What is the Best Wattage for Your Vape Mod?
When it comes to the science of vaping, one partnership that you don’t want to mess around with is that of resistance level (your coil) and wattage (your mod’s output). That’s why, when you buy a pack of coils, whether it be for your adjustable-wattage pod system or your box mod system, you’ll find a blurb on the package that states the recommended or “best” wattage.
Today, we’re going to explore that concept more deeply, because you may not realize how much you’re sabotaging your own vaping satisfaction by not following that advice. In fact, failing to do so could even be dangerous, under certain circumstances.
Getting to Know the Relationship Between Your Mod and Your Coil
Let’s go back to basics. Your vaping system consists of 3 key components: your mod (which contains the battery), your tank/cartridge (atomizer), and your coil (the actual heating component), and the link between your mod and your atomizer. Your device utilizes power from the battery to output power in the form of watts. While you will find the occasional device that operates at a fixed wattage – usually, super simplified pod mods – most operate at a variety of wattage levels that can be adjusted.
Then, you have the coil. The coil receives power from the output of your mod, and that power allows the coil to heat to a specific temperature which in turn vaporizes the e-liquid it’s making contact with inside your tank or cartridge. The coil operates at a fixed resistance level, measured in ohms. As a sidenote, “sub-ohm” is a style of vaping that refers to using a coil with a resistance level below 1 Ω, along with a high wattage.
Here's the thing: the lower the resistance level of the coil, the higher the wattage must be, and vice versa. The specific wattage and resistance level you’re utilizing at any given time dramatically affects the vaping experience you’ll end up with, in terms of things like flavor, vapor output, and throat hit.
- If you’re vaping at a high wattage with a low resistance level (below 1ohm), you will get what’s known as a DL (direct-lung) or DTL (direct-to-lung) vaping style, in which you experience those big, dense clouds of vapor with little throat hit.
- If you’re vaping at a lower wattage, with a coil at a higher resistance level, you will get what’s known as an MTL (mouth-to-lung) vaping experience, with less cloud output but a stronger throat hit – something that often appeals more to people who enjoyed the sensation of smoking a cigarette.
Typically, you will find that box mods operate at higher wattages than pod mods, and thus use lower-resistance coils. Alternatively, most pod mods have lower wattage ranges, as they’re smaller in size, and are more likely to be outfitted with higher-resistance coils.
“Recommended” and “Best” Wattage: What Does This Mean?
Now, let’s get more specific about the relationship between wattage and resistance level. You’ve almost definitely noticed that whenever you buy a fresh pack of coils, there’s a suggested wattage range on the package. Take the SMOK TA 0.2ohm Replacement Coils, with a suggested wattage of 50W-70W, and a “best wattage” of 65W. This means that the resistance level of the coil will give you the very best intended vaping experience when you have your wattage set at 65W, and generally performs great at 50-70W. Now that you understand how the link between resistance level and wattage work, you can understand why each coil has a suggested wattage. At 65W with 0.2 Ω, you’ll get a really nice vapor output, with thick and fluffy clouds, and a very minimal throat hit.
Compare this to the Lost Vape Mini UB Coils, which are used with a pod system, and have a resistance level of 1.0ohm. The recommended wattage is 9W-13W, which makes sense as pod systems operate at lower output levels. At 1.0 Ω, which is a relatively high resistance level if you’re used to sub-ohm vaping, paired with a low wattage, you’ll get smaller clouds, but a really nice, strong hit to the throat, on par with smoking a cig, which is what a lot of pod mod users are seeking out.
So, Should You Stick to Best Wattage Recommendations?
In short, yes. You should always stick to the suggested wattage range of your coils. This is for a few reasons, so let’s dive into those now.
Reason #1: The Ideal Vapor Output
For one thing, your vapor output will be affected by whether or not you have a compatible resistance level and wattage. If you’re seeking out big, dense clouds, then you’ll again want to stick with a sub-ohm coil and high wattage. Using the wrong wattage with your sub-ohm coil’s resistance level can mean missing out on those satisfying cloud-chasing sessions.
Reason #2: The Ideal Throat Hit
Like we said, a lot of people are looking for a throat hit that’s similar to the feeling of taking a ‘drag’ off of a cig. And, you won’t get that unless you’re using a low wattage level with the plus-ohm coil you’re utilizing, in the suggested wattage range. Again, failing to use the right wattage with your coil can mean not getting the throat hit you were hoping for.
Reason #3: The Ideal Flavor
Flavor is also determined by the relationship between your wattage and resistance level. What we mean is that the way in which you experience the flavor of your e-liquid is affected by this relationship. The suggested wattage on your coil pack also takes into account what will bring the best flavor out of the e-liquid that you’re vaping, by heating that e-liquid up to the right temperature to maximize the individual flavor notes, without burning the flavor molecules in any way.
Reason #4: Protecting Your Coils
It turns out that your coils’ health is also going to be compromised if you’re not using the right wattage. More specifically, using too low of a wattage setting can burn out your coils. How? Well, by forcing more power into them than they can handle. And, as a result of all this, your coils can die within moments of vaping.
Reason #5: Protecting Your Battery
Using the wrong wattage can also damage your battery, if you’re using too high of a wattage for your coil’s resistance level. It can force your battery to work harder than it’s meant to, and this can drain your battery in a way that’s not reversible. This can cause you to ruin your batteries prematurely and have to continue buying new replacement ones more than is necessary.
Reason #6: Being Safe
Sometimes, using the wrong wattage is actually a potential safety hazard. Using a wattage that’s too high for your coil’s resistance level can, in rare cases, cause damage to your battery that leads to an explosion. Thankfully, virtually all mods on the market have safety mechanisms in place to shut off before that happens.
Bottom Line: Pay Attention to the Suggested and Best Wattage!
When it comes to that suggested/best wattage on your pack of coils, you don’t want to mess around. They’re clearly labeled on the package for a reason, and it’s in your best interest to follow them, both to ensure that you’re totally satisfied with the qualities of your vaping experience (flavor, cloud production, throat hit, etc.), and also to be sure that you’re taking care of your vape hardware for maximum safety and performance.
