Attack of the (Kayfun Mini V3) Clones!

[Katdarling]

Anyone have the SKX clone from FT? $22.00 SXK Kayfun Mini V3 Styled RTA Rebuildable Tank Atomizer - 2ml / 316 stainless steel + glass / 19mm dia. at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping
Its a little more expensive than the others, but some seem to think its the best clone they sell.

I have https://www.fasttech.com/p/4278000
but Id rather try a different one on my next order.

I've got that one, dskeik, and I do like it. But in truth, every one of my KFM tanks do tend to weep a bit. It's never an uncontrollable leak, but they're very vapor towel engaged. .

I wanted to love this one: $13.46 Kayfun Mini V3 Styled RTA Rebuildable Tank Atomizer - 2ml / 316 stainless steel + glass / 19mm dia. at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping

I really wanted to love it, but the two we got had probs with the deck screws spitting out the wires. FT DID replace the decks, and so far they have been ok.

New favorite set-up - 27g SS316, .99 ohms at around 450 deg. on evic VTwo Mini. Had a little trouble with dry hits

I thought TC prevented or eliminated dry hits? (NO expert here)

 

[TrollDragon]

I thought TC prevented or eliminated dry hits? (NO expert here)

It does, but still needs to be setup properly for it to work. Using SS316 is more like temperature limiting than temperature control as its TCR is so low.

joyetech is also known for their mods to not work properly with TC on occasion.

 

[Katdarling]

Trollish one, can you put that in 3 year old English for me? What differentiates TL from TC? Is there an easy understanding to the meaning of TCR?

I'm just a karto kween!!!!!!!!

 

[KTMRider]

I might be trollish but not the Trollish one...

TL is when you vape how you want but it won't go over the temp you set. TC is setting the exact temp you want to vape at.

TCR (Temperature Coefficient of Resistance) is the temp curve of a specific wire (Ti, Ni200, SS, etc) so the device knows what the temp is by calculating the base (cold) resistance to the current resistance while it's hot (vaping).

Very few Chinese mods do TP/TC/TL correctly. That's why I've been only using Evolv mods. It seems the technology has improved in the past year or so. The Target mini had very good reviews and PB showed it handles it very well. I can agree with that as the TM is very close to the vape experience I get with my DNA mods.

 

[VapingTurtle]

Is there an easy understanding to the meaning of TCR?

TCR (Temperature Coefficient of Resistance) is the temp curve of a specific wire (Ti, Ni200, SS, etc) so the device knows what the temp is by calculating the base (cold) resistance to the current resistance while it's hot (vaping).

I'ma gonna try another explanation for the KatKween:

Wires change resistance when they heat up. TCR is a measurement of how much the resistance changes.
Ni200 wire change a lot (high TCR).
Ti changes less.
SS changes just a little (low TCR).
Kanthal and NiChrome hardly change at all, not even a noticeable change for our purposes. (Very, very low TCR).

All of those TC/TL/TP mods measure the change in resistance, not like the thermometer that you stick in your mouth (which measure the expansion of something like mercury or alcohol when it heats), or that decorative wall thermometer on your porch (which measure the expansion of metals, and throw on a device to measure barometric pressure to look extra nice). They calculate temperature based on the change of resistance.

When ya keep applying power to a coil, like our Mech/VV/VW mods do, the wire gets hotter and hotter. (Yeah, I know, other factors [like airflow and liquid-gas state changes] sorta limit how much hotter they get.) TC mods throttle back the power as they measure a change in the resistance of the coil to try to maintain a maximum resistance, and so a maximum temperature.

The larger the change in resistance, the easier it is for the mod to measure it. But other factors like safety and taste (yeah, different wires give off different tastes) must be considered.

Blah, blah, blah, blah, ... we could all go on and on, and have in other threads...
I was just in the mood to bloviate.
Bloviate, bloviate, bloviate...

 

[DPLongo22]

?? anybody know if the "plus" will fill on a Reuleaux RX75 or the Pico?

They fit on the Rolo.

 

[DPLongo22]

I'ma gonna try another explanation for the KatKween:

Wires change resistance when they heat up. TCR is a measurement of how much the resistance changes.
Ni200 wire change a lot (high TCR).
Ti changes less.
SS changes just a little (low TCR).
Kanthal and NiChrome hardly change at all, not even a noticeable change for our purposes. (Very, very low TCR).

All of those TC/TL/TP mods measure the change in resistance, not like the thermometer that you stick in your mouth (which measure the expansion of something like mercury or alcohol when it heats), or that decorative wall thermometer on your porch (which measure the expansion of metals, and throw on a device to measure barometric pressure to look extra nice). They calculate temperature based on the change of resistance.

When ya keep applying power to a coil, like our Mech/VV/VW mods do, the wire gets hotter and hotter. (Yeah, I know, other factors [like airflow and liquid-gas state changes] sorta limit how much hotter they get.) TC mods throttle back the power as they measure a change in the resistance of the coil to try to maintain a maximum resistance, and so a maximum temperature.

The larger the change in resistance, the easier it is for the mod to measure it. But other factors like safety and taste (yeah, different wires give off different tastes) must be considered.

Blah, blah, blah, blah, ... we could all go on and on, and have in other threads...
I was just in the mood to bloviate.
Bloviate, bloviate, bloviate...

When I push the button, the thingie makes noise, and then VAPOR comes out! It's SO kewel.
(grunt)

Please clean up after yourself if you're going to bloviate in here. And be careful (you'll go blind!).

 

[TrollDragon]

Trollish one, can you put that in 3 year old English for me? What differentiates TL from TC? Is there an easy understanding to the meaning of TCR?

I'm just a karto kween!!!!!!!!

See above, excellent explanations by KTM & VT!

 

[VapingTurtle]

When I push the button, the thingie makes noise, and then VAPOR comes out! It's SO kewel.
(grunt)

Yeah... isn't that what I wrote???

 

[Lavaca5]

I thought TC prevented or eliminated dry hits? (NO expert here)

I didn't explain correctly - what I meant was that, since the wick wasn't getting juice fast enough, my mod kept hitting "temp protection" and turning down the power (or whatever it does - I really don't understand the mechanics of it all) so that I wasn't getting much of a hit at all - which is very different from a dry hit, but that's where my brain went.

 

[Lavaca5]

Joyetech is also known for their mods to not work properly with TC on occasion.

My Cuboid and eVic VTwo seem to be working very well, at least with SS316, which is the only TC wire I use these days, I don't know if it's TC or TL - as long as it's not FUBAR I'm happy

 

[Katdarling]

KTM, VT, and TD (and any other initialed peeps) - thank you very much! I can't say I understood much of it, but I think that somewhere in my brain the info must have trickled in. I guarantee you that I will not be teaching a class on this subject.

Blah, blah, blah, blah, ... we could all go on and on, and have in other threads...
I was just in the mood to bloviate.
Bloviate, bloviate, bloviate...

So, let me get this straight.... wouldn't that be Blahviate, blahviate, blahviate? Sheesh, you keep trying to konfuse me.


Ok, guys, so in laywomens terms, if I use TC with a SS wire, should I expect the hit to be HOT HOT HOT, then warp all over the temperature spectrum?

I know I know, you need deets. Hmmm..... I believe I had it set (on a CF4 '650) at the very lowest degree. 300F, I think? And the wattage was also at the lowest (25w). The hit was scorching hot, then mellowed, then went cold hot warm cold weird.

Most unenjoyable, tbh.

So I immediately went back to the DPL method of vaping. Push button, inhale vapor, grunt (except women don't grunt!! - we "ahhhhhhhhhhhh").

 

[KTMRider]

KTM, VT, and TD (and any other initialed peeps) - thank you very much! I can't say I understood much of it, but I think that somewhere in my brain the info must have trickled in. I guarantee you that I will not be teaching a class on this subject.




So, let me get this straight.... wouldn't that be Blahviate, blahviate, blahviate? Sheesh, you keep trying to konfuse me.


Ok, guys, so in laywomens terms, if I use TC with a SS wire, should I expect the hit to be HOT HOT HOT, then warp all over the temperature spectrum?

I know I know, you need deets. Hmmm..... I believe I had it set (on a CF4 '650) at the very lowest degree. 300F, I think? And the wattage was also at the lowest (25w). The hit was scorching hot, then mellowed, then went cold hot warm cold weird.

Most unenjoyable, tbh.

So I immediately went back to the DPL method of vaping. Push button, inhale vapor, grunt (except women don't grunt!! - we "ahhhhhhhhhhhh").

There's definitely something wrong. Hot leg on the coil? Bad 510 connection? What's the resistance of the coil? Did you select SS as the wire on the CF4? 300°F should barely make any vapor and not fluctuate.

You should set temp to 420°F (-ish) and set your wattage to how you like. Or max wattage and let TP limit the wattage. I have most of mine set at 420-480°F and 25-30w. Coils are .10Ω for Ni200 and .45Ω for SS. This gives me a cool vape on most of my mods.

Currently, I'm vaping a Strawberry Lemonade in a KF5 with a .47Ω coil, 3mm ID, spaced, 460°F, 30w, 50w preheat (DNA75). It'll use 30w for about 1/2 sec and then drop to about 8-14w for the rest of the draw for MTL to maintain the temp.

 

[Katdarling]

Thanks, KTM. Welp, from some discussions today (at a vape meet), it appears that my coil resistance of 1.6Ω is just to high to play nicely with the TC. So I'm guessing that's what's wrong.

No bigs. I'm happily back to vaping on wattage and all is well again.

And hey! I understood your first paragraph completely! YAAAY!

 

[KTMRider]

1.6Ω??? How big is that coil???

I use 26g 316L SS wire at 3mm ID, 6 wraps spaced for .46Ω. Temp coils should be .05Ω to 1.0Ω for most TP mods. My Ni200 coils (28g, 3mm ID, 7 spaced wraps) are around .10Ω and my SS coils are around .46Ω.

You really should try to get it to work. It's worth it. The best part is you won't get burnt hits even when you vape your tank dry. The vape is as good or better than wattage mode.

 

[Katdarling]

My wire is skinnyassish (32g). It's flimsy like over conditioned hair, on a flea. It wanted to pancake thru each wrap. KWITE a challenge.

I can't recall how many wraps (not too too many) and it was a 2.5 ID (wow......... look at me talkin' like I know TC and building!!! YOWZA!).

I dun wanna build lower than an ohm. That would be (OM'G!) like sub ohming!!

Burnt or dry hits have never happened in my little 5.5 years of vaping. Liquid in, vapor out. I'm simple.

In truth, I don't really see, feel, taste, or experience the bennies of TC vaping and I'm really happy with the little wispy vapes on wattage at around 9 and 1/2 watts.

Maybe, just maybe, I'll try again some day.

 

[KTMRider]

Wow. I thought the 30g kanthal I have was too thin and only used about 6" of 100'.

Using TP wire (ni200, 316L, Ti) isn't like kanthal so the whole "subohming" thing isn't really a thing. I was vaping 1.2-1.5Ω kanthal coils and the .10Ω ni200 or .45Ω 316ss coils are similar in vape.

Wait a minute. You ARE using TP wire, right? Not kanthal?

 

[WickedWicks]

My wire is skinnyassish (32g). It's flimsy like over conditioned hair, on a flea. It wanted to pancake thru each wrap. KWITE a challenge.

I can't recall how many wraps (not too too many) and it was a 2.5 ID (wow......... look at me talkin' like I know TC and building!!! YOWZA!).

I dun wanna build lower than an ohm. That would be (OM'G!) like sub ohming!!

Resistance has no meaning in the regulated world!

As an example I currently have 2 different wires in two attys of the same kind:
NiCr80 30g 6 x 2.5mm = 1.3 Ohm
SS304 30g 6 x 2.5mm = 0.85 Ohm

They both perform quite similar (vaping in wattage mode at 10W). This is because the dimensions and surface area of the coil are exactly the same. Only the mass (density, or weight if you want) is slightly different giving the stainless a slight advantage since its lower density makes it a little bit more agile.


But even if you're in about sub ohming let me tell you that with 32g SS you probably wouldn't even come down the magical 1 Ohm mark You just need a mod which supports TC over 1 Ohm (I don't understand this limitation of many mods btw, again resistance has no meaning).

In truth, I don't really see, feel, taste, or experience the bennies of TC vaping and I'm really happy with the little wispy vapes on wattage at around 9 and 1/2 watts.

Maybe, just maybe, I'll try again some day.

The main benefit of TC for me is that you are able to control the vape to your liking. In TC I usually set the maximum wattage 25% higher than the average wattage applied. So with the SS coil in the example above i set the maximum wattage to 12.5 instead of 10W. So at the beginning of the vape when the coil is still cool you get a little extra boost getting in on temperature quicker. When the temperature is reached it automatically turns down the wattage.
Playing around with both Temp / Max Wattage values can give you quite a different vape experience.

Just get some SS wire and play around. The good thing is you can just switch back and forth between wattage mode / TC mode using the very same coil. See which mode you prefer.

 

[Katdarling]

Wow. I thought the 30g kanthal I have was too thin and only used about 6" of 100'.

Using TP wire (ni200, 316L, Ti) isn't like kanthal so the whole "subohming" thing isn't really a thing. I was vaping 1.2-1.5Ω kanthal coils and the .10Ω ni200 or .45Ω 316ss coils are similar in vape.

Wait a minute. You ARE using TP wire, right? Not kanthal?

Yah, dearie. SS316L (or some such numbers) and yes set on SS on the silly TC settings.



@WickedWicks - Wicks, ya know I adorbs you, but I got lost about 2 sentences in. I'm a simple vaperette, who has unbounded amounts of interest and curiosity, but experience...... minus zero. I love trying out this stuff, but I KNOW I will never attain mastery in the knowledge or the execution.

So I fall back on what works, what I like, and oh yeah..... what works.

I need a mod that supports TC over 1 ohm? I think I have a few. Only one told me that TC would not perform tonite if the coils was over 1.5 ohms. Mine was 1.6 ohms. We both took the nite off. We still got a standing O and everyone was happy.

You said the benefit of TC is to "control the vape to your liking". Ummmmm. I wish I really knew what that meant. I DO like my vapes, and all I need do is turn it up if too cool, turn it down if too hot. Yuck taste? Change the coil (ok, or rebuild/rewick one).

I don't THINK TC will be for me. I am terribly happy to have given it a whirl tho, but I doubt I'll spend much more time on it.

Maybe. We shall see.

(Just by the way, your mod allowed you to set the wattage to 12.5w. Mine allowed the LOWEST setting to be 25w. And I set my temp to the very lowest it would go. The end result? HOOOOOOOOOOOOT.)



I really (REALLY) appreciate the info you all give here. I hope it's useful to everyone and anyone reading this. Please know that.

 

[KTMRider]

If it's too hot, lower the temp, not the wattage.