Seven ways to make vape juice last the Coronavirus lock-down

Considering I work in reach of tens of thousands of bottles of e-liquid, I’m still pretty good at running out of e-liquid when I’m NOT at work.

I can’t count the times I’ve turned the house upside down looking for a bottle of ANYTHING! (I usually find one bottle of Halo down the back of the sofa.)

This all means I’ve become pretty good at stretching out my last bottle of e-liquid, and now the UK’s vape shops have been closed, I thought it might be worth sharing some tips.

1. Ditch high powered vape mods
Or at least, don’t use them at their full power!

Mods are great fun, their advanced modes give you great control over your vape and they can provide massive clouds of vapour.

But they also plough through juice – especially if you use them at higher power levels.

Fortunately, most mods come with a low power setting and can be used with a range of different resistances. The Aspire Glint mod, for example, has a wattage range of 1-50 watts and can be used with any 510 tank, while the Innokin Kroma-R kit goes as low as 6 watts and can support coil resistance range all the way up to 3.5Ω.

2. Switch to vape pens and pods
Many vape pens and pods work at a lower wattage range and as such are far more efficient on the juice than other devices. The trick here is to choose a device with a fairly low power output.

The Uwell Caliburn is a good option here. Coming with a wattage output of 11 watts, it is very economical with e-liquid but also provides a great flavour. Alternatively, consider the Innokin GO s, which comes with an output of 13 watts but still provides a satisfying throat hit.

3. Use a lower power output
Whether you use wattage, voltage or temperature control, if you’re on your last bottle of e-liquid, you want to take the power down as low as possible.

Simply put, the more power you use, the more e-liquid you vaporise, and the faster you will go through your supplies.

4. Use a high resistance coil
If you use low wattage settings with a low resistance coil (below 1.0Ω), you’re unlikely to get either much vapour or much throat hit.

Low resistance coils require more power to work effectively, so for efficient vaping and to retain a satisfying vape, switch to a higher resistance coil.

5. Use a higher nicotine strength
Scientists like Konstantinos Farsalinos have advised vapers to use high nicotine e-liquids for some time. The thing is, we often think we are reducing our nicotine intake when we switch to a lower nicotine strength, but sometimes we are just vaping more.

So if you are trying to stretch your e-liquid, it makes sense to switch to a stronger nicotine strength as you’ll need less e-liquid to satisfy the same nicotine cravings.

6. Use a high PG e-liquid
If you’re using the low wattages and high resistances we recommended in the previous steps, you’re best off avoiding high VG e-liquids (such as those with a VG:PG ratio of 70:30 or 80:20). Instead, look to e-liquids with a VG:PG in the region of 50:50.

High VG e-liquids are thicker than PG e-liquids. Low resistance coils have wider ports in order to handle the extra thickness, and the mesh design of many sub-ohm coils also helps. But high resistance coils usually lack those features, and work better with high PG e-liquids such as Halo or Vampire Vape.

7. Use nicotine salts
Nicotine salts give a smoother throat hit, and they may also deliver nicotine faster. While not everyone agrees with this, I personally find I seem to get a stronger, faster hit from nicotine salts than from regular e-liquid.

If you’re looking to make your e-liquid last longer, it might be well worth trying nicotine salts, such as Halo Salts or Ohm Brew, to see if this is the same for you. On the other hand, if throat hit is important for you, the smoothness of nicotine salts might not help much, and regular e-liquids are probably a better option.

Airflow considerations
Your power and coil selection have the biggest effect on the amount of e-liquid you use. However, airflow may have an impact too.

Many devices have airflow controls now, usually adjusted by a ring at the base of the tank. Some vapers believe that when the airflow is open wide, it leaves more e-liquid drops on the coil, helping to preserve e-liquid. On the other hand, the lower the wattage you use, the less air you need, and for a decent throat hit at lower wattages you may prefer to use a reduced airflow.

Bonus tips: Safely storing E-liquid
Of course, you may have already stocked up with enough e-liquid to last you for months ahead. If that’s the case, you might want to think about how best to store it.