How to fix your vape tank leaking and spitting

Simon Wells
Authored by Simon Wells
Posted: Wednesday, April 27, 2022 - 06:17

Having trouble with your vape device? Leaking and spitting is a widespread problem you can find the answers to below.

As much as all vape users love a good vape juice, there is nothing quite as bad as getting it all over your hands. A leaking tank means your vape juice gets everywhere. It sticks to the handles of your doors, your mugs, and your car steering wheel. It gets all over the place, spreading a pungent smell and an acrid taste. Leaking vape tanks are no laughing matter. So we thought it was about time we covered how you prevent a leaking, spitting, or popping vape tank.

Leaking, spitting, and popping are common issues with high tech vaping devices. It’s a common problem with even the most popular sub ohm tanks. Let’s break it down into what leaking is, what popping and spitting is, and how you can prevent all of the above from ruining your vaping experience.

What is Leaking?

Your vape tank can leak in two directions. It can leak out onto the vape mod or it can leak out into your mouth. Nobody wants either. When the device leaks up the mouthpiece, you end up tasting little flecks of e-liquid, which can taste horrendous in liquid form. When the e-liquid leaks out of the tank and onto the mod, it gets on your hands and all over your everything.

Leaking happens in every single tank. There is no design of vape tank which is completely leak proof. There are also lots of reasons why a tank leaks, so if you must cycle through all the troubleshooting advice on the internet to fix it.

Below, we’ve tried to concisely list the things that make your tank leak, and the fixes that will correct them. Remember that you can pick up a new tank in our online vape shop, just remember that the leak down to the model of vape device you have, as opposed to anything wrong with the tank itself.

How to Prevent Leaking?

There are multiple reasons your tank might be leaking so let’s get through these as quickly as we can.

1 – Storage

How are you storing it? If your tank isn’t facing upwards and the juice is able to run into the mouthpiece, that’s your problem. There’s a simple fix, store it upright.

2 – Seals and Rubber Parts 

Next, locate the tank seals and dry them on the outside. Find the rubber parts that prevent leaks and check them, too. Look for degradation. If you can’t find any, it’s not likely your seals. 

3 – The Deep Clean

Empty the juice from the tank, take your vape pen to bits and clean each one of them. Pay particular attention to that mouthpiece. A little known tip is that you can get glass mouthpieces which you can soak alongside your coils in ethanol. This should get all the vape juice trapped in the mouthpiece area out.

4 – Look for Leaks

While you have your tank apart for the deep clean, fill it with water and hold it underneath water in a bowl. If bubbles arise from a specific area of the glass or rubber tank, you have found your leak. In this instance, find a new tank or pod. If anything happens to the pod, you can always find a replacement on VapeDirect.

5 – How are your Coils?

You should be replacing those coils once a month for light use, and once a week for heavy use. When did you last replace them? If they are over saturated, they will flood, rather than burn off the juice. You should use a fresh coil for each vape juice.

6 – How is your Vape Juice?

Low quality juices can clog up the coils quicker and lead to a less than satisfactory vaping experience. Upgrade your juice and try again.

7 – How is your heat?

Not enough heat applied to the coil to burn off the vape juice and you may find liquid in your mouthpiece. The right heat is a delicate balance between a lungful and a burnt coil. 

8 – Correct your refilling process

Are you following the manufacturer’s instructions on filling your vape pen correctly? Go read the manual before you next fill up. Leaving the lid off the tank, having poor airflow through the mouthpiece, and oversaturating your wick are all mistakes made when refilling. Don’t use too much liquid or you will flood the coil.

9 – Watch the Wick

If you are using a device that you must pull the wick through yourself on, check you are doing it correctly. 

What is Spitting and Popping?

Spitting and popping is the umbrella term to the pops and spits your vape pen makes when it is malfunctioning. Usually, it specifically refers to the popping noise of e-liquid getting cooked on the coils, instead of turning to vapor like it’s supposed to. 

This cooking process is exactly what would happen if you dropped a droplet of water onto a hot frying pan. It would spit out at you while making a popping noise. The water would float about on a cloud of steam, in fact, in a scientific principle known as the Leidenfrost Effect

There are a few reasons why your vape pen might spit or pop. Here’s the lowdown on what they are and what to do about them.

How to Prevent Spitting and Popping?

The main cause of spitting and popping is an oversaturated or flooded coil. A coil which has too much liquid in it and is too old to properly heat it away, will throw out cooked liquid instead of vapour. Try replacing your coils first.

Taking too deep of a breath can cause spitting, reduce airflow, and try a second time. If this does not fix your problem, try increasing the heat, instead. It may be that the vape juice is not hot enough when running through the coil. 

You can press the power on and off a few times before you use it to make sure the coil is drier. Lastly, you could change out the drip tip for something with a curve in it, to make it harder for the liquid to reach your lips. 
 

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