Starter & MTL Tanks
A mouth to lung tank is built to give a tight restricted draw, the closest sensation vaping offers to drawing on a cigarette. This collection brings together 25 starter and MTL tanks that thread onto any 510 mod or battery, with verified in stock prices running from £9.99 to £19.99. The range is led by Innokin, whose Zenith, Prism and Endura tanks are among the most widely used mouth to lung tanks in the UK, alongside the Aspire AF.
These are tanks rather than complete kits, so you supply the mod. That is the appeal. A tank you get on with can move between devices as you upgrade. Coils are sold separately, which lets you tune the resistance and the draw to whichever e-liquid you are running rather than being stuck with whatever a kit shipped with.
Mouth to lung against sub ohm
Mouth to lung describes a two stage draw. Vapour is pulled into the mouth first, then inhaled. Airflow is deliberately restricted and the coil resistance normally sits above 1.0 ohm, so the device runs at low wattage and sips e-liquid slowly. Direct to lung is the opposite. Open airflow, sub ohm coils and higher power produce far more vapour on a single straight inhale.
What to look for in a starter tank
Coil range. The tanks here take heads from roughly 0.6 ohm up to 1.6 ohm, covering restricted direct to lung at the low end through to a very tight cigarette style draw at the top. A tank with a broad coil range gives you room to change the character of the device without buying new hardware.
Airflow control. An adjustable airflow ring is the single most useful feature on an MTL tank. The Innokin Zenith range uses a stepped ring that runs from a pinhole through to a moderately open setting, which effectively gives you several draws from one tank.
Capacity. UK regulations cap tanks sold for use with nicotine e-liquid at 2ml, which is why every compliant tank on the UK market ships at that size. Refilling more often is simply part of vaping here.
The Innokin Zenith and Prism families
The Zenith line is the main reason Innokin is so closely associated with mouth to lung vaping. The Zenith MTL tank and the Zenith Pro run on the Z coil platform, which spans both mouth to lung heads and restricted direct to lung heads in the same tank, so swapping a coil changes the character of the device entirely. The Zenith Minimal is a stripped back take on the same idea.
Prism tanks are the ones supplied with Innokin's Endura pen kits. The T18 E, T18E Pro, Prism T18II, T20-S and Jem tanks all sit in this family and use the simpler Prism heads. They are inexpensive, easy to fill and forgiving of mistakes, which is exactly what a first tank should be. The Endura Apex Prism S is the most recent addition.
Rebuildables in this department
The wider tanks and rebuildables category also covers RTAs, RDAs and RDTAs. An RTA has a build deck beneath a juice reservoir. An RDA is dripped onto directly with no reservoir at all. An RDTA sits between the two, with a small well under the deck. Building your own coils cuts running costs to very little, though it needs an ohm reader and a proper grasp of what resistance is safe on your mod. Every tank listed on this page uses pre built coil heads instead.
Matching e-liquid to an MTL tank
Coils above 1.0 ohm want a 50/50 PG to VG e-liquid. In the UK that means a 10ml bottle at up to 20mg per ml, either a nicotine salt or a traditional freebase blend. Thick high VG shortfills will not wick through a tight coil and will give you dry hits within a few puffs.
Fitting, filling and preventing leaks
Screw the tank down until it is finger tight and no further. Over tightening damages the 510 pin and can crack the base. Prime a new coil through the wicking ports, fill the tank, then stand it upright for five to ten minutes so the cotton saturates fully before the first draw.
Delivery and support
UK delivery is free on orders over £20 and orders placed on working days are dispatched quickly. If you need to check which coils a tank takes or whether it suits the mod you already own, the team is on 07827 210361 between 8.30am and 4.00pm.
What people ask about MTL tanks
What does MTL mean?
MTL stands for mouth to lung. It describes a two stage draw where you pull vapour into your mouth first and then inhale it, which is how a cigarette is smoked. MTL tanks use restricted airflow and coils above 1.0 ohm, so they run at low wattage and use far less e-liquid than a direct to lung setup.
Will these tanks fit my mod?
Yes, provided your device has a 510 connection, which almost every regulated mod and battery tube uses. Every tank in this collection is 510 threaded. The only thing worth checking is the diameter, because a wide tank on a narrow mod will overhang the edges even though it functions perfectly well.
Why are UK vape tanks limited to 2ml?
UK regulations restrict tanks sold for use with nicotine e-liquid to a 2ml capacity, alongside a 10ml bottle limit and a 20mg per ml strength cap. Every compliant tank sold here ships at 2ml. It means refilling more often on a busy day, which is simply how the rules work in this market.
What coil resistance should I use for MTL vaping?
Anything above 1.0 ohm gives a properly restricted mouth to lung draw at low wattage, with 1.2 ohm to 1.6 ohm being the usual range for a cigarette style pull. Heads between 0.6 ohm and 0.8 ohm sit in restricted direct to lung territory, which is a looser draw with more vapour and needs a lower nicotine strength.
Which e-liquid works best in a starter tank?
A 50/50 PG to VG blend in a 10ml bottle, which covers both nicotine salts and traditional freebase e-liquid at up to 20mg per ml. Thin liquid wicks properly through a tight coil. High VG shortfills are too thick for these tanks and will produce dry hits because the cotton cannot keep up.
How do I stop my tank leaking?
Check three things. The base should be finger tight with the coil fully seated, the O rings should be intact and the tank should be stored upright rather than on its side. Also avoid overfilling past the fill line, because the trapped air is what stops liquid from being pushed down the central airflow tube.
How much do MTL tanks cost?
The tanks verified as in stock here run from £9.99 for an Innokin T18 E, Jem or T20-S Prism up to £19.99 for the Zenith MTL and the Zenith Pro. The Aspire AF and the Zenith Minimal both sit at £17.99. Coils are bought separately, so factor those into the running cost.