Help me with a Dark Horse RDA coil build please

[Rocko1290]

I'm just getting into the Dark Horse coming from an RSST. I was using a build that the ecig shop made for me, it was pretty large wire, I'd say 24 maybe even 22ga wire, 5 wraps, dual coil. I don't know what the resistance measured (I'm sure some of you vape pros would know just by hearing the build type). But I had a couple different problems with this build. Firstly it was just way too damn hot, to the point it was burning my lips. 2nd, I noticed all the guys up at the shop (and even some guys I've seen using the Dark Horse on YouTube) all rip it hardcore. Like they're not taking a drag like any normal person would off a cigarette, they are inhaling hard as hell and deeply to the point you can hear the suction and inhaling it all the way into the bottom of their lungs. I was not able to get good vapor production with this build unless I did that too. Do you have to do this to get any kind of decent vape production with the Dark Horse? It's not something I want to do, I'm not smoking a ...., I'm trying to get the flavor and taste and inhale like I would a cigarette and having to inhale deeply like that to get good vape production kind of defeats the whole purpose in my opinion, it doesn't really allow you to savor the taste and vape casually as you would a cigarette.

Anyways, I have 2 different sizes of Kanthal to work with, one of them is 28ga and the other is what I'm pretty sure is the next size larger at 26ga.

Desired type of vape:
-Not too hot to where it's burning my lips, but not too cold either (just right, like Goldilocks haha).
-Don't have to inhale hard and deeply to the bottom of my lungs to get good vape clouds.
-Don't have to hit for more than a few seconds to get good vape clouds (I can't stand having to take more than a 5 second drag to get the hit I want, I want it to be comparable to a cigarette hit, 3-4 seconds tops)
-Obviously I also want to get good flavor.
-Not sure if this is relevant but I've hit some people's ecigs (also my previous setup tended to get like this when my battery got low), and the vape was very misty, almost as if I was truly inhaling tiny droplets of ejuice rather than smoke-like vapor. Almost as if it wasn't hot enough and was re-condensating and coating my mouth with e-liquid. Gross! I would like to avoid this if possible and do not know if there is anything I should do in particular to do so.

I have experimented with it a little but I still have not gotten anywhere close to the results I'm looking for. I'm not very knowledgable in regards to the fundamentals of electronics and accordinglu I can't even really ballpark estimate my coil ohms and such.

Does the diameter of the hole in the coil make a difference? Like more wire for a wider coil = higher resistance? Does it affect any other aspects of the vaping experience?

Also, on a side note, I currently use an Efest 2500mAh, 35A, 3.7V LI-MN battery (it's the purple one, everybody says it's the good one). I have several smaller batteries of the same brand, except 700mAh, 10.5A, 18350, 3.7V LI-MN. I liked using these smaller ones better with my RSST because I have a telescopic mechanical mod and can make my entire ecig much smaller by using these smaller batteries. Would these batteries also be safe to use with the Dark Horse?

Thank you very much in advance for your time.

 

[Seth McCandless]

I'd try a single or dual parallel at 8 wraps, you get great flavor and vapor! And it's a warm vape. And if you make it with 26 or 28 gauge wire, they tend to heat up pretty quickly. Hope this helps!

 

[Rocko1290]

I'd try a single or dual parallel at 8 wraps, you get great flavor and vapor! And it's a warm vape. And if you make it with 26 or 28 gauge wire, they tend to heat up pretty quickly. Hope this helps!

Thanks man I'll try that! But what do you mean by "parallel"? I understand there exists different electronic arrangements which affect resistance including "series" and "parallel" but I cannot envision anything other than 1 way to set this thing up with 2 coils?? There's only 3 posts, only 1 way to do it right?

 

[MattyTny]

Alright, what device do you have your RDA on? If it's a higher watt regulated you have more wiggle room. If it's a mech you can still build a smooth coil for the full battery charge. Seth recommended a parallel build. Basically you take two wires and wrap them next to each other, so it's basically a dual coil, but in one coil. These types of coils are great for a higher temp vape. I have one atty set up for a single parallel, works nice.

These types of large airflow atomizers are meant for the deep straight lung inhales, some other atomizers focus on a smaller chamber or a more restricted airflow. I don't own a dark horse, but I'd imagine you can close it off pretty good if you wanted. It seems like you should build something with 24 or 26 gauge for quick hits with a cool to warm vape. You should also make your coils on the bigger side diameter wise, like 3mm-ish. If you find the flsvor isn't enough, you can make the coils a little smaller. But most of the flavor will depend on the atty too. The liquid coating your mouth may be a result of over dripping.

Maybe try some dual coils, 3mm diameter, 8 wraps with 24 gauge. The vape will be cool to warm, and the resistance won't be too low. Or try a single parallel. What you should do is check out Steam Engine | free vaping calculators you can plug in coil properties to see possible builds. Remember to vary the heat flux to the appropriate wattage to see how cool or hot the vape will be.

Remeber to position your coil or coils close to the airflow, not too far where it will touch the cap. You kind of want it to sit lower, but still level with the incoming air, too high up and it might be a little hot. Wicking is also important and can cause issues if not done right. Check out the coil builds thread for ideas.