Variable Wattage or Variable Voltage – Clearing the Haze

All that really matters is knowing how a VW or VV mod will affect your vaping experience. Here’s how they affect your experience in the simplest terms and how to choose between the two.

The Similarities

Whether you want better flavor or more vapor, heat plays a part. The higher the heat, the more e-juice gets vaporized per puff. This leads to bigger clouds and a stronger flavor hit. Whether you are talking wattage or voltage, you’re talking about heat. Simply put, fewer watts or volts will result in a cooler vape, more will result in a hotter vape. It’s that simple.

The Differences

Even if you have a device that allows for you to choose either setting watts or voltage, you cannot choose a different setting for both. The science doesn’t work like that. You have to choose to set the voltage or the watts because they are linked by physical laws. Trying to explain would require math and science and that’s boring! Thankfully, we have suffered through the math and the science for you and you can take our word – it’s sound. Or go ask Bill Nye.

Variable Voltage

Either you adjust your voltage up or you adjust your voltage down depending on which heat level that you desire. Different headers provide different amounts of resistance. If you switch out headers, you’ll have to adjust your voltage up or down according to the resistance of the header. The more resistance, the more volts you’ll need. The less resistance, the fewer volts you’ll need.

To put it into more visual terms, think about the amount of power it takes to get your car to go up a hill versus going on flat terrain. You have to give the car more gas to propel it up a hill than you have to give it going on a flat roadway. This isn’t an exact comparison, but it is simple enough to understand.

Variable Wattage

To explain variable wattage, I’ll use another car analogy. Variable wattage is kind of like an automatic transmission – it will adjust the power needed on its own based upon conditions – like what kind of header you’re using and what resistance it has. The upside is that you can change out your headers and your vape will automatically adjust the volts to get the power needed. There’s no need to toggle or reset your wattage settings.

Which Should I Choose?

First, let’s talk about what kind of smoker you were. If you didn’t smoke 20+ cigarettes a day or you smoked light cigarettes, a variable wattage or voltage mod may not be right for you. If you keep your variable wattage or voltage device dialed down to the lowest settings, you might be better off choosing a standard e-pen style device. If you are completely new to vaping, then you might want to stick with e-cigarettes or an e-pen device to start.

That said, these mods are all about increasing vapor and flavor to just the right level for you. You can literally set it the mod to deliver the perfect hit and forget about it. VW devices will automatically adjust for the different resistances of differing headers you might use. However, there is something to be said for being able to adjust settings based on your header or the thickness of your vape juice. VV devices allow you to adjust in smaller increments than VW devices.

Another consideration is money. Depending on how much you are willing to spend, you can pick up VV device pretty cheaply. A VW device or one that allows for you to choose to adjust either wattage or voltage (remember, you can’t change both) will cost a bit more.

It’s All About Your Preference

That’s the great thing about variable wattage or variable voltage devices. As you change coils – perhaps even begin building your own – you can adjust the amount of power depending on the resistance that coil has. The vape juice you use can also make a difference – some juices are thicker and therefore, might need a higher setting to get the preferred taste and amount of throat hit. If a lighter juice tastes burned, you can lower the energy to dial back the heat.

If you are looking to upgrade from your pen or your cig-a-like device, do not let the talk of ohms and resistance scare you off. It’s really quite simple – and you don’t necessarily have to understand the science behind it to know what you prefer. Choosing either a variable wattage or a variable voltage device need not be overwhelming. Go to a brick and mortar store where you can talk to a person in the know. Once you get your new mod home, take it and play with it until you find the perfect setting for your preferences.

Remember, taste, throat hit, and vapor production are all connected to heat. Whether you are talking watts or volts, you are still talking heat. Start with a device on the lower end, which may be cheaper to see if you like it. Then you can move up to higher wattages if you find yourself needing more oomph than you’re getting.