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Saturday, February 23, 2013

Mizers!

So if you're new to Vaping (using e-Cigs), then you may have seen some interesting "words" being used.  This is going to be a quick post to explain some of the more common terms...

eCig - The short form of "Electronic Cigarette".  Traditional cigarettes are now being called "Analogs".  Which is funny, because nobody really calls eCigs "Digitals".  LOL!

eJuice - eJuice (also commonly referred to as e-Liquid) is the liquid that's used in an e-Cig to provide you with both Vapor and Flavor.  eJuices are available in a variety of flavors, covering everything from "name brand" cigarette flavors to things like fresh baked cookies, toffee, cappuccino and licorice (there may be 1,000's of flavor offerings at the time of this writing).  eJuices get their vaporizing "power" from either one of a combination of up to three common food additives, Vegetable Glycerin (also referred to as VG), Propylene Glycol (also referred to as PG) or from Polyethylene Glycol (Also referred to as PEG).  I know that none of those sound particularly appetizing, but I can assure you that as of this writing, all 3 of those have the BLESSING of the FDA to either be used in foods or even in medicines.  While eJuices can contain Nicotine, it's not mandatory.  eJuices are widely available in Nicotine strengths from 0mg and I've seen them as high as 36mg!

Wick - Usually made of either polyester fibers, oxidized stainless steel or oxidized ceramic, the wick is the part of the eCig that delivers the eJuice to the Atomizer Coil.

Coil - A small piece of conductive wire (usually Nichrome or Kanthal wire) that is wound around a Wick in order to produce a current that Vaporizes the eJuice.  Most Coils in use today are between 1.2 Ω and 3.0 Ω, with 2.6 Ω being the most common.

Atomizer - The atomizer is the part of the e-Cig that eVaporates the e-juice.  It's essentially a resistive coil with a small wick that heats up when an electrical charge is applied to it.

Tank - Exactly what it sounds like, it is a container used on many early e-Cigs to hold the eJuice.  Has much in common with a Cartridge, but usually holds twice as much eJuice.

Cartridge - Many e-Cigs use cartridges to retain the eJuice.  The eJuice is used along with an atomizer, thus creating Vapor for you to inhale.  Cartridges generally store their eJuice in an absorbent fiber of some kind.

Cartomizer - A compound word (sure to make it into Websters Dictionary within a couple of years) used to describe a single device that is both an Atomizer AND a cartridge in one.

Tankomizer -  Here's another of those magical compound words, used to describe the combination of a Tank and a Cartomizer (bet you thought I was gonna say Atomizer).  Picture a large, clear, cylindrical tank with a Cartomizer inside of it.  I'll be adding pictures in case you can't picture it yet.  All Tankomizers have "bottom mounted atomizers".

Clearomizer - And another compound word, used to describe a clear Tank and an Atomizer.  While a Tankomizer stores it's eJuice in both the clear Tank and the Cartomizer, the Clearomizer only stores its eJuice in the clear Tank itself.  Most (if not all) Clearomizers have what's called a "top mounted atomizer".

Rebuildables - The term Rebuildable is used in two ways.  The first is a reference to the ability to replace the atomizer and wick, thereby making your "mizer" non-disposable.  The second usage of the word Rebuildable would refer to what's known as "Genesis devices".  Not to be confused with the system designed by Dr. Carol Marcus, a Genesis is a Hybrid between a Clearomizer with the added ability of making your own Coil and Wick.

Update 11/20/2013: Since the original writing of this particular Blog post, the Genesis style of atomizer has been superseded by a whole range of devices, including: RDA's, Kayfun & even Oddy's.  Certainly there are still Genesis style atomizers being produced, but their overall flavor reproduction is far inferior, especially when compared to other types of devices.

This is an evolving Blog post.  If you understand these terms, you'll be able to join the conversation more comfortably.

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