Resistance Wire - Kanthal/Nichrome

TomCatt;6840057 said:

There has been a run on the Kanthal A-1 resistance wire that's been for sale on eBay with the surge in rebuildable atomizers. I've done some research into the resistivity and composition of the various Kanthal and Nichrome wires.

Kanthal is an alloy composed mainly of Iron, Chromium and Aluminum. The main difference between the composition of the different grades of Kanthal is the percentage of Aluminum.

Kanthal A-1 has 5.8% Aluminum
Kanthal A has 5.3% Aluminum
Kanthal D has 4.8% Aluminum

All grades have Chromium in the range of 20.5% to 23.5%.

The remaining 70% - 75% is made of Iron.

In my opinion, there should be no (or not very much) difference (in regards to vaping) between the different grades of Kanthal than the slightly different resistances (see the table below).
=====================

Nichrome comes in various compostions. The main components are Nickel and Chromium.

Jacobs Online carries Nichrome 60 (also called Chromel C). This is composed of 60% Nickel, 16% Chromium and 24% Iron.

--------------------------

PnJ Resources carries Nichrome 80. This is composed of 80% Nickel and 20% Chromium

======================

At the temperatures we vape at, there should be no metallic vapors given off by these wires due to heat.
It has been stated by a number of ECF members that Kanthal (A-1) gives a cleaner tasting vape than Nichrome and that Kanthal (A-1) is a stronger more robust wire than Nichrome.
With either material, a thicker wire (smaller awg #) will, most likely, have a longer lifespan than a thinner wire.
=======================

Resistance in Ohms/inch for the Resistance Wires

Kanthal Grade----- A-1 ------ A -------- D ----- Nichrome 60 -------- Nichrome 80

30 awg (Ω/in)----- 0.7 ------ 0.7 ------ 0.7 -------- 0.6 -------- -------- 0.5
31 awg (Ω/in)----- 0.9 ------ 0.9 ------ 0.8
32 awg (Ω/in)----- 1.2 ------ 1.1 ------ 1.1 -------- 0.9 -------- -------- 0.9
33 awg (Ω/in)----- 1.4 ------ 1.4 ------ 1.3
34 awg (Ω/in)----- 1.8 ------ 1.8 ------ 1.7 -------- 1.4 -------- -------- 1.4
35 awg (Ω/in)----- 2.3 ------ 2.2 ------ 2.1
36 awg (Ω/in)----- 2.9 ------ 2.8 ------ 2.7 -------- 2.3 -------- -------- 2.1

Spreadsheet calculations for the resistances

ETA: These ohms/inch numbers are a close average. Due to small variations in wiire thickness, if you cut a one inch piece of wire, the resistance may be +/- 0.1 or so ohms from the numbers in the table above.

Always measure the resistance of a new coil set-up with a multimeter before attaching it to your battery.

Click to expand...