Vape Shoppers Guide to Coil Priming

It is important to remember to prime your coil properly before use to improve the quality of the coil and increase its longevity. To properly prime a coil just follow these simple steps: 

1. Firstly, drip a few drops of your liquid onto the top of the coil, let the cotton within soak the liquid up between drips and keep dripping until you can see the white cotton through the side holes become wet. Be generous with your drips if there’s too much liquid then just flick your coil to make it come out. 

2. Next, re-install your coil and fill your tank/pod with your liquid.

3. Leave your device upright and alone for a few minutes to let all the liquid soak into the cotton 

4. Take a few "primer puffs” these are puffs where you vape your device but without actually firing it, this method draws the liquid up and around the cotton allowing greater surface area soaking. 

5. If your device has adjustable wattage then turn it the lowest recommended setting for your coil and fire 

6. After that, you can start to increase the wattage until you’re at your preferred level.

7. Well done you now have a primed coil. 

A quick tip

If your device spits back at you and there is a gurgling sound when activating it then it’s likely that you’ve flooded your coil. This can occur from either a device that’s not been used for a while or if there’s excess liquid in the coil from the priming process. 

If this happens to you then take off your mouthpiece, then flick your device in a downward motion towards the floor (we would recommend doing this outside to avoid any mess!). This will flick away excess liquid from the coil so that when you next use your device you won’t get any spitback or hear a gurgling sound.

The importance of proper coil priming 

The coil is a vital part of your vaping device. In-fact it is your coil that is the heating element that turns your liquid into inhalable vapour. In general, coils are composed of a heating element that’s been encased in cotton. The cotton soaks and holds the liquid within allowing it to be vaporised when you activate your device. 

When to replace your coils 

Coils don’t last forever and will need replacing eventually. The length of time between replacements depends on various factors, such as how often you use your device, the power setting you have it on, the e-liquid you are using along with many other factors. All of these can impact the lifespan of your coil. As a general rule of thumb we would advise that you change your coil when it tastes burnt (a similar taste to burnt toast!) and does not taste like the flavour of e-liquid you are using.