Adjusting Wattage to benefit coil longevity

[Islandswamp]

I've been vaping for a while now, and I've made some observations.

First off, I started with a smok vape pen 22 and crappy Haus craft collection mod. In my pursuit to try new juices I found one called "Candy Land Roo Dip" that I loved. It tasted like vanilla frosting and it had that super sweet sugar lips attribute.

What I did NOT know about a super sweet juice like Roo Dip is that it was most likely flavored with Sucralose and as such it could gunk up coils in a hurry. That usually left me with a degraded (or terrible) flavor and vapor production after just one day, maybe two. I was wasting a ton of cash on new coils.

Eventually I tried adjusting the wattage on the Haus mod to a lower setting (the Haus mod was the only device I had with variable wattage) . I found that this actually helped quite a bit, although it was still far from perfect.

Flash forward to recent times where I started using my Smok G150 VW device. With this new mod I have found that if I vape at lower wattages it helps the coils last longer, and subsequently the flavor of these delicious dessert juices stays true for much longer. I haven't done any real scientific testing obviously, and this is all just observations and guess work, but I think that sucralose caramelizes at higher temps/watts and destroys the cotton wick much faster.

As a relatively new vaper I used to think that higher watts equated to a better vape. I kept seeing all of these mods that were listed at 40,50,80,100, and even 200 or more watts (with a matching increase in price!). I made the incorrect assumption that vaping at ridiculously high wattages was what I was SUPPOSED to be doing. I now try to go for the lowest possible setting that still provides a good, strong cloud and flavor.

Even when I first got my G150 I wasn't entirely sure how to best use the device. I made the rookie mistake of taking my G150 to the limits of what it could vape at and I realized how uncomfortable it was for me. I'm sure that there are some coils that do work very well at high wattages, but I actually took the time to read up on my coils and saw that many aren't rated for more than 80 watts anyway.

If you're a new vaper, please take note of this if it's something you were unaware of. I could have saved myself a ton of money on coils if I had bought the right devices and used them efficiently when I started vaping!

P.S. If anyone thinks that this would be a good topic for a longer post (on my blog most likely) please let me know.

 

[zoiDman]

The Key to getting a "Good" Tasting Hit isn't usually just Increasing 1 parameter like Wattage.

It is finding the right Balance of All the Parameters (Wattage, Build, Wicking, Airflow, Atomizer Geometry, PG/VG Ratio, Nicotine Level, Flavoring/Sweetener Amount, etc.) for a given e-Liquid.

 

[Imfallen_Angel]

Would you have done just a bit of research or just asked, you'd have found that this is a very common topic.

• All sweeteners will kill coils quickly.
• Some flavouring are worse than others if you get into DIY
• Always start with very low wattage and increase the power until you reach your "sweet spot"
  
• Some coils can be destroyed within a single tank with crappy liquid
• You can destroy a coil in a single puff should you simply put it in, don't prime it and hit it with the max wattage (heck, even low wattage will do it if it's dry)

Temp control can extent a coil's life greatly as it can keep the coil from hitting the "instant gunking" of liquids (as long as you set it correctly and stay under the burning temp of the liquid)

And yes, thanks to a fab of over-compensation, so many mods are coming out as 200W or higher, when one doesn't even need more than a max of 50-70W if they use a decent build.

I blame the SMOK Beast fad of turning people into wannabees cloud chasers, with most not even understanding that they are guzzling liquid like a Ford truck guzzles gas and getting very poor flavour out of them compared to a lot of better choices that uses 1/2 - 1/4 of the liquid.

People build insanely large gauge coils that they then need lots of wattage which in part created this fad, and the sad part, is that a smaller gauge provides more surface, requires less power, batteries last longer, etc. but people can be set in their ways.

I've yet to even bother going over 45-50W all that often with any of my RTA, or RDAs. Once in a blue moon I'll go full "cloud chaser" and increase to 70-80W and fog a room in two puffs, but that's more when goofing around or showing people that it's not that hard to go "full cloudzzzz" (and this is still with 26-28 gauge SS wire).

 

[Grimwald]

Coils usually last me a certain amount of mils. (I use unflavored so I get 100mils or more thru a coils). So it goes to reason that if you vape higher watts and use more liquid, you will gunk coils more quickly. It's math.

 

[BrotherBob]

I could have saved myself a ton of money on coils

Could go with rebuildables (RTA & RDA's) and make your own coils. I vape at the other end of the spectrum, so my coils last for years but I change my wicks like anyone else.
One could equate/analogize vaping a little like automobiles. People who drive dragsters/funny cars, luxury, economy etc. cars, are all trying to get from A to B (great taste is my goal).
re:
"So seeing as I now have some good MTL tanks (Mouth to Lung) and repeatable setups at 8-12W, and some nice replicable juices, I thought I’d set up my predominantly DL (Direct Lung inhale) Bellus tank with a DL setup – dual Claptons 26/32G Kanthal (which incidentally took me three goes to get into the Bellus’s small chamber without shorting, details if you’re interested) and try my two current favourite juices – Pina Colada (AM vape), and Mild Sweet Cigar (PM vape) The verdict? Didn’t taste or throat hit ANY better. Sure it produced bigger clouds (subjectively twice as big?), but used 60W instead of 15W, and a directly proportional greater quantity of juice – I normally use about 1 ml/hr in my MTL tanks, this setup used 2ml in half-an-hour.

Bottom line - it appears you don't need mega coils or Watts for good flavor or throat hit. Admittedly it's taken MONTHS to find the right gear etc seeing as most manufacturers are aiming at the DL market (and why wouldn't they? The money is in the consumables..., but with persistence (/ADHD/OCD) you can replace cigarettes on the cheap... Happy to share what I've learned so far..."
Taken from poster in ELR forum.

P.S. If anyone thinks that this would be a good topic for a longer post (on my blog most likely) please let me know.

It would be a great topic. Funny cars and dragsters eventually crash and make big negative headlines for the ANTZ = Anti Nicotine and Tobacco Zealots and it's not good for vaping.
Any topic that promotes vaping and exposes the excesses that detracts from vaping is a great topic. We need writers like you to carry the message with skill.
There are so many messages (half truths, innuendo, unsupported, purposely confusing/complex etc.) that torque me to no end that are vape negative. We need more blogs to get the truth out there.

 

[Carl2]

"I blame the SMOK Beast" My feelings are hurt a bit...
I'm using the Smok Big Baby Beast and think its great since I started vaping with a Kanger and did not get any flavor from it but was able to get off the tobacco because of the nicotine. I bought the Eleaf Pico that came with the mello tank and was finally able to taste some flavor. Now its the Smok G-Priv that came with the Big Baby Beast tank. Lots of flavor and vapor. I use it in temp mode about 340 F and its lasted about two months with the original coils. For the heck of it I got the TFV12 Cloud beast king, I like but honestly its a bit to much for me, makes a nice spare in case of emergencies. I'm glad they made it though to show what can be done. Anything can be abused and the vids are for show.

 

[Islandswamp]

"I blame the SMOK Beast" My feelings are hurt a bit...
I'm using the Smok Big Baby Beast and think its great since I started vaping with a Kanger and did not get any flavor from it but was able to get off the tobacco because of the nicotine. I bought the Eleaf Pico that came with the mello tank and was finally able to taste some flavor. Now its the Smok G-Priv that came with the Big Baby Beast tank. Lots of flavor and vapor. I use it in temp mode about 340 F and its lasted about two months with the original coils. For the heck of it I got the TFV12 Cloud beast king, I like but honestly its a bit to much for me, makes a nice spare in case of emergencies. I'm glad they made it though to show what can be done. Anything can be abused and the vids are for show.

What kind of coils do I need to do Temp Control with the Big Baby? I've got one and my mod says it does temp control (g150). Although I might move on to another mod soon as this battery seems like it's getting bad already in the g150.

 

[Boompumper]

My 215w mod has never been above 60w. I target 40-50w and can almost get 3 days between charges.

To switch to temp control you basically need something other than Kanthal wire (Ti, NiChrome, SS), some mods may not be capable of using all 3. I do not think Smok makes TC compatible coils.

Edit: Looks like they do make TC coils for the TFV4 and TCT.

 

[IMFire3605]

My 215w mod has never been above 60w. I target 40-50w and can almost get 3 days between charges.

To switch to temp control you basically need something other than Kanthal wire (Ti, NiChrome (you mean Nickel Wire (Ni200) not NiChrome), SS), some mods may not be capable of using all 3. I do not think Smok makes TC compatible coils.

Edit: Looks like they do make TC coils for the TFV4 and TCT.

Corrected for you, Kanger tried doing TC with NiChrome but it was like the same with the Isolo with Kanthal, about all they could do was detect dry wicking, no real TC with the two wires.

Kanthal - Wattage Mode Only
NiChrome - Wattage Mode Only
Stainless Steel - Both Wattage and TC Modes
Titanium - TC Mode Only
Nickel Ni200 - TC Mode Only

 

[kiba]

Switching over to TC will extend the life of your coils, but with the amount of sweetener in commercial juices they'll still gunk up after a few days...

If you plan on using juices with a lot of sucralose, it might be time to look into rebuilding, that way you can swap your wicks/coils for pennys. In an rba you can also use materials that are superior for TC (NiFe's, SS 430) but aren't ever going to be available in drop in coils bc they seem to have settled for ni200, Ti and SS 316 which you can find a factory setting for on pretty much any TC mod.

My advice, start with TC and see how that goes, & set the wattage for your coils optimal heat flux. With TC your wattage won't continue to ramp up and cook crap all over your wick & coil.

 

[SteveS45]

I vape many stock coils at lower than recommended wattage and not to prolong coil life, I do it for the flavor and a smoother cool vape that I like. The benefit of extending coil life is a side effect.

 

[go_player]

What I did NOT know about a super sweet juice like Roo Dip is that it was most likely flavored with Sucralose and as such it could gunk up coils in a hurry.

I don't mean to derail too much, but I think it's worth noting that mixing your own juice is one of the best ways to extend, or at least have some control over, the life of factory coils, and this is probably truer the more you like your juice sweetened.

There's certainly some gunky sweetener in a lot of the flavors commonly used in DIY, but generally far less than there is in commercial juice, a lot of which uses those flavors and then adds Sucralose in much higher levels than the flavors contain.

I mix a lot of fruits, berries, etc., and even though some of them are a bit sweet, my factory coils last forever- like five to ten times as long as they would with lots of commercial juice, much of which I find sickeningly sweet. I rarely feel the need to add sweetener to what I mix, but if you like really sweet juice there are sweeteners that don't gunk coils.

 

[Frenchfry1942]

The industry really pushes the power increasing which pushes everything else to increase.

It is a very broad hobby. I was a smoker and vaping is worlds of more options to get Nic. After about 6 months I switched to rebuildables and it seemed so much better than factory coils. I also think factory coils/atomizers have got better, but I have never used one since switching.

After about two years I started DIYing which gave me a lot more options with the juice I vape.

As said, getting good flavor is not just what is in the juice.

A big world. A lot of reading and experimenting.

Good luck!