A Mini Guide to Voltage, Wattage and Ohms for New Vapers

Even if you are very new to vaping, you've probably heard of terms like the voltage, wattage, ohms, and others. While you won't need extensive knowledge of this terminology to get started in vaping, it will definitely come in handy as you choose your vaping kit, pick your vaping style, chat with other vapers and so on. In this mini-guide, we will give you a brief intro to what voltage, wattage, ohms, and mAh are.

What are ohms?

An ohm is a unit that is used to measure resistance. The simple rule is this: the lower the resistance on your vape kit is, the more electricity will be allowed to go through it. Vice versa, if you increase the amount of resistance, less electricity will flow through your device.

What happens when you use an atomizer with lower resistance?

• Your coil will generate more heat
• There will be more vapor
• The flavor of your e-liquid will be more intense

There are some drawbacks to consider as well:

• Your battery will run out more quickly
• E-liquid will also be used up more quickly
• Coil life will be reduced
• There is a higher chance of a dry hit

What happens when you use an atomizer with higher resistance?

• Your coil will generate less heat
• There will be less vapor — and the vapor will be cooler
• The flavor of your e-liquid will be less intense

Then again:

• You will get to enjoy a longer battery life
• Less e-liquid will be used
• Your chances of getting a dry hit will be lower

Variable voltage and variable wattage

The amount of power that goes through your coil is another factor that impacts the amount of vapor, the intensity of flavor and throat hit.

Most vaping devices come with one of the two types of batteries: variable voltage batteries and variable wattage batteries.

Watts measure how much power your vape kit produces and voltage is used to denote how much power flows through the device.

With a variable voltage device, you get to control the amount of power that goes through your device.

With a variable wattage device, you get to say how much power you want your device to output and it will then automatically adjust the power that needs to flow through to achieve the desired output.

If you increase the wattage, the voltage will also increase — and vice versa.

What does mAh in vape batteries mean?

You are probably well familiar with mAh and have seen the abbreviation used to describe batteries in various gadgetry. mAh stands for Milliamps per hour and measures how long a battery lasts.

What is sub-ohm vaping?

As we've mentioned above, there are two things you need to do to get more vapor. A stronger throat hit and a more intense flavor: you will need to increase the voltage and lower the resistance on your vaping device.

Sub-ohm vaping is basically the maximized version of that. It involves vaping at a resistance under 1 ohm. One of the primary reasons vaper do that is to create lots of vapor. Some downsides of that are that it puts lots of pressure on the battery and coil. As sub-ohm vaping is usually practiced on mechanical mods with no electrical safety switches, it may also increase the risks if your device's battery exploding. While these cases are very rare, sub-ohm vaping is still recommended for more experienced vapers.

And there you have it. We've tried to sum up all the essentials you may need during the first steps of your vaping journey in the quickest and simplest way possible. Interested in more insights? Check our comprehensive starting guides: A Guide to Your First Week of Vaping and A Guide to Your First Month of Vaping.