Can You Unburn a Vape? How to Fix a Burnt Vape

You expect great flavour every time you vape, but no vape delivers top-quality flavour forever. At some point in the not-to-distant future, you’ll go for a puff and find that your vape tastes burnt. You know the drill at that point. If you’re using a refillable vape, it’s time for a new pod or coil. If you’re using a disposable vape, it’s time for a new device – or is it? Is it possible to get a little more life out of your device? Can you turn back the clock and unburn your vape?

We’re going to start this guide by throwing a little cold water on your plans. In many cases, there’s nothing that you can do to restore your vape’s original flavour when it begins to taste burnt. There are some exceptions, though, and these largely depend on why your vape tastes burnt in the first place.

On this page, we’ll tell you everything you need to know.

What Does It Mean When a Disposable Vape Tastes Burnt?

We’ll start with the simpler section of the guide because when it comes to troubleshooting a disposable vape, there isn’t a lot that you can do. That’s both the benefit of disposables – their simplicity – and their drawback.

When a disposable vape tastes burnt, it means one of two things.

• The device is out of e-liquid. In this case, you’ll get a very harsh, burnt flavour every time you puff on it.
• You’re vaping at too quick a pace and aren’t giving the device’s wick enough time to equalise itself by drawing more e-liquid to the coil. Because the wick won’t work as efficiently when the device is low on vape juice, this is often a prelude to the vape being empty.

Can You Unburn a Disposable Vape?

So, is it possible to fix a burnt disposable vape? The answer is basically “yes, with reservations” because every disposable vape will ultimately trend toward tasting burnt regardless of what you do with it. That’s because of the simple design; every disposable vape has a non-replaceable coil, and the coil will eventually burn out. However, you might be able to prolong the life of your device in some cases.

If the Vape Is Empty (Vape Tastes Burnt on Every Puff)

If your device is empty, it may be possible to add e-liquid. You can do this either by popping the mouthpiece off or by squeezing the device at the seam until it splits open, depending on its design. Find the device’s wick and add e-liquid directly to it. Once the coil is wet again, it should stop producing a burnt flavour when you puff on it. However, there are two things that you should know before you begin.

• If your vape doesn’t have a rechargeable battery, there’s no point in refilling it because when the initial e-liquid supply runs out, the battery will surely die soon – and the e-liquid will be wasted.
• If your vape does have a rechargeable battery, you can refill it indefinitely – but the flavour quality will be a bit worse every time. Residue will build up on the coil regardless of what you do, and the residue will eventually cause the coil to produce a foul flavour.

With those two things in mind, trying to unburn an empty disposable vape probably isn’t worth the trouble. Enjoy disposable vapes for what they are – convenient but temporary vaping devices – and buy a refillable vape if you want a device that lasts longer.

If You’re Puffing Too Quickly (Vape Tastes Burnt Intermittently)

If your vape tastes burnt intermittently during a vaping session – it produces a burnt flavour after several puffs, but the flavour quality restores itself after you put the device down for a while – it’s possible to fix the problem simply by waiting a bit longer after each puff. Waiting gives the wick adequate time to bring more e-liquid to the coil, ensuring that it won’t overheat when you puff on the device again.

As we mentioned above, though, an intermittent burnt taste can mean that your vape will run out of e-liquid soon because the wick won’t function as efficiently when it’s starting to dry out. If you find yourself needing to wait longer between puffs than you did when the device was new, it’s a sign that you will probably have to replace your vape soon.

What Does It Mean When a Refillable Vape Tastes Burnt?

When you use a refillable disposable vape, there’s a lot more that you can troubleshoot because you have the ability to replace your device’s coil or pod. Many of the best vapes also have settings that you can adjust. When a refillable vape tastes burnt, it means one of two things.

• The coil is covered with residue from your e-liquid. In this case, you’ll get a smoky, caramelised flavour when you vape. The flavour will be in the background when the residue has just begun to form, but the smokiness will eventually cover the taste of your e-liquid as you continue to use the coil.
• The coil is overheating because it’s dry. This manifests itself as an incredibly harsh, foul flavour that can appear with almost no warning. Because overheating can burn your coil’s cotton wick, it can sometimes alter the coil’s flavour permanently.

Can You Unburn a Refillable Vape?

The great thing about using a refillable device is that if you want to unburn your vape, you can definitely do it – but it might require you to replace a component. Here’s everything that you need to know.

If the Coil Is Covered with Residue (Smoky, Caramelized Flavour)

If you taste the smoky flavour of coil residue when you vape, your vape is burnt because of residue from your e-liquid. Your options are somewhat limited here because there’s really no way to remove the residue fully. Cleaning the coil, however, may help to improve the flavour quality a little.

• You can try cleaning the coil by immersing it in very hot water for an hour or two. Swish the coil around in the water periodically to agitate it. After soaking the coil, remove it from the water and let it dry for a day before using it again.
• If cleaning the coil doesn’t produce an acceptable result, you’ll need to replace the coil.

Are you using a pod vape with a non-removable coil? It’s more difficult in this case because there’s no way to force the water into the centre of the pod where the residue is. Your best option is to replace the pod.

Would you like your coils to last longer? The way to do that is by using e-liquid that isn’t sweetened. Although all vape juice flavouring compounds can cause residue to form, sucralose is by far the biggest offender here. If you use coil-friendly e-liquid, you won’t have to replace your coils nearly as often as you do now.

Our top-rated e-liquid for coil friendliness is V2 VSAVI Platinum e-liquid. Read our review now.

If the Coil Is Overheating (Sudden Harsh, Foul Flavour)

If your coil suddenly produces an extremely harsh and foul flavour, the coil is overheating because it’s dry. The first order of business here is to stop vaping immediately until you’ve fixed the problem. Constant overheating will cause the coil’s cotton wick to burn, and there’s no fix for that.

To stop your vape from burning, you need to determine what’s causing the problem.

• Check your tank or pod. If it’s empty, you need to add e-liquid.
• If you have a device with adjustable wattage, check the current power setting; you may need to reduce it.
• Wait a little longer between puffs. You could be causing the coil to overheat by vaping at too quick a pace.
• If you’ve just filled a new pod or replaced the coil in your tank, wait several minutes and try vaping again. It’s possible that the coil isn’t fully saturated yet. Learn more about how to prime a vape coil.

If the Coil’s Wick Is Damaged (Tastes Like Burnt Cotton After Correcting the Overheating Issue)

If your coil has overheated and you now taste burnt cotton every time you vape, it means that the cotton wick in the coil assembly is damaged. In this case, there’s unfortunately no way to unburn your vape; you’ll need to replace the coil or pod. Although there’s no way to unburn cotton, you can prevent the problem from happening in the future by always following these four simple rules.

• When you fill a new pod or replace your coil, always wait several minutes for the wick to become fully saturated before you start vaping.
• Always wait several seconds for the coil to absorb more e-liquid after each puff.
• Don’t push your device’s wattage too high.
• Don’t try to use your tank or pod until it’s completely empty. When the e-liquid starts to get low, add more.