Another newcomer

[Kazuko]

Hi,

I'm quite new to vaping, I bought my first (and only, for now) kit almost two months ago, didn't smoke any "stinky" since then (I used to smoke roughly a pack a day, been this way for 6 years).

I'm quite curious and like to document myself, experiment a bit, and in my chase for knowledge I stumbled on lots of good posts on this forum, so here I am!

I'm not much of a cloud chaser (even though I do enjoy a fat cloud, I'm not gonna lie), the primary reason why I switched to vaping is the breath and health issues that smoking caused.

I'm still not ready to step in the reconstructible world, I'm quite happy with my Eleaf iStick Melo kit.
I've mainly used the default 0.3ohm Kanthal coils, until yesterday, I mounted my first SS316 (Eleaf ECL 0.18ohm) coil. And... It's kinda disturbing.

I read a lot about these wires, but most of (actually all of) what I've read was written for reconstructible coils, and my first impressions with this stock coil differs from what I expected.

I'm not sure whether it's the wire, or the number of coils inside the atty (Kanthal EC2 are single coil, this SS316 ECL is dual coil), but I'm kinda disappointed.
The vape feels cooler, but somewhat harsher on the throat. The ramp up is also much slower than with Kanthal, and so is the cool down (my clearo gets very hot with the SS coil, the e-juice even has "bubbles" inside the tank, not sure it's a good thing, but I'm not really worried about it either). I do think the vape tastes less metallic though, but it may just be an impression, since I've read a lot of people talk about it :/

Also, I started vaping with a mix of 3 & 6 mg/ml nic levels (6 caused me to cough, and 3 felt too low, got me edgy), then spent almost a month only vaping 3mg/ml, but I vaped too much, 10ml lasted just a little more than 1 day, so I switched back to 6ml 3 days ago. I'm wondering if this isn't too much, I feel somewhat dizzy after chain vaping... (Note that I also feel tired these days, so it may be unrelated)

Anyway, I'm still experimenting with stock coils & "basic" tank (Melo 4), on a kit that has quite enough features for now (supports SS temp control & TCR mode, which I'm not using for now, I probably never will until I make my own coils and feel really confident in my knowledge).

If any of you has any insight or advice about my SS316 or nicotine "troubles", feel free to post your thoughts! And sorry about the long post

 

[QcVaper]

for stainless dont used power modes,those are made to be used in temp control.
i too use SS coils (mines a dual coil setup that i built myself) if i didn't use them in temp control i'd probably have the same issues you have.

unfortunately that's about all i can do as i never owned an Istick melo and have no knowledge about this mod.

 

[Kazuko]

I actually find the TC more "laggy" than power mode.

It's a 50-80W coil, so I vape at 57W in power mode, and I get a vape style similar to kanthal (which I powered at 45 or 50W, depending on my mood), just cooler vape, slower ramp-up time, and kinda stings the throat more.

In TC mode, I set the power limit at 60W (that's the max limit for the iStick Melo), 500℉, and it feels like the ramp-up is slower than in TC (even though there are a few more watts), I don't even reach the temp limit in the 2 first puffs (a bit more than 2 seconds each). After a few puffs though, it gets hot, and I feel like the mod is not firing power when I press the fire button, but waits for like 0.3s or so to actually fire (I hear no sound that usually comes from the heating coil, no vape coming out).

That's why I wish I had preheat settings with higher wattage limit, so I could get the coil really fast at the temp limit, and enjoy a really consistent vape (which is why I wanted to try TC mode in the first place, I still never had a dry hit since I always watch what's left in my tank, so dry hit prevention is not a motivation for TC). The one thing that I find irritating in power mode is that I can't enjoy a large puff without the coil and vape feeling too hot to be comfortable

 

[Letitia]

Hello Kazuko, welcome and congratulations. I use ss wire in wattage mode primarily nd have no issues. Did you adjust your watts when you changed coils? If not that is likely your problem with the new ss coil. Asfar as nic only you know what you are comfortable with. Play with watts and airflow, that will usually smooth out your vape.

 

[Letitia]

I would suggest a different device it you want a good tc experience.

 

[Kazuko]

Yes I did increase the watts when switching to SS (since it has a lower resistance than my previous atty, and the minimum wattage is also higher).
I always vape at the maximum airflow I can (2 large inlays on each side of the tank's base, always wide open, I only tried closing it a bit now and then, but it feels less comfortable)

 

[AzPlumber]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Kazuko]

I would suggest a different device it you want a good tc experience.

That's what I was starting to think... That's an expense I can't really afford right now, but I definitely started watching more advanced boxes, with a wider wattage range & more settings (preheat will be a requirement). I think I'll revert and stick with Kanthal until then, it's still pleasant vaping, I'm only frustrated that I can't tweak it more

 

[Letitia]

Which istick are you using?

 

[Kazuko]

I have the Eleaf iStick Melo

 

[Letitia]

Looked that one up, nice kit. Device is underpowered for those coils imo. Maybe pick up a different tank until you can get a new device.

 

[Kazuko]

I'll stick with the Kanthal coils then, they behave just fine for my use! Thanks for the insight

 

[mattymatt82]

Welcome aboard!

 

[stols001]

Welcome and you CAN use SS in wattage or power mode, I switch my coils all the time. I don't know if you just have a particular issue with that wire, but kanthal is fine for now (I wouldn't necessarily use that device for TC) although I guess you could, with SS there would be less risk than using say, titanium or nickel (which MUST be used in TC only.)

Some folks do have sensitivities to certain wires, and if you do, you have other options down the line with a good TC setup.

Best of luck, congrats on quitting smoking, and I hope vaping goes well for you as you continue to build vaping skills.

Anna

 

[Coyote628]

No shame in using kanthal.

 

[Kazuko]

Thank you all!

I guess my troubles with this head comes from the dual coil setup, it may produce just too much vape for me atm. Even though the ramp up is extremely slow with this SS atty, once the vapor starts coming I can't last long or I'll cough.
I tried it a bit more throughout the day (it's 6PM atm in France), and I lowered the temp limit at 400°F to be able to inhale long puffs.
A wild guess for the "stinginess" (not sure it's a word) of the vape is that, since I recently increased the nicotine level of my e-juice (previously 50/50 PG/VG at 3mg/ml, since Monday I use 20/80 at 6mg/ml), the increased throat hit plus increased vape amount may be just too much for l'y throat to handle without gagging/coughing.

No shame in using kanthal.

Sure, I'm disappointed to have this "bad" experience with SS not because I wanna avoid Kanthal, but mostly because my adventurous self got caught up by my body not being comfortable with the amount of vape it produces.

I'll mount back a Kanthal atty as I get back home, and will probably stick with it until I have a more advanced kit for TC, and my body is able to sustain more vapor than it does now.

 

[MJCSD]

Hello and welcome to ecf

 

[BrotherBob]

I'll mount back a Kanthal atty as I get back home, and will probably stick with it until I have a more advanced kit for TC, and my body is able to sustain more vapor than it does now.

Welcome and glad you joined.
Sticking with what works is all about you the vaper, being in control and the freedom to fix/tailor any aspect of vaping you feel you need to improve upon.