Vapes look simple from the outside, a little device, a mouthpiece, some vapour. But there's a neat bit of engineering going on inside, and understanding it makes you a better, happier vaper: fewer burnt hits, better flavour, and the confidence to pick the right gear. This guide explains how a vape works and breaks down every part, in plain English.
Contents
Key Takeaways
→ A vape works by using a battery to heat a coil, which vaporises e-liquid into an inhalable vapour
→ The core parts are the battery, the coil (atomiser), the wick, the e-liquid, the pod or tank, and the mouthpiece
→ Nothing is burned — the liquid is heated to vapour, not combusted like a cigarette
→ Coil resistance (measured in ohms) decides whether a vape is a tight MTL draw or a big, airy cloud
→ Most burnt hits come from a dry wick — look after the coil and the flavour looks after itself
1. How does a vape work?
At its simplest, a vape (or e-cigarette) turns e-liquid into vapour using heat. Here's the chain of events:
The battery sends power to the coil, a small heating element wrapped in absorbent cotton called the wick. The wick is soaked in e-liquid, and when the coil heats up, it vaporises the liquid touching it. You draw that vapour through the mouthpiece, air mixes in through the airflow holes, and that's the hit.
Crucially, nothing is set on fire. A cigarette burns tobacco at hundreds of degrees and creates smoke and tar; a vape gently heats liquid into vapour. That difference is exactly why the NHS says vaping is substantially less harmful than smoking.
2. The parts of a vape explained
Whatever the device, a pod kit, a disposable, or a bigger mod, the same core parts do the same jobs.
The battery
Powers the whole thing. In a refillable kit it's rechargeable (usually via USB-C); in a disposable it's built in and single-use. Bigger batteries (measured in mAh) mean longer between charges.
The coil (atomiser)
The heart of the vape. It's a coil of resistance wire, often mesh in modern devices, that heats up when you fire it. The coil is a consumable: it wears out over time and needs replacing.
The wick
Cotton wrapped around or inside the coil. It soaks up e-liquid and feeds a steady supply to the coil so there's always liquid to vaporise. A dry wick is the number-one cause of a burnt taste.
The e-liquid
What actually becomes vapour. E-liquid is a base of PG and VG plus flavourings, with or without nicotine. The VG/PG ratio affects throat hit and cloud size, and you can choose nic salts, freebase or 0mg nicotine-free.
The pod or tank
The reservoir that holds your e-liquid and houses the coil. Pods are the small, click-in reservoirs on modern kits; tanks are the larger, screw-on versions on bigger devices.
The mouthpiece and airflow
The mouthpiece (or drip tip) is where you inhale. The airflow holes let air in to mix with the vapour, more airflow means a looser, cloudier draw; less means a tight, cigarette-like one.
3. What happens when you take a puff
Put together, one puff looks like this:
→ You activate the device, either by inhaling (draw-activated) or holding a fire button
→ The battery sends power to the coil
→ The coil heats up and vaporises the e-liquid held in the wick
→ You draw the vapour through the mouthpiece as air mixes in through the airflow
→ The wick re-soaks with e-liquid from the pod, ready for the next puff
That last step matters: the fraction of a second the wick takes to re-saturate is why chain-vaping can cause a dry, harsh hit.
4. Coils, ohms and vaping styles
Coils are rated by resistance, measured in ohms (Ω), and that number shapes the whole experience:
→ Higher resistance (above ~1.0Ω) - less power, a tight MTL (mouth-to-lung) draw like a cigarette. Best with nic salts and pod kits.
→ Lower resistance (below 1.0Ω, "sub-ohm") — more power, big airy clouds and a DTL (direct-to-lung) draw. Best with shortfills in a bigger kit.
If you're choosing your first device, most people want the MTL, pod-kit route — our Best Vape Kits for Beginners guide covers the easy options, or jump straight to the Vape Kit Finder.
5. Looking after the parts
A little care keeps the flavour clean and the coils lasting:
→ Prime a new coil — let a fresh pod sit for a few minutes after filling so the wick soaks through before you vape it. More on that in our guide to making a coil last longer.
→ Don't chain-vape — give the wick a second to re-soak between puffs.
→ Change the coil when flavour drops — a muted or burnt taste means it's spent. Our burnt vape fix guide has the full rundown.
→ Keep it topped up — vaping a near-empty pod is a fast route to a dry hit.
Vapes and More from Riot
Once you know how a vape works, choosing your setup is easy. Riot makes the UK-made e-liquid that goes in it - from smooth nic salts to 0mg nicotine-free — plus simple, refillable pod kits to run it in. New to it all? Start with our New to Vaping guide or let the Vape Kit Finder pick for you. You must be 18+ to buy.
