Vaporizer Blinking? Consider These Common Causes
So you’re in the middle of a vape session, just minding your own business without a care in the world when suddenly your disposable vape begins to blink. WTF? Why is it blinking? Is there a built-in alien detector that just picked up an extraterrestrial life form standing behind you? Is your vape telling you you’ve had enough? Is there a tornado on the way? Those of us at the Smoking Buddha headshop in Parker get asked all the time what it means when a disposable vape starts blinking so we thought we’d address the issue in this post and clear the air once and for all.
It’s a pretty common occurrence. A person is tugging on their vape when all of a sudden a tiny little light on the side they didn’t even notice suddenly begins to blink. The good news is that it’s not because of aliens or tornadoes or because your vape is admonishing you for overindulging. There are far more prosaic reasons why this happens and we’ll look at the most common reasons now.
Low Vaporizer Battery
Any decent battery-powered device has a way to warn you when the battery is getting low. On some disposable vapes that warning comes in the form of a blinking light. Most disposable vapes indicate how many puffs you can expect to get. If you think you’re close to that amount then the blinking light is probably a sign that the battery has died or is about to die.
In some cases, you’ll have no choice but to chuck the vape when the battery dies. In other cases, though you may be able to recharge the battery. Manufacturers of more expensive all-in-one (AOI) disposable vapes will sometimes allow for recharging in order to ensure you’re able to use all the e-liquid inside.
A USB port on the device is a sign that it’s rechargeable, but you might have to supply your own charging cable. In such a case the cable you use to charge your phone will usually suffice.
Overheating Vape Battery
You could interpret this as your vape telling you you’ve had enough, but the device is not actually making a judgment call. It’s simply letting you know that it’s reached the point where it needs to shut down for safety reasons. Whether that’s because you’re overdoing it or not is irrelevant.
Vapes are typically powered by lithium-ion batteries and they are notoriously heat-sensitive. It’s possible for such a battery to reach the point of “thermal runaway”. Thermal runaway could be compared to nuclear meltdown or a truck that’s lost its brakes on a steep downhill and is out of control.
If a lithium-ion battery is allowed to reach thermal runaway it will catch fire. So the flashing light informs you that things are getting too hot. In which case you either shut the device off or it will shut itself off. Lithium-ion battery fires are not common, but they do happen. Just go to Youtube and search for “lithium-ion battery fires”.
Your Vape Hit Lasted Too Long
For safety’s sake, every vaping device includes a timer that limits how long you can draw on the device. In most cases that limit is eight to ten seconds. In some vapes, if you draw on the device for longer than that it will start to blink as a warning before turning off. If you want to avoid this happening you’ll take shorter hits.
Your Vape Is Short Circuiting
The device does not have a short circuit indicator but a short circuit may cause the light on a given vaping device to blink. A blinking light caused by a short circuit can be very confusing as people try to figure out if it means the battery is overheating, they took too long a hit or the battery is getting low. In the case of a short circuit, it’s not any of those.
So what could cause a short circuit in your vaping device? If you dropped the device that might create problems. If it’s run over or stepped on that could create problems. Or if you drop your vape into a puddle or toilet that could very definitely result in a short circuit.
There are some ‘experts’ on the internet who suggest that you can save a vaping device that’s been submerged in water by a combination of blowing through it and then storing it in a dry place for 48 hours. Some even suggest putting it in a bowl surrounded by dry rice. Everyone here at the Parker smoke shop is of the opinion that if you dropped your disposable vape into water you should dispose of it.
Visit Our Parker Vape Shop for a New Vaporizer
There you have it. If a light on your vaping device starts to blink you now have a pretty good idea of why. It’s either a low battery, the battery is overheating, you’re taking hits that are too long or you’ve got a short circuit going on inside.
In the last case, the smart thing to do is to dispose of the vape and get a new one. In all other cases though either recharging the device (if it allows recharging), shutting it down for a while or taking shorter hits should rectify the situation. Come to the Smoking Buddha smoke shop for all your vaping needs. We’re easy to find. Either search for “smoke shops near me” or call (303) 840-4388.