The need for control
Lots of vapers have experienced dry hits – that acrid feeling in the back of your throat that makes you cough and lets you know that you’ve started to accidentally inhale singed cotton from your wick. This can happen for a few reasons, mainly if you have turned the wattage up too high and ended up singing your wicking cotton by accident, or if your tank has run dry without you noticing.
It’s a horrible thing to happen when you vape, and a mistake you'll want to avoid happening again.
This is where temperature control comes in. It limits the temperature of the coils in your mod so that they can’t overheat like this. Temperature control mods do this by monitoring the coil resistance and then adjusting the mod when it changes, to reduce heat, restrict it, or simply cut it.
Although the technology is called temperature control, there are no actual heat sensors or thermostats built into the device. What TC mods do is monitor coil resistance as it is heated. Every time a slight change in resistance is detected, the temperature control function automatically adjusts the power supply going to the coil – reducing, restricting or totally cutting it off – to prevent coil damage.
What are the benefits?
Aside from reducing your chance of experiencing a nasty throat hit, there are other benefits to using temperature control mods.
- If you burn the cotton, it can actually end up being quite costly when you think about all the replacement coils you may have to buy (especially if you’re just starting out!). By ensuring that you don’t burn the coils, you’ll save money and extend the life of your coils.
- If you try to vape with e-liquid on a burnt coil, you’ll end up wasting it as the taste will be terrible. If you control the temperature, you’ll be able to get more out of your e-liquid and eliminate waste. Also, when you have more control over temperature, you’ll use less e-liquid.
- Burnt coils or tanks could even ruin your mod, which is an even costlier mistake, and one which temperature control mods can help to avoid.
- Batteries will last longer as you’ll be controlling the power in a more nuanced and sophisticated way.
It’s easy to see why temperature control mods are a good idea – but what one should you go for?
Best temp control mods
There are lots of temperature control mods on the market, giving vapers of all experience levels something suited to their needs.
One of the most popular temp control mods out there just now is HCigar's VT133 Box Mod. The HCigar gives amazing performance through a DNA 200 chip, with a removable dual 186590 battery, output temperature control from 200-600F, and resistance lock mode. It’s one of the more expensive box mods out there, but it’s one of the best temp control mods and worth every penny.
The Maxo Quad box mod is the first quad box mod from IJOY, and comes with variable wattage and temperature control. There’s a great battery lifespan between charges, an output power of 315 watts, spring loaded 510 stainless steel connection, and customisable design, making this a great option if you want to try temp control mods.
The elegant Archon 150W Vape Mod is a sophisticated piece of kit which delivers great power. With a variety of temperature modes, a temperature control range of between 100-315C, output wattage of 1-150Watts, a simple mode selection and upgradable firmware, it’s one of the best temp control mods available today.
Last but definitely not least, the UD Balrog 70w TC Mod from UD packs a real punch. It’s sleek, small and simple in design, with a wattage of 5-70Watts, temperature control range of 100-315F, and operation resistance range of 0.15-3.0ohm.
As vapers catch on to the importance and benefits of temperature control mods, manufacturers are bringing out new models all the time, so there’s loads to choose from.
Something to bear in mind
One last thing to bear in mind when deciding to use TC. Whether you're building your own, using prewrapped coils, or buying pre-built atomizer coil heads, always ensure that you're using a coil material that is compatible with temp control. Kanthal wire, the most common wire used for coils, should not be used for TC vaping - Ideally you should look at using stainless steel, titanium or nickel wire. Using kanthal wire in TC mode will not actually allow your mod to regulate the temperature. While using stainless steel, titanium, or nickel wire introduces the risk of the wire melting when used in variable wattage mode - the result is just as bad, if not worse, than a dry burn! Please be mindful of the wires being used for your coil and always use the correct wire for the appropriate mode.
