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How to know what wattage to Vape?

RubenAlonzo

Member For 4 Years
Greetings Everyone, Ruben here and I am new to the Vaping realm having owned several of the inexpensive "Pen" style vaporizers. I am 46, and have been smoking since I was 14 due to trying to impress a girl, she only liked me as a friend but I was hooked on smokes. I have been trying off and on for a few years to quit smoking and the pen style inexpensive vaporizers always left a 'gritty' feeling in my throat when I tried them.

Today, my wife of 28 years (who smokes as well) gifted me my first real honest to goodness vaporizer, the SMOK AL85. I am blown away! This has no gritty taste, the liquid we bought at the shop has 12mg nicotine and I have not had a cigarrette since we purchased it earlier this afternoon.

My question is this: At what wattage should I be vaping at? My manual states that the AL85 stock coils are best at between 55-65 watts. I have been vaping at about 40 watts and enjoying it. How do you know if the wattage is too low or too high? Does the tip get hot if I am using too high a wattage? Does liquid not atomize or burn up correctly to give me that nicotine satisfaction if I am using too low a wattage?

Thank you all in advance for A: Reading this, and B: Having me as a part of this forum where I hope to learn and one day contribute. Cheers!
 

Mattp169

Platinum Contributor
Vape Media
Member For 5 Years
its all about what you like
there is no right answer. the recommended 55-65 watts is a guide line and basically what alot of people will enjoy
what most suggest is start low and keep turning it up until it either tastes worse or doesnt taste any better TO YOU
If you go to 45 and it tastes bad to you the 40 is good for you
Yes some coils need at least a certain amount of power to even fire and work at all.
yes turning the watts up too high will burn the coil and cotton and make you need a new coil
No you should not worry about blowing it up by turning it up some - the device has a microchip in it to prevent that stuff
yes if you use a coil like yours that says 55-65 watts at 100 watts yeah the coil will heat up too quick and it will taste horrible and burn the cotton

But you should experiment within the range and slightly below that range and even a HAIR higher like up to 70 watts
Find what makes you happy

And you may find some juices on that coil taste best at 50 but other juices may taste best at 60
 

Mike H.

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
Im surprised you aren't feeling sick vaping 12mg on 40 watts but if you aren't then I suppose your ok...Wattage is important to the point that you find the best flavor out of the juice you are vaping...The amount of vapor and heat is a preference more less....Most "factory" coil ratings are over exaggerated...If youre enjoying 40 watts then stick to that or you can experiment a bit by going up or down in 5 watt increments to find more but, be careful with 12mg nic..it will eventually get you and especially if you chain vape.
 

BPROSEK

Silver Contributor
Member For 4 Years
Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
Its all about what you're comfortable with. In my experience mail and many other manufacturers overrate their coils and vaping them in such a manner only shortens lifespan causing them to burn out prematurely.

Start low and build up in a couple watt increments till you find your sweet spot with a nice warm flavorful vape.

Welcome to the club and happy you found your way here. Gaping is far better than smoking and soooo much tastier!
 

RubenAlonzo

Member For 4 Years
its all about what you like
there is no right answer. the recommended 55-65 watts is a guide line and basically what alot of people will enjoy
what most suggest is start low and keep turning it up until it either tastes worse or doesnt taste any better TO YOU
If you go to 45 and it tastes bad to you the 40 is good for you
Yes some coils need at least a certain amount of power to even fire and work at all.
yes turning the watts up too high will burn the coil and cotton and make you need a new coil
No you should not worry about blowing it up by turning it up some - the device has a microchip in it to prevent that stuff
yes if you use a coil like yours that says 55-65 watts at 100 watts yeah the coil will heat up too quick and it will taste horrible and burn the cotton

But you should experiment within the range and slightly below that range and even a HAIR higher like up to 70 watts
Find what makes you happy

And you may find some juices on that coil taste best at 50 but other juices may taste best at 60

Thank you Matt, one more thing sir, when we purchased the SMOK AL85, I tried several flavors and then settled on two, when I asked the salesperson (who was very knowledgeable) that I wanted the flavors with nicotine she asked what brand I smoked, I replied Marlboro and would like a nicotine amount of 18. She immediately countered by stating that the AL85 is MUCH better at vaporizing the e-liquid than the inexpensive pen-style vaporizers I was used to and therefore the nicotine will actually be a bit too much and I should start at 12mg. If I felt that was not sufficient then to go back and she would gladly increase the nicotine.

Do better vaporizers like my new AL85 actually produce more nicotine than a cheaper model, or rather, do they vaporize the e-liquid better and hence I need LESS comparable nicotine in my e-liquid as the saleslady stated?
 

gbalkam

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
ECF Refugee
Reddit Exile
As others have said, don't worry about how many watts your mod can do. Start low and work your way up until you like how it tastes, the temperature and cloud. That is the "sweet spot" The more watts you use, the more air you need across your coils, more air = less flavor. So vaping at 40w with really good flavor is far better than vaping at 70w with less flavor. (though you will get bigger clouds.)

If your mod takes removable, rechargable batteries, stick to samsung, sony, lg. They may vent but I have never heard of one blowing up. Even regulated mods are NOT 100% "Safe". I have seen (I think it was in either this forum or ECF) a regulated mod short circuit chip fail and the batteries vented. Luckily the user knew about batteries and they vented. Lots of time to take the mod out of his pocket and dump it in the sink. (sink, toilet, front lawn, anything that will not burn)

Now this may be a 1 in a million instance... but for the sake of saving $3 per battery once a year.. would you risk blowing your mipple off? (man nip). LOL. Or worse.. if you carried it in your pants pocket.... *ouchie*
 

gbalkam

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
ECF Refugee
Reddit Exile
Thank you Matt, one more thing sir, when we purchased the SMOK AL85, I tried several flavors and then settled on two, when I asked the salesperson (who was very knowledgeable) that I wanted the flavors with nicotine she asked what brand I smoked, I replied Marlboro and would like a nicotine amount of 18. She immediately countered by stating that the AL85 is MUCH better at vaporizing the e-liquid than the inexpensive pen-style vaporizers I was used to and therefore the nicotine will actually be a bit too much and I should start at 12mg. If I felt that was not sufficient then to go back and she would gladly increase the nicotine.

Do better vaporizers like my new AL85 actually produce more nicotine than a cheaper model, or rather, do they vaporize the e-liquid better and hence I need LESS comparable nicotine in my e-liquid as the saleslady stated?

Not more nicotine.. bigger clouds, so more nicotine per puff. I use 3mg in everything now. No cravings. But, i also mostly use drip atomizers and a custom build cloud coil on my kanger toptank mini rba.

Just showing off. Believe it or not.. I am only vaping at 37 watts in this video. The coil comes in at 0.68 ohm.
 

RubenAlonzo

Member For 4 Years
Thank you all for the advice, help and insight. I am lucky to have all of you to fall back on and answer my questions when it comes to vaping. The Vaporizer (are they called mods?) is wonderful and honestly if the 12mg I am vaping now satisfies me I am very glad to have the cravings satisfied without having to resort to smoking/dipping/snus'ing/chewing etc. as I have tried in the past and just recently.

Again, thank you all for your wealth of knowledge and have a great weekend!!!
 

gbalkam

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
ECF Refugee
Reddit Exile
Thank you all for the advice, help and insight. I am lucky to have all of you to fall back on and answer my questions when it comes to vaping. The Vaporizer (are they called mods?) is wonderful and honestly if the 12mg I am vaping now satisfies me I am very glad to have the cravings satisfied without having to resort to smoking/dipping/snus'ing/chewing etc. as I have tried in the past and just recently.

Again, thank you all for your wealth of knowledge and have a great weekend!!!
You too. Mods is a generic term for all PVDs (personal vaping devices). You have 2 types, regulated (what you have) and mechanical (an advanced to expert mod which is far less safe in the hands of a beginner) *most explosions you see on those news sites, is a noobie vaper using a mechanical mod improperly* And again.. batteries count! Good batteries heat slower and vent, cheap batteries go thermal in seconds and go BOOM.
(Man, I should be asking sony, samsung and lg for a kick back $$$) lol
 

gakudzu

Gold Contributor
Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
Thank you Matt, one more thing sir, when we purchased the SMOK AL85, I tried several flavors and then settled on two, when I asked the salesperson (who was very knowledgeable) that I wanted the flavors with nicotine she asked what brand I smoked, I replied Marlboro and would like a nicotine amount of 18. She immediately countered by stating that the AL85 is MUCH better at vaporizing the e-liquid than the inexpensive pen-style vaporizers I was used to and therefore the nicotine will actually be a bit too much and I should start at 12mg. If I felt that was not sufficient then to go back and she would gladly increase the nicotine.

Do better vaporizers like my new AL85 actually produce more nicotine than a cheaper model, or rather, do they vaporize the e-liquid better and hence I need LESS comparable nicotine in my e-liquid as the saleslady stated?
Yes. Sub-ohm coils do a better job of vaporizing the e-liquid. Like Mike H. said, I'm surprised you aren't feeling a little buzzed. When I moved to higher wattage sub-ohm coils, I reduced my nic from 12 to 6. Just a couple of months later, I dropped to 3. But if it's working for you at 40W, there ain't a thang wrong with it.

And welcome to VU:cheers:
 

Markw4mms

#Team Jimi Supporter
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Well, it looks like your questions have pretty well been answered so I'll just say, welcome to VU!
 

HellbillyRJ

Bronze Contributor
Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
All great pieces of advice and I can't offer anything new, just agree with everything I've read. I will state that VU has some if the MOST HELPFUL folks I've ever talked to before in... Ever, especially when it comes to vaping.

Awesome that you're quitting, and that vaping is working!

As far as the nicotine that everybody keeps talking about I went from smoking Kamel Reds at about 2 packs a day for the past 12 years and Marlboro Reds before that for 8 to sub-ohm vaping. I couldn't handle more than 6mg and even that only lasted a month before I dropped down to 3. But if 12 is working, that's all that matters. Getting nic-sick sucks though, first hand experience, in the event that it happens, food and water will be your best friend for about an hour or so...

"Some people call me a redneck, and some people call me a hick, some people call me an asshole, and some people call me just dick. I'm a hellbilly."

HellbillyRJ
 

mach1ne

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
i vaped 12mg in a sub ohm tank for the first six or seven months. i smoked outside, so i was accustomed to going out for a smoke for say five or ten minutes every hour or so. on 12mg, if i vaped for five to ten minutes i could go for an hour before i thought about a smoke or vaping. i got to keep my smoke break routine and get a got nicotine hit too. over time i started just having a couple puffs on the vape whenever i felt like it (broke the smoke break habit), and i got more advanced vape gear which allowed me to start using 6mg. i tried going down to 3mg but i go through a lot more juice and spend a lot more time vaping, so i stayed at 6.
 

RubenAlonzo

Member For 4 Years
You too. Mods is a generic term for all PVDs (personal vaping devices). You have 2 types, regulated (what you have) and mechanical (an advanced to expert mod which is far less safe in the hands of a beginner) *most explosions you see on those news sites, is a noobie vaper using a mechanical mod improperly* And again.. batteries count! Good batteries heat slower and vent, cheap batteries go thermal in seconds and go BOOM.
(Man, I should be asking sony, samsung and lg for a kick back $$$) lol

It's because of your reply that I ordered the twin pack of Samsung 2500mah 20A 18650's AND the Nitecore IntelliCharger i2! You SHOULD get a kickback lol. Thanks for the advice on decent batteries.
 

gbalkam

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
ECF Refugee
Reddit Exile
No prob. Most here will say the same thing. Samsungs you ordered actually have a slower heat up time. Means very little on a regulated mod, but in that 1 in a million ic chip failure, it gives about 7 seconds longer before it reaches 100C. Pretty sure you would feel it around 65C so just a few more seconds to react, which is a plus. If you want to get an idea of the 1 in a million odds.. people spend $2 all the time for a chance to win $1m. At much higher odds.. figure spending an extra $2 on batteries is a good bet.
I've also been using the nitecore for 11 months steady and no problems. Just an fyi.. i actually saw a video where they did a controlled test of those batteries. The created a hard short, 0 resistance. The battery heated and vented until it went to 0 volts. It did NOT explode though. Hence why we recommend those brands and not "store brand re-wraps".
 

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