If you vape, you know that disposable vapes aren’t cheap. You’re going to be pretty happy if you manage to find a source of bulk vapes on sale, and you’re naturally going to want to stock up. Here’s the big question, though: How long can you store a disposable vape if you want it to still be good when you’re ready to use it? When do disposable vapes expire?
The short answer to your question is that a disposable vape usually expires within about a year of when it’s packaged. So, if you’re going to buy some bulk vapes, it’s in your best interest to plan to use them within a year or sooner. In addition, you should note that some disposable vapes have expiration dates on their packages. If you have a device with an expiration date, you should defer to that.
As you’re about to learn, several factors affect how long a disposable vape lasts before going bad – including how you store it. In this guide, we’re going to discuss all of those factors. You’ll come away better prepared to ensure that your vapes will still provide a great experience when you’re ready to use them.
What Factors Affect How Long a Disposable Vape Lasts?
Although the typical lifespan for a disposable vape is around a year, several factors can enhance or reduce a device’s longevity. Here are some of the most important ones.
- The package may or may not be airtight. The device will often be sealed inside a plastic or foil pouch. It’s also common for the device’s mouthpiece and air inlet to be sealed with silicone plugs and/or tape. These things help to restrict exposure to air, which can cause oxidation. If the device isn’t sealed, though, it won’t last as long.
- How the device stores its e-liquid also matters. In some cases, a disposable vape will have an internal tank that provides leak-free storage and helps to slow oxidation. In other cases, though, a disposable vape will store its e-liquid in a fabric wick. Because of the high surface area, e-liquid stored in a wick may oxidise more readily.
- A disposable vape must be produced in sanitary conditions because any microbes in the e-liquid may multiply when the device is in storage. That won’t taste very good and may even make the device dangerous. Buying from a reliable vape shop is an excellent way to avoid fake vapes, which are more likely to have microbial contaminations than legitimate devices.
- The battery in a disposable vape can experience self-discharge when the device is in storage. Normally, this won’t be a serious issue because the rate of self-discharge for a lithium-ion battery is only about 2 percent per month. In other words, the e-liquid in the device should go bad long before the battery becomes unusable. Still, it’s worth considering that by the time you get around to using a disposable vape that’s been in storage for a long time, it’s possible that the battery will be dead. If the battery is rechargeable, you can always charge it. If it’s not, though, you’ll be out of luck.
How to Store Disposable Vapes to Make Them Last Longer
One of the best ways to make disposable vapes last as long as possible is by buying from a busy vape shop that has plenty of turnover. If you’re going to be storing your vapes for a while, the last thing you want to do is buy devices that have already been on the shelf for several months. If you’ve found a vape shop that’s having a good sale and are thinking about stocking up, don’t be afraid to ask how old the devices are. An extremely low price could indicate that the devices are already close to expiring.
After you buy the vapes, you need to store them properly if you want them to last as long as they can. Keep disposable vapes in a cool, dark place such as a high cabinet that children can’t reach. Your goal is to protect the devices from air, light and extreme temperatures.
It’s also important to avoid taking a disposable vape out of the package until you’re ready to use it. The plastic pouch only reduces the e-liquid’s exposure to air until you open it. Once you’ve opened the package, the clock is ticking. We’ll discuss that at greater length next.
Is That Old Disposable Vape in the Back of a Drawer Safe to Use?
It’s possible that you’re not here because you’ve found a great deal on bulk disposable vapes. Maybe you’ve actually found an old vape in the back of a drawer, and you want to know whether it’s still safe to use.
The short answer is that if you can’t remember when you put the vape into the drawer, you probably don’t want to use it because, as we mentioned above, oxidation sets in rapidly once a device is opened. When vape juice reaches the point at which it’s badly oxidised, the flavour quality suffers badly; the device won’t taste anything like it did when it was new. You’ll likely also find that the device won’t provide a satisfying experience because nicotine loses its bioavailability as it degrades.
The good news about using an old disposable vape is that you probably don’t have to worry about safety. If something about the e-liquid was so wrong that it was no longer safe to use, the flavour would likely be so horrible that there’s no way that you’d want to use it anyway.
Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Store Disposable Vapes in Your Refrigerator
When you look for advice online about how to store e-liquid, you may have seen a suggestion that you can put it in the refrigerator – or even the freezer – to slow down the degradation processes that cause the vape juice to lose its flavour quality and nicotine potency. Although that might work for e-liquid, you don’t ever want to store disposable vapes in the refrigerator or freezer because the extreme cold will increase the rate at which the batteries self-discharge. After long-term storage in a cold environment, you may find that your devices no longer work at all. The ideal storage temperature for a device with a lithium-ion battery is somewhere in the range of 15 degrees Celsius (59 degrees Fahrenheit).
