5 signs it's time to change your vape coil

Getting into vaping is such an exciting experience because it’s so customisable. From choosing your vape juice, to customising your device, to mixing your shortfills, it’s a great pursuit for hobbyists. It’s also customisable in terms of interest—if you watch a simple, pick-up and go device, you don’t have to faff around with any of the many options available. 

One of the most essential parts of any vaper’s vape device to consider when buying e-liquids is the vape coil. Whether you’re using a MTL device or a sub-ohm vape, you’ll still have to swap them out to ensure the best vaping experience. We’re here to tell you how and when.

What are vape coils?

If you’ve used a vape device before you’ll know roughly how it works. You put your e-liquid in, you close it up, and you push a button; before you know it there’s a steady stream of vapour coming out of the mouth piece. That’s all down to the vape coil.

When you press the button on your vape to prime it, what’s happening is that a coil inside your device is heating up, vaporising the e-liquid that’s soaked into the wick around it. This is actually a side effect of running a current through the coil—the current hits resistance, which leads to friction, which leads to heat. 

That’s why these coils are so damn precious! Without them, your battery would have nothing to generate a charge through, and then you’d never get any of that delicious vaper. Now you know why taking care of them is so essential, let’s look at key maintenance. 

How often should I change my vape coil?

Before we get into why you should change your coil though, let’s consider how often it’s normal to have to change your coil (bearing in mind every single device and vaper is different). It can be hard to know if you’re rushing through coils unnecessarily, so compare below.

• Heavy vaper

Let’s start with the big dogs—these are the people who vape all day, everyday, and push their coils right up to the limit. If you rarely stop hitting your vape throughout the day, you could be looking at changing your coil up to every 2 days. 

• Regular vaper

Vape a lot, but don’t have the device glued to your hand? We’d advise changing it out every week or so, maybe even every 2 weeks. This is probably the category that most of you vapers reading this will fall under.

• Light vaper

Even if you rarely vape, it’s still good practice to change out your coil semi-frequently. We’d say that you shouldn’t be leaving the same coil in your vape device for longer than a month, regardless of how often you’re hitting it. 

What are signs I should change my vape coil?

Now you have an idea of how often your usage suggests you should be swapping your coil, let’s get into the tell-tale signs it’s time to swap out. We’ve broken the key signs down into five, easy-to-grasp categories. Let’s get cracking then!

1. Your vape is tasting burnt

This one should be the most immediately obvious, but if you’re getting a burnt taste on each inhale, it’s not the e-liquid that’s funky! This is probably because the wick in your coil has burned out, and giving you that nasty, back-of-the-throat stale burning sensation. Swap out your coil and see if there’s a noticeable difference.

2. Or your vape is tasting odd...

Don’t just be looking out for a burnt flavour—any e-liquid tasting off is a sign that the coil might have run its course. This can mean no flavour, a flat flavour, or just a totally weird one. If you know your e-liquids, you’ll know when they’re not hitting hard, but even a new vaper should be able to figure out something isn’t quite right.

3. There’s a gurgling in your vape device

This isn’t a surefire sign something is up, since by nature of the e-liquid moving through your vape device there can be some occasional gurgling sounds. Still, it can also be because your coil is wiped out and the tank is flooding as a result. Reattach your coil firmly, and if it continues try a new one!

4. E-liquid is leaking from your vape device

Again, this isn’t a total cert, but it’s still a potential side effect of your coil needing a refresh. Either way, it’s a definite sign that you should be taking your vape device apart and inspecting each component part. Hopefully it’s as simple as changing the coil, and not the whole unit that needs replacing.

5. You just think it’s time to move on to a new coil

To be clear, it’s natural for coils to gradually burn out, so if you want to replace yours it doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong—far from it. If you feel like the flavour isn’t quite up to scratch, or something is a bit off, just change the damn thing! You wouldn’t keep smoking the same cigarette every day after all. 

Buying e-liquids 

Your vape device is all tuned up, and ready to keep delivering those clouds for you, but now you need some vape juice! Fortunately, you’re in luck. At e-liquids.com we’ve got all of the best e-liquids you could ever want: that means nic salts, shortfills, and everyday e-liquids. That’s why this vape store is a one-stop shop for information and buying e-liquids.