When is it 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 want 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 is the vape coil. Whether you’re using a MTL vape device or a sub-ohm vape kit, 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, close it up, and you push a button; before you know it there’s a steady stream of liquid 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 to vaporise 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 your vape coils is so precious: without them, your battery would have nothing to generate a charge through, your vape liquid wouldn't vaporise, and then you’d never get to enjoy of that delicious liquid vapour! Now you know why taking care of vape coils is so essential, let’s look at some key maintenance tips.
How often should I change my vape coil?
Before we get into why you should change your e-liquid coil, 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 e-juice coils unnecessarily, so let's compare below:
Heavy vaper
Let’s start with the big dogs - these are the people who vape vapour juices all day, everyday, and push their coils right up to the limit. If you rarely stop hitting your eliquid throughout the day, you could be looking at changing your coil up to every 2 days.
Regular vaper
Vape a lot of eliquids, but don’t have the device glued to your hand? We’d advise changing your coil every week or so, maybe even every 2 weeks.
Light vaper
Even if you rarely vape e-liquid, 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 kit device for longer than a month, regardless of how often you’re hitting it.
How to extend the life of your vape coils
While replacing coils is an inevitable part of vaping, there are several ways you can maximise their lifespan and get more value from each one. This is especially important if you’re using premium vape juice, sweetened e-liquids, or high-VG blends, as these can put extra strain on your coil.
1. Always Prime Your Coils
Before you take your first puff on a new coil, make sure it’s been primed properly. This means saturating the wick with e-liquid and letting it sit for 5–10 minutes before use. Failing to do this can cause the cotton to scorch, leading to a burnt taste from the very first inhale.
2. Use The Correct Wattage
Most coils have a recommended wattage range printed on the side. Staying within this range will prevent overheating, preserve flavour, and keep your vape juice from burning too quickly. Running your vape kit too hot can drastically shorten coil life.
3. Choose Your E-Liquids Wisely
Sweet dessert and candy flavours taste fantastic but are known for “gunking” coils faster due to the added sweeteners. If you love these flavours, consider rotating them with lighter fruit or menthol e-liquids to give your coil a break. Using the right PG/VG ratio for your device is equally important—high VG liquids in low-powered devices can cause premature burning.
4. Avoid Chain Vaping
Taking puff after puff without pause overheats the coil and can cause dry hits. Allowing a few seconds between draws gives the wick time to reabsorb vape juice, helping to keep flavour consistent and your coil healthier for longer.
5. Keep Your Tank Or Pod Topped Up
Never let your e-liquid run too low. If the exposed cotton on your coil isn’t fully saturated, you risk burning it. Make a habit of checking your levels regularly, especially if you’re using a sub-ohm kit that drinks e-liquid quickly.
Proper Coil Care Matters
Good coil care isn’t just about saving money—it’s about getting the best flavour, vapour production, and throat hit possible. A well-maintained coil ensures that every puff of your favourite e-liquid tastes exactly as it should, whether you’re using nic salts in a pod kit or high-VG shortfills in a sub-ohm vape.
What are the signs that 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 that it’s time to swap out and give your e-liquids a breath of fresh air. We’ve broken the key signs down into five, easy-to-grasp categories.
1. Your vape is tasting burnt
This one should be the most immediately obvious, but if you’re getting a burnt vape flavour on each inhale, it’s not the e-liquid that’s funky! This is probably because the wick in your coil has burned out, giving you that unpleasant, back-of-the-throat stale burning sensation. The best thing to do is to swap out your coil and see if there’s a noticeable vape flavour difference.
2. Or your vape is tasting odd...
Don’t just be looking out for a burnt vape flavour. Any e-liquid tasting off is a sign that the coil might have run its course. This can mean no vape 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 when something isn’t quite right.
3. There’s a gurgling in your vape device
This isn’t a surefire sign that something is up, since when your vape liquid moves through your vape device there can often be 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 then we recommend fitting in a new one.
4. E-liquid is leaking from your vape device
Again, this isn’t a total sign, 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. Hopefully it’ll be a case of changing the coil rather than replacing the whole unit.
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 that you’re doing something wrong. If you feel like your vape flavour isn’t quite up to scratch, the best course of action is to replace your coil. You wouldn’t keep smoking the same cigarette every day after all.
