Uwell Crown 3 Sub-Ohm Tank Full Review

The Uwell Crown 3 Sub-Ohm Tank

The Uwell Crown 3 is a modern sub-ohm tank that provides excellent performance (for stainless steel coils), and rich clouds of vapor with better-than-average flavor. Not exactly a resounding endorsement, is it? That doesn’t mean I don’t like the Crown 3. I do like it. It’s just, well, after more than two weeks of using this tank I found it difficult to make up my mind about it until I realized I was comparing it unfairly. More on that later.

On the one hand, this Uwell Crown 3 is so far removed from past Crown models, about the only thing linking it to the past is… well, I don’t really know. The name?

If all you want to know is the features and the specs on the tank, we’ve done that here in our preview. But if you want to know what I think after many, many hours of vaping with it, then this review is what you need to read.

Remember the powerful “bullet” coil heads of the Uwell Crown 2? They’re gone now, and in their place, are these tall coil heads with e-liquid ports that run the length of the inner coil/cotton area, and provide deep saturation of vape juice that will keep the coil and cotton soaked. And instead of unscrewing the coil from the base of the tank, like we did with the Crown 2, the user pulls the coil head out from the chimney post after removing the bottom base.

“You’ll Need This Key”

For all the good things to say about the Crown 3, there is a layer of complication regarding a key that unlocks the top part of the tank which will allow the user to disassemble the entire apparatus. Without the key the user can still swap out the coil head, but if the tank needs to be broken down for a deep clean the key must be used.

While sporting a whole new look and feel for a Crown sub-ohm, the Crown 3 “key” is not a deal killer, I tend to think that anything that needs a key or some other fob to work properly adds a layer of complication I don’t need. But that’s just me.

Easy Coil Head Replacement

 

About that the new Plug/Pull method of replacing the coil heads; it does work, and it works ‘fairly’ well. Turn the bottom base of the tank counterclockwise to remove it, then the bottom of the Coil Head is exposed. Grip the Coil Head and pull straight up and out. (Before reattaching the base cap, make sure the O-rings are on properly and in good condition.) I didn’t have any issues with swapping out the coil head, so you should be fine with it.

Priced at $31.95 at Element Vape, the Uwell Crown 3 is blistering hot product right now.   Uwell has given the Crown 3 some personality (which I never expected from Uwell).

The tank comes in a several colors, and there is a collection of colorful, and heat resistant, drip tips to choose from as well. (priced at $5.99 each)

Tank colors include an elegant matte black, Stainless Steel, Black, Sapphire Blue, Iridescent (rainbow-like). The default drip tip seems to be carefully chosen for each tank color. In addition, each tank includes a drip tip silicone sleeve, though I’m not sure why.

For this review, I am using the Matte Black with the default Drip Tip, a 3-color tip with a thin black ring at the top, a sort of military green in the middle (the largest section of the drip tip), and a thin gold ring on the bottom. Each Drip Tip uses 2x O-Rings for a snug fit into the top cap.

While I managed to use several box mods with the Uwell Crown 3 I stayed with the new HCigar VT250S, equipped with Evolv’s DNA250S board. Look for my review of the HCigar VT250S in a few days. The Crown 3 has a diameter of 24.5mm, so I avoided all box mods with a 22mm clearance. Thankfully, most new mods have the width for a 24.5mm tank.

The Uwell Crown 3 – From Stoic to Fun

The Uwell Crown 3, when compared with previous Crown tanks, seems to try and induce a bit of “fun” into the high performance sub-ohm field. I couldn’t help but think about the introduction of several new colors for all the SMOK TFV8 and TFV12 sub-ohms and Uwell’s decision to move away from the all metal chassis in stainless steel, black, or rose gold… I don’t think Uwell’s decision to add some color and ‘fun’ was coincidence, but more of ‘listening to the market’ type of thing.

And why not? The Crown 3 is not only a good tank, made to last a very long time, it also could appeal to mainstream vapers with this friendlier design.

Uwell Crown 3 Replacement Coils

My only disappointment over the past couple of weeks of steady use is the decision to buck the new-ish trend of other tank builders who have been returning to Kanthal A1 wire in their coils. Uwell is continuing to use SS316 stainless steel heating elements (wire). As far as I can tell, the new Plug/Pull coil head doesn’t have any options past the two coil heads the user receives in the box when the tank is purchased.

Replacement Coils are $14.95 for a pack of 4

• 0.25ohm SUS316 Parallel Coil – rated for 80-90W
• 0.5ohm SUS316 Parallel Coil – rated for 70-80W

As far as flavor goes, SS316 does a good job at producing good flavor from various vape juices. Using my current favorite juice, Kilo White Series Cinnamon Roll, a High VG blend, the flavor produced by the Crown 3 coils were nearly as good as the flavor produced by my various Kanthal SMOK TFV8 and TFV12 coils.

The most honest thing I can say about the flavor differences between SS316 and Kanthal is comparing the sound of Pink Floyd’s DSTM on 180g vinyl and a remastered digital file. The vinyl does produce a richer, fuller spectrum of sounds, but the digital file produces a very clean, but somewhat sterile sound. I’m sure many will declare bullshit comparing vinyl to digital, but it’s true nonetheless. And so if SS316 vs Kanthal.

Power Mode – Temp Control Mode

SS316 stainless steel is a high quality stainless steel heating element. In addition to being able to use stainless steel heating elements in Power mode (wattage mode), stainless steel can also be used in a Temperature Control mode, giving the user all the nifty TC tricks he or she might want to take advantage of.

It has been my opinion of late that temperature control technology is losing its luster, and many vapers are foregoing the tech completely. I won’t get into it here other than to say that the Uwell Crown 3 coil heads allow for both wattage and temperature tech.

The Uwell Crown 3 III Sub-Ohm Tank features a 5mL juice capacity crystal glass tank, along with a threaded top-fill top cap with fill slots on either side. Once the top cap is removed, just fill the tank.

Every previous Crown tank, including the its cousin, the Rafale tank, from Uwell has been designed to portray a certain level of masculinity. Black, Gold, and Stainless in color, these past Crown tanks featured full metal chassis and drip tips that matched the metal of the tank. The body of a Crown tank before the Crown 3 was stoic, all metal and glass, with big accent features…

It is my opinion, and it is only an opinion, that past Crown tanks were built like “tanks” (the driving weapon kind) without regard for aesthetics that go beyond ‘full metal jacket’.

Comparing the size of the Crown 2 and the Crown 3, we can see that they are nearly identical.  The size of the Crown 2 is 2-10/16″ x 14/16″, the Crown 3 is 2-7/16″ x 15/16“. However, the new design and aesthetics of the Crown 3 gives off an illusion of being a smaller tank. But it is only an illusion.

The 2017 Uwell Crown 3

The Uwell Crown 3 is the first from Uwell to feature the plug-pull Crown III replacement coil structure, and Uwell seemed to have done a good job of it. (though I do kind of miss the bullet tipped Coil Heads of the Crown 2.)

Uwell has made improvements in the Crown chimney as well as some needed structural redesigns that reduces the amount of vape juice condensation, making juice leaks a rare occasion. (so far)

More On The Uwell Crown 3 Plug-Pull Coil Heads

Uwell has said the new coil structure is optimized for balance of flavor and cloud production. This SS316 coils use a Parallel Coil Structure. In my usage report below I’ll tell you about my personal experience and how I think Uwell has done with this new structure.

As for resistance of the SS316 coils, Uwell uses a 0.25Ω SUS316 Parallel Coil with a wattage range of 80 to 90W, along with an additional 0.5Ω coil rated for 70 to 80W. Not much difference in the wattage range, but I found the 0.25Ω to produce a slightly better flavor and a little more humph in the vapor department.

However, look again at the wattage ranges. The 0.25Ω coil has a range of 80-90W. That is a very limited range. In the real world however, my 0.25Ω coil reads 0.33Ω in the HCigar VT250S, 0.29Ω on my Lost Vape Triade DNA250, and 0.27Ω when using my SMOK GX350. My ‘optimal’ wattage using the HCigar VT250S is 72W.

The Uwell Crown 3 Airflow is arranged in dual air slots around the base of the tank that are somewhat larger (in height) of those on the Crown 2. The airflow slots keep the tank cooler, but when your maximum wattage is 90W, that’s not all that hard to do. The drip tip and the glass do a great job keeping 90W cool to the touch.

Element Vape offers the Uwell Crown 3 III Replacement Coils here.

Real World Usage Report

If you fell in love with the original Uwell Crown and were subsequently disappointed in the ones that came after, you might want to sample the Crown 3.

During my time spent with the Uwell Crown 3 I had to keep reminding myself that Uwell was not competing in the cloud chasing arena. Instead, Uwell was offering solid engineering, superior glass tank, and a heat resistant drip tip that wasn’t a wide-bore tip, but it did its job. As for flavor and clouds, I think the best way to say this is that the Uwell Crown 3 makes for an ideal “all-day-everyday-sub-ohm-tank”.

The Crown 3 sub-ohm tank can be used by any Vaper as their go-to tank because it provides good flavor and good clouds. It cannot compete in the cloud department with the Eleaf Melo 300, or the SMOK TFV8/TFV12 Cloud Beasts, or the iJoy MAXO V12 tanks. But I don’t believe it was Uwell’s intention to compete in the cloud arena.

If you were intimidated by past Crown tanks, especially the Crown 2, but wanted to experience the ‘Uwell Crown’ vape experience, the Uwell Crown 3 is your best bet. The look and feel is friendlier, the color options are nice, the optional drip tips further the personal touch of your everyday tank.

I don’t think you’ll find the Uwell Crown 3 entering any  vape contests at local meets or vaping expos, but you will find the Crown 3 sitting atop box mods being used in the real world. And that’s not a bad place to be.

“The first Uwell Crown tank that looks at home sitting atop moderate wattage box mods. Any box mod with 80W or more to give, with a width of 24.5mm or more, will be fine for this excellent everyday workhorse.”

Tom McBride

Uwell Crown 3 Feature Set:

• 24.5mm Diameter Base
• 5.0ml Max Capacity
  • Anti-Leak Threaded Top Fill Method
  • 3.5mm by 6mm Dual Fill Ports
• Crown 3 Plug and Pull Replacement Mechanism
  • 0.25 ohm SUS316 Parallel Coil
    • 80 to 90W
  • 0.5 ohm SUS316 Parallel Coil
    • 70 to 80W
  • Vertical Coil Design
  • Plug and Pull Design
    • Thread-less Design
    • Convenient and Fast Coil Installation and Replacement
  • Crown 3 Key Tool
    • Coil Changing and Tank Cleaning
• Precision Triple Adjustable Bottom Airflow
  • 11mm by 2mm Each
• Stainless Steel Construction
  • Available in Other Finishes
• Quartz Glass
• Stainless Steel 510 Threading
• 24K Gold Plated Contact

Uwell Crown 3 In-The-Box :

• One Uwell Crown 3 Sub-Ohm Tank
• One 0.25 ohm SUS316 Parallel Coil
  • 80 to 90W
• One 0.5 ohm SUS316 Parallel Coil
  • 70 to 80W
• One Replacement Glass Tank Section
• Spare Parts Pack
• User Manual