Which Coil Material Dry-Fires Cleanest?

[Brewdawg1181]

I'm pretty new at rebuilding, and started with 28ga 316ss. I usually wrap 2.5mm in a kayfun mini V3. I tried rewicking after dry-firing a couple of times, and it just didn't seem to taste as fresh as a new coil. Visually, the coil wasn't as clean as new, either- even after brushing. And cleaning the inner part of the coil is all but impossible without messing it up. So I've just been replacing the coil on each re-wick.

I recently tried a piece of 24ga kanthal, and it seems to be staying cleaner looking longer. The guage is too heavy for me- requires much higher wattage, and temp ramps up slower, even though it's still about .85 ohm, same as the ss. So I might try 26 guage.

But I'm wondering if someone that's got a lot of experience with various coil materials can tell me which one stays cleanest, and is best if you want to dry-fire, rather than replace? fyi, my mod does do TC, but I wasn't real happy with the way it performed. I've been vaping the 28 ga ss .85 ohm at around 9-11W.

 

[classwife]

Moved you to Wick and Wire from Ask The Veterans

 

[BIG TOZZ]

SS 316 L i swear by it and only buy surgical grade made in the USA. About $5 for 250 feet of 30 awg You can dry fire stainless all day.

Also maybe you need to adjust the wattage range for what is allowed in TC mode? Might be too low for you. On my RX200 i remember when I got it i was liek "what the hell" and found it was limited to 12W or something. 4 clicks switched it to setting wattage and holding temperature, i cranked it up to like 60w, killer.

 

[Brewdawg1181]

Ha - wondering why I didn't get a notification on your reply.

Okay, well at least I've got the right type of material. I don't have the spool with me, but I seriously doubt it's US - got it from Fasttech. Got a link or source for my next purchase? 24 was too thick, but thinking of trying the 26 anyway.

Using a Zelos mod, so I don't believe there's a setting change avail. for that. I'll look it up to see if there's any sort of ramp-up settings, or anything I'm missing that I can customize. What I don't like about the TC is that it seems to ramp up extremely quickly, then back off too low. So the vape is super hot then cooler, which doesn't really work with tobacco flavors for me. Doesn't really bother me, though, as wattage mode is fine, and predictable. And I really don't mind recoiling too much, but it just seems that I really shouldn't have to as often. Honestly, with my diy juice now, the wicks are staying clean a long time, and I'm really rebuilding to get the clean coil in there when it has any buildup on it.

Do you do anything to clean the inner part of the coil after dry-firing?

And thanks for the reply!

 

[diabolicandy]

I’ve been happily using SS316L for some time. TBH coils last me months before changing - as long as you’re careful with them, i.e. not brutal. To clean mine, after removing all the wick, I pulse them until they glow a couple of times, around 3-5 secs at 35w and then, whilst they are still glowing - but whilst my finger is OFF the fire button I carefully dip them into a cup of water or a running tap. I shake the excess water off and then repeat until all the gunk has fallen off. This takes them back to bare metal again. When I say dip I do mean dip! Only the coil itself goes in the water NOT any more. In the cup you can see all the crap fall to the bottom so get ready for an OMG moment or 2 when you see how much! Because you don’t have to brush/scrape the crud off the coil it retains its shape and integrity better and thusly lives better for longer. Check YouTube for video examples, RipTrippers, etc. despite his annoying enthusiasm for EVERYTHING he does. LOL! Don’t fire while dipping, just don’t!!!!!

 

[Brewdawg1181]

At least I apparently picked the right material. Honestly, because of the cost and the fact it only takes a minute to do a new coil, I've continued to just replace it. I might give it another try when I've built a particularly nice coil again. Maybe I just didn't fire it enough before, but it just didn't seem to get quite clean enough for me. But I didn't fire it at 35W, that might be key. I probably did it around the wattage I vape at, somewhere around 10W.
Thanks for the reply, and I'll give it another try.

 

[Thayamax]

I use SS 420 and clean it the same way as @diabolicandy does. My coils last a very long time and with minimal rewicking because I use rayon to wick, which lasts much longer than cotton.

I haven't tried this, but I've read that some people use a pipe cleaner to clean the inside of their coils.

 

[diabolicandy]

I haven’t found the need to clean any more than dipping. I’ve got a lovely set of brushes for cleaning inside and outside and haven’t used them since I started dipping! I’ve been tempted by rayon but I have heard that cotton is better in tanks and because I mainly use them during the day I’ve not bothered with it. Tempted to try in a tank to find out though!

 

[Brewdawg1181]

I've wondered what rayon would do for me. But probably not much. I use unflavored juice half the time, and straight tobacco the other half. I find that performance dimishes when there's noticable buildup on the coil itself, but the cotton bacon wick is always pretty clean and in good shape at that point. And I usually recoil after around 6-8 ml. I don't chain vape, so faster more efficient wicking wouldn't really be a benefit either. Since it's a little more work, it's probably not for me. But maybe I'm missing some other quality it offers?