Vaping is a trend that is becoming commonplace today. But it also invites its own set of problems with the vape coil gunk issue heading the list. You understand it by deteriorated flavor, burnt taste, and many other indications. Here, we would understand what it is, what causes it, and how to avoid it in the first place. Stay touted.
What is vape coil gunk?
Vape coil gunk refers to the concentrated caramelized blob of residue deposits on the atomizer and vape coils. It becomes thicker and darker gradually and severely impacts your vaping experience and the longevity of your vaping device.
What causes vape coil gunk?
You can avoid vape coil gunk by knowing why it happens. Its leading causes are:
- Dark e-juices with sweeteners
- E-juices with high VG components
- Vaping at a fairly high wattage setting
- Too frequent or chain vaping
- Net e-liquids where the tiny tobacco solids are not filtered from the extracts
- Flavored e-liquids
Tips to avoid vape coil gunk
You cannot wholly avoid vape coil gunk, but you can certainly minimize it by following the below-mentioned tips each time you vape.
1Choose e-juices without sweeteners
Sweeteners are added to vape juices to enhance flavors, but it also causes significant gunk buildup. It caramelizes when you heat the liquid and leaves a nasty deposit on the vape coil. You might need to change the coil in less than two to three weeks. Flavors like desserts, pastries, custards, candies, ripe fruit flavors, coffees, etc., are particularly notorious for high sucralose content.
Switching to a vape juice with nominal to no sweeteners will dramatically reduce the notorious vape coil gunk. They might surprise you with their delicious taste. Sweeteners tend to muddle the flavor of an e-liquid. Eliminating it brings forth the most complex and exciting flavor profiles of e-juices that often go unnoticed. For easy switching, try the generally unsweetened menthol flavor.
2Avoid chain vaping
Chain vaping refers to frequent vaping. It can not only be detrimental to your health, but it can also shorten the life of the device and several vape kits online like the vape coil, wick, batteries, etc.
Most chain vapers use an RBA, but it proves costly and harmful for your health. It’s always best to cut down on chain vaping and enjoy it judiciously.
3Avoid Max VG liquids
VG is the heavy, dense liquid component of e-juice that contributes to large cloud formation. Hence, most cloud chasers like to choose an e-juice with Max VG, i.e., its concentration is 70% or more compared to PG. It also gives you a smoother hit, but it is a killer for the vape coils as it causes faster buildup on them.
The best way is to choose e-juices with less than 70% VG, even if you use sub-ohm coils. Many reputable brands give you a default 60% VG in their juices, while others allow you to customize its percentage.
Ideally, you should go for a 50/50 blend of PG/VG juices. They give you the best of both worlds of cloud-formation and flavors and help maintain the vaping device’s health and longevity.
4Avoid e-juices with poorly filtered tobacco extracts
Most smokers who switch to vaping prefer tobacco-flavored juice for a more realistic experience. Given that, most vape juice manufacturers have tried to perfect the refreshing flavor of tobacco. A popular method for it is to create juices by infusing natural extracts from real tobacco leaves. Popularly referred to as NET e-liquids, they capture many subtle complexities of tobacco that a traditional non-botanical flavor cannot.
However, not all manufacturers can prepare NET e-liquids with perfection. The residual tobacco leaf particles often pass through the filtration process inside the e-liquid. When these particles burn in a vape at high temperatures, they produce an uncomfortable ashtray taste, aroma, and the hard gunk crust on the coil.
Hence, it’s best to choose the tobacco flavor only from those specific brands that do not imitate the taste using leaf particles or have such high manufacturing processes.
5Avoid flavored and dark e-liquids
Most dark e-liquids are almost always sweet, and that expedites the buildup of gunk on the coils. Switching to clear e-liquids minimizes gunk buildup.
Additionally, flavors are the backbone of vaping. But flavors also cause excessive gunk buildup as they have excessive sucralose. Ideally, you must choose unflavored vape juices. But if you crave flavors, you can add some unflavored juices to the flavored ones. It would dilute them and reduce the speed of residue buildup.
6Changing the way you vape
The best way to avoid vape gunk is to change your vape settings and technique of vaping. Many vaping buffs enjoy taking long drags at a high-wattage setting. It causes a faster burning of the wick and the e-juice instead of vaporizing. It causes a higher buildup of residue.
Taking sharper and shorter drags will give you better flavors and cut down on gunk. Reducing the wattage will save on the vape juice and give you better flavors. For it, you can try switching to a lower output vaping device.
Final words
The tips mentioned above will undoubtedly reduce the speed of vape coil gunk formation. Apart from them, cleaning the vape device at least once a week and following best vape practices will help you enjoy maximum flavors and cloud formation without needing too frequent coil change or odd taste in your mouth.
