My Vape Cart Has Clogged Again! Why Does This Keep Happening and How Do I Avoid it?

Vaping marijuana or cannabis extract has become extremely popular, and for good reason. First and foremost, picking up your vape and taking a pull off of it is just much easier than having to roll a joint every time you want to smoke. At the same time, vaping doesn’t make your hands or clothes smell, not really as much as smoking a joint or blunt.

Moreover, with some good vape cartridges, you can reach THC levels of well over 90%, whereas you’d be lucky to find marijuana flower that goes over 30%. With that being said, they do have a tendency to clog, and today we’re going to figure out why. So, why did your vape cartridge keep clogging, and how can you avoid it from happening in the future? 

What Causes a Vape Cartridge to Clog?

Let’s figure out why that vape cartridge of yours is clogged in the first place.

1. The Viscosity of the Oil Itself

One of the main reasons why your vape cartridge might clog on you is because the oil itself is too viscous. For those of you who don’t know, being viscous means that it is very thick. Generally speaking, the higher in THC these marijuana oils are, the thicker they will be. Therefore, the higher the THC percentage of the vape oil that you get, the thicker it will be, and the likelier your vape cartridge is to clog. Of course, if you like your THC levels high, there’s not much you can do about this.

2. Cold Temperatures

The next reason why vape cartridges tend to clog is because of cold temperatures. This also has to do with viscosity. The colder the oil gets the thicker it gets. This means that if oil is left in cold temperatures, it is going to get very thick, and potentially clog your vape. The easy solution here is of course to not let your vape oil get cold.

3. Obstructions in the Mouthpiece

Another common issue that may occur with vape cartridges, especially with people who carry them around in their pockets, is that they can get clogged with physical obstructions in the mouthpiece. In other words, things like sand, small pebbles, pocket lint, and other fibers may get into the mouthpiece where you pull through. If this happens, you won’t be able to suck any air through the mouthpiece.

4. The Cartridge is Old and Gummed Up 

If you have a very old disposable cart vape that is almost empty, chances are that you’ve been using it for quite some time. The more you vape, the more resin will be produced. Resin and other byproducts of vaporizing weed oil get very thick, sticky, and may harden over time. Therefore, if you’ve done a lot of vaping, chances are that the cartridge will get clogged. 

5. There is a Mechanical Issue

Although it is fairly rare, sometimes vape cartridges are just broken right out of the box and don’t work right. For this reason, you should always keep your receipt whenever you buy a new vape cartridge or disposable vape.

How to Prevent Vape Pen Clogging Up

Now that we know why your vape is clogging, we can figure out how to stop it from happening in the first place.

1. Get Low Viscosity Oil

If you are worried about your vape cartridge clogging, you can always go for something that has fairly low THC levels. If you get something that has a THC level of 80% or under, it’s much less likely to clog. Remember, the lower the THC level of the oil is, the thinner the oil will be.

2. Don’t Keep it In Cold Temperatures

Also remember that the colder your oil is, the thicker it will be. Therefore, an easy way to prevent it from clogging is to keep the vape cartridge in a warm area. You can always keep it in your pocket (in a small bag or container) if you are going outside in cold weather.

3. Keep it Clean

Another way to prevent your vape cartridge from clogging is to simply keep it clean, by which we mean not keeping it directly in your pocket along with pocket lint, sand, and other debris. You don’t want anything getting into that mouthpiece.

4. Go with a Trusted Brand

Another good idea is to start with a trusted brand name. Don’t go with off-brand vape cartridges, because it’s likely that these are not made with high standards in mind. The more trusted the brand name is, the higher quality the vape cartridge in question is likely to be.

 How to Fix a Disposable Vape That Won’t Hit

If you have a vape cartridge that won’t hit, there are a few things that you can do to try and get things flowing.

1. Do Some Dry Hits and Then Hit Slowly

Try just pulling on the mouthpiece without activating the vape. If there is a clog, you might be able to suck the debris through the mouthpiece. Also, if the oil is too thick, you might be able to get it moving a little bit. Once you have done a few dry hits, activate your vape and try hitting it very slowly. Don’t pull too hard at first,

2. Warm the Oil

If the oil is too thick, either because it is too high in THC or because it is cold, something you can try doing is warming it up a little bit. Just put it in between your hands and rub it a little bit, or you could even use a hair dryer. Some vapes also come with a Preheat function that warms the oil up and gets it ready for vaping.

 3. Unclog it With a Toothpick

If the issue is that there is a clog in the mouthpiece, you can always try using something like a toothpick or a safety pin to try and dig out whatever is in the way.

 4. Leave it in an Upright Position

Although this solution rarely works, the clog may be caused by the vape oil all having traveled to the mouthpiece because it’s been upside down. Therefore, try leaving the vape in an upright position to try unclogging it. That said, sometimes these things just don’t work and a clogged cart might just stay that way, so if all else fails, just go to trydoobie.com and get yourself a new vape cartridge!