What Wattage Should I Vape At?

Every vaper wants to get the best performance out of their device. One way to improve your device's performance is by selecting the right vaping wattage. But what exactly is the right wattage? The straight-up answer is that there’s no one-size-fits-all in terms of wattage. It is a matter of personal preference. Also, the correct wattage depends on how your device is set up.

Understanding Vaping Terminology

Determining the best wattage for your vape requires that you understand a few more vaping terms that will help you understand how to operate your vaping device better.

Advanced vape devices come with three main settings. Each of these settings directly impacts your vaping experience and wattage. Therefore, understanding these settings brings you one step closer to helping you get the most from your vaping experience.

Voltage

The voltage of your vape device relates to the batteries—the greater the voltage, the greater the electrical pressure inside the battery. If you consider amps as singular units, then batteries with a higher voltage contain more amps within the battery. To get the wattage a battery can produce, you multiply the voltage by Amps.

Understanding voltage

Batteries with a higher voltage have greater pressure inside the battery, which means the battery can supply amps to the coil more rapidly, which heats the device faster. Therefore, voltage and wattage have a connection.

Wattage

Wattage and voltage are often confused. But, the voltage is the electrical pressure contained within the battery which pushes the individual units of electrical current around the circuit. Wattage is the combined measure of voltage and amps.

Understanding Wattage

Wattage is a measure of voltage multiplied by amps which is equal to the power being supplied to the coil. If you change the wattage, you also safely change the voltage. However, changing the voltage can force an unchecked overall wattage increase that could damage the device. That’s why variable wattage mods are the preferred vaporiser among experienced vapers.

Ohms

You cannot change the ohms on your vape unless you use alternative retrofit coils on your device. Ohms are the measure of electrical power your coil can carry. In simpler terms, it's like the amount of water in a pipe. No matter the size of the battery you’re using, your coil can only carry so much electrical current.

Understanding ohms

A higher ohm setting means fewer amps can pass through the coil. Higher resistance to the incoming current naturally results in a decrease in wattage, which gives the throat a cooler experience when vaping. Lower ohms have the opposite effect. Lower ohms have a greater wattage, meaning the vape device will burn at a higher temperature.

How Does Wattage Affect Your Device

Now that you know the three main power settings you will find with most advanced vape devices, the next step is understanding how wattage can affect your device and why it’s important to find the right wattage for vaping.

High wattages typically mean higher temperatures because more power is needed to run the device hotter.

Some devices may have volts instead of watts or read out the temperature setting. Regardless of how the power is represented and categorised on the device, it always remains that a higher voltage or wattage will translate into a hotter vaping temperature. 

What is the Ideal Vaping Wattage?

The ideal vaping wattage is a personal preference. But if you have to go with a general number, 20W or less is ideal for beginner vapers that can’t keep up with the hot vapour, while more experienced vapers might settle for something above 20W.

The perfect vaping wattage comes down to what you want. Higher wattage produces thicker and hotter vapour, while lower wattages will produce cooler, thinner vapour.

Another factor affecting your ideal wattage is how long you want to run the device. A higher wattage drains the battery faster. If you want to keep vaping before your next charge, a lower wattage setting will be gentler on your battery life.

How to Choose the Perfect Wattage

Choosing the right vape wattage depends on various factors. Carefully considering each of them brings you closer to finding a wattage setting that delivers the best results for you.

Temperature

The wattage setting will have a direct impact on the temperature of the vapour produced by the device. If you prefer warmer vapour, consider turning your wattage up. If you like it cooler, then turn it down.

Hit

Running the coil at a higher wattage produces more vapour and delivers more nicotine per puff, increasing the throat hit from your nicotine and the PG. Former smokers and seasoned vapers might find a higher wattage better fitting because of the adequate throat hit and nicotine delivery.

Flavour

Temperature affects the flavour of your e-liquid. Using certain flavours at certain temperatures can make them pop.

Menthol flavours, for instance, work better at lower wattage and, therefore, cooler temperatures complement the cooling menthol sensation.

Other flavours, like the creamy and dessert flavours, work better at higher wattage and temperatures.

E-liquid use

Running your vape device at a higher wattage increases e-liquid use because the coil burns more e-liquid to create the vapour. That's why vapers vaping at 40 or 50W can go through a 10ml bottle of e-liquid in a day. If you prefer to preserve your e-liquid, keep a low wattage.

Vape coil lifespan

Going for a high wattage isn’t without drawbacks. One of them is that it lowers the lifespan of the coil. If you consistently run your vape coil at high wattages, you will find that it burns out faster than when you run it at a lower wattage.

As you can see, the right wattage you should vape at isn’t black and white. There are factors you need to consider to find a middle ground that delivers the best vaping experience for you and the best performance for your device.