Here is a reason for the newbies why the Provari is better, yes I am a Provari fanboy but I have my reasons. I am a fan of Mech mods and the only vv/vw mod I keep is the Provari. Here's the reason why. And for guys who think that you need the VW functions, you don't!
Voltage and Power are correlated and controlled by resistance and current. Even if you keep the wattage at let say, 8 watts, and contrary to popular belief, you will not get the same vape for different attys as the variables are different.. read the article below by gdeal!
Voltage and Power are correlated and controlled by resistance and current. Even if you keep the wattage at let say, 8 watts, and contrary to popular belief, you will not get the same vape for different attys as the variables are different.. read the article below by gdeal!
Watts do not matter. Its all about wire temp. Read on
Yes thats right.
Watts as means for communicating a best vape, or preferred vape only matters if the same product, with same consistent reproducible criteria is compared. Some commercial products have semi-adequate quality control that permit, to a limited extent, such comparisons. Juice type, juice viscosity and a host of other factors such as tank pressure, airflow etc can affect these comparisons as well.
While we have all these factors, for modders and those that use genny type attys there is desire to understand and reproduce one persons set-up and compare to our own results independent of hardware.
There is a growing trend to look toward watts as a way to further refine our ability to explain how to set-up a certain configuration on a mod or atty. I cant tell you how many post I have read that one person has a sweet spot at 8 watts or another that likes to vape at an unbelievable 20 watts. This is a good direction but does not get to the heart of the matter.
What I believe is important to understand is how much power is being applied to our coils and the temperature at the wire level. And more specifically how much power (and how temperature) is being delivered over the length of a coil and the wick.
Let me explain further with an example.
A 5 wrap 32g coil and an 11 wrap 28g coil can provide about ~8.5 watts when we apply 4.1v to the 32g and 3.8v to the 28g.
While 28g requires a bit more amps to drive the same watt level, the amp requirement of 28g can be up to 2x of the 32g to achieve the same wire temperature.
Yes, a 28g wire will be cooler at the same power levels (watt) compared to a 32g wire. (even more so with wick material and juice heat sink.)
So while we are not able to reasonable measure wire temperature with current technology we can advance our discussion, using empirical data to refine our thinking.
Lets compare a 28g coil on a genny vs a 32g coil on a genny.
I am using a Chud. A $15 buck chinese mystery metal apparatus that has a wick hole of ~2.5mm. I am using #500 SS mesh so we eliminate wicking issues.
Using the same wick for both set ups I created a 28g 11 wrap coil for 1.7 ohm and a 32g 5 wrap coil for 2.0 ohm both have the same interwire distance (coil pitch).
The 28g produces 8.5 watts at 3.8v and 10.4 watts at 4.2v
The 32g produces 8.4 watts at 4.1v and 10.4 watts at 4.5v
So while we can match watts on each coil with volts. The 28g coil covers more than 2x the wick surface than a 32g coil.
If we look at power distributed over the wire:
The 28g coil has 90mm wire length and 32g coil is 41mm
So for 28g we have:
.09 watts per mm at 8.4 watts total power output, and
.12 watts per mm at 10.4 watts watts total power output
For 32g the coil:
.20 watts per mm at 8.5 watts total power output
.25 watts per mm at 10.4 watts total power output
Right now, technology does not allow us to feasible determine real life live wire temp. But, from my subjective experience, I get more vapor, more consistent taste from the 28g coil at the same wattage but lower wire temperature. I can even say that at 14 watts (I am using a Provari so I am limited) that the 28g coil producing .15 watts per mm is more robust than 8.5 watts on a 32g coil at .20 watts per mm and the .25 watt per mm at a total of 10 watts.
I believe the reason for this is the thermal zone created around the wire to create vaporization. With 28g you are applying less power per mm but over a larger coiled area. With 32g you need to apply greater power to increase the thermal zone to force more vaporization. However, temperature is not distributed evenly over the thermal zone with the example 32g and 28g coils. Temperature diminishes along its radial projection. So while you are gaining a larger vaporization zone around the wire by increasing power, the variance in temperature is greater. The more you up power on the 32g the larger the gradient and the more likelihood you will burn the juice closer to your coil. If you have a higher gradient of temperature ranges you will have a more vapor, but it will be a mix of burnt taste and just right taste. With 28g vs 32g you can achieve a similar wire temp, but given our atty parameter restrictions, you can achieve a tighter more consistent temperature zone with a larger/longer 28g coil.
So what about those gonzo vaporers who are tricked out at 20 watts? For example, let say they are using 28g with 6 wrap coil for 1.0 ohm resistance. First, they have to have a power source to be able to deliver 4.5 amps. So how are they doing from a power on wire perspective? Based upon coil calcs for this example, their coiled wire is about 49mm. So they are putting .4 watts per mm on the wire. That twice almost twice the power of the 32g wire! How are they not burning their juice? Well thicker wire requires more amps to reach the same operating temperature.
While I only have a source for Nicrome wire temps. (Resistance Wire.Com | Nickel Chrome, Nickel Copper, and Iron Chrome Aluminum Alloys from Stock), I assume that a similar coefficient exist for Kanthal. I assume to some extent the same principle applies. For Nichrome it is ~2x. So if the same principle exists for Kanthal, they are really using the 32g equivalent of .2 watts per mm on the wire. Probable less of a mix of burnt taste and just right taste than 32g, because their vaporization zone will be more dense, produce vapor quicker and their power-on time will be less.
Now that a majority of readers have their eyes glazing over the short of my take-aways are:
- More coil on wick = better
- More consistent/lower coil temp = better
- 28g coil for coil/watt for watt better than 32g
These are just rambling musings while I wait in the aftermath of Sandy for my power to come back on. Thank god I have a portable generator to keep my batteries charged. If this post is incoherent, blame the ethanol that did not make it into my ejuice for dilution/throat hit.
I am sure that the veterans on this forum can explain this better (and more concisely) and even point out the short comings of my logic.
I guess the inquiry here is that perhaps there is a technical solution that is beyond my education and experience and how do we build this into our devices.
