When you get a new vape pen, tank or coil, you will need to prime your coil prior to vaping. If you neglect to prime the coil, you run the risk of experiencing an unpleasant burnt taste and damaging the coil beyond repair.
The coil is the heating element in your e-cigarette; when it heats up, it vaporizes the e-liquid in your tank, turning it into the vapour that you inhale. Coils (also referred to as atomisers or coil heads) are generally made up of a coiled wire, which heats up when the battery is fired, and a wick, which soaks up e-liquid from the tank to be vaporised.
Priming a coil means soaking the wicking material sufficiently with e-liquid prior to heating up the coil; if no juice has soaked into the wick, the wicking material (often cotton or silica) will burn, which tastes terrible and may cause damage to the coil.
Just follow these simple steps to prime your coil:
- Fit your new coil into the tank.
- Grab your bottle of e-liquid and squeeze a couple of drops into the opening at the top of the coil, if it has one. If not, drip e-liquid into the holes at the side. If you're using sub-ohm coils, add a couple more drops through the side wicking holes as well as the top hole. Make sure not to over-saturate the coil or you might end up with e-liquid in your mouth!
- Now fill up your tank (ideally to the top, to make sure the wick will be fully saturated) and leave it to sit.
- Generally it's a good idea to leave the tank sitting for about 15-30 minutes, but be aware that high-VG e-liquids will take longer to fully soak into the coil as they're thicker.
- Without holding the button, you can take a couple of inhales on the e-cigarette - this helps draw your e-liquid into the wick. Don't overdo it or you might suck the e-liquid into your mouth, so just a couple should be enough.
Once you've let your liquid sit for a bit, your coil is primed and you're ready to start vaping! Don't set the voltage too high for the first few draws, and take a few quick hits before vaping in earnest (inhale and immediately exhale the vapour, without fully drawing the vapour into your lungs) and your coil should be completely prepared.
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