When do you change coils/pods?

[moze229]

Hello all,

I was wondering what method everyone uses to determine when it's time to change coils/pods with your device. Do you just give it so many days and swap/change, is there a flavor difference that you wait for, or some other milestone that you use?

Seems like a silly question, but I've vaped mostly unflavored for over 4 years. Needless to say, I likely get much more life out of my coils than those who use flavored juice. I can usually go a week, week and a half before I start sensing a "charred" flavor. Not like when you burn dry, but just different. That's the method that I've been using.

Why do I ask? I ask because I recently started using a pod system, and I've been using the same refillable pod for almost two weeks and it's still going strong. I'm a bit confused. Should I just change it out or keep using it?

I realize that there will be many variables among different devices and users. Just asking in a very broad sense.

 

[Anise]

With my pods I use them till the flavor changes or they stop working.
For my rdas I change the cotton and clean the coils when they look gunked up.
Drop in coils I change when they stop working or the cotton you can see on the sides looks gunked up.
Do not go by what I do. I think I'm a little messed up when it comes to drop in coils

 

[DeloresRose]

If it works, I let it roll. Am I getting a good vape, good flavor? If yes I’m not changing the pod or coil. On RDAs I’m a little fussier because that’s just a clean and some cotton.

 

[englishmick]

I use RTAs so I can't see the coil and wick. I change the wick when the flavor starts to get dull. Also use a spreadsheet and write down when I change a wick or coil. I have several tanks going with different flavors. Some I use more often than others and some juices mess up wicks more quickly. I more or less know how long each tank lasts now so I check the spreadsheet and see which ones are coming up for a change. That way I can change the wick before the flavor starts going off.

With 9 tanks going they tend to last a couple of weeks apart from one flavor which clogs up the coil in a few days. Three or four weeks for an unflavored tank.

Wish there was a more scientific way of doing it, but it works.

 

[Brewdawg1181]

No method, really, just taste. So on an RTA, if it doesn't taste right, I open it and it looks too crusty, I rebuild. That's usually in the 5 day range (IF I was using only one tank), at about 10-12 ml. But I use NET, so it happens pretty fast. And there's a unique, pretty easily identifiable taste when it's not clean enough anymore.

That's part of my problem with drop-ins. I always wonder if I have a bit of vaper's tongue, or am not tasting it right, and try to get a little more out of it, and don't enjoy as much. But I do use pods- really just "auditioning" multiple ones now, and trying to settle on one or 2. I only use them to supplement my tank use for a mobile backup & alternate vape, and have no immediate intention of replacing tanks. So maybe I'll have to come up with a "system" for replacing them. But none yet.

 

[vapdivrr]

All on taste....when I first taste that cruddy taste, I rewick

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[GOMuniEsq]

It's pretty much the same with everything. Use it until it doesn't taste right then swap or rebuild it. Generally, it's fine until you cross an invisible threshold into very clearly not fine territory. I seem to get a week or two out of everything. You'll eventually start to notice a pattern and get an intuitive sense for when it's time for a change.

Dark liquids, liquids with sediment, and liquids with sugar all leave more deposits behind that will gunk up your coils sooner. Using clear, simple flavors will commonly extend coil life.

Although a few people seem to have no sense of taste and can use the same coils for months!

Two week old coils, before and after

• GOMuniEsq
• May 9, 2019

 

[Rossum]

Why do I ask? I ask because I recently started using a pod system, and I've been using the same refillable pod for almost two weeks and it's still going strong. I'm a bit confused. Should I just change it out or keep using it?

I'd keep using it until I noticed it being "off" somehow. Taste, vapor production, or whatever. But: Keep a spare handy at all times. When they start to go, they can sometimes go really quick, i.e. from fine to "yuk!" very quickly.

 

[stols001]

Yup taste or lack of vapor. With my Zenith coils I HAVE to use restricted vapor because they never taste off. Believe me I have tried.

I have also vaped some exceedingly ugly looking rayon wicks (I do try not to) and have had the taste be just fine.

Anna

 

[smoked25years]

I change wicks and coils frequently. For me, waiting until the taste is bad is later than I want to wait. Likewise, I wouldn't wait until my food tastes bad to clean the dishes.

Only costs me pennies to throw in a new wick or coil.

 

[Vape1048]

I deem mine trash once they burn or no longer produce like they used to. But, I clean my entire tank/atomizer assembly and coil about once a week otherwise. Sanitize everything in isopropyl alcohol, soak the coil in it.... rinse with purifed water, dry off with a soft towel and allot to air dry afterwards. This is also a godd reason (I have learned) to have extra coils and tanks available. When one is out of commission, I have others I can put in service until the one I want to use is all clean, dry, and ready to be used again.

 

[Vapedog]

I change coils when the flavour fades or drops significantly.

 

[vapdivrr]

I change wicks and coils frequently. For me, waiting until the taste is bad is later than I want to wait. Likewise, I wouldn't wait until my food tastes bad to clean the dishes.

Only costs me pennies to throw in a new wick or coil.

You dont wait till your dishes are dirty before you wash them, same

I change wicks and coils frequently. For me, waiting until the taste is bad is later than I want to wait. Likewise, I wouldn't wait until my food tastes bad to clean the dishes.

Only costs me pennies to throw in a new wick or coil.

I use the diaper method, change it

I change wicks and coils frequently. For me, waiting until the taste is bad is later than I want to wait. Likewise, I wouldn't wait until my food tastes bad to clean the dishes.

Only costs me pennies to throw in a new wick or coil.

After a while one can predict when a new wick is needed. I dont wait till it's all gunked and really nasty. There is just a tiny drop in flavor, which tells me this is the right time, so one needs to be sensitive to this. Now my wife cannot make this detection and vapes it till it's like burnt sugar...I usually get 3 meals before I have to wash my dishes

 

[Rossum]

You dont wait till your dishes are dirty before you wash them, same

Wait, why would you wash clean dishes?

 

[susieqz]

i don't taste this stuff anyway, so i change coils when they start to leak.
i get weeks out of each coil.

 

[IgnorantCig]

I go completely by taste. And that means usually anywhere from 1 - 1.5 weeks per coil, give or take.

I use the same premade coils and when I start to notice that the taste is a little bit off, then it's time to get rid of it and pop in a new one.

It's probably a good thing that I can't see what my coils look like while I'm using them, because I'd probably change them out more often if I could see them, because they're pretty black and dark looking when I swap them out, probably due to the type of juices I vape, which is mostly dessert and custard type flavors.

I don't like swapping out coils too often either, because I find that with a brand new coil, there's always a certain break in period until I achieve the kind of taste and flavor that I like. Sometimes it'll take a day or two for me to hit peak flavor with my coils. I do prep new coils, but even with that, it takes a little bit before the taste is just right.

So as long as a coil still continues to taste good and delivers good clouds, then I'm going to keep using it.

 

[Katdarling]

Taste taste taste (is subjunctive).

When in doubt, toss it out.


I spreadsheet all my setups, but as far as how long a wick lasts, that's a look back, not a look forward. I don't judge how long they WILL last. Occasionally I'll look to see which DID last a bit longer.

Having said that, it really makes little difference, as it's such a point of preference.

Eliquid choices DO make a lot of difference.

 

[United States]

Pods are a different breed. Typically they run at lower watts so they'll outlive the flavor ability. Like Anna said the coil pack in a Zenith seems to last forever. But my favorite pod system uses a ceramic wick so it usually stops putting out vape after several weeks of use. Meanwhile the flavor was diminishing little by little after a tank full. By refill 3 or 4 it's usually pretty muted but still produces vape like new.

You being an unflavored user, you may see 3-4x your usual lifespan of production. Just use it until you notice production is the issue or it just plain tastes burnt.

 

[Rex Everything]

anytime taste or vapor is off or anytime i switch flavors....gave up on things I could't build myself a long time ago

 

[vapdivrr]

Wait, why would you wash clean dishes?

I was in a process of writing something and made a mistake, not sure why that posted .

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