Posted on 22 December 2020 | Updated on 23 January 2024 |

Stop Vape Juice Leaking Problems Once and for All

Ahh, you’ve finally found a moment for yourself to sit down, relax, and enjoy some peace. Get comfortable in your favorite recliner, take out your trusted vaporizer filled with the best vape juice, and what do you find? It's a leaky tank that has vape juice all over your hands and pockets. Nothing can ruin a peaceful vape session quite like leaking vape juice.

But don’t worry! Leaking is a common problem that all encounter from time to time. It can have quite an easy fix if you know the underlying cause. Sure, it’s annoying, but you’ll eliminate the issue once and for all if you pay close attention to your vaporizer.

Leaking, Gurgling, and Spitting

In a nutshell, there are three most common problems with vaporizers and vape juices:

Leaking
Gurgling
Spitting

Leaks will usually appear on the side of your vaporizer, right where the airflow opening is. It happens when vape juice escapes from the tank, which can occur for several reasons (we’ll discuss those in a moment).

Gurgling and spitting happen when the vape juice enters the coil. In this instance, instead of vaporizing the e-liquid, the coil starts cooking it, so you’ll start hearing a gurgling sound, like something’s boiling.

That’s when spitting starts. Since the vape juice is cooked instead of vaporized, it acts like any boiling liquid – it starts rising through the chimney and spitting tiny hot droplets through the mouthpiece. It’s not an enjoyable experience.

These problems are more common than you may think, and they all have pretty simple solutions.

Why is My Vaporizer Gurgling?

A gurgling sound from your vaporizer can be caused by excess e-liquid caught somewhere in your vaping device, whether in your tank’s air chimney or the coil assembly. This can happen when the coil is oversaturated with e-liquid, resulting in an excess amount of liquid within the coil.

Here are some general steps that you can take to help reduce and eliminate flooding and gurgling of your coils and tanks:

Faulty Coil: One of the most common causes of flooding and gurgling is a bad coil. Try replacing the coil to see if it helps eliminate the problem.
Wattage Setting: Another widespread cause of flooding and gurgling is the output wattage your device has been set to. Try increasing your wattage/voltage to a level within the recommended range—this may resolve the flooding and gurgling you are experiencing.
Check E-liquid Level: Overfilling your tank can result in flooding, gurgling, and spit-back. Generally, you want to fill your tank slightly below the air hole or chimney.
Forceful Hits: Taking extremely long and destructive hits can cause gurgling and flooding. Try taking softer hits instead.

How to Stop a Vape From Spitting

A spitting vape can be a frustrating experience, but there are several ways to prevent it from happening. Here are some tips to help you stop your vape from spitting:

Don’t Overprime Your Coil: Overpriming your coil can cause excess e-liquid to get trapped in the coil, leading to spitting. Try priming your coil with a few drops of e-liquid instead of saturating it.
Clear the Chimney: E-liquid can sometimes get trapped in the chimney, causing spitting. Try cleaning the chimney with a paper towel or cotton swab.
Use Thicker E-Liquid: Thicker e-liquids can help reduce spitting by providing more viscosity and lessening the chance of flooding.
Increase the Power: Increasing the power of your device can help vaporize excess e-liquid and prevent spitting.
Reduce Your Airflow Setting: Reducing your airflow setting can help reduce the amount of e-liquid vaporized, which can help prevent spitting.

How to Stop Vape Juice Leaks:

To stop leaks, gurgling sounds, and spitting, you must first understand what’s causing them. A vaporizer consists of several different parts, and any of them could be causing the problem.

Furthermore, maybe everything’s working well, and it’s something you’re doing that’s causing the leak. So, let’s take a closer look and check out the most common leaking causes and their fixes for vape leaking juice.

Don’t Overfill the Tank

Perhaps you’re a and pay attention to every single detail in everything you do, especially when you’re filling your vape tank. If you’re like that, this part of the text isn’t for you.

But, if you don’t care much about how you’re filling your vaporizer with vape juice just as long as you fill it, you might be the reason there are leaks.

Depending on the type of vaporizer and tank you have, you might have a limited amount of room for vape juice. So, you may be overfilling the tank and allowing it to seep through the airflow hole and into the coil.

So, try to fill the tank halfway up and see whether your vape juice is still leaking. If not – good. If yes – check out the following tips.

Ensure Everything Is Tightly Sealed

If the O-rings, coils, tanks, and mouthpiece aren’t tightly sealed, the chances are that you’ll be dealing with leaks every time you press the power button.

Mistakes like cross-threading the top cap, loosely screwing on the coils, and more will result in leaking.

Double-check if you’ve tightly sealed everything, but don’t be too aggressive when putting your vaporizer together. If you tighten your vaporizer too much, you risk damaging the more sensitive parts like the O-rings. Firm yet gentle is the way to go.

Clean the Chimney

If there’s vape juice inside the chimney (the small tube that goes through the tank and into the mouthpiece), you’ll likely hear many gurgling sounds and experience vape juice spitting.

It’s an easy fix. You only need a little paper towel to soak in the excess juice. Leave the chimney to air dry, then try vaping again. You should have a smooth and uninterrupted vaping experience.

Check for Cracks

If any part of your vaporizer is cracked, bent, or otherwise broken, you’ll see quite a lot of leaking. Even the most minor crack in the tank can let through a lot of vape juice.

So, check your device thoroughly. See whether the O-rings have been damaged or bent, inspect the tank, and check out the airflow hole. If any part is cracked, all you need to do is replace it to fix the issue.

Make Sure Your Vape Juice Is Compatible With Your Vaporizer

If your vape juice is too thick or too thin for your vaporizer, you’ll encounter leaking problems. So, make sure you’ve got the right PG to VG ratio for your device.

Sub-ohm vaporizers require higher, for example. Thinner vape juice will seep through the wicking material and cause leaks. Less powerful vaporizers won’t be able to handle thicker e-liquids, and you might hear gurgling and experience spitting.

The Bottom Line

Vape juice leaks are a common problem for vapers. Luckily, there’s usually an easy solution. So, follow the tips mentioned above and enjoy a smooth vape session that doesn’t leave your hands covered in vape juice. Also, you will be interested in how to vape without setting off the smoke alarm.