Terms to Assist Every Vaper

Adjustable Airflow – Either a screw or dial that adjusts the airflow into a tank as the user inhales affecting both the amount of vapour and flavour.

ADV – E-liquid blended to a perfect VG:PG ratio ideal for All Day Vaping

AG – Aqueous Glycerine – AG is pharmaceutical grade VG (Vegetable Glycerine) which has been thinned using deionized water to make it a similar viscosity to PG (Propylene Glycol) and is used as a diluent when mixing your own liquid. AG produces more vapour than PG and adds a little sweetness to the mix.

Analogue – A term vapers give to tradition tobacco cigarettes.

Atomizer – A generic term given to the part of the e-cig that heats the e-liquid and turns it into a vapour.

Atomizer Head – Unit that houses the heating coils and wicking material. Consumable that requires replacement between 1 and 6 weeks depending on the device.

Battery – A battery supplies power to the atomizer and can be an integrated battery unit, where the battery is built in or a removable battery that can be removed from the e-cigarette to recharge or replace it.

Burning – Occurs if the coil gets too hot without enough e-liquid. In certain circumstances, it can burn the wicking material delivering an acrid taste that is unpalatable. Once a coil is burnt it is unlikely to recover normal performance and usually needs replacing.

Cartridge / Cart – The mouthpiece part that contains fibre that holds the e-liquid, usually found in cig-a-like devices or pod e-cigs.

Coil – This is a coil of wire that acts as a heating element and is located inside the steel coil body.

Contact Pin – Is usually the positive feed from the battery, it can be fixed or sprung and makes contact with the positive pin of the atomizer head.

DDA – Direct Drip Atomizer – Is an atomizer that has no e-liquid tank and requires regular topping up with e-liquid through a Drip Tip.

Diluent – Diluents are liquids that are used to dilute your e-liquid mixes. The main diluents are PG and VG and mixed in different ratios can alter the vaping characteristics of the e-liquid.

Drip Tip – Is a mouthpiece with a wide bore through which you can drop e-liquid to refresh the coil of a Direct Drip Atomizer.

Dry Hit – Occurs if the wicking material is dry or has dried out due to lack of e-liquid.

E-cig / E-cigarette – Words often used to abbreviate electronic cigarette

E Liquid – The term used to describe the fluid used within electronic cigarettes. It can come with or without nicotine, in many strengths and flavours and either pre-mixed or mix your own.

ICR – Li-ion Cobalt Round cell refers to the chemical make-up of a battery. ICR’s can have a high capacity rating (mAh) but deliver a lower current than an IMR. ICR batteries are recommended for atomizers with a resistance of 1.0Ω or above.

IMR – Li-ion Manganese Round cell refers to the chemical make-up of a battery. IMR’s generally have a lower capacity rating (mAh) but deliver a higher current than an ICR. IMR batteries are recommended for atomizers with a resistance below 1.0Ω.

Japanese Cotton – Japanese cotton is a natural wicking material that uses no chemicals or bleaches in its production and has good e-liquid retention properties but can burn at high temperatures.

Kanthal – Kanthal (FeCrAl) is a wire alloy containing iron, chrome and aluminium. It is used to make heating coils.

mA – A milliamp is a unit used to measure current and is equal to one-thousandth of an Amp. 1000mA = 1A. This applies to the battery charging current, the higher the milliamps the faster a battery will charge. The charging rate should never be greater than the mAh rating of the battery.

mAh – A unit for measuring electric power over time. mAh is commonly used to describe the total amount of energy a battery can store at one time.

Micro USB – Most modern electronic cigarettes have a Micro USB port for charging the battery.

Mixing – Mixing can refer to blending one or more flavoured e-liquids with each other. Advanced mixing can involve mixing a solution of diluent with concentrated flavouring and a solution that may or may not contain nicotine.

Mechanical Mod – A “Mod” originally meant “Modified” and referred to handmade components/devices that used converted household items such as flashlights or lozenge tins. Mechanical mods have no electronic switches, regulators or chips and rely on mechanical connections to operate.

ML – A millilitre (that is milli and litre put together) is a very small amount of liquid. There are approx. 20 drops to one ml. With e-cigarettes, it is used to indicate the capacity of the tank and selling volume of e-liquid.

Ni (Nickel) – Nickel wire is a low resistance wire used to make heating coils and can be used with VT (Variable Temperature) devices. Pure nickel is used because there is a linear relationship between resistance and temperature. As the coil heats, the resistance changes and the algorithm built into the processing chip of the electronic cigarette can determine the temperature from the resistance it is measuring.

Nichrome – Nichrome is a popular resistance wire used to make heating coils, it is a nickel/chrome alloy.

Ohm (Ω) – The ohm is the SI unit of electrical resistance and is named for Georg Simon Ohm, the German physicist who created Ohms Law. On atomizer heads, it indicates the resistance measurement of the heating coil as a numerical value. E.g. 1.8ohm.

Pen Style – Sometimes referred to as ‘vape pen’, a tube-like e-cig that looks similar to a pen. Usually having no settings to adjust making them simple to use and ideal first e-cigarettes.

PG – Propylene Glycol – PG (Propylene Glycol) is pharmaceutical grade and is used as a diluent when mixing your own liquid. PG produces less vapour than VG and adds clarity to flavours.

Sub-Ohm – Refers to heating coils with an electrical resistance of less than 1.0Ω.

Tank – Top of an e-cigarette which connects to the battery, houses the atomizer and e-liquid and has either a removable or fitted mouthpiece on top.

Throat Hit – Throat hit is the sensation of nicotine at the back of the throat.

Ti (Titanium) – Titanium wire is a low resistance wire used to make heating coils and can be used with VT (Variable Temperature) devices. Pure titanium is used because there is a linear relationship between resistance and temperature. As the coil heats, the resistance changes and the algorithm built into the processing chip of the electronic cigarette can determine the temperature from the resistance it is measuring.

USB-C – USB-C is a faster, more efficient way of charging your e-cig. Sometimes referred to as type-C, the uniform design means it doesn’t need to be inserted in any particular direction for charging to begin.

Vape Pod – A simple to use, all-in-one vaping device consisting of an in-built battery with a disposable ‘closed system’ cartridge/pod housing the atomizer head and e-liquid.

Vaping – Inhaling and exhaling the vapour produced by an electronic cigarette.

VG – Vegetable Glycerine – Vegetable Glycerine is pharmaceutical grade VG (Vegetable Glycerine). It is used as a diluent when mixing your own liquid. VG produces more vapour than PG and adds a little sweetness to the mix.

VV / VW / VT / Variable Voltage / Variable Wattage / Variable Temperature – These common terms refer to output measurements that vaping devices refer to, Variable Voltage (VV), Variable Wattage (VW) and Variable Temperature (VT). Variable Voltage refers to electromotive force being pushed through the atomizer whereas Variable Wattage refers to the power produced by that force. Put simply a Variable Wattage device detects the atomizer resistance and selects the correct voltage to deliver the desired output whereas a Variable Voltage device delivers the selected output irrespective of the atomizer resistance. Variable Temperature controlled devices enable you to pre-set a maximum temperature in Celcius or Fahrenheit that the atomizer coil will be able to reach.

Wicking Material – Normally consists of cotton, which provides full flavour and vapour production whilst evenly absorbing e-liquid. Silica wick is less frequently used in some older e-cig models.