Formaldehyde and E-cig - What's a safe setting to vape at?

[kenjai1]

Hey guys,

I am a new vaper, new to this forum as well!

So I read up on the NEJM ecig formaldehyde report, as well as the counter arguments against it. Seems like the only thing sure is that if I vape at a safe temperature, it will be free of formaldehyde. As I have forgotten all my high school physics, I want to ask: what is a safe wattage for me to vape at?

I am using Aspire Atlantis 0.5ohm atomizer/tank, 3.6V battery, variable wattage usually set at 20W. Is 20W safe? Or is it too high?

Thanks in advance!

Regards,
Ken

 

[Ou2mame]

If it tastes bad, it's too high. That's pretty much it. You'll know when it's bad.

 

[mcol]

You'll know and won't want to vape it. This is not something you have to worry about.

 

[WillyZee]

I can't help much, other than welcome you to ECF Ken ... I only vape at about 7.5 watts myself

 

[Smeef]

Keep in mind, that test was done with a CE4 clearomizer. They are not designed to be run at 5V effectively. Todays tanks (your Atlantis) are designed to have a higher thresh hold before they start becoming un vapeable.

 

[Ou2mame]

It's really just a scare tactic. They falsify a study and spread it. For you to do any damage...let me rephrase that. For you to potentially do any damage to yourself by creating chemicals that are found in formaldehyde, you would have to smoke something that tastes god awful for long periods of time. It's not like one dry hit is gonna send you to the ER. but nobody is going to continuously dry hit for years on end as a habit to expose themselves to these chemicals to the point of any potential illness.

 

[kenjai1]

Thanks for your responses! I am a new vaper, so I am not too familiar with how to judge the tastes yet. My vape tastes have been fluctuating a lot lately. A couple of factors are affecting my vaping:

- I change juices quite often, not sure if it is the mixing of juices that is causing fluctuations in tastes
- I change my atomizers every 2-3 weeks once I get a metal taste (I can tell metal taste). After I change atomizers, the taste is always a little off at the start, even though I wait 15-30 mins for the juice to settle)
- I cleaned my tank quite often (had to bring it empty on plane rides). But after every time I cleansed my tank, the taste gets a little different. Maybe it wasn't completely dry?

Anyway, how bad is bad? Like inhaling burning paper? Or getting a burnt/off-flavor (i'm getting these) is bad enough already?

Quoting another site: "The tank used was a ce-4, one of the top wicking clearomizers of yester-year for many of us. The battery used was an Innokin 3.0 VV. The voltage that was applied to the clearomizer to produce the increased levels of formaldehyde was 5V or roughly 14-16W. Of course this is not realistic and would be un-vapeable to any human being that was alive regardless of any previous knowledge of vaping."

I feel safest if someone familiar with the Math can show me the numbers and relations! I am vaping above 14-16W! I also want to learn this thing inside/out so I can promote to my friends with clear conscience.

Thanks in advance!

Regards,
Ken

 

[Ou2mame]

The math is pretty simple.

Volts x volts / ohm = watts

The taste of a dry hit is pretty putrid. If it tastes bad then turn down the heat.

 

[Robert Cromwell]

The different taste after cleaning might be due to chlorine in the water. I use pga and or distilled water for cleaning.

 

[kenjai1]

The math is pretty simple.

Volts x volts / ohm = watts

The taste of a dry hit is pretty putrid. If it tastes bad then turn down the heat.

Thanks! How does temperature fit into this? Would it be amps??
Any idea at what temperature (or amps) does formaldehyde form?

 

[Ou2mame]

Amps is the amount of electricity used.

Amps x volts = watts?

I don't know how that correlates to temperature or at what specific temp formaldehyde forms.

 

[Cacique]

You're using a different tank that can take more heat to it, so you are at no risk. Those numbers won't help you because your gear is of much better quality, and would need to be amped up higher than the ce4 to get the same result. You would most likely start coughing and choking on the vapor being too hot or tasting bad before you got there.

 

[Ou2mame]

It's all about wicking. You heat the wick until the tank can't provide the juice flow and then you get a dry hit so you back off a bit.

 

[Thrasher]

skip the numbers, your trying to relate the two and it doesn't work like that what they burned the ce4 with and what you are using have no connection
A clearomizer is 5 to 8 watts
While a sub tank is 30 to 50
Some drippers run at 60 my tank runs at 26

Unless you like the flavor of burning wicks there's not much to worry about

 

[Ou2mame]

Exactly.. You're trying to dance about architecture.

 

[kenjai1]

Thanks for all the helpful responses! So it sounds like I got something fundamentally wrong: I originally thought formaldehyde comes from overheating the e-juice.

From the sound of the responses, seems like formaldehyde comes from overheating the wick, and not from overheating the juice. Is that right?

Thanks again guys!

 

[Susan~S]

From the sound of the responses, seems like formaldehyde comes from overheating the wick, and not from overheating the juice. Is that right?

Yes. Vaping on a wick with limited/no juice -- i.e. "dry hits". Keep those wicks wet!

 

[Cacique]

I'm not exactly sure. Could also just be the atomizer breaking down/melting, giving off metal or plastic fumes.

 

[kenjai1]

Thanks all! I can vape happier now haha

 

[Ou2mame]

It's hard to say because the study was so flawed. The average vape user will not create formaldehyde. If they were in a position to do so their body (cougjing) would prevent them from being in any danger.