Vaping in the Rain & Wet Weather - Is it Safe?

By Elina Panayotova


Some of the information in the following blog is based on external, third party sources and is for educational/informational purposes only. Such content is not intended to be representative of the products sold on this website.

Your vape is like any other possession – you want to keep it safe, right? It makes sense that you’d want to protect it from the elements, keeping it out of the rain and snow. Nevertheless, ‘can you vape in the rain?’ is a question that gets asked again and again.
 

What Happens if a Vape Gets Wet – Can you use Vapes in the Rain?

To look after your device, and the lithium-ion battery in particular, it’s important that you keep your vape in an area without a lot of moisture – for example try to keep it away from bathrooms as much as possible!

You wouldn’t deliberately get your vape wet, but can you use vapes in the rain without too much risk? In simple terms, it’s not advisable. Should you use – or leave – your vape in the rain or another wet environment, the vape itself might still work, but you can really damage the battery. The worst-case scenario is that the battery malfunctions, but even if it doesn’t, you can significantly shorten the device’s battery life. You wouldn’t leave your smartphone or laptop out in the rain, would you?

Briefly vaping in light rain is unlikely to be too dangerous, as the exterior casing of your device should be able to deal with a raindrop or two. However, if you feel it’s too wet for you to prevent water getting into your vape, you probably shouldn’t risk it, and either find somewhere sheltered or wait until the rain subsides – your device will thank you for your patience! Bottom line: vaping in the rain is something that should be avoided as much as possible.

Can you Vape in the Snow?

Extreme temperatures are not good for your device, so you shouldn’t vape when it’s too cold or too hot. Of course, when it’s snowing, you’ll not only have the issue of moisture getting into the vape, but very cold temperatures too, so it’s not worth the risk. Like vaping in the rain, vaping in the snow is not something that’s particularly recommended.

Cold temperatures can damage the battery – reducing capacity and meaning it won’t charge as well. Even if you’ve bought a really powerful battery, it could go down to 70% of its previous capacity*. When it’s especially cold, e-liquids can actually freeze, throwing a real spanner in the works of your vaping session. Propylene Glycol and Vegetable Glycerin, both key ingredients in e-liquids, freeze at minus 12 and minus 17 degrees Celsius respectively.*

Extreme heat can also damage the battery but can affect the rest of the device too. You risk the various parts of the device bulging and melting – and even ceasing to work – in hot conditions.

Fortunately, it’s not too difficult to look after your vape in wet or extreme weather. You just need to be mindful of where you store it, and when you decide to use it. Bottom line: you can vape in wet weather, but it’s not something recommendable to be doing.

If you are using IQOS, the heated tobacco system, do you experience issues with your device after using it in the rain or snow? Head over to our troubleshooting page, and we’ll help to resolve the problem, or send you a replacement.

_{* Source: https://www.ecigarettedirect.co.uk/ashtray-blog/2015/11/winter-vaping.html}