HOW A VAPE WORKS, GENERALLY
Vape pens have come a long way over the years and the market has expanded tremendously. As such, it is rather difficult to speak at length about all vape pens because their characteristics can vary dramatically with each specific type. Generally speaking, however, there are certain things that are universal to all vape pens. For example, all vape pens are going to have a mouthpiece with which to inhale your preferred, vaporized concentrate or herb. All vape pens are also going to incorporate some sort of battery as a power source and a heating chamber for the vaporization process. The battery is going to use electricity to heat up the chamber itself or coils inside the chamber to begin the vaporization process of whatever it is that is inside the heating chamber (be it wax, dry herb, oil, etc). Each heating chamber can be designed with a specific concentrate in mind or for multiple types of uses. This will all depend on the specific vape pen someone purchases and the specifications spelled out in the manual, online, etc.
WHAT ALLOWS THE VAPE PEN TO WORK
Besides having the same main 3 parts mentioned earlier (heating chamber, battery, mouthpiece), vape pens also contain other components that will generally be found inside of them ranging from screws, wires, chips, etc. All of these combine to form the smooth, tasty vaporization process we have come to expect from a vape pen.
VAPE BATTERY
This is one of the most essential components of a vape pen. Without it, there is nothing to heat the coils or chamber. While this seems obvious, it means that a vaper is going to want to make sure to look out for a powerful, reliable battery in a vape pen. Make sure to check out product reviews about the output and reliability of this key component. If you are looking for the most powerful vape battery, you might want to look into buying a box mod vape.
PCB CHIP
This is going to be the ‘brain’ of the vape pen. Without it, there wouldn’t be control options like turning on the vape pen, controlling the temperature, having an automated shutoff after a period of unused for safety purposes, and a variety of other options depending on the sophistication of the vape pen. All in all, this key component is not likely to be discussed in the reviews but it would be pretty obvious from the commentary whether or not it is functioning properly.
VAPE COIL, CHAMBER, CARTRIDGE
This is where the type of concentrate or use will dictate what exactly is going to be here. For example, a vape tank would be used for vaping oil because of the liquid nature of the product. It would be disastrous to place liquid oil into the same place someone would normally put wax or dry herb. Likewise, wax concentrates require coils and rods to heat and vaporize it. Whereas a dry herb chamber can use either combustion or convection heat to vaporize the herb. Simply read what kind of wordage is used and check out what the product is being advertised for to determine the concentrate to use.
This is where the type of concentrate or use will dictate what exactly is going to be here. For example, a vape tank would be used for vaping oil because of the liquid nature of the product. It would be disastrous to place liquid oil into the same place someone would normally put wax or dry herb. Likewise, wax concentrates require coils and rods to heat and vaporize it. Whereas a dry herb chamber can use either combustion or convection heat to vaporize the herb. Simply read what kind of wordage is used and check out what the product is being advertised for to determine the concentrate to use.
OTHER VAPE PEN COMPONENTS
There are naturally other small components that are taken for granted: wires, displays, setting controls, etc. All of these items come together to truly make a fantastic vape experiencewithout which everyone would be back to using a lighter and their favorite glass or silicone setup. These components help keep vaping clean, efficient, and tasty.
ELECTRICITY
Another obvious mention but forgotten by more people than one would care to admit, electricity is the magic behind the mirror. It can be easy to forget this essential component but a hard lesson in remembrance when it runs out of juice and there isn’t a plug or cord around. Just remember that a good battery and paying attention to keeping a regular charging schedule will go a long way to making sure there is plenty of power to go around.
THE VAPER
Last, and certainly not least, is the Vaper themselves. This quick shout-out is just a reminder that at the end of the day it’s you that is the main focus and purpose behind the product. As such, make sure to check out just how many different kinds of vape pens exist out on the market and pick the one that best fits whatever preferences or personal needs that may exist. There is no reason to invest money into something that, for lack of a better word, just plain sucks.
HOW DO DRY HERB VAPES WORK
Dry herb vape pens were the earliest vape pens on the market and, as such, there are two main ways that the herb is going to get heated. Generally speaking, both ways incorporate using high heat inside the heating chamber to vaporize the dry herb. However, the way in which this is accomplished is done differently in either case. Combustion, the older way, is essentially not true vaporization. Instead, it actually does produce some smoke and physically burns the dry herb inside the chamber. This means that when someone opens it after use it will have ash inside. This appeals to some more than others particularly those that like a harsher hit.
Convection dry herb vapes, on the other hand, do utilize true vaporization. These vape pens are more common than combustion now and have begun to outshine their combustion cousins. These vape pens essentially work the same as a conventional oven – they superheat the air around the dry herb to begin vaporizing or ‘cooking’ it. This produces a smokeless vapor that is then inhaled. Regardless of which way the vape pen goes about heating the dry herb, all the other components are generally the same and specifically only differ depending on the brand and additional special features.
All in all, these are a great transition product into the world of vaping for a beginner because they do not require nearly as much internal component knowledge as some of the oil or wax vape pens. However, if someone is experienced in other products besides dry herb the transition to that respective vape pen shouldn’t be too difficult.
HOW DO OIL VAPE PENS WORK
Oil vape pens work essentially like the dry herb or wax vape pens with a bit of a twist – given that oil is a liquid (and rather sticky and messy) there are either vape tanks or cartridges that are attached to the top of the batter and heating component. This is going to be where the mouthpiece either is attached or comes attached to the tank or cartridge themselves.
Generally, a vape tank is going to refer to a refillable piece that will have come with the vape battery or was purchased to be compatible with the ‘box mod’ (explained in greater detail below). A cartridge typically refers to an interchangeable piece that comes prefilled with oil. As to which is better ultimately depends on the person. Some prefer to keep their oil with them and carefully refill the tank. Others prefer to simply remove and trash a dead cartridge and pop in a new one. Neither really affects performance.
HOW DO WAX PENS WORK
A wax vape pen is going to have a heating chamber similar to a dry herb vaporizer except that it will use coils and rods to heat the wax and begin to vaporize it. These coils and rods are replaceable and different vape pens will have different numbers of them. They are also made of different materials like quartz (quicker to heat up and cool off) or ceramic (slower heat up and longer cool downtime) that affect, mostly, the time spent heating up or cooling off the vape pen. Which is better is a matter of preference.
HOW DO BOX MOD VAPES WORK
Box mod vapes are essentially massive, powerful batteries that are threaded to remain compatible with different vape tanks, chambers that can use either one or multiples of the concentrates on the vape market. These are usually reserved for power and vapor cloud enthusiasts because these massive batteries provide a substantially larger amount of wattage output compared to conventional vape pens. They are larger in size and not quite as discrete, however, to the vapor cloud enthusiast discretion is a matter of no concern. Definitely worth looking into if someone is keenly interested in the most powerful hits and largest vapor clouds.