In vaping, priming a vape pod or coil is the act of forcing vape juice into the cotton wick to ensure complete saturation. Priming a vape pod is important because if the wick in the coil assembly isn’t completely wet, the coil will overheat. When a coil overheats, you experience a harsh “dry hit.” Dry hits are incredibly unpleasant because nobody wants to inhale the noxious fumes from a glowing metal coil. They’re also bad for the pod itself because an overheating coil can burn the pod’s cotton wick, ruining the pod’s flavor permanently. Priming a vape pod before using it ensures that you’ll enjoy the best possible flavor and preserves the life of the coil and wick.

Here's the good news: “Priming” may sound like a complicated term, but priming a vape pod is actually a very easy thing that only adds a couple of seconds to the process of preparing a new pod or coil for use. In this article, we’re going to explain how to do it – and we’ll provide instructions for priming a vape pod either with or without a built-in coil. Let’s jump in! 

How to Prime a Vape Pod with a Built-in Coil

In most cases, priming a vape coil involves putting vape juice directly on the coil’s wick. If you’re using a pod system with a removable coil, scroll down to the next section for more information about that. If you’re using a pod system with a built-in coil, on the other hand, putting e-liquid directly on the wick isn’t so easy because you can’t remove the coil from the pod. Here’s what you can do to prime a vape pod with a built-in coil.

• When you fill a new pod for the first time, don’t vape until you’ve waited at least five minutes. This helps to ensure that the wick will be completely saturated when you use the pod. In most cases, simply waiting a few minutes is all that you need to do to prime a new vape pod.
• If you detect a burnt flavor when using a new pod, remove the pod from the device and puff on it a few times to force air through the pod. You can also try tapping the pod with your finger to break any air bubbles in the wick. If these steps are successful, you’ll probably see air bubbles rising from the wick openings at the bottom of the pod. Wait a few minutes and use your device again.

How to Prime a Vape Pod with a Replaceable Coil

If you have a vape pod with a replaceable coil, it’s a little easier to prime the pod and ensure complete saturation of the wick because you can add vape juice directly to the wick before installing the coil in the pod.

To prime a vape pod with a replaceable coil, take your bottle of Pod Juice and position the nozzle over one of the white wick openings on the side of the pod. Squeeze a drop or two of vape juice on the wick. Rotate the coil and repeat this process with each wick opening. You should also send a few drops of e-liquid down the top of the coil. After waiting a few seconds, look at the wick openings. If they seem dry still, add more e-liquid until the cotton looks very damp.

After priming the coil, install it and fill the pod. Note that even if you’re using a vaping device that allows you to prime the coil manually, you should still wait a few minutes after filling the pod to ensure that the coil is completely wet. 

Important Tips for Avoiding Dry Hits with Any Pod System

As we’ve explained in this article, priming a vape pod before using it is important both because it preserves the life of the pod and because it ensures that you’ll enjoy the best possible flavor from the very first puff. Regardless of whether you’re using a pod system with a built-in coil or one with a replaceable coil, here are some additional universal tips that can be useful in helping you avoid the dry hits that are harsh on your throat and damaging to your vaping equipment.

• Don’t overfill your vape pod. When you close a vape pod and begin using it, a partial vacuum forms inside the pod’s reservoir. The vacuum draws the e-liquid into the wick to ensure complete saturation. The vacuum can’t form, however, if the pod is overfilled. When you fill a new vape pod, always leave room for a small pocket of air. 
• If your pod system has adjustable power, always set it to a lower wattage than normal when using a new pod or coil for the first time. This helps to ensure that the wick is completely broken in before you begin increasing the device’s power. Use the device for several minutes, increasing the power slowly until you reach your usual vaping wattage.
• Make sure that your device is set to an appropriate wattage for the installed coil. Every vape coil has a recommended wattage printed on the box and etched into the side of the coil. If you like to take extremely long puffs when using your device, you may need to compensate for that by lowering your device’s wattage to ensure that the wick won’t dry out.
• Refill your pod when it’s nearly empty. Every vape pod has a clear exterior that allows you to see the level of e-liquid. If the vape juice is below the coil’s wick openings, it’s time to refill the pod. The pod’s wicking action is only efficient if the e-liquid covers the cotton.