If you’ve ever tried an E-cig, then you’ll have doubtless discovered it makes for an awesome alternative to conventional, harmful cigarettes. But there’s more to E-cigs than merely vaping – if you’ve decided you want to give it a go you should be aware of what else is involved and this includes successfully filling your E-cig with E-liquid. Don’t fret; it’s not particularly difficult (certainly not once you’ve got the hang of it) – that said, it’s as well to follow some advice on how to go about it best…

Filling a cartridge

To begin with, how exactly you fill your E-cig depends most of all on the type of mechanism the device has – that is, whether it’s the sort of E-cig that comes with cartridges and/ or tanks or with rebuildable dripping atomisers (RDAs) and so requires ‘dripping’. If your mechanism works with a cartridge then the simplest way to fill it is, quite simply, to drip E-liquid from the bottle on to the material you’ll find inside the cartridge.

Once you’ve done this, allow it to sit for a few minutes, so the material properly absorbs the liquid, and then repeat the process several times to ensure the material’s thoroughly saturated. Is this tedious? You may find it so, yes; but a good number of vapers who use cartridges swear by it in order to produce as pure a flavour as possible. The less easy way to fill a cartridge involves using a syringe or an E-liquid bottle that comes complete with a long, narrow tip. You’ll have to insert the syringe needle/ bottle tip between the cartridge’s side and its filling, then release the liquid before slowly withdrawing the needle/ tip.

Filling a tank

If you’re dealing with an E-cig designed for tanks then you’re at an advantage over cartridges because the latter are specifically designed to be refilled, thus are inherently easier to fill Put simply, the procedure involves opening the tank, tilting it a little and dripping the E-liquid straight into the tank’s chamber. Note, though, you mustn’t overfill the chamber – don’t exceed the top measurement mark on the tank, if there’s one printed on yours.

And another important ‘don’t’ is to make sure you don’t get any E-liquid into the E-cig’s chimney – to be found at the centre of the tank, connected to the coil. The reason you want to steer clear of saturating the chimney with any liquid is because, if you don’t, it can result in ‘gurgling’ (there’ll be liquid in the airway from which the vapour’s drawn; a big no-no). Instead, lying in the tank outside the chimney, the E-liquid should soak into the cotton to keep the chimney clear and give off a fantastic flavour – especially if you’re using the best E liquid.

RDAs and dripping

Finally then, if your E-cig comes with an RDA, it obliges you to fill the device via ‘dripping’. This is a more complicated proposition and, be aware, it requires you to truly know your way around your E-cig. But what is an RDA? Well, given its full name contains the word ‘rebuildable’ (see above); it, yes, requires you to take it apart somewhat and rebuild it in order to fill it. The RDA screws on and off the E-cig’s battery and features a top cap that is removable, underneath which you’ll discover both a positive and negative post.

This is important to note because, as part of ‘rebuilding’, the user needs to make the RDA’s coils, feeding them through the positive and negative holes as they do so, and positioning cotton through the middle of these coils. Following this, the E-liquid can be simply dripped on top of the cotton and coils, the cap replaced and the device will then be ready for vaping.

But why all this DIY rigmarole? Why would anyone want to rely on an RDA and ‘dripping’ instead of simply using a cartridge or tank? Well, many a vaper swears by ‘dripping’ for optimum flavour and performance – thanks to the act of dripping the liquid directly on to the coils. Plus, because you can control exactly how much liquid you drip into the device, you needn’t go through a whole bottle of liquid merely to sample one flavour before trying another one. If this sounds just the ticket, then RDA ‘dripping’ may be the filling solution for you!

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