Do drop-ins have a shelf-life?

[UncLeJunkLe]

Been reading some negative reviews on cotton & nichrome/kanthal drop-ins and I see a lot of reviews where people claim the coils might be DOA/taste funny due to being "old stock".

This sounds silly to me. But is it possible that an organic cotton drop-in coil has a shelf life even if kept in it's blister pack?

 

[madstabber]

I don’t think so, can’t imagine what would suffer due to length of time. Unless the coils have been updated or improved but that’s a different issue, same coils, made the same, time isn’t an issue.

 

[UncLeJunkLe]

The only thing I can think of is that over time cotton would start to deteriorate and the fibers would get weak. But that would take a really long time. Really long time.

 

[Electrodave]

I've been using Kanger coils that I bought in 2015. No problems or issues.

 

[ppeeble]

If they're really old they could be silica rather than cotton. Some Kanger coils switched over to cotton a few years ago - before that a lot of their coils used silica wicks as standard..That may alter the perception of taste.
Or it could be that drop-in coils have historically always been hit/miss when it comes to quality - all coils used to be assembled by hand (which opens up a whole new can of worms), maybe there's more automation these days or better manufacturer quality control on newer coils ?

 

[sonicbomb]

Impossible within the relevant time frame. The issue is probably that pre-made coils are just not very good.

 

[ppeeble]

Time frame ? Did i miss some of the OP...
I was trying to find a reason why people may believe older coils are poorer.
I didn't want to come across as condescending by using a blanket statement that disregards other peoples vaping choices. I'll leave that to others.

 

[440BB]

I would expect coils in blister packs to hold up very well over time. For loose coils perhaps a glass jar with a silica dessicant package, keeping out moisture, dirt and other environmental factors. It might be good to avoid freeze/thaw cycles that might cause condensation.

 

[darnkarma]

I've been using Kanger coils that I bought in 2015. No problems or issues.

Same here. I've got years old drop-in coils that I pop into my old Protank occasionally when I want to test a juice. They seem fine to me. The o-rings on the tank are beat up and probably dried out, so if the drop-in coils have some sort of silicone or rubbery material, that might be causing a weird taste. Just a guess. Mine seem fine though.

 

[madstabber]

Time frame ? Did i miss some of the OP...
I was trying to find a reason why people may believe older coils are poorer.
I didn't want to come across as condescending by using a blanket statement that disregards other peoples vaping choices. I'll leave that to others.

I think by time frame he meant vaping has only been around for a decade, give or take, so in the time frame vaping has been around the coils haven’t had a chance to go bad. It would take longer than a decade for cotton or silica to deteriorate and in a sealed environment there is no chance of contamination. I agree with this statement if that, in fact, is what he meant.

 

[vaper1960]

Or it could be that drop-in coils have historically always been hit/miss when it comes to quality

I've had 5-packs where one pack is fine then the next pack has two bad ones... authentic and all bought at the same time. The worst ones I've had were from e-bay... 3 out 5 bad, but even the authentic ones are "hit and miss". Generally the cotton was not in there right and had poor airflow.

 

[DPLongo22]

I've got Aspire BVCs and Nauti coils back from 14 & 15, all are fine to date. I've also got Joytech CLRs from about the same period - also perfectly fine.

That's about as far back as I can currently date for you, for whatever it's worth.

 

[UncLeJunkLe]

I have had good luck with most dropins. I saturate/prime them to hell and back. 50/50 is what I vape. I can see how anything thicker might product an unfavorable rate of "duds".

 

[vaper1960]

I also am OCD about priming and use 65VG/35PG. After the first couple "duds" I started checking the coils for airflow before installing them... some just had issues (had nothing to do with wick saturation) One I could actually see some cotton poking out the bottom hole. Overall most were fine. When I first started, I learned really fast about priming... you never forget that "scorched" taste!