Sub-Ohm Tanks – Is Bigger Better?

You’ve seen them online and in your local vape shops: the new generation of sub-ohm tanks. Tanks such as the SMOK TFV8, the iJoy EXO XL and the Aspire Athos are big — really big. Their mammoth coil heads hold as many as 14 individual coils and can draw hundreds of watts from your mod.
If you’re currently using a “classic” sub-ohm tank such as the Kanger Subtank or Horizon Arctic tank, you’re probably wondering what the experience of using one of these bigger sub-ohm tanks is actually like.You can figure out on your own that 14 coils will generate more vapor than one — but is that really all there is to it? Is a bigger sub-ohm tank really better?Let’s find out.

RBA-Like Performance

Switching to a larger sub-ohm tank will drastically improve the vapor production of your mod. The performance that you’ll get from a tank like the SMOK TFV8 Baby Beast will even rival that of a rebuildable atomizer. If you’ve never built your own coils, a large tank will give you clouds like you’ve never seen before. Since a larger tank will also disperse the vapor over a wider area of your palate, you’ll probably also find that it intensifies the flavor. The latest sub-ohm tanks generate so much vapor that you’d probably find it difficult to switch back to your previous sub-ohm tank after trying a larger tank. From the standpoints of flavor and lung hit, you simply won’t find your previous tank as satisfying as you once did. Does your current tank satisfy you, or are you looking for more? If you’re happy with your current equipment, you may not want to use a larger tank. We’ll explain why as the article continues.



More Convenient Than an RBA

If you’ve been vaping for a while and are using a sub-ohm tank, it’s likely that you are aware of rebuildable atomizers and have simply made the decision not to use one. Maybe it’s because you’re worried about safety issues and nervous that you might build a coil with a short. Perhaps you simply don’t want to go through the constant cycle of wrapping, dry firing, wicking and testing. With the latest sub-ohm tanks, you can experience virtually all of the performance of an RBA with none of the extra work.

More Expensive Coil Heads in Sub-Ohm Tanks

If you switch to a larger sub-ohm tank, you’ll pay about the same price per box that you currently pay for replacement coil heads. However, each coil head will cost 20-40 percent more than what you’re currently paying because each box of coils will contain four — or possibly three — coils rather than five. The coils won’t last any longer than the ones you’re already using, though. In fact, since the amount of e-liquid you consume determines how quickly your coils develop gunk, you may actually get less usage out of your coils — which brings us to our next point.

Sub-Ohm Tanks Mean Faster E-Liquid Consumption

How quickly do you currently drain a tank of vape juice? Would you like to drain your tanks four times faster? If you switch to a sub-ohm tank with a wider coil head, that’s exactly what’ll happen. The fact that you find each puff more satisfying might cause you to puff less frequently — at first — but eventually you’ll probably settle back into your usual vaping pattern. A larger tank will inevitably increase your e-liquid costs. If you switch from something like a Kanger Subtank to a SMOK TFV8, you should plan for your e-liquid costs to at least double.

Higher Hardware Demands

The new sub-ohm tank platforms have a wide variety of different coil heads available. Most of the options, though, utilize very low-resistance coils.The SMOK V12-T14 coil head, for example, has a resistance of just 0.12 ohms and works within a range of 80-350 watts. If you’re currently running a Kanger Subtank at 25 watts, it’s a huge leap. Running a 0.12-ohm coil head at 300 watts, for example, would produce a current of 50 amps. If you used the coil on a mechanical mod with a 4.2-volt battery, the current would be 35 amps. Can your device meet those demands? Most can’t. You need a device and batteries capable of supporting extremely high currents. If you want to, you can drive a bigger sub-ohm tank at a more modest wattage. The problem, though, is that when you’re driving up to 14 coils, you’ve got a considerable amount of metal that needs to heat up before it’ll produce any vapor. At lower wattage settings, the heating time will probably be longer than you’re currently used to.



Potential Safety Issues with Sub-Ohm Tanks

It’s well known that battery sellers exaggerate the specifications of their products. E-Cigarette-Forum user Mooch has tested hundreds of batteries. Some of those batteries’ sellers have claimed that their products have continuous discharge ratings of up to 60 amps. However, no 18650 batteries tested by Mooch actually support a continuous discharge of higher than 30 amps. Most 18650 batteries don’t even support 30 amps. If you put a 0.12-ohm coil on a mechanical mod with a single 18650 battery, you’re taking an unacceptable safety risk.

Final Thoughts

So, is a bigger sub-ohm tank really better? If creating bigger clouds with minimum effort is your primary vaping goal, buying one of the new generation of sub-ohm tanks is absolutely worth it.If you’re currently using a sub-ohm tank with a single-coil or dual-coil head, you will experience drastically larger vapor clouds and improved depth of flavor. You’ll have to decide, though, whether generating bigger clouds with a new sub-ohm tank is actually what you want in light of the drawbacks. When you buy one of the new, large sub-ohm tanks, your daily cost of vaping will immediately increase.Your coil heads will cost more, and you’ll consume more e-liquid. Your new tank will also demand much more from your mod than your current tank does. The new generation of sub-ohm tanks might seem almost as simple as the tank that you’re using right now.The truth, though, is that these tanks are for experienced e-cigarette users who know the capabilities of their devices.