Built my first coil for IGO-L...now what tank to get?

[timastyle]

Last night I took a first pass at building my own coils. I went with a 28 gauge Kanthal wire with 11-12 wraps around a 1/16" drill bit and put it on the IGO-L. I think I did a decent job of it. Initially, my zmax read it at 1.5 ohms with no wick, then "low load". After I tinkered a bit with the coils, I got it to consistently fire at 1.5 ohms. After wicking with organic cotton, the readout was 1.7 ohms.

I also increased the air hole size by drilling a 1/16" hole. I'm really enjoying the cloud and vapor production, but there are a couple things that are bothering me that I'm hoping you can help me out with:

1. The vape is hot...hotter than I care for. The Kanger PT2 tank that I'd been using has 1.5 ohm coils in it. I was also using the same drip tip (the one that came with the PT2) for both devices. Is there any way to reduce the heat?
2. The coil takes a while to heat up (vaping at 8W). I tried cranking up the wattages, but it only gets hotter (TH). I'm assuming this has something to do with the thicker gauge. Any way to remedy this other than going smaller in gauge size?

Pre-wick:



Post-wick and juice:



Now onto Part 2 of the thread...I am enjoying the IGO-L, but I don't see myself dripping all day. Plus, I keep my mod in my pocket and with the IGO, the juice would leak. So I'm looking at potentially getting a tank and wanted to see what some recommendations would be. I'm not looking to go super expensive(i.e. >$35), but would like something that is as good or better in the flavor and cloud dept as the IGO. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

***added pics of first build

 

[dylanlg2]

You can try less wraps on a higher gauge wire... but im not 100% it will solve your issue... it seems you are holding throat hit and heat as the same thing, when in reality they are different. The TH could be increased if you aren't getting the right airflow through the device... the heat may be fixed by doing less wraps on a higher gauge wire, or perhaps by boring out or airholes even more (keep in mind this can degrade flavor)

In regards to the last part of your post, I use an IGO-L (dual 3/32 airholes) and I keep my mod in my pocket and it not ever leak... reason for this is 3 things, 1. i never overdrip, 2. the ~35-25 degree angle that my mod sits at, in my pocket when im sitting, is enough of an angle to keep the juice from coming out... the mod would need to be overdripped and sitting completely horizontal for it to leak.., 3. the dripwell and height of the airhole also hinder the juice from escaping in my pocket..

but if you are still wanting a tank, I will let you know a few things... the flavor and vapor production depends more on your wick/coil setup and material than what device it is on.. that being said I have heard great things about the kayfun lite even though I have never EVER used a tank in my vaping history lol.. yes my arm is tired of dripping and maybe will get a tank soon just for the luls

 

[cantstopwontstop]

If you wanted to spend a few dollars more the Kayfun 3.1 clone by Hcigar is pretty nice, and easy enough to build/use. Also vapes very well and good taste, vapor production with adjustable air flow. There are also Kayfun clones made by ephro and tobeco but I cannot speak to their quality.

 

[bosun]

A higher gauge wire will heat up faster. I use 32 gauge in my EGO L. Changing the height of the coil in relation to the airhole will also change the quality of the vape.
I use an AGA T2 for a tank, no problems with it but some folks consider it a PITA to coil. Hopefully some one else will come by shortly with more suggestions. I also use a Kayfun clone and a Vivi Nova v2 tank, both of which are rebuildable.

 

[timastyle]

Thanks dylanlg2. I'll perhaps try to make the airhole a little larger for the heat. I'm ok with the TH, but it's the accompanying heat that is irritating/scratching my throat and lung I believe. I tend to do harder pulls and with the added heat, it really doesn't help things. I even cranked it down to 7W and fired the coil, waited a couple seconds for the coil to start heating up, then took a draw to ensure it was heated and working. That seemed to ease the heat irritation.

 

[timastyle]

Thanks cantstopwontstop! I've heard good things about Kayfuns and will look into it.

Bosun - I've read about the height thing, but I don't remember exactly. Is it having the airhole higher than the coil that cools the vape and lower = hotter or do I have it backwards. Also, is there an advantage of going with the likes of a Kayfun over say my PT2 if I build my own microcoils out of them? What will I gain/lose over one or the other?

 

[Jjshbetz11]

You could possibly have a hot leg or hot spot. Is this a conventional coil or "micro" with windings touching? If its micro you can still get a hot leg.

 

[timastyle]

Jjshbetz11 - This is a microcoil (put pictures of the build in my initial post - not sure why they're so small). How would I check for hot spots and legs? I'm assuming with the hot leg, you see one of the legs that's attaching to the post lighting up and when I did my test fire, that wans't happening. I'm not exactly sure how to identify a hot spot, so any help is appreciated.

 

[Jjshbetz11]

Really hard to tell from pics but seems the coil is close to posts? Again hard to tell.

 

[ka724ka]

If you see the hot leg (leg lights up during firing), IMHO, you may need to check items below:

-Try to shorten the length of legs
-Make sure legs are tightened to posts completely

 

[timastyle]

It must be the angle because there is a good amount of space between the coil and posts. Plus, wouldn't that cause a short if the coil was touching the posts causing my VV/VW device to not fire?

 

[timastyle]

ka724ka - I don't see any hot legs with the build, but thanks for the remedy if and when I have this issue on another build. Having said that, how would i go about identifying hot spots on my coils?

 

[emus]

My FT toppers tend to be a little to very junky.

I have several UD toppers and I love them all. Some have a fixable quirk but they are all good quality.

Some UD topper reviews list negatives that UD has now fixed.

I am currently waiting on Phiniac UD AGT anodized and blasted. I love small diameter vapor quality so I'm hoping this will be my favorite.

 

[timastyle]

emus - I'm assuming FT is Fasttech, but what's UD? I don't recall seeing this acronym before.

 

[StarsAndBars]

For the heat problem, try lowering your coil in relation to the air hole.

For the heat up lag, 28 gauge wire doesn't like to be above 1.3 ohms or it'll take forever to heat up. Make sure your battery can handle the load of lower resistance, and shoot for around 1.3 ohms. Coils will heat up very quickly.

Or get some 30 gauge wire. I seriously wouldn't recommend 32 gauge.

 

[timastyle]

Thanks StarsAndBars! I'll try lowering the coil tonight and see if that helps any. As far as lowering the resistance, I'm currently using a zmax V5 (VV/VW) device and it won't fire with anything less than 1.5 ohms which is why I was going for higher resistance (i.e. 1.5-1.8 ohms). I'm looking into getting a mech mod and I'll go lower resistance, but for now, that's not really an option.

I'll probably have to pick up some 30 gauge wire to help heat up quicker. I want to stay away from the 32 gauge. That's currently in the Kanger stock coils and I have to be very careful as they tend to give me a burnt taste hit if I go a little high on my wattage.

 

[ka724ka]

ka724ka - I don't see any hot legs with the build, but thanks for the remedy if and when I have this issue on another build. Having said that, how would i go about identifying hot spots on my coils?

For micro/nano coil (coils are closed together), if you build it correctly, you should see coils light up from inside to outside. If you see coils light partially, you can give it couple pulse firing, it will light up from inside out eventually.

By the way, for 28g Kanthal, I usually build it at 1 ohm, 8 wraps on 1/16" drill bit, it gives me instant firing without delay (on mech mod).

 

[timastyle]

Thanks! I don't believe seeing hot spots if that's the case.

On your mech mod, it means at 1 ohm, you're basically firing anywhere from about 14-17W depending on battery strength then right? I'm going to try and lower the coil a little so that it's sitting below the airhole and crank up the wattage to about 10-10.5 and see if that helps any.

 

[ka724ka]

Yep, it's running at about 17-17W. Also, forgot to mention that I am using 100% VG liquid.

 

[timastyle]

I was using 100%VG as well, but recently ran out. I'll need to buy some more as I think the PG is causing me some irritation, which I've heard is common for some.