vapour, so when it isn’t “just right” your vaping experience won’t be either.

Priming your coil is a very easy and very important thing to do. If you don’t prime your coil before you use it, the cotton might still be a bit dry when you start vaping. The result from this is hardly any vapour and either no flavour or worse - a dry hit. Filling your pod and letting it settle for 10 minutes before you vape will help you avoid this. If you have a tank with a replaceable coil, make sure you drip e-liquid on all the wicking ports and on the cotton inside too (if you can reach it) before you fit it. Not only does this extend the life of your coil, it makes it more cloudy and flavourful too.

All good things come to an end eventually and the same applies to coils. With the invention of mesh cores, improved cotton and 3D coil technology, they last a lot longer than they used to. Some might even last a few weeks of heavy vaping. However, after a while you’ll start to notice a drop in flavour and vapour production.

If you’re a Sub Ohm vaper especially, you’ll likely be using high VG liquids on a higher wattage. When you open your tank up to change the coil, sometimes you’ll notice the cotton is discoloured and sticky looking. This happens when the e-liquid you’re vaping has started to oxidise and eventually the cotton becomes oversaturated and can’t wick properly. If you’ve got a puff counter on your mod, it’s worth keeping track of how many puffs your coils last on your usual settings. That way, when you reach that magic number you’ll know it’s time for a fresh coil.

We’re not one to judge, but some flavours just don’t mix well. You might have a tobacco, a dessert and a fruit on your shelf and want to vape them all. While that in itself is fine, if you’ve still got half a tank of a fruit flavour left then throw some tobacco in, it might not taste all that great. Things like fruit and menthol can pair quite nicely, as can tobacco and dessert. There are some combinations that just don’t really work and can ruin the flavour of your coil. If you want to change flavour, we recommend vaping the tank as low as you can without drying out the coil then putting your fresh flavour in.

Or, you might like to have one tank for fruit and menthol e-liquids and a separate one for the rich dessert and tobacco flavours.

You might have primed your coil just right but still be getting just a cloud that’s just “eh” with very little flavour. Or, worse, you might get a burnt taste coming through. A lot of the time, this can be attributed to wattage selection. If you’re using a vape pen with the tank it came with, it’s unlikely you’ll have this issue. Vape pens have a fixed output that matches your coil resistance.

When you get into box mods and can control how much power goes through your coil, you can overstep the mark. Too little wattage and you’ll have mediocre flavour and vapour. Too much and it’ll feel hot and dry to inhale on. Simple solution? Read the coil. Most coils these days will have a wattage range listed on them. If it’s say a 0.15ohm coil, your vaping range might be between 60 and 100 watts. We’d recommend starting at the lowest setting when you first install your coil. Take a few puffs and see how you go. Then, gradually increase the power two watts at a time until you find that “just right” point.

Following on from the usual coil mistakes, there are few things you keep in mind with your tank too. From airflow, replacing coils and maintaining your e-liquid, once you know you need to do them, they become second nature.

If you find your coils aren’t lasting as long as you’d expect, it might be because you’re not keeping enough e-liquid in your tank. Some coils come with a “minimum fill” line so you know how much needs to be in there at all times to keep the wicking nice and saturated. Making sure to keep your tank as full as possible will help you avoid dry hits and short-lived coils. If 2ml capacity isn’t enough, plenty of tanks come with bulb expanders so they can hold more - meaning less refills for you.

When you’re your vapes own mechanic, making sure you’ve fitted everything perfectly is important. If the coil isn’t properly screwed into the base of your tank, e-liquid can travel down the threads and end up pouring out of your airflow vent. The result is sticky fingers and a lot of wasted vape juice. Make sure things are done up nice and tightly and if you’re still having issues, check the rubber fittings on your tank haven’t worn out too. If they’re looking a bit thin, you’ll usually have been given a spare set when you purchased your tank. Keeping your airflow closed when you’re not vaping can also help keep the air vacuum in your tank tight too (it also stops any dust from getting in there if your e-cig is in your bag).

When someone comes into one of our stores (or contacts us online) to start their vaping journey, we’ll almost always start with looking at what kind of e-liquid they’ll need. There are really only two major mistakes you might encounter with your e-liquid - they come down to your preferences and the kind of kit you’re using.

There’s a fairly easy way to decide whether the PG/VG ratio is right for you. Are you using a Sub Ohm kit (with a coil that’s less than 1.0ohm) and getting too strong a throat hit? If yes, you need to up your VG content. Rather than a 50:50 liquid, go for something like a 70:30 VG:PG ratio for a smoother inhale.

If you’re using a mouth to lung kit (with a coil of 1.0ohm or more) and you’re getting almost no vapour you probably need something like a 50:50 e-liquid. PG is thinner and therefore easier to evaporate. When you have a plus Ohm coil, you’ll be vaping with a lower wattage (therefore less power) so need that thinner consistency for your vape to work.

Much like with getting the PG/VG ratio right, you need to look at your coil resistance, consider your options and experiment from there. If you’re Sub Ohm vaping, the answer is pretty simple. You’ll want a maximum of 6mg of nicotine (most people find a 3mg is fine). If you’re getting head spins and too much “nicotine rush” you’re using too high a strength.

On the other end of the spectrum, if you’re puffing away and all you’re getting is a nice flavour - that’s not going to do a whole lot for you. Mouth to lung kits hit less than Sub Ohm kits, so can handle much higher nicotine levels. If you’re needing something strong, we’d recommend looking at a 10mg or even 20mg nic salt. The best way is to try a few and find which one works just right for you. We’ve got a whole guide to finding the right nicotine strength if you’re unsure of where to start.

If your vape battery isn’t working, all the tank and coil fixes in the world aren’t going to do a lot for you. There are two common mistakes people make with their batteries that will make life a whole lot easier once you know about them.

Simple one here - check the original instructions to start with. Your kit might be what’s called a “manual draw” kit. This means once you’ve switched it on, all you need to do is inhale. If you’re pressing the on/off button when you’re inhaling, you might just be switching it off in the process.

If your battery still isn’t working (and you know it’s not a manual draw device) there might be a few other things it could be. If the light is flashing when you press the firing button, it might just be you’re completely out of power and need to plug it in for a recharge. Most vaping kits these days have some sort of LED indicator to tell you how much power is remaining and red is usually the “I’m dead” colour. Plug it in and let it charge for at least an hour and nine times out of ten - you’ll be vaping again fine.