Problem with Coils or Pods Burning Out

Are your coils or pods burning out quicker than you anticipated? This can happen for a number of reasons, and it's not usually a fault with the product itself (though this is possible, on rare occasions).

More often than not, the cause of your coils or pods burning out too quickly can be down to factors you can easily correct, including the type of E-Liquid you're using and the way you're using your vape. 

Using the wrong type of E-Liquid for your specific vape kit can result in both unpleasant dry hits and burnt-out coils as the cotton inside the coil is unable to saturate itself fully. 

All coils, pods, and vape devices are designed to be used with specific types of vape juices. Most starter vape kits and pod systems are designed for use with high-PG E-Liquids, like freebase 50/50 E-Liquids and nicotine salts. Using a high-VG E-Liquid (like a shortfill or 100% VG E-Liquid) with such a coil is almost guaranteed to cause issues like burnt hits. 

This is a due to the coil being unable to saturate the much thicker E-Liquid, resulting in the dry cotton inside the coil getting scorched as the vape is activated. 

For best results, check the user manual for your vape kit or the product description to ensure that you're using the correct type of E-Liquid for the coil in your device.

 We cover this topic in more detail in our Beginner's Guide to Vape Juice.

When installing a new, dry coil into your tank or pod, you'll need to ensure that the cotton is fully saturated before you start vaping. Otherwise, you risk burning the coil—and when the coil is burnt, there's no saving it. Priming only needs to be done once on a new coil.

A simple way to do this is to prime your coils, which is done by putting a little bit of E-Liquid on all of the cotton holes on the coil. You'll only need a few drops—be careful not to add too much, as you can also over-prime. 

Over-priming can result in flooding of the coil, causing spitback and gurgling. For best results, prime your coils with a small amount of E-Liquid and let the coil sit in a filled tank or pod for a couple of minutes. You can also skip the priming and just allow the coil to sit in the E-Liquid for longer (around 10 minutes) before vaping. 

For vapers using pods with built-in coils (coils you can't remove), you'll still need to prime the coil by filling the pod and leaving it to sit in the liquid for at least 5 minutes. 

We have an article on How to Prime Your Coil if you're looking for more information.

Vaping continuously for long periods of time without putting down your vape can lead to a burnt wick. This happens when the cotton inside the coil is unable to re-saturate between puffs and becomes exposed to too much heat, which dries it out and creates that burnt taste.

In cases of standard usage, this isn't a really a problem, because you’ll stop vaping after a short session and give it time to recover. However, if you're continuously vaping for longer periods, your wick will eventually dry out and you risk burning the coil.

Make sure that the level of E-Liquid in your tank is always above the minimum line so your coil can stay saturated. In many tanks and pods, there's a minimum level indicator line. If not, try to keep the E-Liquid level above the small cotton holes lining the outside of the coil. You want those holes to always be submerged in the E-Liquid to ensure they're always saturated.

When there's too little E-Liquid inside your tank or pod, the coil won't be able to saturate, which will lead to a burnt wick. 

The easiest way to prevent this from happening is to keep an eye on your E-Liquid levels and to top up your tank or pod as needed.

It's no secret that heavily-sweetened liquids will kill your coils faster. As a general rule of thumb, the sweeter the E-Liquid, the shorter the coil life. This is due to the sweeteners inside the E-Liquid caramelising around the vape coil, which will eventually result in a burnt taste. Imagine sugar in a frying pan.

There are also certain types of E-Liquids which are more likely to gunk up your coils, including coffee, dessert, and candy flavours.

If you vape heavily sweetened E-Liquids and find that your coils are burning out faster than expected, this is likely the cause. You can learn more about this in our Guide to Vape Coils.

If you're using a device with adjustable wattage, you'll need to ensure that you're vaping at the right wattage for the specific coil you're using. Every coil resistance has a recommended wattage range, which should guide how you set the wattage on your vape while using the coil. Even different resistances within the same coil range will require different wattage settings.

Usually, the optimal wattage for a given coil is printed on the coil itself or on the box the coils came in—and if not, you can find the best wattage for your coil in the product description on our website. The wording may say something along the lines of "best fired at," "recommended wattage," or simply "best," followed by a wattage range (example: "25-30W"). 

If your device doesn't have adjustable wattage, you won't have to worry about this point, as the device will automatically set the wattage for you. But if you're using a kit with these settings, it's recommended that you follow the suggested wattage range to ensure you get the best life out of your coils. Using the coils in a wattage outside of the suggested range can lead to a slew of unpleasant effects, including prematurely burnt coils.

Once your coil is burnt, it cannot be fixed—even if you just installed it and accidentally burned it by vaping before it was fully primed. So, if your coil tastes burnt, you'll have to discard it and replace it with a new one. There is no remedying a burnt coil, as much as we'd like the inverse to be true.

If you're still experiencing shortened coil life after trying all of the above steps, feel free to contact us via email, phone, or live chat. Our expert support staff can help you get to the bottom of the issue.