Sometimes, however much you want to enjoy vaping, the coil tastes burnt no matter what you do. If this sounds familiar, then you might have a burnt-out coil.
But why does your coil taste burnt? In this article, we’ll discuss why burnout occurs in your e-cigarettes, vape pens, pod systems, or any other vaping product that contains a coil and how you can stave off the inevitable bad coil taste.
Whenever you fill one of your vape tanks with e-liquid, the wicking material in the coil’s head absorbs the juice. This wick surrounds the element, which usually heats up when current passes through it, causing the e-liquid to evaporate.
Once evaporation occurs, the vaper can inhale the smoke the vape produces. However, if you didn’t properly prime the wick before taking your first puff, you’ll experience a burnt taste even with a new coil.
Contents
6 Common Reasons Why Vape Coils Burn Out – and How to Avoid It!
1. Not Enough Vape Juice in the Tank
Whenever your wick is dry, it will not function properly. As mentioned, the wicking ports need the e-liquid to saturate them. If they aren’t wet, a dry burn can occur and will damage your coils.
If you vape frequently, your tank will start to run empty, and the wick will not soak up as much vape juice. When your coil heats up without enough juice, you can end up with the extra heat causing a glowing hot coil inside your vape.
Too much heat energy can lead to the juice remaining in the vape becoming overheated, causing the propylene glycol in the e-juice to break down into formaldehyde. And, if you need clarification, formaldehyde tastes absolutely gross, and you don’t want your vape to produce harmful chemicals.
To extend your coil life, keep your vape tank topped off. On many coil heads, you should fill the tank once it reaches about two-thirds empty or the wicks can’t become completely soaked with e juice.
You should also note that sub-ohm coils heat up much quicker, making them more prone to the coils burning out.
Finally, if you often forget to fill your juice, try ceramic wicks because it isn’t as big of a deal if they burn dry.
2. Chain Vaping
Chain vaping is when you are vaping continuously, or, more specifically, when you take several puffs in short intervals, thus preventing the wick from absorbing sufficient e-juice before the next inhalation. If you are continuously vaping, you can possibly burn your wick, which will give you a slightly burnt taste when you inhale.
This problem is not too big of a concern if you have a rebuildable coil because you could always install a new wick. However, with a disposable coil, the damage is permanent.
Chain-smoking is common among vapers who enjoy having thick vapor or clouds. Unfortunately, even though your tank might be full when you chain vape, the wick will still dry out.
To prevent burning, stop chain vaping and slow down so the wick can remain properly saturated and you won’t have to deal with a burnt wick. Taking a break between puffs will also keep you from getting excess juice in your mouth.
3. Using the Wrong E-Liquid Mix
Vapers who love creating large clouds of vapor prefer vape juices with 70% VG or higher. Unfortunately, most heads today were designed back when high VG e-liquid was not available, so they have smaller wicking ports.
As such, the high viscosity of these e-liquids is not compatible with how tightly packed the wick is now. This setup limits absorption and causes the metal coil to burn out.
You could consider using an e-liquid that contains more PG than VG. With PG-rich liquids, soaking the wick is easier and faster because PG is generally lighter. However, PG liquids can have a thinner consistency, which can burn quickly.
4. Failure to Prime the Coil Head
Priming is a necessary process and one of the best ways to take care of your coil. Whenever you change your head, you need to prime your coils before use.
The priming process involves letting your wick absorb the vape juice from the tank. To ensure the vaping e juice can absorb adequately, add a few drops to the exposed wick inside the vape head before installing it into the fill tank.
You also need to remember to allow it to soak for about 15 minutes. Otherwise, you still risk burning out your coil. Furthermore, if you have a new atomizer head, you should take a few draws before pressing the button to properly prime.
Remember, coil heads tend to require full saturation in an e-liquid before use. So, prime your coil properly to prevent ruining your coils.
5. Using High Wattage Unnecessarily
There are now box mods customized to allow vapers a variety of approaches. Some of these mods have power output ranging from 50W to 350W.
Using too high a wattage is not necessary. However, many vapers still enjoy having the option to crank up the power to produce large clouds.
If you do so with a coil that isn’t high-grade, the wick won’t be able to handle the heat these wattages will generate and will burn.
The solution to this issue is to reduce your power setting and figure out the ideal wattage.
Therefore, when you realize your flavor is drying out, your coil is most likely going dry. So, take a break and let the wick soak up the juice, and next time, use the correct wattage.
6. Using a Vape Juice with a Lot of Sweeteners
Vape juices that contain a lot of sweeteners can result in a gunked-up coil. While these e liquids may be delicious, they could significantly damage your coils.
When gunking happens, the wick will be unable to soak up more juice, so the coil could get burnt when you use a vaping device. Although this mostly happens with sweeteners, vape juices that are dessert or coffee-inspired are also likely to cause more harm to your coils compared to the plainer ones.
To prevent burning, clean up the gunk-filled wick properly with water or grain rubbing alcohol and leave it to dry for 24 hours or longer before you reuse it. However, you won’t get it back to its best working condition, especially if you have already tried vaping with it gunked.
Our best advice is to use vape juices with less sweetener to avoid burnt coils. The darker-colored juices will let you know that the flavor is sweet.
Also, sub-ohm tanks will help you taste your vape flavor better, so you won’t need to pull as hard and damage your vape.
Wrap Up
If you find yourself asking why your coils keep burning out, any of these practices could be the reason. You should, therefore, change your approach to vaping and focus on proper use, like cleaning coils and preventing wick burns.
While preventing your coils from burning out takes work, it’s worth it because it helps you avoid damage. Prevention methods also save you the trouble of experiencing the irritating taste of a burnt coil.
Taking care of your coil could mean the difference between an enjoyable vaping experience or a terrible one.