Free Shipping On Most Orders £5+ | UK Shipping Only
Electronic Cigarette


Please confirm you're over 18 to continue

Yes, I am 18 or older
No, I am under 18


e-Cig Tank Flooded or Leaking

11 January 2018

Is your e-cig tank leaking or it is flooded – these are two different issues.

It's easy to confuse a flooded tank with a leaking tank so if you don't have a flooded tank please refer to our article e-cig tank leaking and gurgling.

These are signs of a flooded e-cig tank, along with solutions...

If liquid is leaking onto the battery connection, you may well have a flooded tank. This can happen when you draw (suck) on the mouthpiece too hard which causes too much liquid to be drawn to the coil too quickly and it can’t heat and vapourise the liquid fast enough.

Solution 1

Most e-cigs require a slow draw with long, slow inhalations. Very quick inhalations (the way traditional cigarettes are often smoked) may not give the coil time to heat sufficiently and vapourise the liquid, so take it slowly and see how you get on. Secondly, as soon as you notice leaking, stop using your e-cig, unscrew it (remember to hold it so that the liquid doesn't spill out, which is most commonly upside down) and give it a good clean to remove the excess liquid.

When the liquid in the atomizer chamber isn’t vapourised, it either floods the atomizer chamber or it back flows up through the air hole in the centre of the tank. This excess unheated liquid can end up in your mouth which is very unpleasant and should not be swallowed.

If you're new to e-cigs, the coil is usually a replaceable item and it’s the small part inside the tank which heats up and it's known by several different names: coil, coil head, atomizer, atomizer head, wick, heating element, burner, etc.

Solution 2

Ensure your coil is secure, not over tightened but not loose and allowing liquid to seep through to the battery. Also, if you've been using the same coil for 2 or 3 weeks it may have reached the end of its life. If that's the case, try and new one and see if that solves the problem. It's still worth trying to rid the old coil of excess liquid and giving it one more try.

When the liquid can’t turn to vapour fast enough, it has to go somewhere. Most commonly it finds its way via the atomizer onto the battery connection at the point where it joins the tank. When this happens it is likely you’ll hear a gurgling noise when you draw.

The main ingredients in e-liquid (propylene glycol and vegetable glycerine) do not conduct electricity very well so you may experience a poor connection and reduced heating of the coil, which in turn will just make your problem worse as you draw and even more liquid isn’t being vapourised.

Solution 3

Dab the battery connection clean of excess e-liquid with a paper towel or similar to ensure maximum connectivity. It's normal for some condensation to occur above the battery but do not allow a build-up of e-liquid.

Our Guide to Vaping


Learn More