Caring for & Trouble Shooting Your Electronic Cigarette

Overall, Electronic Cigarettes are fairly tough. That is, if you buy a good quality one anyway. Still, they are electrical devices, and as such, they do require a certain amount of periodic maintenance and occasional service. Exhale have long been advising its customers to carry out a fast and efficient daily maintenance programme.

But if you're new to vaping, we don’t break out in a cold sweat and start getting nervous. There's nothing overly complicated about maintaining an e-cig and, to be perfectly honest, your having any type of issue will be the exception, rather than the rule.

The majority of things that could cause you a problem are very small, and can be easily avoided by the use of a little common sense. Still, it isn't a perfect world,  we're not perfect people, so things do happen from time to time. So, with that in mind, here's a short guide to caring for your electronic cigarette and for correcting the most common problems you may run into. There is always our Help & Guides page with lots of valuable help where you can find model or issue specific help. It is THE place to go when you want to dig a little deeper, or if you get really stuck.

Flooding

By far the most common problem that new vapers have is the issue of flooding. Beginner electronic cigarette users who, in their exuberance, overfill their tanks or their clearomisers, most commonly run into this problem, but it can and most likely will, happen to anyone from time to time.

What actually happens is that eliquid gets inside of the atomiser where it ought not be. You will know this is the problem when:

• you hear a gurgling sound
• experience the 'joy' of getting eliquid into your mouth as you inhale.
• have very poor vapour production accompanied by a sizzling sound

This is nothing major. And it is easily corrected:

• First, remove the cartridge and give it a blow through.
• remove the clearomiser and give it a little bit of a shake.
• or remove the atomiser and sitting it on kitchen paper allow it time to drain.

Burnt Atomiser

Unfortunately, from time to time, your atomiser may burn out. You will know this has happened when you get a burnt taste when you draw, or no vapour production at all (be sure to check your battery).

You can help safeguard against this by:

• never turning your e-cig on dry (don't let your tank run on empty) 
• never overheat it (don't over-vape)

When a burnt tastes does occur, there are very few options available. To put it bluntly, the atomiser will have to be replaced. Luckily we always have a good stock, but our advice would always to ensure you have spare clearomisers, atomisers or coils (depending on your device). Buy the right kinds and always for the model you have. Although often these parts look similar to one another, you must always choose the correct one to prevent device failure.

With the older kinds of clearomisers, this problem meant a rebuild (or disposal), however, newer models are designed with advancements such as replaceable heads that are very quick and simple to remove and replace.

Cleaning Your E-cig

The only other maintenance that you should perform on your electronic cigarette is cleaning your atomiser or clearomiser and wiping the threads and contact points of your battery. 

There are several methods to clean the atomiser. I have to say that we are giving this advice less and less as products advance, they are so easy and simple as well as inexpensive to replace that most vapers don't even bother with atomiser cleaning at all. However we will cover them here in the interests of fullness. 

If you do want to clean your vape, you can use any of these methods:

• Flush it through with warm, not hot, water and allow to air dry for at least 24-48 hours
• Soak it overnight in neat alcohol, something like vodka works well, or perhaps gin. After the soaking, drain and allow it to thoroughly air dry. DO NOT use surgical spirit (known in the US as rubbing alcohol but also as Denatured Isopropyl) as it can leave a dangerous volatile residue.
• Use a sonic cleaner like the ones used for glasses or jewellery and this will keep them sparkling. Use only water a clear alcohol like vodka inside the sonic device.

Battery threads and contacts should be wiped over with dry tissue or kitchen paper to remove liquid residues each time they are removed before charging (preventing contaminating your charger). These residues are normal to see and removal keeps things clean and keeping contact points clear will ensure your charging is not hampered in any way.

The user should never attempt any maintenance, beyond these simple issues. 

If you experience any issues not covered here or in our Help & Guides pages you should contact your retailer for advice.

For even more tips, tricks and the latest happenings in the e-cig world, be sure to like the Exhale Cigarettes fan page on Facebook.