Vape Coils

What is a Vape Coil?  

The three main parts of a vaping kit are the mod, which provides power to the vape tank, which hold not only your e liquid of choice but also  your coil sometimes referred to as an atomiser. The coil is heated by the power from the mod and vaporizes the e liquid for you to inhale.  
Replacement coils come in different shapes, sizes and resistances – otherwise known as Ohms. Your device will usually have 1 type of coil that works with it in terms of shape and size but not coil resistance. Ohms are a unit of measurement for resistance in metal, what Ohms mean for your coil is the amount of vapour your vape device will produce.  
Coils with a lower resistance or Sub Ohm coils will produce a larger amount of vapour, giving increased flavour and also enabling you to lower your nicotine strengths through sheer size of the clouds of vapour they produce.  
Coils with a higher resistance or Above Ohm coils will produce a smaller amount of vapour. Usually built with restricted airflow to mimic a cigarette. These coils are usually found in Sarter vape kits or vape pens and are used with a higher nicotine strength.  

Mouth to Lung Vaping

When choosing which vape coils to use, you should consider carefully what sort of vaping experience you are looking for. If you trying to replicate smoking a cigarette, you should opt for a high resistance or above ohm, Mouth to Lung vaping coil. Mouth to Lung coils produce less vapour which allows for higher nicotine strengths to be used. It’s best to use MTL vaping coils with a thinner base e-liquid, we recommend a maximum viscosity of 50/50 VG/PG. Anything higher in VG and the coil will not vapourise the e liquids as efficiently as thinner base e liquids, taking away from the full MTL vaping experience.  

Sub Ohm Vaping

If its big clouds and big flavour you’re looking for, you should opt for a lower resistance or Sub Ohm coil. Sub Ohm coils produce more vapour and intense flavour. This vaping style is often referred to as Direct to Lung vaping, DTL is where you inhale huge clouds of vapour straight in to your lungs and as such is usually paired with a lower strength nicotine to allow this. We recommend using a thicker based e liquid or high VG e liquids with these types of vape coils, anything 50/50 VG and higher in VG is advised for these coils. If you use a thinner liquid (high PG) it can cause irritation on the throat as PG is much harsher to vape than VG.  

Coil Types

So, what’s the biggest difference in the types of vape coils?  
Other than all the different vape coil resistances, there are also differences based on the inner materials used, their size and structure and the tanks they are used with.   
Some of the many types of vape coils available on the vape market today include the likes of Mesh vape coils, Ceramic vape coils, Kanthal vape coils and a few others such as rebuildable vape coils and Temperature control coils.
Mesh coils gained great traction when first released. Compared to a traditional Kanthal wound coil, Mesh coils are a netting covering a much larger surface area. In covering a larger surface area these coils allow for not only a prolonged coil lifespan due to the drastic decrease in “hot spots” but also a more efficient ramp up time and flavour production.   
Most coils have cotton inside but not the likes of Ceramic coils. Ceramic coils are not too dissimilar from a regular Kanthal coil, they still use a metal heating component but use a drastically different wicking material. Instead of utilizing the standard cotton wick, ceramic coils use, well, ceramic. Cermaic coils reduce the risk of burnt hits, improved flavour production and reduced spitting. They also heat quicker at lower wattages, resulting in an increased lifespan. 
Kanthal coils are the most traditional of all coils. These coils have been used since the very beginnings of vaping. A Kanthal wire is wound into a coil and wrapped with cotton to produce these coils. Used in both MTL and DTL they really are a staple in the vaping industry. 

Rebuildable coils are used exclusively in rebuildable atomizers known as RBAs, RDAs, RTAs and RDTAs. They can come ready built for you to use or can come in wire spools for you to build to your own liking. Rebuildable coils can be built to specific coil resistance for use in either MTL vaping or Sub Ohm vaping. You will need a set of tools for vaping this way, one of which is an Ohm Reader, this enables you to read the ohms of the coils you have built yourself, keeping you safe if you are using a Mechanical Mod. Please see further safety precautions if using a Mech Mod. Also needed for this type of coils is organic cotton as your wicking material, you can buy organic cotton in pre-cut lengths or laces, sandwich slices, or in a reel for you to tear as required. 

Temperature control coils act as the namesake. They are used with a device capable of Temperature Control Mode, usually found on more advanced kits or mods. What this mode does, is allows the user to set the maximum temperature your coil will reach, never going above it, and your device will adjust the wattage accordingly to ensure that’s the case. This ensures your coil does not over heat and burn, thus prolonging the life of the coil itself whilst also avoiding dry hits. Temp Control coils are made from different types of metals such as SS-Stainless Steel, Ti-Titanium or Ni-Nickel. 

Unsure of which coil you need? It’s a general rule of thumb that the manufacturer of your vape kit also produces the coils you need. If for example you’re using a Vaporesso vape kit, then you will need to buy Vaporesso coils. You may find that some other manufacturers coils will fit your device but it’s best to stick with your kit manufacturers coils. However, there is often a wide range of resistances to choose from in any one specific coil range so you can achieve the vaping experience you desire. There are also a host of cross compatible coils. Examples of such are the Aspire Nautilus Coils which fit almost the entire range of Aspire Nautilus Tanks. The only ones they don’t work with are the Aspire Nautilus X ranges, but again, the Aspire PockeX Coils work with these vape tanks too. 

Time to change your Coil?

Flavour not there? Can you taste burning? 

It’s time to change your coil. All coils will eventually need to be replaced, some can last days, others a week or two. It all depends on how and how often you vape. You will know the coil needs replacing most commonly by a burnt taste but coils can sometimes leak a bit when they need a change as well. Keep an eye out for a drop in flavour from your e liquid, a horrible burning taste or leakage. These are the best indicators as to when it’s time for a replacement coil.