One of the best things about modern vapes is that they’re practically self-explanatory in many ways. All that you need to do is charge your device and fill it, and you’re off and running. With disposable vapes, you don’t even need to worry about the filling part. There’s a big difference, though, between knowing how to vape and knowing how to vape properly.
Many people find that the journey toward learning how to properly vape requires a good amount of trial and error, but it doesn’t have to be that way if you know a trusted expert who can provide a bit of advice. In this guide, we’re going to be that trusted expert.
You want to be sure that you’re vaping the right way and that you’re having the best possible experience. Here are the most important things that you need to know.
Puff Gently
Regardless of what type of vape you’re using, the most important thing to know about vaping properly is that you should always use gentle air pressure when puffing on your device.
As a smoker, you’re probably used to the concept of taking firmer puffs when you want to get more smoke. That works with a cigarette because you’re supplying more oxygen to fuel the combustion. When you vape, though, you’re basically inhaling a boiled liquid. Puffing harder won’t make your device produce more vapor. It could even cause gurgling and leaking because the air pressure can force excess e-liquid into your device’s atomizer coil assembly.
If you want to get bigger vapor clouds, there are two ways to do it.
- If your vape has variable power, you can increase the wattage. Be careful not to burn your coil out. If the flavor tastes burnt, you’ve gone too far.
- You can take longer puffs. Even a lower-powered vape can produce a big cloud if you puff slowly and deeply.
Keep an Eye on Your Tank or Pod
The atomizer coil in your vape has a cotton wick that supplies the heating element with vape juice. Cotton can burn easily if the element overheats, so it’s important to ensure that you never let your tank or pod get empty.
Why is a burnt wick such a major problem? It’s because you will definitely taste it if the wick in your tank or pod is damaged. Singed cotton creates a burnt, smoky flavor that some people have compared to vaping a burnt t-shirt – not something you want to experience. To make matters worse, there’s no way to fix damaged cotton. The only thing that you can do is replace the pod or coil.
How can you tell when it’s time to refill your vape? Just watch the coil. If the level is below the wick holes on the side of the coil, the wick can’t absorb e-liquid efficiently. It’s at risk of burning at this point unless you add more vape juice.
Use the Right Nicotine Strength
Vaping should always be smooth and satisfying with just the right amount of throat hit. Change your nicotine strength if that’s not what you’re experiencing.
It’s especially important to make sure that you’re using the right type of nicotine for your device.
- If you’re using a small vape with tight airflow, your device will probably work best with nicotine salt.
- If you’re using a larger vape with loose airflow, your device will probably work best with freebase nicotine.
Nicotine salt and freebase nicotine e-liquids usually come in ranges of strengths, with freebase e-liquid usually coming in strengths of 3-6 mg/ml and nicotine salt generally selling in strengths of 20-50 mg/ml.
Are you sure that the nicotine strength you’re using is right for your personal needs? Here’s how to tell.
- If your nicotine strength is too low, you’ll find vaping unsatisfying even if you do it almost constantly. If you’re a recent convert from smoking, you might feel strongly tempted to smoke a cigarette even while you're actively vaping.
- If your nicotine strength is too high, you’ll feel an intense and unpleasant sensation in your throat when you inhale the vapor. You might also feel jittery or overly “buzzed” from consuming more nicotine than you need.
Don’t Stop Experimenting with New Flavors
One of the things that makes vaping so much more enjoyable than smoking is the fact that there are so many flavors available for you to try. The best vape flavors are tasty, nuanced blends that will really surprise you with their creativity. A cigarette, on the other hand, will always taste like a cigarette.
When you stock up on vapes or vape juice, you should always make it a point to try a new flavor that you’ve never bought before. There are so many flavors out there that no one could ever find the time to try every one of them. To ensure that vaping always remains fresh and interesting, you owe it to yourself to experience as many of those flavors as possible.
Try Using a Third-Party Tank
Are you using a vape mod or another type of vape with threading at the top? One of the benefits of using a 510-threaded vape is that you don’t have to use the tank included with your device. In fact, buying a new tank is an affordable way to reinvigorate your vaping experience if things start to get a bit dull.
Why can a new tank change your experience so dramatically? When you think about it, the tank is actually the most important part of your vaping device in many ways. The device doesn’t produce the vapor – it just regulates the power delivery. The tank produces the vapor, which means that it’s also responsible for the way your vape tastes. Little changes can make a big difference in the way that you perceive the flavor.
- Different coil structures can change the character of the vapor. A mesh coil tends to produce a “drier” vapor with a smaller droplet size, whereas a traditional wound coil produces a vapor that feels wetter on the tongue.
- Going from an all-cotton wick to a synthetic blend can affect the flavor that a vape coil produces.
- Different tanks have different mouthpiece shapes and airflow characteristics, which changes the way that the vapor disperses over the palate. Since the vapor hits different sections of your mouth, you’ll experience the flavor differently. You may taste flavor notes that you’ve never noticed before.
Try Using Unsweetened E-Liquid
Do you find that you’re spending more than you’d like to spend on replacement pods or coils for your vape? A large percentage of the vape juice that’s sold today is sweetened with sucralose. People enjoy sweet flavors, but sweetened e-liquid causes vape coils to burn out more quickly.
Why does sucralose cause vape coils to burn out? The reason is because sucralose doesn’t vaporize cleanly like most of the other ingredients that are used as e-liquid flavorings. There’s always a small portion of the sucralose that caramelizes and forms a dark film on the coil. The film thickens as you continue to vape, and it eventually becomes so thick that it begins to alter the flavor in a negative way.
If your vape begins to taste burnt and smoky after you’ve been using a pod or coil for a few days, sucralose is the reason why. If you switch to unsweetened e-liquid, you’ll save a lot of money on replacement parts.
Saving money isn’t the only reason why using unsweetened e-liquid can enhance your experience. Many people find that unsweetened vape juices often have flavor blends that are more subtle and nuanced. That’s because sucralose tends to cover more subtle flavors. There’s no reason to use those flavors if most people won’t be able to taste them.
Store Your Vape Gear Properly
Did you know that how you store your vape gear can have a major effect on the quality of your experience? That’s right – what you do with your vapes when you’re not using them is almost as important as what you do when you are using them. Here are some important storage tips for you to keep in mind as we bring this guide to a close.
- Try to store your vaping devices upright when you’re not using them. Storing a vape on its side can sometimes cause excess e-liquid to absorb into the atomizer coil assembly, potentially causing gurgling and leaking.
- Don’t open your vapes and vape juices until you’re ready to use them. Opening a disposable vape or bottle of e-liquid exposes it to air, which causes oxidation. When e-liquid oxidizes, the flavor changes, and the nicotine potency begins to degrade. Kept in the original package, there’s no reason why a vape or bottle of e-liquid shouldn’t continue to taste great for up to a year after you buy it.
- Store your unused disposable vapes and bottles of e-liquid in a cool, dry place such as a closed cabinet. This helps to minimize exposure to air and light, both of which can damage an e-liquid’s flavor and nicotine potency.