Why Does My Vape Crackle?
We’ve all heard that distinctive ‘crackle’ of a vape, so much so that it's easy to forget how surprising it is at first. If you’re not expecting it then hearing these small devices crackle, hiss and whoosh it can be a bit of shock.
The question of why a vape crackles is easily answered: that’s just part of how they work. But it’s a good idea to make sure you know what’s happening and why.
Like with any electronic device spotting something going wrong can be tricky, especially when we can’t see what’s going on inside.
Thankfully with vapes we can use this crackling to gauge just how well everything is running and make sure our hardware is in top shape.
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Why Does My Vape Crackle?
First of all we should clarify that a vape crackling is entirely normal.
The crackle you tend to hear from a vape is the sound of vape juice evaporating inside the pen. This happens as the liquid is sucked through from the tank and touches the heating coil, turning into vapour.
It is usually a continuous, low crackling accompanied with the ‘hiss’ of vapour escaping the nozzle, and sometimes the ‘whoosh’ of air being pulled through the air flow.
These noises are loudest with brand new vapes and tend to get quieter over time.
You might also notice a change in how loud or continuous the crackling is when you change e-liquids, as different contents will cause liquids to vaporise faster or more slowly than others.
Why Does The Crackle On My Vape Change?
Sometimes you’ll notice that the sound of your vape crackling has changed.
Listening out for any changes is always a good thing, as this can be the first sign of something being wrong with either your vape or the way you use it.
Realising that the sound of your vape crackling has changed can help you to fix a problem before it really begins.
If you’re not hearing any vape crackling at all then it means that not enough e-liquid is getting to the coil. This usually means that the coil just needs a clean, as it’s become clogged with the residue left over when e-liquid evaporates.
Likewise, if the vape starts to taste bitter this is another sign that it needs a clean. That bitter taste, usually accompanied by a single loud pop, is from this residue heating up and evaporating all in one go.
A loud snap or crackle followed by a drawn-out spitting, like oil in a frying pan, is a sign that your coil is being flooded with e-liquid. Check the tank to see if the vape hasn’t been over-filled and make sure that your drags aren’t too long.
If everything seems fine, then it may be a good idea to wait for the coil to cool and check that everything is set up correctly.
On the other hand, there is no distinct vape crackling but instead a drawn-out, gurgling sound there’s a good chance that your vape’s power output is too low.
This gurgling is the sound of liquid not being vapourised quickly enough and remaining in the coil for too long. Again, check to make sure your vape is set up correctly, otherwise if you have an adjustable power setting try turning it up a little. It’s also worth checking your remaining battery power.
This is rarely a problem for sub-ohm vapes due to their much higher power output, but that's the same reason why their vape crackle tends to be louder.
How Do I Stop My Vape From Crackling?
Sometimes vape crackling, even the usual kind, it just unpleasant to deal with and we’d rather go without. In these cases there are a few steps you can take to reduce the noise.
It’s good to remember that the specific kind of vape your using can make a difference to the level of noise.
A standard MTL (Mouth-To-Lung) vape will make a slightly quieter crackle for a longer period of time, whereas the more powerful sub-ohm will be louder but shorter.
Depending on why the crackle is bothering you, changing the kind of vape you use could be the best way forwards.
You could also give an angled drip tip a try. The angle in these tips was made to prevent e-liquid from being shot back up into your mouth, but they have the added effect of helping to reduce the amount of liquid that hits the coil.
This can make the vape crackling a little quieter whilst also saving you from an unpleasant accident.
Taking more shallow drags will also help to reduce vape crackling, as this limits the amount of e-liquid hitting your coil.
This will help to avoid long-term damage to your vape from flooding, so having a limit of two or three seconds per-drag is good for everything in the long run.
It’s also worth taking care when priming your vape, making sure never to use too much e-liquid. As well as potentially causing damage by flooding the coil, an excess of liquid will make the first few vape crackles very loud.
Try to find that right balance between under and over priming the coil, as either of these can be why your vape suffers long-term damage.
Last of all, using the thicker, cannabis flavoured E-liquids, from our Cali Range will help to reduce the overall volume of vape crackling. This is because a thinner e-liquid evaporates much more quickly, giving you that sharp crackle sound whilst also having less physical liquid to muffle the sound.
A thicker liquid, as well as evaporating more steadily, will be quieter purely by being better at absorbing sound.
Summary
In this article we’ve gone into exactly why your vape crackles, what you need to look out for and what you can do to make it a little more manageable.
To recap:
- Crackling is an entirely normal part of a properly functioning vape.
- Most vape crackling will get quieter with use.
- If the crackling in your vape gets louder, longer, more like a gurgle or disappears entirely, something isn’t going quite right.
- Most of the time you can solve these issues with a quick clean, checking that your vape is set up correctly or making sure that you aren’t overtaxing your vape.
- If you’re not a fan of the vape crackling, there are a few steps you can take to make it quieter both in vaping style and vape juice choice
Maintenance of your vape is an important part of getting the most from it. No matter how good the e-liquid, if your vape isn’t working correctly things can quickly get nasty.
Here at Orange County CBD we’re dedicated to ensuring that you enjoy your experience at every stage. If you know what to listen out for and how to fix these problems before they even happen, you’ll be happily vaping away for as long as possible.
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