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Last Updated on March 12, 2024 by Team Spinfuel
One thing is certain about the trends in vaping these days. The price of vape juice has gotten better than ever on a dollars-per-milliliter basis but vape coils have only become more complex and more expensive with time. Even if you’re getting a great deal from a seller like blackoutvapors.com, you’re definitely spending at least a few dollars for each coil. That’s not a problem if you get several weeks of use out of each coil as the manufacturers often claim, but it becomes seriously expensive if you get poor life out of your coils and find that you need a new one almost every day.
Here’s the good news: Poor coil life is something that you can always fix. The bad news, though, is that you may not want to fix the problem because getting the best possible coil life will require you to make some major changes in the way you vape. If you don’t want to make those changes, you can always build your own coils. Coil building is tedious for some, but at least it’s cheap. If you don’t want to use anything but pre-made coils, though, this article is for you. Get the maximum possible life out of your coils with these simple steps.
Avoid Sweetened Vape Juice
The top thing that you need to do if you want to enjoy the best possible coil life is stop using sweetened e-liquid. Many of today’s e-liquids are so sweet that they’re like candy when they hit the palate. That level of sweetness is pure joy in the mouth, of course, but it’s also murder on your coils because sucralose doesn’t vaporize; it burns and leaves a dark, sticky residue behind. When the residue thickens, it creates a horrible burned flavor that permeates whatever e-liquid you use. The more e-liquid you use, the more quickly the residue forms. That’s why, if you’ve been vaping for a while, you’ve probably noticed that your coil longevity has gotten worse over the years – it’s because your coils produce bigger clouds than ever. The best thing that you can do for better coil life is switch to unsweetened e-liquid.
Keep Your Vape Coil Wet
Sometimes, vape coils don’t burn out from sucralose residue. A burned cotton wick can also ruin a coil’s flavor permanently, and cotton burns very quickly when it’s dry. To prevent that from happening, you need to ensure that your coil is always wet. Do you see the white openings on the side of your coil? The e-liquid in your tank flows to the wick through those holes – so if the juice in the tank doesn’t cover the holes, it isn’t flowing as efficiently as it should be. Don’t try to use your tank until it is completely dry; keep it topped up.
The other part of keeping your coil wet is ensuring that you don’t vaporize all of the e-liquid in the wick before the wick has an opportunity to draw more vape juice in. If you find that the vapor starts to become hot or harsh at the end of your puffs, you’re either puffing too long or are using your device at an overly high wattage setting. Maintain a reasonable wattage setting and wait several seconds for the wick to get wet again after each puff.
Try a Higher-Nicotine E-Liquid
Don’t want to switch to an unsweetened e-liquid? The next best thing is try a vape juice with a higher nicotine strength. If you don’t need to use as much vape juice to attain the desired level of satisfaction, you won’t vape as often. If you vape less often, it’ll take longer for the sucralose in your e-liquid to form a thick layer of residue that ruins the coil’s flavor. That way, you can get longer coil life without changing your e-liquid. Better coil life is one reason why some experienced vapers have ditched their mods in favor of smaller pod systems; a pod system uses so little e-liquid that even the sweetest vape juice will take quite a while to ruin a coil.
Try a Lower-VG E-Liquid
Many vapers have reported that vegetable glycerin seems to contribute to the formation of coil gunk even when the e-liquid being used contains no sweetener. You can test whether that’s true with your vaping equipment by buying the same e-liquid in two different VG/PG ratios. Many smaller e-liquid makers allow you to choose, for instance, a 50/50 ratio or a max-VG blend when buying products. You’ll probably find that your coil begins to discolor more quickly with the max-VG e-liquid. If you use a vape juice that’s very high in PG with a sub-ohm tank, you might experience leaking – so don’t go too far in that direction. A 50/50 blend works well with almost all tanks.
Upgrade to a Modern Tank with Modern Vape Coils
Are you already using a coil-friendly vape juice and still find that the longevity of your coils is poor? It might be time for you to upgrade to a modern tank with more efficient wicking action. Using a tank that’s a couple of years old or more? There’s a good chance that the coils use thick or twisted wires. When the wire in a coil is braided, twisted or thick, it doesn’t make consistent contact with the coil’s wick. The curvature of the wire creates ridges. The low points of the ridges become hotter during operation than the high points. They touch the wick. That tends to reduce the coil’s longevity.
The most popular type of vape tank today is the mesh coil tank. A mesh coil has a flat profile that promotes excellent wick-to-wire contact. When a coil has good wick-to-wire contact, it doesn’t have hot spots, and that leads to superior longevity. Haven’t tried a new vape tank with a MESH coil yet? This is definitely a great time for you to do so.
