The Variable Wattage and Variable Voltage debate.

[p.opus]

I've always wondered about the passion this debate brings up and could never understand it until I had an epiphany.

I think where one stands on this debate lies not with which one is "better" but rather where the user comes from?

Let me explain.

Users who are coming from variable voltage batteries to a variable wattage battery don't really see any difference or clear advantage. They are already used to tweaking their device for flavor. They tweak for flavor when they change juices and they tweak for flavor when they change tanks. They have developed a habit of tweaking and thus when they move to a variable wattage mod, they continue the habit of tweaking. It's in their nature. Thus adjusting volts/watts, what's the difference? The point is if you have been a long time user of an eGo Twist, Spinner, ProVari or other variable voltage mod, tweaking has become second nature to you.

Users coming straight from a static voltage battery are different. We are not in the habit of "tweaking". We filled our tanks or cartos or whatever and vaped them. We accepted what we got, so we never got in the habit of tweaking. When we go to a Variable Wattage capable battery, we find a wattage we like and then keep it there. We are not in the habit of adjusting our battery, so after we find a setting we like, we basically treat it just like the static voltage battery we came from.

That has been my experience. When I was considering buying a ProVari around Christmas, I put my MVP 2 into VV mode. I didn't like it. I found my self adjusting the battery all the time. It was a habit I was not used to doing. I went straight from an Ego-T into a VV3/MVP2, so I had done a minimal of adjustment on my battery. I found the adjustments required in VV mode to be distracting and annoying.

Having had no experience with a VV battery, I set mine to 7.0 watts and forget it. I never adjust my battery even between tanks or juice changes unless I taste a 'burnt flavor". VV people will tell me I'm "missing out" by not finding the sweet spot for each of my juices. And that is probably the case. But I prefer to find a nice "middle ground" for everything and then be done with it.

So I really think your position of Variable Wattage and Variable Voltage has more to do with where you as a vaper are coming from than which one is really better. A person who has a long history of adjusting a VV battery for taste, will continue to do so even if they use VW. A person who has no previous experience of using a VV battery will appreciate VW much more because they can, like I do, set and forget it.

Any opinions?

 

[pcrdude]

You asked....



I have multiple VW devices, but I tend to use the same resistance in all of my coils, almost always vape 50/50, and like everything to work on an unregulated or 3.7 V regulated fatbatt as well as my mods.

Therefore, I prefer to adjust my vape by voltage.

OTOH, if I was particular enough, I might have a variety of coil resistances, optimal VG/PG blends, and just "liked" a certain "heat level", I might just go more to VW.

I guess I'm just an ametuer, but I don't mind.

Also, I like to see my vapor, but don't chase clouds or do sub-ohm.

For example, today I am vaping Midnight Cherry from Ahlusion @ 50/50 18 mg/ml in an EVOD using a 2.5 ohm coil and a 450 mAh unregulated mini eGo-style battery (I think SMOKEtec made it). So, I am running at approximately 5.5 watts after the initial few hits at close to 7 watts.....

Thing is, I get excellent vapor and flavor....

YMMV

 

[Ld3441]

VV gal here.
I like different juices at different settings. VW would never work for me. If I used the same juice all the time I could see going to VW but that is not the case for me.

 

[Cookster]

Great theory! I'm a tweaker

 

[Topacka]

Doesn't matter what I'm using (usually) I just crank it all the way up. Don't use clearos because I think they're awful, and I don't put my cartos above 12w, because they'll burn

 

[Grimmda]

I have an mvp2 foe less than a week from some VV twists and I definitely tweaked my volts depending on the juice I had as mine vary greatly. Last night I tried learning about VW and do not get it. One other question I have is how do I know if my MVP is in VV mode or VW mode. I am tweaking my volts on it and notice the difference.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[CrazyDamon]

Have an Itaste vv but VW just doesn't taste the same, so I just stick with the VV. Better vape.

 

[DetraMental]

I do either or since I have both the vv/vw and the vv. It makes do difference to me as long as I find the "sweet spot" for my juices. Since I have so many devices now I can leave my vw at the set amount using the same juice because I'll put a different juice on another device and tweak it for flavor.

 

[p.opus]

I have an mvp2 foe less than a week from some VV twists and I definitely tweaked my volts depending on the juice I had as mine vary greatly. Last night I tried learning about VW and do not get it. One other question I have is how do I know if my MVP is in VV mode or VW mode. I am tweaking my volts on it and notice the difference.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

On the MVP 2 if you push the P button, you are in variable wattage mode. You hold the P button down until you see the setting and then continue to hit the P button to adjust watts up. It will round robin as you can't adjust in the down direction.

To get to Variable voltage mode you press the V button. You hold the V button until after the puff counter disappears, then continue to tap the V button to adjust voltage. It will round robin as you can't adjust in the down direction.

The manual will lead you to believe that if you simply tap P or V to look at your puff counter, it won't change modes, but that is incorrect. A tap to the P or U button will change it to Variable wattage, or Variable voltage.

If your MVP has +/- buttons, it is a version 1 and is variable voltage only.

 

[ambientech]

I use both and my experience is VW is just another way to adjust power. Many like to claim you can set VW and forget it but that is hogwash. While you can set it and forget it the vape will not be the same. Different coils built using different size kanthal and resistance changes the vape experience. Take two coils built to 1 ohm using 28ga and 32 ga running at 10 watts. The vape experience will be different. I build the same coils in all 4 of my KFL's and still have to adjust it depending on juice.

 

[p.opus]

Have an Itaste vv but VW just doesn't taste the same, so I just stick with the VV. Better vape.

That is because the low end setting of 6 watts is pretty weak. If you have a 2.5 ohm coil, a setting of 6.0 watts only puts out 3.8 volts. Lower if you are running a low resistance coil.

Most people who complain about VW don't adjust their wattage to what their calculated wattage would be based on what they currently vape at. You should adjust wattage to taste just like voltage. Then it should hold it.

 

[CrazyDamon]

That is because the low end setting of 6 watts is pretty weak. If you have a 2.5 ohm coil, a setting of 6.0 watts only puts out 3.8 volts. Lower if you are running a low resistance coil.

Most people who complain about VW don't adjust their wattage to what their calculated wattage would be based on what they currently vape at. You should adjust wattage to taste just like voltage. Then it should hold it.

Trust me, tried everything from 6-10w, just doesn't do it for me like Voltage does.

 

[pcrdude]

I just though of something else....

On my eVic, it shows voltage when you adjust wattage, and vice versa. So, when you find a sweet spot, the device gives you all of the relevant information.

On Innokin stuff, it stays at the last setting for watts or volts, and doesn't just switch over to the alternate value for a given setting.

ie If vaping at 3.7 volts using an MPV with a 2.5 ohm coil (5.5 watts), and one switches to VW mode, if it's set at 8 watts, it bumps the voltage up to achieve those watts, ignoring that you were vaping at 3.7 v (5.5 watts).

So, the eVic system can 'train' you.

 

[Mohamed]

I started with cig-a-like and then moved to standard ego...so I was used to the your stuck with what you get. Because of that, I bought a lot of different resistance atties so that I could experiment with the "hotness/throat hit" factor. I still have quite a few of them around. I then bought a VV passthrough and started experimenting with the whole VV thing. I then got a more advanced PV...the Vamo V3. At first I only used VV with it but I then grew to really like the VW. The advantage to that was that when I switched from say a 1.2 ohm to 2.6 ohm resistance I didn't have to fiddle with it as much.

I use VW almost always now with my Vamo. I'm still a "tweaker" as you call them. I still move it up and down for different juices and even different times of day or mood. I usually have it higher in the morning as I like a good throat hit in the morning. At night I usually have it lower as it's more relaxing to me with a lower setting. The main advantage to me is that I have a wide range of resistances so when I do switch I usually only have to move it up or down a few notches. When using VV I usually started at lowest setting and worked my way all the way up to find my spot.

In the future I'll probably buy close to the same resistance atties in which case using VV or VW isn't going to matter as much...but for the time being VW is my preferred method.

So in any regards I'd have to disagree that just because you are a VW user that you aren't also a "tweaker"

 

[Pocha]

I came from a VV (Smok Winder) and on my MVP I ONLY use VW now. Love it. For the most part 8 watts is the sweet spot. Occasionally 7.5 or 8.5 depending on the juice. It's nice not having to concern myself with the resistance of each coil. I find watts much less fiddly and now I would never own a mod that didn't have VW.

 

[Recycled Roadkill]

I consider my "sweet spot" to be in the neighborhood of about 3.5 volts for any given resistance of my coil, however, that doesn't mean that I'm vaping using voltage. Using VW mode I can stay more within a range of that voltage which allows me to tweak the setting I'm at less than if I were in VV mode as the resistance varies across the coil.

What that translates to is that I'm at about 8 watts for a 1.5 ohm coil, 7 watts for a 1.8 coil, 5.5 watts for a 2.2 coil and 3.5 watts using a 2.5 coil.

Being as a MPV 2 or VV/V3 can deliver no less than 6 watts I prefer the use of 1.8 ohm or 1.5 ohm coils for those two PV's. In the case of dual coil tanks I'll usually double the wattage as those wattages I've mentioned double to create the vapor production and flavor most desireable to me.

Also, keep in mind that the kanger replacement coils almost always read up to and around .3 or .4 ohms higher than what they're actually rated at and I believe that's where VW really shines. Also, many PVs can fall short of the voltage needed to push power through these lower resistance coils.

PBusardo explains all of this very well in his reviews. Understand what he's explaining can be on the difficult side or those not experienced with the ins and outs of electronics.

The bottom line is, whether your running in VW or VW mode, just use a setting that gives you the maximum vape quality you can get with your PV.

That's my 2 cents. Your 2 cents may vary.

 

[dr g]

VW is as friendly if not more to "tweaking" ... Voltage amounts to power so it's a more user-friendly mindset to use wattage, does some math for you to visualize directly the product of the resistance and voltage. For example when you roll up a fresh coil which might be a different resistance from the previous one, you know from the first firing what power you are putting through it.

VV gal here.
I like different juices at different settings. VW would never work for me. If I used the same juice all the time I could see going to VW but that is not the case for me.

Total nonsense.

 

[Mohamed]

Last night I tried learning about VW and do not get it.

The best way I heard it described is something like this. When you use the gas pedal to determine your speed that's VV. When you use speed control button that's VW. So imagine your on a flat road...i.e. your resistance isn't changing...it doesn't matter if you use the gas pedal and hold your foot at a constant angle or if you are using speed control...your speed is going to stay the same.

Now lets say you encounter a hill and 20 mph winds coming head on (i.e. the resistance of your atty got higher). With the gas pedal (VV) you need to step on the pedal a little more to overcome the wind and the hill just to maintain the same speed. When using speed control (VW) the car's computer takes care of that for you and your speed remains constant regardless of the resistance.

Same analogy when going down hill just in reverse.

Assuming all things being equal juice, tank, battery, etc when switching from a lower resistance atty to a higher resistance atty and vice verse you will get the exact same vape when using VW. The mods computer chip kicks in determines what the appropriate voltage should be to equal your current wattage setting (i.e speed of car)...Just like how a car's computer determines how much gas to send to the fuel injector when using speed control.

Regardless of using VV or VW wattage is the end result that determines the hotness and throat hit of the vape. Wattage in this case equates to the heat/energy given off by the attomizer to turn the liquid into a vapor. You can look at ohms law and all of that but when increasing the voltage your actually increasing the wattage and when decreasing the voltage you are decreasing the wattage. There is a formula that uses voltage and resistance to calculate the wattage. When using VW it uses that formula behind the scene and calculates what voltage you need for your given wattage setting based on the resistance of the attomizer that is currently in use.

In all honesty if all of your atties are the same resistance (you are always driving on a flat road) it makes no difference what you use as the resistance becomes constant. The advantage of using VW is that when you change resistances you shouldn't have to change any settings as the vape will be the same. Again from my previous post I still tweak for different juices, times of day, and mood but I have to do less fiddling.

The only other advantage I can see to VW is that when I change my battery it keeps my wattage setting...but when I'm using VV and I switch batteries it always resets the voltage to the lowest setting.

Hopefully that description helps cement things in your mind a bit easier than going over ohms law and physic and math equations

One other advantage of VW...the resistance of your atty changes over time and usage. When using VW your device picks up on this and will adjust the voltage output accordingly to maintain your current wattage setting.

 

[si.hatch]

^^that may have been the best definition for vv/vw I've seen so far

 

[DavidAmonettNashville]

The VapinGreek from a couple months ago explaining VV-VW (gas pedal analogy) Explaining Variable Voltage vs Variable Wattage ~ Contest Drawing - YouTube