PnP X coils, Voopoo's ranges and sources compared

Seven values from 0.15 to 1 ohm, a wattage range for each, a V2 now on the shelves and listings that do not all say the same thing. Before comparing retailers, we went back to the figures Voopoo itself publishes for its PnP X coils and looked at what they show once lined up. A pattern emerges that the maker never comments on, along with a series of gaps between sources worth knowing before you set your mod.

PnP X coils, the seven official values

The page Voopoo devotes to its PnP X platform lists seven PnP X coils, each with a draw style, a wattage range and a recommended vegetable glycerine (VG) level.

Value	Draw	Published range	Recommended VG
0.15 ohm	DTL	60 to 80 W	50 to 70 per cent
0.2 ohm	DTL	40 to 60 W	50 to 70 per cent
0.3 ohm	DTL and RDL	32 to 40 W	50 to 70 per cent
0.45 ohm	RDL	25 to 32 W	50 to 70 per cent
0.6 ohm	MTL and RDL	18 to 23 W	50 to 60 per cent
0.8 ohm	MTL	12 to 16 W	50 per cent
1.0 ohm	MTL	10 to 13 W	50 per cent

The maker presents the platform as its fourth-generation atomising technology and claims up to 100 ml of e-liquid per coil without burning or leaking. Elsewhere on the same page it notes that its results come from tests under professional conditions and that real use may change them.

A range built around one voltage

A wattage range says nothing about the voltage the mod applies to the coil. Ohm’s law gives it directly, the square root of power multiplied by resistance. Applied to the bottom and top of each range, it shows how the range was put together.

Voltage at the bottom and top of each range

The calculation uses only Voopoo’s figures. Voltages are rounded to the nearest hundredth of a volt.

Value	Published range	Voltage at the bottom	Voltage at the top
0.15 ohm	60 to 80 W	3.00 V	3.46 V
0.2 ohm	40 to 60 W	2.83 V	3.46 V
0.3 ohm	32 to 40 W	3.10 V	3.46 V
0.45 ohm	25 to 32 W	3.35 V	3.79 V
0.6 ohm	18 to 23 W	3.29 V	3.71 V
0.8 ohm	12 to 16 W	3.10 V	3.58 V
1.0 ohm	10 to 13 W	3.16 V	3.61 V

What the pattern shows

Every range sits within a corridor of 2.8 to 3.8 volts at the coil. The three lowest values, 0.15, 0.2 and 0.3 ohm, top out at exactly the same voltage, 3.46 volts, the square root of 12.

Voopoo therefore seems to have set its ranges at near-constant voltage rather than constant power. What changes from one value to the next is the current. At the top of each range, it climbs from 3.6 amps on the 1.0 ohm coil to 23.1 amps on the 0.15 ohm, more than six times as much.

What that current gap means for the mod

On a regulated mod, power is drawn from the cell with conversion losses. Taking 3.7 volts and 90 per cent efficiency, calculation assumptions of ours rather than manufacturer data, a 0.15 ohm coil set to 80 watts asks about 24 amps of a single cell. That is beyond what an 18650 rated at 20 A continuous discharge can handle, a case we covered with the Coolfire Z80 and its 80 watts on a single 18650.

At the other end, the MTL values stay below 5 amps. To read a cell’s continuous discharge rating and estimate its runtime, our page on the 21700 battery sets out the method.

Three sources, three versions of the same coil

Comparing Voopoo’s page with retailer listings shows gaps of three kinds. None changes the coil itself, but each can throw a setting off.

The maker contradicts itself

The technical section of the same page lists the 0.3 ohm as RDL and MTL rather than DTL and RDL, and brings the 0.6 ohm down to 50 per cent VG instead of 50 to 60. It also states that the MTL cartridge only takes the 0.3 and 0.6 ohm coils, while the DTL cartridge takes them all.

Retailers waver on draw style

One French retailer listing puts the 0.3 ohm under DL in its list and RDL in its table, and the 0.45 ohm under RDL and then MTL and RDL. The draw label shifts, the watts stay the same, and the watts are what to follow.

A range that leaves the corridor

A UK retailer gives 20 to 28 watts for the 0.6 ohm coil, where Voopoo publishes 18 to 23 watts. At 28 watts, a 0.6 ohm coil sees 4.1 volts, outside the 2.8 to 3.8 volt corridor that every official range respects. It is the only figure we found that breaks the maker’s pattern.

PnP X V2, the same ranges on the listings checked

Shops now sell PnP X V2 coils, described with a revised design, better sealing and a longer life, with no figures to back it up. The platform page we checked on Voopoo’s site does not mention this second version.

Two French retailers agree on one verifiable point. Their V2 ranges, from 60 to 80 watts on the 0.15 ohm down to 10 to 13 watts on the 1.0 ohm, repeat those of the first version. The voltage corridor therefore holds for both generations. One of them states that V1 and V2 coils both fit the Drag X3.

As for pods, Voopoo lists its PnP X MTL and DTL cartridges in 5 ml and 2 ml versions. UK rules under the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 cap refillable tanks at 2 ml, so the 2 ml version is the one sold in Britain, and nicotine e-liquid is capped at 20 mg/ml in bottles of no more than 10 ml.

FAQ

Five questions the coil packets leave unanswered.

Which devices take PnP X coils?

Voopoo names, among others, the Drag X2, Drag S2, Drag 5, Drag 4 and Drag M100S, the Vinci E120 and Vinci Spark100, the Doric 60 Pro and several Argus models, including the E40, Pro 2, GT II, XT and MT. The exact list varies from one value to another on the maker’s page.

Do PnP X coils fit an older PnP pod?

No. The PnP X platform has its own cartridges and pod tanks, and a UK retailer states that these coils will not fit the original Drag X and Drag S kits, which stay on the earlier PnP coils.

Why does the VG level differ by value?

The low values, built for direct-lung vaping, are rated for 50 to 70 per cent VG, a thicker liquid. The MTL values of 0.8 and 1.0 ohm stick to 50 per cent, a thinner liquid that soaks the cotton more easily at low power.

Does the 100 ml claim apply to every coil?

Voopoo states it for each coil in the pack of five, noting that its results come from tests under professional conditions. A very sweet liquid or a wattage set at the top of the range generally shortens a coil’s life.

Why start a new coil at the bottom of its range?

For each value, the bottom of the range matches the lowest voltage in the table. Starting there gives the cotton time to soak before you move towards the top of the range.

PnP X coils, a range best read by its voltage

Lined up, Voopoo’s ranges describe a consistent family, set between 2.8 and 3.8 volts at the coil, where only the current really changes. The gaps come from the listings, the maker’s as well as the shops’, and rarely from the coil.

To set up PnP X coils, the official range stays the reference, V1 and V2 alike. A range that pushes the voltage above 3.8 volts deserves checking against Voopoo’s page before you follow it.

On the same subject

Editorial content for adult readers only. Vaping products can contain nicotine, a substance that causes addiction. Nicotine vaping products are not for sale to anyone under 18 in the UK. This article is not a buying recommendation.