E-cigs are commonly utilized as a smokeless alternative to tobacco, giving the satisfaction of nicotine in a quick and well replicated manner without the combustion of plant material. Electronic cigarette use is much cheaper than tobacco and the average e-cig kit will pay for itself in savings within a month. Other attractive qualities include no irritating and unpleasant second hand smoke, no tar staining of the teeth, and no ashtrays full of cigarette butts.
E-cigarettes range in complexity of use and function but they generally utilize a battery, a heating coil called an atomizer, and a cartridge or mouthpiece that contains the e-liquid. There are derivative designs of all 3 of these primary components available on the market under a host of brand and slang names. For example there are manual and automatic, as well as variable voltage batteries. There are atomizers where the cartridge is part of the atomizer, called a cartomizer. There are cartridges that have liquid reservoir tanks built into them, commonly referred to as tanks, and so on.
However, these are all needlessly complex components for the newcomer. So for the sake of your sanity we will focus on the Joyetech 510 mini e-cigarette, although an older design it was one of the most popular e-cigarette models ever released and the ancestor for much of the more technically evolved components. The schematic below breaks down the 3 primary components of the Joye 510 e-cigarette model and how they fit together.
Battery:
This is a 3.7v (volt) battery with a 150mAh (milliampere) capacity. For most people this battery will last 1-2 hours. Pressing the button causes the LED tip to light up letting you know the battery is powered, which sends power to the atomizers heating coil. When the battery runs out of power, the light flashes several times and then either no longer lights up, or flashes every time you try to re-activate it. The battery is recharged either by screwing into a wall/USB charger, or an on-the-go charging case.
Atomizer:
The heating coil is contained inside this cylinder called the atomizer. This component screws onto the battery and when it receives electricity from the battery its coil heats up, much like that in your toaster. The coil is wrapped around a piece of inflammable fiber, silica, called the wick, which does as its name implies and wicks e-liquid into close proximity with the coil so it can evaporate. Your cartridge/mouthpiece plugs into the open end of the atomizer to supply the e-liquid.
Cartridge:
Sometimes called a mouthpiece, this is the component that touches your lips and on the inside contains a sponge-like material often called the filler which holds the e-liquid. You unplug the cartridge from the atomizer anytime you want to refill it, and drip droplets from your e-liquid bottle onto the cartridges white filler material until they no longer are absorbed and form a slight pool on the top of the cartridge.
