RDA Coil Lifespan?

[NJDrew]

Hello everyone. I have been out of vaping for a while, but I recently got back into it so I'm basically a noob again lol. I bought a new setup and I noticed my coils are blackening after vaping about 15ml of juice. Is that normal?

My Setup:

GlacierII RDA
Kanthal A1 26AWG 3.5 ohms/ft wire (11 raps at 2.4mm center)
IPV D2 with VAXJO IMR18650 3000mAh 3.7V 35A Batteries
Set to: Power Mode - 25W 4.71 0.73 ohms

 

[State O' Flux]

Without knowing what juice blend - solids and sweetener content & VG/PG blend - which has a substantial impact on coil contaminates build up...

The wattage is too low for a dual parallel, 0.7Ω'ish build using 26 gauge wire. In other words, the build is too "cold". With 25 watts...

• You need to either go with thinner gauge wire - like 28 gauge - to increase "heat flux" (wire heat potential, expressed in milliwatts per millimeter squared).
  
• Or... increase your wattage to more than double the 25 watts- say 60 watts or more.
• Your current build (estimated based on info supplied) - see heat flux in the "results" box on the right.
• The same build with 65 watts applied - note the increase in heat flux.

Click the sigline hyperlink below for my "Steam Engine User Guide"... it will help you to understand why your build is out of balance for the wattage applied.

 

[NJDrew]

Without knowing what juice blend - solids and sweetener content & VG/PG blend - which has a substantial impact on coil contaminates build up...

The wattage is too low for a dual parallel, 0.7Ω'ish build using 26 gauge wire. In other words, the build is too "cold". With 25 watts...

• You need to either go with thinner gauge wire - like 28 gauge - to increase "heat flux" (wire heat potential, expressed in milliwatts per millimeter squared).
  
• Or... increase your wattage to more than double the 25 watts- say 60 watts or more.
• Your current build (estimated based on info supplied) - see heat flux in the "results" box on the right.
• The same build with 65 watts applied - note the increase in heat flux.

Click the sigline hyperlink below for my "Steam Engine User Guide"... it will help you to understand why your build is out of balance for the wattage applied.

Ok, so I read the guide and I think I understand. I do have a question though, when I up my Watts to 60 I notice am increase of burnt taste using Micro Vapery Fisticuffs 6mg juice. Can I assume then that the flavor additive is burning at that heat level or maybe since the coils are already gunked up that the taste is residual? I dropped it to 50W which is just in the green and I found the flavor to be better...

 

[State O' Flux]

I dropped it to 50W which is just in the green and I found the flavor to be better...

That's OK. My recommendation was only intended to provide enough heat to keep the coils cleaner. If there's a burnt taste at 60, but all is well at 50, then run that. Everything is spot-on only when it all works to your satisfaction... with no negatives.

I have no idea what the specifics of your juice are, and 6mg nicotine doesn't factor in to the original concern. Now that you've upped the wattage, the remaining issue may be the result of inadequate wicking performance... for any number of reasons.

Short of telling me absolutely everything about everything with your build, interweb diagnostics only goes so far... but with the right tools, like Steam Engine, you're on your way to a more informed level of self-diagnostics.

Ciao

 

[NJDrew]

That's OK. My recommendation was only intended to provide enough heat to keep the coils cleaner. If there's a burnt taste at 60, but all is well at 50, then run that. Everything is spot-on only when it all works to your satisfaction... with no negatives.

I have no idea what the specifics of your juice are, and 6mg nicotine doesn't factor in to the original concern. Now that you've upped the wattage, the remaining issue may be the result of inadequate wicking performance... for any number of reasons.

Short of telling me absolutely everything about everything with your build, interweb diagnostics only goes so far... but with the right tools, like Steam Engine, you're on your way to a more informed level of self-diagnostics.

Ciao

Thank you for the information. It has been very eye opening.

 

[melodiousThunk]

Just to underline one of the things SOFlux mentioned, the make-up of your juice will also play a large role in determining the right wattage for your build, and therefore minimizing burnt taste and maximizing time between dry burns and wick changes. The solids in the juice, or the flavor category the juice falls into, is a factor in determining the ideal wattage. For instance, many custards/dessert flavors tend to burn at relatively higher wattages and taste best w/ less heat, whereas fruit flavors, tobaccos or menthol flavors, etc. can take more heat and will give you the most flavor with more heat.