New vapers have a lot of questions but perhaps one of the weirder ones is whether or not is possible to vape pure water. Some even go as far as to wonder the same about alcohol. In all fairness, this probably has a lot to do with the fact that common vaping suspension liquids are called Propylene Glycol and Vegetable Glycerin, which sounds rather chemical and therefore ominous. Water, on the other hand, we’re familiar with so it’s only natural to wonder if we can vape it as well as drink it.
The short answer to these question is yes – both water and alcohol can be vaped. In fact, some vape juices are already cut with water (and DIYers used to cut theirs with vodka) to decrease their thickness. However, why you would choose to vape pure water or alcohol is beyond me. It would mean inhaling very hot steam, which could potentially cause injuries to your mouth. So, theoretically, yes, you could vape both alcohol and water but they are just too ‘watery’ to provide a satisfactory vaping experience.
Vaping Pure Water – A Definite Nay
As I’ve mentioned, water is sometimes used to dilute high VG juices so they wick more easily. VG is very viscous and some tanks have trouble wicking if a vape juice is not cut with something else. That something else is usually PG but people who have a PG allergy will go with distilled water. The amount is usually around 5 to 10% – the maximum being 15% and certainly nothing higher than that.
However, if you still want to try it there are some things you need to keep in mind. No, it’s not pulmonary edema or pleural effusion – vaping a bucket of water won’t harm your healthy lungs because they have a way of dealing with steam. Your problems will be of a more practical nature.
- Vaping water produces water vapor – that’s pretty much it. It condenses when it hits your mouth but it’s still hot so there’s a decent chance that it will burn your lips, tongue, and pharynx. It probably won’t harm your alveoli but if you keep at it, who knows! In addition, water hitting a hot coil will make your tank sound as if it is about to explode. There’s also a chance that hot droplets will fly out through the chimney and burn your lips some more – just for the fun of it!
- Vaping water won’t even seem like vaping (the psychological effect) – once inhaled, water quickly cools down so if you’re doing it for the huge clouds, you will be disappointed. What comes out is usually nothing or so adjacent to nothing that it makes no difference.
- Water is not very good at carrying flavors – if you plan to add any flavorings to your ‘vape water’ don’t expect them to do much. You might get a slight whiff of the flavor but that’s about it.
In essence, yes, you can vape 100% pure water. However, I wouldn’t really advise it. If you have a thing for hot, moist air you would be better off investing in a good humidifier.
Vaping Alcohol – Apparently, It’s Already a Thing
Yes, vaping alcohol is already a thing. Luckily, this new fad doesn’t involve vape tanks or even the vape community but I’ll come to that in a minute.
Presumably, the only reason why someone would vape alcohol is to get buzzed. I can totally get behind that reason. However, while possible, vaping alcohol to get drunk is also exhausting (yes, I investigated!). If you get drunk from a couple of ounces of vodka, you would probably need to vape around 60 ml of it to feel anything. Granted, you would be bypassing your liver so the buzz would be different (faster, more potent, and slightly more groggy) but still – that’s a lot of trouble to go through to get drunk, especially when you could just chug down half a bottle in mere minutes.
Everything that applies to vaping water applies to vaping alcohol as well. It would be messy, hot, and probably painful. There’s really no reason to go through with it when the real deal is just so much better.
If you really want to give it a try, I recommend Vaportini. It recently hit the market and it’s a method of vaping alcohol that involves glass beakers, glass straws, and burning candles. Thankfully, it’s as removed from real mod+tank vaping as humanly possible.
Back in the day, vodka was used to dilute high VG vape juices as well. Apparently, the result was a vape with a slightly stronger throat hit. Some vapers might still be doing it but I haven’t encountered anyone walking around with a 5ml tank filled with Absolute.
Well, yet anyway.
Conclusion – Drink Water (and Alcohol in Moderation) But Vape On PG and VG
While possible, vaping on pure water and even alcohol doesn’t really bring anything to the table. If nothing, it might be a sure fire way to hurt your lips and mouth. If you’re thinking about it, my suggestion would be to give it a pass and stick to good old PG/VG vape juices.
I’d love to hear your thoughts about this topic. Did you ever try filling your vape tank with pure water or alcohol? If you did, how did it go? Drop down to the comment section and let me know – I’m sure we can laugh about it now! Or not?