The theoretical 15,000-port lifespan of wga crystal 15k is extensively determined by the atomization core material, battery performance and usage habit. According to the test result of the German TUV laboratory, under a 2.0Ω resistance and 7W power, the atomization time of one port of its ceramic core was 2.5 seconds (0.05mL of e-liquid per port). Theoretically, 15,000 ports would exhaust 750mL of e-liquid. Nevertheless, in practice because of circuit loss and atomization residues, the median number of effective ports was 14,200 (error range ±3.5%). For example, the 2023 U.S. Consumer Report indicates that the average service life of the wga crystal 15k for heavy users (500 servings per day average) is 28 days, and for light users (150 servings per day average) is as much as 95 days. The device attenuation manifests most strongly in the decrease in battery cycle efficiency from 98% to 82%.
Battery performance is an important variable for lifespan. The wga crystal 15k has a lithium 1200mAh battery. If charged to the maximum, it can continuously support 600 ports’ suction (≤0.1V voltage fluctuation) and its charging cycle is 45 minutes (5V/3A fast charging). However, after 300 cycles, the capacity will be reduced by 78% of the nominal value. According to a study by the Japan E-Cigarette Association, at ambient temperature of 25°C, the efficiency of battery load is 92%, and in the case of hot (40°C) or cold (0°C) environments, the attenuation will accelerate and decrease the number of cigarettes by 12% to 18%. The actual tests conducted by consumers in the extremely hot regions of Australia in 2022 showed that the highest average daily consumption of wga crystal 15k during summer was only 430 (510 in winter), and the lifespan of equipment was shortened by 22%.
The ageing of the atomization core directly affects the flavour and the bites number. The wga crystal 15k ceramic’s porous structure is a clogging probability of pores that increases linearly with the level of use under the scenario of a 5% concentration of nicotine salt: the clogging rate is ≤1% after the first 5000 mouthfuls, 8% after 10,000 mouthfuls, and the atomization efficiency decreases by 35% after 15,000 mouthfuls (the smoke volume decreases from 0.8mL/mouthfuls to 0.52mL). Disassembly at a UK laboratory revealed that surface density of nicotine crystals at the spent atomizer core was as high as 0.12g/cm³, sixfold greater than that in the factory state, enhancing airflow resistance by 40%. For instance, the figure of European customer complaints in 2023 shows that the leakage rate of wga crystal 15k increased from 0.5% to 4.7% following more than 12,000 ports, mainly due to high-temperature deformation of the sealing silicone (a loss of 60% hardness at 80°C).
Environmental humidity is connected with usage frequency and the life variation. In humidity levels of more than 70%RH, the risk of oxidation for wga crystal 15k circuit boards triples and the median failure rate is increased from 1.2% to 4.5%. A 2022 market research on Southeast Asia demonstrates that due to the high-humidity climate situation (with average annual humidity 85%RH), the working life of equipment for users of Philippines is a mere 11,300 units, which is 24% shorter than 14,800 units seen under dry climates such as Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, repetitive short-time suction (interval < 30 seconds) will increase the atomization core temperature sum up to 120°C (nominal working temperature 60-80°C), accelerate ceramic sintering, and reduce the number of effective orifices by 18%.
Quality control and compliance certification have an effect on the homogeneity of lifespan. The EU TPD regulation requires the nicotine release error of wga crystal 15k to be ≤10%, and the standard deviation of the lifespan of certified batches to be ±420 mouthpieces (±780 mouthpieces in uncertified batches). In 2023, China’s customs carried out random inspections and found that some cheap counterfeit goods used lower-capacity battery cells (cycle number of less than 200 times), and the number of cells was less than 8,000, 47% less than that of genuine products. For instance, in 2022, wga crystal 15k was recalled by the United States FDA as a batch because its atomization core had more nickel than the normal level by three times, resulting in erroneous readings for 30% of the users (the reading value was actually 21% lower than that).