Coil building help

[jacob bonilla]

i am going to get my first RDA soon and want to start using it all i am missing is wire. i am into subohming i did try 1-2ohm coils that were disposable never cared for them i am loving 0.5ohms and 0.4ohms never tried anything lower but would like to.
1. What gauge wire do i need for sub ohm builds? I read somewhere that the bigger the wire ( lower gauge ) the less resistance it has so basically would i just want to get a very low res wire like idk 20gauge or is their pro's and con's to this.
2. what do bigger coils mean? i see these posts like "coil master" and what not that allows you to build certain diameter coils like 4mm 2mm, etc.. what does this do?
3. what are twisted wires used for? i saw some site selling twisted wire which is basically 2-3 kanthal wires twisted and spooled. it said it cuts the resistance but then it is labeled as 26-32 gauge
4. how do number of wraps work and how do they correspond with the gauge? i read somewhere more wraps = higher ohms but if im using a low res wire wouldn't how does that work with the ohms in general would it just mean it heats up faster vs say a 2 ohm wrap using the same coil?
what i am looking to build is basically 0.5ohm-0.2 not sure if i am into 1+ ohms doesn't seem like my cup of tea so i just want to focus on sub ohming coils atm. ( my stuff won't be here for another week probably and i don't have any wire to build with atm just want to learn before something bad happens )

 

[Ryedan]

What mods are you going to be using this on Jacob?

 

[Wolfenstark]

As Ryedan said we will need to know the mod/s you plan to use. Reg and or Mech.

The wire most people use is between 24 - 28 gauge.
The inner diameter will alter the amount of wraps you need to get a certain resistance as will the gauge of the wire.
Also if your doing single or dual coils.
Twisted wire is used to get more surface area usually with close to the same resistance as a single strand of wire.

http://www.steam-engine.org/coil.asp

 

[Eitje]

Few basics.
Thicker (lower gauge) wire has lower resistance as current can pass easier through the wire.
The shorter the piece of wire used in the coil (smaller diameter or less wraps) the lower resistance.
A dual coil (of the same gauge, diameter, wraps coil) setup has half the resistance of a single coil.

1) there is no set gauge for sub ohm building, most use 24 or 26 I suppose. 20 would be very thick/rigid and unpractical to work with especially if its your first builds.
2) Bigger could mean larger diameter I suppose. If 2mm diameter would be average, any larger could be considered big. Again, there is no real standard.
3) twisted wires give more wires per wrap , likely lower resistance, more surrface space, etc but that all depends what you compare it too. Check some YouTube clips and see what they are trying to achieve. Never see the use of twisted wires personally, rather have strands of wire side by side.
4) More wraps = longer wire = higher resistance and more surface. Wraps relate to gauge solely by resulting resistance otherwise they have nothing to do with each other Of course also the diameter of the coil comes into play again.
5 wraps of 24g wire results in a lower resistance than 6 wraps. However 6 wraps 24g is lower than 5 wraps 26g.

To play with all these numbers use
http://www.steam-engine.org/coil.asp

 

[KentA]

Jacob,
Your questions about wire gauge & coil size will be answered with this Steam Engine
You will want to become familiar with a program like this to make coiling less problematic.

 

[MattyTny]

A lot of the subohm builds require some knowledge of ohm's law, once you learn that and how different resistance wires play into it you will be able to tackle building.

A popular low resistance wire is 24 gauge. The device you have and the amount of coils you want will determine what wire to use and how many wraps on those coils.

There are a bunch of tools needed to build. The coil master is popular because it easily wraps uniform coils in popular internal diameters (I.D.) such as 2.0mm, 2.5mm, and 3.0mm.

The only limiting factor is what device you have, the batteries you have, and the atomizer you have. The batteries are the most important, you should always use a trusted brand.

If you would like, you can read through my blog that easily explains Ohm's law and how it relates to the devices. I use Steam Engine calculator as a guide to make it easy.

Ohm's Law and how it applies to personal vaporizers

I highly recommend looking at Baditude's blog, State O' Flux's blog, and Mooch's blog. They are linked in the bottom of my blog along with the Steam Engine calculator.

 

[jacob bonilla]

i will be using the evic vt 60watts for now with the mutation xs which is just a small version of the mutation x v4. i will be switching to the snow wolf 200 wat box mod in 2 weeks though. not sure if i will be vaping on the rda i would love to but i can hold off another 3 weeks

 

[Hans Wermhat]

There are a lot of safety rules to learn before you start building your own coils. Matty Tny pointed you in the right directions for what you need to learn. When you read all that, come back and ask more questions. Most folks here will be willing to help you out as long as they feel you understand the safety concerns involved with building your own coils. Lithium batteries store an incredible amount of energy. When things go bad, they go terribly bad in a HUGE hurry. Not trying to be a fear monger, just want to make sure anyone who wants to start building for themselves knows the risk factors. Once you get the hang of it, it's actually a great hobby. The regulated mods you are planning to use will take out a large portion of the risk, but nothing made by man is perfect. It's a good idea to learn as much as you can before you ever twist a wire.

 

[jacob bonilla]

for the steam engine what is Kanthal D/A/A1? are those like grades and what if it does not state it on the spool? AWG I'm assuming is basically gauge? and lastly for the heat flux when I put it to 25watts it's already red is that fine? I am a little confused on the heat flux part.

also would you recommend using say cool master to build coils or is their something else I could use to determine coil inner diameter with say a screwdriver? I have seen people just wrap their coils on screw drivers but I assume they have done it a few times and know about how many wraps it takes on that screw driver to get X amount of ohms decently.

 

[Hans Wermhat]

Kanthal KA1 is what you want to use. It's a grade of wire. AWG is the gauge. I would recommend starting out with 28, maybe 26. The heat flux icon changes color from blue (a cool vape) to red (hot lava in your throat). If you are getting red at 25W you need a LOT more wraps on your coil. A precision screwdriver is a great coil tool. Anything will work really. I actually use a q-tip stick sometimes. Plug in 8 wraps 28G KA1 at 3mm, dual coils, and hit it with 25W and see what steam engine says. That's a decent beginner build.

 

[Hans Wermhat]

Make that 35W, not 25.

 

[jacob bonilla]

thanks im getting ready to buy my wire today and start building if i feel comfortable enough. i was also wondering would you recommend single coil or duel coal for a beginner? i'd assume single coil since it seems the easiest. don't think i will ever go quad on this rda definetly not anytime soon

 

[Hans Wermhat]

Definitely single. Once you get the hang of one coil, it's easier to make 2 that are identical. If they aren't identical, they won't fire the same and you will get dry hits and scorched wicks, even fires are possible. Juice IS flammable. Lol!

 

[Paul lamb]

My first spool of wire was 24awg and its one of my favs, it's quite thick depending on your tank, I started building on subtanks and my first build was 24g 3 wraps 2mm .3 ohms. Since then I have almost everything lying around nickel titanium Clapton twisted.

Start easy/basic and take it from there, don't be too adventurous at first it's a learning game.

Good luck, be safe!

 

[Paul lamb]

i am going to get my first RDA soon and want to start using it all i am missing is wire. i am into subohming i did try 1-2ohm coils that were disposable never cared for them i am loving 0.5ohms and 0.4ohms never tried anything lower but would like to.
1. What gauge wire do i need for sub ohm builds? I read somewhere that the bigger the wire ( lower gauge ) the less resistance it has so basically would i just want to get a very low res wire like idk 20gauge or is their pro's and con's to this.
2. what do bigger coils mean? i see these posts like "coil master" and what not that allows you to build certain diameter coils like 4mm 2mm, etc.. what does this do?
3. what are twisted wires used for? i saw some site selling twisted wire which is basically 2-3 kanthal wires twisted and spooled. it said it cuts the resistance but then it is labeled as 26-32 gauge
4. how do number of wraps work and how do they correspond with the gauge? i read somewhere more wraps = higher ohms but if im using a low res wire wouldn't how does that work with the ohms in general would it just mean it heats up faster vs say a 2 ohm wrap using the same coil?
what i am looking to build is basically 0.5ohm-0.2 not sure if i am into 1+ ohms doesn't seem like my cup of tea so i just want to focus on sub ohming coils atm. ( my stuff won't be here for another week probably and i don't have any wire to build with atm just want to learn before something bad happens )

Get the coil calculator app, it's not going to be 100% accurate but it's close. Again it's all about knowledge and learning

 

[jacob bonilla]

I got a 24gauge and 26 gauge along with some juice today from a new shop I visited near my house. going to wrap with the 26guage for now just to get used to wrapping then probably take it down to the 24guage

 

[edyle]

i am going to get my first RDA soon and want to start using it all i am missing is wire. i am into subohming i did try 1-2ohm coils that were disposable never cared for them i am loving 0.5ohms and 0.4ohms never tried anything lower but would like to.
1. What gauge wire do i need for sub ohm builds? I read somewhere that the bigger the wire ( lower gauge ) the less resistance it has so basically would i just want to get a very low res wire like idk 20gauge or is their pro's and con's to this.
2. what do bigger coils mean? i see these posts like "coil master" and what not that allows you to build certain diameter coils like 4mm 2mm, etc.. what does this do?
3. what are twisted wires used for? i saw some site selling twisted wire which is basically 2-3 kanthal wires twisted and spooled. it said it cuts the resistance but then it is labeled as 26-32 gauge
4. how do number of wraps work and how do they correspond with the gauge? i read somewhere more wraps = higher ohms but if im using a low res wire wouldn't how does that work with the ohms in general would it just mean it heats up faster vs say a 2 ohm wrap using the same coil?
what i am looking to build is basically 0.5ohm-0.2 not sure if i am into 1+ ohms doesn't seem like my cup of tea so i just want to focus on sub ohming coils atm. ( my stuff won't be here for another week probably and i don't have any wire to build with atm just want to learn before something bad happens )

1: 28 gauge kanthal has been a good place to start.
2: a tiny coil is like a 2 ohm coil that you find inside a protank coil head or ce4 type clearo. They might be 34 or 32 gauge single coil.
A big coil is like the 28 gauge quadcoils on some drippers.
3: twisted wire gives you more surface area per ohm.
4: more wraps will give more ohms, all else remaining the same.