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The Vape Mall Blog

Why is Over Wicking a Bad Idea?

Posted by David on

There comes a time when a vaper reaches a stage in their vaping career when they decide that they want more control over their experience, and so they begin DIY vaping. For those who may not know, DIY vaping involves making one’s own vape-based components on their own to customize aspects of vaping according to their unique needs and preferences. One key aspect of DIY vaping is building one’s own coils using a variety of materials, and is considered an advanced practice due to the need to be meticulous with build one that will work.

One thing that a DIY vaper has to be mindful of is wicking. Wicking is the act of installing a wick into the coil. The wick is usually made from cotton or synthetic fibers. It serves the incredibly important role of becoming saturated with e-liquid, which becomes a puff of vapor when the wick is exposed to the coil’s heat. Therefore, without the wick, there is no vaping experience to be had.

A common mistake that a lot of DIY newbies make is over wicking. This means that they are installing too much wicking material into the coil. This may seem like a good idea at first, because a person may think that a bigger wick means more e-liquid per hit. But, over wicking almost always backfires, as we will be discussing today.

What is Over Wicking?

As we said, over wicking is simply putting too much wicking material into the coil. Whether using organic cotton, nylon, or some other type of material to absorb the e-liquid, you need to be mindful of the size of the material. This little piece of fabric must absorb just the right amount of e-juice to be properly heated by the coil so that vapor can be produced and inhaled through the mouthpiece in a way that is smooth and flavorful.

When you do wick that coil, it can be a good idea to experiment with different materials, sizes, and shapes, but only to an extent. Over wicking is a bad idea because it changes the way in which your coil operates as a whole. Under wicking is just as bad, as it can prevent enough e-liquid from being vaporized, but that’s a far less common issue, so we will save that for some other time.

Why Is Over Wicking a Bad Idea?

Let’s go over the main reasons why over wicking can throw off your vaping experience, and result in a wasted coil.

Reason #1: Messes Up Your Airflow

Airflow is a big component to vaping, and one that is rarely understood. How easily air passes through the inner workings of your atomizer has a huge role in how successful your vape actually is. Too much airflow can cause the vapor to become unpleasantly hot, and too little airflow can cause the coil to flood. The shape of your wick plays a role in airflow by determining how much air can pass between the wick itself and the wire of the coil.

Basically, over wicking can interfere with airflow by taking up too much space between the wick and the actual coil. This can cause spitting, flooding, and gurgling, and even cause your coil to flood. At the very least, it will give you weak and disappointing flavor.

Reason #2: Makes Dry Hits More Frequent

Because of its effects on airflow, over wicking can cause you to experience dry hits pretty frequently. This can cause throat irritation and burn your throat, and, even worse, cause you to waste your coil as it burns itself out.

Reason #3: Can Simply Burn the Wick

If the wick is too large, it will likely encounter the coil itself, which can cause it to burn. And, once your wick has burned, it’s going to give you a really poor flavor. Even worse perhaps, a burnt wick may end up being a useless wick that needs to be replaced altogether. Although wicking material isn’t too expensive, it can add up after a while if you’re going through it at a quicker rate than usual.

Bottom Line, Try Your Best to Avoid the Temptation of Over Wicking that Coil

How you wick your coil plays a big role in your overall vaping experience. As you can see, over wicking comes with all kinds of disadvantages that can stop you from getting the smooth and tasty vapes that you deserve. Therefore, if you’re new to DIY vaping, be mindful of the wicking process to avoid running into this relatively common issue.

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