Vape Troubleshooting Guide

If you’re a regular vaper, it can be a bit frustrating when all of a sudden something doesn’t work. There are a few common problems people can experience when vaping so we’ve put together the list of the most common issues and what you need to do to remedy them.

My Vape Won't Switch On?

There’s two likely issues here - first of all, check that the battery actually has power in it first. Most e cigarettes will have an indicator light that flashes when you try and switch it on and there’s no power left. The other one to check is whether or not the tank (or clearomiser) is properly screwed onto the battery - if not, the circuit won’t be complete and power won’t be able to flow through properly.

If you’re finding your vape isn’t holding charge anymore and you have a mod with replaceable/rechargeable batteries they may have run their course - typically you can expect lithium batteries to last around 18 months before they won’t hold enough power anymore and you’ll need to get some new ones.

There's Enough Charge In My Battery But My Vape Still Won't Work

Start by checking the battery is actually switched on, one of the safety features in most vapes is that you need to quick-fire the on button 3 to 5 times in a few seconds to switch it on. This is to prevent accidentally activating your vape whilst it’s in your pocket and burning out your coil.

If that’s not doing the trick, double check the battery is screwed on properly again, if that feels right, remove your tank completely and check the little pin at the top of your battery. This is the part that carries current and if you’ve been a bit overzealous with screwing the battery in before, or you’ve dropped your vape, this can get a bit squashed. If it is it, it won’t be able to connect to the base of your tank properly and carry power into the clearomiser and coil.

The final thing is, if you’ve put a new coil in but the resistance is too high or low for your device, some batteries have a system that stops any charge from flowing through - so make sure you’ve got the right one for you vape.

I'm Not Getting Enough Flavour From My Vape

This can come down to a few things - especially if you normally have decent flavour payoff from your current device. A few things to look at are the coil, the liquid itself, voltage and airflow.

If the coil is getting a bit old, it won’t carry flavour and create as much vapour as when it was new. Usually this problem goes with a decrease in cloud production as well, even when the battery is full.

If you’re trying a new liquid, there could be a few factors at play here. The higher the PG level the more flavour payoff you’ll get, so if you’re usually buying a 50:50 juice and have a 70:30 this time around, you’ll have less of the taste and more cloud instead. The other thing is the quality of the juice - make sure you’re buying from a reputable brand.

When it comes to voltage - the higher the power, the stronger the taste will be so if you’ve got the option to up that, give it a go and see what happens.

Finally, the air flow plays a part in how your vape will perform - the more ventilation, the bigger the vapour clouds, the less ventilation there is, the more your e liquids flavour will show up.

I'm Not Getting Enough Vapour

If you’re used to being able to fill the house with clouds but are only producing wisps of vapour now, similarly to when you’re not getting enough flavour, the coil can be a big factor. When they’re burnt out you won’t get a lot of vapour production, typically (if you’re a fairly heavy vaper) you can expect them to last a week or two - depending on the resistance and wattage of your vape.

The other thing is your juice again, for mammoth clouds you’ll want to have a higher VG content, 70:30 and 80:20 are most popular. If you have adjustable vents on your tank, open those as much as they can go - the more air flow you have the more vapour you’ll be able to produce, with this you’ll probably want to crank up the voltage a little as well.

I’m Not Really Feeling Any Nicotine Hit, Or, I'm Getting Light-Headed When I Vape A Lot

This comes down to the strength of your e liquid - if you’re an ex-smoker making the switch to vaping, you might need to go for a higher nicotine level to get the right fix. If you’re feeling a bit light-headed or nauseous, you’ll want to drop the nic level instead. If you’ve switched from a standard tank to a sub ohm vape, the power you’re dealing with is a lot higher so if you’re still on a 6mg strength, you’ll be feeling it a lot more than you used to.

My Vape Tank/Atomiser Is Leaking

No one likes sticky fingers, and a soggy pocket isn’t ideal either. It’s possible you’ve overloaded your tank with too much e liquid and it’s oozed a little when you’ve replaced the lid, or it’s travelled down into the air intake vents. If this is the case, disconnect the tank from the battery, open it all up and let it drain, then blow through the tank and drip tip to get rid of any excess. Reassemble it again and put less juice in this time, ideally you want to leave a bit of a gap at the top of your tank, just make sure you’ve put enough in to cover the holes next to your coil.

If you’re still having problems with leakage, it might be an issue with how your tank is connecting to the battery. There’s a thin, rubber o-ring that sits around the base of the tank to create a seal against the battery. If you’ve screwed the two together a bit too tightly, it can get squashed and not be as air tight. Most vapes come with replacement o-rings so you can replace these - or pop into your local vape shop and get a hand there.

I Inhaled And Got A Horrible "Hot" Metallic Taste And No Vapour

That hot feeling, not entirely dissimilar to smoking, is pretty unpleasant - especially if you’re used to a cooler vape. This effect is a “dry hit” and happens when your coil isn’t getting enough e liquid through it to produce vapour. To prevent this, make sure you keep enough liquid in the tank, if you’re also a chain vaper where you take a few drags in quick succession, sometimes the cotton isn’t able to resaturate quickly enough.

My Vapour Tastes Burnt

If you’re getting that “burnt toast” flavour (no one wants that) it’s usually because the liquid is stuck on the coil for too long before it gets dragged through your drip tip and into your mouth or the coil is getting too hot. There’s a few ways to fix this - check your vents and the voltage. Open the vents up more so you can get fresh air through to help carry your clouds through your vape more quickly, and drop the voltage a little so there isn’t as much heat in the tank.

Like a lot of the common issues - it can also be the coil itself. Make sure you prime your coil before you start using it by adding a few drops to the cotton and always let the liquid settle for up to ten minutes before you take the first drag. This is especially important to do with more powerful sub ohm vapes and devices with larger coils.

Lots Of Liquid Is Coming Through When I Vape

Liquid that hasn’t been vaporised properly can be pretty unpleasant, so to remedy this, make sure your vapes seals are secure. If it’s leaking anywhere you might need to change the seals around the tank. If that’s not a problem, it may be the device you’re using - if you have a large mod with more than one coil with wide air intakes then you’ll get through liquid much faster than a normal size vape or eGo style vape.

I Bought A New Tank But It Won't Stay On The Battery

Even if a tank and mod are from the same brand, it doesn’t mean they’re always going to be compatible. Check they both have the same connectors or threads, if you look online usually they’ll tell you which mod works with which tank in the product description. Sometimes they can look like they’ll fit but have a different thread pattern where they screw together.