Just what is a "Coil" and how often does one need to change it?

[Boyz-Mom]

They just came out with a tank that goes with my Go-Go and it says that it is a bottom coil with replaceable coils. I am interested in it because I find that some of my flavors get a burnt taste after only a drag or two. I have one that is my favorite that I have the problem with the most. I am brand new and don't have anyone to show me what to do. Is it easy? How will I know if the coils need replacing? Thanks so much

 

[Tmcclure85]

The coil is the actual coil of wire that heats up to vaporize your e liquid. Most changeable coils are super super easy to replace. As far as knowing when to replace the coil you will know. When you don't want to vape anymore it's time to change the coil.

 

[Tmcclure85]

It will taste horrible

 

[Boyz-Mom]

Thank you so much! So if I order this tank, how many coils do you think I will need to buy?

 

[Faylool]

Sometimes the coil measures different than it says, quality control or whatever, so maybe your coil is too low in the resistance, ohms, for the strength of how many volts your battery is putting out, and more so for the certain juice. Some flavors need a cooler vape, and low ohm col with higher volts makes things heat up too much for it....like some fruits or sweets. I don't know go go if it's regulated at a certain number of lots then dies or if it vapes at 3.7 volts and goes down until it quits at 3.2 or somewhere. You can play with how long a hit you take meaning how long you hold the button down. I have a ohm meter I can screw a suspected atty or carto on or just use the ohm reading function on a Vamo or other same Provari and all the same types in between like that.
Changing coils is not always easy for some people so don't be discouraged. Read the rba threads and hang in there for awhile and just jump in and look at your coils by opening everything up. A magnifying glass really helps a lot!

 

[crxess]

They just came out with a tank that goes with my Go-Go and it says that it is a bottom coil with replaceable coils. I am interested in it because I find that some of my flavors get a burnt taste after only a drag or two. I have one that is my favorite that I have the problem with the most. I am brand new and don't have anyone to show me what to do. Is it easy? How will I know if the coils need replacing? Thanks so much

You are still in the learning stages and should concentrate on getting best performance from equipment first. Coil replacement/rebuilding can come later.
No e-liquid should go from Good to Bad in a few draws. That indicates a problem with the delivery system or the way you are trying to use it.

Step 1 - Always include a full (detailed)description of all involved equipment/liquid when posting for help
Battery type (Ego, 18650 K100, etc) Delivery system(Protank, ce4, etc) E-liquid Make/flavoring/nic level Blend(70/30, 50/50 pg/vg)

Step 2 - when asking about a new piece of equipment - Include the exact Brand/Part name/number and if possible a link to the page where you saw it .

Right now, you have what sounds like Wicking issues.
i.e. to much heat for to little e-liquid passing to coil.

Need to know What is what in order to advise on a fix.

 

[Eileithia]

If your tank is still fairly new (less than a week or so old) and you're getting a burnt nasty flavour, it's more likely that you're not getting enough liquid to it, than the coil being gunked up. It's possible the tank you're using is too low resistance for your battery, so it simply can't wick enough juice to keep the coil wet.

Can you post a link to the tank you're using? Just to rule out user error?

You'll know when to change the coil when you take it apart, and there's a black "ball" around the coil. This is stuff in the e-liquid that has burnt its self to the coil. Sweet juices and high VG juices tend to kill a coil faster, likely due to the sweetener/sugars. When you vape an older/used coil, the flavour will be off, and the vapor production will be low. You'll definitely know when it starts to happen and you need to replace it.

Juice plays a large role in how long a coil (Atty/Carto) will last. I have some juices that will allow a month worth of vaping before I need to change, where others I can barely get a week.

 

[crxess]

I maintain my wick/coils every few tank fills. They can last an extremely long time. A few are still performing like new and are originals from last Aug.
Learning how to clean and properly Dry burn to remove all the gunk can save $hundreds in no time.

I like the argument that a coils is ONLY $2.50
Well, 3 Coils is a 10Ml bottle of E-liquid. 30= 100Ml.......Think about it

 

[Eileithia]

I maintain my wick/coils every few tank fills. They can last an extremely long time. A few are still performing like new and are originals from last Aug.
Learning how to clean and properly Dry burn to remove all the gunk can save $hundreds in no time.

I like the argument that a coils is ONLY $2.50
Well, 3 Coils is a 10Ml bottle of E-liquid. 30= 100Ml.......Think about it

All depends on your hardware. Some Carto's/Clearo's are truly disposable. No amount of dry burning / cleaning is going to keep them going for 8 months. The Vision Nano is a good example of a product that is extremely hard, if not impossible to PROPERLY clean. Even most cartos can only be cleaned a finite number of times before it's not worth trying to save $2.50. Sure you can rinse it out every once in a while, but I wouldn't recommend dry burning these things as you can destroy the wicking material/filler. Whereas something like the Phoenix, or really any rebuildable where you have access to the actual coil can be pretty effectively cleaned and maintained for a very long time.

 

[crxess]

All depends on your hardware. Some Carto's/Clearo's are truly disposable. No amount of dry burning / cleaning is going to keep them going for 8 months. The Vision Nano is a good example of a product that is extremely hard, if not impossible to PROPERLY clean. Even most cartos can only be cleaned a finite number of times before it's not worth trying to save $2.50. Sure you can rinse it out every once in a while, but I wouldn't recommend dry burning these things as you can destroy the wicking material/filler. Whereas something like the Phoenix, or really any rebuildable where you have access to the actual coil can be pretty effectively cleaned and maintained for a very long time.

Agreed, that is why people really need to look at cost vs efficiency.
I have 10 Nano's - Worst investment yet. 7 were junk right out of the package. Rarely use the good ones.
For a little more a Dozen better options exist.
Not saying Never replace a wick/coil - I have, as needed and also Rebuild the simpler ones. Just saying with care many, most accessable anyway, can be reused a few times and greatly reduce excessive spending.

Now being a Tight wad either. I probably have more gear(lower cost) than most here and certainly enough to out last me, LOL. However, I learned just what throwing good after bad is about. Now I can enjoy and Save at the same time while Spending on what is actually needed.

Now I can purchase 5 heads in place of 25(or more).

 

[Eileithia]

Ya, no doubt proper maintenance goes a long way to saving money. I just recently picked up a 5-pack of nanos. I had the bad chemical taste on the first one so cleaned it with some hot water and forced it through the coil. 100% improvement in all areas (Vapor, flavour, TH). Very simple / easy to use, but I still have many other cartos/cleros/tanks I prefer over it. I likely won't buy any more of the nanos, but I figure I'll get my moneys worth out of the ones I have with a little messing around.

 

[Boyz-Mom]

I use a Go-Go and currently have the clearos. I know that it is a wicking issue that I am having and it really only happens to my two favorite juices, maybe they are thicker? What I do is unscrew the mouth piece/filling thingie and it relieves the pressure on the wicks and then I am able to get a good draw. The problem with this is if I forget that I unscrewed the top and lay it down it leaks into the mouth piece and then I get gurgling. This is the link to the Clearo tanks that I am currently using

GOGO FURY PREMIUM TANKS

This is the new thank that they just came out with and it has the changeable coil that I mentioned.

GOGO M1 TANKS

I am thinking that the new tanks would be better but I am very intimidated by the coil replacement.

 

[djtonyb]

Don't be afraid, replacing the coil is easy... these look like a variant of the T3 or evod type bases. You just unscrew the base from the clearo, and then unscrew the coil from the base and screw a new one in. You don't have to rebuild the coils, just pop in a new one. They are pretty easy to rebuild, but you don't need to if you don't want to.

 

[cat58]

Can I give a 'second' to changing coils is easy? It really is, if I can do it then trust me - it's doable for anybody. Totally un-handy here and I'm not even inclined to rebuild anything, but swapping out coils - piece of cake! No harder than changing a light bulb.

 

[Boyz-Mom]

Another question. Is a bottom coil the same thing as a bottom feeder?

 

[djtonyb]

No, a bottom feeder has a juice bottle inside the mod to "squonk" juice into the atomizer from the bottom... A bottom coil clearo has the coil inside the juice tank.

Bottom Feeder inside view:

 

[gthompson]

Another question. Is a bottom coil the same thing as a bottom feeder?

No it isn't.

A top coil sits on top of the device (closer to your mouth) and a bottom coil sits at the bottom. A bottom coil is typically cooler since the vapor has to pass up through the juice container (tank).

Here's what a coil looks like, wrapped around a wick.

 

[djtonyb]

technically, you aren't replacing the coil, but the "coil assembly" which looks like this:

And this is the coil assembly installed in the base:

 

[peakcomm]

Boyz Mom, your vendor is confusing you a bit with a minor misuse of terminology ... and some of the answers above are continuing the confusion.

The Bottom Coil Tank you're looking at features a replaceable atomizer head. Replacement is dead simple --turn your tank upside down and unscrew the base from the tank. Then unscrew the head from inside the base. Pop in the new one, put everything back together and you're ready to vape.

The true "coil" is inside the atomizer head -- it's the bit of wire, wrapped around a wick, that heats up as it conducts electricity and vaporizes the juice pulled in by the wick. The coil is the part of the atomizer that eventually fails after repeated use, sort of like a light bulb burns out; it gets gunked up with residue and can no longer heat consistently or, perhaps, at all. You can tell a coil is failing when the taste gets nasty, the vapor production gets very low, or it simply won't "fire" at all. How long you can go between atomizer failures depends on your set-up, your juice, and your maintenance and vaping habits. Cleaning your atomizers routinely will extend their life and you can find lots of advice here in the forum on how to do that.

Rather than simply replacing atomizer heads, many advanced users actually rebuild the coil inside when it fails. They take the atomizer head itself apart to remove the old coil. Then they wrap new wire around new wick, carefully replace the old coil and check on a voltmeter that the resistance of the rebuilt coil is within the proper range. For the price of a few replacement heads, they can buy enough wire and wick to rebuild dozens of coils, experimenting and customizing to their heart's desire. It's fussy work, but many find it both satisfying and economical. If you're interested, the forum contains lots of how-to advice on rebuilding coils.

Personally, I love my bottom coil tanks. I find I get few dry hits and I've had no leaking problems. And I would rather soak my atomizers in vodka to clean them when they start to taste bad or vape poorly, then just replace them when they eventually fail altogether. Replacements run me $2-$3 each, and since I've only burned out about one a month since I've been using BCCs, rebuilding holds no attraction for me. YMMV.

ON PREVIEW: While I was drafting my opus, djtonyb and gthompson jumped in with excellent explanations. Thanks, guys. And the tank you're considering looks to me like an EVOD clone. Search the forum on EVOD for lots more info.

 

[Coastal Cowboy]

I use a Go-Go and currently have the clearos. I know that it is a wicking issue that I am having and it really only happens to my two favorite juices, maybe they are thicker? What I do is unscrew the mouth piece/filling thingie and it relieves the pressure on the wicks and then I am able to get a good draw. The problem with this is if I forget that I unscrewed the top and lay it down it leaks into the mouth piece and then I get gurgling. This is the link to the Clearo tanks that I am currently using

GOGO FURY PREMIUM TANKS

This is the new thank that they just came out with and it has the changeable coil that I mentioned.

GOGO M1 TANKS

I am thinking that the new tanks would be better but I am very intimidated by the coil replacement.

The clearomizers in the first link look like CE4 type systems. I'm assuming that they are disposable--you get so many weeks of use out of them and toss them when they're done. They're nice--I have a few that I use for juices that seem to pollute tanks and never let you forget they were there.

The second link shows MT3S clearomizers. From the pic in the link, they are not genuine Kanger MT3S (I don't think Kanger supports GoGo threading and there's no knurling on the base).

While three MT3S' for $18.00 is not unreasonable, you can get genuine Kanger tanks for the same price here:

Kanger MT3 / MT3s Clearomizers

They can be made to fit your GoGo battery with this:

Go-go Adapters

Depending on the juice, I can get anywhere from 1-4 weeks on one coil. I'm not a shill for DiscountVapers, but I've never placed an order with Eric that didn't meet or exceed my expectations. I'm not a fan of GoGo because of their proprietary threading. It limits your opportunities to try new delivery devices without having to buy an adapter.