Wattage

[Kati]

I must confess more than a degree of ignorance regarding wattage. What is the most appropriate wattage? What is accomplished by either increasing or decreasing the wattage? What are the positives and negatives of increasing the wattage on the device? Right now my smok Procolor 225 is set at 60 watts which was set at the vape store.

Thank you for considering this request for info.

All the best,

Kati

 

[Rossum]

It depends on how you vape and how much power your tank/atomizer can handle gracefully. General rule: Start low and work up.

 

[sdennislee]

Maybe we can give you the answer in pieces with each contributing a little more to provide info in manageable bites.

First understand that the coil is what produces the vapor you inhale. This is accomplished by heating the coil to vaporize the liquid that is in contact with the coil.

Lower wattage provides less power/energy to the coil which in turn causes the coil to produce less heat and therefore a cooler vape.

Higher wattage provides more power/energy to the coil which causes the coil to produce more heat and therefore a warmer to hotter vape.

I'll let someone else add info on how coil resistance (ohms) drives wattage selection. How wattage can affect flavor etc...

 

[DaveP]

If you are a lung hitter using a higher flow atomizer is necessary. High air flow also takes more wattage to keep the coil hot. OTOH, it's possible to create a nice cloud of vapor at 10W to 15W on a low air flow atomizer and replicate the actions of smoking a cigarette.

Many of us started vaping to get off the cigarettes. It's worked for thousands/millions of people who used to smoke. Cloud competitions started the high air flow, DTL high wattage form of vaping and it's continued today. With MTL vaping you can get the nic you need to stay off the cigarettes and still be able to vape in public without drawing undue attention with huge clouds.

It's all about preference and desire. It's not necessary to vape high wattage and high airflow to have a tasty and satisfying vape, but some prefer lung hits at various wattage levels. I vape at 10W so that I can stealth vape in stores, movie theaters, and restaurants without anyone noticing and without offending anyone. I just hold it in a few seconds and let the vapor subside before I exhale.

 

[Shawn Hoefer]

Wattage is the power applied to the coil. Generally speaking, more wattage = warmer vape and less wattage = cooler vape.

Wattage is dependent on the resistance of your coil and the volts applied.

Research Ohm's Law to better understand the relationship between wattage, voltage, resistance, and current.

As @Rossum said, start low and work up until you're happy. Most coil heads are etched with recommended wattages (and overspecced, IMHO). If a coil reads 30-70 watts, prime the coil and start around 30. After a few vapes increase by 3-5 watts. If it's too cool, increase again. It it's too warm, decrease.

 

[Grimwald]

Different devices, different builds require different watts. Thicker wire, more coils will need higher wattage to heat up in the same amount of time as a thinner wire single coil. DL with more open air will usually desire more wattage than tighter MTL draws. And of course personal preference.

 

[Baditude]

Wattage is a calculation for a battery device to reach a desired value of electrical power. Voltage is a measured value of electrical power. For our purposes in this discussion, you can consider them to be the same thing.

An unsatisfactory vape can often be corrected by a wattage adjustment of the battery device.

We use wattage/voltage settings on our mods to change the vape quality. A higher wattage setting delivers more electrical power to the heating coil. A lower wattage setting delivers less electrical power to the heating coil.

More power to the heating coil means the coil will get hotter, thereby increasing the amount of e-liquid vaporized and increasing the warmth of the vapor.

Less power to the heating coil means the coil will not get as hot, thereby decreasing the amount of e-liquid vaporized and decreasing the warmth of the vapor.

Changing the wattage setting can also affect flavors either positively or negatively.
_______

The coils in our tanks have "recommended wattage ranges". Some coils are more power hungry than others. MTL and DTL are descriptive terms on the type of draw or inhale technique used for two classifications of tanks.

MTL (mouth to lung) tanks tend to use higher ohm coils which required less wattage. A more restrictive draw much like drawing on a cigarette.

DTL (direct to lung) tanks tend to use lower ohm coils which require far greater wattage. A looser draw technique that is favorable for increased vapor production.​

Here's a MTL "normal ohm" tank with its coil selection and wattage range:

Innokin Zenith MTL tank
0.8ohm Coil : Manufacturer's Recommended Wattage Range: 15-18W
1.6ohm Coil : Manufacturer's Recommended Wattage Range: 10 -14W
Plexus Z 0.5ohm Coil : Manufacturer's Recommended Wattage Range: 14-19W



Here's a DTL "sub-ohm" tank with its coil selection and wattage ranges:

Uwell Crown

• 1.2 ohm Single Stainless Steel Uwell Crown Coil - 10 to 30W
• 0.5 ohm Dual Stainless Steel Uwell Crown Sub-Ohm Coil - 30 to 80W
• 0.25 ohm Dual Stainless Steel Uwell Crown Sub-Ohm Coil - 80 to 120W
• 0.15 ohm Dual Ni200 Nickel Uwell Crown Sub-Ohm Coil - 400 to 600 Degrees Fahrenheit (temp control)

Lower Ohm Coils Will:

• Heat The Coil Faster
• Produce More Vapor
• Drain The Battery Faster
• Use E-Juice Faster
• Produce A "Warmer" Tasting Vape

Higher Ohm Coils Will:

• Heat The Coil Slower
• Produce Less Vapor
• Provide A “Cooler” Tasting Vape
• Use Less E-Juice
• Prolong Battery Life

I hope I haven't overexplained your inquiry.

 

[Marst]

I’m a MTL (first in mouth than in lung not directly inhale) type.
So I use higher Ohm (around 1 to 1.5) and app. 15 to 20W.
The only drawback is the slow heating of the wire, needing one to two mouthfuls before the taste comes out.
The solution for this “problem” is given by newer mods who can start with higher W for fast heating (30W in my case) and then in split seconds reduce the W to the desired level.
An example would be the

asMODus Colossal 80W Box Mod

It has a “Curve” mode where you can set manually five steps with their duration and the desired wattage.
I start 28W for 1/2 Second and then go down 2W every 1/4 Second to arrive my sweet spot 20W in step 5.

Just another little trick which has nothing to do with W:
If you release the button and then take another mouthful this reduces the gurgling As it leaves less condensed water in the device.

 

[United States]

To the cloud maker, more watts means more cloud.

Very good posts here. I'll add that in some cases the watt setting (ie heat to the liquid) can change the characteristics of a juice. Case in point a three flavor juice using a 10-16 watt coil. One with say a melon, a sweet grape and a sour apple. Low watts may bring out the sweet grape, mid-level watts may tweak the flavor in favor of the melon and higher setting the sour apple. My brother turned me onto that.

He uses watts the change how much cinnamon is present in one of his favorite flavors. Early in the morning his taste buds note cinnamon easily, but as the day goes and his taste buds are less sensitive. Higher end of his favorite watt range for example in the mornings makes the cinnamon too powerful. But by sundown higher watts allow the cinnamon to still seem present as his taste buds are less sensitive.

 

[Nikhforos]

Judging by your mod and the tank it comes with your wattage should be 45-80.
Keep in mind that the higher the wattage, the more juice your coil evaporates during every hit. So, it gets more expensive as you go up the scale. Also, you'll have to wait a bit longer between your hits if you tend to chain vape as your coil will get dry faster, vaping at high wattages.

 

[stols001]

I would experiment, both with wattage, airflow and coil type, even juices. Every coil you have will have the manufacturer's recommendations for wattage on the side in tiny letters. That can give you a general guide, as far as wattage options, although it is totally fine to vape below the recommended wattage, going above it can shorten coil life.

Regardless of your setup, you want to prime your coil which means getting it good and saturated before getting to higher wattages, as if it is dry, it will burn. An effective method is to put a few drops of eliquid directly on the cotton, then to fill the tank and let it sit, taking "primer puffs" every now and then without hitting the fire button. It will start the process of capillary action which pulls liquid into the coil, then start at like 3 watts, and hit the fire button while still using long slow inhales (there may not be visible vapor for a while ,that is fine) and go up in increments until you get to your "happy place" whatever that may be. That may change based on juices, some seem to shine at different wattages than others. A well primed coil is a happy coil, and that is coil 101.

So, if you are vaping over the recommended wattage, you may want to decrease it. You may want to try different coil types to see what kind of resistances appeal to you, etc.

Wattage is a tool. It is a tool, along with airflow, coil type and juice, for you to find your "good" vaping place. There are tons of variables in the beginning so don't be afraid to experiment.

Factors that can shorten coil life: the coil itself and how it is designed, overheating, chain vaping, (this is pretty typical when switching I chained vaped like crazy on the few setups I had and just sucked it up and changed my coils, because I was quitting). Down the line you may want to try temperature control vaping which will help your coil not overheat as the mod is regulating the temperature of the coil, but that is not something to worry about quite yet, it's fine) dark, sweet colored and/or gunky juices like very high VG (although your coils are probably built to handle high VG) and vaping at too high of a wattage for the coil.

Good luck and welcome to ECF.

Anna

 

[Hawise]

Here's the process for picking the wattage for a coil:

1. Determine the coil's recommended range. It's usually shown on the coil itself. It's also often exaggerated.
2. Set your device well under the bottom limit of the range - if it's 45 - 80 watts, you might start at 25.
3. Vape for a while (a very short while if you don't get any vapour, a bit longer if you do).
4. Increase your wattage (maybe by 5 or so watts) and vape for a bit there.
5. Repeat step #4 until you really like the vape.
6. Repeat step #4 again (because it might get even better) until you no longer like the vape.
7. Go back to wherever you liked it best. Congratulations, that is the correct setting for your coil.

After a while (usually a few days to a few weeks), your vape will deteriorate. It might seem burnt, or just not as good as it was. That means it's time to replace your coil. If you replace it with the same coil, your correct settings will stay the same. However, it's also a good idea to break in a new coil by starting at maybe half your preferred setting and working your way up gradually. If you've switched to a new type of coil, you'll need to use the process above to find the best setting for it.

Since it sounds like the vape shop set things up for you, I'll also mention that you should prime the new coil whenever you change coils. Put a couple drops of ejuice on your coil wherever you see the white wicking material. Then screw the coil into the tank, put the tank together and fill it with ejuice. Let the full tank sit for 10 or 15 minutes so more juice can soak into the wick. Then you're ready to go.

 

[sdennislee]

I find it's better to prime the coil from the inner top edge of the cotton and to use the juice holes on the outside of the coil as an indicator that the cotton is thoroughly saturated.

I don't get how priming through the outer holes helps, after all once the coil is in the tank the juice in the tank is going straight to these holes. If the juice in the tank, in constant contact with the cotton through these holes is not adequate to prime, then priming via those holes would be less than adequate. Again use these holes as an indicator of a thoroughly primed coil.

Watch this video on an effective priming method. I haven't burnt a coil prematurely since I've adopted this method. It takes a bit longer but you will be assured of thoroughly saturated cotton.

 

[DaveP]

I haven't used factory coils for years. When I did I'd fill the cotton in the center of of the coil with juice, and let it soak. I'd add more juice until I could press on the top cotton and see it ooze. I'd usually let the coil sit for a while before use unless I was out of good coils. Better overfilled than underfilled in my book. You can always blot out some juice with a cotton pad if needed.

 

[Baditude]

I haven't used factory coils for years. When I did I'd leave the condom on...

We could tell you haven't used factory coils in years. Today's coils don't come in condoms anymore.

 

[sdennislee]

We could tell you haven't used factory coils in years. Today's coils don't come in condoms anymore.

I still have a bunch of Ikenvape cartos with condoms

 

[Baditude]

I still have a bunch of Ikenvape cartos with condoms

You're as much an old timer as DaveP and myself.

 

[sdennislee]

You're as much an old timer as DaveP and myself.

I resemble that remark

 

[DaveP]

You're as much an old timer as DaveP and myself.

You're right! I was thinking of cartos! The last factory coil I remember using was for an eGo. I found some 510 cartos in plastic wrapping a short while back and they looked tempting! I haven't vaped one in years.

Edited previous post for accuracy.