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Cera Vape’s Hygeia Glassomizer
It is called “revolutionary” by Cera Vape, the company that makes the Hygeia tank, but is it? Just because someone says it’s revolutionary doesn’t make it so. Laying claim to a ceramic wick certainly makes it different than most others on the market today, but a ceramic wick does not make it revolutionary either, so what is the Hygeia ceramic wick tank all about then?
In this review I’ll give you the facts about this glassomizer, and relate my own experience with it after several days of vaping. Joining me in this review is Tom McBride. Tom has used the Hygeia as much as I have, so we hope that together Tom and I can cover it from top to bottom and leave nothing out.
The Hygeia is a $30+ tank that you can purchase on eBay. It’s not exactly tearing up the market place.
Quick Stats:
The all stainless steel and Pyrex glass tank; comes with 2 coils heads rated at 1.8ohms, plus a beauty ring. It holds an “officially” whopping 6ML of ejuice, and you can get a little more than in it if you’re careful about it. It also sports a 4-hold airflow controller, and replaceable drip tip. 
The Hygeia As Seen By Tom and Julia
Tom: The biggest feature of the Hygeia is the ceramic wick. In fact, other than the wick the tank is rather ordinary for 2015, and I don’t mean that in a negative way. The airflow control, the quality of the build, the Pyrex glass, they are all first-rate.
The ceramic wick does have some pros and cons, and I hope we can get into that at some point in this review.
Julia: You’re right Tom, the all stainless steel construction is certainly high quality, as is the Pyrex glass. In all the time I used it there was absolutely no leaking anywhere, which is a good thing for sure. And I do agree about the ceramic wick, there are good and not-so-good aspects of ceramic wicks.
Ceramic vs. Silica/Cotton, et al.
The Ceramic wick in the Hygeia tank is not as porous as you might think, if you’ve used ceramic coils/wicks before. Although all ceramic wicks need more time to absorb eliquid when compared with silica and cotton, the Hygeia takes substantially more time then I thought it would.
Ceramic wicks last longer than silica/cotton and to change flavors in your tank all you really need to do is rinse out the tank and ceramic wick, then burn off the flavor that has saturated into the ceramic by firing it up for 5-6 seconds while dry. To design and manufacture a tank with a ceramic wick in todays’ ever-changing industry is risky, but if certain critics are correct the Hygeia might quickly come to the forefront.
The Glass Shards Controversy
For vapers who might be concerned about glass shards or other nano-sized particles winding up deep inside the lung tissue while using silica or cotton, ceramic wicks make a lot of sense. Take for instance the recent attack on the Aspire Atlantis coils as an example.
For those of you that don’t know what I’m talking about, there was a recent “to-do” about the wicking issues in the Atlantis coils. Some vapers were reporting that because of the way the coil heads were constructed there was a chance that minute particles could wind up in the lung tissues of vapers. As far as I know there are no conclusive evidence for such a claim, only innuendo and a bunch of infighting between Atlantis fans and Kanger Subtank fans.
Our stance on the Aspire Atlantis “controversy” has been to say nothing until there is evidence one way or the other.
If it turns out to be accurate and tiny particles are getting into peoples lungs that could cause trouble down the road. Lung diseases, COPD among them, can be caused by particles getting logged in the soft tissue of the lungs and it can turn inflammatory. I’m watching this topic closely, and waiting to see conclusive evidence, until then, its vaping as usual with my beloved Aspire Atlantis tanks and me.
Tom: The Hygeia Tank uses a ceramic coil. A coil made with a ceramic wick rather than glass fiber wicks last longer, and are supposedly healthier than all other atomizers that use glass fiber wicks or even cotton wicks in their tanks.
Ceramic wicks produce zero glass fibers or microscopic chips when they are used in a tank, even at high temperatures. The Melting point of Ceramic material is much higher than those of glass fiber wicks and cotton wicks. So, as you can imagine, vapers that have been concerned about glass shards finding their way into the deep lung tissue are beginning to flock to ceramic wicks again. But it’s not as simple as that.
Julia: The biggest negative of using a tank that foregoes the cotton or silica wicks for ceramic wicks is that ceramic wicks product substantially less vapor. They also take 3 or 4 times as long to saturate a ceramic wick with ejuice, perhaps even longer with high VG juice.
In my case, I had filled one of the Hygeia tanks, allowed it to sit for about 20 minutes and then began vaping with it. The juice I used was one of my current favorites, lots of flavor and lots of vapor from my Atlantis. With the Hygeia I couldn’t taste the flavor of my juice for a good long while. In fact, the ceramic wick made my juice taste oily, as though I was vaping actual vegetable oil with no flavoring at all. I couldn’t get a decent cloud of vapor either, and no amount of adjusting changed it.
Giving up about 30 minutes in I sat aside the Hygeia tank and resumed vaping with my Atlantis. I left the Hygeia alone overnight, thinking that I would try again in the morning. When morning came around I discovered that most of the missing flavor returned, but the vapor production was still less than that of the Atlantis, by a fairly large amount. However, the flavor that did return was very clean tasting.
Tom: That’s exactly my experience as well. At first, no flavor and little vapor, then several hours later the ceramic wick finally absorbed enough eliquid to give back some flavor. Still, the vapor production left much to be desired. While ceramic wicks will output ample flavor after its had time to absorb it, it will never match silica/cotton when it comes to vapor production.
The Choice
The Hygeia tank costs about $30, so it isn’t cheap. But, if you are worried about the glass shards in silica and cotton wicks then this is a very good alternative. As long as you are aware of the downside of using ceramic wicks you’ll be fine, and mentally you’ll know you’re safer when vaping with ceramic. If it turns out that the Atlantis is a problem you’ll be ahead of the curve by switching now. Personally, at this point I’m not that concerned about glass shards from an Atlantis coil, so although I would live with the Hygeia I would prefer to stay with my currant tanks.
How To Use The Hygeia For Maximum Results
- Fill your tank and wait at least 2 hours before vaping.
- Give the Hygeia a solid 5-sec pre-burn. Repeat twice.
- Take a mild hit from the tank for tasting purposes.
- If you can taste the flavor of your juice it’s ready for vaping.
- Allow your device to pick your wattage or voltage. Then make adjustments as needed until you hit the sweet spot.
- Take your first big drag, either mouth to lung to a lung hit. Release, or exhale, and judge both flavor and vapor. Make adjustments as needed.
During our time with the Hygeia we discovered we had a lot of respect for what Hygeia is trying to do. The Hygeia is in the same class as other high-end tanks, but the different coil heads will feel like a step backwards if you want the huge clouds of vapor. Like everything else in the world, you’ll get used to it and after a while you won’t even notice the differences, unless you hit off an Atlantis or Kanger Subtank, or Delta 2, or even the new eLeaf MELO once and a while.
Given enough time to absorb the ejuice the Hygeia will deliver plenty of flavor, while not quite being able to keep up with the level of clouds the Atlantis can produce. The choice you need to make is whether or not you believe the glass shard controversy, and how much big clouds of vapor are worth vaping with a wick that “might” produce glass shards you can get into your lungs.
The Rounding Up
Julia: Like I said above, if there winds up being something to the use of cotton and silica then the Hygeia makes a very acceptable alternative. But, to be happy with the Hygeia you must be a vaper that has accepted the theory that glass shards in the other coils will end up in your lungs.
Tom: I don’t know Julia. For you and I, yes absolutely. But lets not forget that there is a sizable group of vapers that prefer ceramic wicks regardless of the Atlantis controversy. That being the case, I think the Hygeia is probably the best ceramic tank on the market today, for no other reason than the feature set, including the airflow controller and stainless steel construction, is very good.
Revolutionary?
No, its not revolutionary, it’s just different. And sometimes different is good, and sometimes it’s not so good. Having the choice, well that does matter. If you are concerned about silica/cotton wicks then the Hygeia is a tank you should consider…if not, well, what can we say?
Contents of the Hygeia Ceramic Tank:
1 Complete Hygeia Tank
1 Replacement Dual Ceramic Coil 1.8ohm
1 eGo Decorative Ring (Beauty Ring)
1 User Manual
Julia Hartley-Barnes and Tom McBride
