One of the joys of using a 510-thread battery with a removable cartridge is that when a cartridge is empty, it doesn’t mean the party is over. Instead of fretting about where your next puff is going to come from, you can simply unscrew the cartridge and screw in a new one. That’s the case, at least, as long as your cartridge isn’t stuck. If you have a stuck vape cart, you potentially have a big problem on your hands – partially because you can’t vape until you’ve fixed the issue and partially because you could make a big mess if you do the wrong thing.
If you need to remove a stuck cartridge from a 510-thread battery, the most important thing to remember is that you should be very patient. You should use a tool to remove the cartridge only as a last resort because you could potentially damage the cartridge – or your battery – if you make a mistake.
There are two likely reasons why the cartridge is stuck on your vape battery. The cartridge could be cross-threaded, making the threads difficult to turn. The cartridge also may have leaked, contaminating your device’s threading with sticky oil or wax. In this guide, we’ll provide some tips that can help with both scenarios. Let’s jump in.
Always Be Careful When Removing a Stuck Vape Cartridge
Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, we’ll begin with a vital safety tip. When a vape cartridge is stuck, you’ll probably need to apply more force than usual in order to remove it. When you do this, it’s important to grasp the cartridge by the metal base and not by the glass or plastic wall. If you squeeze the wall of the cartridge too firmly, the cartridge may break – and then you’ll have a big mess to clean up.
It’s also possible twist the wall away from the base, which will cause the cartridge to separate. If that happens, it’ll be even harder to unscrew the base.
Wiggle the Cartridge Gently While Twisting It
Before you choose which method you’re going to use to remove the stuck cartridge from your vape battery, it’s wise to evaluate the situation by examining the cartridge closely. Does the cartridge form a straight line with your battery, or does it seem to stick out at an angle? If the cartridge is angled, there’s a good chance that it’s cross-threaded. Cross-threading happens when the threads on your cartridge and battery overlap because they’re misaligned with one another, and it can make the cartridge very difficult to unscrew.
Try wiggling the cartridge gently while twisting it to see if you can pop the threads into the correct grooves. If it works, the cartridge will straighten and should then be easier to remove. It’s hard to do this without applying at least a little force to the cartridge’s wall, so it’s important to be as gentle as possible to avoid cracking the cartridge.
Use the Cartridge for a Few Minutes to Warm It Up
If the stuck cartridge that you’re trying to remove ever clogged or made a gurgling sound while you were using it, it’s likely that the cartridge has leaked. The sticky oil or wax has contaminated your vape battery’s threading, and it may have thickened or hardened as your device cooled down. The good news is that it’s possible in some cases to loosen the oil or wax by heating it. If it works, you should be able to remove the cartridge without a problem.
It’s easy to warm up a vape cartridge if it still has oil in it; you can just vape for a few minutes. You can still do this, though, if the cartridge is empty – just press your device’s fire button several times until you begin to feel some warmth around the base of the cartridge. If you don’t have a 510-thread battery with a fire button, puff on the cartridge a few times without inhaling. When the base of the cartridge feels warm, try removing it from the device.
Note that on some websites, you may find advice suggesting that you can loosen a stuck vape cartridge by waving a hair dryer over it. We don’t recommend using that method to remove the cartridge, though, because it’s unwise to have a heat source in close proximity to a lithium-ion battery.
Dissolve Leaked Oil or Wax with Rubbing Alcohol
If your cartridge is stuck because of a major leak, you may actually see oil or wax around the edge of your vape battery’s threading. In this case, just warming the cartridge may not be sufficient to get the cartridge unstuck. Try dipping a cotton swab in rubbing alcohol and using it to dissolve the leaked oil or wax. You may need to use a generous amount of alcohol because you’ll want some of it to get inside your device’s threading. Alcohol is a strong solvent that dissolves the sticky substances in vape oils and waxes. Continue cleaning the exterior of the cartridge until all of the visible oil is removed and see if you’re able to unscrew the cartridge.
As a Last Resort, Remove the Stuck Cartridge with Pliers
If nothing else works, you may need to use a tool to remove the stuck cartridge from your 510-thread battery. You should do this only as a last resort and only if the cartridge is empty, though, because there’s a good chance that the cartridge will break. Before you use a tool, you should make sure that you’ve tried all of the other removal methods outlined in this guide because they’re much less likely to cause damage.
The ideal tool for removing a stuck vape cartridge is a pair of needle-nose pliers. If you have difficulty getting a good grip on the cartridge, wrap some tape or a rubber band around the cartridge’s base before you begin. Use the pliers to grasp the cartridge at the base and give it a firm twist. The cartridge should come loose at this point.