Troubleshooting Common e-Cig Problems

While electronic cigarettes have an edge over traditional cigarettes – no lingering odor, less harmful chemicals, and you can use them virtually anywhere – they do take some maintenance to keep them running smoothly. Several working parts go into making an e-cig operate and you might find yourself running into some mechanical trouble when using it that can impact your vaping experience. To help you identify and correct whatever issues you may have, we have compiled a brief guide of common problems with e-cigs and how to fix them, so your setup can continue operating at the peak of its performance.

Not feeling the nicotine – If you’re not getting a buzz off of your e-cig, you might want to increase the level of nicotine in your e-liquid. Most e-liquids are available with varying nicotine content, so you can choose the one that gives you a more enjoyable smoke. If your device is too weak to deliver a good hit, use a powerful voltage device and make sure your clearomizer has an active coil that vaporizes the e-juice most effectively.

If you’re new to vaping, you might just not be using it right if you’re not feeling the nicotine. Take long, slow draws into your mouth and then slowly draw it into your lungs to feel the maximum effect.

Weak vapor – You might notice that your e-cig is producing significantly less vapor than before, which may be due to a weakening device. Batteries die out over time, so try getting a more powerful replacement battery to remedy the problem. Also, look for a high VG content in the PG/VG ratio when buying e-liquid – the thicker consistency of vegetable glycerin tends to produce thicker vapor.
You should take care to clean your device on a regular basis and if you notice nothing else wrong, you should replace the coil in your clearomizer.

Burnt taste – Sometimes you might get a burnt or flavorless hit during a vaping session. If you’ve just refilled your clearomizer with e-liquid, make sure you let it sit for a few minutes to allow it to sink into the wick. If you can’t spare five minutes, you can drip the e-liquid directly onto the atomizer to immediately vaporize it.

Coils and cartridges don’t last forever, so you should make sure that everything is in working order – otherwise, it’s time for a replacement. Typically this is an issue with the coil in your clearomizer, but how you go about replacing the mechanics is dependent on your device. The life span of these parts is dependent on how frequently you use your e-cig, so especially if you’re an active user, be sure to know when to switch out your parts.


Leaking and gurgling sounds – If you’re hearing strange noises being emitted from your e-cig or liquid is leaking from the mouthpiece, you probably have a flooded cartridge. You might have overfilled the chamber, not tightened the clearomizer when screwing it back onto the battery, or the rubber seal between components could be broken. The best solution for this is to clean out your clearomizer and pour out the excess liquid.

Lastly, we recommend checking out this useful video on centerpin troubleshooting. How have you troubleshot some of your own problems that you’ve run into with your e-cigs? Share your tips and tricks with us in the comments below!