How to choose an electronic cigarette

Electronic Cigarette

An electronic cigarette is a device that creates vapor by evaporating a specially prepared liquid using a heating element (coil), thereby simulating the process of smoking. But unlike conventional, analogue cigarettes, the vaping process is much safer due to the fact that there are no combustion products such as tar and carcinogens in the vapor. Thus, vaping is positioned as a safer, but not completely harmless alternative to smoking, plus, vaping is not prohibited by law in places such as public transport stops, parks, and educational institutions.

Liquids can be both nicotine-containing and nicotine-free and consist of polypropylene glycol, food glycerin, nicotine, distilled water and food flavors.

At the moment, there are a lot of different types of electronic cigarettes and their components, as well as e-liquids, and in order to choose a device that will fully satisfy all needs, you must initially understand at least a little the terminology.

The term "vape" literally translates from English as "steam", hence "vaping" was taken — soaring. Many users call the device itself — vape, which is essentially wrong, but this term has already taken root thanks to the Internet.

Typically, an electronic cigarette consists of three parts:

atomizer;
battery mod;
battery.

The so-called starter kits presuppose the presence of an atomizer with a battery mod assembled, after the purchase of which it remains only to choose a liquid for vaping and, if necessary, a battery. This is the best option for a beginner, and over time, having figured it out, you will be able to choose your own devices in an assembly or in parts.

It is impossible to say which electronic cigarette is better, it all depends on the purpose, so before buying, you need to clearly understand for what needs you are buying a starter kit, whether it is a way to quit smoking, a replacement for a hookah, or, as it is now customary, to pay tribute to fashion.

Not only what type of atomizer and battery mod will be better, but also the e-liquid, its strength and type of battery will depend on this decision.

Atomizers

There are three main types of atomizers:

Clearomizer (atomizer) (RBA, RTA);
Dripka (RDA);
Bacodripka (RDTA).

The first type is atomizers (RBA, RTA), these are tanks where a container is provided for storing liquid, which through the grooves enters the evaporation pad with spirals and cotton, the spirals heat up when a button is pressed and evaporate the cotton soaked in liquid. They are divided into serviced and unattended.

Serviced atomizers suggest the presence of racks in which you can put coils on your own and change cotton wool. Maintenance-free atomizers are a simpler option, in which the coils are placed in replaceable heads (evaporators), which become unusable for some time, after which a new one is put in its place. This option is more expensive, but does not require the user to have special winding skills and saves time.

The second type is a drip (RDA), this is an atomizer in which the liquid is instilled directly into the evaporation pad before each puff through the mouthpiece on the spiral and cotton, after which this process must be repeated as it evaporates. This type of atomizer is designed for more advanced vapers, as it requires maintenance skills, but ultimately reveals the taste of the liquid to the maximum. Someone else may be repelled by the fact that you need to constantly dig through the atomizer, but this is a matter of habit and literally in 2-3 days this process occurs automatically.

The third type is a bacodrip (RDTA), which is a hybrid of a drip and a regular atomizer. The bacodrips have a container for storing liquid, but unlike the RTA atomizer, it has a different way of supplying it to the coils.

Most often, the evaporation platform is located above a container with liquid in which the ends of the cotton are lowered, the liquid impregnates these tails and rises along them up to the spirals.

Differs in a high consumption and more bright taste than on a usual tank.

battery mods

Now let's look at battery mods. There are two main types:

electronic mod;
mechanical mod.

An electronic mod (box mod) always implies the presence of a board with all kinds of adjustments and protections, whether it be variatt — the possibility of changing power (Wt), voltage (V), protection against short circuit (short circuit), overheating, improper installation of batteries. Electronic mods are not necessarily a box mod with removable batteries, it can also be a simple battery with a button and a thread for an atomizer, such as the first ECs like Ego CE4. In principle, this type of battery mod is suitable for any vapers, whether a beginner or an experienced user. There are a lot of varieties of box mods, ranging from one to four batteries, different in shape, all kinds of colours, different materials, so it’s not a problem to make a choice.

mechanical mod

On the contrary, it uses direct contact from the battery to the atomizer and you need to clearly understand and report on all your actions with it, because it is with this type of battery mods that excesses occur, such as fires or battery explosions.

In fact, it is very difficult to bring the battery to a fire and this usually happens due to experiments, such as installing coils with too low resistance, using homemade devices or batteries, etc. Therefore, mech mods are highly not recommended for a beginner who is just starting to comprehend this area.

Rechargeable batteries

If you choose batteries for an electronic mod, then you should pay attention to its volume in mAh, the battery life of your device will depend on this. But if the battery is necessary for the mechanical mod, then you need to take into account the resistance of the coils that you will install in the atomizer. So, for example, if it is initially known that the battery can deliver 30 A, and its voltage is 4.2 V, then according to Ohm's law R = E / I = 4.2/30 = 0.14 Ohm, i.e. it is not recommended to set the spiral value below this value. Knowing these elementary basics of physics will help you safely vape without worrying about rapid battery wear, overheating, or, at worst, ignition.

And of course, it is highly recommended not to use “clones” of battery mods and non-original batteries, except at your own peril and risk.

Useful "cheat sheet" for every bather:

E-Liquids

When choosing a liquid for vaping, the first thing to consider is its strength — the amount of nicotine (mg / mL) and the ratio of polypropylene glycol to food glycerin VG / PG.

The second important factor is the taste, volume and manufacturer, because the taste of the liquid will directly depend on the quality of the components.

To understand what amount of nicotine to choose, the easiest way is to contact the seller in a vape shop, and then you can choose a suitable strength for yourself by selecting the selection method. It all depends on the experience of smoking, the longer you smoke, the higher the amount of nicotine in the liquid should be. Usually start with 6 mg / mL, gradually reducing the dose as you wean from cigarettes, up to complete failure.

If you purchased a device for simply enjoying the taste, then in this case you can take nicotine-free liquid so as not to poison yourself once again. Plus, you still need to take into account on which device the liquid will be steamed, because, for example, on a drip where the taste transfer is increased and nicotine will also be felt much stronger than, say, on a $10 starter kit. Tasteful in the same way — you should not buy premium e-liquids if you are going to vape them on cheap devices, because they have a very weak taste transfer and it will only be a waste of money, just as you should not save on e-liquids if you have purchased a good starter kit .

The VG/PG ratio affects the amount of vapor and flavor. So let's say there are ratios of 70/30, 80/20, 60/40, 50/50, and the more food glycerin VG in the liquid, the more steam will form during the soaring process. The best option is 70/30 and 80/20, manufacturers mainly make liquids with such proportions. When pouring liquid where there is more polypropylene glycol PG than VG, you risk that the tank may start to leak due to the fact that the liquid is not thick enough, but it is perfect for inexpensive electronic cigarettes with a small atomizer, thicker liquid is preferable for RDAs.

Conclusion

At first, all of the above may seem complicated, and if you are a beginner, then by being interested in this topic, you will understand a little by yourself.

At the moment, in more or less large cities, there are so-called vape shops and even vape bars where you can come, see this or that device live and, in most cases, even test it before buying.

Also, in such stores there are almost always samplers of liquids and you can not risk spending money on one that you don’t like later. In a vape shop, you can ask for advice or even get a little advice on electronic cigarettes and, as a result, choose a device that best suits your needs.