Vape Dictionary

There are a lot of terms and phrases that are used in the vaping world that as a beginner you may have never heard before. Understanding these can make things a little easier when it comes to purchasing, maintaining and using your device. 

AFC (Air Flow Control) - A small rotational screw / valve that allows more or less air to pass through on your Atomiser / Tank. Usually found at the base of the tank, but can also be towards the top.

Airflow - is the flow of air through the atomiser / tank with a loose airflow resulting in more vapour production and a tighter airflow resulting in a lesser amount of vapour however more intense flavour. 

Amps - Amps are a unit for measuring electricity. Electricity flows through a conductor like wire and the rate at which it travels through is measured as electric current. The electric current is measured in amps. It is important to ensure that a good quality battery is selected with higher amps to better deal with lower resistances in coils / atomisers without overheating and damaging equipment. 

Atomiser - The part of your vaping device that includes wick (cotton) and a coil. The coil is heated when the device is activated which converts the E-Liquid (Juice) into vapour. These are often referred to as an “Atty” for short.

This can also be a general term used to describe a tank.

Battery - This refers to the larger part of an internal battery (usually pen-style) device where the battery is located or in an external battery mod it is the battery or batteries that are used in the device usually Lithium ion / Li-ion or Lithium Polymer / Li-Po batteries. 

This can also obviously be used to talk about the batteries that go inside external battery devices.

Battery Wrap - A thin plastic sleeve similar to heat shrink for electrical wires that is fitted around the circumference of the battery. These wraps are vital to ensure that no shorts can occur potentially causing damage to equipment or injury / fire to occur. These commonly come in 18650 and 2x700 sizes.

Box Mod - A shorter wider mod than a tube / pen shaped mod which are preferred by many vapers due to their larger / longer battery life and more squared shape making them more comfortable when carrying in a pocket. 

These mods can have many battery configurations ranging from single battery up to 4 batteries in some more extreme cases. These mods can be either regulated mods with inbuilt safety measures or fully mechanical devices (these mechanical devices should only be used by more experienced vapers that have educated themselves on the safety requirements of a mechanical device and Ohm’s law). 

Cartridge - Usually a prefilled device (tank) that is fitted to an atomiser and vaped until empty, these cartridges house the juice, coil and mouthpiece all in one and are usually disposable after empty. Some Cartridges / Pods have replaceable coil systems and are refillable but are ultimately disposable after some time and require replacing.

Chargers - Chargers can range from simple cables for charging built in battery mods all the way up to multiple bay battery chargers for recharging of removable batteries for external battery mods such as box mods and mechanical devices for example. 

Coil - Coils are either coiled pieces of wire for the rebuildable style atomisers or a mesh like piece of metal that surround the cotton (Wick) in a pre-built coil setup. The idea of a coil is to create resistance to the electrical current by slowing it down forcing it through a smaller area. The example often used is a hose flowing freely versus a hose with your thumb placed over half of the end, this creates resistance and therefore increases the pressure. In a coil this resistance results in heat and it is this heat that turns the juice / E-Liquid into vapour. 

This is also another term used interchangeably with Atomizer.

Cutoffs - Are a safety feature within regulated devices these can range from a time limit for maximum time the button can be depressed to produce vapour some devices have a 10-15 second cutoff and some can be adjusted. Other cutoffs exist such as max temperature where a device will stop firing until the temperature is lowered to reduce chance of injury or damage to equipment.

Deck - The deck is the area within an atomiser that houses the positive and negative posts found on rebuildable atomisers (Larger decks are usually considerably easier to build on due to the extra space). 

DTL (direct to lung)- This refers to doing a deeper inhale without holding the vapor in the mouth first.This is a type of inhale commonly used when vaping at a higher wattage. More airflow is needed for DTL vaping to cool down the coil and vapour. For more info regarding DTL and MTL, see our handy blog post.

Draw / Drag - This is the act of inhaling vapour from your vape device. 

Dripping - Is how to refill an RDA / Dripper atomiser by pouring / dripping E-Liquid / Juice directly on the coil through the mouthpiece / drip tip. 

Drip Tip - Is the mouthpiece of a device which is often upgraded for aesthetic purposes and to allow for dripping of E-Liquid through a larger diameter hole. These are most commonly found in either a 510 or 810 size. 

Dry Burn / Burn Off - When a coil is heated without any cotton / wick or E-Liquid until it glows red, this allows the build up of E-Liquid residue to burn off ultimately cleaning the coil to extend life and improve flavour and life of coils. This can usually be done multiple times with better quality / more expensive coils making them last a lot longer and pay for themselves over time. 

Dry Hit - These occur when you take a draw / drag of your vape and it is either empty of juice or wicked incorrectly meaning the cotton is dry, which results in a burnt taste from the cotton being heated without E-Liquid / Juice to wet the cotton and prevent overheating.

E-Liquid - The liquid that is placed in vape devices that is vapourised and inhaled. It consists of Vegetable Glycerin (VG) and Propylene Glycol (PG) along with flavouring and in some cases nicotine (All juices sold in Australia legally cannot contain nicotine). 

E-Cigarette - This is the generalised term that is used for all vape devices that give people a safer less costly alternative to smoking traditional combustible cigarettes. Most people associate the term E-Cigarette with the older style devices that sometimes resemble actual cigarettes, but most modern devices are referred to as Vaporisers.

Flavours - This is the additive to all E-Liquids / Juice that give them their respective flavours. These can range from tobacco flavours to fruit, desert, and various other flavour profiles. 

Flooding - Occurs for a few reasons some of which are:

  • Overfilling of tanks / attys 
  • Leaving a tank / atty filled with little to no use causing 

flooding due to the E-Liquid seeping through the cotton / coil. 

  • Damaged or missing seals reducing the air tight seals of tanks / attys
  • Air travel with a full tank causing leaking due to the pressure change. 

Grub screw- A screw the is used in rebuildable atomizers to clamp the coil in place 

Heat Sink- Designed for atomisers having 510 threads. It effectively dissipates the heat of e-cigarettes ensuring an overall safe operation. .Heat sinks often have copper pins which minimise the voltage drop-off. 

High Resistance- This is a high ohm reading used for MTL vaping of high voltage vaping. 

Hot spots- These are generally found in rebuildable type coils where the wrapped coil / wire is tightly wound and touching other sections of the coil / wire causing hot glowing spots when building. These usually result in dry hits / burning of the cotton in this area as it gets substantially hotter than the rest of the coil.

Hybrid or Hybrid Connectionhybrid mod is a mechanical mod that instead of having a standard 510 connection in the top cap there's just a 510 threaded hole that allows your atomizer to make direct contact with the battery. These are not safe to use with sub-ohm tanks. 

IMR- Lithium Ion Manganese Rechargeable Battery This is a chemistry type of Li-on batteries. 

Juice - Another name for E-Liquid (See E-Liquid For More Information) 

Leaking - Basically same as Flooding. Can be dangerous for equipment if leaking gets into the battery compartment. (See flooding for more information) 

Li-Po - Lithium Polymer referring to a type of battery. (See battery for more information on batteries and different types)

Li-Ion - Lithium-ion battery a type of battery used in vape devices (see battery for more information on different battery types) 

Lithium-Ion Batteries (li-Ion) - High quality rechargeable battery. These batteries come a various shape, sizes and capacities 

mA (Milliamp) - is 1/1000th of an amp. Amps is the basic unit of measure for measuring electrical current. For example an LED light like the one found on a phone charger or charger that changes from red to green when on or charged will typically use 10-30 milliamps to power the light. 

mAh (Milliamp-hour) - is the name given to denote a battery's storage capacity. A battery with a higher (larger number) mAh will have a longer life and will last longer before needing to be recharged. I.e. two identical batteries however one is 3000mAh and the other is 2500mAh then the 3000mAh battery will have a longer use time before needing charging. 

Mechanical Mod - Also known as mech mods, or mechs. Mechanical mods come in various shapes and sizes. This style of device does not have a regulator chip thus not having any safety features or automatic cutoffs. Containing a manual switch that is pressed to make contact with the battery which in turn completes the circuit and fires the device, mech mods can come in box / and tube shapes, Please keep in mind that due to the nature of a mechanical mod having no board i.e. safety features these devices should only be used / owned by more experienced persons who have take the time to learn Ohm’s law and how to build within safety parameters. If done incorrectly mechanical devices can be extremely dangerous.

Mesh / Mesh Coils- Is the term given to a coil type used in both rebuildable and prebuilt tanks. The coil looks like a woven pattern of wire. These coils are known for their excellent flavour and even heat dispersion across the coil. 

Mg (Milligram) - is used to denote the milligrams per millilitre most commonly defining the strength / amount of nicotine in a bottle of Juice. For example a 3mg juice would contain 3mg of nicotine per 1ml of juice. 

Mod - A very common term used in the vape industry / community this is the bottom half of a vape device that a tank / atty would be attached to. Basically the battery compartment / body of the vape where you would commonly find the fire button and internally would be located the board and innerworkings. 

MTL (Mouth to lung)- This is a type of inhale used on low Wattage devices. The vapour is inhaled into your mouth first, collect it there, then breathe it fully into your lungs. Smokers will be particularly used to mouth to lung vaping, as it's a similar process to smoking cigarettes. For more info regarding DTL and MTL, see our handy blog post.

Ohm - This is a unit of measure used in measuring electrical resistance. A lower ohm coil will produce hotter more dense vapour while a higher ohm coil will produce a cooler vapour which some vapers prefer. Understanding resistance / ohms and ohms law becomes pertinent when considering rebuildables mainly mech mods. For your own and your devices safety please ensure you educate yourself on these principals prior to purchasing or operating a mech mod of any sort.

Organic Cotton (Cotton) - Is one of the most popular materials used for wicking coils in rebuildable devices. Known for giving off more intense flavour when wicked correctly. 

Parallel - Refers to a battery configuration used in dual (or more) battery devices where the batteries are wired parallel effectively doubling the mAh (life of the batteries) between charges as well as the potential safe amp output. The voltage remains the same. 

Pod - A refillable or sometimes prefilled tank used in pod systems. 

Pod System - A common starter kit and popular among many vapers is the pod system. Quite small in size these kits have pre-made pods that contain an inbuilt coil and some even come prefilled with juice. Often refillable however and require replacing once the flavour or quality of vapour production reduces. These are a simple plug and play style device and often house internal batteries that charge off a micro USB cable. These devices are a favourite to many people wanting an easy device to use / maintain and for those quitting smoking as they offer a very similar draw and vapour amount as a traditional combustible cigarette. 

Propylene Glycol (PG) - Is the substance alongside VG that makes up E-Liquid with added flavour to taste. PG is an over the counter substance that is found in many foodstuffs and some medications like inhalers. 

Priming - Prior to using a new atomiser / coil or pod a few drops of Juice should be added to the wicking areas of the coil i.e. the cotton and left to sit for a few minutes to allow the juice to saturate the wick all the way through. This will ensure that the entirety of the wick / cotton is coated in juice and prevent dry hits from occurring when starting to use the device. This ultimately extends the life of the coil and allows for great flavour straight out of the gate.

Rebuildables - These are tanks / attys that have a deck and allow users to rebuild their own coils and wicks / cotton. This allows vapers a greater freedom to select the resistance, vapour production, temperature of vape and flavour profile to name a few. There are many different variations of rebuildables (some of which are mentioned below). 

RDA - This stands for Rebuildable Dripping Atomiser these are typically a smaller atomiser that have a smaller juice capacity they are refilled by dripping / pouring juice directly on the coil usually through the drip tip. Important to drip regularly enough to not allow the cotton to dry out but not so much that you overflow the deck causing juice to leak. 

RDTA - This stands for Rebuildable Drip Tank Atomiser. Similar to the RDA however, it has a tank to increase the juice capacity. 

RTA - Much like it's counterparts above, the rta is a rebuildable atomizer that closely resembles a standard sub ohm tank. The build deck is housed inside the body of the tank.

Resistance - Measure in Ohms resistance is affected by many factors such as thickness (Gauge) of wire used, how many turns / twists the coil has, how many coils are used and the circumference of the wire used to name a few. 


Series-Unregulated series box mods are devices that stack the voltage that is being applied to the resistance of the coil. This type of circuit creates a current from each battery at the same time and combines the voltage from each battery.

Squonk Mod- This is a mod that has a refillable bottle for you eliquid alongside the batteries. When the bottle is squeezed it will feed juice up into the dripper/RDA giving the user better juice capacity. 

Stacked/Stacking- This is when the batteries in a mech mod are stacked end-to-end Doubling the voltage. The amp rating and mAh rating remain unchanged. 

Starter Kit- A term for a kit that comes with the mod and tank. Starter kits will often include spare coils, glass and O-rings. If the device requires removable batteries they need to be purchased separately. 

Steeping- This term refers to letting juice sit for a period of time to let the flavours blend together and become stronger. 

Sub-ohm- This term is used to describe a coil that read lower than 1.0ohm 


Tank- This is a term commonly used for the atomizer 

Throat Hit- This is a term used to describe the feeling you experience when the vapour hits the back of your throat. 

Tube Mod- This term refers to a tube shaped mod. These devices are most commonly mechanical mods.


USB Passthrough- This is a function that is included with some kits allowing the use to vape while the device is charging.


Vaper’s Tongue- This is when the tongue becomes desensitized to a certain flavour. Common remedies are changing flavours, eating a citrus fruit and chewing mints. 

Vaping- The act of using a vaporizer 

Vent holes- Small holes on the mod located near the battery to prevent overheating. These are an important safety feature and should never be covered. 


  1. A) A short term for Vapourizer
  2. B) A word used to describe to visible vapour that is seen when using a vaporizer

Vapor Another word used to describe to visible vapor that is seen when using a vaporizer. 

Vegetable Glycerine (VG)- This is one of the two main ingredients used to make e-liquids. Vegetable Glycerin provides a smoother throat hit and is thicker than Propylene Glycol. A higher VG content is best suited for sub-ohm vaping. 

Voltage- This is the electrical abilities of a power source. 

VV or Variable Voltage- This is a setting found in some devices allowing the user to adjust the voltage.

VW or Variable Wattage- This is a setting found in some devices allowing the user to adjust the wattage. The device will adjust the power according to the set wattage. 


Watt (wattage)- This is the amount of power used but the coil. Higher wattage will usually give the user more vapour production. Batteries will drain at a faster rate the higher the user goes in wattage. 

Wicks or Wicking- This refers to the material (usually organic cotton) that is either inside or around the heating coil. The e-liquid soaks into the cotton and is evaporated when heated. 

Wire- This term refers to the material used in the atomizer coil. Kanthal, nickel, titanim, nichrome and stainless steel are the most common materials used in vaporizers. 

Wrap- This is the number of revolutions used in wrapping the coil. Coils with more wraps will have a higher resistance.


If you have any other terms that you think should be added, drop your suggestions in the comments below and we will add them in :)

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