Vaping has become increasingly common among American young adults. While some vaporizer models appear to be surprisingly simplistic in design, vaporizers are intricately made devices. No part in this device is as important as the battery. It is critical you care for this component or else you could end up in the headlines over an exploding vape pen, which happens more often than you think.

Follow the precautions outlined in the following guide to significantly reduce your chances of malfunctions and enjoy your vape in peace.

How to Care for Your Vape Properly

Choose Your Vaporizer Batteries Carefully

Vaporizers use the same type of batteries found in smartphones. These are custom-designed lithium-ion batteries that are tested extensively to ensure their safety and effectiveness. When you need to replace the battery in your smartphone, virtually every option is an officially licensed item.

The most common type of battery size used for vaporizers is the 18650. It produces exactly the right amount of voltage to power your vape pen. Unfortunately, there are numerous knockoffs of knockoff vaporizer batteries in the marketplace, so you have to be careful about which one you buy.

Numerous manufacturers sell 18650 batteries, including Sony, LG, and Samsung. If you have any doubts about what you should put in your device, then look through the instructions thoroughly.

While smartphone batteries are designed to minimize their chances of malfunctioning, they can still explode when exposed to the wrong conditions. Physical damage is the leading cause of smartphone battery explosions.

Avoid Excessive Force

Vaporizer batteries face the same risks, so it’s essential to avoid significant blows to your vaporizer’s exterior, as these could damage its internal battery. Be careful to avoid accidentally dropping a vape device from any extreme heights. Never use excessive force to open a new vaporizer’s packaging (no matter how excited you are), as bludgeoning or stabbing your vaporizer could cause serious damage.

Avoid Extreme Temperatures

Proper battery care also involves knowing how to store your vape pen when it is not in use. You should never expose your device to extremely cold or hot temperatures. Therefore, you should avoid leaving your device in the car, especially in the middle of summer.

Depending on where you live, the temperature could exceed 110 degrees Fahrenheit, which will only get hotter inside your vehicle. In the event you locate any damage to your vape pen, you should avoid using it.

How to Get the Most Out of Your Batteries

Use Vape Batteries Regularly

You should use your vaporizer’s batteries regularly so that they maintain their performance. Similar to a smartphone, you should turn it on every day or else the device will gradually lose its power. Even if it is only turned on for a short amount of time, it will still help immensely.

Turn Off Your Vape After Every Use

Additionally, you should make sure to turn off your vaporizer after you are done using it. As long as the device is turned on, it will drain the power. By shutting it off, you stand to extend the overall lifespan of your battery.

Avoid Overcharging

You need to avoid overcharging your vape batteries, too. Most people tend to leave their vape pen charging overnight, but having it plugged in for eight hours is far too long. Over time, this will shorten the life of the battery. Once it is fully charged, you should remove it immediately from the charger. Finally, you should make sure to keep the battery clean.

Keep Your Vaporizer Clean and Dry

Your vape pen may be exposed to spills and traveling, so you should inspect it every so often to ensure it is still in good condition. By cleaning it regularly, you also improve its connection to the vaporizer, so you can enjoy better usage for years to come.

Keep Batteries Out of Your Pockets

Also, be careful when you are carrying batteries in your pocket. Coming into contact with another battery, loose change, or even possible static can be very dangerous, and harmful to the vape battery in your pocket. Batteries should always be kept in a protective carrying case when transported.

Without a battery, you will not be doing much with your vaporizer. When you decide you need a new vaping product, make sure to buy from The Smoking Buddha. Reach out to us today or stop by our smoke shop in Parker to browse our latest selection of vaporizers, mods and accessories.

Image Credit: Getty Images / Olga Vasilyeva

One of the biggest challenges that smokers face is the difficulty in reducing their number of daily cigarettes or quitting the habit altogether.

People who attempt to quit smoking often try a multitude of methods with very little success. One key reason that many have shared positive results with vaping is its similarity to the act of smoking. Here are five ways that explain why it’s worked for so many people.

Shop the Most Popular E-Juice Flavors Available Now!

1. Vapes May Offer An Alternative to Smoking

The health hazards involved in smoking are mainly centered around the delivery system of the nicotine: the cigarette. Vape devices rely on electronically heated vapors rather than smoke. This means no tar or carbon monoxide is produced. The harmful chemicals that are frequently tied to nicotine are actually associated with the act of inhaling smoke, and experts in the U.K. have estimated that vaping is 95 percent safer than the alternative.

By switching to vape options, smokers cut down on the bulk of the risks. Those who switch have typically reported improvements to their health in a short period of time without a debilitating transition.

2. Vapes May Help Reduce Your Smoking Habit

For individuals who are considering vaping in place of their cigarettes, it’s usually recommended to stop smoking altogether. This complete substitution can help to ease the transition off of smoking by providing the nicotine in a safer application.

The choices you make with your vaping supplies allow you to adjust the nicotine content. This gives smokers the power to gradually lessen the concentration over time. The decrease can minimize the severity of nicotine cravings and encourage people to kick the habit altogether. Vape cartridges don’t need nicotine; once the craving is near non-existent, you can opt out of products that contain it.

3. Vaping Can Satisfy Nicotine Cravings

One of the most satisfying aspects of smoking a cigarette is the nicotine content. Though vaping still often contains nicotine, it’s incorporated in a completely different way. Even though you’re inhaling vapors rather than smoke, you’re still appeasing that desire to light up without actually doing it.

When you reach that point of the day where you feel you need a cigarette to make it through, vaping can help you overcome that dragging sensation. The hours become easier to conquer when you’ve answered your body’s craving, and you get to enjoy the experience in a more personalized and versatile way.

E-Cigarettes are an Effective Way to Help Smokers Quit!

4. Provides Variety of Choices in Flavor

Vaping offers hundreds of flavor choices to enhance the enjoyment each time you reach for your device. Whether you prefer sour or sweet, you’ll see something on the market that suits your taste and hits the spot in just the right way. You may find varieties that you quickly become loyal to or else have fun trying out different flavors just to mix things up.

E-juice bottles are typically quite affordable, encouraging smokers to embrace the concept and experiment with several different kinds until they find one that pleases them. You just don’t get the same taste experience when you use traditional cigarettes. Flavor options that include blends of melon, strawberry, kiwi, banana, and other fruitful aromas make the process even more relaxing. This variety can often make the difference for those who have tried to stop smoking and haven’t been able to.

5. Fits All Lifestyles

There’s only one way to smoke a cigarette, but there are numerous ways to vape. Products are available that allow smokers to customize their device to fit their specific smoking habit and lifestyle. Some options are more superior in some areas than others, so you can prioritize whatever’s most important to you in regard to several criteria:

• Battery life
• Cartridge compatibility
• Tank size
• Portability
• Reusability

Those who are constantly on-the-go may opt for a device with longer battery life, ensuring that they’re able to vape when they need to. A larger tank size or reusability component offers more convenience for smokers who need to satisfy cravings more frequently.

In addition, no device looks the same. This opens the door to make choices that express your personality and showcase your style. These added conveniences make vaping a more desirable option, making it easier for smokers to make the transition.

At Smoking Buddha, we’ve got every option you need to make your experience better. Vaping helps smokers by satisfying and even reducing nicotine cravings while offering a variety of e-juice and cartridge choices. Let us help you with all your vaping needs, just contact our smokehop with any question you may have, we’re here to help!

If you’re new to vaping or looking to explore and discover the ideal vaping experience for yourself, familiarizing yourself with vaporizers is a crucial first step. The overall selection of vaporizers available may look vast, but for the most part, they all fall under a few particular models. E-cigs are fine for casual use, but most folks that want to get seriously into vaping end up looking to more sophisticated devices – this often means a vape mod.

Before you buy one, though, it helps to know what you’re looking at, how it works and what makes it tick; this way, you’ll be able to pick the best mod for you and take good care of it so it continues to deliver.

What is a Vape Mod?

Also called a “box mod”, a vape mod is a souped-up version of the assembly at the heart of a vape pen or e-cig, built with advanced power and customizability in mind. This is exactly why they’re called “mods.” The basic set of components, how they work and what they’re meant to do are all the same as with other vaporizers:

• The battery, which stores energy and then supplies the power to the heating mechanism in order to vaporize the e-liquid.
• The heating mechanism commonly called the coil, which is designed to convert e-liquid to vapor
• The tank that houses both the e-liquid and the heating coil, creating a complete assembly that’s often called an atomizer
• The drip tip, a mouthpiece that allows e-liquid to be manually poured directly into the atomizer

What makes these different from those found in vape pens and e-cigs is that the parts are assembled in a way that makes them more modular – a pen is a complete package and you generally won’t be fiddling much with the details, but vape mods let you do just that to refine your vaping experience for better taste, stronger throat hits and more.

The Battery

Batteries are a familiar part of our daily lives, but it’s good to know the role a battery plays in vaping. Whether rechargeable or replaceable, the battery is what allows the atomizer’s coil to heat up and produce vapor by supplying a current through the coil.

The jump to a more potent battery is what often drives switching to a box mod. Batteries in e-cigs often don’t provide enough power for a good hit, or they don’t hold a charge long enough for extensive use. Box mods boast batteries with longer life (rated in milliamp-hours, or mAh) and a higher current output (given as an amperage rating, which can range anywhere from 10A to 35A for higher-end models). Keep these statistics in mind when choosing a battery, especially the latter – the amperage needs to be compatible with the rest of the assembly.

The Coil and Tank

The heating mechanism takes the form of a coil of resistance wire with one end making contact with the battery, while the other is allowed contact with the e-liquid via wrapped cotton or a wicking element. This coil heats up as electricity is passed through it, with the heat generated proportional to the coil’s resistance (measured in ohms), in order to vaporize the e-liquid. Replacing the coil and its cotton or wick every so often prevents a burnt taste from creeping in. These elements, together with the e-liquid, are housed in a glass or plastic tank – the whole thing together is called an atomizer.

E-cigs don’t usually allow temperature control, so the coil heats up to a specific temperature – often one too high for a good draw! Box mods allow you to adjust the coil temperature to prolong the life of the component and produce better flavor and hits. Additionally, some atomizers allow what’s called sub-ohm vaping – the resistance of the coil is set to less than one ohm, to increase power output on devices with a fixed voltage. This can put extra strain on the electrical components, but it also produces significantly more vapor for exceptionally strong lung hits.

Drip Tips

Dripping is a practice among more dedicated vapers that makes use of a hollow mouthpiece called a drip tip. Instead of storing e-liquid in a cartridge, the liquid is poured through the drip tip and directly into the atomizer. This allows finer control over your hits, and many report a cleaner, more consistent vapor. Learning to properly drip can be a bit advanced for new vapers, as proper timing and amount are needed to prevent a harsh, burnt draw or an overflowing atomizer. Perfecting it can give users a richer flavor and higher vapor production, and some like to use it to try out multiple different flavors.

Load Up at the Smoking Buddha

Whether you’re picking up your first vape mod or looking to customize with new parts, the Smoking Buddha has everything you need in one spot. Check out our premier inventory, or contact us with any questions you may have regarding our products.

Vaping is a fun activity on its own, but doing it in your bedroom or your friend’s place can get boring after a while. If your vaping routine is getting monotonous, you may be looking for new places to enjoy your favorite e-juice. After all, vaping is a great social activity. It’s a perfect thing to do with friends, and it can be a conduit for meeting new people. However, it can be challenging to find new places on your own, especially if you don’t know if they’re vape-friendly.

Here at Smoking Buddha, we know the Parker community like the backs of our hands. As vape enthusiasts ourselves, we’re always on the lookout for the best locations to vape at in and around Parker. Here are our top five favorite places to vape in the area.

1. Downtown Parker Wine Walks

No matter how many times you’ve been to downtown Parker, there’s always something to do and new people to meet. One of the best ways to enjoy the downtown area in a new light is attending one of the Wine Walks put on by the Parker Chamber of Commerce.

All you have to do to attend is buy a ticket, and you’ll get to enjoy wine from various local businesses. Tickets are available at the Parker Visitor Center on Mainstreet. What better way to enjoy your vape while trying new wines and meeting new people? We recommend trying the Strawberry Belts juice from Candy King or the Blue Razz from Ritual with wine.

2. Elk Mountain Brewing

Few things are better than pairing your favorite vape juice with your favorite beer. If you’re looking for a fun place to meet new people and enjoy friendly service, you should check out Barnett & Son Brewing Company – one of Parker’s best hometown breweries.

3. Parker Farmers Market

Attending the farmers market on Sundays is another cool way to enjoy downtown Parker. You get to discover new food, arts, and activities. From fresh produce to farm-raised beef and everything in between, you’ll never run out of things to experience at the farmers market. Go ahead and enjoy a Sunday stroll with your vape! It’s an easy activity to make a routine with your buddies.

4. Parker Days Festival

There’s hardly anything more fun to do in Parker than attend the Parker Days Festival. While you’ll have to wait until summer rolls back around, this festival is something you’ll want to be sure to attend. Here are some of the things you can enjoy at the festival:

● Concerts
● Carnival Rides
● Parades
● Entertaining shows
● Delicious food

There are plenty of exhilarating rides, exciting bands, and scrumptious food options to keep you coming back to the festival as an adult. Nothing’s better than vaping with your friends during the perfect weekend every year.

5. Smoking Buddha

How could we put together a list of the best places to vape in Parker and not include Smoking Buddha? This isn’t just shameless self-promotion–any of our customers will tell you Smoking Buddha is one of the most fun places to vape. We’ve been a trusted smoke shop and holistic store since 2011. We pride ourselves in offering the best products at fair prices–in fact, you’ll never pay over $20 for vape juices here. Some of the bottles of e-juice you can get here include:

● Candy King
● Ritual
● Naked
● Mr. Salty
● TRPCL
● pod

Plus, we have all the mods, vape pens, and glass you could ever want. You’ll run into other vape enthusiasts here that may turn into great friends. Plus, you can always come and talk to us and hang out–we love meeting everyone who comes into our store.

Vaping is one of the best ways to express yourself, socialize, and chill out. Whether you do it alone, with friends, or while meeting new people, it can be a special experience. However, sometimes it helps to break out of your standard routine. Trying new flavors and vaping in new places will help keep your passion for vaping alive. Come by to check out our vape shop for all your vaping needs!