What You Should Know About Vape Tanks

Vape tanks are essentially the container on a vaping device that holds the e-juice, and have some other names, such as clearomizers, or glassomizers.

It is easy to get swept away in trying to distinguish between the definitions of each, yet they are all essentially tanks. Their purpose initially was to hold more e-liquid than a standard e-cig could hold, and now they also can create a different vaping experience for the user, in the amount of vapor that comes out, and the taste etc.

Once a vaper starts using eGos and mods he will be introduced to a range of vape tanks very different from the cartomizers of his mini cig days and more advanced than cheap clearomizers like disposables with fixed coils, plastic tubes, and packed with filler. Usually, consumers make a few assumptions about the features of a vape tank as opposed to a clearomizer and we will talk about those here.

The Tube

Firstly, a vape tank is a covered device, not an open atomizer like an RDA. The item is typically made from glass although a few stainless steel and PC items are knocking around on the internet, providing the means to experiment with how a different medium affects the taste of e juice. Several companies have devised stainless steel covers for their glass tubes to protect and beautify them, but this feature tends to fall away as you get into sub ohm tanks; when consumers like to see their e juice. A Nautilus by Aspire comes with an ornate covering to prevent breaking the glass and also because it’s simply lovely to look at. But the Nautilus is a low-resistance tank, not suitable for sub ohms and high watts. Vapers in search of an advanced Aspire item would select the Atlantis, Triton, or Cleito.

Pyrex and Quartz are the two most common types of reinforced glass applied to vape tanks because they are durable and heat resistant, but not unbreakable. Many tank kits come with a spare glass tube. Glass tanks are preferred for their neutral quality — they don`t make e juice taste like plastic. Everyone has drunk water that has been hanging around in a plastic bottle all day and noted the change in its flavor. Perhaps you have sipped wine from a plastic cup, then switched to glass later on, you know how this affects the experience. The same thing happens with e juice vapor. Anything less than glass will not hold up to tank-cracking e liquids either, although Innokin’s original iSub is made from the most up-to-date version of polycarbonate available and might prove to be the exception. Tank crackers literally cause cracks to form in a synthetic tank or will give the material a clouded appearance almost instantly.

The Bottom Cap

Advanced vape tanks always feature airflow control. Reading what vapers on e cig forums say and examining comments by manufacturers, you will discover that adjusting how much air flows to your atomizer coil affects flavor and vapor production. Typically, adding more airflow is great for lung inhalation and vapor production. It’s possible that flavor will take a hit in this setting, but that depends on the tank, resistance, and coil set up. Less airflow is good for mouth inhalation and increases flavor according to some consumers. Middle ground is usually available if vape tank features a ring which can be opened partway instead of all or nothing. Airflow to the coil is controlled by turning a ring in the base cap. Sometimes the valve is one big opening and sometimes there are multiple holes of different sizes. Usually they can be shut off completely to prevent leaking when you refill the tank.

Top Cap

A tube is held in place by two parts: the bottom and top caps. At the top, you see a metal piece into which a mouthpiece is screwed. There might also be a valve located here to adjust juice flow to the coil or airflow from the tip. Airflow in the top cap allows vapers to dissipate heat before it gets to the mouthpiece. Recent additions to the line of advanced tanks offer the option of refilling e juice from the top by simply twisting the top cap away on a hinge or removing it entirely. This is a time-saving move, ideal at high settings with low-capacity tanks using up e liquid rapidly.

Drip Tip

In high-end units for low-resistance and sub ohm vaping this piece is usually removable. Companies typically create a double layer to insulate the outer part and protect the user’s mouth from high heat. The tip could be made of stainless steel, Delrin, or glass. The last one is potentially tastier because the pathway is all glass and completely inert as a result, but vapor could be very hot too. You have to adjust airflow in the bottom cap and also set the temperature of your mod for greater comfort if that’s the case. Consider replacing a less comfortable drip tip with another model. Most sub ohm tips are wide-bore, so they create more vapor.

Removable Coil

All rebuildable vape tanks feature a replaceable coil. Instead of replacing the whole tank every week, vapers merely take it apart, remove the dead coil, and replace it with a new one. Sometimes there is even a rebuild deck where experienced hands can fashion their own coils to preferred resistance levels, very helpful when one is using a TC mod and Titanium or Nickel 200 coil builds. Pre-built resistance levels are limited for these coils. Vapers find replacing coils to be a cost-effective and environmentally friendly option compared with throw-away tanks. Less waste goes into landfills; vaping expenses are reduced overall; and the quality of these tanks is also far better. Tanks like the Nautilus and Kanger’s Aerotank are suitable for low-resistance and low-watt machines like an iTaste VV4 or the MVP 2.0, but at 50W and above you want a sub ohm tank featuring coils that drop below 1 ohm, even to 0.05 ohms with temperature-sensitive coils in a TC setting.

Coil builds for high-end RTAs are extensive. The V8 by Arctic and SMOK’s TFV4 are excellent examples with their assorted resistance levels and materials plus some intricate designs like the Clapton and Hive. Ceramic coils are also becoming popular.

Take It All Apart

The best vape tanks are rebuildable, allowing vapers to take them apart and clean them. A clean tank runs better than a dirty one, is more attractive, and threads better to prevent leaks as opposed to a tank sticky with untended drips of e liquid. A clean tank provides fresher-tasting e juice too.