When you are vaping, one of the most important things to learn is how to prime a coil.
By priming the coil, you can get better taste, a longer-lasting coil or pod and avoid the bad taste that comes when a coil burns out.
The good news is that for most devices, priming is very easy and you only need to do it when you first use a new coil or pod. There are also some slightly more advanced techniques that can speed up the priming process, which we’ll also take a look at in this guide.
Contents
- What is priming a coil?
- How do you prime pre-filled pods and cartridges?
- How do you prime fixed-coil pods and tanks?
- How do you prime removable coils?
- How do you prime sub-ohm coils?
- How long do you prime a coil for?
- What is auto-priming?
- What if you forget to prime your coil?
- Related guides
- Related products
A vape coil is the heating element in your vape device. Priming your vape coil simply means ensuring that enough e-liquid is soaked into the coil and wicking so it doesn’t burn out when power and heat are applied.
The care and time involved in priming usually depend on the resistance of the coil, which is measured in ohms (Ω). This is because the lower the resistance of the coil, the more cotton/wicking it has. The increased wicking material leads to more potential for dry spots on the cotton, and therefore an increased chance of burning it.
Indeed, this is one of the reasons high-resistance coils last a lot longer than low-resistance coils, the others being the smaller surface area of the coil and the amount of vegetable glycerine (VG) and propylene glycol (PG) used in the e-liquid.
Learn more: VG and PG Explained
Pre-filled pods, like the Crystal Plus pods, and disposable cartridges that do not usually need to be primed, as they have already had enough exposure to e-liquid to ensure that the coil and wicking are saturated.
The exception is when pre-filled pods are designed to keep the e-liquid and coil separate until the pod is ready to be used. When that happens, you should allow the pod to stand for a few minutes before using it.
Every other kind of coil, whether fixed or removable, needs to be primed. However, the care taken and the time needed varies significantly.
Fixed-coil pods and tanks, such as Vaporesso Xros Pods, generally have higher resistance coils.
With these devices, it’s usually a simple matter of filling the pod and leaving it to stand for five minutes or so.
It’s best to stand your pod upright to ensure that the e-liquid is always in contact with the coil and the coil wicking.
If your coil has a higher resistance (for example, 0.8Ω or above) you can choose to simply leave it in the tank/pod and allow it to soak into the coil for about five minutes.
To speed the process up, you can prime the coil by hand. When you remove the coil, look closely at it - you should see some holes. Drip e-liquid into these holes. You’ll also see a hole at the top of the coil - put a little e-liquid in here too, until the wicking is saturated.
After adding e-liquid to your tank, you should still leave the coil to soak for a few minutes before using it for the first time.
If your coil has a low resistance (such as 0.3 ohms) it’s worth taking extra care to prime the coils.
The lower the resistance of the coil, and the higher the power levels you are using, the more care you need to take.
Ensure that you add plenty of e-liquid via the holes and the top of the coil. Once again, after doing this and adding your e-liquid to the pod/tank, leave the e-liquid to soak into the coil further. The lower the resistance of the coil, the longer you should leave it.
You can also take a couple of ‘priming puffs’. To do this, inhale without pressing the fire button. This helps draw the e-liquid into the coil. 1 or 2 puffs should be enough, though, as you don’t want to flood the coil.
The video below demonstrates the process in more detail:
The length of time you need to prime a coil depends on its resistance, the amount of vegetable glycerine in the e-liquid and the power level you use.
High-resistance coils should be primed for longer than low-resistance coils. In general, coils above 0.8 ohms need to be left for around five minutes after adding e-liquid for the first time. However, low-resistance coils should be left for up to ten minutes.
The other factor to consider is VG. E-liquid with higher VG levels is thicker, and can take longer to soak into coils. The thicker the liquid, the longer you should allow. So while you might allow five minutes for an e-liquid with a VG:PG 50:50 ratio , you should allow 10 minutes for an e-liquid with a VG:PG 70:30 ratio, and even longer for an e-liquid with a VG:PG 80:20 ratio.
Finally, the power level matters too. If you use higher power levels, you should take extra care to prime the coil, as the extra power increases the chance of the coil burning.
Note these all tie together: lower-resistance coils are typically used at higher power levels and with high VG e-liquids.
Even with the best care, coils can sometimes get dry and burn. To counter this, vape manufacturer Innokin has developed Coil+ auto-priming technology. See auto-priming technology for a full explanation of how this works. At the time of writing, this technology is only available with the Innokin Sensis.
We all forget to prime a coil at times! If you have a low-resistance coil, and have forgotten to prime it, don’t panic. All you need to do is let it sit there for a few minutes.
If you’ve taken a puff and don’t get a burnt taste, you might have got away with it. It’s still worth letting the tank sit there for a while, though, to ensure the juice thoroughly soaks into the coil.
If you do get a burnt taste then you have burnt the coil. Sometimes, though, all is not lost. If the burnt taste is not too bad, allow the e-liquid to soak in to the coil, or remove the coil and soak it in some strong white alcohol. This might help save the coil, but if you still get a burnt taste, stop using it.
Once you’ve got the hang of it, you’ll find coil priming both easy and effective. But there are more ways to maximise the life of your coil. To find out what they are, check out 7 Ways to Stop Your Coil From Burning.