Let’s Get Tanked!
Atomizers also known as, Tanks, Atty, Clearomizer, Sub-oHm, Glassomizer, Cartomizer, RTA, RBA, RDA, RTDA and Pod Cartridges. Most commonly referred to as Tanks, there are differences between the types but what are they?
Like Mods, Tanks come in a variety of styles and types ranging from beginners, intermediate and advanced but what do tanks do? Believe it or not, their job is to do more than just look good while holding your favourite e-juice! They are designed and constructed to heat liquid at high temperatures to turn it into vapour. Another very important job is allowing airflow through to the coil that not only assists in cloud production, but also helps to cool the coil down during use.
The main material used in the construction of a tank is Stainless Steel and almost all are made with Pyrex glass, why? Pyrex is tempered glass so it can handle very high temperatures without shattering. At the end of the day, it’s still glass and can break if its dropped. If that does happen its not the end of the world as replacement glass are available. Lots of tanks also have the option to increase or decrease juice capacities using either straight (less capacity) or bubble (more capacity) glass.
As technology advances with Mods, Tanks have to keep up as well I mean let’s face it, they go hand in hand. With higher powered Mods, you need to top it with a Tank that cant take it. For example, if you put a Clearomizer on a Geekvape Aegis X device, it wont work. The same applies in reverse with a high powered tank and low powered device.
Types of Tanks
Clearomizer
Starting with the most basic construction we have the Clearomizer (aka Glassomizer). Made with either plastic or Pyrex glass and Stainless Steel they have a small juice capacity and use pre-built disposable coils. Perfect for beginners these easy to use tanks like the Kangertech Mini Protank 3, are designed for low powered devices.
Despite being for low powered devices, they still offer moderate vapour production. Clearomizers give you a tighter draw (MTL) almost mimicking the feel of a cigarette which is great to help newbies get used to vaping.
Due to the small coils used e-juice ratio of 50/50 is recommended.
Sub-oHm Tank
The most mainstream out of all tanks is the Sub-Ohm. This popular tank is a bigger version of a Clearomizer but built for mid to high powered devices. Everything is bigger! E-juice capacity is anywhere between 3.5ml (Vaporesso GTX22) up to 9ml (Smok TFV16). Sub-Ohms also use pre-built disposable coils and the range to choose from is extensive. Having multiple coil options gives you more customization from vaping style (MTL/DL), vapour production and even flavour enhancing. A common issue with some Sub-Ohms (and Clearomizers) is they can be susceptible to leaking. The top reasons for this are:
- The coil has deteriorated
- The O-Rings a corroded, damaged, dirty (yes, the spare ones you get with your tank are included for a reason. Over time they need to be replaced)
- You haven’t used your vape in a while and it has just been sitting there looking pretty, coils don’t like that.. at all..
- The device has been laid down on its side
- The coil wasn’t installed properly (most common)
- Incorrect VG/PG ratio
- External heat
Leaks are a quick fix and the more experience you have with tanks, the less they are likely to happen. Sub-oHm coils generally last longer than Clearomizer coils and offer better flavour and cloud production. Many offer a top filling design such as either sliding the top over to expose a fill port or removing the top completely. The great thing about top filling is its quick, mess free, easy and virtually impossible to overfill your tank. Due to increased airflow, a looser draw (inhale) is experienced.
Majority of Sub-Ohm tanks go perfectly with e-liquid ratio of 70/30 or even 60/40.
Rebuildable
To get the absolute maximum flavour out of your e-juice you cant go past rebuildables. Rebuilds refer to manually building the coil instead of using pre-built disposable ones. Its a bit of a process and research about wire types, oHm laws, amp levels and wicking material is key. Tools are involved and kits like Demon Killer have everything you need to build.
The extra work will pay off as you can tailor the base materials to get the vaping outcome you’re after. Types of rebuilds are Rebuildable Tank Atomiser (RTA), Rebuildable Dripping Atomiser (RDA), Rebuildable Dripping Tank Atomiser (RDTA). The difference? RTA has a tank that holds your juice, RDA is where you drip your juice onto the coil, RDTA is a combination of an RTA and RDA.
Made for high powered devices, rebuilds can transform your device into a truer flavour enhancing, thick cloud producing machine. Straight up, they aren’t advised for beginners. It is highly recommended to get some experience behind you before attempting to use rebuilds. A coil built incorrectly can result in damage to either your tank or device or both.
Pod Cartridge
Vaporesso Luxe PM40
Just like all previous generations of vaping devices, there are also different types of Pod systems. The biggest difference between a mod and a pod is the cartridge system. Some Pods have disposable cartridges that come pre-filled with e-liquid while others are refillable so you can use what ever juice you like. These refillable cartridges do have coils that will need to be replaced overtime however, the advantage of refillable cartridges is the options of coils to choose from. Also, if you are a coil building fan, some Pod devices also allow this coil option as well.
Depending on the coil used, either 70/30 or 50/50 ratios can be used.
Choosing a Tank for your Device
There are three things to consider when purchasing devices and tanks separately.
- Power of the device
- Wattage of the coils
- Tanks that fit the coil and device
It’s not difficult but with the amount of tanks and devices on the market it can make it seem a bit overwhelming. You can have a different brand tank to device as long as the tank wattage range is the same as the device you cant really go wrong. Another thing to be mindful of is the thread size, however most devices and tanks with higher powered devices are 510.
Have More Questions?
If you are wanting to get into rebuild options, we are here to help. We can show you what you need and how to set up your tank safely. Or, if you are wanting the best tank for your device we can help with that too.
