TC – Does Temperature Control Make Sense?
Vape batteries and mods without temperature control are slowly becoming a dying breed. You’ve probably seen this note on mods more than once: “Firmware supports nickel, titanium and stainless steel.” To understand what that means, it helps to know how temperature control actually works.
First of all, TC isn’t really measured based on the heat inside the tank; it’s calculated from the properties of the coil head. So if you thought TC had something directly to do with the temperature in the tank: no, definitely not. For temperature control to work, the firmware has to be able to drive the coil head, identify the material and measure the resistance correctly.
Since there are coils made from nickel, titanium or stainless steel, plus different coil builds, the demands on temperature control change too. That’s also why you’ll often see shops say that the firmware can be updated. If coil styles and/or coil materials change, you still want to be able to carry on using your expensive mod.
Back to TC: based on the coil head, the mod calculates the ideal temperature — calculates, not measures! The temperature is never measured directly; it’s only ever calculated.
Every firmware uses room temperature as its starting point — in other words, 20°C. As a rule, the calculation happens as soon as you screw in the tank or atomizer, before you press the fire button for the first time. Heat changes the wire’s resistance, and each material has its own range — measured in ohms.
Next week, part two answers the question: TC — what’s the point of temperature control?
