Best Vape Starter Kits to Quit Smoking 2025

The Best Bar Juice 5000 Flavours You Can Try Right Now

A Vapers Guide to Nic Salts: Nicotine Salts Explained

Every disposable vape sold in the UK before the June 2025 ban had nic salt e-liquid inside it. Every prefilled pod kit on the market right now uses nic salts too. If you've vaped anything in the last three years, you've almost certainly tried nicotine salts already. What Are Nicotine Salts? Nicotine salts are a form of nicotine created by combining freebase nicotine with benzoic acid. This lowers the pH of the e-liquid, allowing higher nicotine strengths to feel smoother and absorb faster in low-powered pod kits. Two forms of nicotine go into the vape juice you buy in the UK. Freebase nicotine came first and it's been around since the early days of vaping. Nic salts arrived a few years later when manufacturers started treating freebase nicotine with benzoic acid to change how it behaves. Freebase nicotine scratches your throat hard at anything above 12mg, but nic salts don't have that problem. The benzoic acid drops the pH low enough that even 20mg feels smooth on the inhale. Your body picks up nicotine salts faster too, so two or three puffs can satisfy a craving that freebase might take ten minutes to touch. One thing that confuses people: the word "salt" here is chemistry shorthand for what you get when an acid meets a base. There's no sodium in the bottle, nothing to do with table salt. Nicotine plus benzoic acid equals nicotine benzoate, and that's the nic salt in your juice. How to Use Nic Salts You need a pod kit or an MTL tank with a replacement coils rated above 1.0 ohm. Grab a 10ml bottle of nic salt juice and you're sorted. Fill your pod or tank through the fill port (most nic salt bottles have a fine nozzle tip) Leave it five minutes so the cotton inside the coil soaks through fully Draw on it the same way you'd pull on a cigarette, mouth to lung, not a big chest inhale Give it a few puffs and wait five minutes to see how the nicotine strength feels Almost every nic salt bottle on the market comes in a 50/50 VG/PG ratio. That thin mix wicks quickly through small pod coils without dry hits. Keep the wattage low, somewhere between 8W and 15W, and let the nicotine do the heavy lifting instead of chasing clouds. Setting What to Use Coil resistance Above 1.0 ohm for tight MTL Wattage 8W to 15W (most pod kits handle this on their own) VG/PG ratio 50/50 (standard for nic salts) Draw style Mouth to lung, like a cigarette Pod capacity 2ml (UK TPD limit for nicotine e-liquid) Standard MTL tanks on box mods work fine with nic salts too, same coil resistance and wattage rules as pod kits. Picking the Right Nic Salt Strength Three strengths cover the UK market: 5mg, 10mg, and 20mg. The formula stays the same across all three, only the nicotine concentration changes. Your Smoking History Start Here Heavy smoker (20+ a day) 20mg Moderate smoker (10 to 20 a day) 20mg, then drop to 10mg after a couple of weeks if it feels like too much Light smoker (under 10 a day) 10mg Social smoker or occasional 5mg Already vaping, switching to nic salts Match your current mg strength Dizziness or a headache after a few puffs means the strength is too high. Vaping constantly all day without ever feeling satisfied means you need to go up a level. See our nic salt strengths guide breaks down the differences between 5mg, 10mg, and 20mg in more detail. How Nic Salts Compare to Freebase The short version: nic salts hit faster and feel smoother, freebase hits slower and scratches the throat more. Both contain nicotine, both go into the same kits, but they suit different situations. Factor Nic Salt Freebase Throat hit Smooth, barely noticeable Gets harsh above 12mg Absorption Fast, a few puffs to feel it Slower, takes longer to land UK strengths 5mg, 10mg, 20mg 3mg, 6mg, 12mg, 18mg VG/PG ratio Almost always 50/50 50/50, 60/40, 70/30, 80/20 Best kits Pod kits, MTL tanks Any kit depending on strength Bottle size 10ml 10ml or as nic shots for shortfills Pod kit vapers and ex-smokers tend to get on better with nic salts. Anyone running a sub-ohm tank below 0.4 ohm should stick with freebase at 3mg or 6mg. High strength nic salts pumped through a big coil will make you feel rough. Our nic salt vs freebase comparison has the full side by side if you're still weighing it up. Bar Salts and Where They Fit After the disposable ban, brands like ElfLIQ, Lost Mary, and SKE Crystal took their disposable vape recipes and bottled them as 10ml nic salts. Same flavours, same nic salt formula, just in a refillable format now. Third party bar salt brands like Drifter, Riot Bar Edition, and Bar Juice 5000 popped up alongside them. These companies make their own takes on popular disposable flavour profiles at a lower price. All use 50/50 VG/PG nic salt formula built for refillable pod kits. The difference between "bar salts" and "nic salts" is just the flavour angle. Bar salts copy disposable vape flavours specifically, while regular nic salts cover everything from tobacco and menthol to dessert and fruit profiles. Which Kits Actually Work with Nic Salts? Kit Type Nic Salt Friendly? Notes Pod kit (Caliburn, Xlim, XROS, Sonder) Yes Best match by far. Low power, tight draw, smooth hit. Prefilled pod kit (Elf Bar, Lost Mary, SKE) Already using them Prefilled pods come with nic salt liquid from the factory. MTL tank (coil above 1.0 ohm) Yes Keep wattage low and airflow tight. RDL tank (coil 0.4 to 1.0 ohm) Only at 5mg or 10mg Higher strengths at this resistance can feel overwhelming. Sub-ohm tank (coil below 0.4 ohm) No Too much vapour at high nic salt strength. Freebase 3mg or 6mg only. Any beginner pod kit from OXVA, Uwell, Vaporesso, or Geekvape handles nic salts without any fuss. The low wattage and tight airflow on a pod kit suits 50/50 nic salt juice better than any other setup. How Nic Salts Are Manufactured The process starts with freebase nicotine extracted from tobacco leaf. Benzoic acid goes in at a precise ratio and temperature to create the nicotine salt compound. Get the balance wrong and the mixture crystallises or separates, so the process is tightly controlled. Most nic salt e-liquids on UK shelves come from either Chinese or British factories. Every bottle sold legally in the UK must be notified and regulated under the UK's e-cigarette product framework, with a TPD notification number assigned before sale (see official UK government guidance on e-cigarette regulations). Opened bottles keep for about six months in a cool dark spot with the cap screwed tight. Unopened, the benzoic acid keeps the nicotine more stable than freebase, so sealed bottles hold their flavour for 18 to 24 months. Related products & ranges Nic salt e-liquids Shop all e-liquids More vaping guides Nic salt strengths guide Best nic salt brands UK Nic salt vs freebase

How to Refill a Vape Pod and Choose Your First Pod Kit

Ready to buy? Shop refillable pod kits or all vape kits. If you've just picked up a pod kit or you're thinking about getting one, this is the guide you need. How to refill a vape pod without making a mess. What types of pod kit exist. How long your pods will last, and what to do when something goes wrong. I've been selling and using these things for over a decade, so I'll keep it practical. What Is a Pod Vape Kit Two parts. A battery and a pod. That's it. The pod holds your e-liquid and contains a small replacement coils that heats it into vapour. Most pod kits are draw activated, so you inhale and it fires. No buttons, no screens, nothing to configure. Small enough for a pocket, charges over USB-C, runs on nic salts or 50/50 e-liquids. If you've used a disposable before, same experience. You just refill the pod yourself instead of throwing the whole thing in the bin. Refillable Pods, Prefilled Pods, and Box Mods Three main types of vape kit exist in the UK right now. Refillable pod kits are what most vapers end up with. You buy the kit, fill the pod with whatever e-liquid you want, and swap the pod out when the coil wears down. Thousands of flavours to pick from. A 10ml bottle of nic salt lasts roughly the same as five disposables and costs a couple of quid, so the savings add up fast. Browse refillable pod kits to see what's available. Then you've got prefilled pod kits. Rechargeable battery, but the pods come pre-filled and you bin them when they're empty. Convenient, yes. You're paying for that convenience though. Two or three times more per month than refillable users, and you're stuck with whatever flavours the brand decides to make. Prefilled pod kits are here if that trade off suits you. Box mods are a completely different animal. Bigger, heavier, with external batteries and adjustable wattage. Sub-ohm coils, shortfill e-liquids e-liquids, clouds everywhere. I wouldn't touch one as a beginner. Get comfortable with a pod kit first. If you end up wanting more power down the line, box mods are on the site waiting. How to Refill a Vape Pod: Top Fill Top fill is what you'll find on most pod kits sold today. The fill port sits under the mouthpiece. Pull the pod out of the kit Remove or flip the mouthpiece to expose the fill port Tilt the pod slightly and squeeze e-liquid in slowly Stop just below the max line, never right up to it Push the mouthpiece back into place Wait five minutes before you vape That wait matters. The cotton inside needs time to soak up the liquid. Skip it and you'll scorch the coil on your first pull. Horrible dry hit, and the pod's done for. If the mouthpiece feels stiff, wiggle it gently. Forcing it cracks the plastic. [shotcode_multi_image_section_3] How to Refill a Vape Pod: Side Fill Side fill pods have a rubber bung on the side instead of a top port. Pull the pod out, peel back the bung, tilt and fill slowly. Push the bung back until it sits completely flush. Wipe any spilled liquid off the contacts with kitchen roll before you slot the pod back in. Give it five minutes to prime, same as top fill. Side fill pods leak less often in my experience. But that rubber bung wears out after a few weeks of daily pulling and pushing. Once it stops holding a seal, the pod needs swapping. How Long Do Vape Pods Last One to three weeks for most refillable vape pods. Sweet and dessert flavours contain more sweetener, and that gunks up coils faster. I get about a week from heavy dessert liquids. Fruit or menthol with less sweetener stretches closer to three weeks. In terms of refills, expect anywhere from 10 to 30 from a single pod before the coil packs in. The signs are obvious. Flavour goes flat, vapour thins out, and eventually you catch a faint burnt edge even with a full pod. Swap it at that point rather than squeezing another few days out of it. Two pods in rotation last longer than hammering one until it dies. Keeping the kit upright helps too. Troubleshooting Common Pod Problems Leaking from the base. Nine times out of ten, overfilling. Pull the pod out, dry the contacts with kitchen roll, and fill to just below the max line next time. Worn rubber seals cause it too, but that's less common. Burnt taste on a new pod. You didn't wait long enough after filling. Once cotton burns, that's it. New pod. I know it's tempting to start vaping straight away. Don't. Spitting liquid into your mouth. Take the pod out and blow through it firmly onto kitchen roll. Excess liquid pools on the coil after a refill sometimes, and blowing it through sorts it out. Lost all flavour suddenly. Could be the coil wearing out. Could be vaper's tongue, which happens when you've been on the same flavour for weeks. Switch flavours for a day and see if it comes back. Still nothing after that, swap the pod. Related products & ranges Shop pod kits Shop all vape kits Nic salt e-liquids More vaping guides MTL vs DTL vs RDL explained Nic salts explained

E-Cigarette Battery Safety: The UK Vaper's Guide

Vape batteries are lithium-ion cells that pack a lot of energy into a small space. They deserve your respect, and a few basic habits go a long way. Most of the battery problems we see at Ecigone come down to the same handful of mistakes repeated over and over. This guide covers everything from overnight charging to battery storage, checking your wraps, and knowing when it's time to swap your cells. It applies to every type of vape, from basic pod kits to box mods with removable 18650 or 21700 batteries. Can You Charge a Vape Overnight? Short answer: don't do it, and here's why. Leaving your vape on charge overnight is one of the most common mistakes we see, and one of the easiest to fix. Most modern vapes have overcharge protection built in. But that circuit is a safety net, not something to rely on every single night. Keeping a lithium-ion battery at 100% for eight hours straight puts unnecessary stress on the cell. Over time, it shortens the battery's lifespan. The bigger concern is unattended charging. If something goes wrong with a cable or the battery itself, you won't be awake to catch it. Charge your vape while you're around and unplug it once the light changes. Set a phone timer if you need a reminder. This goes for all vapes, from basic pod kits to pen-style kits and box mods. None of them should sit on a charger all night. Understanding Vape Battery Types There are two types of vape battery, and the safety rules differ slightly for each. Integrated Battery Removable Battery Found in Pod kits, pen-style kits Box mods, larger pod mods Common sizes Varies (sealed unit) 18650, 21700 Charging USB-C port on the vape External charger (recommended) Maintenance Low - just good charging habits Higher - check wraps, marry pairs Lifespan Life of the vape About 12 months per cell Integrated batteries are sealed inside the vape. You charge the whole unit through a USB-C port and never touch the battery directly. Straightforward, but you still need to follow good charging habits. If you're switching from disposable vapes to a pod kit, this is the type of battery you'll be using. Removable batteries are used in box mods and some larger pod mods. The most common sizes are 18650 (18mm wide, 65mm long) and 21700 (21mm wide, 70mm long). You take these out, charge them separately, and slot them back in. More hands-on, but they last longer overall if you look after them. Your vape manual tells you which battery size and type to use. Always stick to the spec listed in your manual. Wrong batteries can damage your mod or cause safety problems. How to Charge Your Vape Safely Do Don't Use the USB-C cable that came with your vape Use cheap unbranded cables Plug into a standard 5V USB adapter Use your phone's fast charger Charge on a hard, flat surface Charge on beds, sofas, or under pillows Unplug once the indicator shows full Leave it on charge overnight Let your vape cool before charging Plug in straight after heavy use Good charging habits are the single biggest factor in battery safety and lifespan. Here's what to get right every time you plug in. Use the right cable. Stick with the USB-C cable that came with your vape, or a good quality replacement. Cheap cables from market stalls often lack proper safety circuits. Use a standard 5V adapter. Your phone's fast charger might seem handy, but it can push too much power into your vape's charging board. A basic USB adapter is all you need. Charge on a hard surface. Your kitchen counter or a desk works. Not your bed, not your sofa, not tucked under a pillow. Hard surfaces let heat dissipate safely. Don't charge from empty to full every time. Lithium-ion batteries prefer shallow cycles. Plug in at about 30% and take off the charger at around 80% to extend the battery's lifespan. Let your vape cool down first. After heavy use, give it ten minutes before plugging in. Charging a hot battery puts extra stress on the cell. Removable Battery Safety If your vape uses removable 18650 or 21700 batteries, you need to know a few extra things. Use an external charger. Charging removable batteries inside the mod works, but a dedicated external charger is safer and better for the cells. They charge more evenly and put less strain on your mod's USB port. Good chargers from brands like XTAR which start from about £9.99 in our batteries and chargers collection. Keep your batteries married. If your mod takes two batteries, always use the same pair together. Same brand, same model, bought at the same time. Charge them together, use them together, retire them together. Never carry loose batteries in your pocket. This is how most serious battery incidents happen. A loose 18650 touching your keys or loose change can short circuit in seconds. Always carry spare batteries in a plastic case. Check the wraps regularly. The plastic wrap on your battery is an insulator that stops the metal casing from making unwanted contact. If the wrap is torn, nicked, or peeling, stop using that battery straight away. Get it rewrapped or swap it out. How to Spot a Bad Battery [shotcode_multi_image_section_4] Batteries don't last forever, and knowing when to retire one keeps you safe. It also saves you from chasing problems that are actually just worn-out cells. Reduced capacity. If your battery runs flat much quicker than it used to, the cell is degrading and it's time to swap it. Unusual heat. Some warmth during use is normal, but hot to the touch is not. If your battery gets uncomfortably warm during normal vaping, stop using it. Physical damage. Any dent, bulge, or deformation means that the battery goes straight in the bin. Same for any discolouration or leaking. Performance drops. If your vape feels weaker or keeps showing low battery warnings well before it should, the battery is on its way out. As a general rule, removable vape batteries last about a year with regular use. Twelve months of daily charging and discharging takes its toll on any lithium cell. Budget for new cells once a year if you vape daily. Storing Your Vape Batteries Where and how you store your batteries matters more than most people think. Keep them away from heat. Don't leave your vape or spare batteries in direct sunlight, in a hot car, or next to a radiator. Heat degrades lithium cells faster than anything else. Keep them dry. None of your vaping kit is waterproof, no matter what it looks like. If a battery gets wet, let it dry completely and inspect it before use. Our guide to maintaining your vape kit has more on keeping your gear in good shape. Store at half charge. If you're putting batteries away for more than a couple of weeks, aim for about 50% charge. Storing them full or empty for long periods damages the cells. Use battery cases for storage. Loose batteries in a drawer are asking for trouble. Keep every battery in a case when it's not in your vape or on a charger. Sub-Ohm and Coil Safety Sub-ohm vaping pulls more power from your batteries. If you're building your own coils or running low-resistance setups, you need to understand amp limits. Our guide to vaping wattage is worth reading alongside this section. Every battery has a CDR (continuous discharge rating) measured in amps. Your coil resistance and voltage determine how many amps you're pulling. A 0.2 ohm coil at 4.2V draws 21 amps from the battery. If your battery is only rated for 20A, you're over the limit. Always buy batteries from well-known, trusted manufacturers. If the amp rating on a battery looks too good to be true, it probably is. Rewrapped batteries with inflated specs are a real problem in the vaping market. For pre-built coils, stay within the wattage range printed on the coil. Your mod will usually suggest a setting, but it's worth checking the coil itself. Our guide to vape coils covers this in more detail. What to Do in an Emergency Battery incidents are rare, but knowing what to do matters. If your vape starts hissing, smoking, or getting extremely hot without being used: Move it away from anything flammable and get yourself to fresh air straight away. Don't try to grab a venting battery with bare hands. Wait for everything to cool down completely before touching it. Once cool, take it to a vape shop or battery recycling point for safe disposal. If you feel unwell after a battery incident, especially any difficulty breathing, get medical help straight away. How to Dispose of Vape Batteries Dead batteries go to a recycling point, not in your household bin. Lithium cells in general waste can cause fires at recycling centres and landfill sites. Drop-off options in the UK include supermarket battery collection bins, local council recycling centres, and many vape shops. Tape over the terminals before dropping off to prevent short circuits during transport. Related products & ranges Coils & pods Vape mods Sub-ohm coils More vaping guides How to look after your vape kit Vape coils explained Beginners guide to vaping

How to Store E-Liquid

Store e-liquid in a cool, dark place with the cap sealed tight. A kitchen cupboard away from the cooker or a bedroom drawer works well. Keep bottles upright and out of direct sunlight. That covers 90% of what you need to know. The rest of this guide covers why those rules matter, how long vape juice lasts, and how to spot a bottle that's gone off. Best Storage Conditions for E-Liquid Heat, light, and air are the three things that break e-liquid down. Each one attacks different parts of the juice. Factor What It Does How to Avoid It Heat Speeds up nicotine oxidation and breaks down flavour compounds. Even 20 minutes in a hot car can turn juice brown. Store at room temperature. Away from radiators, cookers, and windowsills. Never leave in a car. Sunlight UV light degrades nicotine and fades flavour. Clear bottles are worst affected. Keep in a cupboard or drawer. Dark bottles help but don't rely on them alone. Air Oxygen reacts with nicotine and changes the colour and taste over time. Screw caps tight after every fill. Don't leave bottles open while you sort your tank out. The best storage temperature for e-liquid sits between 15°C and 25°C. Standard room temperature in most UK homes. Bathrooms are a bad choice because the humidity and temperature swings from showers speed up degradation. Fridges work for long term storage of unopened bottles. Let the juice reach room temperature before you vape it though, or the viscosity will be off. [shotcode_multi_image_section_5] How Long Does Vape Juice Last Shelf life depends on whether the bottle has been opened and how it's stored. Condition Expected Shelf Life Unopened, stored correctly 12 to 24 months from manufacture date Opened, stored correctly 3 to 6 months Opened, left in heat or light A few weeks before noticeable flavour loss In a vape tank (filled and sitting) 1 to 2 weeks before flavour starts dropping off Nic salt e-liquids follow the same shelf life as standard e-liquid. The nicotine salt form doesn't make it last longer or shorter. Store them the same way. Shortfill e-liquids in larger bottles take longer to use up, so storage matters more. If you've added a nicotine shot, the clock starts from the day you mix it. Shake the bottle well after adding the shot and store it sealed. Writing the date you opened each bottle on the label with a marker helps you use older juice first. You won't remember once you've got a few bottles on the go. How to Tell If Vape Juice Has Gone Bad Your eyes and nose catch most problems before you take a puff. Colour change. Some darkening over time is normal, especially with nicotine. A slight amber tint in juice that started clear isn't a concern. Dramatic colour shifts are different. If a light coloured juice turns dark brown or black, the nicotine has oxidised heavily and the flavour will taste harsh and peppery. Smell. Fresh vape juice smells like its flavour. If it smells sour, metallic, or chemical, don't vape it. Nicotine oxidation produces a sharp, peppery smell that's easy to pick up once you know what to look for. Separation. E-liquid can settle if it's sat still for a while. A quick shake should bring it back together. If the layers won't mix after shaking, or if there are bits floating in the liquid, throw it away. Texture. VG is naturally thick, but if the juice has become noticeably thicker than when you bought it, or turned watery, something has broken down. Our guide to what vape juice is made of explains how PG, VG, nicotine, and flavourings interact if you want to understand the chemistry behind why these changes happen. Vape Juice Turning Brown Brown vape juice is almost always nicotine oxidation. Oxygen reacts with the nicotine and produces a compound called cotinine, which has a brown colour and a harsh taste. It happens faster in heat and light. A slight brown tint in an opened bottle that's been around for a few weeks is normal and won't affect the vape much. If the juice has gone very dark and tastes peppery or metallic, the oxidation has gone too far. Sweetener in the juice can also caramelise on vape coils and turn the liquid in the tank brown. That's a coil issue though, not a storage one. 0mg nicotine juice doesn't brown the same way because there's no nicotine to oxidise. If you're storing juice long term, 0mg bottles hold up the best. Related products & ranges Shop all e-liquids Nic salt e-liquids Shortfill e-liquids More vaping guides E-liquids explained (start here) What is vape juice made of?

Vape Wattage Guide: What It Means and What to Set Yours At

Vape wattage is how much power your kit sends to the coil. Turn it up and the coil gets hotter, vapour gets thicker, flavour gets stronger. Turn it down and everything cools off, the draw gets lighter, and your battery lasts longer. We get asked about wattage on live chat probably more than any other single topic. Most of the time the answer is simple: stick to what's printed on your coil and adjust from there. But there's a bit more to it if you want to get the best out of your setup, so here's the full picture. Vaping Wattage Chart Start at the low end of the range for your coil and work up in 2-3W steps. When the flavour and warmth feel right, stop there. Coil resistance Wattage range Vaping style Best e-liquid type 1.2 ohm 8-14W MTL (tight draw) Nic salts 10-20mg 1.0 ohm 10-16W MTL Nic salts or 50/50 freebase 0.8 ohm 12-20W MTL / loose MTL Nic salts or 50/50 freebase 0.6 ohm 15-25W RDL (restricted lung) 50/50 or 60/40 VG/PG 0.4 ohm 20-35W RDL / DTL 60/40 or 70/30 VG/PG 0.3 ohm 30-50W DTL (direct lung) 70/30+ shortfills 0.2 ohm 40-70W DTL High VG shortfills 0.15 ohm 50-80W+ DTL (cloud chasing) High VG shortfills Every coil has its recommended range printed on the side or the packaging. That's your starting point. The chart above is a general reference if the printing's worn off or you've lost the box. How Does Wattage Affect Vaping? The short version: wattage controls how hot your coil gets, and that changes everything about how your vape feels. Crank the wattage up and you'll pull more flavour out of the liquid. That works up to a point. Go past the top of your coil's range and the cotton dries out faster than liquid can soak in. That's where burnt hits come from. Most people find the best flavour sits around the middle of the recommended range, not at the top. Vapour volume scales with wattage too. A 0.8ohm coil at 12W gives you a thin, discreet draw. Push the same coil to 20W and there's noticeably more cloud. People who want to keep things subtle tend to stay low. Cloud chasers go high, but they're running 0.2ohm coils in sub-ohm tanks, not pod kits. Then there's the throat hit. Warmer vapour feels stronger on the inhale. If your vape feels harsh, dropping 2-3W often fixes it before you need to change anything else. Worth trying before you blame the liquid. What Wattage Should I Vape At? [shotcode_multi_image_section_6] The most common setup we sell is a pod kit with a 0.8ohm coil and nic salt liquid. For that combo, 12-18W is the range, and most customers settle around 14-15W. That covers kits like the XROS series, Xlim series, and Caliburn range. If yours has auto-wattage, it'll set itself somewhere in that window. For 50/50 freebase in a pod kit, bump it up slightly. 14-22W with a 0.6 or 0.8ohm coil. Freebase needs a touch more heat than nic salts to get the flavour going. Sub-ohm setups with high VG shortfills run much higher. 40-70W with a 0.2-0.4ohm coil. Different world, different equipment, much more battery drain. Best Wattage for 50/50 E-Liquid 50/50 liquid is thinner than high VG, so it wicks faster and needs less power. Run it too high and you'll get spitting and burn through coils quicker than you should. On a 0.8ohm coil, 12-16W works well. On a 0.6ohm, 15-20W. The general rule with 50/50 is to stay toward the lower end of whatever your coil recommends. You won't lose flavour, and your coils will last noticeably longer. What Wattage Are Disposable Vapes? Disposables ran at roughly 7-12W with a 1.0-1.4ohm coil. No adjustment, no options. That's partly why they felt so consistent. If you've just switched to a refillable pod kit and want a similar feel, start with a 1.0 or 0.8ohm coil at around 10-16W. Pair it with nic salt liquid at 10mg or 20mg. That gets you close to the disposable experience without the waste. Our switching from disposables guide covers the rest of the transition. Common Wattage Mistakes The one we see most is people cranking wattage on a brand new coil. Fresh coils need 5-10 minutes to soak after filling. Start at the bottom of the range, take gentle puffs, and work up over 15-20 draws. Skip that step and you'll taste burnt cotton within minutes. Our priming guide goes through the full process. Running nic salts at high power is another common one. A 20mg nic salt at 40W will hit your throat like sandpaper and might make you lightheaded. Nic salts belong below 20W in an MTL coil. That's not a suggestion, it's how they're formulated. People also forget to adjust when they swap liquids. A fruit nic salt at 50/50 needs noticeably less power than a thick dessert shortfill at 70/30. Same kit, different wattage. It's worth checking every time you change bottles. And then there's the coil range itself. Every coil has one printed on it. Going above it shortens coil life. Going below it gives you a muted, flat flavour. The manufacturer tested those numbers for a reason, and they're almost always right. Related products & ranges Coils & pods Sub-ohm coils Vape mods More vaping guides Beginners guide to vaping (start here) Vape coils explained How to choose a vape kit

How to Look After Your Vape Kit

A bit of basic vape maintenance is the difference between a kit that lasts a year and one that dies in three months. None of this takes long. The daily stuff is 30 seconds, the weekly clean is five minutes, and knowing when to change your coil saves you money on replacements. This guide covers pod kits and sub-ohm setups. If you've just set up your first kit, our priming guide covers that first step. Daily Habits Don't let it run dry. This is the single biggest coil killer. When the e-liquid drops below the wicking holes, the cotton burns and the coil is finished. Top up before the pod looks empty, not after. After that, just wipe it down. E-liquid is sticky and it builds up fast around the pod connection and mouthpiece. A tissue after you've been vaping stops it turning into a crusty mess. And store it standing up. We see so many kits come back with leaking issues that are just down to someone leaving it on its side in a bag. Gravity pulls liquid away from the coil and into gaps it shouldn't reach. Weekly Kit Clean [shotcode_multi_image_section_7] Five minutes on a Sunday evening. That's the routine most of our staff follow and it keeps kits running for months. For pod kits, pull the pod out and clean the contacts on both sides with a cotton bud. E-liquid builds up here and causes misfires and weak hits. Check the pod for cracks while you're at it, especially around the mouthpiece. Blocked airflow holes? Toothpick. Sub-ohm setups need a bit more. Take the coil out and check the cotton. Dark or charred means it's time for a swap. Rinse the tank parts (not the coil) with warm water, dry everything, then reassemble. Worth checking the O-rings on the tank glass too. They're the rubber seals that stop leaking, and they do wear out. Spares usually come in the box. Once a month, give the mouthpiece and tank a wash with warm water and a drop of washing up liquid. Never get the battery section wet. Just wipe that down and clear pocket fluff out of the charging port with a dry toothbrush. When to Change Your Coil Most coils last one to two weeks. Sweeter flavours and high VG shortfills gunk them up faster than nic salts do, so coil life varies depending on what you vape. A burnt taste that won't clear after refilling is the obvious sign it's done. But coils also fade gradually. If the flavour has gone flat compared to when you first put it in, that coil is on its way out. Dark residue on the mesh or cotton confirms it. Pod kits are simple here. The coil is built into the pod, so you just replace the whole thing. Sub-ohm tanks need you to unscrew the old coil, fit the new one, prime it, and refill. Our coils and pods guide walks through both. Batteries and Knowing When to Replace Don't drain your battery to zero every time. Regularly running flat shortens the lifespan. Most pod kits charge via USB-C in under an hour, so topping up at around 20% is easy enough. Heat is the other thing to watch. A kit left in a hot car or on a sunny windowsill won't last as long, and the e-liquid can start tasting off. If you use a sub-ohm kit with removable batteries, keep them in a case. Loose batteries in a pocket with keys or coins is a real fire risk. Not being dramatic, it does happen. The kit itself should last 12 to 18 months with basic care. You'll know it's done when the battery won't get through a day, buttons stop responding, or the pod connection plays up after cleaning. At that point, you're better off putting the money toward a replacement than fighting a losing battle with a worn-out kit. Related products & ranges Coils & pods All vape kits Sub-ohm coils More vaping guides Vape battery & coil safety Vape coils explained Beginners guide to vaping

UK Vaping Laws 2026: TPD Rules, Vape Tax and What You Can Buy

UK vaping laws have changed more in the last twelve months than in the previous five years combined. Disposables are gone, a new tax on e-liquid kicks in this October, and the Tobacco and Vapes Bill is still working through the Lords. We get questions about this stuff on live chat constantly. What's legal, what's changing, when the tax starts, whether flavours are getting banned. Most of the answers are straightforward once you know where to look, so we've put them all in one place. TPD Vaping Regulations: The Basics TPD stands for Tobacco Products Directive. It's the set of product rules that came in back in 2017 and still applies now. After Brexit the UK kept them under a different name (TRPR), but the rules themselves didn't change and everyone still calls them TPD. In practice, TPD means nicotine e-liquid can only be sold in 10ml bottles. Pods and tanks are capped at 2ml. Nicotine tops out at 20mg/ml. Everything needs child-resistant packaging, and every product has to be registered with the MHRA before any shop can sell it. If you see a nicotine e-liquid in a bottle over 10ml, a pod over 2ml, or a strength above 20mg, that product isn't legal. The most common question we get about TPD is about bottle sizes. People see 50ml and 100ml bottles and assume they're breaking the rules. They're not. Shortfill e-liquids contain zero nicotine, so the 10ml limit doesn't apply to them. You buy the big bottle, then add your own nicotine shots (10ml each, TPD compliant) to reach the strength you want. Completely legal. What Does TPD Compliant Mean? It means the product meets all the rules above and is registered with the MHRA. Everything on our site has been through that process. If you're buying from a legitimate UK retailer, the stock on the shelf should be TPD compliant. If someone's selling it out of a car boot or an unregistered website, assume it isn't. The Disposable Vape Ban Single-use vapes have been illegal across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland since 1 June 2025. Elf Bar 600, Lost Mary BM600, Crystal Bar, all of them. The ban was driven by environmental waste (roughly five million thrown away weekly) and rising youth vaping rates. When the disposable vape ban was announced, a lot of our customers assumed it meant vaping itself was being banned. It didn't. It just meant single-use products. Prefilled pod kits filled the gap almost overnight. Brands like Elf Bar, Lost Mary, and SKE launched rechargeable versions of their most popular disposables with swappable pods. Same flavours, similar draw, but you charge the battery and swap the pod instead of binning the whole thing. For most people though, refillable pod kits have turned out to be the better long-term move. You fill the pod yourself with whatever e-liquid you want, the running costs are lower, and you're not tied to one brand's pod range. The XROS series, Xlim series, and Caliburn range are the ones we sell most of. Our guide to switching from disposables covers the full transition if you're still figuring it out. The 2026 Vape Tax This is the big one for 2026. From 1 October, a new Vaping Products Duty (VPD) hits all e-liquids sold in the UK. The rate is a flat £2.20 per 10ml. That's every type of liquid: nic salts, freebase, shortfills, nicotine shots, prefilled pods, even 0mg. Nicotine content makes no difference to the rate. VAT (20%) gets added on top of the duty too, so the actual increase per 10ml bottle is closer to £2.64. Product Duty added With VAT on duty 10ml nic salt £2.20 £2.64 2ml prefilled pod £0.44 £0.53 100ml shortfill £22.00 £26.40 10ml nicotine shot £2.20 £2.64 Hardware isn't taxed. Your kit, coils, empty pods, and chargers stay at standard 20% VAT only. The key dates to know: HMRC registration opens for manufacturers and importers on 1 April 2026. The duty itself starts on 1 October 2026, and from that date new stock must carry a vaping duty stamp. There's a grace period for existing unstamped stock until 1 April 2027. After that, selling e-liquid without the stamp is an offence. What that means for you in practice: e-liquid prices will go up from October. How much depends on the retailer. We're stocking up before the tax date so we can hold prices through the grace period. By spring 2027 the increases will be unavoidable across the board. Even with the tax, vaping will still cost significantly less than smoking. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill The Bill passed all three readings in the Commons and is now in the Lords. The committee stage finished in November 2025 and the report stage is expected to start on 24 February 2026. It hasn't become law yet, but it's heading that way. Once it gets Royal Assent, expect a vape advertising ban within two months. There'll also be a new retail licensing scheme, a product registration requirement for everything entering the UK market, and display restrictions at point of sale. Trading Standards will be able to issue £200 on-the-spot fines for underage sales. The Bill also gives the government powers to restrict flavours, packaging, and vape types, but those specifics haven't been decided. The government has committed to public consultation on those points after the Bill becomes law. So flavour bans aren't confirmed, and they're not imminent, but the power to introduce them will exist. Two other bits worth knowing. Nicotine pouches come under the 18+ age restriction from 1 January 2027. And from the same date, selling tobacco to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 becomes illegal. Age Restrictions 18 or over to buy any vape product in the UK. It doesn't matter whether it contains nicotine or not. Applies in store and for online vape shops. E-Liquid Laws: Quick Reference Rule Detail Max nicotine strength 20mg/ml Max bottle size (with nicotine) 10ml Max tank/pod capacity 2ml Shortfills (0mg) Any size, add your own nic shots 50/50 e-liquids Legal in 10ml bottles up to 20mg Nic salt e-liquids Legal in 10ml bottles up to 20mg Bar salts Legal in 10ml bottles up to 20mg Child-resistant packaging Required on all nicotine products MHRA registration Required before sale New: Vaping Products Duty £2.20 per 10ml from 1 October 2026 What You Can and Can't Buy in 2026 Legal: Refillable pod kits, prefilled pod kits with swappable pods, sub-ohm kits, all TPD-compliant e-liquids (nic salts, freebase, shortfills, bar salts), replacement coils, replacement pods. Banned: Single-use disposable vapes, any nicotine e-liquid above 20mg/ml, any nicotine e-liquid bottle over 10ml, unregistered products. Coming this year: Vape tax on all e-liquids from October. Advertising restrictions likely once the Tobacco and Vapes Bill becomes law. Flavour and packaging restrictions possible but not yet confirmed. Related products & ranges Shop vape kits Refillable pod kits More vaping guides When are disposables banned in the UK? Countries where vapes are banned Vaping in Thailand

E-Liquids 101: What Are They?

You'll see it called e-liquid, vape juice, vape liquid or e-juice depending on the brand, but they're all the same product under different names. It's the liquid that goes into your vape kit and turns into vapour when the vape coils heats it up. What are e-liquids? All UK e-liquid start with the same four base ingredients: PG, VG, flavourings and nicotine. What changes from bottle to bottle is the nicotine type, the strength and the VG/PG ratio. A 20mg nic salt in a pod kit won't feel anything like a 3mg shortfill running through a sub-ohm tank. Both sit on the same shelf, but they're made for completely different setups. Four Types of E-Liquid Nic Salts Most people switching from cigarettes to vaping end up starting with nic salts. They use a different form of nicotine that's been processed to feel smoother, so 20mg won't burn your throat the way freebase at the same strength would. They come in 10ml bottles, usually 10mg or 20mg, and you'll find them all in the nic salt e-liquids section. They're built for pod kits and MTL tanks running a 50/50 VG/PG ratio. The nicotine hits your bloodstream faster than freebase too, so you don't need as many puffs to sort a craving. Freebase E-Liquids Before nic salts came along, freebase was all there was, and it's still the most widely sold type of e-liquid in the UK. The throat hit is sharper and harsher at the same mg level compared to nic salts, and most freebase liquids sit between 3mg and 12mg. You'll find them in 50/50 ratios for pod kits or 70/30 for bigger tanks. Where freebase really helps is if you want to step down your nicotine gradually. Strengths go from 18mg right down to 0mg with smaller gaps between each level. You've got more room to reduce at your own pace than you do with nic salts. Shortfills If you vape a lot, 10ml bottles add up fast and shortfills are the way around it. They're bigger bottles (50ml or 100ml) sold with no nicotine, and there's space left in the top for you to add a nic shot to bring the strength up to about 3mg. Nearly all shortfills use a 70/30 VG/PG ratio because they're built for sub-ohm tanks and higher wattage kits. You won't get strong nicotine from them once mixed, but the cost per ml is much lower than buying 10ml bottles. The shortfill e-liquids guide on our blog walks through the mixing process and which nic shot strengths to pick. Longfills Longfills are concentrated flavour shots in a bigger bottle with room to add your own VG, PG and nic shots. You're mixing more than you would with a shortfill, but you get full control over the final ratio and strength. They're less common than the other three types in UK shops, but vapers who like to tweak their setup tend to prefer them for the flexibility. [shotcode_multi_image_section_1] E-Liquid Strengths Explained UK law caps nicotine at 20mg/ml (Maximum allowed in UK) and that's the highest you'll find in any UK bottle. From there it goes all the way down to 0mg for people who've dropped nicotine altogether. The mg number on the bottle tells you the concentration, but 20mg in nic salt and 20mg in freebase don't feel the same at all. The nicotine type and the kit you're using both change how that number hits. Strength Who It Suits E-Liquid Type 0mg Vapers who've dropped nicotine completely Freebase, shortfills 3mg Light vapers, sub-ohm users Shortfills (with nic shot), freebase 6mg Moderate vapers, sub-ohm and MTL Freebase 10mg Social smokers, lighter smokers switching Nic salts 12mg 10 to 15 cigarettes a day Freebase 18mg Heavier smokers, strong throat hit wanted Freebase 20mg 15+ cigarettes a day, heaviest cravings Nic salts Nic salts at 20mg feel smoother than freebase at 20mg because of how the nicotine's processed. Sub-ohm kits also push out a lot more vapour with every puff. Even 3mg in a sub-ohm tank gives you more total nicotine per draw than 3mg in a pod kit. Sub-ohm vapers stick to lower strengths for that reason. Our nic salt strengths guide covers the 5mg, 10mg and 20mg options in more detail if you're choosing between them. VG/PG Ratios and What They Mean Every bottle has a ratio printed on it showing the split between vegetable glycerin (VG) and propylene glycol (PG). VG is what makes the vapour thick and smooth, while PG carries the flavour and adds the throat hit. Ratio Throat Hit Vapour Works With 50/50 Noticeable Light to medium Pod kits, MTL tanks 60/40 Moderate Medium Most kits 70/30 Mild Thick Sub-ohm tanks, RDAs Put 70/30 liquid in a pod kit and the coils can't wick fast enough. You'll end up with dry hits or a burnt taste that ruins the coil. Go the other way and put 50/50 in a sub-ohm tank, and the thin liquid floods the coil and spits back at you. Getting the wrong ratio for your kit is one of the most common mistakes people make. The VG vs PG guide on our blog breaks down the differences in full if you want to dig into which ratio suits your setup. Matching E-Liquid to Your Kit Get this pairing wrong and you'll either burn through coils or get a mouthful of spitting liquid. The kit you're using decides what liquid you can actually run. The coils in pod kits and MTL tanks have small wicking holes and they need thin liquid to work properly. Stick with 50/50 VG/PG in either nic salts (10mg or 20mg) or freebase (6mg to 18mg). Anything thicker than 50/50 and the wick can't pull liquid fast enough to keep up. Sub-ohm kits work the other way round with bigger wicking holes, more vapour per puff, and a need for thick juice to stop flooding. Go with 70/30 VG/PG and keep nicotine low at 0mg to 6mg. High nicotine in a sub-ohm tank will knock you sideways because you're taking in so much more vapour with each draw. If your kit has adjustable wattage, check which coil is fitted. Below 0.4 ohm and you're in sub-ohm territory, so go with 70/30 and low nicotine. Between 0.4 and 1.0 ohm you're in the RDL or loose MTL range where 50/50 or 60/40 both work. Above 1.0 ohm is tight MTL and 50/50 with nic salts or higher strength freebase is what you want. How Long Does E-Liquid Last? Unopened, most bottles are kept for one to two years somewhere cool and dark. Heat and sunlight break down the flavour and nicotine faster than anything else. Once you've cracked the seal, six months is a reasonable window. After that the flavour starts to go off and the taste won't be what it was. If it's changed colour noticeably or smells different from when you first opened it, bin it and grab a fresh one. A 10ml bottle in a pod kit lasts most people two to four days. Heavy sub-ohm vapers can get through a 100ml shortfill in about two weeks depending on wattage and how often they pick the kit up.   Related products & ranges Shop all e-liquids Nic salt e-liquids Shortfill e-liquids More vaping guides VG vs PG ratios explained Nic salt vs freebase How to store e-liquid

Switching From Disposable Vapes: Prefilled or Refillable?

Ready to switch? Browse refillable pod kits or refillable kits. Disposables are gone. If you used one, you've got two options now: prefilled pod kits or refillable pod kits. Both work. Both feel similar to a disposable. The difference comes down to how much control you want. Here's a quick comparison so you can skip the parts that don't apply to you. Prefilled Refillable How it works Click in a pod, vape, replace Fill pod from a bottle Nicotine 20mg only 0mg to 20mg Flavours 10-20 per brand Thousands Cost ~£350-450/year ~£180-280/year Best for Zero hassle Choice and savings If You Want It Simple: Prefilled Pods Prefilled kits are the closest thing to a disposable. You charge the battery, click in a pod, and vape. When the pod runs out, you throw it away and click in a new one. No bottles, no filling, no vape coils. The trade-off is flexibility. Most prefilled pods only come in 20mg, so if you want to lower your nicotine over time, you're stuck. Flavour choice depends entirely on what that brand makes for their pods, which is usually 10-20 options. Still way more than a single disposable, but nothing compared to refillable. Big prefilled brands right now include Elf Bar, Lost Mary, SKE Crystal, IVG, and Hayati. Browse our prefilled kits and refill pods to see what's available. [shotcode_multi_image_section_8] If You Want Control: Refillable Kits Refillable kits give you access to every nic salt and 50/50 e-liquid on the market. That's thousands of flavours across dozens of brands, at any nicotine strength from 0mg to 20mg. The daily experience is almost identical to a disposable. You fill the pod, put it in, and vape. The extra step takes about 30 seconds. In return, you're paying roughly half what prefilled costs and you can reduce your nicotine whenever you're ready. If that sounds like the right fit, our beginner's guide covers everything you need to know about picking your first refillable kit. Our nic salt strength guide helps you choose between 5mg, 10mg, and 20mg. What About the Flavours? This is where refillable really pulls ahead. Disposables gave you maybe 5-10 flavours per brand. Refillable opens up the entire e-liquid market. If you liked your disposable flavours, bar salts are nic salt e-liquids made to taste exactly like the old disposables. Brands like Elux, ElfLIQ, and Bar Juice 5000 bottle the same recipes you already know. Our best nic salt brands guide covers the top picks. Beyond bar salts, there are custards, tobaccos, bakery flavours, drinks, menthols, and fruit combinations you'd never find in a disposable. UK e-liquid brands have had years to develop these and the quality is noticeably different. Which Route Should You Take? Go prefilled if you don't want to think about it at all. Charge it, click in a pod, done. It'll cost more and you'll have less choice, but there's nothing to learn. Go refillable if you care about flavour variety, want to control your nicotine level, or want to spend less. There's a 30-second learning curve on filling a pod and that's about it. Either way, you're spending less and wasting less than disposables. And if you start with prefilled and decide you want more options later, switching to refillable is easy. Browse our pod kits or beginner kits to see what's out there. Related products & ranges Refillable pod kits Refillable vape kits 0% shortfill e-liquids More vaping guides Disposable flavours as e-liquids Are Lost Mary pods nicotine free? E-liquids explained (start here)

How to Prime a Vape Coil: Stop Burnt Taste on New Coils

Priming a vape coil takes about 30 seconds of actual work and 10 minutes of waiting. That's it. But skip it and you'll burn the cotton inside the coil the moment you fire it. Once that happens, the coil's finished - you can't fix burnt cotton. We sell thousands of coils a month and "my new coil tastes burnt" is still the most common message on live chat. Nine times out of ten, it's a priming issue. This is how to get it right every time. What Priming Actually Does Every coil has cotton wrapped around a heating element. That cotton needs to be soaked with e-liquid before any heat touches it. Dry cotton at 200°C burns instantly and permanently. Priming just means getting e-liquid into the cotton before you vape. You're saturating the wick so it can handle the heat. Nothing complicated, but you do have to be patient with it. How to Prime a Coil in a Tank This works for any replaceable coil - Vaporesso GTX, GeekVape Boost, VooPoo PnP, Aspire Nautilus, all of them. Look at the new coil. You'll see cotton through small ports on the side - usually two to four white spots. Drip 3-4 drops of e-liquid onto each cotton port. Watch the cotton darken as it absorbs. If there's cotton visible on top, add 2-3 drops there too. Screw or push the coil into your tank. Hand-tight, don't crank it. Fill the tank and leave it sitting for 10 minutes minimum. Start at the lowest wattage your coil supports. Take 5-6 gentle puffs, then bump up by 5W. Work up to your normal wattage over the first 15-20 puffs. That gradual start beds the cotton in. Jump straight to high wattage and even a well-primed coil can scorch. [shotcode_multi_image_section_9] How to Prime a Vape Pod Pods work a bit differently because you can't always get at the cotton directly. Pods with removable coils (like VooPoo Drag pods or GeekVape Sonder pods): Pull the old coil out, push the new one in. If you can see cotton through the side, add a couple of drops. Fill the pod and wait 10 minutes. Fixed coil pods (like Caliburn pods or Vaporesso XROS pods): You can't access the cotton at all. Fill the pod to the line, slot it in, and wait 15 minutes. The cotton has to soak from the inside, which takes longer. With any pod, taking a few gentle draws without pressing the fire button helps pull liquid through. Not essential, but it speeds things up. How Long to Prime Different Coil Types Not all coils prime at the same speed. Thicker e-liquid and denser wicking material both slow things down. Coil Type Minimum Wait Notes Standard wire 10 minutes Quickest to saturate Mesh 15 minutes Bigger surface area, needs longer Ceramic 20 minutes Porous material, slowest to wick If you're using high VG liquid (70/30 or thicker), add five minutes to whatever the table says. Thick liquid wicks slower than 50/50 e-liquid, especially in smaller MTL coils. Why Your New Coil Tastes Burnt If you've just put a fresh coil in and it already tastes off, run through this: Didn't wait long enough. This is the cause almost every time. The outer cotton soaked through but the inner core stayed dry. Binning the coil and starting again with a longer wait is usually the only fix. Wattage too high too soon. Even a fully primed coil can burn if you jump straight to 50W. Start at the bottom of the coil's recommended range and work up. Wrong e-liquid for the coil. High VG in a small pod kit means the cotton can't wick fast enough. The coil dries out mid-puff and burns. Match your liquid to your coil - check our coils guide if you're not sure which way round it goes. Dud coil. Rare, but it happens. If you've primed correctly, waited, started low, and it still tastes burnt from the first puff - try another coil from the pack. Once cotton burns, there's no saving it. The taste doesn't fade. Replace the coil and prime the next one the right way. Making Primed Coils Last Getting the prime right is step one. Keeping the coil going is step two. Keep liquid above the wicking holes. Even one dry puff can scorch cotton that took 15 minutes to saturate. Top up before the tank runs low. Don't chain-vape a brand new coil. Give it a few hours of gentle use before you start hammering it. The cotton's still bedding in. Sweet e-liquids kill coils faster. Dessert and candy flavours contain sweetener that caramelises on the coil. You'll get less life from them than from fruit, menthol, or tobacco flavours. Nothing wrong with vaping them, just expect to change coils more often. Stay in the wattage range. Every coil has a recommended range printed on it. Running at the top of that range constantly shortens coil life. Backing off 5-10W makes a noticeable difference. The Vacuum Trick Once you've got the basics down, this is worth trying. After filling your tank or pod, cover the airflow holes with your fingers and take 3-4 strong draws without pressing the fire button. This creates suction that pulls e-liquid through the cotton faster than gravity alone. It's not a replacement for waiting - you should still give it time. But it helps liquid reach the inner cotton layers that are hardest to saturate. Related products & ranges Shop coils & pods Sub-ohm coils More vaping guides Vape coils explained How long do vape coils last?

Vape Coils Explained: Types, Resistance, and When to Change Yours

A vape coil is the part that heats your e-liquid and turns it into vapour. It sits inside your tank or pod. When it wears out, your flavour drops off, you get a burnt taste, and everything stops working. We get more live chat questions about coils than anything else on the site. Half the time it's someone three days into a new coil wondering why it already tastes burnt. Usually it's a priming issue, sometimes it's the wrong coil for their liquid, occasionally it's a dud. This should help you work out which. What Is a Vape Coil and How Does It Work A vape coil is a small metal element wrapped in cotton, housed in a metal casing that clips or screws into your tank or pod. Press the fire button and electricity flows through the metal, heating it up. The cotton wicks e-liquid onto the hot surface, and that liquid turns to vapour. That's it. Nothing more complicated going on. Where the coil sits depends on your vape. In a refillable pod kit, it usually slots into the base of the pod. Pull the old one out, push a new one in. In sub-ohm tanks, the coil screws into the bottom of the tank section. Some pod kits have the coil integrated into the pod itself. When it's done, you replace the whole pod rather than just the coil - which is why those pods cost a bit more. Most coils today use mesh rather than wire. Mesh is a flat sheet of metal with holes punched through it. Bigger heating surface than a coiled wire, so the liquid vaporises more evenly and the coil tends to last a bit longer before gunking up. Vape Coil Resistance Explained Every coil has a resistance measured in ohms (Ω). You'll see it printed on the side: 0.4Ω, 0.8Ω, 1.2Ω, that sort of thing. The lower the number, the more power gets through, and more power means more heat and more vapour. Low resistance (below 0.8Ω) - these are your sub-ohm coils. They run hot, chuck out clouds, and drink e-liquid. You need a mod with decent wattage to drive them, and you're breathing vapour straight into your lungs (DTL vaping). High VG e-liquids only, 70/30 or above. Medium resistance (0.6Ω to 0.8Ω) - the RDL range. Still a lung hit but through tighter airflow, so it's not as wide open as full DTL. Handles both 50/50 and higher VG liquids. A lot of newer pod kits sit in this range because it's a good balance between flavour and vapour without hammering through liquid. High resistance (above 0.8Ω) - MTL territory. Cooler vape, tighter draw, closest thing to smoking a cigarette. Draw into your mouth first, then inhale. MTL coils work with nic salt e-liquids or 50/50 freebase. The resistance has to match what your vape can handle. A 0.2Ω coil in a small pod kit won't even fire. A 1.2Ω coil in a 100W mod will work but you'll barely get anything out of it. Quick Reference Resistance Style E-Liquid Draw 0.2Ω - 0.5Ω DTL 70/30 VG or higher Straight to lungs 0.6Ω - 0.8Ω RDL 50/50 or higher VG Lungs, tighter airflow 0.8Ω - 1.8Ω MTL 50/50 or nic salts Mouth then lungs When to Change Your Vape Coil This is the biggest single query we see, and the honest answer is: when it tells you. A coil that's going bad has obvious symptoms. Burnt or off taste. If your e-liquid tastes charred or just wrong compared to a fresh coil, that coil is done. No amount of waiting or refilling brings it back. Faded flavour. Not outright burnt, but flat. You're vaping the same juice and it doesn't taste like anything much. That's carbon and gunk on the cotton. Less vapour than usual with a full battery and enough liquid in the tank. The heating surface is clogged. Gurgling, spitting, or leaking that starts out of nowhere. A worn coil doesn't seal or wick the same way. On average, a coil lasts one to two weeks with regular use. Heavy vapers who chain-vape all day might get a week or less. Light vapers who have a few puffs in the evening could stretch to three weeks. Sweet, dessert-flavoured e-liquids shorten coil life because the sweetener (sucralose) caramelises on the coil faster than fruit or menthol flavours. Types of Vape Coil Mesh coils are what you'll find in most coils sold today, whether that's sub-ohm or pod coils. A flat sheet of metal with holes punched through it, pressed against the cotton wick. The large surface area heats e-liquid evenly, and they tend to outlast wire coils because the heat doesn't concentrate on a few small points. Most sub-ohm coils and pod coils we stock are mesh. Wire coils were the standard before mesh came along. Kanthal wire wound into a spiral around cotton. You'll still find them in older tanks and some budget coils. They do the job but mesh has them beat on flavour and lifespan. Ceramic coils are a niche option. Porous ceramic holds the liquid instead of cotton. Very clean flavour, can last ages, but vapour output is lower and they take a while to saturate. Worth trying if you care more about flavour purity than cloud size. The metal itself also varies. Kanthal is the default and runs in wattage mode. Stainless steel works in both wattage and temperature control. Nickel and titanium are TC-only and have mostly fallen out of mainstream use. Matching Coils to E-Liquid Getting this wrong is one of the fastest ways to burn through coils or get a bad vape. E-Liquid Type VG/PG Ratio Coil Resistance What Happens if Wrong Nic salts 50/50 0.8Ω and above Too low = harsh, flooded Freebase 50/50 50/50 0.8Ω and above Too low = spitting, throat hit Shortfills 70/30+ Below 0.6Ω Too high = dry hits, dead coil Put high VG liquid in a pod kit with a 1.2Ω coil and the cotton can't wick fast enough. You'll get dry hits and a dead coil within a day. Go the other way - thin 50/50 in a big sub-ohm coil - and you'll get spitting and a harsh throat hit. If you're not sure what ratio your liquid is, it'll be printed on the bottle. Match it to the table above. How to Prime a New Vape Coil New coil, first thing: let it soak. Skip this and you'll torch the cotton before you've taken a puff. We've got a full walkthrough in our coil priming guide, but here's the short version. If it's a replaceable coil for a tank, drip 2-3 drops of e-liquid directly onto the cotton through the side ports. Screw it in, fill it up, then leave it for 10 minutes. Pods with integrated coils are even simpler. Fill and wait. 10 minutes minimum. The cotton needs to absorb liquid all the way through before you hit the button. Either way, start at low wattage and work up over the first 10-20 puffs. Beds the cotton in and stops you burning it out on day one, which is the number one complaint we get from new vapers. Making Your Coils Last Longer Sweetener is the number one coil killer. Dessert, candy, and drink-flavoured e-liquids gunk up coils fast. Fruit, menthol, and tobacco flavours are much gentler. Don't let your tank run low. When the cotton dries out even briefly, it scorches. That scorch mark stays and the coil never recovers. Take a second between puffs. Chain-vaping doesn't give the cotton time to re-soak. Three or four seconds between draws is enough. Back off the wattage. If your vape has adjustable power, running 5-10W below the coil's max rating extends life without losing flavour. Related products & ranges Shop coils & pods Sub-ohm coils Vaporesso coils More vaping guides How to prime a vape coil How long do vape coils last?

How To Choose The Right Vape Kit

Ready to buy? Browse all vape kits or pod kits. Most people overthink this. Choosing a vape kit comes down to one question: what are you coming from? Your answer points you straight at the right type, and from there you're just picking a colour and a price. Here's the quick version. Coming from You want E-liquid type Budget Disposables Pod kit (refillable) Nic salts 10-20mg £15-£30 Disposables (want zero effort) Prefilled pod kit Prefilled pods £10-£20 + pods Cigarettes Starter kit (MTL) Nic salts 10-20mg £15-£25 Another vape kit (want an upgrade) Sub-ohm kit or higher-end pod Shortfills 0-6mg £25-£60 Nothing (complete beginner) Pod kit (refillable) Nic salts 10mg £15-£25 If that table gave you your answer, job done. Go browse. If you want a bit more detail on why, keep reading. Switching From Disposables This is the most common question we get since the ban came in. The short answer is a refillable pod kit with nic salts. The draw feels almost identical to a disposable and the nicotine hit is the same. Most bar salt e-liquids are based on the exact recipes you already know. The only real change is you fill the pod yourself, which takes about ten seconds. Our switching from disposables guide covers the whole process if you want the step-by-step. If even that feels like too much, prefilled pod kits are the middle ground. You buy a rechargeable battery and slot in pre-filled flavour pods. Less flexible than refillable, but the closest thing to a disposable that's still legal. Switching From Cigarettes Different situation entirely. You need a mouth-to-lung (MTL) draw because that's how you smoked. You also need enough nicotine to kill the cravings from the first puff, so 20mg nic salts for most pack-a-day smokers. Pod kits and starter kits both handle this well. The key is getting something with a tight draw and a small mouthpiece. We've got a nicotine strength guide that helps work out whether you need 10mg or 20mg based on how much you smoked. Plenty of our customers started on 20mg and dropped to 10mg within a few months without really thinking about it. The kit doesn't need to change when you reduce, just the liquid. Upgrading From a Basic Kit If you've been vaping a while and want better flavour or bigger clouds, you're after a sub-ohm kit or a pod kit with adjustable wattage. Sub-ohm kits use shortfill e-liquids at lower nicotine strengths (0-6mg) and produce noticeably more vapour. The trade-off is they're bigger, use more liquid, and the coils cost a bit more. Worth it if you enjoy the hobby side of vaping. Not worth it if you just want nicotine. Our MTL vs DTL vs RDL guide explains the different vaping styles in detail if you're not sure which direction to go. [shotcode_multi_image_section_10] Complete Beginners Never smoked, never vaped, just curious. Start with a refillable pod kit and 10mg nic salts. It's the simplest setup, the cheapest to run, and if you decide vaping isn't for you, you haven't spent much time finding out. Our beginner's guide covers everything from unboxing to your first puff. It's the page we send every new customer to, and it answers most of the questions people message us about in the first week. What About E-Liquid? Your kit choice determines your e-liquid type, not the other way round. Pod kits and starter kits work best with nic salts or 50/50 e-liquid. These are thinner liquids that wick well in smaller coils and carry nicotine smoothly at higher strengths. Sub-ohm kits need thicker high VG shortfills that can handle higher power without spitting or flooding. Using nic salts in a sub-ohm tank would give you far too much nicotine per puff. If that sounds confusing, it's not once you've picked your kit type. Every product page on our site lists the compatible e-liquid types, so you can't really go wrong. Related products & ranges All vape kits Pod kits Coils & pods More vaping guides Beginners guide to vaping (start here) What wattage should you vape at? Switching from disposables

How to Get More Flavour from Your Vape

Getting more flavour from your vape comes down to five things: coil resistance, PG/VG ratio, wattage, clean cotton, and airflow. Most taste problems trace back to one of these being wrong. This guide covers each one with enough detail to fix the problem and links to deeper guides where they exist. If your vape tastes muted, bland, or just off, start here. Quick Flavour Checklist Before going into detail, run through these six checks. They catch the most common causes of weak or missing flavour. Coil age - your coil might be done. Burnt or gunked cotton kills flavour before anything else does. Our coil guide covers when to swap and how to prime. PG/VG mismatch - thick juice in a small coil won't wick. Thin juice in a sub-ohm coil floods. Wattage too low - the juice isn't vaporising fully. Turn it up in 2W steps until the flavour fills out. Wattage too high - the sweetener and top notes burn off before you taste them. Back it down. Airflow too open - vapour is diluted with air. Close it halfway and try again. Old or badly stored juice - e-liquid left in heat or sunlight breaks down. Fruit flavours lose punch first. If one of those six fixes the problem, you're done. For more detail on any of them, keep reading. Best Coil Resistance for Flavour Coil resistance affects how your juice heats and how the flavour reaches you. There's no single best ohm for flavour because it depends on your vaping style and what juice you're using. Coil Resistance Best For Flavour Character Juice Type 1.0 ohm and above MTL vaping, tight draw Crisp, defined, sharper notes 50/50, nic salts 0.6 to 0.8 ohm Restricted lung hit Balanced, good all-rounder 50/50 or 60/40 VG/PG 0.3 to 0.5 ohm Open lung hit Fuller, warmer, more rounded 70/30 VG/PG Under 0.3 ohm Full sub-ohm Dense, intense, heavy flavour 70/30 or 80/20 VG/PG Mesh coils give better flavour than wire coils at every resistance level because the heat spreads evenly across the whole wick. No hot spots means no scorched cotton and more consistent taste from first puff to last. For fruit and menthol flavours, higher resistance coils (0.8 ohm and up) tend to bring out the sharpness and tartness. Dessert and bakery flavours need more heat to develop, so lower resistance coils at higher wattage pull those creamy notes out. Our PG/VG ratio guide covers how ratio and coil resistance work together in more detail. Wattage and Airflow for Flavour Your coil has a printed wattage range on the side or in the box. Start at the bottom of that range, take a few puffs, then go up 2W to 3W at a time. Stop when the flavour peaks. Going past that point doesn't add flavour, it just burns through juice and coils faster. Airflow matters as much as wattage. Closing the airflow halfway concentrates the vapour and intensifies the taste. A wide open airflow dilutes the flavour with air, and a fully closed airflow can overheat the coil. Somewhere in the middle is where most people land for flavour. Goal Airflow Wattage Draw Style Strongest flavour Half closed Mid range for your coil Slow, steady MTL or restricted lung Balanced flavour and vapour Three quarters open Mid to upper range Moderate lung hit Biggest clouds Fully open Upper range Fast, deep lung hit Our wattage guide covers how to find the right output for specific coils if you want to go deeper on this. How to Change Flavours in a Vape Tank Switching flavours in a refillable tank or pod kit without getting leftover ghost taste from the previous juice takes a few steps. Vape the current tank down until the flavour fades (don't run it fully dry, that burns the coil). Take the tank apart and tip out any remaining juice. Rinse every part under warm running water. No soap. Let all the parts air dry on a paper towel for 15 to 20 minutes. Reassemble, fill with the new flavour, and let the wick soak for 3 to 5 minutes before vaping. You can use the same coil for different flavours as long as it's still in good condition. Strong menthol or cinnamon juices leave a stubborn residual taste though. If the ghost flavour won't shift after a rinse, swap the coil. For pod kits with sealed pods, changing flavour is simpler. Finish one pod and click in the new one. No rinsing needed. Why Your Vape Has No Flavour Flat or missing flavour is almost always one of four things. Check them in this order because the first is the most common cause by a wide margin. 1. Dead coil. Cotton breaks down and gunks up with sweetener over time. The taste goes flat before it goes burnt. If you've been on the same coil for more than two weeks with sweet juice, swap it and see if the flavour comes back. 2. Vaper's tongue. Your taste buds stop registering a flavour you've been vaping constantly. Switch to a menthol or mint juice for a day or two and your palate resets. Drinking water throughout the day helps too. 3. Wrong PG/VG ratio. Thick juice in a small coil mutes the flavour because the wick can't saturate. Check our PG/VG ratio guide and make sure your juice matches your coil. 4. Wattage too low. The juice isn't getting hot enough to vaporise all the flavour compounds. Turn it up in small steps and the taste should fill out. If none of those fix it, the e-liquid itself might be the issue. Old juice or juice that's been stored in heat loses its flavour over time. How to Get More Vapour and Bigger Clouds Cloud size comes from three things: high VG juice, low resistance coils, and high wattage. Getting all three right at the same time gives you the biggest clouds without wrecking flavour completely. Use 70/30 or 80/20 VG/PG e-liquid Use a 0.2 to 0.4 ohm mesh coil Run at the upper end of your coil's wattage range Open the airflow fully Take long, steady lung hits You'll lose some of the sharper flavour notes at high wattage with open airflow. That's the trade-off. If you want both big clouds and decent flavour, close the airflow one notch from fully open. Drop the wattage by 5W to 10W too. It's a compromise, but most people find the balance there. Related products & ranges Coils & pods Sub-ohm coils Shop all e-liquids More vaping guides Vape coils explained VG vs PG ratios explained What wattage to vape at

MTL vs DTL vs RDL: Vaping Styles Explained

MTL, DTL and RDL are the three main vaping styles. Each one gives you a different draw, different cloud size and works best with different e-liquids. Picking the right style from the start makes a real difference to how much you enjoy vaping. This guide covers what MTL, DTL and RDL actually mean, what kit and e-liquid each one needs, and how to work out which suits you. What Is MTL Vaping? MTL stands for mouth-to-lung and it's the most common style for new vapers. You pull vapour into your mouth first, pause for a second, then breathe it down into your lungs. It's the same action as smoking a cigarette, and that's why most people switching from smoking start here. MTL vaping uses higher resistance coils, usually 0.8 ohm and above. You run them at lower wattages between 8 and 25W. Airflow is set tight so you get a restricted draw with a noticeable throat hit. For e-liquid, nic salts between 10 and 20mg work best for MTL. A 50/50 VG/PG mix wicks well in higher resistance coils and carries flavour well. Freebase nicotine at 6 to 12mg also works if you want a sharper throat feel. MTL Specs Detail Coil resistance 0.8 ohm and above Wattage 8 to 25W Airflow Tight, restricted Nicotine 10 - 20mg nic salt or 6 - 12mg freebase E-liquid ratio 50/50 VG/PG Cloud size Small Throat hit Strong What Is DTL Vaping? DTL stands for direct-to-lung and it's aimed at vapers who want bigger clouds and warmer vapour. Instead of holding vapour in your mouth, you breathe it straight into your lungs in one go. It feels more like taking a deep breath than smoking, and it takes a bit of getting used to if you're coming from cigarettes. DTL uses sub-ohm coils below 0.5 ohm at higher wattages, typically 40W and above. Airflow sits wide open so you can pull a full lung hit without any restriction. You get bigger clouds, warmer vapour and more concentrated flavour. Shortfill e-liquids are the standard for DTL because of their high VG content. High VG mixes at 70/30 or 80/20 create thick clouds and need the extra heat from sub-ohm coils to vaporise. Keep nicotine at 3 to 6mg max for DTL because the large vapour volume makes anything stronger and very harsh. DTL Specs Detail Coil resistance Below 0.5 ohm Wattage 40W and above Airflow Wide open Nicotine 0 to 6mg (freebase or nic shot) E-liquid ratio 70/30 or 80/20 VG/PG Cloud size Large Throat hit Mild to none What Is RDL Vaping? RDL stands for restricted direct-to-lung and it's grown popular in the last couple of years. It sits right between MTL and DTL in terms of draw and vapour. You still inhale directly to your lungs like DTL, but the airflow is partly closed off so the draw feels tighter. You get more vapour than MTL but without the full intensity of DTL. RDL has picked up a lot of popularity because it gives you a good balance. You get decent clouds and solid flavour without needing to run high wattages or go through juice as fast as DTL. A lot of vapers land on RDL after trying both MTL and DTL and wanting something in between. Coils between 0.4 and 0.8 ohm work well for RDL at 15 to 35W. For e-liquid you've got more flexibility with RDL than either of the other two styles. Nic salts at 6 to 10mg or shortfills at 3 to 6mg both work. A 60/40 or 70/30 VG/PG mix handles the slightly higher wattage without being too thick for the coil to wick. RDL Specs Detail Coil resistance 0.4 to 0.8 ohm Wattage 15 to 35W Airflow Partially restricted Nicotine 6 to 10mg nic salt or 3 to 6mg freebase E-liquid ratio 60/40 or 70/30 VG/PG Cloud size Medium Throat hit Moderate MTL vs DTL: Key Differences At its simplest, the difference between MTL and DTL is the draw. MTL mimics the feel and action of smoking a cigarette. DTL is a completely different experience from anything related to cigarette smoking. Everything else follows from that, including the coil, wattage, e-liquid and nicotine strength you need. MTL DTL Draw style Mouth first, then lungs Straight to lungs Feels like Smoking a cigarette Taking a deep breath Coil 0.8 ohm+ Below 0.5 ohm Wattage 8 to 25W 40W+ Nicotine 10 to 20mg nic salt 0 to 6mg E-liquid 50/50 70/30 or 80/20 Clouds Small, discreet Large Throat hit Strong Mild Juice usage Low High Battery drain Low High If you're switching from cigarettes, MTL is the easier transition. The throat hit and draw will feel familiar from day one. DTL works better for vapers who've moved past that stage and want bigger flavour and clouds. RDL vs MTL RDL and MTL share some ground but they feel different in practice. MTL is tighter, lower powered and works best with nic salts at higher strengths. RDL opens the airflow up a notch and runs at slightly higher wattages for more vapour without the full DTL commitment. The biggest practical difference between RDL and MTL is e-liquid flexibility. MTL works best with 50/50 mixes and nicotine at 10mg or above. RDL handles both nic salts and shortfills, so you've got more choice in what you vape. If MTL feels too tight and DTL feels like too much, try RDL with a 0.6 ohm coil and the airflow half open. Best E-Liquid for Each Vaping Style [shotcode_multi_image_section_11] Getting the right e-liquid for your vaping style matters as much as picking the right kit. The wrong VG/PG ratio won't wick and the wrong nicotine strength will either be too harsh or leave you unsatisfied. Style Best E-Liquid Nicotine Why MTL 50/50 nic salt 10 to 20mg Thinner liquid wicks in high-ohm coils, smooth throat hit DTL High VG shortfill 70/30+ 0 to 6mg Thick liquid needs sub-ohm heat, low nic avoids harshness RDL 60/40 to 70/30 nic salt or shortfill 3 to 10mg Mid-range viscosity suits 0.4 to 0.8 ohm coils One common mistake is using high VG shortfills in an MTL kit. High VG liquid is too thick for higher resistance coils to wick, so you'll get dry hits and burnt coils. Going the other way, running high nicotine nic salts through a DTL sub-ohm coil at 50W will be uncomfortably strong. Are Disposable Vapes MTL or DTL? Most disposable vapes on the market use an MTL draw. They use higher resistance coils with tight airflow and come filled with nic salt e-liquid at 10 or 20mg. Draw feels similar to a cigarette and they're built to mimic that experience. Some larger disposables and prefilled pod kits offer an RDL draw with a slightly looser pull and lower coil resistance. If you're moving from disposables to a refillable kit, an MTL pod kit with 20mg nic salt will feel the most familiar. Vaporesso XROS vs Luxe: MTL or DTL? The Vaporesso XROS range is built around MTL and RDL vaping. XROS pods use higher resistance coils at 0.6 ohm and above with adjustable airflow that goes from tight MTL to a loose RDL pull. If you want a cigarette-style draw with nic salts, the XROS is the range to look at. The Vaporesso Luxe range covers MTL through to DTL depending on the pod and coil you use. The Luxe XR Max 2 goes up to 80W with 0.2 ohm GTX coils for full DTL. Fit a higher resistance pod and it handles MTL just as well. It's the more flexible of the two ranges if you want to try different styles without buying a second kit. Vaporesso Armour G vs Luxe XR Max 2 Both the Armour G and Luxe XR Max 2 run up to 80W on Vaporesso's GTX coil range. They handle MTL with a 1.2 ohm coil and DTL with a 0.2 ohm, so both cover all three vaping styles. The Armour G has a 3000mAh built-in battery and a leather grip panel. On the Luxe side, the XR Max 2 has a slightly larger juice capacity and a different pod shape. If you're choosing between them for DTL specifically, either one will do the job at 55 to 80W with a sub-ohm GTX coil. For a full breakdown of each kit, check the product pages linked above. How to Pick the Right Vaping Style If you're not sure where to start, here's a quick way to narrow it down. Start with MTL if you: Are switching from cigarettes or disposables Want a familiar smoking-style draw Prefer smaller, pocket-friendly kits Want to use nic salts at 10 to 20mg Try DTL if you: Have been vaping for a while and want more vapour Enjoy bigger clouds and warmer draws Are happy using 0 to 6mg nicotine Don't mind going through more e-liquid Go for RDL if you: Find MTL too tight but DTL too airy Want decent clouds without high wattage Like the flexibility of using nic salts or shortfills Want one kit that sits comfortably in the middle A lot of vapers end up owning more than one kit. An MTL pod for when you're out and a DTL or RDL setup for home is a common combination. There's no rule that says you have to pick one style and stick with it. Related products & ranges MTL pod kits DTL tanks & mods Nic salt e-liquids More vaping guides How to choose a pod kit Nic salts explained

Beginner's Guide to Vaping: What to Know Before You Start

Ready to start? Browse beginner vape kits and pod kits. Most people who contact us have the same story. They've tried patches, gum, maybe Champix. Nothing stuck. Now they're looking at vaping but the amount of information out there is paralysing. This guide covers the basics and nothing more. We've got separate guides for the detailed stuff - vape coils, priming, e-liquid science, wattage settings - and we'll link to them as we go. What you'll get here is enough to walk into a shop or order online without feeling lost. How Vaping Works - the 30-Second Version Cigarettes burn tobacco at over 800 degrees. That burning is what creates the tar, the carbon monoxide, the formaldehyde - basically all the stuff that kills you. Nicotine on its own isn't great, but it's not what gives you lung cancer. Vaping skips the burning entirely. Your kit warms liquid to about 200 degrees, which is enough to turn it into vapour but nowhere close to combustion. We explain this to customers on live chat probably ten times a day. It's the bit that clicks for most people - once you take fire out of the equation, you take out most of the harm. The NHS puts vaping at around 95% less harmful than smoking. That number gets quoted a lot and occasionally argued about, but the basic logic is sound. No fire, no smoke, no tar. Inside the vape you've got a battery, a coil, and a pod or tank that holds the liquid. Battery powers the coil, coil heats the liquid, you inhale the vapour. Some kits have a button, some just activate when you draw on them. Choosing a Kit When You Don't Know What You Want [shotcode_multi_image_section_12] Since the disposable ban in June 2025, the market's actually easier to navigate. You've got two main options as a beginner. Prefilled pod kits are the closest thing to a disposable. Rechargeable battery, prefilled pods you swap when empty. No filling, no coil changes, no fuss. Brands like Elf Bar, Lost Mary, and IVG all make them. Good for people who want simplicity and don't care about having thousands of flavour options. Browse our prefilled pod kits to see what's available. Refillable pod kits are where most people end up. You fill the pod yourself from a bottle of e-liquid, which opens up thousands of flavours and saves a lot of money long-term. The OXVA Xlim, Uwell Caliburn, and Vaporesso XROS ranges are the ones we sell the most of. They're straightforward to use, hold up well, and cheap to run. Our pod kits collection has the full range, and there's a more detailed breakdown in our guide to choosing a pod vape kit. If you're coming from disposables specifically, we wrote a separate guide to switching from disposables to pod kits that covers the transition step by step. The Vaping Style That Matters - MTL vs DTL There are different ways to inhale vapour. Picking the wrong one is probably the fastest way to hate vaping before you've given it a fair go. MTL (mouth-to-lung) mimics how you smoke a cigarette. Draw into your mouth, pause, breathe into your lungs. Tighter airflow, less vapour, works with higher nicotine. This is what most smokers should start with. DTL (direct-to-lung) is breathing vapour straight into your lungs like you're inhaling through a wide straw. Big clouds, lower nicotine, more power. It's a hobby for experienced vapers and a terrible starting point if you're trying to quit cigarettes. RDL (restricted direct-to-lung) sits between the two. Some people drift toward it after a few months on MTL. Most beginner kits are MTL or adjustable between MTL and RDL. Our guide to vaping styles goes deeper if you want the full picture. E-Liquid Basics - What Goes in Your Vape Every e-liquid has four ingredients: propylene glycol (PG), vegetable glycerine (VG), nicotine, and flavouring. PG carries flavour and creates throat hit. VG makes the visible vapour. The ratio between them matters. A 50/50 split works well in most pod kits, and that's what the majority of nic salt e-liquids and 50/50 e-liquids use. Higher VG ratios (70/30 or above) are for bigger kits with more wattage. If you want the full breakdown, our e-liquids 101 guide covers ingredients, ratios, and how to match liquids to kits. Nicotine Strength - Getting This Right Matters Most Get the nicotine wrong and nothing else matters. Too low and you'll be back on cigarettes within days. Too high and it'll be harsh and unpleasant. There are two types of nicotine in e-liquid: Nicotine salts are smooth even at higher strengths. They hit your bloodstream fast, which feels closer to a cigarette. Available in 5mg, 10mg, and 20mg. This is what most people switching from smoking should use. Our nic salt guide explains the science, and the strengths guide helps you pick between 5mg, 10mg, and 20mg. Freebase nicotine gives a stronger throat hit but gets harsh above 12mg. It's the traditional type. Available from 3mg to 18mg. Quick starting point: How much you smoke Start with Under 10 a day 5-10mg nic salt 10-20 a day 10-15mg nic salt 20+ a day 15-20mg nic salt There's a more detailed version in our nicotine strength guide for smokers. If you're not sure, start slightly higher than you think you need. You can always step down later, but starting too low usually means going back to cigarettes. Flavour - Keep It Simple at First Fruit flavours are the most popular by a long way, followed by menthol and then dessert. Tobacco flavours account for less than 10% of the market now, though they're useful as a starting point if you're nervous about the change. Buy 2-3 different 10ml bottles to start. One fruit, one menthol if you like fresh tastes, one tobacco if you want familiar ground. Your taste buds recover fast once you stop smoking, so what you like in week one might be completely different by week four. Don't buy in bulk yet. Browse by flavour type: fruit, menthol, tobacco, candy and sweet. Your First Week - What to Expect The first few days feel odd. The vapour is different from smoke, the nicotine hits differently, and your brain keeps expecting a cigarette even when the craving has technically been satisfied. That's normal and it passes. Some practical things that help: Charge the battery fully before you start Prime new coils or pods by letting them sit with liquid for 10 minutes before you vape. Our priming guide walks through this Take shorter, slower draws than you would on a cigarette Keep the vape with you constantly for the first week. Reach for it before cravings build Don't try to cut down straight away. Replace first, reduce later If the flavour goes off after a week or two, it's probably the coil. Coils are a consumable part - they wear out and need swapping every 1-2 weeks. Our coils guide covers when and how to change them. Common Problems and Quick Fixes Problem Likely cause Fix Flavour tastes burnt Coil is worn out or wasn't primed Swap the coil, prime the new one Harsh on your throat Nicotine too high, or using freebase Drop the strength or try nic salts Barely any vapour Low battery or old coil Charge up and check the coil Leaking Overfilled, or damaged seal Leave air gap when filling, check seals Still craving cigarettes Nicotine too low Increase strength - better to succeed at 20mg than fail at 10mg Where to Go From Here Once you're comfortable with the basics, there's plenty to explore. You don't need to read all of these - just pick what's relevant: What wattage should you vape at Am I using the right e-liquid? Battery and coil safety How to maintain your kit Best starter kits to quit smoking If you get stuck at any point, our support team is on live chat during opening hours. That's what we're here for. Related products & ranges All vape kits Pod kits Shop all e-liquids More vaping guides How to choose a vape kit What wattage should you vape at? MTL vs DTL vs RDL

Choosing Between 0.6 and 0.8 OXVA Xlim Pods

Need new pods? Shop OXVA Xlim pods or the full OXVA Xlim range. Pick up two OXVA Xlim pods and they look identical from the outside. One says 0.6 ohm, the other says 0.8 ohm. But put them in your kit and they vape completely differently. Wrong choice and your setup will feel off no matter what wattage you run. I've sold both to thousands of customers at our Ecigone vape shop since the Xlim range launched. Most people know which they prefer within a few draws. Here's what each one actually does and how to get the best out of it. 0.6 Ohm vs 0.8 Ohm: The Short Version If you just want the answer, here it is. 0.6 Ohm 0.8 Ohm Draw Style Restricted direct lung (RDL) Mouth to lung (MTL) Best Wattage 23 to 28W 12 to 16W Throat Hit Softer, warmer Stronger, tighter Vapour More visible clouds Discreet, minimal Best Nic Strength 6mg to 12mg nicotine salts 10mg to 20mg nic salt Best VG/PG Ratio 60/40 or 50/50 50/50 Battery Drain Faster (higher wattage) Slower (lower wattage) Pod Life Slightly shorter Slightly longer Best For More flavour, more vapour Ex-smokers, stealth vaping That table covers the basics. Read on for the details behind each point. What 0.6 Ohm Pods Give You More vapour, more flavour, looser draw. You inhale straight to your lungs with a slight restriction, which vapers call restricted direct lung (RDL). Think of it as a step up from cigarette-style vaping without going full cloud chaser. Because the wattage sits higher at 23 to 28W, more e-liquid gets heated per puff. Dessert and fruit flavours really come alive on 0.6 ohm pods. You taste layers you'd miss on a tighter draw. Your battery won't last as long though. On an Xlim Go 2 with its 1000mAh battery, you'll feel the difference by mid-afternoon. Xlim Pro 3 and 3 Ultra have bigger batteries so they handle it better. What 0.8 Ohm Pods Give You This is the one for ex-smokers. You pull vapour into your mouth first, then inhale, just like a cigarette. That's mouth to lung (MTL) vaping and it's what most people switching from smoking are after. At 12 to 16W, you're running much less power than a 0.6 ohm pod. Less vapour comes out, but the throat hit is stronger and more concentrated. Pair it with 20mg nic salt and it scratches the itch that cigarettes left behind. Coil life is a bit longer too. Less heat going through the mesh means less wear, so you'll get an extra day or two from each pod before the flavour drops off. Wattage Settings by Pod Resistance This is where most people go wrong. Run a 0.8 ohm pod at 25W and you'll burn the coils out in two days. Stick a 0.6 ohm pod at 12W and you'll barely taste anything. Pod Resistance Minimum Sweet Spot Maximum 0.4 ohm 22W 26 to 30W 30W 0.6 ohm 18W 23 to 28W 30W 0.8 ohm 10W 12 to 16W 20W 1.2 ohm 8W 10 to 14W 18W On kits with a screen like the Pro 3, SQ Pro 2, and 3 Ultra, you set the wattage yourself. The chipset reads what pod you've put in and suggests a range. On the Xlim Go 2, it does it on its own. Flavour tasting weak on a 0.6 ohm pod? Bump it up 2W at a time. Getting a harsh vape on 0.8 ohm? Drop it down a notch. Small changes go a long way. Which E-Liquid Works Best Get the liquid wrong for your pod and you'll either burn through coils or wonder why the flavour is flat. For 0.8 Ohm Pods Nic salt at 10mg or 20mg, 50/50 VG/PG. Because the draw is tight and the wattage is low, each puff is concentrated. 20mg nic salt through a 0.8 ohm pod hits the spot without going overboard. Stay away from 70/30 VG or above. Thick liquid can't wick fast enough at lower wattages and you'll get dry hits. 50/50 is the safe bet every time. For 0.6 Ohm Pods Drop the nicotine down. 6mg to 12mg nic salt or 3mg to 6mg freebase. Both 50/50 and 60/40 VG/PG work well here since the higher wattage handles slightly thicker liquid without a problem. One thing to watch out for: 20mg nic salt at 25W hits much harder than you'd think. More vapour per draw means more nicotine per draw. If you're moving from 0.8 to 0.6 ohm pods, drop your strength down at the same time. Quick E-Liquid Pairing Table Pod Nic Salt Freebase VG/PG 0.6 ohm 6mg to 12mg 3mg to 6mg 50/50 or 60/40 0.8 ohm 10mg to 20mg 6mg to 12mg 50/50 1.2 ohm 20mg Not recommended 50/50 0.4 ohm 6mg to 10mg 3mg to 6mg 50/50 or 60/40 OXVA pods work best with 50/50 VG/PG e-liquids at the nicotine strengths listed above. If you want a matched option, our OX Passion Nic Salts range uses a 50/50 blend at 10mg and 20mg. Which Pod Fits Which Kit Good news here. All 0.6 and 0.8 ohm Xlim pods fit across most of the range. You don't need different pods for different kits. Pod Type Fits These Kits Xlim V3 (top fill) Xlim Go 2, Xlim Pro 3, Xlim 3 Ultra, SQ Pro 2, Pro 2 DNA Xlim V2 (side fill) Xlim Go 2, Xlim Pro 3, older Xlim kits Xlim EZ Xlim Go 2, SQ Pro, older Xlim kits NeXlim and VPrime are the exceptions. They use their own pods and won't take Xlim pods at all. The full compatibility list is on our OXVA Pods page. Common Mistakes Running 0.8 ohm pods too hot. Anything above 20W and the coil burns out fast. Keep it between 12 and 16W. I see this one all the time when people switch from 0.6 to 0.8 and forget to drop the wattage. 20mg nic salt in a 0.6 ohm pod. Too much nicotine per puff for most people. Drop to 10mg or 12mg. Thick liquid in 0.8 ohm pods. 70/30 VG and above is too heavy. Stick with 50/50. Dry hits are almost always a wicking issue from liquid that's too thick for the pod. Writing off a resistance after one draw. Fresh coils need a few hours to break in properly. Give each pod half a day before you decide. How Pod Resistance Affects Cost Pod price is the same for both resistances. Where the cost differs is in how fast you go through liquid and how long each pod lasts. On 0.6 ohm, expect to go through 3 to 4ml of liquid per day. On 0.8 ohm, more like 2 to 3ml. Over a month that adds up, especially if you're buying 10ml bottles. 0.8 ohm pods also tend to last a day or two longer before the flavour fades. Less heat through the coil means less wear on the mesh. Not a huge difference week to week, but over a few months you'll buy fewer pods. Battery-wise, 0.8 ohm wins again. An Xlim Go 2 on 0.8 ohm pods will comfortably last a full day. The same kit on 0.6 ohm at double the wattage might need a top-up charge by evening. My Recommendation Coming off cigarettes? 0.8 ohm pods with 20mg of nic salt. That tight draw and concentrated throat hit is the closest thing to smoking you'll get from a vape. It's the setup I recommend to every new customer who's switching. Already vaping and want a bit more from your flavour? Give 0.6 ohm a go. Drop your nic strength to 10mg or 12mg, set the wattage around 25W, and see how you get on. Most people who try it don't go back. Not sure at all? Most OXVA Xlim vape Series kits come with a 0.6 and a 0.8 ohm pod in the box. Try each one for a day and you'll know. Related products & ranges OXVA Xlim pods Shop the OXVA Xlim range Shop all OXVA More vaping guides OXVA Nexlim beginner's guide Why the OXVA Xlim dominates pod systems

IVG Vape Error Codes Explained: E2, H3, E1 and How to Fix Them (All IVG Kits)

Need a new IVG? Shop all IVG vapes or IVG Pro refill pods. Five IVG kits, one guide. Got the IVG 2400, IVG Air, IVG Pro 12, IVG Smart Max, or IVG XL 35K? Setup, charging, and fixing problems for all in the IVG Vape range are covered below. IVG 2400 Setup and How to Use No buttons on the IVG 2400 kit. It's draw-activated, so you just inhale to vape. Getting it going takes about two minutes. First time setup: Take the kit, mouthpiece, and four prefilled pods out of the box Push all four pods into the pod chamber until each one clicks Press the mouthpiece on top until it locks in place Twist the body to line up your chosen flavour with the indicator mark Wait 60 seconds for the vape coils to soak before your first draw Inhale to vape. You'll see the LED light up when it fires Switching flavours: Twist the body to rotate between the four pods. Each pod holds a different flavour (multi-edition) or the same flavour (single edition). You don't need to remove anything to switch. How to open the IVG 2400: Pull the mouthpiece straight up to remove it. Pods sit underneath. Push the mouthpiece back down until it clicks to reassemble. Once the originals run out, grab some IVG 2400 refill pods. Pull the mouthpiece off, remove the old pods, click fresh ones in, and wait 60 seconds before vaping. How to Charge the IVG 2400 You'll find a USB-C port on the bottom of the rechargeable IVG 2400 kit. Worth knowing: the original disposable IVG 2400 had no charging port at all. If yours doesn't have one, it's the old disposable version and can't be charged. IVG 2400 charging steps: Find the USB-C port on the bottom of the kit Plug in any USB-C cable (not included in the box) Connect to a USB power source (wall plug, laptop, power bank) LED turns red while charging LED turns off or changes colour when fully charged Question Answer How long does it take to charge IVG 2400? Around 45 to 60 minutes from empty IVG 2400 battery size 1,750mAh Can you charge IVG 2400? Yes, the rechargeable version has USB-C IVG 2400 no charging port? You have the old disposable version How to know when IVG 2400 is charged LED turns off or changes from red Can you vape while charging? Not recommended. Wait until it's done Should you take the pod out when charging? No. Leave the pods in while the IVG 2400 charges. Pulling pods in and out just increases the chance of a loose connection. At 1,750mAh, the battery should last through all four pods on a single charge for most vapers. Heavy vapers might need one top-up charge per set of pods. IVG 2400 Not Working: How to Fix It Most IVG 2400 problems come down to pod connections, flat batteries, or empty pods. Work through the fixes below based on what you're seeing. IVG 2400 lighting up but not producing vapour: Remove the mouthpiece and push all four pods down firmly Twist to a different pod to check if just one pod is the problem Check for e-liquid on the contacts and wipe with a dry cloth Reassemble everything and try again Nine times out of ten, "light on but no vapour" is a pod not sitting correctly in the chamber. IVG 2400 completely dead (no light, no vapour): Charge it for at least 30 minutes using USB-C If the LED doesn't come on while charging, try a different cable Remove all pods and the mouthpiece, then reassemble from scratch Check the contacts inside the pod chamber for dirt or liquid Got no charging port at all? You have the old disposable IVG 2400. That version can't be recharged or fixed once the battery runs out. IVG 2400 tastes burnt or off: Twist to a different pod. The current one is likely running low If all four taste bad, charge the battery. Low power affects flavour Let it rest for 5 minutes if you've been chain vaping Each IVG 2400 pod gives you approximately 600 puffs. When the flavour drops off, that pod is done. Swap to the next one or replace with fresh IVG 2400 refill pods. How to know when IVG 2400 pod is empty: Flavour weakens or tastes dry You get less vapour than normal Draw feels tighter or hollow You can see through the pod and the liquid level is low IVG Air: Charging and Flashing Red Fix Same pod format as the IVG 2400, but a different kit with a different battery. If your IVG Air is playing up, start here. IVG Air flashing red: A flashing red LED on the IVG Air usually points to one of these: Red Light Pattern What It Likely Means Fix Flashing red while vaping Battery is low Charge via USB-C Flashing red constantly Pod connection issue Remove and reseat pods Red flash then nothing Battery is flat Charge for 30+ minutes Flashing red while charging Charging normally Wait for light to stop IVG Air not charging: Try a different USB-C cable. Faulty cables are the most common cause Try a different power source (wall plug instead of laptop) Clean the charging port with a dry cotton bud to clear dust or lint If none of that works, the battery may be faulty. Contact the retailer IVG Air 2 in 1 not charging: Same fixes apply. Both the 2 in 1 and 4 in 1 versions use the same charging setup. If the LED doesn't respond to any cable or power source, the kit needs replacing. For replacement pods, head to the IVG 2400 pods collection. IVG Air pods and IVG 2400 pods are different products with different pod shapes, so make sure you pick the right ones for your kit. IVG Pro 12: Error Codes and Troubleshooting Your IVG Pro 12 has a screen that flashes error codes when it runs into a problem. IVG hasn't published an official list for these codes. Based on what vapers report and how similar kits work, the table below covers the most common codes and fixes. IVG Pro error codes (based on common vape kit codes): Error Code Most Likely Meaning What to Try E1 Kit can't detect the pod Remove and reseat the pod firmly E2 Pod or coil connection fault Try a different pod. Wipe the contacts clean H3 Overheating protection kicked in Stop vaping and let the kit cool for 5 minutes X3 Pod resistance reading is off Remove pod, clean contacts, reinsert OP Over-puff protection Kit locks after too many draws. Wait 30 seconds HI Temperature too high Let the kit cool down completely before vaping E3 Commonly an output or voltage fault Charge the kit fully, then try a fresh pod. If it stays, the battery may be faulty H1 Commonly an early overheat warning Stop vaping and let the kit cool before the next draw X1 Commonly pod resistance too low (possible short) Remove the pod, wipe the contacts and reseat it, or try another pod Note: If you see a code not listed here, or these fixes don't clear it, contact the retailer. It may be a fault with the kit itself. IVG Pro not working (no display, no vapour): Charge the kit for at least 30 minutes Remove the pod and check contacts are clean and dry Try a different IVG Pro 12 refill pod If the screen stays blank after charging, the battery is likely dead IVG Pro not charging: Try a different USB-C cable Try a different power source Clean the USB-C port with a dry cotton bud Check the screen while plugged in. You should see a charging icon IVG Pro E2 error (most searched): E2 on most vape kits points to a coil or pod connection fault. On the IVG Pro 12, it usually means the pod isn't making a clean contact with the kit. Pull the pod out, wipe the gold contacts on the bottom with a dry cloth, and push it back in firmly. If E2 keeps coming back even with different pods, the kit itself may have a fault. How to remove IVG Pro pod: Grip the pod at the top and pull straight up. Don't twist it. It sits in a magnetic connection so it should come out smoothly. If it's stuck, wiggle it gently side to side while pulling up. IVG Pro 12 Setup Charge the kit fully before first use (takes around 45 to 60 minutes) Unwrap a new IVG Pro 12 refill pod Push the pod into the top of the kit until it clicks Wait 60 seconds for the coil to soak Inhale to vape. Screen shows battery level and puff count A 10ml container sits behind the 2ml pod and tops it up as you vape. You don't need to do anything manually. IVG calls it auto-refill. When the container runs dry, the flavour drops off and it's time for a new pod. IVG Smart Max: Not Working and How to Refill Previously called the IVG Smart 5500, the Smart Max uses the same auto-refill pod setup as the Pro 12 but in a different kit body. IVG Smart Max not working: Check the pod is pushed in firmly. Loose pods cause most problems Charge the kit for at least 30 minutes Try a different IVG Smart Max refill pod Clean the pod contacts and the inside of the kit with a dry cloth If the LED flashes but you get no vapour, it's a pod connection issue How to refill IVG Smart 5500 / Smart Max: You can't refill these pods with your own e-liquid. They're sealed and prefilled at the factory. "How to refill" really means how to replace the pod: Pull the old pod straight out of the top of the kit Unwrap a fresh IVG Smart Max refill pod Push it into the kit until it clicks Wait 60 seconds for the coil to soak Inhale to vape If you had the older IVG Smart 5500, the Smart Max pods are the replacement. Same flavours, same fit, nearly double the puff count. Head to IVG Smart Max pods for the full range. How to remove IVG Smart pod: Grip the pod body (not the mouthpiece) and pull straight up. No twisting needed. IVG XL 35K: Setup and Troubleshooting Biggest kit in the IVG range. Approximately 35,000 puffs per refill pod. IVG XL 35K setup: Charge the kit fully before first use Unwrap the IVG XL 35K refill pod (2ml pod + two 10ml containers) Push the pod assembly into the kit until it clicks Wait 60 seconds for the coil to soak Inhale to vape IVG XL 35K how to switch pods: One pod at a time on this kit, not multiple like the 2400. Pull the current pod out and click a different one in to change flavours. IVG XL 35K only using one side / only one pod is empty: Two 10ml containers feed into one 2ml pod on the XL 35K. If one side looks empty and the other doesn't, the liquid is being drawn from one container first. Keep vaping and the second container will start feeding through. Completely normal. For replacement pods, head to IVG XL 35K refill pods. Charging Times and Tips for All IVG Kits [shotcode_multi_image_section_14] How long does each IVG kit take to charge? IVG Kit Battery Charge Time (approx.) IVG 2400 1,750mAh 45 to 60 minutes IVG Air 1,100mAh 30 to 45 minutes IVG Pro 12 1,000mAh 45 to 60 minutes IVG Smart Max 1,000mAh 30 to 45 minutes IVG XL 35K 1,000mAh 30 to 45 minutes Do you take the pod out when charging a vape? No. Leave the pod in while charging any IVG kit. Taking pods in and out can loosen the connection over time. How do you know when a vape is fully charged? On most IVG kits, the LED turns off or changes colour when charging is done. IVG Pro 12 shows a battery icon on screen. Don't leave any vape on the charger overnight. How many times can you charge a vape? Most rechargeable vape batteries last 300 to 500 charge cycles before the capacity starts dropping. For IVG kits, that's months of regular use. Charging safety: Any standard USB-C cable works fine Don't charge in direct sunlight or near heat Don't charge unattended overnight If the kit gets hot while charging, unplug it and let it cool IVG Pod Replacement: When and How to Swap Every IVG kit uses prefilled sealed pods. You can't open them or top them up with your own e-liquid. When a pod runs out, you swap the whole thing for a fresh one. Signs your IVG pod needs replacing: Flavour goes weak or tastes dry Less vapour than normal on each draw Draw feels tighter or hollow You can see the liquid level is low through the pod Last Update: February 12, 2026 Related products & ranges Shop all IVG IVG Pro refill pods IVG 2400 refills More vaping guides How to recharge a Lost Mary All about vape coils