When you upgrade to a vape kit from your first disposable vape or vape pen, you'll discover a whole range of exciting features that can enhance your vaping experience. One of these features is variable wattage, a function that allows you to customise exactly how much power your batteries send to the coils.
In this beginner's guide to vaping with variable wattage, we'll explain how VW works, how to use it, and why this amazing feature will change your vaping experience forever.
Are you ready to get started with variable wattage mods?
What is variable wattage vaping?
Variable wattage vaping refers to vaping with a mod that allows you to increase and decrease the amount of power being sent to your coil by your batteries. This impacts the temperature of your coils and therefore also impacts the flavour, vapour production, and throat hit.
What are the benefits of variable wattage?
Enhance your e-liquid flavours
Some vape juices taste better at different temperatures; changing the wattage allows you to experiment to find the perfect temperature for your flavour. For example, fruity and floral e-juices tend to taste better at lower temperatures, while rich flavours like tobacco or coffee often taste better at higher temperatures.
Get the best performance from your coils
All vape coils have a recommended wattage range -- this is usually written on the coil or in the packaging. Vaping with a variable wattage mod allows you to adjust the wattage to each coil to achieve optimal performance.
Fine-tune your vape
Perhaps the biggest benefit of variable wattage is that it allows you to customise your e-cigarette to your exact preferences. After experimenting with different wattages, you'll be able to discover your preferred ways to vape with different coils and vape juices.
Enjoy better vapour clouds
Low wattage provides a cooler draw with looser clouds, while high wattage offers a hotter draw and more dense vape clouds. Using variable wattage, you can achieve your preferred type of vapour every time.
No performance dip as batteries die
On vapes without VW, you may notice the quality of your vapour decreasing as the battery runs out and the voltage decreases. Fortunately, e-cigarettes with variable wattage can avoid this by keeping the voltage and wattage consistent right up until the end of the battery's life.
How does variable wattage work?
Vape mods with VW use an advanced chip to recognise the resistance of your coils. When you input your desired wattage, the chip calculates the voltage necessary to achieve this wattage using the coil's exact resistance. Then, it provides this voltage. All this is done instantaneously, making VW mods super easy and convenient to use.
To find the right wattage for your vape coil, look on the package for the recommended range and set your mod for the lower end. Then, you can gradually increase the wattage until you find the ideal wattage level. Be careful not to go too high because this will lead to burnt hits.
What do I need for variable wattage vaping?
Kits/Mods
To enjoy variable wattage, you need a vape kit or mod with a VW mode. Most vape kits these days come with variable wattage.
One of the best and most beginner-friendly VW mods is the Thelema Solo mod from Lost Vape. With up to 100W output thanks to a single 21700 or 18650 battery, this mod can be paired with your choice of 510 compatible tanks to provide an excellent DTL vaping experience. This mod features variable wattage between 5 and 100W, which makes it great for any vaper getting accustomed to VW vaping. You can even turn the wattage all the way down and enjoy a MTL inhale.
The Thelema Solo comes with the fantastic Quest 2.0 chip, offering multiple protections and 0.96 inch TFT colour display with 6 colour schemes, easy to operate and has some other excellent modes such as soft/normal/hard (Variable Power), which allows you to dial in to suit your vaping needs. Interested in trying out temperature control vaping? You can do that too with this powerful mod -- just make sure to choose a coil material that is compatible with your chosen mode!
Finally, the Vaporesso Target 100 Mod is the perfect budget-friendly introduction to VW vaping. Featuring variable wattage for an output of 5-100W, this mod uses either a single 18650 battery or 21700 battery and provides a dreamy DTL inhale when paired with low resistance coils. The device is equipped with the new AXON 2.0 chipset, which offers advanced features, safety protections, and rapid firing capabilities
Coils
It's also important to ensure that your coils are compatible with variable wattage mode. Stainless steel, nichrome, and kanthal are coil materials suited to VW. However, titanium and nickel are not compatible with VW mods.
Variable wattage vs variable voltage
When looking at vape hardware, you may have come across the term 'variable voltage'. These mods operate similarly to variable wattage but they have a key difference.
Variable wattage mods understand the resistance of the coil and account for this, automatically adjusting the voltage leaving the batteries to create the correct wattage.
Variable voltage does not automatically account for the coil resistance and only changes the amount of power leaving the battery. This means that vapers have to manually calculate the right voltage based on the resistance of the coil.
Which is better, VW or VV?
Variable wattage is easier to use because all you need to do is select a wattage and the device will automatically select the correct voltage to achieve it. On the other hand, variable voltage devices require you to calculate the necessary voltage with the resistance of your coil to achieve the desired wattage.
Both variable wattage and voltage allow you to customise your vaping experience, so the choice of one or the other is down to vapers' personal preferences.
Variable wattage vs temperature control
Variable wattage and temperature control are two different modes that impact your vaping experience. What's the difference between the two modes and which one is better for you?
What is temperature control?
Temperature control mode or TC mode is a setting on many vape mods that allows you to set a limit for the temperature of the coils. Once the coils reach that temperature, the mod will automatically adjust the power to keep the coils at a consistent temperature.
This was first introduced as a feature to reduce the risk of dry hits / burnt hits. By preventing your coils from overheating, this mode extends the coil lifespan and provides a more consistent and enjoyable vaping experience. It also helps extend the battery life by reducing the power output automatically.
What's better: VW or TC?
This comes down to each vaper's personal preferences. Both TC and VW modes allow you to fine-tune the performance of your vape to enhance your e-liquids and get the best use out of your coils. If you're worried about dry hits, TC might be the way to go, while vapers who enjoy adjusting their wattage level manually will prefer VW.
Keep in mind that kanthal coils are only compatible with VW mode and are not compatible with temperature control mods. This is because TC mods detect the temperature changes of coils by measuring the changes in resistance as they heat up. Kanthal, however, does not change resistance as it changes temperature, which means that TC mods cannot adapt their output to it. Stainless steel coils are compatible with both modes, making this a versatile coil material choice.
Fortunately, many mods feature both variable wattage and temperature control modes, so there's no need to choose between the two.
Conclusion
Variable wattage is an exciting feature of most vape kits that will allow you to get even more enjoyment out of vaping. If you're upgrading from your first disposable vape or basic vape pen, a vape kit with variable wattage will provide more opportunities to enjoy the best performance from your coils and e-liquid. It's a great way to experiment with different temperatures and tailor your vape to your exact preferences.
Ready to enjoy your first variable wattage vape device? Browse our full range of VW vape kits and mods here.
