Every vaper can suffer from a leaking vape tank at some point. You have a container filled with a liquid that you carry around with you all day. It can be annoying and frustrating, but it isn’t the end of the world. A quick clean-up is all you usually need and then you can continue your day.
While the odd bit of e-liquid is completely normal, if your tank is consistently leaking e-liquid you might need the following tips to help you fix your leaking vape tank.
Tighten your vape tank
Let’s start nice and simple. Is you have e-liquid escaping from the joins in your tank, make sure everything is connected properly. Are the top and the base of the tank tightened properly? If there are gaps because the parts of your tank aren’t screwed together properly, the e-liquid will leak from these.
But not too tight…you don’t want to over tighten the parts of your tank, such as the base where the coil sits. You might not be able to get them apart again and this can also lead to cross threading. If the threads aren’t sat together properly this can also allow vape juice to escape your tank.
Also, wheel you are making sure everything is screwed together properly, make sure that your atomizer head is fitted properly. If it screws into the tank, make sure it is screwed in all the way. Make sure push fit coils are pushed all the way in. If the coil isn’t fitted properly, there won’t be a seal and e-liquid will leak from your vape tank.
Fill your vape tank properly
One of the most common reasons vape tanks leak lies in the filling. You have to be filling your tank properly. First up you have to ensure that you don’t overfill your tank. There should always be a bubble of air at the top, this helps create a vaccum in the tank and can help prevent e-liquid from leaking out of the airflow holes of your tank.
If you have a tank that fills from the top, where you have to unscrew the top of your tank, you have to make sure that you are not getting any e-liquid down the chimney. For new vapers, this is a hollow tube that runs through the centre of the tank and is not designed for e-liquid as it will just exit the tank at the bottom. When you are filling your top filling tank, tilt it slightly as your pour your e-liquid in, like you are pouring a fizzy drink into a glass. Then gently straighten as you get near the top, remembering to again leave some space for air.
Check your coil and vape juice combo
Your vape tank has a coil inside it and there will probably be various resistance options for you to choose from. The different resistance coils not only perform differently but they are also suited to different types of vape juice.
If you have a higher resistance coil, anything above 1.0ohm, they produce less vapour, provide more that hit and give a vaping experience that is close to smoking. The draw on a high resistance coil is more restricted, so it needs a stronger draw than other coils.
Higher resistance coils are suited to an e-liquid that has a higher concentration of PG, as it is thinner. If you use an e-liquid with a high VG content instead, this much thicker juice can struggle to wick into your coil, so you have to draw harder than is required and this can force e-liquid out of the tank.
If you have a sub-ohm coil, anything below 1.0ohm, they produce more vapour, less throat hit and have much more open airflow. The draw on a sub-ohm coil is airy, so there is little resistance when you are drawing.
Sub-ohm coils are suited to an e-liquid that has a higher concentration of VG, as these are thicker. As the e-liquid inlet holes are much bigger on these coils, if you use a thinner vape juice, there is nothing stopping it flooding your coils. As you draw there is a lot of e-liquid in the coil already with no where to go. So it will either escape through the airflow holes, or up through the mouthpiece.
Vape like a vaper, not a smoker.
If you aren’t inhaling correctly on your e-cig, it can absolutely cause leaks. Smoking and vaping are different things and while they feel very similar you have to vape differently than you would have smoked.
When you are smoking, there is something already lit and burning. The work is already done for you. So you can take short sharp draws on a cigarette.
Vaping needs more time. As you press your button, the coil in your atomizer head needs time to heat up and as you draw e-liquid needs time to be drawn into your coil and then be turned into vapour. Your draw has to be long, slow and steady. Without that time, your e-liquid cannot vaporise and it can cause leaking.
How old is your vape coil?
If your vape coil hasn’t been changed in a while, it might not be working correctly. Vape coils all have to be replaced at some point. Before they stop working completely, you may experience symptoms that can cause your tank to leak.
They won’t vaporise your e-liquid properly, might become harder to draw on or could give off a burnt taste. If you suddenly start experiencing some leaking and you haven’t changed your atomizer head for some time, this should be your first check.
Check your vape mod power settings.
If your e-cig has the ability to change the settings, you have to make sure the power is set to the optimum range for the coil you have installed.
The atomizer head should have the optimal power range printed on it. You want to choose a setting that is in the middle of the top and bottom wattage suggestions. So if it is recommended between 5W – 15W, go for somewhere around 10W.
If you set the power too low for your coil, it isn’t getting enough power to produce vapour. This means you have to draw too hard on your vape and it can force e-liquid out of the bottom of your vape tank.
Is your vape tank damaged?
This might seem obvious, but there might be part of your vape tank is damaged. Check is there are any small cracks in the glass or plastic where e-liquid can be escaping.
Not only that, but when you take the bottom or top of your vape tank off, you might notice that there are small rubber seals. These are called o-rings. If these are broken or cracked then your tank won’t create a proper seal when it is all assembled, this can cause e-liquid leaks. You will usually have spares given in each e-cig kit or tank, so check if these need replacing.
RTA or RDA leaking?
If you have a rebuildable tank that is consistently leaking, the first place you need to look is the wicking.
This is usually always the culprit. If you don’t have enough wicking material then there isn’t enough cotton to hold the e-liquid in the RTA or dripper, so it will just leak through the airflow holes. Try re-wicking the tank with slightly more cotton. But not too much, or that causes a different set of issue.
Don’t lie your vape tank down.
The last tip on our list is the easiest. Simply don’t lie your vape tank down. Almost all vape mods and vape pens have a flat base and this is there for a reason.
Your vape tank should be stored stood up and any laying flat of your e-cig tank should be avoided.
