How Long Do Vape Coils Last?

When you’re in the initial stages of switching from smoking to vaping, you’re probably going to assume that e-liquid will be your most significant recurring cost. Vape juice, after all, is where you get your nicotine. It’s the main consumable product that you use when vaping, so it’s natural to conclude that most of your money will go toward e-liquid.

As soon as you start using your first vape kit, though, you’re going to learn that vape coils are actually just as significant of an expense as e-liquid. In fact, you could even potentially spend more on coils than you do on e-juice if your coils don’t last very long.

That brings us to the core question that this article is going to answer: How long do vape coils last? If you find yourself replacing burned-out vape coils constantly, there’s a good chance that you’re spending more on vaping than what’s really necessary. We’re going to explain how you can have a better vaping experience and spend less on vape coils.

First, though, let’s learn a bit more about how vape coils work.

How Do Vape Coils Work?

Before you can really understand how long vape coils should last, you need to understand how the coils work. A vape coil has a heating surface that’s usually made from one or more strips of mesh or spiral-wound wires. Wrapped around the heating surface is a pad made from cotton or a blend of fibers. The pad functions both as a wick and a way to regulate the flow of e-liquid from the tank or pod to the coil. When you vape, the coil’s heating surface vaporizes the e-liquid held in the wick. When you stop vaping, the wick draws in more e-liquid from the tank or pod.

When you vape, the coil’s heating surface and wick both undergo significant heat stress. When a coil burns out, it’s most likely due to a failure of one of those components. Before we explain the process of vape coil failure in greater detail, though, let’s answer the question that brought you here. How long do vape coils last?

How Long Does a Vape Coil Last?

The short answer to this question is that a vape coil typically lasts at least a few days. You should be able to refill a vape tank or pod several times before the coil’s flavor quality degrades permanently. The most important thing to understand about how long a vape coil should last is that a coil doesn’t just stop working when it reaches the end of its life. In reality, a coil degrades much more slowly than that. Over time, the coil begins to break down, and its flavor changes gradually. As you use the coil, it begins to take on a burned flavor and slowly becomes less enjoyable to use. Deciding when to replace the coil, though, is entirely up to you.

If you replace your vape coils as soon as their flavor changes even slightly, you’re going to find that your coils don’t last very long at all. On the other hand, your coils can last quite a long time if you aren’t very sensitive to the flavor changes that take place in an aging coil.

In the best possible case, it’s possible for a vape coil to last well over a week with no discernable change in flavor – but getting that kind of coil life may require you to make some changes to the way you vape. Here at Innokin, we’ve also developed some revolutionary new vape technologies that can help to extend coil life. To understand what you can do – and what we’re doing – to make your coils last longer, though, you need to understand why vape coils burn out in the first place.

What Causes Vape Coils to Burn Out?

As we mentioned earlier in the article, a vape coil virtually always burns out because of a failure with either the heating surface or the wick. Here’s how it happens.

• Some e-liquid ingredients – such as the sugar-free sweetener sucralose – cause residue to build up on your coil’s heating surface over time. If this happens to your coil, you’ll notice an exaggerated sweetness that builds up as you vape. The sweetness will slowly give way to a flavor that resembles dark caramel. When the residue becomes extremely thick, you’ll taste a harsh flavor similar to burnt sugar when you vape.
• The wick in a vape coil is made from natural fibers, and the wick can burn if it isn’t completely saturated with e-liquid at all times. Unlike the burnt flavor of e-liquid residue – which takes time to build – a singed wick can ruin a coil’s flavor instantly. If your coil’s wick is badly burned, you’ll taste an extremely harsh and unpleasant flavor when vaping and may also feel an irritating sensation in the back of your throat.

In order to know what you should do to make your coils last longer, you need to know what’s causing them to burn out. When you’re no longer happy with a coil’s flavor and have decided to replace it, examine the coil closely before you throw it away. If the heating surface is covered with residue, you’ll see the dark layer of grunge when you look down at the center of the coil. If the heating surface looks clean, you’ve probably burned the coil’s wick.

What Is Innokin Doing to Make Vape Coils That Last Longer?

Here at Innokin, we believe that every vaper has the right to enjoy longer-lasting equipment. Although there are several things that you can do to make your coils last longer – we’ll discuss those tricks in a moment – it’s equally important if your equipment is also designed for longevity. Here are just a few of the technologies that we’ve implemented to help your vape coils last longer.

• Many of our vape tanks now come with mesh coils or have mesh coils available. A mesh coil has a flat profile that ensures good wick-to-wire contact and helps to prevent the hot spots that can lead to burned cotton.
• Our latest vape coils use wicks made from blended cotton and wood pulp. This design gives you the pure flavor of cotton along with the superior heat resistance of wood pulp.
• We developed a completely new vaping mode called FØ for our latest vaping devices such as the Innokin Sensis. Using Alternating Current rather than the traditional Direct Current technology used by most vaping devices, The FØ vaping mode delivers power with perfect precision to help ensure the highest possible flavor quality and the longest coil life.

How to Increase the Life of Your Vape Coils

Now that you have a better idea of what we’re doing at Innokin to build longer-lasting vape hardware, what are the things that you can do to keep your coils from burning out?

• Use unsweetened e-liquid to prevent sucralose residue from forming on your coils. Although most e-liquid flavors will cause coil residue to form eventually, sucralose is the biggest contributor to coil gunk by far. If you own a powerful sub-ohm vaping device and prefer to use heavily sweetened e-liquid, you may find that your coils turn completely black after just a day or so of vaping.
• Prime new coils before installing them. To prime a coil, put a little e-liquid on each of the coil’s wick openings. After installing a new coil and filling your tank or pod, wait a while before you start vaping. Allowing some time for the wick to become saturated with e-liquid helps to ensure that the cotton won’t burn when you begin using the coil.
• Set your vaping device to a moderate wattage that’s well within your coil’s recommended power range. When you vape at a very high wattage, the heat from your coil will quickly vaporize the e-liquid held in the wick, leaving the wick dry before it has adequate time to replenish itself with more vape juice from your tank. Over time, the heat from the coil will burn the wick.
• Keep your tank or pod full. Your coil can only keep itself wet if the e-liquid in your tank or pod always covers the coil’s wick openings. When the level of e-liquid is low, the wick can’t work efficiently and could end up burning as a result.

Can You Fix a Coil That’s Burned Out?

Understanding why your coils are burning out doesn’t just help you know what you need to change in order to make your coils last longer. In some cases, it’s actually possible to clean your coils and reuse them. Click the link for detailed step-by-step coil cleaning instructions. Before you do that, though, here’s what you need to know.

• If your coils are burning out because of residue from sucralose and other e-liquid flavorings, then those coils have no physical problems and can be cleaned. Cleaning the coil removes the residue and restores the coil’s original flavor.
• If your coils are burning out because their wicks are damaged, cleaning the coils will not restore their original flavor. When cotton is burned, its molecular structure is altered permanently.