Hi,
Trying to delve a little more deeply into the technicals of e-cigs, and looking for help making the following statements correct. I'm particularly fuzzy about the differences between CE2 and CE4+; and between CE3 and CE4. I'm also looking for more information regarding other methods of juice delivery (feeders, etc), as well as more in depth product-specific theory of operation/design/known flaws/etc information (such as HH 357).
Atomizers + Cartridge:
A traditional 510 atty consists of a resistive coil (typically nichrome alloy, or whatever Kanthal uses in their wire) wrapped around a fiberglass wick. This assembly is placed inside a ceramic and then wrapped in a stainless steel mesh punctured with air holes. A metal bridge in the shape of a U is inserted to provide support, and more stainless steel mesh is added.
The 510 atty was originally designed to work with the 510 cartridge. This cartridge has a liquid chamber filled with a polyester or nylon batting. Around the liquid chamber are air channels to allow vapor to flow to the mouthpiece.
When the atty is connected to the cart, capillary action draws liquid from the filler material in the cart to the mesh and then from the mesh to the wick.
When the battery is activated, the resistive coil heats the liquid in the wick into vapor, which then flows through the air holes in the mesh, and along the air channels, and finally out of the mouthpiece.
The atty and cart both in the 510 system are considered disposable. Atty's in particular can reduce in performance (or, stop working altogether) when deposits from the juice clog up the mesh (poor wicking), the mesh melts/deforms to close the air holes (tighter draw), the fiberglass wick builds up deposits and change the temperatures at which the coil heats to (burnt flavor), or the resistive coil breaks.
The 510-T system introduced a new atty and cart design. The atty no longer has a bridge nor mesh, and instead the fiberglass wick that extends from the coil into a hollow spike. The cart design also eliminated the filler material and juice is filled directly into the liquid chamber.
When the atty is connected to the cart, the spike punctures the cart and the fiberglass wick directly absorbs liquid from the cart.
Cartomizers:
Cartomizers combine the concept of an atty and a cartridge. A resistive coil is wrapped around a wick (commonly made of silica) and then wrapped with a filler material (presumably polyester or nylon). The entire assembly is then placed lengthwise inside of a metal tube such that the coil is in the center and air can flow unobstructed from the battery end of the cartomizer, over the resistive coil, and out the mouthpiece end.
The filler material again acts as a medium to hold excess liquid from which the wick absorbs liquid. When the battery is activated, the coil heats the liquid into vapor, which then travels along the center of the cartomizer out through the mouthpiece.
The entire cartomizer is considered disposable, though it can be refilled many times. Similar to 510 setups, performance can degrade as deposits build up in the filler and wick.
Cartomizer + Tank
To improve the upon the capacity of cartomizers, a tank system was developed. In a tank setup, the cartomizer is punctured with one or two holes and then submerged into a larger reservoir of liquid. The liquid inside the tank provides a constant source of liquid to keep the filler material in the cartomizer saturated. This reduces the chance of having the cartomizer "run dry" and burn. It is also easier to tell when a tank needs to be refilled. Otherwise, the operation of the cartomizer remains unchanged.
In tank setups, the cartomizer still screws directly into the battery, and is fitted into a tank by sliding it through a pair of holes in the bottom and top of the tank. A silicon ring is used to seal the holes in the tank to prevent liquid from leaking; but, has a tendency to wear out.
Tanks themselves are made from either polycarbonate, polypropylene, metal, or pyrex/glass. Polycarbonate is known to react with certain liquids, and can crack. Polypropylene is more crack resistant; but will still "fog up" raising the question as to whether the plastic is leaking Biphenol A (BPA) into the liquid. Metal and pyrex are considered the safest materials.
Cartomizers can be purchased "per-punched" for intended use with a tank setup. Cartomizers remain disposable, but the tanks themselves can be cleaned and reused.
Clearomizer:
While there are many styles of clearomizers, they share a common principle: the resistive coil wrapped around a wick that can absorb liquid directly from a reservoir of liquid without the need for a filler material.
In all clearomizers, liquid is held inside of a tank. A metal column runs down the center of the tank and provides an airway between the air holes at the base of the tank and the mouthpiece. Inside the metal column, a coil is wrapped around a silica wick that extends directly into the tank to absorb liquid. The tank assembly screws directly to the battery, alleviating most leaking issues.
In CE2 and CE4+ style clearomizers , the coil is placed towards the top of the column, which provides a warmer vapor and better throat hit. Since the coils are above the level of liquid, the wicks are long and must wick liquid against gravity. This design have issues wicking thicker, more viscous liquids (VG) and suffers from a problem in which liquid darkens over time because the wick has difficulty drawing heavier particles into the coils. It is also claimed that top wick designs are slower to wick, which may impact performance for chain vapers.
The CE2 design typically uses a reservoir that holds a little over 1 mL of liquid with a single wick and comes in a form factor similar to cartomizers. While the CE2's can be refilled many times; they are meant to be disposable as the atty wears out.
The CE4+ design usually comes with larger tanks that hold 3 mL of liquid or more, and have multiple wicks. Newer CE4+ designs are also replaceable in that it can be disassembled, and the coil and wick portion can be replaced.
The CE3 and CE4 style clearomizers are known as bottom coil designs. The coil and wick are placed inside the metal column towards the bottom of the tank; which produces a cooler vapor. Since the wick does not have to fight gravity, wicks tend to be much shorter. Bottom coil designs do not suffer from darkening liquids.
CE3 designs are meant to be refillable, often needing a syringe, but are ultimately disposable as the atty wears out. They come in form factors similar to cartomizers.
CE4 are similar to CE3 in a larger form factor similar to the CE4+.
There have not been any replaceable CE3 or CE4 clearomizers.
Drip Atomizers:
Drip atomizers are attys that were never intended to be used with a cartridge. These atomizers lack the metal bridge and stainless steel mesh (but, still require the silica wick) to allow liquid to be directly dripped onto the coil and wick.
Rebuildables:
Rebuildables are systems that are designed around allowing users to easily rebuild the components that suffer from wear and tear from cheap, readily available materials. The advantages to rebuilding include using different wicking materials (silica, cotton, bamboo, or stainless steel mesh), lower cost, and being able to control certain characteristics of the system, such as resistance, draw, etc.
Specific Products:
Boge is one of the major manufacturers for cartomizers; but, has recently suffered widespread quality control issues.
Smoktech makes a highly reviewed low resistance cartomizer (sometimes called the "Resurrector"); but, has also been plagued with quality control issues.
GotVapes sells a CE2 known as a Fluxomizer that comes highly recommended.
Phoenix makes both a CE2 and CE3 clearomizer.
Vision makes a eGo Stardust CE4+ that has a replaceable head (containing the coil and wick). The Stardusts are easy to fill, and known to produce good vapor.
Vision also makes a Vivi Nova CE4+ that is similar to the Stardust (in fact, the head is interchangeable). The Vivi Nova receives very high praise and produces excellent vapor.
Trying to delve a little more deeply into the technicals of e-cigs, and looking for help making the following statements correct. I'm particularly fuzzy about the differences between CE2 and CE4+; and between CE3 and CE4. I'm also looking for more information regarding other methods of juice delivery (feeders, etc), as well as more in depth product-specific theory of operation/design/known flaws/etc information (such as HH 357).
Atomizers + Cartridge:
A traditional 510 atty consists of a resistive coil (typically nichrome alloy, or whatever Kanthal uses in their wire) wrapped around a fiberglass wick. This assembly is placed inside a ceramic and then wrapped in a stainless steel mesh punctured with air holes. A metal bridge in the shape of a U is inserted to provide support, and more stainless steel mesh is added.
The 510 atty was originally designed to work with the 510 cartridge. This cartridge has a liquid chamber filled with a polyester or nylon batting. Around the liquid chamber are air channels to allow vapor to flow to the mouthpiece.
When the atty is connected to the cart, capillary action draws liquid from the filler material in the cart to the mesh and then from the mesh to the wick.
When the battery is activated, the resistive coil heats the liquid in the wick into vapor, which then flows through the air holes in the mesh, and along the air channels, and finally out of the mouthpiece.
The atty and cart both in the 510 system are considered disposable. Atty's in particular can reduce in performance (or, stop working altogether) when deposits from the juice clog up the mesh (poor wicking), the mesh melts/deforms to close the air holes (tighter draw), the fiberglass wick builds up deposits and change the temperatures at which the coil heats to (burnt flavor), or the resistive coil breaks.
The 510-T system introduced a new atty and cart design. The atty no longer has a bridge nor mesh, and instead the fiberglass wick that extends from the coil into a hollow spike. The cart design also eliminated the filler material and juice is filled directly into the liquid chamber.
When the atty is connected to the cart, the spike punctures the cart and the fiberglass wick directly absorbs liquid from the cart.
Cartomizers:
Cartomizers combine the concept of an atty and a cartridge. A resistive coil is wrapped around a wick (commonly made of silica) and then wrapped with a filler material (presumably polyester or nylon). The entire assembly is then placed lengthwise inside of a metal tube such that the coil is in the center and air can flow unobstructed from the battery end of the cartomizer, over the resistive coil, and out the mouthpiece end.
The filler material again acts as a medium to hold excess liquid from which the wick absorbs liquid. When the battery is activated, the coil heats the liquid into vapor, which then travels along the center of the cartomizer out through the mouthpiece.
The entire cartomizer is considered disposable, though it can be refilled many times. Similar to 510 setups, performance can degrade as deposits build up in the filler and wick.
Cartomizer + Tank
To improve the upon the capacity of cartomizers, a tank system was developed. In a tank setup, the cartomizer is punctured with one or two holes and then submerged into a larger reservoir of liquid. The liquid inside the tank provides a constant source of liquid to keep the filler material in the cartomizer saturated. This reduces the chance of having the cartomizer "run dry" and burn. It is also easier to tell when a tank needs to be refilled. Otherwise, the operation of the cartomizer remains unchanged.
In tank setups, the cartomizer still screws directly into the battery, and is fitted into a tank by sliding it through a pair of holes in the bottom and top of the tank. A silicon ring is used to seal the holes in the tank to prevent liquid from leaking; but, has a tendency to wear out.
Tanks themselves are made from either polycarbonate, polypropylene, metal, or pyrex/glass. Polycarbonate is known to react with certain liquids, and can crack. Polypropylene is more crack resistant; but will still "fog up" raising the question as to whether the plastic is leaking Biphenol A (BPA) into the liquid. Metal and pyrex are considered the safest materials.
Cartomizers can be purchased "per-punched" for intended use with a tank setup. Cartomizers remain disposable, but the tanks themselves can be cleaned and reused.
Clearomizer:
While there are many styles of clearomizers, they share a common principle: the resistive coil wrapped around a wick that can absorb liquid directly from a reservoir of liquid without the need for a filler material.
In all clearomizers, liquid is held inside of a tank. A metal column runs down the center of the tank and provides an airway between the air holes at the base of the tank and the mouthpiece. Inside the metal column, a coil is wrapped around a silica wick that extends directly into the tank to absorb liquid. The tank assembly screws directly to the battery, alleviating most leaking issues.
In CE2 and CE4+ style clearomizers , the coil is placed towards the top of the column, which provides a warmer vapor and better throat hit. Since the coils are above the level of liquid, the wicks are long and must wick liquid against gravity. This design have issues wicking thicker, more viscous liquids (VG) and suffers from a problem in which liquid darkens over time because the wick has difficulty drawing heavier particles into the coils. It is also claimed that top wick designs are slower to wick, which may impact performance for chain vapers.
The CE2 design typically uses a reservoir that holds a little over 1 mL of liquid with a single wick and comes in a form factor similar to cartomizers. While the CE2's can be refilled many times; they are meant to be disposable as the atty wears out.
The CE4+ design usually comes with larger tanks that hold 3 mL of liquid or more, and have multiple wicks. Newer CE4+ designs are also replaceable in that it can be disassembled, and the coil and wick portion can be replaced.
The CE3 and CE4 style clearomizers are known as bottom coil designs. The coil and wick are placed inside the metal column towards the bottom of the tank; which produces a cooler vapor. Since the wick does not have to fight gravity, wicks tend to be much shorter. Bottom coil designs do not suffer from darkening liquids.
CE3 designs are meant to be refillable, often needing a syringe, but are ultimately disposable as the atty wears out. They come in form factors similar to cartomizers.
CE4 are similar to CE3 in a larger form factor similar to the CE4+.
There have not been any replaceable CE3 or CE4 clearomizers.
Drip Atomizers:
Drip atomizers are attys that were never intended to be used with a cartridge. These atomizers lack the metal bridge and stainless steel mesh (but, still require the silica wick) to allow liquid to be directly dripped onto the coil and wick.
Rebuildables:
Rebuildables are systems that are designed around allowing users to easily rebuild the components that suffer from wear and tear from cheap, readily available materials. The advantages to rebuilding include using different wicking materials (silica, cotton, bamboo, or stainless steel mesh), lower cost, and being able to control certain characteristics of the system, such as resistance, draw, etc.
Specific Products:
Boge is one of the major manufacturers for cartomizers; but, has recently suffered widespread quality control issues.
Smoktech makes a highly reviewed low resistance cartomizer (sometimes called the "Resurrector"); but, has also been plagued with quality control issues.
GotVapes sells a CE2 known as a Fluxomizer that comes highly recommended.
Phoenix makes both a CE2 and CE3 clearomizer.
Vision makes a eGo Stardust CE4+ that has a replaceable head (containing the coil and wick). The Stardusts are easy to fill, and known to produce good vapor.
Vision also makes a Vivi Nova CE4+ that is similar to the Stardust (in fact, the head is interchangeable). The Vivi Nova receives very high praise and produces excellent vapor.
