In previous articles, we’ve discussed ways to properly store your vape pens, but you might wonder what makes one up. This can be important in case you need to replace a part. The precise makeup of a vape pen will differ depending on the brand or exact device. However, the overall vape pen anatomy involves the combination of five different parts. These include the following: mouthpiece, tank/cartridge, atomizer, power button and sensor, and, finally, battery.

Now, let’s go over the different parts of your vape pen so you can be a vape pen expert.

Vape Pen Anatomy: Mouthpiece

This is probably the piece that you are most likely to know right away. The mouthpiece is the part that you’ll actually inhale the vapor through. It can be made from glass, silicone, or plastic. Depending on the device, it can come in different shapes, sizes, or even colors.

Sometimes called drip tips, the mouthpiece is both removable and replaceable, making it one of the easiest pieces to replace.

Vape Pen Anatomy: Tank/Cartridge

This is the part that will most likely be changed most often and actually differs depending on the device. A tank is a refillable chamber that you will use to insert your own oil, whereas a cartridge is a part that comes pre-filled with oil. Be aware that these two terms, however, are often interchangeable. 

Many tanks/cartridges come with the mouthpieces attached, and include the hardware for the atomizer. You will need to make sure the cartridge threads match those of the battery.

Vape Pen Anatomy: Atomizer

This is the section that is the most crucial. It is the part where the oil is heated, containing the heating element in a steel or ceramic housing. The atomizer can actually come in three different types, differing from one another on the material used in the heating element. Each of these different types have different characteristics.

Cotton Wick

The cotton wick atomizer has a coil of wire wrapped around a small bit of cotton, which is saturated with the oil and heated. This type of atomizer is easy to burn the wick. Viscous oils and higher voltages make this burning much more likely. Should this burning occur, you’ll be hit with not only a bad taste, but the coil will also need to be replaced.

Quartz Atomizer

This one heats up very quickly, meaning you can enjoy it a lot faster. That said, it doesn’t retain heat as well as the next type.

Ceramic Coils

These types involve having a wire wrapped around a small ceramic cylinder. It can be used at higher voltages than the cotton wick type and retains heat better than the quartz atomizer. 

Vape Pen Anatomy: Power Button and Sensor

This is probably the part that you will most easily be able to pick out. As you can probably guess, the power button is the one you press to take a hit. It will depend on the device as to what type of power button it is. For example, some have a power button that gets pressed when you inhale, triggering the atomizer to start heating up. Some turn on automatically when air is drawn through the cartridge.

Be aware that just hitting the button once won’t do it. Any device having a power button will likely need to be pressed multiple times to turn on and another series of times in order to turn off. This helps to prevent accidentally activating the pen, which could both damage the pen and waste your oil.

Vape Pen Anatomy: Battery

The battery is probably the piece that will be replaced the second most often of all of them. The battery needs to provide enough power to heat the atomizer up to a high temperature. Some of them can be rechargeable, but others will need to be replaced, so you will need to make sure to get the right voltage. Voltage is important because getting one with too little voltage won’t sufficiently heat the atomizer and too much could damage it. The 510 battery is the one most commonly used, so it is likely that is the type you will need.

Know the Parts, Know What to Replace

By knowing the different parts of your vape pen, you will be able to replace them should the need come up. Just make certain that you are aware of the different types of each part that is available and which ones are used in your pen.

If you would like to find some great choices to use with your vape pen, then visit 3Chi where you can find a plethora of vape cartridges available for purchase at reasonable prices.

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2 thoughts on “Breaking Down Vape Pen Anatomy

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