Fairly) Simple explanation of Ohms, Watts, Volts, Amps, and their interaction. (self.electronic_cigarette)
by poemmys
Understanding how current works is vital for safety when it comes to vaping, even if you don't use rebuildables or mechanical mods, but most people are overwhelmed at all the jargon and seemingly complex math. Therefore, with the help of my friend (a non-vaper) who is an undergrad in Electrical Engineering, I will attempt to explain all these factors in a fairly simple way.
Definitions
Amps (Amperes)- The measure of electrons flowing through a current in a given time, similar to the amount of water flowing through a hose in a pressure washer.
Volts- A measure of the electrical potential or power of a circuit, sort of like the power of a pump behind a pressure washer pushing the water through the hose.
Watts- A measure of the energy being output by a circuit, sort of like how hard water hits a surface when sprayed with a pressure washing hose.
Ohms- A measure of the resistance to the flow of electrons (remember, the flow of electrons is measured in amps) in a circuit, sort of like the thickness of a hose slows down how much water could be pushed through.
Interactions
The Ohms in your coil impede the flow of your amps, and this is why you need a higher amount of volts in a higher Ohm coil to reach the same amount of watts. It's like when a door hinge is rusty, you have to push harder (volts) because the rust adds resistance (Ohms) to your strength (volts) applied to the door, but in the end the door still opens creating the same result (watts).
Unregulated Mods
In a mechanical mod the voltage remains constant, therefore to reach a higher wattage (more heat output) a lower Ohm coil must be built as to allow for as little resistance as possible to your flow of electrons. However, when you output a higher wattage with low voltage, such as with a normal 18650 battery, the amount of amps flowing through your circuit is high, and this is where battery safety and amp limits come into play.
Regulated Mods
In a regulated mod, you possess the ability to change the amount of voltage applied to your circuit, which makes building a lower Ohm coil less necessary because you can push more volts into your circuit to overcome the increase in resistance to the flow of amps. The reason this is safer is because when you output a higher wattage with a higher voltage, your amps will be lower.
Summary
For example, putting out 70 watts using 3.6 volts will require 19.4 amps, while putting out 70 watts using 5 volts only requires 11.7 amps. This is why you'll hear people tell you to build to higher Ohms on a regulated mod.
I hope this helped some of you better grasp the concept of how this all works, and remember, if you are going to build your own coils, PLEASE measure the Ohms of your coils and calculate the wattage, voltage, and amps that will be running in your device using any number of online resources/apps just for this purpose. Be SAFE and vape on!
by poemmys
Understanding how current works is vital for safety when it comes to vaping, even if you don't use rebuildables or mechanical mods, but most people are overwhelmed at all the jargon and seemingly complex math. Therefore, with the help of my friend (a non-vaper) who is an undergrad in Electrical Engineering, I will attempt to explain all these factors in a fairly simple way.
Definitions
Amps (Amperes)- The measure of electrons flowing through a current in a given time, similar to the amount of water flowing through a hose in a pressure washer.
Volts- A measure of the electrical potential or power of a circuit, sort of like the power of a pump behind a pressure washer pushing the water through the hose.
Watts- A measure of the energy being output by a circuit, sort of like how hard water hits a surface when sprayed with a pressure washing hose.
Ohms- A measure of the resistance to the flow of electrons (remember, the flow of electrons is measured in amps) in a circuit, sort of like the thickness of a hose slows down how much water could be pushed through.
Interactions
The Ohms in your coil impede the flow of your amps, and this is why you need a higher amount of volts in a higher Ohm coil to reach the same amount of watts. It's like when a door hinge is rusty, you have to push harder (volts) because the rust adds resistance (Ohms) to your strength (volts) applied to the door, but in the end the door still opens creating the same result (watts).
Unregulated Mods
In a mechanical mod the voltage remains constant, therefore to reach a higher wattage (more heat output) a lower Ohm coil must be built as to allow for as little resistance as possible to your flow of electrons. However, when you output a higher wattage with low voltage, such as with a normal 18650 battery, the amount of amps flowing through your circuit is high, and this is where battery safety and amp limits come into play.
Regulated Mods
In a regulated mod, you possess the ability to change the amount of voltage applied to your circuit, which makes building a lower Ohm coil less necessary because you can push more volts into your circuit to overcome the increase in resistance to the flow of amps. The reason this is safer is because when you output a higher wattage with a higher voltage, your amps will be lower.
Summary
For example, putting out 70 watts using 3.6 volts will require 19.4 amps, while putting out 70 watts using 5 volts only requires 11.7 amps. This is why you'll hear people tell you to build to higher Ohms on a regulated mod.
I hope this helped some of you better grasp the concept of how this all works, and remember, if you are going to build your own coils, PLEASE measure the Ohms of your coils and calculate the wattage, voltage, and amps that will be running in your device using any number of online resources/apps just for this purpose. Be SAFE and vape on!
