How to Know When You Need to Change Your Vape Coil

During your time as a vaper, there are three maintenance tasks that you’ll need to perform regularly to keep your device functioning properly and to have the best possible vape experience. You’ll need to keep your device charged, you’ll need to keep your tank full and you’ll need to replace your coil periodically. With the first two tasks on that list, the proper timing will be obvious. You’ll always know when your battery is dead, and you’ll always know when your tank is empty.

Knowing when to change a vape coil, however, requires a little more finesse. At the simplest level, the answer seems obvious; it’s time to change your coil when you’re no longer happy with the flavour quality. As with everything else in vaping, though, an even better experience awaits you if you’re willing to look a bit more deeply. Here’s how to get the most from the vape coils that you buy from Simply ELiquid.

How Do You Tell if a Vape Coil Is Bad?

In short, you can tell that your vape coil is bad because your vape juice doesn’t taste good anymore. Some of the signs that your coil requires replacement include:

• A burnt taste that comes on either suddenly or gradually as you vape
• An unpleasant taste in your mouth resembling the flavour of overcooked sugar
• Frequent gurgling sounds when vaping; the gurgling quickly returns after you remove the excess e-liquid with a paper towel
• A visible layer of black or brown residue on the coil’s heating wire

If you’re no longer happy with your vaping experience from a flavour standpoint and see any of the signs that show your coil may be bad, there’s no need to worry that something is wrong with your vape device. It’s just time to change your coil.

How Often Do I Need to Change My Vape Coil?

How long a vape coil lasts depends on your vaping habits and the amount of e-liquid you use. The sweeter your vape juice is, the more residue it will leave on your coil – so if you use a powerful vape device that consumes a large amount of vape juice, you’ll need to replace your worn out coils more often. In the worst case, you may need to replace your coil every day or two. If you’re a light vaper who uses coil-friendly vape juice, though, it’s possible for a vape coil to last for an extended period of up to a few weeks. Most vapers, however, find that their average coil life lies somewhere between those two extremes. You can generally expect to need a new vape coil every few days.

Why Do Vape Coils Break Down Over Time?

A vape coil breaks down over time because of residue build-up or heat-related damage to the heating coil and wick. When your vape tastes burnt, it’s caused by one of these two things.

• The coil’s cotton wick is singed. That can happen if you vape at too high a wattage or forget to refill your tank. If the wick is dry, the coil’s heat will burn the cotton. In this situation, the damage to the coil is permanent. Apart from disassembling the coil and replacing the wick, there is no way to fix the coil in this case.
• The coil’s heating surface is covered with residue, and the residue has become so thick that it actually smoulders when you vape. In this case, the coil has no physical damage. It is actually possible to remove the burning taste by carefully cleaning the coil – but in most cases, people find that the work simply isn’t worthwhile.

How to Make Your Vape Coils Last Longer

As we mentioned above, a vape coil can theoretically last for several weeks if you use coil-friendly e-liquid and can manage to avoid burning the wick. Even if you’re not interested in using a different vape juice flavour, though, it’s still possible to make your vape coils last longer by being a bit more careful about how you use them. Use these three tips to maximise your coil life.

• When you install a new vape coil, prime the wick by putting a little e-liquid on each of the coil’s openings. After installing the coil and filling the tank, wait a few minutes before you begin vaping. These steps ensure that, when you do begin vaping, your coil will be completely wet.
• Always set your vaping device to a power level within your coil’s suggested wattage range. You can find the wattage range on the coil’s packaging and etched into the side of the coil itself. This minimises the chance of burning the coil’s wick.
• Avoid using sweetened vape juice. Sucralose creates residue that drastically shortens the life of a vape coil.

Is It Safe to Use a Burnt Vape Coil?

There is no evidence to suggest that using an old vape coil is hazardous to your health. If the wick is physically burned, though, that means pyrolysis has taken place and that the molecular structure of the cotton is permanently altered. If your vape tastes burnt, we suggest replacing the coil as soon as possible.