I got my Kanthal and wick materials today, ordered Staurday! Now that's fast from Indiana to New Jersey. Now all I need is a little spare time and I'll see if I can fumble my way through a rebuild. Stay tuned....
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I'm not sure if it's been mentioned, but a little tip I discovered when rebuilding the T3, at the part where you have to get the "legs" down through that rubber grommet, I leave one really long leg when I make the coil, and I ONLY put the leg on the OUTSIDE of the rubber grommet in when I'm trying to get the little sucker back together, once I do, I take the leg of the coil I left extra long, and THEN put it through the center.
After typing it it seems like kind of a no-brainer, but I don't have the time to read through the entire thread, so if it hasn't been mentioned, enjoy!
After typing it it seems like kind of a no-brainer, but I don't have the time to read through the entire thread, so if it hasn't been mentioned, enjoy!
OK, so I didn't rebuild a T3, yet, but I did rebuild two CE3s with mixed results. Some overall comments first.
Kanthal wire is a pain in the ... to work with. I bought twenty feet and it came on a small spool like sewing thread. One slip of the thumb and SPRONG! The came about a half our of slow, patient, rewinding punctuated with a lot of swearing.
All CE3 are not created equal. The first one I tried, one of the originals I think, had the coil leads glued, yes, glued into place. Getting them out was easy, cleaning those tiny holes out sure wasn't. Took lots of time with a very thin sewing needle, I can be very determined, AKA obsessive/compulsive. The second one was a breeze, not glued in at all.
I used 34 gauge for the first attempt, glued model, and used five turns for the coil which yielded a three ohm coil, a little too high. For the wick I used 2mm silica at full size, which turned out too big to get back into the cup. So, a second coil was wrapped around 2mm with two strands removed. That fit in quite neatly. Overall time for the first one was probably close to half an hour, not very productive at all, but it worked fine after letting it sit for an hour to saturate the wicks. I think the vapor output could be better an will be trying other wick setups.
The second one, I used 33 gauge and the same 2mm minus two strands for the wick. The coil came out at 2.6 ohms, a little more like it. I don't think it took more than five minutes. It worked flawlessly from the start, after a half hour soak. Again, I want to try different wick setups, maybe minus three strands.
Overall it was quite easy to do, other than the glue in that first one. With a CE3 only one lead has to point down. The shell contact is folded up against the ceramic cup and the center pin lead does exit through the center of the grommet which make it a little different from a T3. With a little practice, and no glued coil leads, I can see this getting done in just a couple of minutes resulting in an endless supply of CE3s for me.
Kanthal wire is a pain in the ... to work with. I bought twenty feet and it came on a small spool like sewing thread. One slip of the thumb and SPRONG! The came about a half our of slow, patient, rewinding punctuated with a lot of swearing.
All CE3 are not created equal. The first one I tried, one of the originals I think, had the coil leads glued, yes, glued into place. Getting them out was easy, cleaning those tiny holes out sure wasn't. Took lots of time with a very thin sewing needle, I can be very determined, AKA obsessive/compulsive. The second one was a breeze, not glued in at all.
I used 34 gauge for the first attempt, glued model, and used five turns for the coil which yielded a three ohm coil, a little too high. For the wick I used 2mm silica at full size, which turned out too big to get back into the cup. So, a second coil was wrapped around 2mm with two strands removed. That fit in quite neatly. Overall time for the first one was probably close to half an hour, not very productive at all, but it worked fine after letting it sit for an hour to saturate the wicks. I think the vapor output could be better an will be trying other wick setups.
The second one, I used 33 gauge and the same 2mm minus two strands for the wick. The coil came out at 2.6 ohms, a little more like it. I don't think it took more than five minutes. It worked flawlessly from the start, after a half hour soak. Again, I want to try different wick setups, maybe minus three strands.
Overall it was quite easy to do, other than the glue in that first one. With a CE3 only one lead has to point down. The shell contact is folded up against the ceramic cup and the center pin lead does exit through the center of the grommet which make it a little different from a T3. With a little practice, and no glued coil leads, I can see this getting done in just a couple of minutes resulting in an endless supply of CE3s for me.
Still waiting to test out my rebuilt t3 
I can't seem to find an adapter to fit the SI T3. 510 to 808D/901 didn't work as there is only cone threading on the SI T3. So I got a 510 to eGo...and it screws on but no connection to the meter. I think the center post in the adapter isn't long enough. I just bought a 510 to 808D tank adapter. This is getting annoying! LOL
I can't seem to find an adapter to fit the SI T3. 510 to 808D/901 didn't work as there is only cone threading on the SI T3. So I got a 510 to eGo...and it screws on but no connection to the meter. I think the center post in the adapter isn't long enough. I just bought a 510 to 808D tank adapter. This is getting annoying! LOLI rebuilt two heads for the first time earlier. It wasn't as hard as I thought, although getting the rubber grommet back in was a pain. I used 34 gauge nichrome 60 and 2mm silica wicks. Six wraps lands me at about 2.5 ohm and I gotta say, this thing is working great. I used one wick for the coil and one flavor wick; now my T3 wicks perfectly at low juice levels. I used to get a bit of flooding below 1.2 ml (70/30 juice). I'm sitting at .6 ml right now with no flooding yet.
I've been rebuilding my SI T3 heads using Dave's machine screw method, and it works great to make a near-perfect coil every time.
One thing I'll mention, though, is that one of the heads I rebuilt about a week ago was getting a little too warm when vaping, my e-juice was tasting weird, and the silicon piece that fits over the air tube above the wicks was drastically expanding (as it turns out, I think the silicon problem was partly caused by new favorite tangerine flavored e-juice, as they're swelling somewhat on my other heads, too. Bummer.). Anyway... I did a little research and figured it might be a "hot legs" problem (I'd never heard of that before) where the wires below the coil get too hot; and, on the last one I built, I twisted the ends that extend from the coil similar to the way this guy does it in order to keep the heat focused where it needs to be.
Of course, to do that after making the coil seemed like it would be problematic, so I did some measuring. I wanted each of the legs to be twisted as close to the coil as possible, as the leads on the T3 aren't very long; so, the first thing I did was to double the end of the wire over upon itself and gently clamp the loose end together with the rest of the wire using needle-nose pliers in order to twist enough of it to make one of the legs. Now, I personally do 6 wraps/coils on the screw, so around 4.5 cm of straight wire from where the twist stops gives me just enough room for that, and I slightly notch the wire at that point to mark the top of the second leg. From there, I measure out just over twice the length for the second leg and cut. Next, I double that end over, clamping it together at the notch I'd previously marked, and twist that end just as I did the first. After that, I start wrapping over the 440 screw just above where one of the twisted segments meets the straight wire, and I don't have to worry about re-counting my wraps every time to double-check - it's always six.
Doing it this way yields a nice, neat segment of wire to work with that ends up with twisted-wire legs that go all the way up, keeps the heat focused on the coil, and guards against the "hot legs" issue, especially for those who vape at higher voltages. Sure, this will slightly raise the overall resistance of the T3, but the amount is negligible. Mine works great this way, and I like the extra insurance.
One thing I'll mention, though, is that one of the heads I rebuilt about a week ago was getting a little too warm when vaping, my e-juice was tasting weird, and the silicon piece that fits over the air tube above the wicks was drastically expanding (as it turns out, I think the silicon problem was partly caused by new favorite tangerine flavored e-juice, as they're swelling somewhat on my other heads, too. Bummer.). Anyway... I did a little research and figured it might be a "hot legs" problem (I'd never heard of that before) where the wires below the coil get too hot; and, on the last one I built, I twisted the ends that extend from the coil similar to the way this guy does it in order to keep the heat focused where it needs to be.
Of course, to do that after making the coil seemed like it would be problematic, so I did some measuring. I wanted each of the legs to be twisted as close to the coil as possible, as the leads on the T3 aren't very long; so, the first thing I did was to double the end of the wire over upon itself and gently clamp the loose end together with the rest of the wire using needle-nose pliers in order to twist enough of it to make one of the legs. Now, I personally do 6 wraps/coils on the screw, so around 4.5 cm of straight wire from where the twist stops gives me just enough room for that, and I slightly notch the wire at that point to mark the top of the second leg. From there, I measure out just over twice the length for the second leg and cut. Next, I double that end over, clamping it together at the notch I'd previously marked, and twist that end just as I did the first. After that, I start wrapping over the 440 screw just above where one of the twisted segments meets the straight wire, and I don't have to worry about re-counting my wraps every time to double-check - it's always six.
Doing it this way yields a nice, neat segment of wire to work with that ends up with twisted-wire legs that go all the way up, keeps the heat focused on the coil, and guards against the "hot legs" issue, especially for those who vape at higher voltages. Sure, this will slightly raise the overall resistance of the T3, but the amount is negligible. Mine works great this way, and I like the extra insurance.
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