E-liquid leaks are certainly THE pet peeve of all vapers! All you have to do is leave your RTA atomizer aside for more than two days and you risk finding the airflows overflowing with liquid. To remedy this, here are the tips to apply to limit these liquid leaks as much as possible.
But why is your e-liquid leaking?
Your e-liquid is too fluid
The first reason is certainly too fluid an e-liquid that your resistance cannot contain. Some e-liquids are going to be thin while others are going to be thicker. It is PG (propylene glycol) and VG (vegetable glycerin) that play this role in e-liquids: the more PG there is, the more the e-liquid will be fluid and the more VG there will be, the more the e-liquid will be thick.
The resistors that risk creating leaks in your clearomiser are those intended for high powers. The latter will be larger than those intended for low powers. They will also have larger holes, which allow the liquid to more easily penetrate the cotton inside the resistance. This is where the viscosity of the e-liquid will play an important role. The more fluid your liquid will be, the more easily it will penetrate the resistance. This is how leaks will be created because the resistance will overflow with e-liquid and will let the additional liquid that comes into its flow.
For this reason, it is often advisable to use an e-liquid with a minimum of 50% vegetable glycerin. The most common e-liquid on the market are e-liquids with a PG/VG rate of 50%/50%. It is the latter that best adapts to the different resistances.
Power is not matched to your resistance
Each resistor must be used correctly and a certain power must be sent to it. These values (most often expressed in watts) are written on the resistor. If the power sent is too low, this can also cause leaks. Because the heat emitted by the resistance is not sufficient to completely transform the e-liquid into vapour.
The resistance must be changed
Resistance is one of the essential elements in electronic cigarettes. It is a consumable that must be changed regularly to maintain a good vaping experience. And to start well, you have to start your resistance correctly! It all starts with putting a few drops of e-liquid in the side holes of the resistance to properly soak the cotton. Then, once in place in your clearomiser, you will have to fill the tank with e-liquid and wait about 15 minutes before starting to vape: the time to be sure that the resistance is well soaked in e-liquid.
If the resistance is badly primed and you heat it, chances are that the cotton inside is damaged. This damaged cotton is a new risk of leakage since it can let e-liquid pass.
Special cases of leaks: Airplane, altitude, car journey…
If you’ve done everything right, there may still be leaks that you didn’t expect. With altitude, the viscosity of e-liquids will change and they will become more fluid. They will therefore more easily leak and escape through the air inlets. It is therefore essential, when you travel by plane or when you go skiing, to empty the tank of your clearomizers to limit leaks as much as possible.
Fans of the vape in the car, you make your most beautiful clouds of vapour at each red light, you may know the famous leaks related to the car. Indeed, if you wedge your electronic cigarette in a storage compartment of your car, the different vibrations created by the car and the road will have an impact on your clearomiser and unfortunately, help the e-liquid to leak.
Finally, the last cause of possible leaks is non-use. If you leave a clearomizer in your cupboard or on a shelf, there is a good chance that you will find it dripping with e-liquid after a few days. The resistance engorged with e-liquid will let the overflow flow through the air inlets.
Bad atomizer cotton
For rebuildable atomizer users, you may also experience leaks, unfortunately… As with clearomizers, if you don’t use them for a while, there is a chance that the e-liquid will leak through the inlets. air. But this leak can also be caused by the poor cottoning of your coil. With a rebuildable atomizer, it is important to place your cotton in the e-liquid inlets. Leaks can also appear if you do not put enough cotton in the holes intended for the e-liquid or if you do not place it correctly.
An ultimate solution exists to fight against all these leaks: clearomizers and atomizers with air inlets located at the top. Unlike clearomizers with low air inlets with which you will experience leaks in the different cases that we have explained to you above, with clearomizers with high air inlets there is no risk of unwanted leaks.
However, if you use your electronic cigarette correctly, that you maintain your clearomiser regularly by changing the resistance and cleaning each part while vaping regularly on this clearomiser, there should not be any major problems with leaks (or they will very light and unobtrusive).