Aside from the e-liquid, the clearomizer or tank might be the most important part of the vaping experience. Your tank determines the amount of vapour that your e-cigarette produces. It also focuses the vapour on your palate, so it has a tremendous influence on the flavour that you experience when you vape. Your e-cigarette is essentially a just power delivery device that activates your tank or clearomizer. The e-cigarette determines how much power the tank receives – and it helps you stay safe while vaping – but it doesn’t have much of an effect on flavour. The tank, on the other hand, is the component that actually vaporizes the e-liquid. Trying a new tank can have a profound effect on your vaping experience. More importantly, using and maintaining your tank correctly helps to ensure that you’ll always enjoy your vaping sessions to the fullest possible extent. Read on to learn how to get the most from your tank or clearomizer.
Table of Contents
- What Are E-Cigarette Tanks?
- What Are the Benefits of E-Cigarette Tanks vs. Clearomizers?
- What Are the Drawbacks of E-Cigarette Tanks vs. Clearomizers?
- What Are Clearomizers?
- How Did Clearomizers Get Their Name?
- What Are the Benefits of Clearomizers vs. Tanks?
- What Are the Drawbacks of Clearomizers vs. Tanks?
- How Do I Fill a Tank or Clearomizer?
- How Do I Prime an Atomizer Coil?
- How Do I Replace an Atomizer Coil?
- How Often Should I Replace My Clearomizer or Atomizer Coil?
- My Tank or Clearomizer Is Leaking!
- My Tank or Clearomizer is REALLY Leaking!
- My Tank or Clearomizer Isn’t Producing Vapour!
- My Tank or Clearomizer Tastes Burned!
What Are E-Cigarette Tanks?
E-cigarette tanks are the most popular accessories for vaping devices. An e-cigarette tank stores enough e-liquid for an hour or two of vaping, and an atomizer coil at the bottom of the tank creates the vapour that you inhale. Although UK law limits the maximum e-liquid capacity of any vaping tank to 2 ml, most people find that more than sufficient.
What Are the Benefits of E-Cigarette Tanks vs. Clearomizers?
- Tanks generally have bigger atomizer coils that can produce larger vapour clouds.
- The atomizer coil of a tank usually has very wide wick openings. The larger wick openings help to ensure consistent performance with thick, high-VG e-liquids.
- Most e-cigarette tanks are glass and are therefore less likely than clearomizers to interact with the flavouring compounds in your e-liquids. You may therefore find that tanks produce purer flavours.
- The atomizer coil is the only disposable components of an e-cigarette tank. You can often buy an entire box of atomizer coils for less than the cost of a few new clearomizers.
Read More: Clearomizers vs. Tanks
What Are the Drawbacks of E-Cigarette Tanks vs. Clearomizers?
- Many modern e-cigarette tanks have “sub-ohm” atomizer coils that do not work with smaller devices such as EVOD and eGo e-cigarettes.
- E-cigarette tanks require periodic cleaning and maintenance. Clearomizers do not.
- An e-cigarette tank is slightly more challenging than a clearomizer to use since you’ll need to disassemble the tank periodically to replace the atomizer coil.
What Are Clearomizers?
A clearomizer is a miniature disposable vaping tank. Like a tank, a clearomizer is a single unit that both holds your e-liquid and vaporizes it for inhaling. Unlike a tank, though, a clearomizer usually doesn’t have a removable atomizer coil. If a clearomizer begins to generate less vapour than it once did – or you begin to taste burned or “off” flavours – you’ll discard the entire clearomizer and begin using a new one. It’s common for smaller e-cigarette kits to include clearomizers.
How Did Clearomizers Get Their Name?
The word “clearomizer” is an old invention of the vaping industry. In the earliest e-cigarettes, the cartridge – the disposable component that held e-liquid – and the atomizer coil were separate components. Eventually, companies realized that you could get more consistent performance out of an e-cigarette by combining the e-liquid and atomizer coil in a single disposable component. That way, every new cartridge would also include a new heating coil. The word “cartomizer” emerged as a portmanteau of “cartridge” and “atomizer.” A clearomizer is a cartomizer with a clear outer shell that allows you to see how much e-liquid you have left.
What Are the Benefits of Clearomizers vs. Tanks?
- Clearomizers are much simpler to use. Just remove the cap, fill and vape. When you decide that the vaping experience isn’t as good as it once was, you can throw the entire clearomizer away and start over with a new one.
- Clearomizers have higher-resistance atomizer coils that work with smaller e-cigarettes. You never have to worry about whether something like a CE5 clearomizer is safe to use with your small vaping device.
What Are the Drawbacks of Clearomizers vs. Tanks?
- Clearomizers generally produce smaller vapour clouds than tanks.
- Because new clearomizers cost more than atomizer coils for tanks, clearomizers may be more expensive than tanks over time.
- Clearomizers may not work well with e-liquids containing high percentages of vegetable glycerine.
How Do I Fill a Tank or Clearomizer?
The first thing that you should do is check the instruction manual for your vaping device or tank to determine whether the tank or clearomizer fills from the top or bottom. You’ll then twist off the mouthpiece or bottom hardware of the tank or clearomizer to expose the e-liquid reservoir. Add e-liquid to the reservoir until it is almost full and put the tank or clearomizer back together. The wick inside the atomizer coil must be completely wet before you begin vaping, so wait several minutes for the e-liquid to soak in.
How Do I Prime an Atomizer Coil?
If you have a tank with a removable coil, you can prime a new coil before using it to help ensure a consistent flow of e-liquid from the reservoir to the coil. Before installing the coil, place a drop of e-liquid on each of the coil’s white wick openings. Install the coil and fill the tank as you normally do. Wait several minutes before vaping.
How Do I Replace an Atomizer Coil?
In a vaping tank, the atomizer coil connects to the tank’s bottom hardware. When your tank is empty, unscrew the bottom hardware to access the coil. Twist out the old coil and twist in the replacement. Prime the coil before reassembling and filling the tank.
How Often Should I Replace My Clearomizer or Atomizer Coil?
Your clearomizer or atomizer coil may last as little as a day or as long as several weeks depending on the way you vape. Factors that can shorten the life of an atomizer coil include:
- Using heavily sweetened e-liquids
- Using strongly flavoured e-liquids
- Failing to refill your tank promptly when the level of e-liquid is low
If you keep your atomizer coil wet by filling the tank promptly and waiting several seconds between each puff – and you avoid the use of e-liquids heavily sweetened with sucralose – you’ll get the most possible life out of your coil.
My Tank or Clearomizer Is Leaking!
Every tank or clearomizer leaks a small amount of e-liquid occasionally. A vaping tank has to provide a clear air path from the vents at the bottom through the atomizer coil and out the mouthpiece. Without the air path, you wouldn’t be able to inhale the vapour. A vaping tank has a narrow chimney leading from the coil to the mouthpiece. Vapour may condense in the chimney and drip out the mouthpiece or air vents.
If you have a clearomizer, hold a paper towel against the bottom of the clearomizer before each refilling. Blow firmly through the mouthpiece to push the condensed e-liquid droplets out through the bottom air vents.
If you have a tank, carefully disassemble and clean the tank each time you install a new atomizer coil. Dry the parts with a paper towel before reassembling them.
My Tank Is REALLY Leaking!
If your tank is dumping e-liquid out the bottom, you need to address an assembly problem. It’s possible, for example, that the atomizer coil is cross-threaded, causing e-liquid to exit the tank through the bottom air vents. If you continue to experience a problem, try replacing the atomizer coil; you might have a coil with a manufacturing defect.
Because a vaping tank has so many parts – and so many holes through which e-liquid can escape – it has several internal silicone gaskets to help prevent leaks. A new tank usually includes at least one replacement for each gasket. If your tank has a persistent problem with leaks, check all of the gaskets for stretches and tears, replacing the gaskets as necessary.
My Tank or Clearomizer Isn’t Producing Vapour!
If your tank or clearomizer isn’t producing vapour, the first thing that you should do is isolate the problem by trying your e-cigarette with another tank or clearomizer if possible. If the second tank or clearomizer also doesn’t work, your e-cigarette may have a problem.
If you’re using a clearomizer, there isn’t a lot that you can do to troubleshoot a problem. If you purchased your clearomizer from Euro Vape and it arrived non-functional, contact us. We’ll make it right. If you’re using a vaping device with a floating pin in the top threading, try wiggling the pin to make sure it’s moving smoothly. If the pin doesn’t touch the metal on the bottom of the clearomizer, the clearomizer will not work.
If you’re using a tank – and the tank has never worked – check the pin on the bottom of the tank to see if it’s adjustable. With some tanks, it’s possible to raise or lower the pin with a screwdriver. Next, check the resistance of the tank’s atomizer coil and confirm that your vaping device supports that resistance. An extremely low-resistance coil will not work with a smaller vaping device such as an eGo e-cigarette and may cause damage to the e-cigarette’s battery. If the tank has worked before, check the atomizer coil to ensure that it’s connected properly. If the coil is cross-threaded, it may not work. If the coil seems fully seated, try using a different coil.
My Tank or Clearomizer Tastes Burned!
If your tank or clearomizer produces a flavour that’s hot, harsh and irritating to your throat and lungs, you’re experiencing what vapers call a “dry hit.” A dry hit happens when the atomizer coil in your tank or clearomizer isn’t sufficiently wet with e-liquid. Without e-liquid to keep it cool, the atomizer coil glows red. Dry hits are truly awful and something that every vaper goes to great lengths to avoid.
- Are you getting dry hits with a new clearomizer or atomizer coil? You may have tried to vape too soon after filling your tank. The e-liquid needs several minutes to soak fully into the wick that surrounds the atomizer coil.
- Are you getting dry hits during longer vaping sessions? You may need to slow the pace of your puffs. Between each puff, give the wick in your tank several seconds to become wet again.
- Do the dry hits seem unpredictable and random? Check the VG/PG ratio of the e-liquid you’re using. A high-VG e-liquid is very thick and may have trouble flowing through the tiny wick openings of a clearomizer or smaller tank. Switching to an e-liquid with at least 50 percent PG should alleviate the problem.
- Does the flavour become harsh at the end of your puffs? Your puffs are so long that they’re drying out the coil more quickly than the wick can replenish it with e-liquid. Reduce the duration of your puffs or lower the wattage setting of your vaping device.
- Are you tasting a flavour reminiscent of burned sugar each time you vape? Over time, residue from e-liquid builds up on an atomizer coil and robs it of its original flavour quality. When your clearomizer or atomizer coil reaches that point, it’s time to replace it. The lifespan of your atomizer coil will largely depend on how sweet your e-liquid is. If you prefer heavily sweetened e-liquids, you’ll need to replace your atomizer coils often.
