# We get it, you vape: a brief history of e-cigs



## Alex (29/12/15)

*We get it, you vape: a brief history of e-cigs*
by bytesahoy · 17 hours ago

*Haha, "brief". TL;DRs are in the images, details in description if you please.*





Patented on Aug 17, 1965 by Gilbert Herbert, it wasn't until decades later that the first electronic cigarettes really hit the market. There have now been a great many iterations of the electronic cigarette, but it all boils down to the following components: 1. Battery. 2. Atomizer. 3. e-Liquid, aka "juice" (don't ask why that of all things stuck) Battery: Putting the "e" in ecig, we wouldn't have really gotten very far without rechargeable batteries. The battery is housed inside of a tube or box that connects to the atomizer. Atomizer: In a nutshell, an atomizer is like a miniature version of an electric stove. You have a coil of metal which receives electricity from the battery and gives off heat. Typically a piece of cotton is threaded through the coil to soak up the liquid. When it heats, the liquid is vaporized into the "smoke", or "sick ass clouds", as commonly known today. e-Liquid: Made up of four base ingredients -- 1. Propylene Glycol 2. Vegetable Glycerin 3. Pure nicotine diluted with one of the above 4. Flavorings, the same used in hard candies, cakes, and even some perfumes.





Cigalikes are what I started on, the "V2 Cig" to be precise. They had short battery life, very few flavor options, and were typically high in nicotine (24mg/ml or more). You could find them online, at mall kiosks, and other odd spots. Eventually, vendors like Blu showed up in gas stations, Wal-Marts, and other more common areas. While discreet, they were not really effective at smoking cessation. Their components included: 1. A disposable or rechargeable battery where the tobacco of a real cigarette would be. 2. LED tip for that realistic smoking effect. 3. A "cartomizer", which housed the atomizer, wick, and pre-filled juice. This screwed onto the battery and usually was orange colored like the filter on a cigarette would be.





With cigalikes not being all that they could be, many wanted bigger, better devices. Fashion be damned, it did not matter if they looked like they were sucking on big robotic **** - they fashioned "mods" out of, most commonly, flashlights. These were able to house a hobbyist/industrial battery such as the now widely used 18650 lithium batteries. Cartomizers and drippers (think cartomizers that you dripped your own liquid into), were popularly used around this time.





After a few years of cigalikes and mods being the predominant devices, someone finally made something that caught on. Big time. If you've seen no other ecig, you've probably seen this one somewhere. For me personally, this was my next move. The Ego battery and its commonly paired CE4 tank atomizer were a big hit. The battery lasted longer, the atomizers were much better in taste and vapor production, and it was kinda stylish, tbh. I mean, at least people didn't think you were blowing some sort of dildo from your high tech collection of sex toys.  While a vastly better than cigalikes, they did not convince me to quit smoking. The CE4 was actually a pretty horrible tank, so many opted for something like a Protank. Even so, they were very finicky, leaky, and often tasted like burning. It was gross. *Correction on image by /u/theawesomethatis: Janty was actually the inventor of the original eGo and it was in 2009. Ovale released improved models shortly after, and Joyetech was the manufacturer for both of these companies. It seems as though they went on to slap their own name on it and popularize them, claiming all the credit and positioning themselves as an industry leader.





As the evolution of ecigs went on, things got a bit, uhh... wacky. With the advent of better tank designs and variable voltage mods, many customization options opened up. Suddenly you could change the drip tip (mouth piece), the tank's glass, and people would even add little charms to them; it was nuts. Truthfully, few actually went balls to the wall with them. Still, it was definitely more of the awkward, pre-teen era of their development. Variable voltage devices and a nice tank are what finally killed smoking for me. I've had fewer cigarettes than I can count on my hands since shelling out for one in 2012. Now for a little technical business: VV = Variable voltage. Adjusting the voltage allowed you to make the vapor cooler or hotter, controlled flavor, and vapor production. VW = Variable wattage. With the same goals in mind as VV, VW made it easier because you could choose a wattage and it would automatically adjust your voltage. This was handy since you could always get the desired result no matter your atomizer. Batteries: While the ego and cigalike had disposable batteries, most VV devices typically used either the 18650 or 18350 lithium batteries which are now standard. They are 3.7V and typically had 10A max throughput, which is important for our next segment.





If variable mods were the pre-teen phase, then mech mods are definitely the teenage years. The style was refined a bit, still looked kinda like robo-cock, but honestly there were a lot of good looking mods. But yeah, basically just a metal tube. This is also when things got a bit out of hand, but their popularity really helped steer the technology to where we are now. In the meantime, VV devices were still popular and getting better - but the only way to really push the envelope was with a mechanical mod. It's important to note that at this point, rebuildable atomizers (RBA) were gaining a lot of traction. They were a lot of work, a bit of danger, but much more satisfying than anything else available at the time. Like the name implies, you have to buy wire and wrap your own coil for the atomizer, then put your own wick through it. Mech mods became very popular in combination with RBAs because without a chip, you got all of that sweet, sweet electricity all to yourself. You could build a coil of less than 1Ω (ohm), dubbed "sub ohming". Where VV mods of the day were limited to around 15-20 watts, mech mods could achieve 50 watts or more... depending on the battery. That is where mech mods become dangerous, due to the 10A (amp) max throughput I was talking about. Essentially, the less wire there was, the easier it was for electricity to go from A to B. That's all fine and dandy, but if you have the power of a dam flowing out of a garden hose, pressure builds. This did unfortunately lead to a few dummies bursting their batteries, causing fire, an explosion, or accidental death / dismemberment. Luckily 15A and even 30A batteries were not far off the horizon, providing a lot more headroom. Many still liked to push that limit, though. Now, here's a funny thing about mech mods. They were just metal tubes, right? Well some of the first were selling for well over $200. It's not really that far fetched; admittedly a lot did go into designing and manufacturing them. BUT, this lead to the Chinese catching wind of an untapped market. Cheap mech mods. That's right, they literally stole the exact design of every available mod and RBA, then produced and sold it for $15 to $60, logo and all. It's a **** move, but did help drive innovation as companies scrambled to keep up. After I got my mech mod, I actually felt bad for cigarettes. By comparison, they were ******* filthy. My girlfriend did not appreciate the growing plumes of vapor.





Box mods were originally a lot like the flashlight mods of the vaping dark ages. What you see in the picture was about the extent of it, but for the first time a variable mod was able to exceed 20 watts. Yep, these monsters put out 50W at any resistance. This is significant because unlike mech mods, where you had to build small coils, you could build big time. Bigger stove, hotter water, more steam. That's the endgame, anyway, right? These were mostly for people who had made a "hobby" out of upgrading their devices. These coexisted with mech mods for a while, and were the unattainable minority of devices for a long time. It was around this time that you started seeing "cloud competitions". Ugh. Quick note here, most of the obnoxious things that dudebros do with their vapes are not advocated by most vaping communities. Personally, I am very sad to see vaping's reputation take a hit on their behalf, because it's such an amazing tool. Anyway, enough of me on my soapbox. Summer of 2014 is when things really picked up for box mods, with the release of affordable, high-wattage Chinese mods. They were pretty bad at first, but a -lot- has changed in the past year. I bought my current box mod around Feb 2015, which has lasted longer than anything else I've owned (haven't felt the need to "upgrade"). This will also be my last device. I don't really have a valid reason to keep going, but I do still enjoy vaping. Once I'm tired of it, I'm off the vapor train for good.





These days, it is easier than ever to get into electronic cigarettes. The most popular devices are probably the ergonomic box mods with a “sub-ohm” style tank. They provide a good amount of vapor, flavor, and satisfaction for a lot less fuss and far fewer bucks than yesteryear’s devices. One of the recent features that has gained traction is temp control, which lets you set your desired temperature instead of fiddling with the wattage. If you are looking to make the switch from cigarettes, I’d recommend one of these types of setups. You can get pic related for about $60 online. If your 2016 New Years resolution is to quit smoking, consider heading on over to /r/electronic_cigarette - you’ll find all the info you need and a very welcoming community. I’ll also be happy to answer any questions I can here. Thanks for reading, and have a happy new year!

source: https://www.reddit.com/r/electronic...rief_history_of_ecigs_tried_sharing_to_imgur/

Reactions: Like 4 | Informative 1


----------

