Having an awesome mod and tasty eliquid is not enough to ensure a good vape every time. The top ecigs on the market can wear easily if not used and maintained correctly. Fortunately, these 12 handy tips will help you beginners keep your ecigarette or eliquid in tip-top condition.
If you think we’ve missed any other tips for our vape rookies, don’t forget to let them know in the comments!
1. Don’t Let Eliquid Run Too Low
For pre-built tank coils and clearomisers, when eliquid is at a low level your atomiser will not be able to draw in enough eliquid and you have a dry hit. Not only does this taste foul, you also risk burning your clearomiser out.
Extra Advice: For people using tanks and clearomizers allow the eliquid to absorb into the tank when first filled. High VG juices and thick flavours need time to absorb into the coil and wick to ensure a fuller flavour.
2. Keep Battery Terminals/Connections and Buttons Clean
Dirty battery terminals affect performance. Heavy buildup of grime may prevent the battery connecting with the tank. If you notice any build up or grime clean all terminals with cotton to keep it clean. Terminals can get dirty fast, especially with heavy use and constant removal of the batteries to charge on mods. Cleaning can be very effective way to get that power back.
Extra Advice: If the battery is failing to make a good connection, the terminal may have been pushed in. Try gently raising it with a wooden toothpick very slightly. Take extra care here as damage may cancel warranties.
3. Store Your Ecigarette Correctly
The air holes in your tank/rba are there for a reason. Airflow is designed to pass over the coil to keep the vape at a comfortable temperature for a cleaner flavour and consistent vape. Eliquid can travel toward these holes and will eventually leak or clog up small airholes. When possible:
- Store ecig upright. This will help avoid flooding the airspace.
- Store away from water.
- Keep away from direct sunlight.
- Keep away from high temperatures.
- Keep ecigarette out of light heat and water.
4. Clean Tanks and Coils Between Flavours and Refills.
.
Maintaining your tank regularly is time consuming, especially between refills of the same flavour, but this can really help with a cleaner flavour whilst getting more life out of your tank. Just clean any liquid remaining after dismantling your tank. Wash with warm water and ensure it’s completely dry before use. For caked on grime and liquid, try using denture tablets for cleaning. These are good cleaners and mild in comparison to chemical cleaners. these are available at most chemists and online.
Extra Advice: Use dry rice to speed up the drying process of your pre-built coils.
5. Keeping Your Mouthpiece Clean.
Fluff, dirt and random bits of stuff can easily build up within your mouthpiece, especially when kept in pockets. Simply remove the mouthpiece and blow hard through the opening to clear. Using kitchen roll and warm water will also help.
6. Keep Your Ecig in a case.
A lot of ecigarettes, even though they are hard wearing and sturdy, are not unbreakable. Many have glass parts which can shatter on impact and other thinner models may break in a pocket if you bend them whilst croaching etc. Ecigs can easily get damaged if not kept in a bag or an ecigarette case. A case can help protect sensitive parts when not in use, whilst a small bag like a handbag or a man-bag have pockets and sections suitable for storing your ecig. Keeping in a case/ bag also ensures nothing leaks in your pocket if you haven’t screwed your ecig together properly. When possible too store your ecig vertically not on its side. There are some holders and stands available for each model if required.
Extra Advice: Beware of trouser pockets. Pockets are fluff magnets, full of car keys and other items that can scratch the ecig finish, and also there’s the fact that legs bend- ecigarettes do not.
7. Don’t Drain Your Batteries.
Keeping a small charge in your batteries at all times can extend their life. Ensure that batteries are charged before long journeys, and keep away from high and low temperatures as that can affect battery outputs.
Extra Advice: Buy ecigarettes with removable 18650 batteries or have a spare Ecig. That way you can buy a battery charger and keep spares fully charged at all times, and simply swap them over when batteries get low.
8. Don’t Screw Clearomizers/Tanks In Too Tightly.
Screwing a clearomizer or tank too tightly onto your ecig can damage the connections and even break your ecig. Screw the tank firmly (by hand) but not too tightly. Ensure your connection is strong but there’s no need to go overboard. As long as the tank cannot spin by it’s own accord it will not become loose. Keeping screw threads clean also helps as dirty threads could mean your tank/clearomizer gets stuck on your ecig. If that happens do not use any tools. Glass tanks, small screw threads and pliers are never a good combination.
Extra Advice: To avoid mis-threading a tank, when screwing in turn it slowly anti-clockwise first until you hear a click. This will be the start of the thread. Begin screwing clockwise slowly here.
9. Change the Coils/ Atomizers often.
Coils are a consumable. If you are using a tank with pre-built replaceable coils (such as the atlantis) change the coil every month or so. This will ensure top performance. If you notice a gurgling or spitting sound, or are getting a burnt taste, then it’s probably time for a change.
Extra Tip: Removing your coils and submerging them in warm water may dislodge and gunk and extend their use. If you do this ensure the coil is completely dry before use.
10. Store Eliquid Away From Sunlight and Radiators/Heaters.
Keeping Eliquid in sunlight may change the flavour and consistency of your eliquid. Some thicker flavourings may even settle and separate slightly. The best thing you can do is store your eliquids in a dark cupboard or a drawer away from children. Keeping Eliquid stored correctly may even extend the life of the liquid.
Extra Advice: If you travel a lot keep eliquids in a small case or bag. This will ensure they are kept out of sunlight and will not heat up with your body heat. A bag or case also stops you squeezing your eliquid bottles accidently whilst in your pocket.
11. Steep New Eliquid/ Homemade Eliquid.
If you have just bought some new eliquid and you do not need to use it straight away, open the bottle then close it back up, give it a hard shake and place in a dark cupboard for 2-3 weeks. This is known as steeping. This allows the flavours to blend naturally and increase the flavour. Custard and cake flavourings are well known to taste better after long steeping.
Extra Advice: It’s always a good idea to shake your eliquid thoroughly before every use too. This will again maintain a consistent flavour. Some very strong flavourings, and ones that contain a lot of sugars, can crackle if not shaken up. Black Jack flavourings in particular are known to crackle if not mixed and even crack tanks!
12. Buy A Skin or Cover.
Popular ecigs have third party covers available. These are usually rubber or silicone and fit snugly over your ecigs allowing you access to your buttons, like a phone case. These ensure that your ecig stays free from scratches, dents, scuffs and discolouration. If your ecig does not have a cover available then you can probably find a vinyl wrap skin. These are usually stick on and some companies will make these to measure, or alternatively buy a piece of vinyl and make the cuts yourself.
Extra Advice: For ecigs with ports and sockets on them (like the micro usb charging socket on most ecigs), you can buy rubber bungs to keep the sockets free from all dust and debris. For less than £1 you can ensure your charging port never gets damaged and remains clean until charging.