Looking after you Pods and Coils.

Pods and coils are the part that atomizes the liquid that you put into your device. With correct care and use, this will cleanly provide you with the nicotine you need to avoid using a cigarette, however, there are a few things that you need to avoid.

1: what should you use in your coil or pod.

Different pods/coils are designed for different liquids. If you use a mouth to lung (MTL) liquid which will have somewhere on it written the PG/VG ratio at 50/50 or more PG, then you want a coil that is above 0.8 Ohms. Some 0.8Ohm coils will not work on high; PG 70/30 and up, liquids so if you are in doubt, ask your local Vape specialist. 

If you use a high VG liquid, you want to avoid using a high ohm coil. This is because the higher the ohms, the smaller the coil is and high VG liquid is thicker. Thick sucking milkshake vs ice cream through a straw.

2: Should I wash my coil?

Coils are often made of a metal called Kanthal. Kanthal contains a small amount of iron which as we know, iron rusts. Because of this, you shouldn’t “wash” your coils or pods. You should make sure not to let pocket lint and other random dirt to build up in the mouthpiece of the device as this could cause the coil to burn when used. Use a cotton swab or a pin to pull this out.

When you use your device, you will notice that there is some moisture build up in the mouthpiece, especially if you have a transparent mouthpiece like on the QSearies pods. This is fine and is only the condensation of vapour that was left in the device after use. If you want to remove this, a cotton swab or the corner of a piece of tissue will remove this. Be careful not to jab things into the coil when you are doing this as you will damage the coil doing this.

3: My coil looks black. Why?

When you use an e-cigarette, you heat a liquid filled with nicotine and flavours, evaporating it. Not all of the ingredients are successfully evaporated every time. When this happens, they accumulate on the coil in something referred to as “Coil Gunk”. This isn’t too much of an issue, this occurs more towards the end of a coil's life and you needn’t worry much about it. If you are concerned, then I recommend changing your coils a little sooner and avoid extra sweet flavours.

4: Can I clean off Coil Gunk?

Technically yes, but unless you’re building your own coils, there is no point. You are much more likely to damage your coils than you are to clean them in a standard pod or coil system. If the coil is heavily gunked, just replace it.

5: I like to use lots of different flavours, is it okay to leave my juice in pods to pick up when I fancy it?

While you can do this, it is not recommended. This is for 2 main reasons. 1, when you leave a liquid in a pod, the coil is going to wick the liquid through it slowly over time and eventually this will result in the pod or tank leaking. As most of these liquids are likely to contain nicotine, the cleanup of this should be done quickly, and you should wash your hands thoroughly afterwards. 

The second reason, reason number 2 is an odd one. It’s not completely understood why but if you leave an eliquid in a coil for several days without using it, the coil seems to clog up and the flavour becomes lost. This coil is essentially dead at this point. So I would recommend that if you want to have multiple flavours on the go, only have the ones you are actively using every day.

6: when should I replace my coil?

There are two things that will tell you it’s time to replace your coil. Number 1, a burnt taste. This occurs when the repeated heating of the coil has either gunked it enough to be blocking the liquid from the coil and is now burning the cotton or when the coil develops something called a hot spot which will do the same thing. Number 2, a dry taste or lack of taste. When a coil is near the end of its life, it will not be able to atomise the liquid. When this happens, the vapour will begin to taste dry. This also occurs when a pod or tank is almost empty and needs refilling but if you have half a tank or pod of liquid left and you notice it tastes dry and seems a little lacking, that might be the end of that coil and once you’ve finished the tank, it’s time to change it.

7: My device has “power levels”. What power level should I use? Does it matter?

That depends on the device. The Q2Pro power levels will automatically adjust for the pod you are using, and so you don’t have to worry about it. However, not all devices are made with the customer in mind. We know everyone isn’t an electrical engineer so we took the need to research that away from our device. If your device doesn’t do that and just gives you 100Watts of adjustability, then I recommend looking on the packaging for the coil or, if you’ve already thrown that away, you can often find the usable wattage or voltage on the coil itself in tiny engraved letters. Yes, it’s hard to read but the coils are very small. If you are using a pod, this same information is often printed on the bottom of the pod. Stick to a power level that is between the maximum and minimum of the stated levels and you will be fine

8: My coil keeps leaking. Why?

If you are using a liquid designed for the coil then it’s likely that it has been left somewhere that is too warm. A common issue throughout the year is coils burning in the winter due to the liquid being too cold to wick, and coils leaking in the summer because the device is left in the sunlight. Just remember when you fry and egg and you throw oil in the pan, how the oil goes from gloopy to like water when it gets hot. The same thing happens to your eliquid. So keep it out of the sun in the summer, and away from radiators in the winter and if you can, put it in an inside pock of your jacket in the winter.

If this isn’t the case and you have a new pod/coil then you could have a defective coil or be using the wrong liquid. Just because it worked in your friends device doesn’t mean it will work properly in yours so always double check the PG/VG ratio and use liquids recommended by the manufacturer.