Over-Dripping – What It Means & How to Avoid It in Vaping

Definition

Over-Dripping is the practice of applying too much e-liquid onto the Cotton“>Organic Cotton wicks of an Open System rebuildable atomiser (RDA/RTA). Instead of the usual 3–5 drops, the user saturates the wick until liquid pools on the deck or begins to seep from airflow slots. Enthusiasts do this to chase denser flavour and bigger vapour clouds, but it risks flooding the coil and wasting juice. In simple terms, it’s “more is more” dripping taken past the safe saturation point.

Technical Details

Over-dripping relies on the balance between wicking speed, coil Ohmresistance, and airflow. When a 0.15–0.30 Ω build is fired at 70–110 W, cotton can vaporise roughly 0.15 mL of 70 VG / 30 PG liquid every 2–3 seconds. Adding more than 0.4 mL in one go exceeds the wick’s capillary action, leading to:

  • Juice spit-back: un-vaporised droplets propelled up the DripTip“>drip tip.
  • Flooded deck: excess liquid shorting the positive pin and triggering Overheating Protection circuits on regulated mods.
  • Flavour mute: oversaturation lowers coil temperature and mutes taste.

Some advanced users employ OLED Screen live resistance readings to detect creeping shorts caused by overflow.

Usage & Tips

To avoid over-dripping:

  • Count drops: 6–8 for dual-coil RDAs, 3–4 for single-coil RTAs.
  • Watch the OLED Screen; a sudden 0.02 Ω drop often means flooding.
  • Pulse fire at 30 W to pre-warm before full wattage—this burns off surface liquid.
  • Keep spare tissues handy; tilt and blot excess juice from airflow if you overshoot.

Safety note: never over-drip onto a hot coil; superheated droplets can spit and cause mouth burns.

History & Context

Over-dripping emerged in the early 2010s cloud-chasing scene when Australian vapers pushed sub-ohm RDAs past 100 W. Competitive “cloud comps” rewarded biggest plumes, encouraging reckless saturation. Modern temperature-control and Overheating Protection chips now curb the practice, but the term lives on in forums and vape shops as shorthand for “too much juice.”

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