Drip – What is it in Vaping?

Definition

Drip is the manual process of adding e-liquid directly onto an RBA or drippercoil and wick instead of relying on a tank reservoir. Popular with Australian cloud-chasers, dripping delivers intense flavour and thick vapour by saturating the wick only seconds before it is vaped, eliminating stale juice and allowing instant flavour changes. Unlike a disposable vape, a drip-ready atomiser must be opened each time; users pull off the drip tip, drip 5-15 drops onto the coil, then inhale DTL style.

Technical Details

Dripping is performed on rebuildable dripping atomisers (RDAs) that expose the coil deck through the top cap. Standard 24 mm RDAs hold 5-10 drops (≈0.2 mL) of freebase or salt-nic e-liquid, enough for 5-8 puffs before the cotton begins to dry. Most drippers use single or dual-coil builds with 2.5–3 mm Diameter“>inner diameter, 0.15–0.4 Ω resistance, and organic cotton wicks trimmed flush with the deck. Squonk variations contain a sealed 510 pin with a hollow bore; squeezing an internal 7-10 mL silicone bottle pushes liquid up through the mod into the RDA, combining the purity of dripping with the convenience of a tank.

Usage & Tips

• How to drip: Remove the top cap, position the bottle nozzle 5 mm above the coil, and drip until the cotton glistens but juice does not pool. Replace cap, fire 1-2 primer puffs, then vape.
• Avoid dry hits: Re-drip when flavour fades or vapour feels warmer; chain-vapers should count puffs (≈6) rather than waiting for a burnt taste.
• Safety: Keep resistance above 0.1 Ω on regulated mods; check for hot spots after re-wicking; carry a small 10 mL bottle to prevent over-dripping and leaking in Australian heat.

History & Context

Dripping emerged in 2009 when early adopters modified 510 atomisers to remove cartridges, chasing purer flavour. The first commercial RDA, the Genesis, landed in 2010; by 2014 Australian vapers were importing U.S. drippers like the Stillare and Tugboat, fuelling the local cloud-comp scene. Today, squonking and mesh RDAs have modernised dripping, yet the ritual of hand-dripping remains a benchmark for flavour testing in vape shops across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.