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<<<Chapter 5: Cleaning and Maintaining your device Chapter 7: Mixing e-liquids >>><\/a><\/p>\n Quick Links to sections in this Chapter:<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n A dry hit (also known as a \u2018burnt\u2019 hit) occurs when you don\u2019t have enough e-liquid in your tank.\u00a0 It means that, instead of heating the liquid, the coil heats the wicking material instead and burns it.<\/span><\/p>\n Nobody wants to take a dry hit \u2013 it tastes awful!<\/span><\/p>\n There are ways to minimise the chances of it happening.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n These things aren\u2019t guaranteed to stop you taking a dry hit but they\u2019ll definitely minimise the chances.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s best to incorporate good practices like these into your vaping routine so that you can keep your vaping device working and enjoy the experience of vaping.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Priming your wick means to get it to absorb the e-liquid before you start vaping.\u00a0 For some practical steps, see below.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Don\u2019t hold the firing button down for too long. Wait five seconds between taking your hits. Don\u2019t run out of e-liquid. \u00a0<\/p>\n One of the best ways to stop a dry hit is to \u2018prime\u2019 your coil before use by saturating the wick. There are a few ways to do it:<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The easiest and quickest way is to leave the tank to rest in an upright position for a few minutes (or whatever angle ensures the e-liquid rests against the coil). Another way, though fractionally more effort, guarantees the wick will be saturated all the way through. If you\u2019re short of time, you can use this \u2018cheat\u2019 method to prime your coil. \u00a0<\/p>\n Next steps<\/b><\/p>\n Once you\u2019re sure you can minimise the chances of taking a dry hit, you\u2019ve got to make sure you don\u2019t go too far and cause your e-cigarette to spit or leak.\u00a0 If you do find that you start getting spitback, go to How to stop spitting and popping<\/a><\/span> or, if your vaporiser leaks, check out How to stop your vaping device from leaking<\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n A lot of vapers put up with their vape spitting or popping because they think it\u2019s just part of what happens, but it\u2019s not.<\/span><\/p>\n If your vaping device is spitting, there are things you can do to stop it.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t matter what kind of e-cigarette you\u2019re using, either \u2013 even though some are more prone to these problems than others, these simple steps can minimise any problems you\u2019re having with your tank or coil in any e-cigarette system.<\/span><\/p>\n So, if you don\u2019t want to get e-liquid in your mouth from spitback, take a look at these ways you can avoid it.\u00a0 You can make your whole vaping experience much better just by doing these things.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Spitting tanks can also be known as \u2018popping\u2019 because of the sound they make.\u00a0 If your tank is spitting or popping, you need to do something about it.<\/span><\/p>\n It can also be known as \u2018spitback\u2019 because the vaporiser \u2018spits back\u2019 at you.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Most vapers have heard the popping, sizzling and gurgling sounds that can happen when they vape.<\/span><\/p>\n Spitting is when you fire the coil and tiny droplets of hot vape juice shoot in all directions.\u00a0 The biggest problem is when they shoot up the mouthpiece and burn your mouth \u2013 this is known as spitback.\u00a0 It\u2019s not dangerous but it\u2019s not a pleasant sensation.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s caused by e-liquid pooling in the coil so when the coil heats, the e-liquid doesn\u2019t all vaporise \u2013 it boils and spits.\u00a0 Because you\u2019re inhaling from the mouthpiece, it can catch you. The most common cause of your vape starting to spit is a flooded coil (although it\u2019s not always the case).<\/span><\/p>\n Below are some easy steps you can take to prevent spitback and popping.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Again, the first steps are easy and are just good vaping practices.\u00a0 As you get more experienced, you\u2019ll do these things naturally and it won\u2019t feel like any extra effort.\u00a0 However, until you get the experience to do that, follow these steps to make sure that you avoid your vaping device spitting and popping.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Vapers prime their coil to avoid getting a \u2018dry hit\u2019 but there is a delicate balance to be had between not enough and too much. This causes flooding by drawing more vape juice into the chamber.\u00a0 Spitting and popping can be made worse by e-liquid collecting in the chimney as this runs back down into your coil and floods it.\u00a0 Because PG is thinner than VG, a high ratio of PG will make your e-liquid runnier and this will make it more likely to flood your coil.\u00a0 Press the fire button a few times before you start to inhale.\u00a0 By increasing the power, you\u2019ll make your coil vaporise the e-juice faster.\u00a0 Some drip tips have been especially designed to minimise spitting by angling the tip more.\u00a0 This works in a similar way to an angled drip tip.\u00a0 It stops the spitback reaching your mouth so it doesn\u2019t bother you when your e-liquid spit and pops.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n It\u2019s much more common for atomiser heads to be designed with screens over the coils these days, but not all of them have this yet.\u00a0 Vapers who use rebuildable atomisers (RBAs) can use complicated coils because they want a greater surface area to generate more vapour.\u00a0 If you\u2019re using a rebuildable tank atomiser (RTA), you may need to re-wick your coils.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n Next steps<\/b><\/p>\n Spitting and leaking e-liquid are common problems for vapers to have with their devices.\u00a0 If your e-cigarette is leaking, then go to How to stop your vaping device from leaking<\/a><\/span> for some simple steps to stop it happening.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n A lot of vapers put up with their vape spitting or leaking because they think it\u2019s just part of what happens but it\u2019s not.<\/span><\/p>\n If your vaping device is leaking or spitting, there are things you can do to stop it.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t matter what kind of e-cigarette you\u2019re using, either \u2013 even though some are more prone to these problems than others, these simple steps can minimise any problems you\u2019re having with your tank or coil.<\/span><\/p>\n So, if you don\u2019t want to spill your favourite e-liquid everywhere while you vape, and you don\u2019t want to get e-liquid in your mouth from spitback, take a look at these ways you can avoid it.\u00a0 You can make your whole vaping experience much better just by doing these things.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Your tank leaks when e-liquid escapes, usually through the airflow system.\u00a0 Whether this is just a few drops or a wave of e-liquid washing down your vaping device and covering your hands, it\u2019s pretty annoying.\u00a0 There are several common causes for this but the good news is there are several easy steps you can take to stop it happening, so read on to make sure your tank never leaks again.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The first of these steps are really easy day-to-day maintenance that shouldn\u2019t take much, or even any, extra time.\u00a0 If your vaping device insists on leaking even when you do these things, you will need to investigate a little further using the last steps below \u2013 don\u2019t worry, it\u2019s not tricky and it shouldn\u2019t take long.<\/span><\/p>\n This is the first thing to do if your tank is leaking.\u00a0 If you over-fill your tank, it\u2019s obviously much more likely to leak.\u00a0 Leave a pocket of air at the top and this\u2019ll help prevent leaks.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n The chimney is the central airflow tube that runs from the body of the tank to the drip tip.\u00a0 This is not always possible to do but it\u2019s best to keep your tank upright as much as you can.\u00a0 If you leave a tank with the top cap off, it will leak.\u00a0 O-rings are the little rubber rings that stop your vape juice from leaking out of your tanks.\u00a0 Your airflow holes should be completely closed when you\u2019re filling your tank with e-liquid.\u00a0 Check your tank for cracks, chips and other damage.\u00a0 It\u2019s sad to say but sometimes you just get a dud coil.\u00a0 E-liquid is made up of PG and VG, and you can choose which ratio you want.\u00a0 This only really applies to vapers who use rebuildable atomisers (RBAs) and wick their coils themselves.\u00a0 Because this is such a widespread problem, some manufacturers are putting more effort into designing their tanks to combat leaking and spitting, so you can look forward to a time in the future when this is no longer a problem.\u00a0 To get some practical tips to maintain your vaping device so that it functions well and doesn\u2019t leak, go to Cleaning and maintaining your device<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n We want you to get the best vaping experience possible, so check out our other troubleshooting ideas to get some simple tips: How to stop dry hits<\/a><\/span> and Vaper\u2019s tongue<\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nHow to stop dry hits<\/h2>\n
<\/span><\/p>\nHow to avoid taking a dry hit<\/b><\/h3>\n
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You should only be holding it while you are inhaling the vapour but it\u2019s easy to slip and keep it down for an extra second or so.
Once the coil has vaporised all the e-liquid in the wick, it will heat the wick instead and this burns it.
You\u2019ll get that \u2018burned\u2019 hit and you\u2019ll also damage your wick so you\u2019ll need to replace your coil (if you need any information about that, go to Changing your coil<\/a><\/span>).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Your wick needs this time to absorb more e-juice.
Otherwise, you\u2019ll heat a dry wick and the coil will, again, burn off the e-liquid and then burn the wick.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n
It sounds obvious but some people like to empty their tank before refilling, especially when changing flavour, but this makes it likely that the wick will become dry and then you\u2019ll get a dry hit.
There are a couple of things you can do to avoid this.
Firstly, if you\u2019re going to change flavour a lot, you might want to get another tank so you can have one for each flavour
That way, neither tank needs to be empty.
Secondly, you can angle the e-cigarette to ensure the e-liquid soaks into the wick before you vape.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nHow to prime your wick<\/b><\/h3>\n
It sounds like it\u2019ll be complicated, but it\u2019s really easy.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n
This will encourage the e-liquid to soak into the wick and will mean your wick doesn\u2019t dry out when your fire it up.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Simply add a few drops of e-liquid directly to the wick.
You can do this by finding the juice holes where the vape juice should soak in and putting a drop in each of these.
If you want to make sure it\u2019s done properly, add another drop inside the head.
Be careful when you do this not to put e-juice down the airholes.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Once it\u2019s fitted and your vaping device is filled with e-juice and ready to go, take three or four drags without activating the coil (by firing up the battery).
That will draw the e-liquid through the wick like a straw and saturate it quickly.
Don\u2019t draw too hard, though, as you don\u2019t want to flood it.
Unfortunately, if you use an automatic e-cigarette which fires whenever you take a draw, you won\u2019t be able to use this method.
If you\u2019re using a manual vaping device which you need to fire up, this is an easy and quick method to prime your coils.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nHow to stop spitting and popping<\/h2>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>\nWhat spitting is<\/b><\/h3>\n
<\/span><\/p>\nWhy your tank spits and pops<\/b><\/h3>\n
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<\/span><\/p>\nHow to stop your vape tank spitting and popping<\/b><\/h3>\n
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Priming your coil is the process of ensuring your wicking material is saturated with e-liquid before you heat it.
The most common method is dripping, which means you drip e-liquid directly onto the wick to saturate it, but make sure you don\u2019t put too much vape liquid in the coil as this will flood it and cause spitback.
It\u2019s best to put a small amount on and then give the wick time to absorb the e-liquid.
If you want to know more about why vapers prime their coils, check out How to stop dry hits<\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Inhale more gently \u2013 you only need to draw the vapour into your mouth or lungs, which doesn\u2019t take more than a natural breath.\u00a0
If you have trouble doing this, reduce the airflow setting but make sure you don\u2019t start inhaling more forcefully to compensate.\u00a0
If you do, you could try increasing the airflow to stop yourself inhaling with any force at all as you\u2019ll get a lot of vapour much quicker.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n
It\u2019s easy to clean with some rolled-up paper towel or (slightly less efficient but good for a quick fix every now and again) flick the tank over the sink or some tissue so the excess e-liquid flicks out.\u00a0
If you want to know how to give your device a good clean, go to \u2018Cleaning your tank\u2019<\/span> for a step-by-step guide.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Changing your e-liquid to a high ratio of VG will make the e-juice more viscous and it will take longer to seep into your wicking material.\u00a0
Cloud chasers should be using a higher VG ratio anyway as it\u2019s this which produces the large cloud (for more information about that, go to What are PG and VG and what difference do they make?<\/a><\/span>).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Wait for the popping sounds to fade as your vaping device stops spitting.\u00a0
This tactic won\u2019t stop it spitting, but it\u2019ll stop you getting in the line of fire and getting that spitback in your mouth.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n
It could be that your wattage is currently too low and so your wick is supplying e-liquid faster than the coil can burn it, which causes flooding.\u00a0
Increase the wattage, but do it gradually so you can monitor the effect as you don\u2019t want to turn the power up too quickly and then burn the wick.
This is particularly common with sub-ohm vaping as the wattage doesn\u2019t need to be very high in sub-ohm coils for them to work and so people automatically keep the wattage turned down low.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n
It makes it harder for the spitting e-liquid to get out of the atomiser and hit your mouth as they hit the bend in the drip tip instead.\u00a0
lso, curved drip tips work in the same way. It doesn\u2019t stop your atomiser from spitting but it does mean that you don\u2019t get the spitback in your mouth.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n
These are useful because every vape pen spits occasionally so it stops you from noticing when it does.
The screen is a mesh that catches the droplets of vape juice when they spit, which stops them from reaching your mouth.\u00a0
If your vaping device doesn\u2019t have one already, you can install one yourself.
Just get a pipe screen (they\u2019re easily available and not very expensive) and cut it to size, and push it down the chimney to just below the drip tip.\u00a0
Make sure it doesn\u2019t touch the coil, since the screen is metal and therefore conductive.
If you have trouble getting the screen to fit inside a small chimney, cut it into a circle and then cut across the radius and twist it into a cone, which you will be able to push down the tank\u2019s chimney.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n
However, multi-strand coils often spit because their design makes it easier for vape juice to pool in the coil.
wisted coils are particularly well-known for this as they have a lot of nooks and crannies which catch e-liquid, making it pool.\u00a0
Pooling e-liquid pops and spits when it\u2019s heated because it cannot all be vaporised at once.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n
The wick should cover the juice holes in the coil so that the e-juice soaks into the wicking material.\u00a0
However, you don\u2019t want to stuff the wicking material in as this will cause its own problems.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nHow to stop your vaping device from leaking<\/h2>\n
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<\/span><\/p>\nWhy your tank leaks<\/b><\/h3>\n
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<\/span><\/p>\nHow to stop your vape tank leaking<\/b><\/h3>\n
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It might have worked loose so checking your tank is fastened together properly is the first step.\u00a0
It might be that your tank has worked loose, which indicates it\u2019s time for a replacement, or it might just be that you didn\u2019t quite screw it in tightly enough (it\u2019s easy enough to do if you\u2019re in a hurry).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n
If you get vape juice inside this, your e-cigarette starts to gurgle and leak.
All you need to do to correct it is clear any liquid from inside the chimney \u2013 just use a paper towel to soak it up.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n
When you lay your device down on its side, the vape juice seeps through the airflow holes and causes leakage.\u00a0
If you\u2019re at home or in an office, or even in your car, put your e-cigarette down with the tank upright.
If you carry it in your pocket, keep it the right way up.\u00a0
The worst culprit for causing the e-liquid to seep out is putting your device down at night \u2013 make sure you don\u2019t lay it on its side as it\u2019s going to be there for a long time.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Even though the airflow holes are tiny, they\u2019re still holes \u2013 your tank is not watertight.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n
It stands to reason, then, that if they\u2019re worn or damaged, they won\u2019t work properly and your e-juice will leak.\u00a0
Take your tank apart to check your O-rings.
If they\u2019re damaged, replace them.
They\u2019re not expensive and they\u2019re easily available.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n
When you vape, though, they should be open enough for you to vape without having to force it.\u00a0
If you inhale too forcefully, you risk drawing too much e-liquid into the coils, which will then be too full and are more likely to leak.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n
It might not be obvious until you look for it.
Even a tiny crack in the glass will stop the tank being watertight, or a slight bend in the metal will mean the coil doesn\u2019t sit snugly in place.\u00a0
If the tank is damaged, it\u2019s easy to buy a new one and they\u2019re not too expensive to replace.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Tiny flaws will stop it functioning properly and will cause it to leak.\u00a0
However, don\u2019t assume it\u2019s a dud straight away \u2013 the first thing to do is to check that your coil is screwed in properly and, if it is and it\u2019s still leaking, replace it.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n
PG is much more runny than VG, so a high percentage of PG will make your e-liquid thinner.\u00a0
It will be more likely to leak if you have a sub-ohm atomiser head designed for creating large clouds, as these function best with high quantities of the thicker VG (which produces the cloud).\u00a0
For more information on PG\/VG ratios, check out What are PG and VG and what difference do they make?<\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n
It takes a lot of skill to get them perfect \u2013 using enough wicking material to ensure it doesn\u2019t leak without over-stuffing the coil \u2013 but practice makes perfect.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n
However, in the meantime, keep following these simple tips to minimise problems and, if you can, get a quality vaping device.
Take a look at Experienced vapers: choosing a better e-cigarette for you<\/a><\/span> or our Recommended devices<\/a><\/span> to get some ideas about what you want.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/div>\n