Im quite new to vaping, but know a bit ab electronics/circuitry. Higher ohms/resistance is harder for voltage to flow through, the harder it must push, the more heat generated. Right? It seems obvious that the less resistance the easier the current flows, and esaier flow would make less heat. I really hope someone can help me make sense of this.
need help understanding ohms, ive read explainations but must be missing something
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You actually need higher voltage with a higher ohm coil to get the same vape as a lower voltage with a lower ohm coil. I think at the beginning, when people first started making homemade mods they were high voltage and ran high ohm coils, then, in order to duplicate that vape with low voltage batteries the low ohm coils came into existence. The main reason to have different ohm coil choices was because the batteries were a fixed voltage, that way you could get the vape you wanted by changing the coil, then came VV followed by VW, which you can do the same thing without changing the coil.
Here is the best explanation I have found I use to be an Electronics Tech. Another analogy is to think of electricity as water. If you have a pipe or hose that is 3 " in diameter it will carry more water over time than one that is 1" in diameter. Voltage is pressure of the water and Amperage is the amount of water that flows during a period of time so amps are Gallons per hour.
I love that image haha.
Its actually the Wattage (power) which determines heat. Power is the amount of energy (heat) per unit of time. Heres a good explanation:
"Q = I^2 Rt
Q is for the energy exchange from electrical potential energy into thermal energy.
I is the current.
R is the resistance.
t is for the amount of time the current is flowing. "
You're on the right path. I agree with the "water flow" analogy. Smaller pipe (i.e. gauge of wire), harder to push CURRENT through. Only one factor of V=IR or W=V²/R can vary, while the other two must remain fixed. If you fix resistance (coil - at 2Ω) and wattage (say 8 W), your voltage drop MUST be 4 volts. Therefore, V=IR yields 2A current flowing through coil. Back to the pipe reference - if you have a 2Ω coil made of 32g wire, it's thinner wire compared to 28g wire. The 32g wire will heat much more quickly because it's harder to push that same 2A current through it compared to the 28g wire. It's still allowing the same amount of current to flow overall, but the thinner wire will heat more quickly (and possibly burn more easily.)
Taking two coils made from the same gauge wire, but changing the resistance, say a 1.5Ω coil, you'll draw less current (8W = Volts²/1.5Ω -> about 3.46A) which yields a cooler vape (and shouldn't drain the battery as quickly)
So all-in-all, you've got the basics regarding heat and resistance. Long story short, it's about finding the "vaping nirvana" spot that works best for you. I'm finding 1.7-1.8Ω coils at about 3.9V (or about 8-8.5W) on my MVP seems to be my happiest place. YMMV
To make it a little bit clearer it is not the number of electrons that flow through the coil that counts, it is how much of a tough time they have getting through.
Take a nice big wire, 10 gauge, and make it out of a good conductor, copper, use some high voltage, 110, and you have household wiring. LOTS of electrons flow through and, if you don't trip the breaker, it does not get hot.
Take a smaller wire, 28 gauge, and middling conductor, Kanthal, and some middling voltage, 3.7, and not nearly as many electrons flow but it does get hot.
In the house with the big pipe the electrons just zip through, they have plenty of room to avoid hitting each other or the stuff that makes up the wire. They arrive at the other end with almost all their energy.
In tight pipe the electrons hit each other and the stuff that makes up the wire. When they arrive at the other end they have used a lot of their energy just getting through the wire. Every time they bump something the thing they hit vibrates a little more than before and the electron looses a bit of energy. The happens a LOT of times and you turn the electric energy into heat. The wire gets hot.
The house wire also does get hot, just a tiny bit so you do not notice it and it is radiated into the surroundings about as fast as it is created. If you put too many electrons through the house wire, a short or 7 hair dryers, house wiring will get hot. In a house the circuit breaker is a weak point in the circuit and it opens before the wire gets too hot.
Take a nice big wire, 10 gauge, and make it out of a good conductor, copper, use some high voltage, 110, and you have household wiring. LOTS of electrons flow through and, if you don't trip the breaker, it does not get hot.
Take a smaller wire, 28 gauge, and middling conductor, Kanthal, and some middling voltage, 3.7, and not nearly as many electrons flow but it does get hot.
In the house with the big pipe the electrons just zip through, they have plenty of room to avoid hitting each other or the stuff that makes up the wire. They arrive at the other end with almost all their energy.
In tight pipe the electrons hit each other and the stuff that makes up the wire. When they arrive at the other end they have used a lot of their energy just getting through the wire. Every time they bump something the thing they hit vibrates a little more than before and the electron looses a bit of energy. The happens a LOT of times and you turn the electric energy into heat. The wire gets hot.
The house wire also does get hot, just a tiny bit so you do not notice it and it is radiated into the surroundings about as fast as it is created. If you put too many electrons through the house wire, a short or 7 hair dryers, house wiring will get hot. In a house the circuit breaker is a weak point in the circuit and it opens before the wire gets too hot.
Kanthal IS a Resistance Wire. It is made to heat up. It is used in things like toasters and hair driers. It is not the same as copper or aluminum wire. The same gauge copper wire when wrapped in a coil the same as Kanthal and the same volts applied to it wouldn't heat up the same. In fact it would basically be a Dead Short and probably either fry your APV or make the battery get really hot or it would just melt.
Ohms is the scale used to gauge the resistance of any electrical substance or circuit. Nothing hard about it unless you try to read more into it.
Ohms is the scale used to gauge the resistance of any electrical substance or circuit. Nothing hard about it unless you try to read more into it.
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