Brand new and eager to learn

[chromashadows]

Hey everyone! I've been vaping since 2013 so I'm not new to vaping in the format of store bought smok coils, juices, tanks and normal box mods (I've been all sub-ohm since I gave up the stick mod and got my first real mod - smok alien - later around 2015).

Given the mail ban, I'm getting the supplies to make my own juices and build my own rda. For now I'm going with prebuilt coils, but will get a bunch of I guess Clapton wires so I can roll my own (is that even the term? That's how new I am). Will prebuilts be allowed to ship to residential?

Anyhoo, my questions are:

1. I am eyeballing the dead rabbit heathen hellvape rda. Can I use that puppy on my aegis geek mod and my Tesla punk mod or do I need to buy a squonk or other special mod? I would prefer to use mods compatible with any rda and in which said mods are.... What's the term, regulated? You just click an up/down button to dial in the watts or temp you wish to vape at. I don't want to mess with those built from square one diy mods that can be dangerous if used in hands like my own. I would die. I want to vape, not die. I know nothing about ohms but was assured by many that I don't need to worry about ohms when making coils since I'll be using a regulated (?) mod (my Tesla in other words) anyway.

Im sure I'll have more questions as I go. Thanks so much, everyone. My only regret is I didn't start diy a long time ago. Look what complacency got me. "I can always get coils and mods and juice online. Wheeeeee!" hahahahhaha oh I was so young then.....

2. I've been watching a lot of vids on YouTube on how to set up the coils and cotton but the ones I've found aren't that beginner friendly. I mean they give 10 star info but I'd love an up close, slow going how-to. Does anyone know of a good couple of vids that ELIA5 and make it real simple?

3. In your opinion, what is a great learning rda that will also stand the test of time, great flavor, cloud size really doesn't matter anymore to me because mail ban anyway (bye bye smok v2 a1 coils. Got fifteen 3 packs but our time then is done once theyre gone.) (I'm so salty about that mail ban. I know I'm not alone). Am I wise to get that dead rabbit rda? Even if it's advanced, I'll be teaching newbies at some point so it'll come in just handy then.

 

[Enoch777]

But will get a bunch of I guess Clapton wires so I can roll my own (is that even the term? That's how new I am). Will prebuilts be allowed to ship to residential?

I don't think so, coils are definitely out of the question as far as prebuilts being shipped. Stock up on those if you think you need to. Kanthal on the other hand should still be available but it wouldn't hurt to get a few spools of that as well. I use 28GA but you might want say, a roll of 36GA, a roll of 28GA and a roll of 22GA so you have options, etc...

I am eyeballing the dead rabbit heathen hellvape rda. Can I use that puppy on my aegis geek mod and my Tesla punk mod or do I need to buy a squonk or other special mod?

It looks to me like a standard 510 RDA. It includes a pin so you can convert it to a squonker if you so choose, or leave the pin in and use it to drip. Assuming your Tesla and Aegis Geek mods are both 510 (I'm guessing they are) it should work just fine.

Overall I think it's a good lookin RDA with all the important bells & whistles. Can't speak about it's durability though as I've never used it but it's stainless steel and I've got 6-7 year old stainless steel RDAs that still work just fine.

I want to vape, not die. I know nothing about ohms but was assured by many that I don't need to worry about ohms when making coils since I'll be using a regulated (?) mod (my Tesla in other words) anyway.

I wouldn't put a 0.1 ohm coil on a regulated mod (AVD/VW Mod) but that's just me. I haven't kept up on the times but theoretically it wouldn't work anyway as the device should read a short circuit error if it's working properly. Your standard sub-ohm coil is around 0.4 - 0.9 Ohm. These are perfectly fine to put on your regulated mod.

(Doing a quick search, apparently newer regulated devices allow as low as 0.05 Ohm but YMMV depending on the specifications of your mod so it might be easier to just aim for a 0.5 Ohm coil as that's guaranteed to work in your typical regulated mod. It might be a good idea to invest in an Ohm Checker as your first dozen coils or so may be failures either too high or too low and it's always nice to know the resistance of your coil before you fire it up)

Read these if you want to really understand Ohms Law and Safety:
(16) Explain it for the Vape Noob: Ohm's Law calculations for a Mechanical Mod. | E-Cigarette Forum
(14) Ohm's Law Explained for Vapers | E-Cigarette Forum
(12) Deeper Understanding of Mod Batteries - Part I | E-Cigarette Forum

Im sure I'll have more questions as I go. Thanks so much, everyone. My only regret is I didn't start diy a long time ago. Look what complacency got me. "I can always get coils and mods and juice online. Wheeeeee!" hahahahhaha oh I was so young then.....

I hear you. I've been building my own coils since 2013-2014 but I wish I had gotten more into DIY liquids. I can't vape PG though (makes me sick) so the easiest option was to just get boutique 100% VG juices online of which there aren't a ton of online vendors in this niche juice category. The price of these are prohibitive if you're talking about stocking up on them, practically $1 per mL..... but hey it was convenient, while it lasted.

I've got enough nicotine and DIY stuff to last 6 years now. I think that's the end of the road for me when that day comes. Maybe before, who knows. But it will be on my terms and nobody else's.

I've been watching a lot of vids on YouTube on how to set up the coils and cotton but the ones I've found aren't that beginner friendly. I mean they give 10 star info but I'd love an up close, slow going how-to. Does anyone know of a good couple of vids that ELIA5 and make it real simple?

Easy Clapton Coils:

For me personally, I've done plenty of different types of coils. Clapton. Braided. Ribbon. However I always come back to Twisted coils because of their ease & simplicity and well - they get the job done as good as any decent coil does. If you really want a chunky coil you can do Double Twisted, which are still easy to build.

Here's a decent Twisted coil tutorial:

I do pretty much the same as he does. 28 Gauge kanthal, twisted, 5-6 wraps. Ends up around 0.5-0.6 Ohms. Perfect for sub-ohm vaping at 30-40 watts and it'll push clouds if you want it to and has good flavor production (to me). He uses a coil wrapping device - I just wrap mine around a 2mm screwdriver by hand. It doesn't need to be fancy. Just wrap the coils tightly so they stay snug against each other. The video also shows a decent job of installing them in your RDA, as they can get warped if you don't leave the screw driver inside them while tightening them, or you over tighten them, or both...

But you can always dry fire and squeeze them back together if they get a little wonky. As long as you don't have any hot spots. The coil should warm up & glow from the center out, like an ember. If one side gets massively hotter than the other you know you need to fiddle with it a little more. Most important part: make sure it doesn't touch anywhere on the inside of the mod. So the coils shouldn't brush up against the topper when you re-assemble it. It shouldn't touch other coils and it shouldn't touch the deck/well at the bottom.

Hopefully my terrible explanation gives you a decent idea of what to do, but if not, keep at it and keep on learning and don't be afraid to give it a try! You will only get better with practice.

In your opinion, what is a great learning rda that will also stand the test of time, great flavor, cloud size really doesn't matter anymore to me because mail ban anyway (bye bye smok v2 a1 coils. Got fifteen 3 packs but our time then is done once theyre gone.) (I'm so salty about that mail ban. I know I'm not alone). Am I wise to get that dead rabbit rda? Even if it's advanced, I'll be teaching newbies at some point so it'll come in just handy then.

Dead Rabbit RDA looks good to me. Nice and simple deck and very accessible posts to fit your coils onto. As mentioned it's stainless steel so it should be durable and last a long time. If you're not confident about that, get two, or get another RDA to go with it. Backups never hurt but of all the two dozen or so RDAs I've gotten only one of them ever broke and it was a Mini-RDA from way back in the day. Any RDA worth its price tag should last a very long time - although it wouldn't be a bad idea to get some extra O-rings while you can, but a decent quality O-ring should also last years and years as well assuming everything is lubricated.

Bonus video showing coil install in the Dead Rabbit RDA:

Good luck!

 

[UncLeJunkLe]

Given the mail ban, I'm getting the supplies to make my own juices and build my own rda. For now I'm going with prebuilt coils, but will get a bunch of I guess Clapton wires so I can roll my own (is that even the term? That's how new I am). Will prebuilts be allowed to ship to residential?

Anything that is marketed and branded for sale to vapers for vaping is considered a "tobacco product" and is subject to regulation and vape mail ban.

That's why mesh and regular plain old resistance wire is the most vapocalype friendly rebuildable coil type since they can be bought by industrial suppliers that that are not vape-related. Of course, you can always make your own claptons if you have a mind to...and the ambition.

 

[UncLeJunkLe]

This is sold by AdvancedVapeSupply so it's obviously inteded for vaping and is also branded with their name. It's "tobacco" in the eyes of the government.

This is also "tobacco", even though it's just wire, because it's sold by a vaping retailer in a vape branded package to a person who intends to use it for vaping.

This is also just wire, but it's not branded for vaping and is sold by an industrial supplier for use in non-vaping applications. It is, therefore, not "tobacco".

 

[Letitia]

Start with single coil rebuildables and put dual coil rdas in the stash. Get a few rtas as well in case you get tired of dripping and aren't interested in squonking. Smok does have some decent rbas for their tanks you could look into as well.

 

[puffon]

FYI ...Advance Vape Supply is discontinuing its wire/coil sales.
70% off code "70off"
PACT Act update

 

[chromashadows]

Thanks, everyone. I appreciate every single one of uou who replied and gave me amazing information.

 

[chromashadows]

One question. I like to vape a 0.15 ohm coil (smok v2 a1). I'm looking at that site someone linked above and I'm confused what size wire to get. The lowest is 0.19 (I prefer subohm as that's all I've vaped for years. I'm not sure id know how to handle a non sub ohm... Anyway. Here's the picture. For a 0.15 ohm coil, which wire do I get?

I've vaped 0.4 and 0.5 before as well. Have no issue moving to that if I must.

 

[Ed Brown]

I use a dead rabbit RDA and it's easy to build on. It has 4 holes so you're not trying to put two wires into one hole. As far as which coils, there are several variables: Wire thickness, number of wraps, and coil diameter. Wire thickness and the number of wraps determine the coil length - the distance between the free ends. The building experience is much easier if the coil length matches the distance between the post holes. This avoids stretching a coil that is too short or doing gymnastics with a coil that is too long. I'm using a triple core clapton 30x3/38 with 6 wraps. A fused clapton based on 28x2 gauge would probably be about the same length also with 6 wraps.

This RDA has two holes on each post. Note that the lead at one end goes in the top hole, and the lead at the other end goes in the bottom hole. The other coil is mirror imaged. Don't try to put one coil in the top holes and the other coil in the bottom holes, or that will make a mess.

 

[Letitia]

30x3/38 will give you the faster ramp. As far as resistance comparing drop in coils in a tank vs wrapped coils for rta/rda is apples to oranges. The coils you've linked are my go to build single coil. In rta 2.5mm 6 wrap I run them 25-28w; in single coil rda closer to 35-40w.

 

[Superuser187]

It really depends on what atomizer u gonna run the coils but I guess it's the dead rabbit u mention soooo the 5wraps of 3mm 28*3/36 seems to be a good place to start since u said u used to vape 0.15ohm....since we use regulated mods we don't care about the resistance Soo it's about the mass of the coil u use...bigger or smaller...

The thing is that probably u used to vape mesh coils ???? mesh coils are very different in the way they vape....and would be nice to know what u used to vape and what watts and all that....even tho u should be open to try maybe u get a vape u like more now with rdas...maybe less powerfully...

Anyways.... truth is that different atomizers with different coils will give different result in the vapor temperatures and amount they produce and depends what is best for you..
maybe u want cooler vape....maybe work at less wattage...who knows....time will tell

About building it just well just needs practice....the videos online are good to see how it goes and to get an idea what's going on and u come here and ask if and when u got a problem...that what I did...I was crying on threads helppp helpppppp meeeeeeee lol

An rda is the easiest to build and wick cause rtas are kinda tricky sometimes...
But it's good to try also in my opinion...

The thing is that u have to drip juice with rdas....if u don't like that u can squonk ofc...
all good rdas anyways can be used for squonking nowdays and also they come with a different screw u swap in the box...

About the mods as u already know yes ohms don't matter on regulated but you still need to use proper batteries for the wattage u use....just saying

The point is that u want to stock on rebuildables and be chilled to vape for long time....and rdas are very durable and future proof atomizer in my opinion...only "negative" thing is that u have to drip...
I don't know about the mail ban and if u have enough time to buy I guess some spools of wire to wrap it yourself cause it's easy....it's best option for stocking...
But for start just some premade is nice for first timers

U gonna learn everything cause the people here are great and ofc with practice also u learn very fast and avoid mistakes...

 

[Rex Everything]

Keep in mind that resistancr is for 1 coil....If you use 2 coils in your dead rabbit the ohm value will be halved... so 2 0.30 ohm coils will be 0.15 together.... and you really dont need to be vaping super sub ohm on an RDA to get the same performance you do out of super low smok coils. Maybe take a look at some single coil rdas as well.... the claymore, requiem, wasp nano, are all great little single coil atties that perform well and are super easy to build.

 

[mimöschen]

I'm a bit late to the party, but anyways...

The DeadRabbit is a decent RDA that works on all your mods, but I'd recommend the VandyVape Pulse 2 nonetheless. It's as easy to build, but has much smoother airflow, better flavor and a proper implemented single coil option on top. The latter is quite handy for your first building attempts.

Ni80 26*2/40 5 wraps 3mm ID works very well as a dual coil configuration and should come out at bang on .15ohm.

Ni80 26*3/40 6 wraps 3mm ID is my go to coil for single coil builds. This one will be at about .24ohms.

Both types of coils are very easy to work with for a beginner and should be readily available for a good price almost anywhere.
You can get away with thicker outer wires like 38ga or 36ga, but the thinner the outer wire, the better the performance and the quicker the ramp up time. 26*2/36 will still perform quite decent though.
Stay away from coils with outer wires thicker than 36ga. They may be cheaper but are essentially garbage.

As mentioned above, resistance isn't that important on your regulated mods. Just adjust wattage to taste.