Demystifying Coil Gunk

Are you noticing a nasty dark crust that discolors your coil in the atomizer? This is commonly known as coil gunk and it is definitely a “thing” and in this blog we are going to demystify the coil gunk issue and give some tips on how to avoid this from happening.

What is Coil Gunk

Coil gunk is essentially residue from the e- liquid that has not been vaporized successfully. This may include flavors, sweeteners and other components of the e-liquid. Carbohydrates and sugars from sweeteners don’t fully vaporize and the gunk forms on the coil and these residual sections stick to the coil and over time become dark and thick like a goo. Thankfully this is not dangerous in any way, it’s just common oxidation and sometimes this happens immediately with fresh coils and juice interact. We see this commonly with vape juices that are high in vegetable glycerin, are dark in color or contain tobacco extracts. The ingredient that correlates most directly with coil gunk, though, is the popular sweetener sucralose.

What is The Side Effect of Coil Gunk

The most common side effect of a build up on your coil is a change in the flavor of your e-liquid – even when your tank is full and your wick is wet – you are pulling dry hits from your vape with zero flavor. After a while your vape experience will become so unpleasant that you will have no choice but to deal with the issue and either clean the coil or replace it. The most common flavors that cause this issue are the most tasty….those sweet and rich yet irresistible flavors unfortunately are the culprit.

How to Avoid The Gunk Issue

Pundits advise that you would change your coil regularly to prevent coil gunk because the build-up around the coil interferes with the flavor of your e-juice and the gunk in your wick affects its ability to soak up e-juice. If you are a fan of sweet flavors, you are going to encounter this issue often and frequently. If you fall into this camp and can’t give up your sweet liquids, you will most likely have to resort to using a tank or atomizer you can rebuild or rewick. This puts a lot of pressure on the newbies and intermediates to the vape game who may be drawn to the sweet flavors –  they would not have the experience to rebuild any components or even know how to clean them or at the minimum even be able to identify there is an issue with the coil.

If you like to vape with long pulls – this is another thing to avoid if trying to reduce the gunk build up….if you like high wattage settings and prefer long pulls, this is pretty much a recipe for wick burning that you may misinterpret for a coil gunk issue, especially if you prefer cotton wicks as they do not wick very well due to their high absorbency. In other words, the liquid may not travel to the coil as quickly as the coil can vaporize it – this will cause the wick to dry out. If you are using a tank system and need to replace your coil daily because of gunk – this may be the issue – long pulls.

VG based e-liquids are also a culprit for gunk and tends to be added to flavoring agents so if you consume more of these – that may be your culprit.

There is also an opinion that darker liquids contain more sweet flavorings and therefore gunk up your coils faster – this is just an opinion we have come across and are just putting it out there for your consideration.

Cleaning the Gunk Off 

So, if gunk has ruined your last coil and you can’t buy a new one, you can try to clean it. Try cleaning the coil with a very small nylon brush and rinse the coil with super hot water and leave it out to dry completely before trying to use it again. Key here is to dry it out completely. 

As a more drastic resort – try switching to a rebuildable atomizer – but this is for the more intermediate to expert vape customers as a solution.

The Dry Burn Method seems to be the most popular way to clean gunk off your coil. Simply pulse the fire button until the coil is a dull red and glowing – this represents the dry burn – and will burn away the gunk build up. Dark carbon will be the final build up left over after the dry burn but you can eliminate that by rubbing the coil with a wet cotton swab, a brush or running water over the coil. Once the coil is clean – add a new wick and vape away. Caution when using this method – titanium, nickel and nichrome are potentially hazardous when dry burning so cleaning your coil another way would be the best choice.

The Final Word

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