5 Common Questions About Vape Coils

Vaping coils, also called atomizers or cartomizers, are the part of an e-cigarette that vaporizes the liquid in your cartridge. They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes to suit any individual’s preferences. In this blog post, we will answer five common questions about vape coils that you may have been wondering about!

1. What is the biggest difference between an atomiser and a cartomiser?

An atomiser is the heating element that vaporises e-liquid. It’s made up of three pieces: a metal mesh, an insulator and a wire coil called an “anode lead” which heats up when you use it to vape.

A cartomiser has two parts – a heating element (the “coil”) and a tank to hold the e-liquid. It can be screwed onto an atomiser or it can be part of an all in one device, like our popular pen-style devices.

2. Which type of coils are used in tanks?

Most tanks use replaceable coils. The most popular materials used as replacement vape coils are Kanthal, Titanium, NiChrome and Nichrome.

Kanthal is made of iron, chrome and aluminium. It is the most common type of vape coil and it is known for its high resistance and good all-around coil material. The downside is that Kanthal loses its resistivity quickly by heating up, so you need to replace it often depending on how much you vape.

Titanium coils are made from titanium wire. Titanium coils are a great choice for vapers because they don’t lose their resistance as quickly and are said to have a purer taste. With titanium and Nichrome coils, vapers are also able to enjoy temperature control functionality which is not available with Kanthal.

Nichrome (also known as Nickel) coils are made from nickel and chromium. Nichrome is a type of coil that doesn’t overheat easily like Kanthal coils, but it has lower resistance levels than titanium or nichrome so you are likely to run out of juice more quickly.

All of these types of coils provide different levels and styles of vapour production, flavour intensity and throat hit.

3. Are there any alternatives to vape coils?

Not really.

Other than ceramic heating elements, there is no current alternative to vape coils. This is because a heating element is required to raise the e-liquid to its vapourisation point.

If you find the process of replacing vape coils to be tedious, we recommend taking a look at disposable vapes. Disposable vapes are easy to use and maintain. They are pre-filled with e-liquid and cannot be refilled. Once the disposable vape has run out (after approximately 300-600 puffs), you simply throw the entire device away.

4. How much does a vape coil cost?

Between £1-5 per coil. Although, multi-deals are also widely available.

The price of a vape coil varies depending on the material, size, and type of the coil. Typically, coils for devices with resistances below 1 ohm are more expensive than those for devices with resistances over 1 ohm.

For example, a typical starter kit such as the UWELL Caliburn uses KOKO cartridges. KOKO replacement cartridges are priced at £2.99 per coil or 4 for £10.

Each KOKO cartridge will last the average vaper for around 2 weeks.

5. How do you tell if your vape coil needs to be replaced?

Common signs that your vape coil or cartridge needs to be replaced include:

1. If there is a burnt taste or smell from your vapour when using the vape pen, tank or e-cigarette.
2. The flavour of your vape has drastically reduced in strength over time and it tastes different than what you usually get.
3. Or if you want to change flavours without inheriting some of the flavours from your previous refill.

If any of these are true, it is time to replace your coil.

In Conclusion

We hope that you learned something new from our answers to these 5 common questions about vape coils. If you have a question we didn’t cover, feel free to contact us for more information or advice on the next steps!