For the Best Experience with Vape Carts, You Need a Good Battery
Over the past few years, pre-filled cartridges have become some of the most popular vaping products in the world – and much of the popularity stems from the fact that they’re very versatile. You can buy vape cartridges filled with standard nicotine e-liquid or a variety of hemp-derived products such as Delta-8, Delta-10 and CBD – and if you buy the right vape battery, you can use that one device with virtually all of the vape cartridges on the market.
With the wrong vape battery, on the other hand, you’ll find it difficult to have an enjoyable experience with any vape cartridge. The blister-packaged vape batteries that you’ll find in the local convenience stores and gas stations, for example, will almost always give you a sub-par experience because they’re not designed to be reliable or to deliver power consistently – they’re designed to be cheap.
So, what are the keys to buying the right vape battery for your needs? Reading this article, you’re going to learn the differences between a great battery and one that’s destined to end up in your junk drawer.
These are the features that you should always look for in a battery for vape cartridges.
510 Threading
If you look at a vape cartridge from the side, you’ll usually see that the cartridge’s threading protrudes slightly from the bottom. That type of threading is called 510 threading, and it’s the threading style that almost all vape cartridges and batteries use. Because most vape batteries use the 510 thread, this isn’t usually something that you need to worry about – but you should still verify the threading type before buying a vape battery because a battery that doesn’t have 510 threading – or “eGo” threading, which is compatible with the 510 thread – won’t work with most vape cartridges.
At your favorite vape shop or dispensary, you may also find pod-based vaping devices that work with pre-filled plastic pods. Pod-based devices are sleek and convenient, but they only work with the pods designed for them and don’t work with threaded vape cartridges.
Regulated or Variable Power Delivery
The next thing that you need to consider before buying a vape battery is how it delivers power to the cartridge. A vape battery is usually fully charged at 4.2 volts. The voltage decreases as the battery is used, and it’s time to charge the battery once it reaches around 3.2 volts.
In many cases, a vape battery is regulated to operate at a constant power level – usually 3.7 volts – regardless of the battery’s current voltage. Other vape batteries offer multiple power options and allow you to select from a few different voltage levels. Both of those options are fine for most vape cartridges.
Direct voltage output – also known as bypass mode – is the one power delivery method that you don’t want a vape battery to have if you’re going to use it with pre-filled cartridges. With direct output, a battery operates at whatever its current voltage happens to be, up to a maximum of 4.2 volts. In most cases, you wouldn’t want to use a pre-filled vape cartridge at 4.2 volts. That’s a bit too much power for most cartridges, and it’ll probably cause you to experience some unpleasant burnt flavors.
Sufficient Battery Life
Before buying any vape battery, you should look at its capacity. Battery capacity – measured in milliampere-hours or mAh – gives you a rough idea of how many puffs you’ll get out of a battery before you’ll need to recharge it. The larger the number is, the more puffs it’ll give you between charges. A battery capacity of a few hundred mAh is usually good enough to ensure that, if you’re a moderate user, you won’t have to stop in the middle of the day to charge the battery.
In general, you want to choose something a little larger than a tobacco cigarette when you buy a vape battery. The tiny cigarette-shaped stick batteries sold in some stores are very small and discreet, but they’ll only give you a few puffs before you need to recharge them.
Reasonably Small Size
Although you don’t want to buy a vape battery that’s as small as a tobacco cigarette, you still want to choose something that’s as slim and portable as possible unless you’re only planning to use the device at home. One of the greatest benefits of vape pens is that they’re slim enough to carry in your pocket. That means you can bring them anywhere – so look for something that strikes a good balance between portability and battery life.
One of the fun features that many modern vape batteries have is hidden threading that conserves space by storing the connected cartridge partially inside the device. That’s a great feature to look for if you’re planning to use your vape pen primarily with standard 0.5- and 1.0-ml cartridges. They’re all approximately the same width and will almost always work with a vape battery that has hidden threading.
If you’re planning to use your battery with a wax coil, though, you might want to skip the hidden threading because wax coils are generally quite a bit wider than oil cartridges. If you’re planning to use a wax coil, you’ll want a battery with its threading on the outside of the device rather than the inside.
Right Firing Type for Your Preference
The last thing you’ll need to consider before buying a vape battery is the firing style that it uses. A vape battery can have an automatic or manual firing mechanism. An automatic battery generates vapor when you puff on it, and a manual battery generates vapor when you hold a button.
At first glance, an automatic battery might sound best to you because the experience will seem more authentic – almost like you’re really smoking. On the other hand, automatic firing means that after you puff, there will always be a split-second delay before the battery produces vapor. With a manual battery, you can press the button before inhaling. You’ll get bigger vapor clouds that way. Some vape batteries offer both automatic and manual firing, but most only offer one or the other – so you’ll have to choose the style that works best for you.
