Why Does My Vape Get Hot?

A vaping device must heat the e-liquid to burn it and produce an inhalable vapour, so it makes sense if the device feels warm occasionally. However, a consistently hot vape is not usual.

If you've found that your vape heats up rather quickly or stays hot for long periods, it's crucial to figure out what's making it hot and fix the overheating issues once and for all.

Could it be from your vaping habits? An extremely hot battery? Or coil gunk you can't get off? The short answer: it could be all of the above.

Read on to learn how to handle hot vapes and ensure your vaping experience is safe and enjoyable.

Why Does My Vape Get Hot So Quickly?

Before we talk about the different things that can cause your vape to get hot, let's review the essential elements of vape pens and vapes to understand how it works.

Vapes feature the following components:

• A vape battery: batteries supply the power necessary to activate the atomizer and heat the cartridge
• Atomizer head: contains the vape coil, which is responsible for heating the e-liquid and changing it to a hot vapour
• Cartridge or tank: usually a sub ohm tank that houses the heating element, which develops extremely high internal temperatures
• Drip tip: usually on a metal mouthpiece, produces glowing heat in just a few seconds
• Circuitry: connects all the components
• Safety features

Now that we've gone over the essential elements of a vape, we can get into why a vape may be getting a high internal temperature or producing a burnt taste.

You Chain Vape or Enjoy Long Vape Sessions

If you're taking draws that are too long or drawing too frequently, this could be the culprit of the hot vape pen.

Taking in a breath of fresh air in between hits will help the heat dissipate and give your pod system a break.

Your Hot Batteries are Faulty

Chain vaping is not the only reason a vape may develop a heat problem. It could be a faulty battery, especially with large devices, not pod systems or a vape pen. You might have paired the wrong mod with the battery, which can cause the batteries to produce more heat than necessary and overheat.

Vape batteries withstand external temperatures up to 60ºC and internal temps of 78ºC. If you're well within that range but your vape is still overly hot, your best bet is to find a way to help the vape battery cool down (more on that later).

High Wattage

If the coils receive too many watts and too much power at one time, it can also lead to excessive heat. It happens when the constant warmth of the coil is prolonged, eventually burning out the heating element and leading to high temperatures in the device.

You might be using more power than you need, but luckily, it's a quick fix.

Coil Gunk is Restricting Juice Flow

Another possible option is a buildup of gunk (which is just e-juice) on the coil, restricting airflow slightly. Another sign of this is dry puffs when you go to hit your vape.

This buildup could be because of the tank's design, gunk from nicotine products, or related to a high propylene glycol ratio in the e-liquid, which may not be suitable for your vape.

To fix this e juice flow issue, you may need to get a new coil.

Mass of the Vape Coil

Your vape may also contain a high mass coil, which takes a long time to heat up and retains heat for long after you stop vaping. Switching this out for a lower mass mesh coil can better produce vapour at a reasonable wattage without retaining too much heat.

How Do You Know When Your Vape is Too Hot?

Wondering if your vape is too hot or if the heat it's producing is normal?

If It heats up quickly and retains the heat without dissipating in a reasonable period, your vape is too hot. And if your finger grazes the vape pod and it's scalding, there's something wrong.

Don't let your vape overheat for too long without trying to diagnose and solve the issue or abandoning the vape for a new one.

How Do I Stop My Vape From Getting Hot?

To cool down your vape and prevent it from continuing to get hot, you'll first need to diagnose the cause of the issue and identify the best way to solve it.

Your battery may be the culprit; your coil could be overheating in the tank, or you may be dealing with a buildup of e-liquid residue. If it's not pointing to an issue with one of the components, it could be a sign that your vaping behaviour is what's causing the overheating.

Allow Time Between Vaping

If you're a chain vaper, you'll know it. Do you constantly vape in long sessions? Do you always take long draws?

If this sounds like you, try to get more air between hits and space out your vaping sessions to give the device a bit of a break and prevent overheating.

Chain vaping can cause the coil to overheat within the vape's tank and make it hot to the touch or make the vapour too hot.

Upgrade the Battery

You also may need to upgrade the battery. If you're vaping at high wattage, you're making the battery work extra hard. Consider testing your battery discharge rate to see what it can handle. You can either lower your e-cig wattage or upgrade your battery to one that can support your vaping style.

It could also be an older battery, pointing to the end of its lifetime. If it's been a while, try updating the battery with a newer one.

Open the Airflow

If your wattage and airflow combination is the cause of the overheating, open the airflow to allow external cool air to combine with the vapour to cool it. A secondary mouthpiece with additional slots for airflow may also help.

Keep the Tank Clean

Have you cleaned your vape tank recently? If not, it might be the underlying problem of why it's getting hot. Start here. Always clean it on a non-flammable surface since you're dealing with delicate internal elements.

Remove the cartridge or tank and the vape head and scrape with enthusiasm to shake loose any debris from e liquids that have built up.

If you use e-juice with an addictive chemical like nicotine or other tobacco products, it may be necessary to clean the tank more frequently. The highly addictive substance can produce a residue that builds up in the tank and the mouthpiece.

Nicotine also poses a risk for high blood pressure. Consider using nicotine-free e-juice for less maintenance and health risk.

Remove Vape Juice-Coated Coil

If there's residue from e-juices on the coil of your e-cigarette, consider replacing it with a mesh coil that heats up quickly when you hit the fire button and dissipates quickly as well.

Contact Customer Service

If you're worried about abnormal heat from your vape over an extended period, move it away from heat sources and call your manufacturer's customer support for additional guidance. Don't use the device if you have safety concerns about your overheating vape.

Avoiding a Hot Vape

A vape needs to heat the e-liquid to function, but it shouldn't stay hot or feel too hot to use safely. Unfortunately, there's no one reason why vapes become overly hot. It could be due to the battery, too much gunk on the coil restricting air flow, chain vaping habits, or hitting the vape at a high wattage.

First, try to determine the cause of the heating. Then, use this helpful guide to determine the best solution. When in doubt about the safety of your device, contact the manufacturer or do not use it until you know it's safe.