burning rubber... on my rebuilt atomizer!

[jb007gd]

Hi all,

I recently tried my hand at rebuilding a few atomizers. The first, for an EVOD, went well. On the first try I was vaping away like a madman and quote pleased with myself.
Like Brave Sir Robin, I exclaimed "That's easy!" and went to work on the next one, an atty for my ProTank.
Cue the sound of a needle getting yanked off an album. Yuck. I couldn't figure out why the darn thing smelled like burning rubber until I took it apart and saw I had singed the rubber grommet on the bottom that the pin goes into.
I *think* I need to allow for more space between the coil legs and the coil, so the legs don't get hot and melt that grommet. (The coil I wrapped was on a 4/40 machine screw and had a 2 ohm resistance; I was vaping at 4 volts.) I don't have any more old atomizers to play with so I figured I'd ask around here until I do.
Does my legs idea have legs? Har har
Thanks!

Jay

 

[Kanj.nguyen]

First, check to see if the coil is ok now (still shorting or what). A normal functioning coil doesnt burn the grommet. Almost every time you get the burnt rubber taste is because you shorted the coil during rebuilding.

If the coil is not shorted but you still have that burnt rubber smell, it is because that smell lingers; trust me i have had it. A lot. Take everything apart, rinse thoroughly under warm water, let dry in a ventilated placed overnight with the tank upside down to allow the smell to evaporate.

 

[JD1]

I often use a little hydrogen peroxide when cleaning my equipment, as it does a good job of freshening things up. It turns to water under heat, and makes a good mouth wash mixed with water, which makes me think it should be safe to use.

 

[jb007gd]

Grrr. I'm 1 for 4 in the rebuilt atomizer game. I'm using an eVic that measures resistance and warns of shorts, and I'm clocking in at 1.8 to 2.0 ohms every time, but I'm also burning the rubber grommet as well. I thought maybe the legs were too short and therefore running to hot so I made an effort to lengthen them. Still no luck. What gives?!?

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[Rodeorat]

Grrr. I'm 1 for 4 in the rebuilt atomizer game. I'm using an eVic that measures resistance and warns of shorts, and I'm clocking in at 1.8 to 2.0 ohms every time, but I'm also burning the rubber grommet as well. I thought maybe the legs were too short and therefore running to hot so I made an effort to lengthen them. Still no luck. What gives?!?

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How are you trimming off the excess leg wire length? If you're cutting with scissors or clippers you may not be cutting close enough and you're shorting to the base. Instead, wiggle the wire so it cuts itself tight to the grommet and pin.

 

[CloudZ]

What gauge wire and what wick material are you using? Are they vaping good before the burnt rubber taste starts?


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[jb007gd]

I'm using 32 gauge kanthal wire and silica wick. I'm using clippers made for soldering electronics. I'll post photos of my two recent failed attempts as soon as I can figure out how to post pics!

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[jb007gd]

I smell the burning rubber when doing a dry burn right after building them.

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[jb007gd]

The coil on the right has a few issues that I can see. Theres a potential hopspot on the left side of the coil, and the right leg has a kink in it. However, the coil on the left has me perplexed. It seems like it should work just fine. The only thing I see as a potential problem is that the whole thing seems a little slanted, like I didn't wrap the wire around the silica wick perpendicularly. (Is that a word?)

 

[CloudZ]

I smell the burning rubber when doing a dry burn right after building them.

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Have you tried not dry burning them after a build? If you have some kind of small torch, you can do the cleaning/oxidizing prior to install.


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[jb007gd]

I did try skipping the dry burn, no luck. Here's all the atomizers I built today compared to the used up factory coil. Every single one of these coils burned the rubber grommet. I am really scratching my head here.

I need to figure out how to make sure the ends of the coils stay cooler than the middle. I can see the coils I wrap glow orange right into the grommet. Why, that's beyond me. Hmph! >:-(

 

[CloudZ]

Your coils look fine. It is possible that since the grommet burned the first time, it will always give off that bad taste as soon as it gets warm. You could try soaking it in alcohol for a while, rinsing in hot water, then drying it and trying again. If that doesn't work, I would just buy a new head.


A more advanced technique you could try is wrapping a "touching coil". What others have found recently, and I have been doing for the past few days, is that wrapping the coils so close together that they actually touch does not cause any problems and it actually allows you to run higher resistance with as good or better results. It actually reduces the overall wattage (total heat) but concentrates it on the coils themselves.

I don't know what size silica you have, but mine is 1.5 mm and the coil pictured below is about 10 wraps of 32 gauge and measures 2.6 ohms. I have a similar one in my EVOD right now and it is working great, the only difference is that it is about 8 coils at 2.2 ohms. So you really would only need to add a couple more coils and squeeze them in as tight as you can. I also have laid another full piece of the 1.5 mm silica over the top as the flavor wick.

View attachment 220696

Just keep an eye on the resistance before firing it and make sure it glows evenly before vaping with it. Its not as easy as a normal coil, but if you are the adventurous type I recommend giving it a try.

Here is a link to a post in a thread where I learned about this, the picture is a Protank which is the same design as an EVOD.
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-increase-vapor-flavor-th-10.html#post9796799

 

[jb007gd]

WOW! Awesome! First, you confirmed my suspicion that those burnt grommets were going to smell no matter what. Thank you for that.
Next time I have an atty to rebuild I'm going to try your method. I almost took apart a fresh one just to keep practicing buy then I came to my senses. .
I'll post my results. Thanks again!

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[CloudZ]

No problem at all. I am happy to help (or at least try ). Good luck!

 

[jb007gd]

Preliminary results are very good!

Here's my second micro-coil. (First one was a mulligan.)

This coil is going into my ProTank. I wrapped it using a blunt tip syringe, sorry I don't know the gauge. I used two 1mm silica wicks doubled over and pulled through the coil with a "loop tool" I made using kanthal wire. Basically it's a homemade sewing needle-type thing with a loop on the end to pull the wick through.
There's nine wraps in it and just like CloudZ said, this coil glows from the center out to the edges and doesn't burn the rubber grommet. Pretty sweet! The vape is flavorful too. Only downside I've found so far is this coil meters out at around 3.4 ohms, so it takes a long time to heat up. I figure the gauge of kanthal, number of wraps, and wattage are all things I can play with to make these micro coils perfect.
Good times!


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[ThaHealer]

I've got a similar coil with 30 gauge that came out around 2 ohms I think. It performs great, the only issue is that the thicker your wire the more difficult it is to squeeze it between the grommet and center pin.

 

[jb007gd]

I'm using 32 gauge kanthal. If I'm understanding this correctly, since my wire is thinner it's harder to push electricity through it, hence the higher resistance. Do I have that right? If so, I'll just order up some 30 gauge.

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[JeremyR]

The 32 heats up faster.. I was doing a "micro coil before I knew it was a micro coil. I was doing a 5/4 wrap on 4 mm silica. 4 1 mm silica. works best on kangers i find , no over wick. It works reall well too. 2.4 ohms

 

[JeremyR]

Here's a pic of my latest experiment .. Quad twisted 36.. Trying to use this for something.. 4 strands twisted then heated. It's an 8/9 hand wraped at 2.4 ohms. I think the 4/5 of 32 at 2.4 was better but this isn't bad. If i unscrew the protank as far as possible and take a fast hard draw i get a massive cloud. i think the 4/5 will do the same though.

This is the wick size I always wrap..
30 gauge equivalent 4twist 36 8/9 wrap Next to a stock coil still room In the head for more

To keep coil at right hiegth pull wicks tight so they are level with channel. Lube the rubber with juice so it doesn't push the legs up. Hold wicks tight and level and fold the legs at the botto. It keep them In position

 

[ThaHealer]

I'm using 32 gauge kanthal. If I'm understanding this correctly, since my wire is thinner it's harder to push electricity through it, hence the higher resistance. Do I have that right? If so, I'll just order up some 30 gauge.

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Yes, that is right. The same coil with 30 gauge would have less resistance. Various gauge wires have other properties that differentiate them as well (response time, heat generated,etc). I'm not an expert on that part, but from personal experience my 30 gauge microcoil seems to take just a hair longer to heat up, but the vape seems smoother and has better flavor than the same resistance coil of 32 gauge with fewer wraps.