Sub Ohm Vaping ... I don't get it

[herb]

@Izan ...

The reason I want to try sub-ohm is not because I'm not happy with the 1.5-1.8 ohm kanthal coil setups that I have ... but because I have the equipment to try it ... so why not.

I have a car that goes 170 but was happy driving at 65 , decided i paid big money for it i'm going to enjoy it and i'm going to drive at 170 from now on , not good , not good at all .

Cops showed up and surrounded me faster than Rosie O 'Donnell shows up at an "all you can eat luncheon buffet" and i got a $390.00 ticket

 

[Hobbs]

Point taken herb

 

[Ryedan]

The density, flavor and cool temperature of 1.5-1.8 ohm low wattage draws are what I'm happy with but sincerely would like to explore sub-ohm to see what it has to offer ... and I've tried ... and tried it ... with MY equipment. And I've tried both Ni and Ti.

What I found:
1) Sub-ohm is said to extend the life and usage of battery and liquid. I've found the opposite to be true.
2) Sub-ohm vapor is hotter and less flavorful at the same vapor density as 1.5-1.8 ohm low wattage vape.
3) The evenness and duration of the draw must be more precise and seconds longer, when sub-ohming to achieve the same satisfaction as 1.5-1.8 ohm low wattage vape.
4) Sub-ohming and a wide bore drip tip dries the mouth and throat out really quick ... not nice.

Sub ohm setups do not have the characteristics for me that you've found above.

You might be mixing up what is commonly considered sub ohm vaping and TC. Both are generally done below 1 ohm, but for different reasons.

General sub ohm started a few years ago when there were no regulated mods that would go over around 15 watts and people wanted more power. They went to mechanical mods because resistance defines the power (watts) in those mods. Lower the resistance and you draw more amps from the battery giving you higher watts. Thicker wire (lower gauge) was required to make those coil designs a good vape at low resistance and the higher power.

Variable wattage mods like you are using as well as most people today don't work the same. You set the watts and the mod creates that no matter what atty resistance is, as long as the mod can handle the combination of resistance and watts set.

In VW mode sub ohm is typically done to achieve the vape you want at higher power levels, but it's not nearly as critical as with mechanical mods. The resistance by itself makes very little difference to the vape, it's just that it's hard to design say a 1.5 ohm setup that will vape well at 80 watts. The higher you take the power, the more evident this becomes.

TC mode changes things. With them you can set a max coil temperature and the mod will lower the watts once the coils gets to temp and maintain it there for the duration of the drag. Most of the mods out there these days that do TC will allow you to set both watts and temperature in TC mode and whichever limit is reached first controls your vape. That is really handy if you want to vape a watt level and only have the TC kick in to reduce the watts if your coil becomes dry.

The thing is nickel and titanium have very low resistance per foot in the gauges we use compared to Kanthal and nichrome, so they end up sub ohm for that reason, nickel the lowest. The good thing here is resistance by itself is irrelevant to a VW vape, wire gauge and the length of it you use for a coil define the vape at a given wattage as long as the atty has no other issues.

Atty design is also important in that you need things like enough air and liquid flow to accommodate the watts used, less of them for lower watts and more for more watts.

This evening I tried 0.15 TC-Ni at 23 watts and 480*F and found that to be as sweet a spot as it gets for me. And yes, I locked in the resistance at room temp. Apparently most settings higher in watts or degrees gets too damn hot and spits and sputters back at me, fowling my drip tip PDQ.

But I digress ... I'm a newbie vapester and MAYBE I'm just not doing something right. With that in mind, I ordered a simpler mod than what I have that is also capable of sub-ohm in hopes of finding what I'm missing about sub-ohm vape.

SOooo, an Aspire Odyssey Mini Pegasus kit is on the way to me. At least I should be able to MTL or Lung draw, sub-ohm or not on the this Mini ... and since there is no wattage adjustment on this unit in sub-ohm ... maybe the algorithm of whatever controls the device will forgive this noob. I just refuse to give up on sub-ohm just yet.

Anyway, here is a pic of my meager collection thus far. I think I've mastered the 1.5-1.8 stuff but the the sub-ohm stuff isn't pleasing to me and I've even tried all sorts of different drip tips and settings on MY equipment. As a noob and considering the popularity of sub-ohm I am inclined to think maybe I'm just missing something.

Any advice hints tips are greatly appreciated. Thanks !!!

The principles of TC are the same with any mod, as long as TC is well enough implemented in it. Most are at least acceptable today and some are really good. You do need to understand it though, it's not plug and play yet and won't be any time soon with today's technology.

There is an active sub-forum on ECF, Temperature Control, that has lots of great info in it. Threads there like this one have a huge amount of information in them.

I haven't directly answered your questions, but I hope I've helped a bit on the topic of 'sub ohm'. What you need to do with sub ohm builds depends on what you want out of it.

 

[Hobbs]

Thanks Ryedan !!! In the morning I will HAVE to read your post SEVERAL times and "absorb" it. Thank you for putting so much considered thought into your response. That is Greatly Appreciated !!!

Izan, this was my go to setup for cigs. I got down to only a pound or so left in the bucket and decided to try vape instead of ordering another 12.5 pounds. Tried a cigarette the other day and it was AWFUL ... when not so long ago, they were the shizzle LOL

 

[Rixsta]

At least the title is correct

 

[Hobbs]

At least the title is correct

My guess is vaping isn't your only hobby? ... you collect glass bottles and little screwdrivers?

 

[Rixsta]

My guess is vaping isn't your only hobby? ... you collect glass bottles and little screwdrivers?

Ah come on, it was only a bit of fun Hobbs but yes I do have quite a few glass bottles full of nic in the freezer and screwdrivers, I'd say I've got the same amount as most.

 

[Hobbs]

6+0=3

 

[Rixsta]

6+0=3

6mg juice, mixed with an equal amount of 0mg juice gives 3mg juice

Or we could go more into it....

((30ml x 6mg/ml) + (30ml x 0mg/ml)) / 60ml = 3mg/ml

 

[Hobbs]

Okay ... I haven't tried all the suggestions yet or even read through all the posts. Thank you guys for the outpouring of information and consideration. Thank you.

Right now I'm on the TC60W @ 30W and 480*F (TC-Ni). The air on the Melo 2 is about a third of the way open. It's pretty nice actually and tweakable !!! Much better than where I was at earlier ... should work GREAT as a morning wake me up nic fix before settling into a tootle kind of day. Anything to keep me away from a good strong morning cigarette !!!

Again, thanks guys !!! Cool ... you see, this is a tool for me at this point. Nothing more and nothing less.

 

[Rixsta]

You should maybe try a nice RDA, really enjoying mine....just a thought.

And congrats on the no smoking, it does get a lot easier

 

[Douggro]

Oops EDIT: Douggro, the .3 Kanthal, I'm still searching for a good vape on the TC60W there too, but have been reasonably enjoying it in the 20-24 watt range.

I've started using a full size Nautilus on the TC60W and run the 1.8 Kanthal at about 11.8-13.5 watts ... about 4.8 volts. Taste good, good vapor density and battery and juice last a while.

That sounds more reasonable to my experiences with the .3 coil in the Melo 2.

 

[edyle]

1) Sub-ohm is said to extend the life and usage of battery and liquid. I've found the opposite to be true.

stop listening to whoever said that





back in 2013 when I started vaping, regulated mods went up to 15 watts.
4 volts on a 1 ohm coil gives you 16 watts.
people who wrapped coils lower than 1 ohm and put them direct on battery voltage got more than 16 watts.
one reason people wrapped low ohm coils is thicker wire is just easier to work with and lasts longer, and it just so happened to also be uncomfortably low ohms.


nowadays there are high powered regulated mods.


I think for some people 'subohming' is more about the activity of keeping your mod squeaky clean for performance.

 

[rekeybobby]

just my opinion and sorry if its already been said but RDA'S i think do the best when sub ohm'ing and it becomes a hit or miss kinda of thing ive tried so many different rda's over the past couple of years and right now im currently using i derringer rda and its been pretty good but if i had to say best ive ever used it had to be the octopus rda modded see the top cap is so thin that i drilled a 2.5 mm screwdriver directly where i placed my coils straight to the other side so the holes match evenly man o man what a great vape you can find them really cheap online maybe 5 or 6 bucks if you do try this think of it as a side project not a answer to everything lastly if 2.5 is to much air flow start smaller you can always widen the hole later

 

[beckdg]

This post is not a slam of sub-ohm vaping. Product releases in 2015 alone, speak to the popularity and "charm" of sub-ohming and to each his own. I just don't get it. Rather, I can't find a sweet spot for MY equipment for Me ... and am somewhat frustrated.

The density, flavor and cool temperature of 1.5-1.8 ohm low wattage draws are what I'm happy with but sincerely would like to explore sub-ohm to see what it has to offer ... and I've tried ... and tried it ... with MY equipment. And I've tried both Ni and Ti.

What I found:
1) Sub-ohm is said to extend the life and usage of battery and liquid. I've found the opposite to be true.
2) Sub-ohm vapor is hotter and less flavorful at the same vapor density as 1.5-1.8 ohm low wattage vape.
3) The evenness and duration of the draw must be more precise and seconds longer, when sub-ohming to achieve the same satisfaction as 1.5-1.8 ohm low wattage vape.
4) Sub-ohming and a wide bore drip tip dries the mouth and throat out really quick ... not nice.

This evening I tried 0.15 TC-Ni at 23 watts and 480*F and found that to be as sweet a spot as it gets for me. And yes, I locked in the resistance at room temp. Apparently most settings higher in watts or degrees gets too damn hot and spits and sputters back at me, fowling my drip tip PDQ.

But I digress ... I'm a newbie vapester and MAYBE I'm just not doing something right. With that in mind, I ordered a simpler mod than what I have that is also capable of sub-ohm in hopes of finding what I'm missing about sub-ohm vape.

SOooo, an Aspire Odyssey Mini Pegasus kit is on the way to me. At least I should be able to MTL or Lung draw, sub-ohm or not on the this Mini ... and since there is no wattage adjustment on this unit in sub-ohm ... maybe the algorithm of whatever controls the device will forgive this noob. I just refuse to give up on sub-ohm just yet.

Anyway, here is a pic of my meager collection thus far. I think I've mastered the 1.5-1.8 stuff but the the sub-ohm stuff isn't pleasing to me and I've even tried all sorts of different drip tips and settings on MY equipment. As a noob and considering the popularity of sub-ohm I am inclined to think maybe I'm just missing something.

Any advice hints tips are greatly appreciated. Thanks !!!

Don't need to get it.

Either it's your thing or it's not.

Find what satisfies you and be happy there. Stick to it.

Don't force another way to work. We have options. Options are good. It's not worth the frustration.

Signed:
Happy high nic sub ohmer

Tapatyped

 

[sparkky1]

Okay ... I haven't tried all the suggestions yet or even read through all the posts. Thank you guys for the outpouring of information and consideration. Thank you.

Right now I'm on the TC60W @ 30W and 480*F (TC-Ni). The air on the Melo 2 is about a third of the way open. It's pretty nice actually and tweakable !!! Much better than where I was at earlier ... should work GREAT as a morning wake me up nic fix before settling into a tootle kind of day. Anything to keep me away from a good strong morning cigarette !!!

Again, thanks guys !!! Cool ... you see, this is a tool for me at this point. Nothing more and nothing less.

Have you tried the kanthal coils ?

 

[Kprthevapr]

Have you tried the kanthal coils ?

I'm not a fan of NI coils...leaves a tin foil taste in your mouff!
Kanthal has never let me down

 

[Asbestos4004]

you should try harder to vape exactly like me....for I've nailed it!

Honestly, if you are having good results with your present set up and you're staying off cigarettes, there's no good reason to keep trying something else. Chances are, your present set up will leave you wanting more. That's the time to branch out. You go through a fraction of the juice and battery power most subohmers are going through. Enjoy it!

 

[Completely Average]

I'm going to just throw this out here and see what happens.

The term "subohm vaping" is used too exclusively, or possibly incorrectly. What people really mean is large airflow, large vapor production vaping, which can be done on setups that are higher than 1ohm.

Rather than writing a long winded multiparagraph wall of text to explain this, I simply do this instead.

0.3 ohms
460f temp setting
21 watts
Aspire Nautilus with a nickle coil

This is a subohm setup. However, it's best as a mouth to lung or low density, light lung hit setup. The battery usage with this setup is similar to using a 1.5ohm kanthal coil at around 13 watts. Using this setup exclusively a single battery charge can last me just over 2 days vaping around 10ml of juice.


That's not what people think of when you say "subohm vaping", but it is subohm vaping.

 

[Asbestos4004]

Maybe I'm to rational...but I think anything under 1 ohm is subohm vaping. Has nothing to do with watts or clouds.