How do you extend the life of a vape tank? I know on the surface your tank may seem indestructible but as time goes on you will notice changes to it's build. Protecting your tank for the long term is very important when investing in a vape tank. The most common issue with aging tanks can be the threads if uses to mount to your mod or the threads to close the tank after filling. Once these grind down beyond recognition using them will be a fight of both patience and your arm strength!

Caring for your vape devices is much more than just a quick wash and wipe down. Steel, plastic, rubber, and glass all absorb smells, which can contribute heavily to changing the dynamic of your vaping experience. There are few things worse than finishing a tank of cinnamon based eliquid, switching to something else and still tasting old juice. Many vapers think that a simple dunk into some water cleans off the remnants of liquids, which it may in some cases but not all. In this tutorial I will walk you through most of the things you need to keep in mind.

Threading: This one is usually overlooked because most of the damage comes from normal use. It is inevitable that later down the line in the life of a tank you'll experience some slippage because the threads have worn down. I have Protanks from several years ago that still function like new today and newer tanks that require a delicate hand for mounting to my box mod. The difference might be the material the threads are machined into, but also the fact I was a much more patient and careful vaper back then. A few thousand refills makes it second nature and prone to rushing through the process. Screwing your bases calmly with crashing them into other threads is key here. We vapers tend to crash one hunk of metal to another until it falls into place and then screw tightly. This isn't a very good practice because every clash of steel on steel chips away a little bit from the threads.

Another common malpractice is over tightening the tank to the box mod, this puts pressure on the box mod threads by pushing further than it was intended to be pushed. At times the copper base of the connectors swell and end up hugging the 510 threads of your tank creating a death grip of the tank to the box mod. Tighten your tank on your device until you start feeling some resistance, there is no need to tighten until it can't go anymore. Every time you over tighten you put additional pressure on your box mod and your tank.

Cleaning: Most of the times just pulling your tank apart and running some warm water on it will be sufficient. For light vapers with a very limited amount of flavor variety in their e juice of choice a quick rinse will do more than enough. For someone like me who can use anywhere from 5 to 15 different brands of juice with a varying profile of flavor this doesn't cut it. Gromits, insulators, and metals tend to hold onto smells pretty long. Switching from a candy flavor to a custard and having candy custard as the result might be cool sometimes but not if you just want custard flavors.

Some alternatives to a basic water bath would be using vodka to wash out smells. Vodka is a straight tasteless alcohol with a pretty neutral smell that washes off materials pretty easily. Since e-liquid tend to have an oily composition the high percentage of alcohol in vodka lifts it all off quickly. Simply take a drinking glass, pull apart your tank or RDA/RBA and drop it into the glass. Fill the glass with vodka until it’s above the pieces in the glass, allow this to brew for anywhere from 15 minutes to several hours depending on how strong the flavors you use are. Once done, place your hand over the glass and pour the vodka into your sink. Do not let the pieces crash down into your sink the result may be denting of the steel or cracking of your Pyrex glass. Let this sit for a ten to fifteen minutes in open air and do a bit of air drying followed by a quick rinse of warm water. Let the vodka residue dry off and then set down on a napkin to dry. Twenty minutes later shake the parts to make sure there is no water in them and reassemble.