What Does it Mean to Break in a Vape Coil

The first few hours of a coil's life can dictate the quality of your vaping experience.

You might have noticed that the flavour produced by a new coil is never ideal. You may need to vape your way through a tank or pod of juice, perhaps two, before the coil delivers the finest flavour.

Vaping that first couple of tanks is known as the "break in" period.

So, what does it mean to break in a new coil?

How do you correctly prime and install a new coil?

Before you can break in a new coil, you must ensure that you have installed it correctly.

Vape coils, especially low resistance coils, operate at very high temperatures. This is great for flavour and vapour production, but can result in the death of a coil almost instantly!

Coil wicking will be burnt beyond repair if its wicking hasn't been properly primed. There is no way to rectify a burnt wick and it will completely destroy the taste of your draws.

Put simply, dry cotton wicking will quickly burn when you fire your device.

Once you have ensured that your coil is sitting correctly, you should prime it by filling your tank or pod with e-liquid and then waiting for a few minutes for the wick to absorb sufficient juice.

When you’re ready to begin using the new coil, set your device to a lower power level than the wattage at which you’d normally vape. Take a quick puff and wait several seconds before vaping again. If the coil seems to be working properly, you can start increasing your mod’s power level gradually until you reach your usual wattage.

What does it mean to break in a new vape coil?

Even if you have primed and installed a new coil correctly, the flavour you experience won’t be perfect until you’ve drained the tank once or twice. The new coil break-in period is the reason for that.

So, what’s actually happening when you break in a new coil?

To understand the break-in process, it’s helpful to think about the conditions under which vape coils are manufactured. The manufacturers of vaping products are not the producers of organic cotton wicking and heating wire or mesh. They simply assemble the raw materials to fashion the coils.

The metallic elements of vape coils may not have been cleaned by the manufacturers as part of the assembly process. They will, therefore, have traces of lubricant on them. It is these traces that impact flavour. The e-liquid in your tank eventually cleans away the traces of lubricant and that's why the first couple of times you fill your tank and vape, your flavour may be tainted.

Happily, any residues on your coils can be cleaned off before you use the coils.

How do you avoid the break-in period?

There is a very simple and straightforward way to remove the machine residue from a new coil before you use it.

All you need to do is give the coil a quick clean. After you clean your coils, you’ll need to leave them out to air dry for about 24 hours before using them as wet coils could cause short circuits.

To prevent the drying process from hampering your vaping routine, you might consider cleaning and drying an entire box of coils before you actually need them. That way, when you’re ready to discard the coil you’re using, you’ll have another coil that’s ready to go.

To pre-clean a new coil and remove the manufacturing residue, simply drop the coil – or several coils – into a pan with some distilled water. Place the pan on a stovetop and turn on the heat until the water begins to simmer.

There’s no need to boil the water; just maintain it at a low simmer for about 15 minutes. Allow the water to cool before removing the coils and leaving them out to dry.

If you are looking to benefit from the finest flavour, you should clean your coils before using them as you will then experience amazing puffs as soon as you begin vaping with a new coil.