Can the Thickness of Your E-Juice Matter When You Vape?
We all know the feeling, you are in the middle of a vape session when the blueberry raspberry e-juice you have been enjoying suddenly tastes like burnt cotton and factory fires. How did this happen you ask yourself through a gag and a cough. You have just experienced what every vaper knows all too well, the hit of a dry wick.
As all devices rely on different methods of introducing e-liquid to a heat source to ignite those face hiding plumes, some e-juices are just not as compatible or enjoyable as others for every device. This boils down to your rig and the viscosity of the juice.
E-juice viscosity has a defined and noticeable effect on how enjoyable a vape session can be, as not all e-juices nor devices are made equal. Exactly how thick an e-liquid can be, is related directly to the proportion of propylene glycol (PG) and vegetable glycerin (VG) present in the mixture. As these two solvents are the main components in most commercially available juices, in addition to flavoring and medical grade nicotine.
Those who prefer the traditional devices with atomizers, cotton wicks, and tanks would benefit from avoiding any liquid too viscous in nature. This means abstaining from brands and flavors favoring higher percentages of VG, as vegetable glycerin is thicker than its PG counterpart and more prone to clogging the tanks used to house juice. Therefore, the most widely available mixtures are equal parts PG and VG, the much less viscous PG thins out the entire mix making it compatible with more devices. This thinner liquid mix flows easily to the wick while still providing the flavor and clouds most vapers come to expect and enjoy.
For the subset of vapers who prefer to be cloud chasers and builders, the pros of using a thicker e-juice outweigh any negatives or can be overcome with a little custom building. Those wishing to engulf their bodies in plumes of sweet scented vapor prefer the more viscous VG heavy blends as they produce more vapor and are generally smoother on the throat when directly inhaled into the lungs. The MODs used by cloud chasers accommodate the thicker vape liquid in some cases by using a rebuildable dripping atomizer in place of those found in most personal vapes. Allowing the thicker liquid to be directly applied to the atomizer's wick and avoiding any clogging.
The next time you find yourself deciding between vape juice flavors keep the juice's proportions of propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin in mind and decide if your device can handle a thicker mix. No amount of flavoring will compensate for a burned cotton taste from a clogged tank.
