A Guide to Temperature Control

Published by Matt Brown on 28th Apr 2017

With the launch of JAC's very own SERIES-B DNA 75W this month, we're entering the world of temperature control. But what is it, and does it matter for you?

The SERIES-B DNA 75W offers full temperature control compatibility with exceptional performance.

If the concept of temperature control mods is new to you, let us explain.

This control mode is designed to do one thing - monitor and control the temperature of your atomiser. By setting a limit on the temperature, the device recognises when that limit is about to be breached, and automatically begins dialling back on power so that you can keep vaping at your perfect temperature.

The temperature of your vape can have a big impact on flavour, with different e-liquids performing better or worse at different settings. This is all very much down to personal taste, however.

Happily, this also means it's also possible to avoid dry-burning your wicks. As a well-saturated wick helps to keep the temperature of your coil down, once it begins to run dry, the device can sense the resulting rise in temperature and apply the brakes. Provided you've got your temperature set correctly, that means no more burnt wicks.

Temp control (TC) is a feature of specific devices fitted with a PCB (the brain of the device) that is built to offer more advanced options. TC has been around for a while now, with some devices doing it well, and others... well, not so much.

You see, the key to temperature control is in the quality of the PCB. Cheaper, less reliable boards may make a reasonable fist of approximating the TC experience, but it requires a PCB of top-notch quality to really do it properly. That's where the DNA75 chip from Evolv comes in.

Evolv is the world's leading manufacturer of these types of PCB, which is why we didn't think twice about kitting out the SERIES-B DNA 75W with one. The performance, reliability and build quality it offers is second to none, meaning that you can vape happily knowing that the brain of your mod is just as smart as it can be.

To be able to take advantage of temperature control, you'll need a compatible atomiser fitted with a non-resistance wire that the device is able to read. At the moment, that means Ni-200, SS316, or Titanium. Using a tradional resistance wire like Kanthal just won't work, as the device won't be able to monitor the change in resistance which occurs as a result of changing temperatures. Without that reading, it has no way of knowing what temperature your atomiser has reached.

When Kanthal is heated, the resistance of the wire doesn't change as consistently or predictably as Ni-200, SS316 or Titanium, which makes taking an accurate reading difficult.

The DNA75 chip allows you dial in which material you are using, and applies power based on that setting for best results. Fancy taking things a bit further? No problem. Thanks to the advanced customisation possible on the DNA75, you can even set custom profiles tailored to your own specific needs. Take note, however, we'd recommend this only to those with a solid working knowledge of Evolv's eScribe software.

On a related note, because devices like the SERIES-B DNA 75W offer a conventional wattage mode too, it's very important to make sure to only use suitable coils (i.e. Kanthal) when using this option. TC coils, such as Ni-200, are not built to handle the power levels applied in wattage mode.