Why Your Vaporesso Pod Is Leaking and How to Fix It

A leaking Vaporesso pod is rarely a faulty pod. Most leaks come down to how the pod was filled, a pod that is not shut or seated firmly, dirty contacts, or an e-liquid that is too thin for the coil. Find where the liquid is coming from, and the fix is usually quick.

Jump to your problem or the kit-specific fixes:

• How to fix a leaking pod
• Leaking from the bottom
• Leaking from the air hole
• Leaking into your mouth or spitting
• A brand new pod leaking
• How each kit is filled
• XROS 6, XROS 5, Pro 2 and Mini Retro
• XROS 3 and XROS 4
• Luxe XR Max 2
• iTank T and sub-ohm tanks
• E-liquid and leaking
• Flights, heat and storage

How to Fix a Leaking Vaporesso Pod

To fix a leaking Vaporesso pod, dry it and the kit, refill it without overfilling, shut it firmly and give the coil time to soak. In order:

1. Take the pod out and wipe the pod base and the contacts inside the kit dry with a tissue or cotton bud. Vaporesso's newer manuals ask you to keep these pins clean.
2. Look for where the liquid is: the bottom of the pod, the air holes, or the mouthpiece. Each has its own cause, covered below.
3. Refill below the top of the pod, not to the brim. Vaporesso's own FAQ says e-liquid filled too full will overflow.
4. Close the pod firmly. On XROS pods, push the mouthpiece back on until it is shut firmly; on pods with a silicone plug, push the plug fully back in.
5. Give a new pod time to soak before the first draw: 5 minutes on most kits, or 1 minute on the XROS 6 and XROS 6 Mini at 5°C or above.
6. If the same pod still leaks after all of that, fit a new one. Pods wear, and a new pod is the quickest test.

Vaporesso Pod Leaking from the Bottom

Liquid under the pod or in the battery well is the most common leak we hear about. You usually notice sticky fingers, or liquid sitting in the well when you take the pod out.

What causes it: a pod or mouthpiece that is not shut firmly, e-liquid or condensation left on the contacts, overfilling, a worn or cracked pod, or a big change in air pressure or temperature.

Steps to take if your Vaporesso pod is leaking from the bottom are:

1. Take the pod out and dry the well and the contacts. Get into the pins where liquid collects.
2. Hold the pod up to the light and look for hairline cracks around the base.
3. Check the pod is shut: on XROS pods the mouthpiece should be pushed fully home, and on Luxe pods the silicone plug should sit flat.
4. Push the pod back into the kit firmly and straight, with no wobble.
5. If the leak keeps coming back with the same pod, replace it. The current XROS kits take the Vaporesso XROS COREX 3.0 pods.

If you have not changed anything and it suddenly leaks from the bottom, think about where the kit has been. A hot car, direct sunlight or a flight can all push liquid out of a pod; the flights and heat section explains what Vaporesso advise.

Vaporesso Leaking from the Air Hole

Liquid in or around the air holes means the vape's coil has flooded: more e-liquid has reached it than it can vaporise, and it is being pushed out through the airflow instead.

What causes it: overfilling, an e-liquid that is too thin for the coil, drawing on the pod without firing it, or a pod left lying on its side for a long time. To check this issue and resolve it:

1. Take the pod out and hold it over a tissue, air holes down, to let the excess drain.
2. Blow gently through the mouthpiece to clear the rest of the liquid out of the coil chamber.
3. Refit the pod and take a few short puffs. A little gurgling or bubbling at first is the excess clearing.
4. Next time, fill below the top and keep the kit standing up when you put it down.

If you can hear it before it reaches the air holes, our guide to why a vape crackles or gurgles explains what each sound means.

Vaporesso Leaking into Your Mouth or Spitting

Juice in your mouth, a pod spitting hot drops, or a Vaporesso pod bubbling when you draw, is usually a flooded coil too. The coil cannot vaporise the liquid as fast as it is arriving, so some of it is pulled up the mouthpiece instead.

1. Draw more gently. Pod kits need a steady draw, not the hard pull of a cigarette, and a hard pull drags extra liquid into the coil.
2. Check the e-liquid. A very thin, high PG liquid can soak a pod coil faster than it can vaporise it. The e-liquid section below has our advice.
3. Clear the flood the same way as an air hole leak: drain over a tissue and blow gently through the mouthpiece.
4. If a primed, full pod still spits after that, it may be worn out. Our guide to how long Vaporesso pods and coils last explains the signs.

Why a Brand New Vaporesso Pod Leaks

A brand new Vaporesso pod should not leak, and when it does it is nearly always due to an issue with the first fill. The usual causes are:

• It was overfilled. Fill below the top so there is room when the pod is closed.
• It was not shut firmly. New mouthpieces and plugs can feel stiff. Push until the mouthpiece is fully home or the plug sits flat.
• It was drawn on too soon. A coil that has not soaked tends to burn rather than leak, but a hard first draw can still pull liquid through. Vaporesso say to wait 5 minutes after filling on most kits, and 1 minute on the XROS 6 and XROS 6 Mini, which Vaporesso call 60s Smart Prime. Vaporesso say the 1 minute prime only applies at 5°C or above, and their recommended range for using the kit is 10 to 40°C, so let a cold kit warm up to room temperature before you fill it.
• It is not seated. Push it into the kit firmly and straight so it sits with no wobble.

Priming is covered step by step in our guide on how to prime a vape coil.

If a new pod is cracked out of the box, or leaks as soon as you fill it even though it is shut and seated, that is a fault, and the last section says what to do.

How Each Vaporesso Kit Is Filled

A lot of leaks come from filling the wrong way, and Vaporesso kits do not all fill the same. From the manuals:

Kit	How it fills
XROS 6, XROS 6 Mini, XROS 5, XROS 5 Mini, XROS 5 Nano, XROS Pro 2, XROS 4, XROS 3	Snap off the mouthpiece and squeeze the e-liquid into the filling hole, then put the mouthpiece back and make sure it is shut firmly.
XROS Mini Retro	Top fill. We could not find a Vaporesso manual for it.
Luxe XR Max 2, Luxe X	Take the pod out and pull out the silicone plug on the bottom of the pod.
Luxe X3, ECO Nano Plus, Vibe SE, Vibe SE 2	The silicone plug on the side of the pod.
iTank T (Armour Ultra)	Push the top cap open, fill through the hole, then lock the top cap firmly.

XROS pods have no fill plug to press down. If an XROS pod weeps from the top, the mouthpiece is not fully shut, or the pod is worn.

Leaks on the XROS 6, XROS 5, XROS Pro 2 and Mini Retro

Vaporesso describe the pods for all of these kits as leak-resistant, using what they call SSS. The Vaporesso XROS 6 pod kit, XROS 6 Mini and XROS Mini Retro go further, with SSS 2.0, which Vaporesso pair with a thermal leak-prevention design and improved structural sealing. However, leak-resistant and leak-prevention does not equal leak-proof. This means the fixes above apply to all of them.

XROS 6 and XROS 6 Mini

On these two, give the pod its full minute before the first draw. Vaporesso's 1 minute prime assumes the room is at 5°C or warmer. The Vaporesso XROS 6 Mini pod kit fills the same way and has the same 1 minute wait.

XROS 5, XROS 5 Nano and XROS 5 Mini

Fill below the top, push the mouthpiece fully home and keep the contacts dry. On the Vaporesso XROS 5 pod kit, the airflow slider is on the back of the kit and the 5 Nano's is on the side.

XROS Pro 2

The Vaporesso XROS Pro 2 pod kit has no physical slide lock. If it has been firing in your pocket, turn off the fire button: click 4 times within 2 seconds, choose BUTTON ON/OFF and hold for 2 seconds, so only a draw fires it. SCREEN LK in the same menu locks the screen.

XROS Mini Retro

The Vaporesso XROS Mini Retro pod kit is top fill and comes with a 2ml pod. Vaporesso list it as taking most XROS pods except the 0.4 ohm.

Leaks on the XROS 3 and XROS 4

The same checks apply to the XROS 3, XROS 3 Nano, XROS 4 and XROS 4 Mini. They fill the same way, by snapping off the mouthpiece, so a pod weeping from the top is a mouthpiece not fully shut or a pod that has worn.

If an older pod keeps leaking after you have dried it, refilled it and shut it firmly, replace it. Vaporesso list the XROS 3 and XROS 3 Nano as taking XROS pods, so a new pod is the simplest fix, and the older Vaporesso XROS COREX 2.0 pods fit as well.

Leaks on the Vaporesso Luxe XR Max 2

The Vaporesso Luxe XR Max 2 kit takes two kinds of pod: Luxe X pods, which have a fixed coil, and Luxe XR empty pods, which take GTX coils. Both fill from a silicone plug on the bottom of the pod, and most leaks on this kit come from three places:

1. The fill plug. After filling, push the silicone plug fully back in so it sits flat. A plug that is half in lets liquid out of the bottom.
2. The coil in an XR pod. The coil pulls out and pushes in. If it is not pushed in fully, liquid can get past it. Take the pod out, push the coil firmly home, then refit.
3. The contacts. Wipe the bottom of the pod and the contacts in the kit dry each time you refill.

Vaporesso recommend the GTX 0.2 ohm coil at 45 to 60W in the XR DTL pod, and the GTX 0.8 ohm at 12 to 16W in the XR MTL pod. Replacement Vaporesso Luxe XR pods take these coils.

Spare coils for the XR pod are the Vaporesso GTX coils.

Replacement fixed-coil pods are the Vaporesso Luxe X pods.

Leaks on the iTank T and Sub-Ohm Tanks

The iTank T that comes with the Vaporesso Armour Ultra kit leaks from different places to a pod:

1. The coil. The iTank T takes GTi coils, which push straight into the tank under a screw-on base. Turn the tank upside down, unscrew the base, pull the old coil straight out, push the new one in fully, then screw the base back on straight. Do not try to screw the coil itself.
2. The seals. Check the rubber seals on the coil and the base are in place and not torn. A missing or damaged seal will leak.
3. The top cap. After filling, lock the top cap firmly. A cap that is not locked lets liquid out of the top.
4. The e-liquid. Sub-ohm tank coils need a thicker liquid than mouth to lung pod coils. Vaporesso's FAQ says a VG/PG ratio below 60/40 can easily lead to leaking on some coils.

Replacement coils for the iTank T are the Vaporesso GTi coils.

E-Liquid and Leaking: Getting the Right Ratio

The wrong thickness of e-liquid is one of the easiest causes of a leaking Vaporesso to miss. Too thin for the coil, and it floods and leaks from the air holes or mouthpiece. Vaporesso's manuals give no guidance on ratio, but their Luxe X pod and GTX coil pages do, and our advice follows them:

Kit	Our advice
XROS pods, Luxe X 0.6 and 0.8 ohm and dual mesh pods	50/50 nic salt or freebase. Vaporesso describe XROS pods as suiting both.
Luxe X 0.3 ohm mesh, or 0.4 ohm mesh for direct lung	Freebase at 60/40 to 70/30 VG/PG, not nic salt.
Luxe XR pod, GTX 0.8 ohm	50/50 for mouth to lung.
Luxe XR pod, GTX 0.2 ohm	60/40 to 70/30 VG/PG freebase for direct lung, which is Vaporesso's range for this coil.
iTank T and other sub-ohm tanks	70/30 VG/PG or thicker. Vaporesso say below 60/40 can leak on some coils.

Most nic salt e-liquids are made at 50/50, which suits XROS pods and the mouth to lung Luxe X pods.

Our guide to choosing the right e-liquid for your kit covers ratios in more detail.

For which strength to choose, see our guide to nic salt strengths.

Vaporesso Leaking After a Flight or in the Heat

Pressure and temperature both push liquid out of a pod. Vaporesso's newer manuals, including the XROS 5, XROS 6, XROS Pro 2, Luxe XR Max 2 and Armour Ultra, say that on a flight, or anywhere the air pressure changes a lot, you should store the pod and the kit separately and not fill the pod.

The kit manuals also say not to expose a vape to direct sunlight. The XROS 4, XROS 5, XROS 6 and XROS Pro 2 manuals give 10 to 40°C for use and storage, and the Luxe XR Max 2 and Armour Ultra manuals give up to 45°C for storage. A kit left on a car dashboard in summer can easily go past that which could cause leaking.

How to Stop Your Vaporesso Leaking Long-Term

• Fill below the top every time. Squeeze slowly and stop short of the brim.
• Shut it firmly. Mouthpiece fully home on XROS pods, plug flat on Luxe and side-fill pods, top cap locked on the iTank T.
• Keep the contacts dry. A quick wipe each time you refill stops slow leaks building up.
• Stand it up. A pod left on its side lets liquid work towards the air holes.
• Match the e-liquid to the coil. If you get repeated leaks with no physical cause, check the bottle.
• Replace worn pods. Once the flavour fades or a pod starts to weep with nothing else wrong, change it.

If you are replacing a whole kit, the current kits in the Vaporesso XROS pod kit range take the current XROS pods, apart from the XROS Mini Retro, which does not take the 0.4 ohm pods.

What the seals can and cannot do is covered in whether any pod is leak-proof, below.

Is Any Vape Pod Leak-Proof?

No. Vaporesso mostly describe their pods as leak-resistant, and that is the honest description for any pod kit. The seals stop everyday seepage well, but they cannot beat an overfilled pod, a thin liquid in the wrong coil, a flight or a hot car. The habits above close most of the gap.

When It Is Not a Leak You Can Fix

If the same pod leaks from the same place after you have dried it, filled it below the top, shut it firmly and primed it, or a brand new pod is cracked or leaks as soon as it is filled, it is likely faulty.

Get in touch and we will sort it out. Our warranty FAQs explain what is covered.

If your kit is flashing or showing a message rather than leaking, our Vaporesso troubleshooting guide explains the lights and screen messages.