How Do Electronic Cigarettes Work?

19 April 2016

Exhale-ent question, visiting vaper! Pull up a chair, fire up your vape and we shall reveal all.

Vaping Part-y!

Vaporisers and e-cigarettes are fairly straightforward devices both made of slightly different parts that essentially do the same thing.

How Do Electronic Cigarettes Work - E-Cig PartsHow Do Electronic Cigarettes Work - Vapepens

1. The Battery:  

Powering up your vape, batteries give life to your vaping tools, and can be revived again and again, recharged either by USB or mains charger. Lifespan varies from brand to brand and vape-pens will generally outlast an e-cig. Vape Pens also have the added advantage of being able to ‘upgrade’ battery models through various mods, allowing for greater power, greater vapour production and longer life, on the downside these powerful batteries can come with a whole lot of bulk too.

E-cig batteries are easily replaceable by being unscrewed and replaced, and disposable e-cigs are just thrown away altogether once the battery dies. If you’re looking to mod-out your vape-pen to give it super strength, you might need to cough up a bit of cash first, though.

2. Atomiser:

This inbuilt heating device allows your e-liquid to be heated, and produce the vapour you know and love. Like batteries, if you want to go total vape-hulk with your vape-pen's atomiser strength it costs a bit more than your average vape and leads you into the realm of serious modders.

The atomiser your device is supplied with will do perfectly well for regular vapers who aren’t up for pulling things out or putting things into their vaporisers. E-cig atomisers are neatly inbuilt, in keeping with the ‘real cigarette’ look while vape-pen atomisers can be spied at the bottom of the tank.

3. Cartridge:

Found on e-cigarettes, these super easy to use, replace and remove items connect where a filter would traditionally be found. Cartridges hold the e-liquid required by e-cigs, when they are empty they are simply removed and thrown away. Much neater so far as reloading is concerned compared to vape-pens, a new cartridge is simply screwed on and you’re good to go!

4. Tank:

What vape-pens use instead of cartridges, tanks are the see-through part of a vape-pen where you can see the liquid. Varying in size and colour, tanks can be relatively small or fairly huge.

When a tank is empty you have to reload it manually, which can be a bit tricky without practise, luckily most e-liquids come with a dropper or a dropper style tip to make loading easier. While this isn’t as quick, clean, or easy as just screwing on a cartridge, it opens up a whole new world of flavour: if it’s in an e-liquid, it can go in your tank!

5. Inhaler/Drip Tip/Mouthpiece: 

As vape-pens are thicker than e-cigs,  the mouthpiece helps you puff away with a bit more ease. Inhaler styles vary from brand to brand, and these too can be modded if you so desire to be thicker, thinner, longer, shorter or with a rainbow plastered over it.

The Anatomy of Vaping

So, there you go, everything you need to know your vaping device from the inside out, as a reward for your hard studying why not treat yourself to a new flavour of vape juice at our online store? Oh go on, you deserve it!

See Our Trending E-Liquids!

Lost Mary BM600 Watermelon Ice Disposable Vape (20mg)

Lost Mary BM600 Watermelon Ice Disposable Vape (20mg)

£4.95
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  • Disposable vape device in an icy menthol watermelon flavour 
  • Provides 600 puffs per vape, roughly the same as 20 cigarettes
  • Bright and colourful design in a conveniently compact case
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Elf Bar 600 Strawberry Raspberry Cherry Ice Disposable Vape Pen (20mg)

Elf Bar 600 Strawberry Raspberry Cherry Ice Disposable Vape Pen (20mg)

£4.99
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  • Disposable vape pen supplied in a delicious mixed berry flavour
  • Provides 600 puffs per bar, roughly the same as 20 cigarettes
  • Compact, portable and drag-activated for a great vape experience 
  • Mix and match 10 of any flavour to reduce price to £3.80 per device
Lost Mary Tappo Peach Ice Vape Refill Pods (Pack of 2)

Lost Mary Tappo Peach Ice Vape Refill Pods (Pack of 2)

£5.99
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  • Pack of 2 peach ice-flavoured refill pods
  • Designed for use with the Lost Mary Tappo Vapes
  • Compact and user-friendly design for ease of use
  • Latest QUAQ mesh coils enhance flavour with each puff
Vuse Pro ePod Chilled Mint Refill Pods (12mg)

Vuse Pro ePod Chilled Mint Refill Pods (12mg)

£6.49
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  • Refill pods for use with Vuse Pro and Vuse ePod devices
  • Supplied in a simple, fresh and cooling chilled mint flavour
  • Features nicotine salts and a strength of 12mg
  • This double pack lasts up to a massive 1900 puffs
Elf Bar 600 Blueberry Disposable Vape Pen (20mg)

Elf Bar 600 Blueberry Disposable Vape Pen (20mg)

£4.99
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  • Disposable vape pen supplied in a delicious blueberry flavour
  • Provides 600 puffs per bar, roughly the same as 20 cigarettes
  • Compact, portable and drag-activated for a great vape experience 
  • Mix and match 10 of any flavour to reduce price to £3.80 per device
OK Vape Tobacco Low Nicotine E-Cigarette Refills (6mg)

OK Vape Tobacco Low Nicotine E-Cigarette Refills (6mg)

£6.99
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  • Tobacco-flavoured electronic cigarette refill
  • Suitable for the OK Vape Rechargeable E-Cigarette
  • Low nicotine strength of 6mg
  • Each pack contains 5 refills, with bulk offers available
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OK Vape Menthol High Nicotine E-Cigarette Refills (18mg)

OK Vape Menthol High Nicotine E-Cigarette Refills (18mg)

£6.99
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  • Menthol-flavoured electronic cigarette refill
  • Suitable for the OK Vape Rechargeable E-Cigarette
  • High nicotine strength of 18mg
  • Each pack contains 5 refills, with bulk offers available
  • Available from £5.20 per pack!
  • FREE OK Vape Starter Kit Offer: Enter switch2ok at checkout
EDGE GO E-Cigarette Device

EDGE GO E-Cigarette Device

£10.99
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  • E-cigarette device for use with EDGE GO pods
  • Sleek and slender device is discreet to use
  • Buttonless design for easy activation
  • Petite 10.5cm length perfect for on-the-go use
Blu Pro Polar Mint E-Liquid

Blu Pro Polar Mint E-Liquid

£3.99
Currently unavailable. Please check back soon  Currently unavailable. Please check back soon
  • Refreshingly crisp and cool peppermint
  • Nicotine strengths: 9mg
  • VG: 30%, PG: 70%
  • Made in the USA
EDGE Very Menthol E-Liquid (Pack of 5)

EDGE Very Menthol E-Liquid (Pack of 5)

£11.99
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  • Menthol flavoured e-liquid
  • Nicotine strengths: 6mg, 12mg and 18mg
  • VG: 50%, PG: 50%
  • Made in the UK
OK Vape E-Cigarette Nicotine-Free Menthol Refill Cartridges (0mg)

OK Vape E-Cigarette Nicotine-Free Menthol Refill Cartridges (0mg)

£6.99
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  • Menthol flavour refill cartridges for the OK Rechargeable E-Cigarette
  • Each pack contains five cartridges and lasts for the equivalent of 125 traditional cigarettes
  • Nicotine-free with 0mg of nicotine in each cartridge
  • Bulk offers available starting at £5.20 per pack
  • FREE OK Vape Starter Kit Offer: Enter switch2ok at checkout
Vuse Pro ePod Chilled Mint Refill Pods (3mg)

Vuse Pro ePod Chilled Mint Refill Pods (3mg)

£6.49
In stock now  In stock now
  • Refill pods for use with Vuse Pro and Vuse ePod devices
  • Supplied in a simple, fresh and cooling chilled mint flavour
  • Features nicotine salts and a strength of 3mg
  • This double pack lasts up to a massive 1900 puffs