New to RBA coils

[Josh Schmidt]

I have a smok mini 2 mod with a big baby beast tank. Ever since I got my mod I have been buying packs of the smok prebuilt coils and I am sick of paying $7-$12 every time a pack runs out. I have been considering buying the smok RBA kit, however I don't really want to wrap the coils myself. I've seen on ebay they sell many different packs of prerolled coil wire, but I'm not sure what type to get. Here are 2 links to wire that I am considering:

RBA Depot Prebuilt Kanthal A1 24 Gauge 24AWG 0.5ohm premade 10 Pack Coils | eBay

48X Pre Built Coils Alien Half-Staggered Clapton Twisted Fused Hive Quad | eBay

Let me know what you think is best. Also let me know what recommended cotton to get please.

Thank you!

 

[r055co]

Links have been removed but 9 out of 10 times coils like those are dodgy at best. They are cheaply made using cheap crapwire, that's why they're inexpensive. You can get some great coils from some excellent coil makers but they run on average $10-$15 a pair and up. From a great custom coil maker they're hand made and most of the time worth the cost, considering you'll get 3-4 months out of a set.

But seriously it's incredibly simple to make basic coils, let's put it into perspective. How hard is it really to wrap a wire around a coil jig or screw driver? Seriously. I started that way, then bought a coil making kit, moved on to twisted then learned how to spin my own Claptons, wasn't that difficult. I now primarily vape only on SS fused claptons that I spin myself. I do know there are a lot of vapers who stay with bare wire, they'll vape on single, parallel and twisted all are incredibly simple to make.

Anyway just cruise YouTube for building basic coils, buy a coil making kit and get some "quality" wire like from Kidney Puncher, Atomizer Wick or Temco. They are all top quality real Sandvic wire and not cheap crapwire from China. The most expensive out of those three happens to be my favorite is Kidney Puncher, 30 feet is under $5 and will last you well over a year.

 

[papergoblin]

Others may feel different but I'm not a fan of the RBA deck on the SMOK. I decided I was tired of dripping and bought a TFV8 which came with the RBA section. The flavor from it isn't as good as the SMOK coils, seems weaker flavor but more clouds. I tried about every coil you can imagine on it and just couldn't find anything I liked.

Now in all honesty I'm not wild about the tank either, goes through coils like crazy, 2-3 a week. I'll tell you like so many told me and I didn't listen. Buy either a tank or an RTA tank, not one that does both. I suggest just buying an RTA and skip the RBA section for the SMOK.

However if you're set on the RBA deck, it is far cheaper to buy a roll of wire and build. Building plain simple coils is easy and cheap. Fancy coils aren't needed to get great flavor, plus knowing how to build means not having to wait on coils to come in.

Learn basic coils my favorite is a 26ga kanthal with 6 wraps 2.5mm inside diameter. Then you can buy spools of pre-made clapton, tiger, alien, etc. Ebay has a simple jig on there for $2-$3 and it works fine, I use it more than those Kuro's.

You'll still need most of the same tools whether you build coils or buy pre-made: wire cutters, scissors, tweezers (squeezing out hot spots), and either a rod or screwdriver close to the diameter of the coil (for centering).

 

[stols001]

I'd agree that when possible, it's nice to be able to make your own coils (and less expensive) and it's not a skill that's hard to master unless you have physical limitations. I do, and sometimes use inexpensive premade coils, but they do have downsides and tend to last less time that coils I wrap myself.

There are a couple tools to make it easier.... A coilmaster kit is inexpensive and will contain an ohm's meter that's great as a stable base for the RDA and to test fire/check your builds. I do everything (including wicking and filling) on my ohm's meter, it's much easier than trying to do it on just the deck or even the deck installed on a mod. The accompanying tools aren't super high quality but they work for my needs.

Also an online tool, steam-engine.org is great for figuring out what type of resistance your build will give you. It will let you input different types of wire, size of coil (diameter) and a few other things and tell you how many wraps you need to "get" to where you want to "go."

With some very little expense upfront you can be wrapping wires cheaply and easily for a long time to come. I like SS wire as it can be used in temp or wattage mode. Depending on what type of build you want wire will also come in various gauges.

Best of luck, either way.

Anna