THE ADVANTAGES OF VAPE MODS
If you are new to vaping, you may be using a simple device like a Juul or Blu brand e-cigarette. These devices are bare bones in terms of features and functionality. This is not to say that they are bad, they may well be all that you will ever need.
But you have likely seen the bigger and more advanced vape mods for sale. In this post, we'll go over what features these devices have that the simple starter brands do not. Keep in mind that not every vape mod will have every feature mentioned. Temperature control, in particular, is not universal.
WHAT IS A VAPE MOD?
A vape mod is a more advanced, or modified, version of the vape pens that many beginners start with. These devices have a large number of features, a more advanced display with a variety of menu options and information that simple vape pens do not provide. Most of what the display shows you will be directly related to the settings that you have chosen. Many of them will also give you information such as a timer that times your drag and a tool to measure the resistance of your coil. We'll discuss coils in the next section.
SUB-OHM VAPING
If you are using a starter vape pen of some sort, then you likely just attach a disposable cartridge to your battery and have a vape. Inside that cartridge is an electrical coil. Like all electrical coils, it has a resistance. That is, it limits the amount of electricity that can flow through it by a certain amount. Most starter vape pens are going to have a resistance of around 2 ohms. Many vape mods will allow the usage of coils that have less than an ohm of resistance. In other words, they are sub-ohm.
Sub-ohm coils allow significantly more wattage to pass through the coil, which in turn increases that output of the coil. This means that a vape mod with sub-ohm capability can produce significantly more vapor than a traditional vape pen. The vapor will also be warmer, which can be a more pleasing mouthfeel.
VOLTAGE CONTROL
Starter pens are going to have a set voltage. The very first vape mods were modified to allow you to change the voltage. Changing the voltage will increase the temperature of the vapor and cause the device to produce more vapor. These first mods were a pretty big step. Juices tend to taste different at different temperatures. More voltage equals a hotter burn. So people could now adjust their vape to find the perfect flavor profile for the juice they were vaping at the time. Because the mods tended to use larger batteries, which in turn have a longer battery life, the voltage could also be set a bit higher than a starter pen. Battery life becomes even less of an issue because these mods use external batteries, which allows you to swap them out and charge them without having to take your vaporizer out of service.
We've been using past tense in this section, but vape mods still allow you to adjust the voltage. Most users, however, prefer more advanced methods of controlling the vapor.
WATTAGE CONTROL
Without getting into complex electrical theory, wattage is related to voltage and resistance. If either of those two variables changes, then the wattage changes. Setting your vape controls by wattage instead of by voltage requires the device to be able to measure the resistance of the coil. When you fire the device, it will take into account the current power output of the battery (batteries produce less power as they drain) and the current resistance of the coil (several factors can affect this) and it will adjust the power to ensure that the chosen wattage is what hits the coils.
The advantage of this is easy to see. Fluctuations in your battery power or coil resistance level no longer have an impact on the amount of wattage producing your vapor. This allows for a more consistent vape that merely controlling for voltage alone.
TEMPERATURE CONTROL
Temperature control is the newest way to control a vape. It is also one of the most efficient. The longer you fire a coil, the warmer it will get. Temperature control will begin pulse the power if a coil gets above the set temperature. This is really fantastic for vapors because, as we mentioned earlier, different juices taste different at different temperatures. Being able to control the vape by temperatures allows you to have even more consistent control over the taste of your juice than controlling for wattage does. This method of firing a coil also helps protect against the coil burning, which can produce a very harsh and unpleasant taste.
Temperature control does require coils made of a certain material though. So in addition to making sure that your vape mod supports it, you'll need to make sure that the coil you are using does. You can read more about temperature control here.
BATTERY MONITORING
One other convenient feature of vape mods is that they give you a better view of your remaining battery power. Many of them use two or more external batteries. All of them will have at least one power bar telling you how much battery is remaining. This is already a step up from starter vape pens that give no indication of battery power. But many vape mods will go a step further and give you a battery level meter for each of the individual batteries in the mod.