Glossary: Vaping

A KEY ELEMENT OF LEARNING A NEW TECHNOLOGY IS ITS VOCABULARY. LET US HELP YOU DEFINE KEY TERMS YOU MAY FIND IN VAPING SUCH AS MODs, COILs AND ATTYs.

A

Adapter – An adapter allows a certain atomizer or cartomizer to fit a different battery than the standard.

Analog – A traditional cigarette that takes a flame.

APV - Advanced personal vaporizer. Generally requires separate batteries, tanks, and atomizers. Can be mechanical or electrical.

Atomizer or Atty - One of the central components of an ecig. It heats up the liquid and vaporizes it.

Automatic Ecig – A type of ecig that automatically activates during inhale. As opposed to manual, which has a button that activates the device.

B

Battery or Batt – Supplies the power to the atomizer which in turn vaporizes the liquid. Can be a one time use or, more likely, rechargeable.

Bridge – Sits inside of an atomizer and secures the cartridge above the coil. It also helps the liquid flow through the wick to the coil.

C

Cartridge or Cart – A plastic tube that is generally stuffed with some type of absorbent filler material that holds the liquid.

Cartomizer or Carto – A cartridge and atomizer in one. They generally are disposable, fairly inexpensive and pre-filled with juice.

Charger – A battery charger. Used to recharge your ecig battery.

Cig-a-Like - An e cig which very closely resembles a traditional cigarette in size and function.

Clearomizer - A clear tank storage and atomizer in one. They are refillable and supply liquid to the coil via a wick system. They hold anywhere from 1ml to 6ml of liquid.

Clone - A knock-off of an ecig. Generally clones only exist for the more expensive ecigs.

Coil - The part of an atomizer that heats the liquid.

Cloud Chasing - Vapers who try to achieve the largest clouds of vapor.

D

DNA Mod - An e cig mod with a DNA circuit board to control variable wattage or variable voltage. The DNA chip is made by Evolv Vapor.

Drip Tip – The very top piece attached to an atomizer which you put your mouth on.

Dripping – A method of adding juice to the atomizer. A user drips a few drops directly onto a wick and coil before vaping. Many users feel this method produces the best vapor production and taste.

E

E-Juice – Also referred to as E-Liquid, Juice, or Smoke Juice. This is the liquid that is vaporized when using an electronic cigarette.

E-Liquid – Also referred to as E-Juice, Juice, or Smoke Juice. This is the liquid that is vaporized when using an electronic cigarette.

eGo - A style of electronic cigarette that utilizes the 510 threads, 510 components and has a larger battery. Many people feel this is one of the best and easiest models of e-cigs that are available.

Electronic Cigarette or E-Cig – A device that heats a liquid solution consisting of nicotine, propylene glycol and/or vegetable glycol, and flavoring which produces vapor you can inhale.

F
 

FDA - Abbreviation for the (United States) Food and Drug Administration.

Filler Material or Filler - The absorbent material that is placed inside of a cartridge. It is used to help deliver the juice to the atomizer without flooding it. Most cartridges come with PolyFill as the filler material, some people also use cotton.

Flooding – Something that can occur when too much juice is applied to the atomizer. Since atomizers require some air to properly vaporize liquid, adding too much juice to an atomizer will cause a decrease in vapor production and flavor.

H
 

High Voltage Vaping or High Powered Vaping - An advanced vaping technique which produces hotter vapor and requires less draw to produce the same amount of vapor.

Hookah Pen - Another term for a slightly larger, disposable cig-a-like e cig which may or may not contain nicotine.

J
 

Juice – Also referred to as E-Liquid, E-Juice, or Smoke Juice. This is the liquid that is vaporized when using an electronic cigarette.

L
 

Leaking – This can happen when too much liquid is added to an atomizer or cartomizer. Liquid can leak out of the bottom of the heating element and onto the battery, which in some cases can cause damage to the device.

Liquid – Also referred to as E-Liquid, E-Juice, Smoke Juice, or Juice. This is the liquid that is vaporized when using an electronic cigarette.

Low Resistance or LR – An atomizer or cartomizer with a lower Ohm rating than the standard equipment. This generally causes the heating element to get hotter faster and produces vapor more quickly. In many cases it produces more vapor than an atty or carto that has a standard resistance rating.

M
 

Manual – A type of electronic cigarette that activates the heating element when a button is pressed. Generally found on eGo's and other APV's.

Mech Mod or Mechanical Mod - There are no electrical components like a circuit board in these advanced personal vaporizers. Some purists say there should be no soldered connections in a mechanical mod.

Mesh - Often stainless steel and used to create a wick for bringing e-liquid to the coils of an atomizer.

Mini – A type of e-cig that is generally about the same size as a traditional cigarette. They have the shortest battery life of any style. They are also often made of two parts, a pre-filled cartomizer and a battery.

Mod – Dual usage – Can be used to describe modifications to a device or accessory (such as getting more vapor production out of your cartridges) or a design variation of a commonly manufactured electronic cigarette. In the latter context, mods typically use larger rechargeable Lithium Ion batteries and allow the user longer battery life and increased vapor production but at the cost of the device looking like a traditional cigarette. Many mods will also allow the user to increase or decrease the voltage of their device to achieve optimal performance.

O

Ohm - A measure of electrical resistance. A lower number indicates lower resistance and faster heating.

P

Passthrough – A device that plugs directly into the USB port of a computer or charger and allows the user to vape without having to worry about battery life.

Pen Style – One of many styles of electronic cigarettes available. Slightly resembles a ball point pen in appearance.

Personal Charging Case or PCC – A portable charger that can be taken with a user on the go to charge electronic cigarette batteries. They are generally made to hold mini's.

Propylene Glycol or PG – An ingredient found in many brands of E-Juice that produces a vapor that can be inhaled. Typically, PG produces less vapor than it’s VG counterpart but provides more flavor and throat hit. This substance has been used as a primary ingredient in medical inhalers for years.

R

RBA - Re-Buildable Atomizer

RDA - Rebuildable Dripping Atomizer

S
 

Smokeless Cigarette – A term used to refer to an electronic cigarette. This term is used commonly due to the fact that no actual smoke is inhaled or exhaled while using an e-cig.

Starter Kit – A kit that includes basic e-cigarette equipment. Typically includes everything needed to begin vaping. Most starter kits come with 1 or more atomizers, 1 or more batteries, a charger and 5 cartridges pre-filled with Juice.

Stealth Vaping - A technique used by vapors who want to hide their vapor clouds.

T

Tanks - A plastic or glass storage chamber that holds the liquid.

Throat Hit or TH - The tingling feeling one feels in the back of the throat when vaporizing juice that contains nicotine. Typically, since nicotine is a large contributing factor in throat hit, when a juice that contains zero nicotine is vaporized, there is no throat hit.

V

Vape or Vaping – The action of “smoking” an electronic cigarette. Since e-cigs actually produce vapor (rather than smoke) people refer to this as “Vaping”.

Vapor Production – Typically associated with Juices. Indicates how much vapor is produced using an average inhale of an e-cigarette.

Vaper(s) - A person or group of people who vape.

Variable Voltage or VV - A dial on a battery that allows you to change the variable heat at the atomizer coil. When changing the voltage, there are acceptable ranges for the resistance measured in Ohms. You have to manually adjust your clearo, cart, and/or atomizer to get the right resistance.

Variable Wattage or VW - A dial on a battery that allows you to change the wattage or power. The PV will then automatically adjust the voltage for the resistance.

Vegetable Glycerol or Vegetable Glycerin or VG – An ingredient found in many brands of E-Juice. This is one of the ingredients used that when heated will produce vapor that can be inhaled. Typically, VG produces more vapor than it’s PG counterpart but provides less flavor and throat hit. Some users who are allergic to Propylene Glycol use 100% VG juices.

W

Watt - A unit of power measured as one Joule per second.

Wick – A narrow piece of poly string that is inside many styles of atomizers that allows easier delivery of juice to the heating element.