How to Prime a New Vape Coil: Avoid Dry Hits Every Time

A dry hit on a brand new coil is one of the worst experiences in vaping. Burnt, harsh, and unpleasant. It is also completely avoidable. Priming your coil before firing it takes less than ten minutes and it will noticeably extend how long the coil lasts and how good the flavour is from the first puff.

What does priming a coil mean?

The cotton inside your coil has to be fully saturated with e-liquid before you fire it. If you fire a dry or partly dry coil, the heat scorches the cotton, and once burnt it stays burnt. There is no recovering a scorched coil. Priming simply means giving the cotton enough time and liquid to absorb properly before the first hit.

Priming a pod system

This covers the Vaporesso XROS, Bewolk Smart, OXVA Xlim and every other integrated-coil pod we sell.

1. Fill the pod, but not to the brim. Leave a small air gap at the top. Overfilling is one of the main causes of leaking.
2. Wait 5 to 10 minutes. Leave the filled pod standing upright, off the battery. This is the step that actually does the priming, and it is the one people skip.
3. Draw through the pod while it is off the battery. With the pod detached there is no power to it, so you can pull liquid into the cotton without generating any heat. A few gentle draws is enough. Do not try to do this with the pod fitted. On a draw-activated device, drawing is firing, so there is no such thing as a primer puff with the pod in place.
4. Start low if your device adjusts. Begin at the lowest setting and work up to your usual wattage over the first few puffs.
5. Keep the first ten puffs short. No chain vaping on a new coil. Let it settle.

Priming a coil with exposed cotton ports

This is for sub-ohm and direct-lung coils in a tank, where you can see the cotton through the side ports.

1. Before installing the coil, put 3 to 5 drops of e-liquid directly onto the cotton visible in each wicking port.
2. Add one small drop down the centre of the coil from the top.
3. Let it stand for 2 to 3 minutes before you fit it.
4. Fit the coil, fill the tank, and wait another 5 minutes.
5. Run it at the low end of the coil's stated range for the first 10 to 15 puffs, then work up.

Signs you did not prime properly

A slightly burnt or sharp taste on the first few puffs means the cotton was not fully saturated. Stop, wait another 5 minutes, and try again gently. If the burnt taste survives into extended use, the cotton is already scorched and the coil will not recover. Replace it and prime the new one properly. Why your vape tastes burnt covers the other causes.

Does the Vaporesso XROS 6 Smart Prime help?

Yes. The XROS 6 and XROS 6 Mini both run a 60 second Smart Prime that kicks in when a new pod is detected, holding off the first fire while the coil saturates. It is a genuinely useful safety net and it is one of the better reasons to pick the 6 over the 5. It is not a substitute for the 5 to 10 minute wait though, so treat it as a backstop rather than the whole process.

How long should a primed coil last?

One to three weeks of regular daily use is the realistic range, and light users often get longer. Chain vaping, high wattage and very sweet dessert liquids all shorten it, because sweeteners caramelise onto the coil. Priming properly gets you to the top of that range rather than the bottom. How long a coil lasts goes into the signs it is finished.

Replacement pods and coils for every device we carry are in pods and coils.

For adult use only (18+). Contains nicotine, an addictive substance.