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Well, I can get very basic LOL. RMS = mean whereas AVG = average. It has to do with how the power is output. Mean is better. And that is all I know!
It's fairly simple- I'll give you some basics.
RMS measurement, is more accurate in predicting the actual power delivered to the atomizer. For instance, a 4.1 volt RMS measurement will deliver 5.6 watts to a 3.0 ohm atomizer- and that is around the same for a mod (like the Provari) that delivers non-pulsed DC to the atomizer.
Where VAVG will deliver significantly more wattage at the same apparent displayed voltage.
The reason RMS is preferable is two fold:
1. Simple accuracy.
2. More suitable for low watt vapers or low resistance users who need to pull the volts back a long way.
Thanks. I get "mean" vs. "average". But for instance, I was looking at a Bamboo (which I gather is a Vamo) APV from Health Cabin, and they say right on the site that though one can switch from RMS to AVG status, AVG will likely damage the atomizer, so the recommendation is to use RMS only.
So what's the point of having the option?
So what's the point of having the option?
Because early VAVG mods like the vmax were popular with extreme high watt vapors- and when they were caught using VAVG the extreme high watt vapers were VERY vocal about wanting the option. So they left the option in.
But RMS is best for most people.
Ah, this makes sense now. Thanks! What this means for me, then, is that I don't have to think about it at all, since I'm not chasing the "ultimate vape" or anything like that. I'm just chasing the ultimate decent vape in terms of quality, safety, lowest disposable component factor and simplicity.
I LUV my simple, constant voltage Provape-1, and I'll probably bypass all of this VW stuff and just get a Provari when my wallet gets fattened up again.
Great question! I've been tracking on the same issue. Suppose it doesn't really matter in a "real-world sense", because we can just adjust the settings till we hit our sweet-spot vapor and flavor for the juice and atty we are using and who really cares what wattage or voltage it's set to, right? IDK, I still want the voltage tuning on the chip-set to be accurate because I think that plays a critical part in the wattage calculations in the mod, especially PWM mods. Been watching and waiting for an affordable Variable Wattage mod that has the voltage tuning set correctly for the wattage function to work accurately. The VAMO may have nailed it.
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The problem with some mods that use VAVG is that you may have trouble getting a vape below 7 or more watts. Most vapers are in the 6-7 watt range. And many cartos burn badly above 7 watts.
RMS got added to recent mods because the displayed settings didn't match the output when firing. The mods were set with AVG - an average. After feedback on the Zmax 1 a second Zmax was released which had RMS - so the voltage and wattage were accurate.
Since then mods have been released with both AVG and RMS. AVG hits higher than the setting displayed - there are some people who like this. RMS gives you an accurate hit.
There's not a lot of point in having AVG really, its a leftover from before the RMS improvement was added.
Also I think its important to remember that these new devices - e.g. Zmax, Vamo - are not just variable wattage. They are variable voltage and variable wattage. With RMS they provide the user with accurate variable voltage and accurate variable wattage. We can expect to see more of these types of APVs being released. The Tesla is another one coming in January.
The real development is adding RMS to these mods and that vv and vw are both on the same device.
Since then mods have been released with both AVG and RMS. AVG hits higher than the setting displayed - there are some people who like this. RMS gives you an accurate hit.
There's not a lot of point in having AVG really, its a leftover from before the RMS improvement was added.
Also I think its important to remember that these new devices - e.g. Zmax, Vamo - are not just variable wattage. They are variable voltage and variable wattage. With RMS they provide the user with accurate variable voltage and accurate variable wattage. We can expect to see more of these types of APVs being released. The Tesla is another one coming in January.
The real development is adding RMS to these mods and that vv and vw are both on the same device.
I like to look at it this way. Sorry this comes from my Car Audiophile thinking. When you go to a place like Walmart or something similar, you see all these amps that say they are 500watt amplifiers, they do this to get the user's attention. You will hardly ever see that 500 watts since the true nominal reading, RMS, would be around 250. I personally think the Chinese were putting this chip out to make it look like it was out performing others VV mods on the market. You can't cheat Ohm's law and I think they were banking on people not seeing this. It bit them in the ... after people started to find this out.
I love what you do cozzi and we met at the last Vapercon and I watch your videos all the time but I don't agree with you when you say "many cartos burn badly above 7 watts" I run my cartos at 10 watts all the time and I never run into problems. They last me weeks at a time. Granted, they are always in a tank so they are always wet, that would make a difference.
The way I see it, if I set my device to perform at a specific voltage or wattage, I want it to stay there, that is why I would only use the RMS setting.
I love what you do cozzi and we met at the last Vapercon and I watch your videos all the time but I don't agree with you when you say "many cartos burn badly above 7 watts" I run my cartos at 10 watts all the time and I never run into problems. They last me weeks at a time. Granted, they are always in a tank so they are always wet, that would make a difference.
The way I see it, if I set my device to perform at a specific voltage or wattage, I want it to stay there, that is why I would only use the RMS setting.
Thanks for the info above. Yeah, had the same questions as the OP and was curious if the chip's voltage tuning is set to Vavg vs Vrms, will that affect the wattage calculations in PWM mods that have a variable wattage function? Seen a few comments and reviews from folks on the ZMax threads that those do hit harder than their other VV mods at the same voltage settings. Been holding out till I learned more about this. Valid concern, or am I reading too much into this? Wondering if anyone owns a ZMax and a VAMO and has tested wattage settings with the same atty and juice setups side-by-side and if there is a difference? Thank you for the info folks, learned a ton on this forum.
Hi dB,
Yes, there's a difference bewteen AVG and RMS. When reading the Zmax threads keep in mind some were about the Zmax1 which didn't have RMS, and some are about the Zmax2 which does have RMS. The Zmax 1 hits harder because it only has AVG. The Zmax 2 can be set to RMS and is accurate. It doesn't hit harder than it should. I have both a version 1 and version 2 and know the difference.
The Vamo is also fine in RMS. I have two of those.
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That's really is good news. Glad to see some decent and affordable VW mods finally hitting the streets. Thanks 
Simplified Explanation
AVG averages the voltage to determine how much to apply to reach setpoint. Useful in a constant output device like all of our original PVs and in VV using a POT (potentiometer) to regulate voltage.
RMS uses the square ROOT of the MEAN of the SQUARE'd average of PWM (pulse width modulated) or AC (alternating current) supplied voltage. You can't perform a straight average of a sine wave as the highs and lows will cancel each other out returning a value of zero. So the square root of the MEAN is used which will always return a possitive number, and the final result is squared in order to in order to return an accurate "running average" over the length of the varying signal.
RMS mode calculates the voltage required to maintain an accurate power output even though the voltage is pulsed to the atty.
If you use AVG mode on a device that applies voltage by PWM: The highs and lows are averaged. For an equal distant pulse wave expecting a 10w output the voltage will increase until the true average is achieved. It can hit more than twice as hard as you are expecting.
Because:
Total Power (wattage) generated is calculated by the average power out put over time.
Example:
10w for 30 minutes and 0 watts for 30 minutes would = 5w per hour average. (In AVG mode, in order to maintain a setpoint of 10w it would output 20w in order to achieve it, not regognising the "off" time).
In RMS mode, it knows the difference between the on time and off time and calculates the voltage required to maintain the power setpoint accurately.
In AVG mode, it doesn't know that the power is being pulsed and increases voltage in order to compensate.
So what good is AVG mode? Use it when you are in VV mode, you should encounter no problems. Also useful for any steady voltage output scenario.
RMS mode is only needed because our power supply (in newer APVs) pulses voltage to achive wattage setpoint.
Using RMS mode while in VV mode: same accuracy as using AVG in VV mode.
A thesis could be written on the subject to explain it in greater detail, I tried to keep it simple so the non tech guy/girl can grasp the basics.
(BOTTOM LINE)
RMS mode for pulsed atty power.
AVG mode for constant atty power.
AVG averages the voltage to determine how much to apply to reach setpoint. Useful in a constant output device like all of our original PVs and in VV using a POT (potentiometer) to regulate voltage.
RMS uses the square ROOT of the MEAN of the SQUARE'd average of PWM (pulse width modulated) or AC (alternating current) supplied voltage. You can't perform a straight average of a sine wave as the highs and lows will cancel each other out returning a value of zero. So the square root of the MEAN is used which will always return a possitive number, and the final result is squared in order to in order to return an accurate "running average" over the length of the varying signal.
RMS mode calculates the voltage required to maintain an accurate power output even though the voltage is pulsed to the atty.
If you use AVG mode on a device that applies voltage by PWM: The highs and lows are averaged. For an equal distant pulse wave expecting a 10w output the voltage will increase until the true average is achieved. It can hit more than twice as hard as you are expecting.
Because:
Total Power (wattage) generated is calculated by the average power out put over time.
Example:
10w for 30 minutes and 0 watts for 30 minutes would = 5w per hour average. (In AVG mode, in order to maintain a setpoint of 10w it would output 20w in order to achieve it, not regognising the "off" time).
In RMS mode, it knows the difference between the on time and off time and calculates the voltage required to maintain the power setpoint accurately.
In AVG mode, it doesn't know that the power is being pulsed and increases voltage in order to compensate.
So what good is AVG mode? Use it when you are in VV mode, you should encounter no problems. Also useful for any steady voltage output scenario.
RMS mode is only needed because our power supply (in newer APVs) pulses voltage to achive wattage setpoint.
Using RMS mode while in VV mode: same accuracy as using AVG in VV mode.
A thesis could be written on the subject to explain it in greater detail, I tried to keep it simple so the non tech guy/girl can grasp the basics.
(BOTTOM LINE)
RMS mode for pulsed atty power.
AVG mode for constant atty power.
Sorry, but that hasn't been the case. AVG in VV mode is not accurate. People were setting volts and the devices hit higher than the setting. This did cause problems for people using AVG in voltage mode - they popped coils.
You can use AVG if you vape by taste and know your own settings.
RMS gives accurate settings in volts or watts. I have used both AVG and RMS - there is no noticeable advantage using AVG in volts mode.
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