EXPLAIN the ELECTRICAL STUFF, I DOUBLE-DOG-DARE YOU

[brainiacs daughter]

I consider myself a reasonably intelligent person. I am a DIYer. My father was a mechanical engineer. I can figure 6% sales tax in my head. BUT...


I can't understand the ohms, wattage, voltage, resistance stuff.



Please explain electricity as it applies to e-cigs. Explain why it's important, explain what goes with what, explain what produces what.
EXPLAIN it as if you were speaking to a VERY slow and VERY dull child. Explain it with simple analogies/examples/illustrations/what have you. I would be a safer e-cig smoker, a more savvy e-cigsmoker, and OH Veteran! forever in your debt!

 

[TomCatt]

Challenge accepted.


First off we have Ohm's Law, numerous 'Ohm's Law Calculators' on the web, here's one.

Voltage(Volts) = Current(Amps) x Resistance(Ohms)

There is also Joule's Law:
Watts = Voltage x Current

Wattage is the amount of heat given off by a coil at a certain Voltage and Resistance. Using Ohm's Law and Joule's Law, we can determine:
Watts = (Volts x Volts)/Resistance

So with a PV at 3.7V with an atty/carto at 1.8ohms: (3.7 x 3.7)/1.8 = 13.69/1.8 = 7.6 watts

with a PV at 4.2V with an atty/carto at 1.8ohms: (4.2 x 4.2)/1.8 = 17.64/1.8 = 9.8 watts

Running a 1.8 atty/carto at 4.2V results in a 'warmer' vape than running it at 3.7V because more watts are generated.


Different flavors have different optimum wattages to get the best flavored vape. Very generally fruit flavors are better at lower wattages, while tobacco flavors are better at relatively higher wattages.

You can vary the wattage on your set up by adjusting volts (VV) or watts (VW) or using a different resistance atty/carto on a non-VV/VW PV.


Hope this helps

 

[Katya]

Or, in even simpler terms.

Voltage and wattage are often misunderstood by new vapers. It all boils down to the wattage (heat, power) that your PV generates. Wattage = Voltage (of your battery) squared divided be the Resistance (Ω) of your atomizer. If you're not good at math, don't worry, use this easy calculator:

Online Conversion - Ohm's Law Calculator

The wattage you want, especially at the beginning of your vaping career, should be somewhere between 4.5 and 8.5 Watts. Anything lower than 4.5 may not vaporize your juice properly and will not produce enough warmth and vapor. Anything above 8.5 W increases the risk of burning the filler in your cartos (if you're using them) and even some juices, especially the delicate ones.

As my learned colleague mentioned above, tobaccos, chocolate and coffees require more wattage (heat), while fruit and other delicate flavors do better with less heat.

Experiment and you'll find your own sweet spot in no time!

Good luck!

 

[Txrider]

One of the ways I was taught electronics back the day was to think of the wire as a water hose. Resistance is the diameter and length of the hose, voltage is the water pressure, amperage is how much water is flowing through the hose..

Higher resistance is a skinnier or longer hose and allows less flow, lower resistance is a fatter or shorter hose which allows more flow just as with water hoses. But in this case the water is electrons, which generate heat as they flow.

Power or watts is simply volts x amps. Or pressure x flow, it is the power generated or total water the hose is producing..

So to get more power/heat (gallons out the end of the hose) you can either add higher water pressure (higher volts) or use a fatter/shorter hose (less resistance).

For any given circuit the voltage divided by resistance = amps, voltage divided by amps = resistance, resistance x amps = voltage.. it is a direct relationship between these three always. This is Ohms law.

Pretty simple really. If you have say 5 volts, and you want 8 watts of power, since power(watts) = volts x amps you just divide 8 watts by 5 volts and you get 1.6 amps of flow that you need to get to obtain that wattage.

So to get that 1.6 amps of flow you need a resistance value (size of water hose) that will restrict the flow to 1.6 amps and you find that value by simply dividing your 5 volts (pressure) by your 1.6 amps (flow) giving you 3.1 ohms of resistance needed (size of hose). Add a 3.1 ohm resistance coil to 5 volts and it will flow 1.6 amps of current and produce 8 watts of power doing so.

Sometimes it is easier to express watts as (volts x volts / resistance) when you only know your desired wattage and your coil resistance, this is just a simple substitution as we know (watts = volts x amps).

But we don't know our amperage or voltage only our resistance and desired watts.

So since ohms law says (volts / resistance = amps), we simply substitute (volts / resistance) into the wattage equation instead of amps and we then have (watts = volts x (volts /resistance)) and bobs your uncle you plug in your resistance of your coil and your desired watts and solve the equation to get the right voltage to produce your desired wattage using that resistance of coil..

As it applies to ecigs is simple, more watts = more heat, a hotter coil. Less watts = less heat, cooler coil. Too much heat and you get a burned taste, too little heat you get no vapor at all, just the right wattage gives the best flavor and vapor for a given juice in a given device for a given vapers strength of air draw.

Did that help?

 

[Kent C]

Put your hands together like this:

Now rub them together:

EXCEPT - keep your left hand still - that's resistance = Ohms

Keep your right hand moving....

Move your right hand faster - rate of flow = Amps

Bear down more with your right hand - you might have to raise your right elbow that's power = Voltage

Feel the heat:

... that's Watts.

Now put some mud on your left hand - that's gunk on the coil. Not as hot anymore, is it?

Wash your hands in 151 proof vodka and continue.