an electronic cigarette device that either contains an internal battery or has housing space for an external battery. They come in two primary forms: regulated and unregulated.
What is an Atomizer or Coil?
An atomizer is defined as any device that creates mist out of the liquid. It is essentially just a heating coil made from a piece of resistance wire that heats up in order to create vapor out of E-liquid. Atomizers are also referred to as coils. They come in a variety of styles ranging from disposable coil heads to the do-it-yourself coil builds. Pre-made disposable coils are referred to as coil heads. Coil heads are specifically designed for a particular tank or device. Do-it-yourself builds require a little more knowledge on vaping(not for beginners). They are small pieces of resistance wire that is made into a coil shape resembling a spring. The type of wire used, the diameter of the coil and the number of wraps will affect the coils resistance. They are commonly made with Kanthal and NiChrome and more recently Nickel and are considered to be the safest to use for vaping. Coils are measured in ohms, based on the amount of resistance they have. The lower the ohms, the more power they will demand. The resistance of an atomizer is the amount of heat produced by the coil based on battery voltage. Different coils or coil heads give off different amounts of resistance.
How to Change an Atomizer Coil:
The coil in a mod should be changed every 1-4 weeks of usage. A general estimate is about 2 or 3 weeks, you should monitor the taste of the vapor and color of the wick material. If you are getting a burnt or nasty taste your coil is most likely burnt out. To check it further you can look at the wick material(exposed cotton on coil) to see if it’s still a light color. If it’s a dirty grey or dark black it’s likely time to change.
How to Prime an Atomizer Coil:
The first few puffs with a new atomizer can have a burnt and unpleasant taste to it. To minimize this problem, priming your atomizer coil is a good idea. Priming simply means saturating the dry wick material with e-liquid so that when the device is activated, it vaporizes the e-liquid rather than burning the wick material.
What is an RDA?
What is an RTA?
RTA stands for Rebuildable Tank Atomizer. It is essentially an RDA combined with a Sub-ohm tank. From the outside it looks very much like a sub-ohm tank but the inside is where it’s different. You have a build deck onto which you build your own coils. Once that is done, wick your coils, saturate the cotton with e-liquid, and you’re good to vape. It lets you build your own coils but also has the benefit of filling a tank instead of dripping every few hits.
RBA stands for ReBuildable Atomizers. RTA’s and RDA’s are both a type of RBA.
What is a Sub-ohm Tank?
How to fill a tank:
There are two styles of tanks, bottom fill and top fill. Top fill tanks are a lot easier to fill and make less of a mess compared to bottom fill tanks.
Bottom Fill-
Top Fill-
Batteries:
How Does a Battery Work?
A battery is made up of stacked “cells”. Each cell has a negative terminal and a positive terminal immersed in an electrolyte solution. When you put your battery in a circuit, an interaction between chemicals occurs. This causes positively and negatively charged ions in an electrolyte solution to want to move to a terminal on each side of the cell known as an “anode” (negative terminal) and a “cathode” (positive terminal). This movement of ions allows energy to flow to an external device, powering it. When you charge a battery, you reverse the chemical reaction used to discharge the cell, literally resetting the ions back to the way they were. A little is lost in the process of resetting each time. Eventually, the chemical reaction will no longer occur.
Chargers and Charging Batteries:
The first time charging a new set of batteries you should drain the battery and then charge it fully. Most if not all mods have a USB charging port. DO NOT CHARGE BATTERIES THROUGH THE USB PORT IF IT HAS AN EXTERNAL BATTERY/BATTERIES! If the battery is internal the USB port is the only option of charging the device. If the mod uses more than one external battery and you charge it through the USB port it will unevenly charge your batteries(not good). Use an external charger(unless it has an internal battery). You remove the battery/batteries and put them in a separate charging unit. Make sure to keep an eye on your batteries while they charge, you don’t want to leave them on longer than they have to be. Of the several chargers available the best and safest chargers are “smart chargers”. They typically have multiple charging modes, safety features like over voltage protection, and over discharge protection. It is important not to overcharge your batteries above 4.25V or over discharge your batteries. Although most batteries for vaping can be discharged down to 2.8V or until they fail. For safety reasons it is never recommended to discharge them below 3.2V.
Why do mods short out? How do you fix it?
If the mod says short or check atomizer it is telling you there is an electrical short occurring. When this happens, the built-in protection circuit on a regulated mod will kick in and stop you from vaping. Most of the time, the short occurs between the coil and tank and it is nothing to do with the battery or anything else. A short can happen because of a dirty 510 connection, things such as dust or leaking e-liquid can get in the way of the connection. It makes it hard for the mod to communicate with the coil inside the tank. Check and clean your connection first. If you are still experiencing issues after check the connection, take the coil out and clean out the bottom metal piece before screwing your coil back in. The short may have occurred because the coil was not set right. If that does not work your coil may be bad, if you have another try the new coil. Occasionally you can get a bad coil. If you are still getting a short message, then try the tank with another mod.The tanks inside could be worn out causing problems. That way you can distinguish if the tank is now the problem or the mod itself.
E-Liquid:
E-liquid is the fluid that fuels the Electronic Cigarette or Mod. It is what provides the nicotine solution and the flavoring to your mod. It creates vapor in which you exhale that mimics the traditional smoke from cigarettes. Some juices contain nicotine and others do not. E-liquid normally comes in 6 different strengths, none(0mg Nicotine), Extra light(3mg Nicotine), Light(6mg Nicotine), Regular(12mg or 18mg Nicotine), and High(24mg Nicotine). It uses base ingredients to create a smooth flavor. The base can consist of PG(propylene glycol), VG(vegetable glycerin) or both. Most E-liquids have mixes containing 50% VG/PG 50% to 70% VG/PG 30% or “max VG”. PG and VG are combined with natural or artificial flavors to create unique recipes. Propylene Glycol is used as a flavoring carrier in food products. It is non toxic and combined with a VG blend makes a very smooth vape compared to a 100% PG base. The more PG you have in a blend the thinner your juice will be, this is better for smaller tanks(ego pens or 510 battery vape pens). Vegetable Glycerin is a sweet, thick, vegetable based liquid. 100% VG base is very thick and hard to smoke effectively. It is non toxic. The more VG you have in a blend the thicker your juice will be and that creates a thicker vape cloud, better for larger vapes(SMOK). If you get E-liquid that contains nicotine on your skin it is best to wash your hands as soon as possible, the nicotine can absorb.
Mod Safety tips:
Vaping Laws:
Although E-Cigarettes or Mods do not contain tobacco, judges ruled in 2010 that vape products are considered tobacco products. Because the FDA now has jurisdiction over tobacco products, mod products are to remain on the market after August 2018 they will have to be in compliance with or in process of complying with the PMTA requirements. Bottles of E-liquid must be labeled and must have the risk claim, free sample ban, age restriction, photo ID check, and you can not put together the customer’s device or install coils. You are not allowed to say they are healthier than cigarettes. No in house juices are to be made, they all have to be created in a certified clean room and be approved by the FDA.