What Does Ohms Mean On A Vape?

Understanding resistance, also known as ohms, can be difficult, but comprehending the number of ohms in your vape’s coil is essential to your overall vaping experience. It’s crucial you know what your vaping preferences are before you begin.

Read on to discover what ohms are and how they affect you.

What Are Ohms?

Much like other units of measurement, Ohms (Ω) are so-called after their “creator,” Georg Simon Ohm, but what do they measure? Ohms measure electrical resistance, meaning they measure the opposition to the flow of electrical current. If you’re already lost, don’t worry; it’s a tricky part of physics to get your head around.

Imagine a river: the wider the river, the more water can flow, but imagine a beaver has built a dam in the river with sticks and stones - they’re the resistance to the flow, and that’s what ohms are measuring. Transferred into vaping, the resistance is the amount of opposition, sticks and stones, to the electrical current flowing, like the river's water, from the battery to the coil. 

Coils are typically metal wires that encase a wicking material, most commonly cotton. When the electrical current flows from the battery to the coil, the coil heats the wicking material, which has already soaked up the e-liquid and produces vapour to inhale. Back to the beaver and its dam, the coil's resistance - or number of sticks and stones - will determine how much power the battery needs to heat it and, thus, how quickly the coil will heat up. 

High Ohms vs. Low Ohms

Where things start to get slightly more complicated is the difference between higher and lower ohms, but understanding this difference is essential if you want to maximize your vaping experience. 

High Ohms

While not a written rule, any coil with a 1.0 ohms or higher resistance is generally considered a high ohm coil. Meanwhile, a coil with a resistance of fewer than 1.0 ohms is a low ohm coil. Neither is better or worse than the other; it’s about picking the coil to suit your vaping preferences.

For example, vapers typically use higher ohms when using the mouth-to-lung technique. Some vapers will choose this technique because it mirrors that used in smoking tobacco cigarettes. On the other hand, low ohms are better for vapers who don’t like to use this technique because they suit the direct-to-lung vaping process, producing more giant vapour clouds.

It’s all about personal preference. However, suppose you’ve recently transitioned from smoking tobacco cigarettes to using vapes. In that case, higher ohms coils are preferable because they help mimic the same mouth-to-lung method, forcing the user to inhale the vapour at a slower pace. It’s important to note that if you have moved to vaping as a part of a cessation journey, they aren’t risk-free, and it will be 20-30 years before you can know the long-term health effects of vaping.

Perhaps you aren’t bothered by which technique to use and are considering which coil option will help your battery last longer. In this case, higher ohms are preferable because they require less power to heat the coils, so your battery will last longer, and your e-liquid will likewise last longer. Those who save a few extra dollars might prefer buying high ohms coils long-term.

Low Ohms

Even if you like the appeal of saving a couple of dollars on e-liquid, that may not matter if you know that the mouth-to-lung vaping method isn’t for you. In this case, using low ohms will help with the direct-to-lung vaping technique. 

As opposed to the mouth-to-lung technique, you’ll get more giant vapour clouds and find yourself taking looser inhalations, which doesn’t mimic the tobacco smoking experience. However, lower ohms require more power; this might seem counterintuitive because, considering the beaver and its dam, the fewer sticks and stones, the more water can flow through. And while that’s exactly right, it means that the more the current source, in this case, the battery, will drain, the more power is needed than high resistance coils. 

With this in mind, vapers often use lower ohms coils in larger devices because they have a higher wattage threshold (they can pump more water down the river). If your battery is suddenly draining much quicker than usual, it’s worth asking yourself if you’ve changed your standard coil for a lower ohm coil.

Battery life might not bother you, mainly if your vape is rechargeable. However, lower ohms aren’t suitable for anyone who likes to vape discreetly, as they produce far more giant vapour clouds. 

How Do Ohms Affect the Vaping Experience?

Your vaping experience will change quite dramatically depending on whether you use a low-ohm or high-ohm coil; this change in knowledge could be for the better or the worse, depending on your vaping preferences. So, before you change the coil in your vape, it’s best to know your choices first.

If you like the mouth-to-lung technique, you’d rather your battery life last a little longer or want to vape discreetly. Higher ohm coils will be preferable. However, if you like to create more giant vapour clouds or prefer the direct-to-lung vaping technique, the lower ohms may suit your vaping experience better. 

Do Ohms Affect Flavor?

Whether you choose high or low-resistance coils, you’ll still taste the flavouring of your e-liquid. However, it’s important to note that depending on where you’re living will depend if flavoured vapes are available. To battle the rise of underage vaping use, some provinces, including Quebec, have placed a ban on the sale of flavoured vapes. In this instance, your chosen resistance won’t matter.

Some vapers have experienced a more intense flavour from the lower resistance coils. Yet, it’s worth noting that a lower resistance vape won’t always mean a more intense flavour, as flavours perform better with different ohms.

How Do Manufacturers Choose Coil Resistances for Disposable Vapes?

As the difference in resistance can dramatically affect the vaping experience, reputable manufacturers must choose their vapes' coil resistance wisely. Manufacturers must partner their coil’s ohms with suitable wicking material to balance the heating and avoid dry-burning the metal. 

For example, manufacturers will test different ohms in their coils to assess how much battery power is needed and its effect on the e-liquid. They’ll try different e-liquid viscosities and wicking materials to find the perfect pairings. It’s not just coils that change the vaping experience; higher PG (Propylene Glycol) e-liquids will also allow for lower resistance, so the resistance depends on multiple factors. 

Additionally, even the number of times the coil is wrapped around will alter the resistance; the more coil windings, the higher the opposition and the thicker the ring, the lower the resistance. Constant testing is needed to find the optimal marrying of different vape components. Hence, buying from a responsible and reliable company is essential.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a Higher Ohm Setting Better for Vapes?

If you prefer the mouth-to-lung technique and don’t like to produce large clouds of vapour, it’s worth picking a higher-resistance coil. Likewise, if you’d rather not recharge your vape as often, you don't need as much power with high-ohm vapes.

What Is the Best Ohm Setting for Flavor?

It depends on the flavour, as different flavours will have different responses to changes in resistance. Some vapers will use lower resistance coils because they get a more intense sense of taste, but only some vapers or flavour preferences are the same.

Final Thoughts

Now you know what ohms are and the essential differences between low and high ohms, it's crucial to pick the right vape and coil for you. If you're looking to replace an old vape with a new one to suit more of your vaping needs, look into what WAKA vapes has to offer today.