Get to know vaping noises
Have heard your vape crackle? When you are new to vaping it can come as a surprise that your e-cig makes noises. These range from crackling, to popping to a whoosh sound. All of them are completely normal and you get used to them really quickly.
It is good to get into the habit of understanding what sounds are ‘normal’ for your vape, this way if they change you can identify easily where there is a problem.
Let’s take a look at the noises you might hear from your vape, why they happen and how you can recognise a good or bad noise.
Updated: 15th April 2021
What causes vape crackling and popping?
The crackling and popping you hear from your e-cig is completely normal. It is caused by your vape coil.
Remember you are dealing with an electrical device that is doing several things at once as you vape. As you draw on your e-cig, e-liquid is pulled into your atomizer head. The atomizer head has a coil inside it that heats up as you press your button. This coil then vaporises your e-liquid into a vapour that you can inhale.
As the e-liquid is vaporised it makes a slight popping or crackling sound. This will be slightly more noticeable if your atomizer head is brand new. If you hear your vape crackle, it actually means that it is performing well and your coil is doing what it needs to.
E-liquid type
The type of e-liquid you vape can alter the sound your e-cig makes as you vape it.
The ratio of the diluents in your e-liquid determines how thick or thin your e-liquid is. If you have more of the diluent Propylene Glycol (PG), it is a thinner consistency so your e-liquid will be thinner. A higher concentration of Vegetable Glycerine (VG) in your e-liquid and it will be thicker.
A thinner e-liquid means the noise from your atomizer head might be slightly more noticeable as there isn’t the thickness there to dampen the sound.
Even with a thicker e-liquid your atomizer head is doing the same job and making the same sounds, it is just buffered from your e-liquid.
E-cig power output
The more power your e-cig is outputting, the louder it will be. A sub-ohm vape with the power turned up will pop and crackle. It will be nearly instantaneous as the coil heats up hotter, quicker than a higher resistance coil.
But the noise won’t last as long with a sub-ohm vape. As it produces much more vapour, you tend to draw for a shorter period of time.
You might not only hear crackling though. If you notice a gurgling or spitting noise, it might mean that your power is too low. If you have an adjustable power vape and the wattage is too low, excess fluid can gather in your atomizer head. It isn’t being vaporised quickly enough and will flood your coil, causing a gurgling noise or spitting. Try turning your power up slightly to see if this helps.
Vape coil type
Your atomizer head can have different styles of coil inside. If the coil is mesh or has multiple coils, then there is more surface area to vapourise e-liquid. This means that you get more flavour and vapour from your vape juice. But it will also sound louder as you are vaping.
Again this sound is more noticeable when your atomizer head is brand new. Once your coil has ‘bedded in’ with a day or two of use, the noise will be much less noticeable.
What causes the noise when you vape?
We have spoken about popping and crackling, but what about the ‘whoosh’ sound you sometimes here when you are vaping.
This is caused by airflow. As you draw on your e-cig, you are pulling air into it. This air runs across the coil to move the vapour from your vape tank, to you. This is when you might hear a light ‘whoosh’.
With most standard e-cigs, you won’t hear much of anything. But if you have a sub-ohm kit, with wide open airflow then it might be noticeable.
When looking at our website, we have broken or vape tanks into groups. These are categorised depending on the amount of vapour they produce; Regular, High and Ultra.
To get more vapour from your e-cig, you need more airflow. So a vape tank from the high or ultra category, will have adjustable airflow that opens much wider, than a tank in the regular category. With all tanks, the airflow can be closed right down, but a tank in the regular category will have a much more restricted airflow, therefore less of a ‘whoosh’ sound.
Recognising vape sounds
So now you know why your e-cig might make slight noises. This is great, because now you will be able to recognise when one of these changes. Once you know what is ‘normal’ for your e-cig, you can tell if one of these sounds change.
As an example, if you are used to a slight crackle when vaping, then this changes to more of a gurgle you will hear this. If that happens, it means there is too much e-liquid in your atomizer head and it might need unflooding.
How to make your e-cig quieter
- Take shorter draws – The longer you draw the more air is pulled through your vape and the more noticeable the ‘sound’ of vaping is. If you draw for a very long time on each draw, try and shorten the length of this to make the noise a little less noticeable.
- Change your coil resistance – If you have a very sub-ohm coil, try a higher resistance. This will make the popping and crackling much less noticeable.
- Lower your power – Try turning down your wattage slightly to put less power through your coil. Close your airflow – If you have your airflow wide open, try closing this off slightly to reduce the amount of air being pulled through your vape tank
This was a look at the reasons why you might have heard your vape crackle. It is a normal part of vaping. Something that we as vapers get used to. If you have any other tips about vape noises, drop us a comment below.
