There’s nothing like the convenience of using a vape pen to enjoy your favorite cannabinoids. A vape pen is pocket-friendly, and comes in a huge choice of popular strains so you can savor terpene profile after terpene profile to your heart’s content.
But, the thing is that even the highest-quality hemp vape pen can get jammed up or clogged from time to time, and you’ll know this immediately if you’re getting no vapor output when you pull. Fortunately, there’s almost always an easy fix.
What Can Cause a Clogged Vape Pen?
A jammed cartridge can be attributed to all kinds of causes, and the key to fixing the problem is to figure out the cause first, since each cause has a specific remedy that’s known to work like a charm. Consider each possible cause below to make the best decision for the needs of your device.
Issue #1: Poor Construction
Sometimes, the jam is due to a manufacturing flaw, or simply poor, cheap manufacturing. This is why we always urge our customers to only buy from reputable retailers who are known for carrying exceptional vape pens, since they aren’t all created equally. If your pen is jammed from the second you purchase it, it could be the fault of the producer, in which case you should call and try to get a replacement.
Issue #2: Debris from Outside in the Mouthpiece
The top of your pen has tiny holes that allow the vapor to move through the cartridge and into your mouth through your lips. Those tiny holes act as the mouthpiece, but they can also get jammed up from a piece of debris from the outside, such as a piece of lint in your pocket, or in a drawer where you store your disposable. If that’s the case, then your device will work just fine, but when the vapor comes up through the top of the mouthpiece, nothing will come out.
Issue #3: Cannabinoid Crystallization
Crystallization is a relatively common cause behind having a clogged vape pen. Cannabinoid distillates are prone to crystallizing if they’re kept below room temperature, because this is actually their default form rather than liquid. So, if your disposable was kept a little too cool, you may have a cartridge full of crystals rather than oil.
How to Fix a Clogged Vape Pen
Before we get into the best methods for fixing a clogged vape pen, let’s go over the things that you should never do, as these things can easily make the issue worse and damage your disposable beyond repair.
· Taking Apart Your Device: We know it may be tempting to take apart the entire pen and try to manually remove the clog where you find it, but this is a bad idea. Disposables just aren’t meant to be opened up by the user, and doing so can spill vape oil everywhere, which can be dangerous if you have children or pets. Besides that, it’s likely that you’ll break the more fragile components so that you can’t put it back together again.
· Pulling on It Repeatedly: It’s also tempting to just keep pulling on your device over and over again, hoping that the force of your breath will force the clog out. But, what this is far more likely to do is burn out your coil, which is getting activated over and over again until it eventually dies.
· Hitting It Hard: We do not recommend trying to hit your device against a hard surface, because this is more likely to break the device than actually remedy the jam.
· Exposing It to Too Much Heat: Don’t attempt to melt away the jam by exposing it to high heat, like the heat of a microwave or the heat of a blow dryer directly against the device. This will melt the plastic materials of your vape pen in all likelihood, and besides that, cannabinoids and terpenes cannot withstand these high, direct temperatures in most cases and will break down.
So, what can you do about a jam? Well, consider these easy solutions below.
Solution #1: For Crystallization
If you suspect that the clog is coming from vape oil that has crystallized, you can apply gentle, controlled heat in the form of a blow dryer held about a foot away from the device. This will provide enough heat to turn the crystals back into oil, without causing any damage.
Solution #2: For a Clogged Mouthpiece
If you think that the clog is due to something jammed inside the airflow channel through the mouthpiece, find something skinny like a toothpick and try to gently dislodge what’s in there until it finally falls out.
Solution #3: Contact the Maker
If you are certain that the issue is caused by the fault of the manufacturer, then your best bet is to call up the company and tell them that you believe you have a defective pen. Many companies are happy to send you a replacement, or even offer a full refund so that you can purchase a new, functional one.
In Almost Every Case, a Jammed Vape Pen is an Easy Fix
We’re not saying that jammed vapes aren’t annoying, but fortunately, in most cases, they don’t mean that you need to throw out your whole setup. Many jams are easy to fix, as you can see, and so you’ll be able to get right back to vaping in no time.