Help understanding how vw,vv, and ohms work

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aznsamurai82

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So ive been researching on the form and on guidetovaping.com and i sortof understand the terms just not fully yet so if anyone can help me understand what the three terms mean exactly especially ohms and how those terms work on apvs for example when people say they are adjusting the voltage or wattage on their apv's..
 

DavidOck

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A coil will come - or be hand made - in a given resistance. That value will not change (well, shouldn't, but some things will cause it to slowly drift).

Watts is a measure of power. Just like a 100 watt light bulb will give more light than a 60, vaping at higher watts means more heat and more vapor.

Volts applied to a resistance will cause a certain amount of amps to flow, and that can be expressed as watts.

If your battery is fixed voltage, the only way you can change the watts is to put in a coil of a different resistance. The lower the resistance, the higher the watts.

If your battery is variable voltage, you can change the watts by simply adjusting the voltage.

Some batteries / mods are VW - variable wattage. They do the calculations for you and automatically adjust the volts to hit the user set number of watts, regardless of the coil resistance.

Some are VV - Variable Voltage. You adjust the volts directly.

Since manufactured coils may or may not be exactly what they sold / labeled as, having at least VV is a good way to be able to tune your vape to suit your tastes. Some juices like higher watts, some lower. User preference is the rule, but in general, darker and "heavier" juices like higher watts, fruit and dessert juices lean toward lower watts.

Having an adjustable battery / mod is an easy way to get the result you want.
 

aznsamurai82

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Thanks for showing the video and the extra information i understand more of it now but correct me if im wrong
resistance: lower=faster heating, higher=slower heating
watts= higher=more heat, lower=less heat
ohms= higher=more volts, lower=less volts
volts= higher= more watts, lower= less watts

And for mechanical mods how can you tell how much its pushing out?
 

candimccann

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Looks like you're getting it :)

For mechs, you have to get comfy with ohm's law (v*v)/r=w

(4.2*4.2)/1.5=11.76 (fresh battery off charger is around 4.2 volts, using a 1.5 ohm atty will get you 11.76 watts
(3.7*3.7)/1.5=9.12 (same battery after a little bit of use)

Maybe this vid will help:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6TMvYUJuZw

Does that help?
 

aznsamurai82

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Jul 18, 2013
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Looks like you're getting it :)

For mechs, you have to get comfy with ohm's law (v*v)/r=w

(4.2*4.2)/1.5=11.76 (fresh battery off charger is around 4.2 volts, using a 1.5 ohm atty will get you 11.76 watts
(3.7*3.7)/1.5=9.12 (same battery after a little bit of use)

Maybe this vid will help:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6TMvYUJuZw

Does that help?

Great video it helped me also! thanks alot but im owndering what controls the volts for mech mods but i certainly know that wattage is affected by the resistance and volts im just trying to figure out that part
 

aznsamurai82

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Jul 18, 2013
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A coil will come - or be hand made - in a given resistance. That value will not change (well, shouldn't, but some things will cause it to slowly drift).

Watts is a measure of power. Just like a 100 watt light bulb will give more light than a 60, vaping at higher watts means more heat and more vapor.

Volts applied to a resistance will cause a certain amount of amps to flow, and that can be expressed as watts.

If your battery is fixed voltage, the only way you can change the watts is to put in a coil of a different resistance. The lower the resistance, the higher the watts.

If your battery is variable voltage, you can change the watts by simply adjusting the voltage.

Some batteries / mods are VW - variable wattage. They do the calculations for you and automatically adjust the volts to hit the user set number of watts, regardless of the coil resistance.

Some are VV - Variable Voltage. You adjust the volts directly.

Since manufactured coils may or may not be exactly what they sold / labeled as, having at least VV is a good way to be able to tune your vape to suit your tastes. Some juices like higher watts, some lower. User preference is the rule, but in general, darker and "heavier" juices like higher watts, fruit and dessert juices lean toward lower watts.

Having an adjustable battery / mod is an easy way to get the result you want.

Thanks for the additional info that help me memorize the info more clearly. :)
 

candimccann

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The voltage on a mech mod is not controlled/regulated... you get whatever voltage the battery puts out (which is about 4.2 volts on a fresh charge, settling in at 3.7 after a bit of use, and winding up somewhere around 3.5 when you should stop using it and charge it again).

Why some people go with mechs is because there are no built in controls in the device that might limit the amount of amps/watts they push. They can choose to vape a .4 ohm coil on a mech if they want to. There isn't a regulated (digital/vv/controlled) device that would let them fire an atty at that resistance.
 

cckk

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resistance: lower=faster heating, higher=slower heating

True at least when the voltage is the same in both cases.

watts= higher=more heat, lower=less heat
The higher wattage used with some resistance (ohms) uses higher voltage and produces more heat than the lower wattage used with the same resistance. True.

ohms= higher=more volts, lower=less volts

The higher resistance (ohms) requires higher voltage to produce the same wattage and the same same heat as the lower resistance used with the lower voltage. True if you understand it that way. False if you think that higher resistance causes higher voltage.

volts= higher= more watts, lower= less watts

The higher voltage used with some resistance (ohms) causes higher wattage and results in the higher heat than the lower voltage used with the same resistance. True.
 

Angel Eyes

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Ok, I understand the whole Ohm's law thing (I had better, since I am an electrical engineer!) - but what I am still not clear on is how that relates to the equipment I just bought:

I have a Sigelei ZMAX V3 telescoping, which is both VV and VW, and a Kanger Protank attached to it

was going to order some additional replacement coils for it, thinking they were some standard resistance, and came upon the following choices from Kangertech: :confused:

1.5 ohm
1.8 ohm
2.2 ohm
2.5 ohm

which of those resistance levels would be optimal for the ZMAX V3 and why?

does it depend on the PG/VG ratio of the juices I like?

or advantages and disadvantages to the various different resistances??
 

DavidOck

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Hi AngelEyes,

With any VV or VW device, it's usually suggested to keep the ohms somewhere around the 2.2 / 2.5 range. That allows for greater adjustment on the battery to tune the vape to both your tastes and the juice. Real easy to burn the juice (flavor-wise) with a 1.5 coil and VV/VW cranked up too high. Less of a problem with VW, but still...

Obviously we don't all like the same things, so taste is entirely up to you.

Many of us find that some juices just like to be vaped at higher or lower watts. I like my dark "heavy" juices at a higher wattage and my fruity and/or sweet juices a bit lighter/lower.

PG/VG ratio will have some effect on flavor, but more effect on throat hit / vapor production. And the higher the VG the more viscous the juice, so wicking may become an issue, depending on the topper.

Lower resistances tend to heat quicker, producing vapor a bit faster. A brief pause after pressing the fire button before drawing can side-step that, and it's maybe not a big deal for you, anyway. Just a matter of technique.
 
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