9 points

Well yeah. As far as I know, there’s no such thing as a single-cycle battery for a low-power application.

permalink
report
reply
2 points

There are lithium primary cells that are perfect for low power uses when you need something to last years in between battery changes. They can’t supply high current, which is why rechargeable batteries are used in disposable vapes even though it’s very wasteful.

They should either ban disposable vapes outright or put a large enough deposit on them that most people will return them for recycling.

permalink
report
parent
reply
5 points

They’re not really particularly low power.

Quick search suggests around 8W power consumption with a 2 ohm heater, which at the approximately 4V of a charged Lithium-Ion battery (V=IR, P=VI) checks out to around a 2A draw.

Similar results suggest the batteries inside are in the neighbourhood of 0.75Ah (3.7V nominal) = 2.8Wh. I don’t know how much of that capacity actually gets used during the “lifespan” of the vape, but I’d guess half would be a good estimate. In any case, probably safe to assume you need to pack around 2Wh in at minimum.

A Lithium AA battery (Li-FeS2 chemistry) gives you 3.4Ah @ 1.5V = 5.1Wh, but has a maximum discharge current of 2.5A (only 3.8W). The AAA is only 1.2Ah with 1.5A discharge, but two of them would give you 3.6Wh and 4.5W, closer to the target but still under.

You could probably arrange this in some sort of configuration whereby the batteries charge a capacitor and that runs the heater, at those kind of numbers it’d need to be at most a 2 seconds off for 1 second on deal, but that honestly seems like it should be fine for, y’know, vaping. Might just need to have an on/off switch to avoid draining the batteries when you’re not using it.

But I guess we’re at the point where manufacturing Li-Po cells happens in such vast quantities that the extra electronics to charge a capacitor from a 1.5V battery probably cost more.

permalink
report
parent
reply
1 point

Not that it really matters for the topic of disposables, but enthusiasts would often run two cells in series with sub-ohm coils. Or two cells in parallel to be able to handle the draw of going down to 0.1. Give that to ELI.

permalink
report
parent
reply
98 points

of course they are. it’s why I always encourage people not to buy them. they’re awful for the environment, they’re wasteful and they are lower quality than you’d get with most standard rechargeable e-cigarette kits.

permalink
report
reply
47 points

I don’t vape, but I can’t imagine they’re cheaper than re-usable vaping devices in the long run either.

permalink
report
parent
reply
4 points

I do vape. The long-term reusable vapes are a LOT more expensive than the disposable ones. My current setup cost 100 USD before batteries or coils.

permalink
report
parent
reply
25 points

No, I mean long-term as in costs. Over a year or two, won’t you be saving money?

permalink
report
parent
reply
9 points

The pod style devices are cheaper than the older style cloud chuckers and most of those now are refillable and not the juul style ones. I’m seeing good ones for $30-$50. The non removable battery gives them less longevity although they’re still significantly more environmentally friendly than disposables. I used a fog machine to quit smoking and I’ve kept using them, but I definitely get why new vapers are largely going with the USB sticks now.

permalink
report
parent
reply
3 points
*

Not really anymore for the ones with built-in batteries like the disposables. Similar to disposibles they are typical 20W or less. You can get many of them for under $30, including the UWELL Caliburn line which is a quality product line. The G Coil packs are between $10 and $20 depending and last a week or more per coil of which there are 5. If you chain them, you’re probably looking at between 2 and 3 days per coil.

The mods that require rechargeables like 18650 and other similar form factors sit between $50 and $70 for reputable brands, though for the ~200W mods it can be around $100 if you include their branded tanks.

I’d bet your mod is at least a 100W+, probably over 150W depending on when you bought them (they are cheaper now than a few years, which were cheaper than a 10 years before that).

The tanks are pretty cheap now too, even those multi-coil rebuildables. If you don’t rebuild your tank and use pre-built coils it is going to be a little more expensive. Those tanks for pre-builts tend to be a bit cheaper as well, like ~$30 for non-pods. Pod tanks tend to be around $10 - $15.

I remember 80W mods going for between $100 and $300 back in 2011 depending if it was considered a “clone” or not.

permalink
report
parent
reply
1 point

Lawl my geekvape aegis was like 35USD and five coils are under 15USD. The coils last 2-3 weeks or more. The battery lasts FOREVER before needing a recharge.

I make my own juice so that’s free.

It was even cheaper using a SMPL mech mod and wrapping my own coils, but I got lazy. Now my 16+ 18650s go to my hobbyist flashlights.

I don’t know what your setup is, but you prolly overpaid

permalink
report
parent
reply
47 points

oh my goodness yes. I couldn’t imagine buying a disposable every time I ran out.

that would possibly be just as expensive as smoking regular cigarettes.

I just use a little pod system that has replaceable coil heads. it was maybe 60 total because I bought two batteries. but I’ve not needed a replacement battery for my personal vape yet. Just have been replacing (or reusing) my coil heads.

permalink
report
parent
reply
3 points

They are not. In many cases they’re the same price or slightly less. If you want a long term refillable, rechargeable vape that comes with spare coils, and is a similar profile to a small disposable, it’s about $40. A similar disposable is about $35.

permalink
report
parent
reply
-1 points

True dat folk.

permalink
report
reply
12 points

Is this what post-scarcity is going to be like?

permalink
report
reply
12 points

When we get desperate enough for scarce resources we’ll start digging in our trash heaps. I’m surprised we haven’t started yet.

permalink
report
parent
reply
13 points
*

Google “landfill mining”. It’s being researched. So far the economics of what could be recovered don’t outweigh the costs, but they might eventually. Current mining mostly concentrates on remediating older unlined fills and moving the waste to a lined fill.

https://gizmodo.com/landfill-mining-metal-recovery-trash-recycling-ewaste-1850151569

permalink
report
parent
reply
49 points

Oh wow it’s as of e-cigs is just like cigarettes, but besides cancer and toxic chemicals, they also found a way to add more waste.

permalink
report
reply
2 points

Nicotine alone is carcinogenic, despite what people like to believe.

permalink
report
parent
reply
16 points

I mean, it is, but smoke and, weirdly, polonium are also very large contributors to cancer from tobacco use.

permalink
report
parent
reply
27 points

[Citation needed]. Both of you.

There’s been a study which found carcinogenic compounds in vapour… thing is they overdrove the thing so hard that it was burning the wick, noone would actually take a puff of that. It’s the equivalent of setting a toaster to maximum and then saying that bread causes cancer.

permalink
report
parent
reply
26 points

There’s little evidence of pure nicotine being carcinogenic afaik. Nicotine in tobacco is carcinogenic due to certain reactions with other chemicals in the tobacco plant

permalink
report
parent
reply
24 points

I gave up arguing with people like you a long time ago, but I still want you to know actively telling people they’re just as bad as cigarettes will keep people on cigarettes, which are 4000x worse than vaping. Your misguided views are extremely harmful.

permalink
report
parent
reply

Technology

!technology@lemmy.world

Create post

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.


Our Rules


  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related content.
  3. Be excellent to each another!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed

Approved Bots


Community stats

  • 17K

    Monthly active users

  • 12K

    Posts

  • 543K

    Comments