Over the past year or so, the biggest trend in vaping has definitely been the rechargeable disposable vape. All of the best disposable vapes have rechargeable batteries today, but it wasn’t long ago that none of them had rechargeable batteries at all. In those days, you’d simply use a disposable vape until the light started blinking, and then you’d dispose of it.
The fact that most early disposable vapes only lasted around a day or two, however, limited their popularity because it meant that the devices were quite expensive to use compared to refillable vapes.
Adding rechargeable batteries to their products allowed the manufacturers to solve that problem. With a rechargeable battery, a disposable vape can come with a much larger supply of vape juice without being enormous. New vapes like the Geek Bar Pulse and the Lost Mary MO20000 Pro can last 15,000-20,000 puffs without breaking a sweat, making them just as affordable as refillable devices and even more affordable in some cases.
In order to use a rechargeable disposable vape, though, you need to learn how to charge it. Thankfully, that’s not difficult at all. In this article, we’re going to explain how to charge a disposable vape properly. We’ll also describe some troubleshooting steps that you can try if you have a disposable vape that isn’t working. Let’s dive in.
How to Charge a Disposable Vape: Quick Overview
- Use your disposable vape until its battery dies. At this point, the light will blink when you puff on the device. You can also charge a disposable vape whenever you feel like topping up the battery.
- Connect the disposable vape to your computer with a USB cable. Most disposable vapes have USB-C charging ports. A disposable vape generally doesn’t come with a charging cable, so you’ll need to use your own. When you connect the device to your computer, the light should turn on.
- Watch the light to see when your vape is done charging. The light will usually either turn off or change color. Most disposable vapes charge in a little under an hour.
Use Your Disposable Vape Until It Blinks
The light on a disposable vape blinks when the battery is dead. At this point, it’s time to recharge the battery.
A disposable vape comes out of the package with a fully charged battery, which means that there’s no need to charge the device before you start using it. You can use a disposable vape as normal until the light starts to blink, and that’s when you’ll need to charge the battery.
These days, it’s becoming increasingly common for companies to make disposable vapes with screens. In this case, instead of having a simple indicator light, the device will have a screen with a battery meter. Either way, though, the idea is the same. When the screen says that the battery is empty, it’s time to charge the device.
Find a Compatible Charging Cable
You’ll usually need to use your own cable to charge a disposable vape. Most disposable vapes have USB-C ports.
Before you can charge your disposable vape, you’ll need to find a compatible cable. Most modern disposable vapes have USB-C ports, so you’ll need a cable that has a USB-C connector on one end.
In most cases, the other end of the cable can have either a USB-C or USB-A connector depending on the power source that you want to use to charge your device. In a few cases, though, people have reported that some disposable vapes have trouble charging through cables that have USB-C connectors on both ends. If your disposable vape doesn’t charge through a C-to-C cable, try using an A-to-C cable instead.
You’re probably wondering why you need to use your own cable to charge your disposable vape. All traditional vape kits come with charging cables, so why can’t disposable vapes as well?
There are actually two reasons why disposable vapes usually don’t come with charging cables. The first reason is cost. People expect to spend very little money when they buy disposable vapes, and if a device isn’t competitive on cost, people will buy something else. Including a cable would probably increase the price of a disposable vape by about a dollar, which is very significant for devices that typically cost well under $15.
Waste is the other reason why disposable vapes usually don’t include charging cables. Over the course of a year, you might buy dozens of vapes. You don’t need dozens of charging cables, though – you just need one. The rest of the cables would just get thrown into a drawer and left unused. You might even start throwing the extra cables away, which would be terribly wasteful. So, you’ll need to provide your own cable.
Connect Your Vape to a Computer or Wall Charger
A disposable vape usually charges best through a computer. You can also use a wall adapter that isn’t designed for quick charging.
When it’s time to charge your disposable vape, you have two options. You can connect the device to your computer – which usually provides the shortest charging times – or you can connect it to a wall charger. If you use a wall charger, don’t use the charger for a mobile phone, computer or tablet. The batteries for those types of devices typically support faster charging, but a vaping device usually doesn’t and could potentially overheat if the charging current is too high. For most disposable vapes, the ideal wall charger is one that operates at 5 volts with a current of 1 amp. A 1-amp current will usually charge a disposable vape in a little under an hour.
Watch the Indicator Light or Battery Meter
The light on a disposable vape will change when the battery is fully charged.
After connecting your disposable vape to your computer or wall charger, you’ll just need to watch the device’s screen or LED to see when it’s done charging.
- If the device has a screen with a battery indicator, you can simply watch the indicator tick up to “100%.” When the indicator says that the battery is full, you can disconnect the device and resume vaping.
- If the device has an LED, the light should immediately turn on when you connect the device to a power source. At this point, all that you need to do is pay attention to the light. When the device is done charging, the light will change in one of three ways.
- The light will pulse while the device charges and go solid when the battery is fully charged.
- The light will illuminate in one color – usually red – while the device charges and change to a different color when the battery is fully charged.
- The light will illuminate during charging and turn off when the battery is fully charged.
Regardless of the method that your device uses to let you know what’s going on with the charging process, the end result is the same: When the charging process is complete, you can resume using your device.
How Long Does a Disposable Vape Take to Charge?
Most disposable vapes charge in under an hour.
A disposable vape usually charges with a current of 1 amp, which means that the battery charges at a rate of 1,000 milliamps per hour. That makes it very easy to figure out how long the charging process should take. All you need is the capacity of the battery in milliamp-hours. Divide that number by 1,000 to get your answer.
For example, suppose your disposable vape has a battery capacity of 600 mAh. Divide that number by 1,000, and you get an answer of 0.6. This means that the device charges in 0.6 of an hour, which is about 36 minutes.
If the device’s actual charging time is much longer or shorter than that, it means that the device is charging with a current higher or lower than 1 amp. If the device charges with a 0.5-amp current, the charging time is doubled – and if it charges with a 2-amp current, the charging time is cut in half.
How Long Does a Disposable Vape Last Between Charges?
In most cases, you can expect to get about a full day of use out of a disposable vape before the battery dies. If you remember to charge your device about once per day, it’s unlikely that you’ll ever have to worry about your vape dying unexpectedly. Some people find that they can even go more than one day without charging their batteries, but we suggest doing it once per day just to be sure.
What Should I Do if My Disposable Vape Isn’t Charging?
Replacing the cable fixes most disposable vapes that aren’t charging. If that doesn’t work, try a different power source and make sure the device’s USB port is clean.
If you have a disposable vape that isn’t charging, the first thing that you should do is try using the device. A disposable vape’s light usually turns off when the device is done charging, so if your device’s light doesn’t turn on when you connect it to a power source, there’s a chance that the battery is already charged. If you’re certain that the battery isn’t dead and isn’t charging, try these things to fix it.
- Try using a different USB cable. USB cables wear out quickly when they’re used constantly, so this fixes most charging issues with disposable vapes. If you’re using a cable with a USB-C connector on both ends, try a cable with a USB-A connector on one end.
- Make sure that your device’s charging port is clean. You probably carry your vape in your pocket when you aren’t using it, and that means it’s likely to gather dust and pocket lint. If the charging port is so badly blocked that power can’t be reliably transferred through the connector, your device won’t charge. You can remove dust and lint from the charging port with a toothpick or similar tool. Don’t use anything metal to clean the charging port, though, because you could remove the gold plating from the connector in the port.
- Try connecting your vape to a different power source. If you’re using a wall adapter, try connecting the device to your computer. If you’re already using your computer, try a different computer or a different port on the same computer. Don’t charge a disposable vape with the wall charger for a mobile phone or tablet because a quick-charging adapter supplies a higher current that can potentially cause a vape to overheat.