Help & Guidance — Purple Haze MK
Why Is My Vape Spitting?
Vape spitting — the unpleasant experience of hot liquid droplets being shot up the mouthpiece into your mouth — is an extension of the coil flooding problem. The coil has more liquid around it than it can vaporise, so instead of clean vapour reaching the mouthpiece, partially heated liquid is propelled upward as hot droplets. All common causes are fixable.
Spitting is closely related to bubbling and gurgling but has a specific additional dimension: liquid is not just pooling in the air channel but is being actively propelled upward toward the mouthpiece as hot droplets. The mechanism is the same as a pan of water boiling — when excess liquid surrounds the hot coil, individual droplets of liquid are shot upward by the expanding steam bubbles beneath them. The result is a popping sensation when you draw, sometimes described as hot liquid or a crackling sound followed by a liquid hit on the lips or tongue. The causes are essentially the same as for bubbling — flooding — with the additional factors of wattage too low for the coil, a worn coil with uneven heating and condensation accumulation in the mouthpiece tube.
Causes and Fixes
Flooded coil — the primary cause
When the coil chamber has more liquid than the wick can absorb and the coil can vaporise, excess liquid surrounds the heating element. As the coil fires, the liquid nearest the element forms steam bubbles that burst and shoot droplets upward through the air channel toward the mouthpiece. This is the same mechanism as oil spitting in a pan — liquid and intense heat producing projectile droplets.
Fix: Clear the flood using the blow-through technique — remove the pod, blow gently through the mouthpiece with a tissue below to expel pooled liquid. Clear the air channel with a dry cotton bud. Briefly fire the device without drawing to vaporise any residual liquid. Pace your draws and store the device upright to prevent recurrence.Wattage too low for the coil
Every coil has a minimum wattage at which it operates efficiently. If the device is set below the coil's rated minimum, it generates insufficient heat to fully vaporise the liquid being wicked to it. Liquid partially heats but does not fully transition to vapour — instead it becomes superheated droplets that are propelled through the device. This is a particularly common cause of spitting in adjustable-wattage devices set too conservatively.
Fix: Check the wattage range printed on your coil and ensure the device is set within it — not below the minimum. If you have been gradually reducing wattage to extend coil life, check you have not gone below the rated range. A modest wattage increase of 3 to 5W often stops spitting immediately.Chain vaping — condensation accumulation
Rapid successive puffing generates vapour faster than it can escape cleanly through the mouthpiece. Some vapour condenses back into liquid in the air channel and mouthpiece tube. As liquid accumulates in the tube, subsequent draws push air through it — creating the bubbling and spitting that characterises condensation-based spitting rather than coil flooding.
Fix: Slow your puffing pace to 20 to 30 second gaps. Clear the mouthpiece tube with a dry cotton bud when you notice it becoming wet. Take shorter draws. The mouthpiece tube of your device needs periodic clearing as a maintenance habit for heavy vapers.Worn or degraded coil — uneven heating
An old coil with accumulated residue or degraded mesh no longer heats evenly across its entire surface. Hot spots develop where the heating is concentrated, and cool areas where liquid pools without being vaporised. This uneven heating produces the characteristic crackling and spitting of an end-of-life coil — even if the wattage is correct and the tank is not overtly flooded.
Fix: Replace the coil. Persistent spitting that is not resolved by clearing the flood and checking wattage almost always indicates a coil that has reached the end of its useful life. Prime the new coil properly before use.High-PG or very thin e-liquid
Very thin, high-PG e-liquids wick extremely rapidly through large wicking ports on sub-ohm coils. They can flood the coil faster than it can process the liquid, particularly in warm ambient temperatures when the liquid is even more fluid. Even at correct wattage, a very thin liquid in the wrong device type causes persistent flooding and spitting.
Fix: Switch to a higher-VG liquid (70% VG or above) suited to your device type, or use a device better suited to your current liquid's viscosity. If you are using 50/50 liquid in a sub-ohm tank designed for high-VG, the liquid ratio is likely contributing to the problem.Overfilling the pod or tank
Filling above the maximum fill line creates positive liquid pressure that pushes excess into the coil chamber. This is a direct flooding trigger that also manifests as spitting. Even filling to exactly the max line can tip into flooding if the device is then shaken, carried in a bag or left on its side before being used.
Fix: Fill to slightly below the maximum line — leave a small air gap. Never fill and immediately vape without letting the device stand upright for a minute to allow liquid levels to settle. Clear any existing flood before resuming normal use.How to Stop a Spitting Vape: Immediate Steps
Stop drawing and remove the pod
Continuing to draw on a spitting device propels more hot droplets toward your mouth. Remove the pod or separate the tank from the battery to break the device down for clearing.
Blow through the mouthpiece firmly
Hold a folded tissue below and blow a steady breath through the mouthpiece. This forces pooled liquid out through the base of the pod and clears the air channel. Repeat two to three times until no more liquid appears on the tissue.
Clear the mouthpiece tube with a cotton bud
Insert a dry cotton bud into the mouthpiece opening and rotate gently to absorb condensed liquid from the tube. Replace with a fresh bud and repeat until the bud comes out dry. This removes the liquid closest to your mouth that creates the spitting sensation.
Fire without drawing to vaporise residual liquid
Reassemble the device and fire for one to two seconds without drawing. This vaporises any remaining pooled liquid around the coil. Hold the device sideways over tissue as you do this so any expelled liquid falls away. You may see a burst of vapour from the base.
Check your wattage and draw gently
Confirm wattage is within the coil's rated range. Take your first post-clearing draw slowly and gently. If spitting resumes immediately, the coil may need replacing or the wattage needs adjusting.
Every spitting vape has excess liquid around the coil — the same root cause as bubbling, with the additional dimension of the droplets being propelled toward the mouthpiece
Wattage too low for the coil's rated range is a frequently overlooked cause — insufficient heat partially vaporises liquid into propelled droplets rather than clean vapour
The blow-through technique clears the immediate flood; storing upright, pacing draws and correct wattage prevent it returning
Spitting is one of the most unpleasant vaping experiences — hot liquid in the mouth is uncomfortable and undermines the user experience significantly. It is also one of the most preventable. The combination of correct wattage for your coil, paced drawing with gaps between puffs, upright storage and not overfilling resolves the vast majority of spitting issues. For persistent spitting that returns quickly after clearing, the coil is almost always the cause — worn mesh develops hot spots that create a chronic spitting pattern that no amount of clearing will permanently resolve without replacement.
Part of Our Guide
Help & Guidance Centre
This article is part of the Purple Haze MK Help and Guidance Centre. For more vaping guidance, visit the Purple Haze MK Help and Guidance Centre.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is vape spitting harmful?
Occasional hot liquid droplets from a spitting vape are unpleasant rather than seriously harmful in most cases. The liquid is heated to vaping temperatures rather than combustion temperatures, and small quantities contacting the lips or tongue do not cause burns in most cases. However repeated spitting is a sign the device needs maintenance and continuing to vape with a persistently spitting coil means inhaling partially vaporised liquid rather than clean vapour. Fix the cause rather than tolerating the spitting.
Why does my vape spit more in cold weather?
Cold temperatures reduce e-liquid viscosity changes — liquid can become slightly thicker and then thin rapidly when the coil heats. Cold also means the device itself is cooler, which reduces the coil's effective temperature for the first few draws. The combination of a cooler starting temperature and liquid that warms unevenly creates the conditions for spitting. Taking a few very gentle initial draws to warm the device before full draws helps prevent cold-weather spitting.
My vape spits even with a new coil — why?
A new coil that spits is almost always either overfilled or running at wattage below its rated minimum. Check both first. If the wattage is correct and the fill level is appropriate and spitting persists, the new coil may not have been fully primed — let the device stand with the filled tank for 10 to 15 minutes before vaping, and take three to four cold primer draws to distribute liquid evenly before the first powered draw.
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For more vaping guidance, visit the Purple Haze MK Help and Guidance Centre.
Vaping Help in Milton Keynes
Purple Haze MK — Expert Vaping Advice
For help with a spitting vape, coil replacements and e-liquid advice in Milton Keynes, visit us at Stall 109, Milton Keynes Market. Tue, Thu to Sat 9am to 5:30pm. Sun 10am to 5pm.