1st Time RBA Help Please?

[Baddog]

This is my first rba setting up an AGI tank
28gauge Kanthal Wire
1.8Ohms on Provari
500 SS Mesh (tightly wrapped no center hole)
50/50 PG/VG Halo Tribecca

Mesh is probably about 3 inches wide rolled from two 1 ½” pieces.
Provari set at 4.4v
It is working and flavor is good, but I am hardly getting any vapor?
I have attached some pics.
I suspect it's something to do with my wick which is just tight enough inside the coil so that it does not fall into the tank. Wick is not touching bottom of tank. I am wondering if my coil is too large in diameter? If the coil is too wide and the wick touches the sides of wick hole would that cause a lack of vapor? As I stated the Provari is not giving me any errors.
Very 'airy' draw compared to the Vivi Nova which I suspect is normal. I thought about wrapping the wick in cotton but I was concerned that would make it too tight inside the coil unless I cut off some of the mesh.
Any thoughts?

 

[SirLolselot]

im a total noob too so take my words with grain of salt but since no one has said anything yet i will put out what i have read.
i have read that it is good to have a hole in the center and did you oxidize before putting in?

 

[Baddog]

im a total noob too so take my words with grain of salt but since no one has said anything yet i will put out what i have read.
i have read that it is good to have a hole in the center and did you oxidize before putting in?

Thanks ... I'm just trying to get a feel for what is wrong ... it's easy enough to rebuild, I'd just like to know 'why' it's not working properly so I can see if I can fix it before I tear it apart. I read a ton of posts before my first build so I have a pretty good idea of what works best (at least intellectually) but as in most things an ounce of experience is worth a pound of 2nd hand knowledge. My first drip mode atty build went fine, 1.1Ohms and hit like a champ. I think adding some cotton to the wick might help me determine if the issue is with the wick or not. Thanks SirLolselot!

 

[UncleChuck]

As the other member mentioned, make sure the airhole is centered. This usually goes without saying... but you never know.

What voltage are you running it at? Rebuildables take a lot more power in the first place, and using enough 28ga to get up to 1.8ohms is going to take even more power. When I build coils for my VV devices I usually do a 1.3-1.5ohm coil with 30ga, and still run it at 5 volts or above. You may simple need to up your voltage to get the vapor production you are looking for.

Being so much thicker, 28 ga has a ton more surface area than thinner wire. Since it's lower resistance, you also have to use a ton more of it in order to reach your higher resistance. This all adds up to a coil that can potentially produce a ton of vapor due to the huge surface area, but needs a lot of power to do so. All that surface area means that the coil will have more area to get rid of heat, so if you underpower it you'll get low vapor production because it's not hot enough.

Unless you are going to do microcoils, something like 30ga would be better for builds on your provari. But cranking the voltage way up on your current build should do the trick as well. Although without the ability to stack 18350s I don't know if the provari can handle running a 1.8ohm coil at 6v. Getting your coils tighter and closer together will also improve performance.

 

[Baddog]

As the other member mentioned, make sure the airhole is centered. This usually goes without saying... but you never know.

What voltage are you running it at? Rebuildables take a lot more power in the first place, and using enough 28ga to get up to 1.8ohms is going to take even more power. When I build coils for my VV devices I usually do a 1.3-1.5ohm coil with 30ga, and still run it at 5 volts or above. You may simple need to up your voltage to get the vapor production you are looking for.

Being so much thicker, 28 ga has a ton more surface area than thinner wire. Since it's lower resistance, you also have to use a ton more of it in order to reach your higher resistance. This all adds up to a coil that can potentially produce a ton of vapor due to the huge surface area, but needs a lot of power to do so. All that surface area means that the coil will have more area to get rid of heat, so if you underpower it you'll get low vapor production because it's not hot enough.

Unless you are going to do microcoils, something like 30ga would be better for builds on your provari. But cranking the voltage way up on your current build should do the trick as well. Although without the ability to stack 18350s I don't know if the provari can handle running a 1.8ohm coil at 6v. Getting your coils tighter and closer together will also improve performance.

Thanks for the reply UncleChuck. I found the source of my problem. I was using an AGI Genesis style RBA which has a spring as part of the main positive center post causing a massive voltage drop. Replacing the spring with a solid metal post made a 'huge' improvement. That said, first time RBA using 28 gauge wire on a Provari probably not the best route but that was all I had. I think I'll take your advice and try some 30 gauge wire. I plan to keep experimenting as it appears the consensus on this site is that Genesis style are a good way to go. Currently I am waiting on some wire, mesh, wick etc., but when they arrive I think I will try on my mechanical mod (Silver Bullet) rather than the Provari. Thanks for your all the help! Much Appreciated!