Shopping for a vaping device means that you’re going to need to make several decisions. Do you want a pod system or a device with a refillable tank? Are you looking for a sub-ohm device that produces huge clouds, or would you rather have something small and discreet? Those decisions, however, tend to resolve themselves naturally after you’ve made one core decision about the type of vaping device that you’d like to own.
So, you want to buy a new vaping device from a vape shop like Pure E-Liquids? To do that, you need to decide on the answer to one key question: Do you want a vaping device with a permanent or removable battery? Once you’ve figured that out, everything else will fall into place.
Fixed-Battery Devices Are More Pocketable; Removable-Battery Devices Are More Capable
The batteries for removable-battery vaping devices are large and cylindrical. The most popular battery cell for vaping devices is the 18650 cell, which is similar in shape to a AA battery but much larger. A device with a single 18650 battery can deliver around 80-100 watts of power, and a device with two batteries can operate at up to 200 watts and sometimes higher. A vaping device with two 18650 batteries, however, is definitely not something that will fit comfortably in your pocket.
When a vaping device has a fixed battery, on the other hand, it isn’t a requirement for the battery to have a cylindrical shape. Fixed-battery devices can use LiPo battery packs, and those battery packs don’t need to be round; they can be flat, like phone batteries. The flat battery design is what makes it possible to create tiny vaping devices like the JUUL. You could never have a JUUL, for instance, with a removable battery.
Another aspect of fixed-battery vaping devices that makes it possible for those devices to be so small is the fact that they don’t require the additional hardware – heavy doors, gold-plated contacts and so on – that devices with removable batteries require. In a fixed-battery device, the battery pack is soldered to the device’s main circuit board. The lack of additional hardware means that fixed-battery devices aren’t just smaller; they’re also lighter.
Fixed-Battery Devices Are Cheaper Up Front; Removable-Battery Devices Are Cheaper Over Time
The fact that fixed-battery devices lack the extra hardware of removable-battery devices doesn’t just make them smaller and lighter; it also makes them cheaper. Fewer raw materials, after all, means a cheaper product. Fixed-battery devices are also cheaper at retail because, when you buy one, the battery is included.
When you buy a device with a removable battery, on the other hand, you’ll also need to buy at least one battery because removable-battery vaping devices generally don’t include batteries. You may also want to buy a second battery so you can use one while charging the other. If you buy a device that requires two batteries, you may want to buy as many as four batteries to go with it. In addition to the higher cost of the device, you’ll need to budget around $15 per battery.
While a fixed-battery vaping device will almost certainly cost less up front, the situation changes with long-term ownership. You’re going to need to charge your device at least once each day, and the capacity of any lithium-ion battery will degrade after many charge-discharge cycles. Eventually, any battery will reach a point at which it no longer holds enough of a charge to be usable.
If you have a fixed-battery device with a completely dead battery, you have no real option except to buy an identical battery pack and solder it in yourself or replace the device. If the device has a removable battery, on the other hand, a dead battery is no problem; you can just replace the battery. You can conceivably continue using a removable-battery vaping device for years. You’re not likely to get that kind of longevity out of a fixed-battery device.
Removable-Battery Devices Conform to Your Battery Preferences
Let’s finish by discussing the quality of the battery and charging circuitry that you’re likely to find in a vaping device. You can buy a fixed-battery device like the JUUL or the Suorin Drop for under $25. In that purchase, the retailer and manufacturer of the product both need to earn a profit – and that means the actual cost of building the product might be under $10. How much, then, do you suppose that the manufacturer paid for the device’s battery and charging circuitry? The likely answer to that question is “not very much.”
If you buy a device that’s designed to deliver a low-wattage vaping experience – something that’s not for cloud chasers – it may not matter much to you if the manufacturer sources the battery and charging circuitry from the lowest bidder. You can find fixed-battery mods, however, that are designed to operate at higher wattages and are capable of producing impressive clouds. If you’re going to run a sub-ohm vaping device at 80 watts, do you want a device with a battery sourced from a low-quality supplier?
One benefit of using a removable-battery vaping device is that you’re the one choosing the battery. There’s no need to buy a bargain-basement battery from a generic parts supplier; you can buy a battery that fits your specifications exactly, either by choosing a battery with a high continuous discharge rating or by selecting a battery with a higher capacity. Most importantly, you can select a battery from a manufacturer with high standards for quality and reliability.
Owning a removable-battery vaping device also means that you don’t need to use the device’s built-in charging circuitry if you don’t want to. You’re free to buy the external battery charger of your choice and take full control over the charging process. You can find battery chargers that monitor the health of your cells automatically. You can also extend the life of your batteries by charging them at lower rates. A vaping device with a fixed battery doesn’t give you either of those features.
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