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Voltage, Batteries and Safety.
It is worth noting that unless you are using something very special, the batteries you have (either built in) or the ones you removed and charge up, are more than likely going to be 3.7v cells. If you are using a twin battery box mod then obviously these 2 batteries make 7.4v,  but the principal is the same. Vape Batteries come in 2 "types" just like in the home you can get different "qualities" of batteries the same applies to Vape batteries. The 2 types are IMR and ICR. IMR are the "safer" option and are less likely to have issues with handling the "stress" of sub-ohm vaping. Batteries will often quote the (mAh Rating) this is a measure of battery "life and strength" (basically) ..The higher this is will normally mean the more voltage it can deliver for a longer period ..Some will refer to the very high numbers as "high drain" ...these are preferable for Sub-Ohming as your battery will last much longer..

 

So there we have it, you need to know your mAh, Voltage and if they are IMR, any "quality" battery seller will have this information. Some of the batteries with protection are a little longer in length than others ...so it’s worth noting this before buying, so they will fit in your mod

 

Whilst we cannot recommend particular suppliers or batteries. We personally use the Samsung INR18650-25R 2500's and find them great. A note though ...beware of FAKES! - Make sure you buy them from a reputable source.

The same logic applies to chargers and leads ..If your device has a fixed internal battery always use the cable that it come with and don't just "job it" with an old mobile phone one. If the battery is removable; always use a quality regulated charger with overload protection and smart cut-off. Nitecore Intellicharger range is one of the recommeded ones

USING POOR QUALITY OR UNDERRATED BATTERIES OR CHARGERS FOR SUB-OHMING CAN BE DANGEROUS. PERIOD. DON'T SKIMP ON THESE

 

Mods (Mechanical and Electronic)
A "mod" is basically speaking the "housing" for the battery. They come in all shapes and sizes, and you can even build your own! Mods are either purely mechanical or electronic (allowing you to vary things like Voltage, Wattage and many other functions) Mechanical Mods are simply a housing for the battery and an on/off switch ...that’s it! You can't vary anything and the coil that you put in your atomiser (or 2 if its dual coils) need to  be able to deal with the power output ..for examples really high resistance skinny micro coils would "pop" almost instantly in one of these mods..So Mechanical Mods are best left to those that are more accustomed to understanding and dealing with coils (basically the experienced sub-ohmer)

 

Electronic mods will normally be box shaped and have in most cases a few buttons and an LCD screen giving you information. I won't go into ALL the features of various models but at their simplest form they allow you to regulate the Voltage/Wattage of the "burn" They will recognise the ohm rating of the coil when it is connected and have in most cases a host of features and safety cutouts etc. It will STILL use one or more of the 3.7v batteries, but the circuitry inside will allow you to alter the voltage down AND up, and this in turn will alter the wattage of course. The secret with a new coil is to start LOW and work up. I normally run at 3.0v/3.5v to start with and then creep up. Some will allow you to select by "wattage" ...but remember the device will do this by of course altering the VOLTAGE. Its science, there is no REAL difference (to most of us) in results whether you choose to vary voltage or the wattage. It is worth noting that NOT ALL Electronic Mod boxes will suit Sub-Ohmers...you need to make sure that the device will recognise low resistance coils. Look for ones that will work with 0.5 Ohms or lower if you plan to Sub-Ohm.

 

 

Tanks
Right ..Well this is the bit that sits on the top, the bit where your coils and liquid goes and the bit with the mouthpiece, they come in all shapes and sizes and so it’s a matter of choice. There are some differences though that you SHOULD consider when purchasing. If you plan to use dual (2) coils in a sub-ohm build you will need one with at least 3 "holes" (these are the holes in the tank you will be putting your coils into) Also you need to consider the size of the space in there and ESPECIALLY the diameter of the holes for the wire coils. If you plan on putting some "fat and serious" coils in there like Clapton’s or Twists or other multi-wire setups then you need to make SURE the holes are at least 2mm wide (2.5mm or 3mm is preferred)

 

Also worth looking at is the size and depth of the "well" ...this is the groove at the bottom of the tank that your juice will sit in, the wicks will use this well to suck up more juice to feed the coils ..A shallow well will mean more refilling and also a bigger chance of leaks. The last consideration is airflow. Always try and get a tank with a collar or device that allows you to let more air in to the chamber ...More air means more vapour

 

Coils and Wick
Well ..we are on to our favourite bit! ..The coils! These are the wires that get hot with current and vapourize eliquid to make the vapour you inhale. Coils come in ALL shapes and sizes from Nano and Micro (really small, skinny high resistance) to Big Maxi  (Sexy Multi Wire low resistance jobbies) They can be used in pairs (or more) and can also be used in single coil setups. Simply put they are coils of wire that you will insert by their legs into the post holes in the tank. You then thread a length of wick (cotton wool fibre) through the centre and tail it into the juice well and you are all set! ..All you need to do is add your juice! There is no WRONG coils, you just need to know what ohms you want. What Size of coil you need (this only matters if you have a really small tank) and lastly what STYLE you want ..Different people try lots of different styles of coil to see what suits.

 

Remember in dual coil builds the resistance is effectively HALVED. So if you fit 2 coils of 1.6 Ohms each. The combined resistance is actually 0.8 Ohms ...So you have a Sub-Ohm Setup now !

Coils can be classed “size wise” as follows. Others may use a different definition, but this is what we are used to:
 

• Nano coil - <1.4 mm inner diameter
  Micro coil - 1.4-1.65 mm inner diameter
  Standard coil - >1.65-3.00 mm inner diameter
  Macro Coil - >3.00mm inner Diameter
   

*Nano and some smaller Micro coils usually do not expect to have the wick material threaded THROUGH them (as its nearly impossible) LOL ..In these cases, the best way is to sit them on a “bed” of wicking material

Going back to the maths ..It can be difficult to explain the relationships between voltage, resistance (ohms) and wattage, and we don’t have time or the inclination to bore you with pages of text. But at the very basic level of explanation. These 5 points will go a long way to help you not mess up..

 

1. The higher the resistance (ohms) the THINNER and smaller the coil/wire is
2. Therefore ...sub-ohm coils (below 1 Ohm) are normally far thicker and larger
3. Larger Low resistance coils can withstand greater voltage/current and therefore produce MORE HEAT over time... for a better vaporisation of liquid and cloud production (i.e More Vapour Clouds)
4. Larger Coils require either mechanical mods OR Electronic Mods that are capable of recognising and delivering the right balance of Voltage/Wattage to these low resistance coils.
}5. Running coils for sub-ohming is stressful to the battery and device, and therefore batteries could get warm and drain far faster than normal. So invest in quality
 

You will hear about lots of different material for coils and also wicks. Its personal choice really ....we have coils and wiore in Kanthal, Stainless Steel, Nicke and Titanium.

 

All our coils are supplied with Japanese Organic Cotton Pads (MUJI) for wicking....You can of course use a wide variety of materials for wicking ...Acrylics, other Textiles and even Wire Mesh! ..It's all a bit "faddy" in our experience there is nothing to match Organic Cotton for Wicking and holding Eliquid within a coil.

 

There is a lot of experimenting with Voltages/Wattages and Coils to get the right "vape" to suit you; and again this can vary from liquid to liquid too! Running coils too low (or cool) will produce a smaller amount of vapour and also taste ..running coils too high (or hot) can result in a harsh throat hit, burnt taste or at worst it can shorten the life of your coil or overload it and cause it to "pop" There are guides out there that allow you to calculate "safe" settings to use. I stress these are a guide only, and many serious cloud chasers run their setups well into the RED..But like every sport there is a RISK, and we cannot advocate it.
 

To stay in the safe zone, here are some guides you might find useful

 

CLICK HERE FOR COIL/POWER SETTINGS FOR NORMAL COILS OVER 1 OHM
CLICK HERE FOR COIL/POWER SETTINGS FOR SUB-OHM SETUPS/COILS UNDER 1 OHM
 

WHEN YOU BUY COILS YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE THEY FITTED AND PREPARED PROPERLY BEFORE USE. FOR OBVIOUS REASONS COILS ARE NON-RETURNABLE. MAKE SURE YOU GET THE RIGHT OHM'S YOU NEED, MAKE SURE THE POWER IS CORRECTLY SET AND DON'T EVER PROLONG "DRY FIRE" THEM (I.E WITHOUT WICK AND ELIQUID)

AFTER FITTING MANY VAPERS CHOOSE TO BURN AND SQUEEZE THE COILS TO GET THE COILS TIGHTLY PACKED - THIS IS NORMALLY DONE AT A LOW VOLTAGE AND WITH A PAIR OF PLIERS OF TWEEZERS IN VERY SHORT BURSTS OF CURRENT- A TIGHTLY STACKED COIL DOES PERFORM BETTER AND HOTTER THAN A SPACED OUT ONE

 

..BUT PLEASE LOOK ONLINE AND SEE VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE FOR THE CORRECT METHOD OF COIL SQUEEZING OR COMPRESSING (SOME REFER TO IT AS REMOVING HOTSPOTS)