The latest craze in vaping might have you asking, what is sub-ohm vaping, or what are ohms. Well, we’ve got you covered.
Ohm’s Law
Sub Ohm vaping has become the premier way to vape for advanced users, but ensuring your safety and success requires a bit more than your average mod does. The first thing you have to understand before diving into the world of sub ohm vaping is what is known as Ohm’s Law. This old physics equation has become integral in electrical components, especially when involving high-powered batteries and vaporizers.
Ohm’s law is named after German physicist, Georg Ohm, who first discovered the ingenious equation back in the late 1800s. The basic equation of the law is I = V/R, which stands for current = voltage/resistance. It means that any given current passing through a conductor is directly related to the voltage supplied divided by the resistance of the conductor. In the most basic terms, the higher the voltage and the lower the resistance, the more powerful the current running through will be. This was a breakthrough for battery making, as increasing demand for output pushed the limits of voltage. With Ohm’s Law, scientists were able to improve the power output by merely reducing the resistance of the conductor rather than increasing the voltage applied.
What Is Sub Ohm Vaping?
You may be asking yourself, but what is an ohm, or what does ohm mean, and why does it matter for vaping? Well, vaping manufacturers have been utilizing the same formula to create increasingly powerful new sub ohm tanks. The new high-quality sub ohm coils are designed to test the limits of low resistance conductors. In fact, Ohm meaning is very clear now, as it’s a standardized unit of measurement that we use to gauge the amount of current a given coil will allow to pass through. This means a device supplying the same level of voltage, but using a less resistant wire will provide a significantly more substantial amount of power and therefore vapor.
At first, vaping manufacturers stayed within the average ohm range for batteries, between 1.5 ohms and 3.0 ohms. But as the community clamored for more and more powerful devices, sub ohm vaping has taken over. Once the resistance of a coil becomes lower than 1.0 ohms, it officially falls into a sub-ohm definition. It may seem misleadingly simple, but the truth is that sub ohm vaping increases the volatility of batteries and atomizers, so taking special care to ensure you’re safe is extra important. You have to understand your mod, meaning batteries, coils, and atomizers.
Is Sub-Ohm Vaping Dangerous?
Sub Ohm vaping can become very dangerous when the user does not take proper care. Luckily when you do, there’s nothing overly risky about sub ohming. First and foremost it’s important to note that the risks of mechanical mods are much higher. These unregulated mods don’t have any of the internal safety nets that prevent your battery from overloading the atomizer or causing other potentially dangerous issues. That being said, if you’re someone who’s well-versed in Ohm’s law and proper battery safety, mechanical mods do offer some incredible cloud production when used correctly.
If you’re not ready to take on the extra risk of using an unregulated mod, there are an ever-increasing number of regulated mods and tanks that are explicitly designed to be used for sub ohm vaping. The advent of these sub ohm tanks made sub ohming accessible to a wide variety of vapers for the first time. Now they can simply use their favorite sub-ohm tank with basically any mod that works at 30 watts or more. But be sure always to check to make sure your setup can handle your new sub ohm tank.
It’s also a good idea to only use premade coils if you’re starting out. While it’s become an extremely popular skill to make your coils out of bulk wire and cotton, this should only be attempted once you’re sure about everything involved. This is especially true when it comes to sub ohm vaping. There are many high-quality premade coils offered by basically every brand. If you’re still interested in switching to producing your coils eventually, finding the right kind of pre-made coil will help keep the pressure off while you’re still learning.
Finally, as alluded to earlier, batteries matter. In fact, when it comes to sub-ohm vaping, batteries matter a whole lot. You should always be sure ONLY to use batteries that are from reputable makers, also graded to function with your current device. While battery failure is very rare, it only significantly increases your chances of an accident when you don’t take the proper care with your batteries. Using the correct voltage is the absolute best way to avoid an accident.
For example, some batteries are only safe under seven amps, but others can go as high as 30 amps. The lower the resistance, the higher you need your amperage level to be. If you’re still unsure exactly what’s safe, be sure to ask someone who knows. But if you want to stay on the safe side, only use the highest discharge batteries with the highest resistance coils you have. While this may cost you a bit of cloud production, compared with the danger of battery failure, it’s worth the trade-off. Lastly be sure only to use genuine versions of batteries when buying online. Knock-offs are out there, and while some are perfectly fine, others could lead to catastrophic issues.
What Do You Need?
There are a few other things that anyone looking to start sub ohm vaping at a high level should understand. First, it’s important to realize that while most any e-liquid WOULD work with a sub ohm tank, the temperatures are just too high for the average juice to foster good flavor. That’s why manufacturers have begun releasing e-liquid specially engineered to withstand the high temps and still offer clear and potent flavors. Finding exactly the right e-liquid can be a huge hassle, so be sure to keep in mind what you’re looking for most when searching for a new sub ohm e-liquid.
The next thing you must ensure to begin sub ohm vaping at a high level is the proper wires. Using the right coils is essential no matter what type of vaping you’re doing, but it’s especially crucial for sub ohming. You must make sure that the wires you’re using are graded to function in your device. Otherwise, it could lead to severe issues. This is one of the reasons it’s best only to use pre-made coils when you’re first starting out. With pre-made coils, all of the specifications are clearly available and ready for comparison with your current mod definition.
Lastly, you must have enough power to properly sub ohm vape. As discussed above, the higher your voltage and lower your resistance, the greater the power output will be. Most sub ohm tanks require around 30W to work appropriately, and extremely high wattage devices are also not ideal, so usually sub ohm vaping setups will be in the 30W-100W range. Just be sure you have these supplies ready when you make your first attempt at sub ohming.
Is Sub-Ohm Vaping Right For You?
To truly understand whether or not sub ohm vapes are right for you, we made this list of potential pros and cons. If you seem to agree with more pros than cons, it may be time to think about upgrading to a new setup, but if you’re not finding much to care about in the pros section, it may be easier to stay with conventional vaping.
The list of pros is headlined by an overall increase in the vaping quality. This usually means more massive clouds, and when using the proper liquids, it also means better flavors. It’s been shown to make the vapor produced be a bit warmer, increasing the quality of the throat and mouthfeel for some. The increased cloud size also ensures a more robust hit of nicotine, which keeps vapers satisfied for much longer.
That being said, there are still some noteworthy cons of starting to sub ohm. First of all, and as discussed earlier, sub ohm vaping is not for brand new vapers. You should already have a solid understanding of not only vapes but also Ohm’s Law if you want to upgrade. The devices used in sub ohm vapes are also more expensive than standard counterparts. This increased price also carries over to the e-liquids, as not only are they more expensive, but sub ohm setups use a lot more e-liquid in a short period than regular mods. Lastly, the wires burn out much faster at such high currents, also increasing the amount you’ll spend to keep everything fresh.
How to Sub-Ohm
If you’ve decided you’re ready to start sub ohming, you’re first going to have to decide what type of atomizer you’re going to use. There are three major types of atomizers used in sub-ohm vaping, traditional tanks, rebuildable drip atomizers, and rebuildable tank atomizers, each with their benefits and drawbacks.
RDA’s
RDA’s or rebuildable drip atomizers were the first sub ohm atomizers available to the public. Sometimes known as drippers, these devices didn’t have a reservoir or tank, so the user must drip some e-liquid into the coil and cotton every few puffs. These early devices are still popular with very high-level cloud chasers, as they believe it offers them the most control over exactly what they produce. As with RTA’s these atomizers use coils that must be built by the user using pre-rolled wire.
RTA’s
RTA’s or rebuildable tank atomizers are essentially an upgraded version of traditional RDA’s. The difference is that instead of needing to drip more e-liquid every few pulls, RTA’s use a tank that holds the excess juice. This makes casual vaping a much more natural and straightforward process. You can think of these devices sort of like high-quality clearomizers that already have a rebuildable coil inside them. This makes RTA’s an excellent choice for those looking for a high volume of vapor while still getting a clean and robust flavor.
Sub Ohm Tanks
What is a sub ohm tank after all? Sub Ohm Tanks are the newest way to get your sub ohm fix, as well as the easiest. Until they were widely available, anyone who wanted to sub ohm would have to go through an entire lengthy and costly process of getting exactly the right equipment, including a mechanical mod, adequate batteries, kanthal or nichrome wires, organic cotton, as well as other things. Thanks to sub ohm tanks, this hassle can be an issue of the past. Most sub ohm tanks function with any mod that has at least 30W of power. The most significant difference between a sub ohm tank and a rebuildable tank atomizer is that the sub ohm tank uses premade coils instead of forcing the user to build their own.
Sub-Ohm Vaping Conclusion
We hope that this guide was able to answer all the questions you had about sub ohm mod and vape meaning. It’s important to do your research and not just follow the current trends blindly. While vaping was invented as a smoking cessation tool, it’s grown into its own as not only a harm reduction and smoking cessation tool but also a hobby and habit in its own right. It’s no surprise to see such growth in the level of technology when the vaping community is so involved and excited about whatever is coming next. That being said, be sure always to know precisely what you’re doing to minimize the risk of accidents. When done correctly, sub ohm vaping is extremely enjoyable on several different levels. So what are you waiting for? Get out there and vape on!