Vaping is a customisable experience and one of the major ways this is achieved is through vape mods. What is a vape mod exactly? The vaping community have always found innovative ways to modify their vapes and the original ‘mod’ term came from when vapers modified flash lights to produce bigger clouds. Naturally, devices now have been modified safely and securely to ensure vapes deliver what users need.
While the vape mod started off in a more experimental space, it has since been taken into the mainstream and you can find a wide range of mods that can be suited to different needs and requirements. These mods also offer a powerful vaping experience ensuring quality clouds and flavours.
The Different Types of Vape Mod
Vape mods can be broken down into two separate categories: regulated and unregulated. The distinct difference between the two is that regulated mods contain circuit boards and unregulated mods don’t have any. Understanding the differences can help you make the correct purchase for your needs.
There are positives and negatives to both, so understanding how they work and how they can improve your vaping experience is critical to making the right decision if you want to purchase one.
Regulated Mods
So, we know that regulated mods have a circuit board inside of them but why is this important for you? Circuit boards are a safety feature in mods that help protect you and enable further customisation like wattage, variable voltage, and temperature control.
These safety features ensure that you and your vape are kept safe and maintained. Having short circuit protection prevents devices firing from when there is a short circuit and ensures that no damage occurs to your battery. This also ensures that your device doesn’t fire if it has been overcharged or overused.
Having short circuit protection also ensures that your device has thermal protection and prevents the device from hitting if the battery ever overheats. This also aids with your device not firing through improper coil resistance.
Regulated vape mods also allow for personalisation of features with the circuit board. A fixed voltage makes for a consistent vaping experience. This is due to their being a set voltage output meaning that, even if you have a low battery, you’re still maintaining the number of volts.
This also allows for temperature control which means you can set the temperature you wish to vape at and the device will adjust the power output automatically to preserve the coil life and prevent dry hits. It should be noted, this is only available if your coil is made from material like titanium, stainless steel, or nickel.
Another great personalised feature that is available for regulated mods is variable wattage. This is how you can maximise or minimise the power flowing through an atomiser and the power output of the device. This is a great method of controlling flavour intensity, the throat hit, and even cloud production.
There are two common types of regulated mods that are popular with users – pod mods and box mods. They differ through power consumption, size, price, and the e-liquid that is used within them.
Box Mods
Box mods are a common vape mod that are popular with users. As per their name, box mods are shaped like a box with sub-ohm tanks, external batteries, an LED screen to display information, airflow control through an atomiser, and a variable voltage or wattage. They also come equipped with tanks that have spare e-liquid.
Pod Mods
Pod mods are a stylish option for vapers on the go. Compact and sleek, they have less power and low resistance coils than box mods, but are superior to the designs of the e-cig and vape pens that simply don’t have the same punch. They release flavours well despite not having the same power as a box mod.
Unregulated Mods
An unregulated mod doesn’t contain a circuit board, nor does it contain any of the built-in features that come standard with regulated mods. They should be used with caution as this means all of the standard electrical circuitry isn’t there to protect you if your device malfunctions.
Unregulated mods are made up of a battery, an atomiser, and a case to keep everything together. With no safety features implemented, users are taking a huge to risk vaping with them and they are vulnerable to accidents. Using this type of mod is only recommended for those with advanced knowledge of electrical systems and Ohm’s law. A popular, unregulated mod is a mechanical mod.
Mechanical Mod
Mechanical mods are devices that have pure battery power, meaning that they are used by vapers who have built their own atomisers. These types of users also build their own coils instead of purchasing them which also allows them to fully customise their vaping experience.
Self-constructed atomisers are referred to as Rebuildable Drip Atomisers or RDAs. The e-liquid drips onto custom built coils from here. Some vapers also use Rebuildable Tank Atomisers which are known as RTAs that are used as tanks for the vaping process.
Again, these types of mods require expert knowledge for use, so they are not recommended for beginner users. Box mods and pod mods are suitable for both experienced and inexperienced users and provide a pleasant vape.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Regulated Mods
When choosing to buy a regulated mod, it is important to weigh the pros and cons for what your vaping experience requires.
Positives of Regulated Mods
● Suitable for all users, regulated mods come with integrated safety features that prevent batteries overheating or anything becoming dangerous for use – leading to some terrifying results and harm. Not understanding how to operate unregulated mods can cause some serious issues for users.
● Safety features are built into regulated mods meaning that you don’t have to worry about fires or explosions that can cause bodily harm. Short circuit protection, low resistance safety, and even battery overcharge are all accounted for.
● Regulated mods are also easier to charge. All models are equipped with their own charging ports and some mods even have charging pots meaning you can vape as you charge your device.
● They also have much longer battery life in comparison to unregulated mods. This is due to regulators not needing excessive voltage to work preventing the loss of major battery life.
Negatives of Regulated Mods
● Sometimes, there will be issues with every coil not firing. This is due to low resistance protection which may impact the quality of your vaping.
● Like every electrical device, things can go wrong due to complex wiring. With the safety features built into regulated mods though, this is a rare occurrence.
● There are a lot of features which can be confusing for those who are not familiar with vaping. With a good user manual, however, this can be addressed.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Unregulated Mods
While unregulated mods should only be used by experienced vapers, it is worth assessing the advantages and disadvantages that unregulated mods have to inform choice.
Positives of Unregulated Mods
● Unregulated mods are easy to customise. Due to having simple wiring, you are able to customise a vape to meet your exact requirements.
● These mods usually have high voltage and wattage meaning intense flavours and large clouds.
● Being totally customisable, you can upgrade this mod with a powerful battery that can give a more powerful vaping experience to a user.
Negatives of Unregulated Mods
● Unregulated mods are not suitable for inexperienced users. They have no safety mechanisms and can potentially cause a lot of damage and harm to those who use them.
● Understanding Ohm’s Law and battery safety is crucial to using an unregulated mod to prevent your device from blowing up. Batteries can explode from over utilisation, so understanding electrical concepts is necessary.
● With no regulation, unregulated mods find that their current decreases as their battery drains. This is due to them not having an electronic circuit board to control it.
Using Vape Mods
Vape mods can provide a true source of joy for vapers of every ability in their vaping journey. With abilities to customise and work out what elements of vaping suit you, there are plenty of options to choose from.
We do recommend if you are an inexperienced vaper to begin with regulated mods. Even if you have experience vaping, there are still plenty of customisable options on regulated mods and you are also avoiding any potential hazards that sometimes accompany unregulated mods.
If you’d like more help or have any questions about vaping, want to know more about vaping mods or other components, get in touch with us today. Browse our site for some of the best regulated mods on the market currently.