How to Easily Tell if Your Disposable Vape Is Almost Empty

Chris Kendell

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Unfortunately, most disposable vapes do not have a battery or e-juice indicator, so there's no clear-cut way to see the level of your e-juice or the remaining percentage of battery. Vapers, therefore, have to use certain telltale signals to work out if their disposable vape pen is almost done. Below are four ways you can tell your device is nearly empty.

Before you read any further, it is important to understand that a disposable vape pen will no longer work when the battery is fully depleted. And if the e-juice has run out before the battery (which is rare,) you may even start getting burnt hits.

The below points apply to all disposable vapes, including popular brands like the Elf Bar, Esco Bar, Lost Mary, Bang, and so on.

Indicator light blinking

The easiest way to tell if your disposable vape is done is to look for an LED light. If the indicator light blinks 3-10 times while or after you take a puff, the battery is depleted. The color of the light and the number of times it blinks will vary from device to device. If you do not have a rechargeable disposable, and the device is no longer hitting (but blinks instead,) this means it is completely dead and can now be thrown away.

With rechargeable disposables, a blinking light could just mean the battery is dead, and you need to recharge your device. However, if you have recently charged your device and it no longer hits (i.e. no vapor is produced), then this means the e-juice in the device has run out and it is time to buy yourself a new one.

Diminished flavor

An easy way to know if your disposable is close to running out of vape juice, is to get your taste buds to work. When the flavor starts to wear off, and vapor becomes tasteless and dull, it usually means that the wick of your disposable is getting dry. With rechargeable disposables, the vape juice will always be the part that will run out, as the battery can be recharged time and time again. Therefore, if you notice a significant drop in flavor from your disposable, this means it isn’t far from being empty.

However, if you are using a non-rechargeable disposable vape pen, more often than not, the battery will die before you run out of vape juice. Therefore, if your device stops producing vapor and blinks more than three times consecutively, it is ready to be thrown away.

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Burnt taste

A burnt hit on a disposable means that the liquid finished before the battery—if no juice is left in the tank, you may get a nasty hit and maybe notice a slight burning smell. That's rare with one-use disposables, but if your disposable is rechargeable, make sure you stop using it when the vapor starts to diminish and feels dry. And while we are at it, no, you can’t fix a burnt disposable pen. Once it is burnt, you should dispose of that device and purchase a new one.

In our experience, you can also burn the coils as a result of vaping too frequently or too heavily. Taking a little break in between puffs is recommended, and if you feel the temperature of the disposable case getting very hot, it’s time to put the product down and give it a rest.

Small amounts to no vapor being produced

A brand-new disposable vape will produce significant amounts of vapor with each puff. Over time, the battery will start to become less powerful, or the e-juice level will be running low. Both of these factors will cause the vapor levels to diminish until no vapor is produced at all. Once this happens, it is time to turn to your backup vape or purchase a new one.

If you are looking for a new disposable, make sure to check out our top rated disposable vape pens page for the best-reviewed devices on the market.

Chris Kendell

Vaping since: 10 years

Favorite products:

Favorite flavors: Mango and mixed fruits

Expertise in: Pod vapes & disposable vapes

Chris Kendell

Chris Kendell is the co-founder of Vaping360 & Arktan. He started the website with his brother and co-founder Alex in 2014, after Alex introduced him to vaping. Chris was immediately won over by the revolutionary and potentially lifesaving impacts that vaping can have on our society. In his minuscule spare time, you can find Chris travelling and exploring new places from his base in Germany, eating delicious food and enjoying a range of different sports.