Electronic Cigarette Guide

Electronic Cigarette

The Electronic cigarette is a new alternative form of smoking. It works without natural flame, by using micro electronic technology, providing its users with the real experience of smoking without smoke, tar and thousands of other toxic substances that the conventional cigarettes contain.

By inhaling, a micro processor injects water particles to the mechanism that produces smoke (or steam) and the user has the same feeling and satisfaction compared to the ones he would have in the use of the conventional cigarette, without the rest of the harmful ingredients (nicotine, tar, carbonmonoxide, etc.) that are included in the conventional cigarettes.

Atomizer

The main mechanical part of the Electronic cigarette is the Atomizer which is categorized as Clearomiser and Cartomizer and is mainly the middle part of the construction. This part contains a resistance (in the form of wire) in a very small size about 0.5-1.0 cm and to which the vaping fluid ends up to (e-liquid) in multiple power ways which becomes steam and provides us with the inhaling vape. For better results, the wire of the resistance is usually wrapped around a fireproof wick (out of fiber glass or refractory silicone) which must be always soaked in order to to keep an amount of liquid every time it passes to the wick in the power system. The edge of this wick may end up to the tank (or cartridge) where the fluid is but it can also end up near the resistance and there could be more outer wicks in certain systems that pass the liquid until there. Every model has its own possibilities.

The Clearomizer or Tankomizer is a kind of atomizer that offers rich steam and a lovely output of the taste of the liquid we use.One of its positive features is the transparent tank which allows us to see the amount of liquid left, so that we can refill it when it is almost over without having our atomizer drying up.

The Cartomizer is a device with polyester that consists of an abul-filter (cartridge) and an atomizer (cart+atomizer) that connect to the battery. In these systems the resistance is located in the center of the polyester or at the edge of the tube that contains the liquid(depending on the model). Cartomizers allow the intermediation of a larger amount of time between the refillings of the fluids and are necessary to those who drive, are out of the house for a long time and for those who do not want to waste time on refillings.

The rebuildable atomizer make the user capable of building his own atomizer and reach to its heart which is the resistance and the wick. The only problem they face is their size (big parts for ease of building) but also that the users must obtain the necessary knowledge to make this attempt himself.

Special terms are used in atomizers such as:

NR = Normal Resistance

The resistance of the NR atomizers is about 2-3 Ohm.

LR = Low Resistance

The resistance of these atomizers is about 1.5-2 Ohm.Their life span is smaller than the normal ones’ since the work in the same Volts, they get warmer than the simple ones. The positive part about LRs is that they provide better steaming process.

HV = High Voltage

The resistances HV function normally with normal batteries of electronic cigarettes which give 3.7 Volt. In case there is a need for a use of batteries above 6 Volt (e.g. mods) then we need HV atomizers which have larger resistances at about 3-5 Ohm and can function without any problemwith such high Volt batteries.

Dual Coil

It is a way of low resistance vaping like in LR atomizers. This can be succeeded by connecting two resistances of 3-3.5 Ohm at the same time and as a result the full resistance becomes lower at 1.6-1.8 Ohm.Their advantage in comparison to the LRs is that they have a larger life span due to their double resistances.

TP = Top Coil

The TP atomizers are classic, traditional and always stable in quality and functionality the resistance of which is located on thetop part. These atomizers offer warm steam, warmer than the BBCs’ and much better taste performance.

BC = Bottom Coil

Atomizers with the resistance at the lower part. This means at the base of the atomizer. In these atomizers there is no need for worries about any dry resistance out of lack of refilling liquid or short or too long wicks. They will always be dump as they are supposed to for perfect vaping.

The Bottom Coils Clearomizers (BCC) atomizers give usa different, drier quality of the produced steam and as a result we feel a more realistic vaping in our electronic cigarette.

Ohm

This is the measuring unit for the counting of the resistance for continuous power. In a few words, when a resistance has a high number, e.g. over 10 Ohm then it is a poor power conduit, whereas a resistance with low power, e.g. less than 0.1 Ohm is a good power conduit. To sum up, werealize NR, LR and HV atomizers in a better way, which means that as the resistance (Ohm) of the atomizers reduces or the battery power increases(Volt), then the power consumption and the resistance’s temperature increases.

Atomizer Resistance Wire Categories (MainlyRebuildable)

NiChrome

Wires with NiChrome resistance consist of metal alloys, mainly iron, nickel and chrome.

 FeCrAl (known as Kanthal)

Wires with Kanthal resistance are metal alloys, mainly iron, nickel and aluminum. Moreover, they are categorised in Kanthal D and Kanthal A1. The Kanthal (A1) wires are ideal for building resistances in genesis atomizer type whereas Kanthal (D) wires are more stable during their use for the resistance building.

The diameter of the wires can be detected in three ways:

·       In millimeters (according to the metric system)

·       In inches

·       In Gauge (or AWG. It is the measuring unit of the width of wires and metal leaves.)

The belief about the numbers of the resistance is that the larger the bisection is, the smaller is the resistance per meter.

Furthermore, the diameter and resistance of the wire affect multiple parameters of vaping, such as the surface that comes to contact with the fluid during vaping.

The bigger the steaming surface the more intense is the taste performance.

The smaller the diameter the faster the resistance works.

Conversion AWG to millimeters and Inches

The equalities of the NiChrome resistance are:

Diameter 0,13 = 78,9 Ω/M

Diameter 0,15 = 61,1 Ω/M

Diameter 0,16 = 53,7 Ω/M

Diameter 0,17 = 47,6 Ω/M 

Diameter 0,20 = 34,4 Ω/M

*Its resistance increases as its temperature increases.

The equalities of the Kanthal D resistance are:

Diameter 0,13= 106,9 Ω/m

Diameter 0,16 = 67,20 Ω/m

Diameter 0,18 = 53,30 Ω/m

Diameter 0,20 = 42,30 Ω/m

The equality of the Kanthal A1 resistance is:

Diameter 0,20 = 45,41 Ω/M

Battery

The battery or electrical accumulator (sometimes just accumulator) is the device that stores chemical energy and charges it in theform of electricity. The battery provides electricity to the atomizer to make the refilling liquid warmer and to turn it into steam.

The manual batteries are the ones that use a button.This means that when the user inhales he needs to press the button on the battery of the electronic cigarette. In the newer models of batteries a safety has been incorporated, which means that they offer the possibility of setting off the switch (and also setting it on) with 5 quick continuous presses of thebattery button.

The automatic batteries are the ones that do not use a button. The user does not need to push a button to inhale which makes it more similar to the conventional cigarette. It also offers ease and similarity to the conventional cigarette, but it has more leaks.

The batteries used in the mods are of multiple heights, widths and space capacities. Each person can choose the height andwidth that matches his build. Moreover, there are two kinds of batteries that are used in Mods. The batteries with PCB which is protection and the ones without PCB which means without protection that are used only in electronicmods. This happens because the latter possesses a capability of battery protection that the mechanical mods do not.

Mah (Milliamperes per hour)

With this measuring unit we can comprehend theduration of a battery from its full charge till its end. Conclusively, the more mah a battery has the more duration it has.

Volt (Voltage)

Volt is the measuring unit to electrical voltage. The Batteries of the electronic cigarettes usually work at about 3.7 Volt. The voltage must be calculated with the resistance of the atomizers. The larger the voltage the faster the liquid boiling and as a result, the quicker the steam production, of course when we speak for Voltage (Volt) we must calculate itwith the resistance of the atomizer we use.

Watt (Wattage)

Watt is the measuring unit of wattage. When we speak for wattage (Watt) we don’t calculate at all the resistance of the atomizer we have, but we just set the energy and the temperature we want to produce regardless of the resistance of the atomizer.

Mods (Battery cases)

Mods (Modification) are also called battery cases. These kinds of mods are used by demanding users that seek better steam and taste production than the one that is produced by their electronic cigarette but also than users that like to decorate or have something original with them.

Variable power and voltage mod (Electronic Mod) is a device that contains and electronic chip allowing the users to adjust the strength of the atomizer’s temperature. Usually, electrical mods use LED screens to provide their users with useful information. They eradicate the need for replacement of the atomizer with different resistances for the production of more steam tension. In conclusion they have wattage adjustment option and abattery protection function.

Mechanical Mod is a device without electronical parts, wires and battery protection. They are activated either by springs or bycontrasting magnetic switches. Usually atomizers of low resistance LR are used in them.

Refilling Liquids

The refilling liquids contain one or both of the PG ingredients(propylene glycol) and VG (vegetable glycerin). Both these ingredients, VG and PG, can be diluted with water. They can even contain flavor (aromatic liquid special for vaping), or even nicotine if the user wishes it. So, the ingredients in a refilling liquid are: water, PG and/or VG, flavor-perfume and nicotine which is optional.

PG (propylene glycol)

It is a certified ingredient used in pastry, cooking,etc. Propylene glycol offers a better "hit" (this sense of hit that we have in the throat while smoking).

VG (vegetable glycerine)

It is a certified ingredient used in pastry, cooking,etc.  Vegetable glycerine is a bit thicker than PG but it offers more steam.

ML (Milligrams)

It is a measuring unit. It is used in refilling liquids so that the users may ask for the quantity they want. The more MLs the bigger the quantity.

Nicotine

Nicotine may be contained in the vaping liquid in percentage 0% (not at all), 0.6% (little), 1.2% (average), 1.8% (high), 2.4%(very high). These quantities are depending on the company and the consummers’ preferences. If these percentages are multipled by 1000 or in mg per ml, the numbers that come out are 6, 12, 18, 24 etc. that have dominated already as names for their “power” in nicotine.