When you use an e-cigarette tank, leaking is a problem that you’ll deal with constantly. That’s because an e-cigarette tank isn’t a truly sealed environment. Between the air holes at the bottom and the mouthpiece at the top, there are plenty of avenues through which e-liquid can escape. E-cigarette tanks mitigate leaking by creating a partial vacuum inside the glass enclosure. Silicone gaskets further help to block e-liquid that might otherwise escape. Even under the best of circumstances, though, every e-cigarette tank sometimes leaks.

The good news is that it isn’t hard to stop an e-cigarette tank from leaking. You simply need to understand how e-cigarette tanks work and determine what’s causing the problem. Once you’ve done that, fixing your tank is simple. This guide will help.

Leaking E-cigarette tanks

Disassemble, Clean and Reassemble Your Tank

Warped gaskets, over-tightening and cross-threading can all cause an e-cigarette tank to leak – and if a tank’s seals are already wet with e-liquid, the tank will tend to continue leaking. Basic maintenance is, therefore, a great way to restore your tank’s original tight seal and stop the tank from leaking. Disassemble the tank and rinse all parts – except the atomizer – in warm water. You can rinse the atomizer coil if you like, but you can’t resume using the coil until the cotton is completely dry. It’s better to clean your tank when you’re ready to begin using a new coil.

When you clean your tank, check for any stretched, warped or torn gaskets. A silicone o-ring doesn’t last forever; that’s why most tanks include bags of replacement gaskets. Replace any gasket that doesn’t look right.

Dry the tank’s parts and wipe away any remaining dust and residue with a paper towel. When you reassemble the tank, make sure that the parts are only finger-tight. Over-tightening can warp the gaskets. Screw the parts together carefully to avoid cross-threading.

You’re now ready to resume vaping with a tank that should be clean, shiny and leak free. Now, it’s time to keep it that way – and that’s what we’re going to focus on with the remaining tips in this article

Get a Silicone Cover

An e-cigarette tank usually has a long central chimney leading from the atomizer coil to the mouthpiece. When you vape, some of the vapour condenses in the chimney and forms droplets – and some of those droplets may leak out through the mouthpiece when you aren’t using your e-cigarette. Often, an e-cigarette tank includes a tight silicone cover that snaps over the mouthpiece to prevent leaking through the chimney. If your tank didn’t include a cover, check the manufacturer’s website to see if one is available.

Close the Airflow Vents When You Aren’t Vaping

When you vape, a partial vacuum forms inside your e-cigarette tank’s glass enclosure because the atomizer coil’s thick cotton wick causes a pressure differential between the enclosure and the outside environment. When you aren’t vaping, though, e-liquid will tend to continue seeping through the wick. Eventually, the vacuum will break, and e-liquid will start to leak through the tank’s airflow vents. Closing the airflow vents – especially if you’re also using a silicone cover – helps to maintain the vacuum when you aren’t vaping.

Store Your Device Facing Up

With most e-cigarette tanks, it’s easiest to prevent leaking if you store your device facing up when you aren’t using it. If you store your device on its side, e-liquid will no longer cover the atomizer’s wick openings. That leads to air exchange with the outside environment, which causes e-liquid to seep through the coil and leak through the tank’s air vents. Storing your device facing up helps to maintain the vacuum.

Fill Your Tank Carefully

With some tanks, it’s very easy to accidentally send e-liquid down the centre chimney when you’re trying to refill the reservoir. That’s especially true of top-filling tanks. Any e-liquid that you send down the chimney, though, goes directly out of the tank through the air vents because that’s how e-cigarette tanks work – air goes in through the vents and out through the chimney. Fill your tank carefully to avoid wasting your e-liquid. If you find it difficult to fill your tank with the bottle that you have, you can transfer the e-liquid to a unicorn bottle with a narrow tip.

Don’t Overfill Your Tank

As we mentioned previously, an e-cigarette tank creates a partial vacuum when you draw air through it. The vacuum creates a seal and keeps the e-liquid moving toward the atomizer coil. For the tank to form a vacuum, though, there needs to be a little space inside the glass enclosure. When you fill your tank, don’t fill it to the very top – leave a little room for the vacuum.

Use the Right PG/VG Blend

A sub-ohm tank operates at high temperatures, and the ideal e-liquid for high-temperature vaping is one that’s high in vegetable glycerine. VG is thick, so manufacturers optimize their tanks for the most reliable operation with thick e-liquids. If you’re using a sub-ohm tank, you should use an e-liquid containing at least 50 percent VG. An e-liquid containing mostly propylene glycol will seep through the wick too quickly, causing the tank to leak. The larger the wick holes in your tank’s atomizer coils are, the thicker your e-liquid should be. The largest sub-ohm tanks work great with “Max VG” e-liquids.

Vape at a Higher Power Level

The coil for your e-cigarette tank most likely has a suggested wattage range printed on the side. Within that range, the atomizer’s wick keeps the coil fed efficiently with e-liquid. The suggested wattage range doesn’t just exist to help you avoid burning your wick, though – it also helps to prevent the tank from leaking. If you vape below the suggested wattage range of your coils, the air pressure from your puffs may draw e-liquid into the atomizer more rapidly than the coil can vaporize it. Eventually, the e-liquid will pool inside the coil and cause gurgling, spitting and leaking. If you experience those problems with your e-cigarette tank, try increasing the wattage of your device.

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