The difference between MTL and DL?

[Shepherdsdriving]

Hello all, pretty new vaper here. I was wondering the difference between a mouth to lung and a direct lung inhale. I understand the basic premise, but what difference does it have on the vaping experience? Are there pros to using one method other the other, or just preference? Another thing, as someone who is trying to quit cigarettes and uses MTL I can’t seem to get a real DL hit. It seems silly but could you give me some tips on DL? Thanks everyone!

 

[stols001]

Well for some folks it's just preference. You may not be able to get a DL hit yet because your lungs may not have recovered enough yet, potentially. Too much vape may be making you choke/cough etc.

MTL usually inhale into the mouth first, then inhale into the lungs. Usually higher ohm equipment and thinner vape (less VG). DL, inhale straight down like you were sucking through a tube, sort of event. Usually much more VG, lower ohms, and way cloudier vape.

I think one advantage of MTL is you go through less juice and battery. Oh, and it's usually higher nicotine strength but not always. It can be stealthier.

I just plan prefer it, but really, it all depends. Many vapers kind of naturally fall into one camp or the other.

But, it's hard to DL on MTL equipment and vice versa, so if you want to chuck clouds, you are also going to nee the correct type of vape equipment and etc.

Anna

 

[United States]

Flow and heat.

Direct lung gear is free flowing with big ole air intake. The tip is bigger too.
The sauce gets cooked faster due to less resistance in the coils so the production is greater.

Mouth to lung gear is more restricted and cooks the juice at a lower temperature.

Usually the pre-filled pod system (or refillable) are for mouth to lung so getting a big drag is like trying to vacuum a golf ball through a garden hose.

The pros of the direct lung would be more nicotine per drag and those clouds. Many can successfully stop smoking easier using direct lung. Others prefer a more cig-a-like experience and just use higher strength nicotine juice if the mtl isn't kicking the cravings.

But first things first. You have to decide you are done smoking and mean it or neither will work. Cigarettes are very efficient little b@$+3rds so they are not easily replaced.

 

[JCinFLA]

The pros of the direct lung would be more nicotine per drag and those clouds. Many can successfully stop smoking easier using direct lung. Others prefer a more cig-a-like experience and just use higher strength nicotine juice if the mtl isn't kicking the cravings.

But first things first. You have to decide you are done smoking and mean it or neither will work.

I have to somewhat disagree with those points above. Nic in vapor is more readily absorbed by the cheek linings, nasal passages, and sinuses...than by the lungs. So MTL vaping allows those tissues more exposure to the nic in the vapor, than just blowing right past them with a DTL hit. If MTL vapers also usually use higher nic eliquids, that also helps them absorb even more. I quit a 42+ year smoking habit without even inhaling the vapor into my lungs at all, using only a total of 10mL of 11mg eliquid and all the rest was just 6mg eliquid.

About the "you have to decide you are done smoking and mean it or neither will work"...some people have posted on here that they quit smoking purely by accident when they started vaping. They were curious about vaping, tried it, and to their amazement, they just quit smoking without intending to. Others smoked and vaped while tapering off on smoking until they'd quit smoking.

Some people also relapse at times of stress and have a smoke or 2. They may even do that more than once or twice. They aren't doomed to failure though because of it. That's where the ECF saying about "it's not how many you smoke that counts, but how many you don't smoke" comes from.

 

[Katya]

Flow and heat.

Airflow and wattage necessary to heat up a coil to vaporizing temperature. Thinner, lower gauge MTL coils heat up quickly, while big, low res DTL coils need much more power and time.

And there's no cooking involved. If' you're cooking your juice, you're doing it wrong. The idea is to vaporize it.

 

[Katya]

So MTL vaping allows those tissues more exposure to the nic in the vapor, than just blowing right past them with a DTL hit.

True that. I still prefer loose MTL to DTL, but some people like the big clouds and the sensation. Whatever works. Also, I find DTL to be very wasteful--increased juice consumption, power consumption, huge amounts of PG/VG/flavorings inhaled into the lungs and into one's surrounding. My lungs have suffered enough--I'm trying to reduce the amounts of junk I inhale.

 

[bombastinator]

Pros of DL:
- big clouds, because clouds are awesome dude!
- airier draw,
- potentially higher nicotine consumption with the same nic level of juice.
- Some flavors are only available up to 6mg. In these cases DL is pretty much required.
- Feels less like a cigarette as it requires a different draw
Cons of DL:
- uses a lot more juice. This can get expensive if you buy your juice retail. Most DL vapors wind up going diy because of the economics.
- Uses a lot more battery. The higher voltages required mean you need larger mods and the batteries don’t last as long
- Bigger clouds, because clouds are annoying.
- Feels less like a cigarette as it requires a different draw

Pros of MTL:
- Tighter draw
- smaller clouds
- less juice use
- lighter battery drain making smaller mods more viable
- acts more like a cigarette

Cons of MTL:
- tighter draw
- Requires stronger juice, which is not always as available, though generally costs exactly the same
- Smaller clouds
- acts more like a cigarette

 

[AngeNZ]

Mouth to lung is the same way you smoke a cigarette - and 'usually' at lower watts.

Direct to lung is the same way you would siphon gas - a deep inhale straight to the lungs.

Tanks are generally designed for either mtl or DL.

Mtl tanks have less airflow and produce less vapour. You use higher nicotine strength for mtl, as you go through ejuice a lot slower. Generally you vape these tanks at lower power - 15watts or below. Tighter mtl tanks like the innokin zenith or aspire nautilus 2 aim to replicate the cigarette draw.

DL tanks have a lot more airflow, produce a lot more vapour and are run at a lot higher power - 20 watts and upwards. Because you consume a lot more ejuice - you use lower nicotine levels for this style.

Some people quit using mtl - some quit using DL. It really depends on what style you prefer.

 

[Katya]

The sauce gets cooked faster due to less resistance in the coils so the production is greater.

Mouth to lung gear ... cooks the juice at a lower temperature.

Ummm... Not quite.

The pros of the direct lung would be more nicotine per drag and those clouds

Ummm.... You do get more clouds (PG/VG), but not necessarily more nic. Most DTL vapers go down to 3 mg/ml....

 

[JCinFLA]

Pros of DL:
- potentially higher nicotine consumption with the same nic level of juice.
- Some flavors are only available up to 6mg. In these cases DL is pretty much required.

Nic in smoke is more readily absorbed in the lungs...not nic in VAPOR.

DL "is pretty much required" to vape 6mg eliquids??? Do tell! Gee, I wonder how 6mg eliquids worked for me for more than 4 years then, and many more people, without vaping DTL.

Cons of MTL:
- tighter draw
- Requires stronger juice, which is not always as available, though generally costs exactly the same

WTH?

 

[Rossum]

Another thing, as someone who is trying to quit cigarettes and uses MTL I can’t seem to get a real DL hit.

If you're using gear that's designed for MTL, then that's to be expected.

 

[bombastinator]

Nic in smoke is more readily absorbed in the lungs...not nic in VAPOR.

The science for that one is still somewhat ambiguous. Cigarettes DO often have some very sketchy chemicals added to them to make nic absorb faster which ejuice generally does not have

DL "is pretty much required" to vape 6mg eliquids??? Do tell! Gee, I wonder how 6mg eliquids worked for me for more than 4 years then, and many more people, without vaping DTL.



WTH?

Everyone has a different experience. If you were able to get off cigs by vaping MTL@6mg congratulations. You are in a fairly small minority. Personally I very much doubt you vaped 6mg MTL to get off cigs. I suspect you most likely reduced you nic level over time as most do. I used to vape 24mg nic. I now vape 10mg DL and if I vape that 10mg MTL I am puffing like a chimney.

 

[Katya]

Another thing, as someone who is trying to quit cigarettes and uses MTL I can’t seem to get a real DL hit.

What are you using currently? As Anna and Rossum have pointed out, you can't get a proper DL hit from a true MTL atomizer. But some atties are somewhat flexible, and will let you vary your draw from MTL to restricted DL depending on the coils you use and the airflow settings.

 

[Katya]

The science for that one is still somewhat ambiguous.

Not really. I think it has been pretty well established that the size of nicotine molecules in ejuice makes nicotine easier to absorb via mucous membranes. Same is true for nicotine gums, lozenges and such. You can vape without inhaling at all and still get your nic fix. I know, I do it on occasion to give my lungs a rest.

Cigarettes DO often have some very sketchy chemicals added to them to make nic absorb faster which ejuice generally does not have

The science for that one is sketchy, IMHO.

Everyone has a different experience. If you were able to get off cigs by vaping MTL@6mg congratulations. You are in a fairly small minority.

Agreed. 6 mg/ml eliquid in a cartomizer at 4.5 watts wouldn't have done in for me--and probably not for anybody I know.

 

[tailland]

My 2c.

Pros of DL:
Ever seen these things?

People with lung issues know them. They're made to increase your breathing performance. DL vaping gives you the free 24/7 version of this. Let your balls fly, baby^^

Cons of MTL:
Tighter draw indeed.
I get slight headache after I suck on a restrictive device for too long and too often. But that's just me.

 

[puffon]

I get slight headache after I suck on a restrictive device for too long and too often. But that's just me.

I have that issue also.

 

[tailland]

I have that issue also.

Then now you know what to do

 

[bombastinator]

My 2c.

Pros of DL:
Ever seen these things?
View attachment 790381
People with lung issues know them. They're made to increase your breathing performance. DL vaping gives you the free 24/7 version of this. Let your balls fly, baby^^

Cons of MTL:
Tighter draw indeed.
I get slight headache after I suck on a restrictive device for too long and too often. But that's just me.

*sigh*. You germans and your flying balls.

 

[JCinFLA]

The science for that one is still somewhat ambiguous.

Not according to my doctor, nor the online info I've read about it. As Katya said above, "I think it has been pretty well established that the size of nicotine molecules in ejuice makes nicotine easier to absorb via mucous membranes. Same is true for nicotine gums, lozenges and such."

If you were able to get off cigs by vaping MTL@6mg congratulations. You are in a fairly small minority. Personally I very much doubt you vaped 6mg MTL to get off cigs. I suspect you most likely reduced you nic level over time as most do.

I wasn't "able to get off cigs by vaping MTL @ 6mg"! I didn't vape MTL, nor DTL either. I didn't then, and I still don't, inhale the vapor. I bring it into my mouth, keep it there a second or so and then exhale it through my nose and/or my mouth. See the thread on "snorking". There are others who vape the same way and have no problem getting their nic either.

As far as you doubting that I was able to quit the cigs vaping 6mg eliquids...and suspecting that I most likely started higher and reduced it slowly to 6mg...well, you're dead wrong! When I started vaping it was with a little JoyeTech double 510 starter kit (ie. 320mAh batteries, little short attys, and mouthpiece/drip tip with the white filler in it). I bought a 4-pack sampler of eliquids from the vendor at the same time: (1) 10mL of 11mg Coffee, (1) 10mL of 11mg Mint Chocolate, (1) 10mL of 6mg Vanilla Bean, and (1) 10mL of 6mg NannerBerry. The plan was that I'd use the Coffee only first thing in the morning (to replace my usual smoke or 2 then) and the Mint Chocolate only right after dinner, instead of my usual after dinner smoke). The rest of each day I would vape the 6mg Vanilla Bean and NannerBerry. I tried the 11mg Coffee and Mint Chocolate for just the first 2 days at those times, and I didn't like them much. So I poured the 5-6mL left of both out that night. Next morning I called the vendor and ordered a 50mL bottle of each of the Vanilla Bean and NannerBerry in 6mg. Almost exactly 2 months after starting to vape and slowly tapering off on the ciggies...I had my last smoke. Continued buying just those same 2 eliquids from that vendor, in 6mg, until I started DIY in late November 2015. Have still never even craved a cigarette since my last one, almost exactly 5 years ago!

So, I know what worked for me...whether you choose to believe it or not.

I used to vape 24mg nic. I now vape 10mg DL and if I vape that 10mg MTL I am puffing like a chimney.

I have no reason to doubt you, because I can accept the fact that different people use various methods, different mgs of nic, varying quantities of eliquid, types of gear, etc. to help them quit and stay quit. It's a shame that you can't do the same.

 

[JCinFLA]

You can vape without inhaling at all and still get your nic fix. I know, I do it on occasion to give my lungs a rest.

Yep! There are many more of us who do it and know it's true, too...whether others choose to believe it or not!