Finding the parts to upgrade your vape pen is easier when you know exactly what sort of piece you want and the upgrades that you are looking for in your device. Research products with each detail you need in front of you, particularly the brand and model of a device you are rebuilding. With that information, you will spend a lot less time searching fruitlessly from one vape store to the next (if you are contacting real stores or traveling between locations) and a lot less time visiting websites that won’t help you. Here are some parts you might be looking for plus ideas about the information you need to be aware of.
There are several things you could rebuild or repair as a serious vaper. One is the atomizer. Another is the whole tank, including the atomizer. The third is a mechanical mod tube. A fourth section is for aesthetic additions which you don’t need but which alter the appearance of your device.
When you start rebuilding atomizer coils, you will be using coil and wick. But there isn’t just one type of either. The same goes for cotton. You have to know exactly what you are looking for. Coil comes in several gauges and there are multiple brands. Vape vendors recommend Kanthal, but the gauge varies. You could be using anything from 26 g to 32 g wire. Also, there are rolls and pre-cut pieces plus tools like tweezers, pliers, and cutters you will need. To change coils and wicks on atomizers, you will have to release the posts slightly using a screwdriver: one with a very small head.
Wick comes in 2-mm and 3-mm sizes. There is organic Japanese cotton and regular cotton. Choose silica wick or Ekowool. Prices vary from vendor to vendor and also between items, Japanese cotton being a little expensive relative to other brands.
With atomizer heads, one size does not fit all. Notice that some heads are compatible with several brands of tank. Some only work with certain models. There are Kanger heads suitable for only certain Kanger items but which work in other, similar brands of tanks. Even rebuildable Protanks are not identical from V.1 to V.3, so you must read descriptions very carefully.
The base for a Kanger MT3 also fits the T3 which is mostly the same thing. But you have to be careful about cartomizers. A few tanks only work with one brand because of some small variations in sizing between Smok, Flow, and Boge. Then you have to also choose correctly between 510 and 901 cartomizers. Resistance is another value to be aware of: low or high. Choose punched cartomizers or buy a carto punch and do it yourself.
Several parts for the Terminator V2 are available separately: ceramic cups, center posts, cones, and more.
A number of tanks come with adjustable airflow. You turn a collar to open or close air holes which changes the resistance of your draw. These can be replaced separately from the rest of the tank if something goes wrong or you lose it while cleaning the tank. Even the glass or polycarbonate tube and top and bottom caps can be replaced.
A few stores sell pieces like switches and buttons used in the making of mechanical mods. If yours falls out (which might never happen), that doesn’t render the entire mod useless. You can replace just the switch or the button.
Why do vapers choose rebuildable pieces instead of disposable ones? Part of the vaping ethos is to reduce one’s carbon footprint and another part is saving money. When you choose products like rebuildable atomizers and tanks, this is a way of reducing your impact on the environment and your wallet. They tend to cost more money: some Aerotanks cost around $25 while an Aspire Nautilus is priced around $35. You could have purchased up to 10 disposable, low-capacity clearomizers for that money and thrown them out, but a rebuildable Kanger or Aspire tank will last more than 10X the lifespan of a disposable clearomizer.
Besides that, some of these tanks offer adjustable airflow. And when you change the coil of a rebuildable atomizer, this gives you the chance to change resistance, even going as low as 0.2 ohms if you are using a 50W box mod.
