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What exactly is an insulator?
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UncleRJ
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Yep this as far as vaping is concerned.
There is also acoustic insulation and thermal insulation, etc.
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You'll most likely see this on a tank. It insulates (separates) the positive terminal from the rest of the tank, thereby preventing a short. On disposable coils it's usually in the 510 pin that you screw into the tank.
Sent from somewhere in Vietnam.
Sent from somewhere in Vietnam.
Mikhail Naumov
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Look at the deck of your atomizer. Find the positive post (the post that is connected to the 510 pin on the bottom via screw or post), you can tell which one it is because on most non velocity style decks it is whichever post is center, but if this isn't the case just look at the bottom of the deck and find the post that has a white, plastic looking piece around it. If it's a sub-ohm tank with pre-built heads, it'll be a rubbery/plastic piece that fits between the negative and positive coil leads somewhere on the bottom of the coil.
That plastic piece is the insulator, and it's creating a barrier between the metal on the deck which serves as the negative/ground of the circuit (connecting via the threads of the 510), while the post itself only connects to the 510 pin of the atomizer which then connects to the 510 pin of the mod, which is the positive of the circuit.
This allows the completion of the circuit when firing your mod and allows current to flow through your coils, which are made out of wire that resists the current, causing it to heat up. Hence resistance wire. The amount of current (wattage) flowing through your coils and how much resistance (ohms) those coils have are the variables that give way to how much heat/vapor/etc. your coils produce.
If these two, the negative/ground and the positive, were to touch, it would create a hard short and probably end up venting your batteries and burning up your mod internals, melting your coils, burning your cotton, etc.
A hard short creates what is essentially an infinite loop for current to travel and it WILL do so (and it will be drawing HELLA amperage in the process as this electricity is running freely through EVERYTHING in its path (which is the entire atomizer in this case.)) indefinitely. This will not stop until the short is fixed, the batteries go into thermal runaway from stress (venting) or your disconnect the atomizer / remove the batteries.
That plastic piece is the insulator, and it's creating a barrier between the metal on the deck which serves as the negative/ground of the circuit (connecting via the threads of the 510), while the post itself only connects to the 510 pin of the atomizer which then connects to the 510 pin of the mod, which is the positive of the circuit.
This allows the completion of the circuit when firing your mod and allows current to flow through your coils, which are made out of wire that resists the current, causing it to heat up. Hence resistance wire. The amount of current (wattage) flowing through your coils and how much resistance (ohms) those coils have are the variables that give way to how much heat/vapor/etc. your coils produce.
If these two, the negative/ground and the positive, were to touch, it would create a hard short and probably end up venting your batteries and burning up your mod internals, melting your coils, burning your cotton, etc.
A hard short creates what is essentially an infinite loop for current to travel and it WILL do so (and it will be drawing HELLA amperage in the process as this electricity is running freely through EVERYTHING in its path (which is the entire atomizer in this case.)) indefinitely. This will not stop until the short is fixed, the batteries go into thermal runaway from stress (venting) or your disconnect the atomizer / remove the batteries.
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In regards to an RTA / RDA (atty) as everyone has stated, the insulator or "PEEK" insulator is the separation point of (+) and (-) polarity. It keeps the electricity "insulated" or "separated" from making connectivity.
The arrow in this picture is pointing out the PEEK Insulator on this OBS RTA base.
The arrow in this picture is pointing out the PEEK Insulator on this OBS RTA base.
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Would like to point out the insulator will not ALWAYS be made out of PEEK, but it USUALLY is in atomizeres these days. Older atomizers often contain non-PEEK insulators that are VERY easy to melt past 15-20W.
And silicone breaks down around 600 deg or less.
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Believe me, I know. I had to designate a trash bin for o-rings and shit I melted at one point it was such a problem, then o-rings got beefier as time passed and further from the coils, then it stopped for the most part.
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Very good point. You also have to be very careful what kind of insulator comes in attys that you get from China wholesale sites... fasttech, efun.top, gearbest, etc. A lot of the "clone" attys on the market do not have the PEEK insulators in them and can thereby melt very easily.
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Also a lot of atomizers on the market that leave the insulator more exposed than it should be, which can lead to it burning / breaking down overtime and eventually causing the atomizer to short.
I wonder how well the goon insulstors will hold up if you vape em at high wattage.
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I vape mine at 120w -160w
nothing melted yet.
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I own several clones that have had 150-250W builds run through them over a few months and no issues have come up yet. Not sure about all clones or the authentic ones though. Never liked them enough to buy an authentic.
Just wondered since they are right beside the coils.
Yep got a couple of 22mm goon clones myself. No issues.
they are ok but I actually like my Oatty clones better.
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I haven't had problems with my 22 or 24... in fact ive only had melting issues on my authentic- hobo v2, veritas and orchid.
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In my experience, if the insulator is actually made out of a durable material like PEEK and isn't TOO close to the coils, provided you don't do outrageous high wattage pulse tests before wicking you should be fine. Even in cases where the insulator WAS a bit too close like the Troll RTA and the Gemini RTA, I never had them melt but I was careful when building / pulsing so that may be a factor.