Coil longevity - which wire?

[Miira]

I will be ordering my first true rebuildable sometime this week(Squape is most likely candidate). One of my main complaints with clearos and the like is that my coils get "weak" after just a few days to a week. This happens with atty heads I buy and atty heads I recoil myself. I am curious if this can be fixed by using a different wire, as I am unwilling to switch from high VG juice(80% minimum).

I currently use NiChrome80 32G when recoiling. Would a 26 guage wire help with this? Would it be worth it to switch to kanthal or another type of wire? All bought and built coils are at 1.8ohms, which I like a lot, when they're fresh, so I'm not terribly interested in changing that.

So details in list form:

High VG juice
1.8 ohm
Flexible on wick
Have VV battery
Want to fix it and forget it!!

 

[suspectK]

I use 26awg kanthal. 0.5ohm dual coil heats up almost too slow to use it. I mainly use 0.7ohm builds with it, and I wouldn't go much higher than that with 26.. due to heat up times.

I would look at 28awg kanthal for that resistance.

 

[pdib]

Most rebuildable atties have a looser draw than clearos n' such. Most can also be "opened up" to allow for more airflow. The point being that the more airflow you have, the lower you tend to go with the resistance of your build. You may find that a 1.2 -1.5Ω coil works best for you (given greater airflow on an RBA straight from the factory). You could get away with 28g on the 1.2Ω end of the spectrum (as suspectK says, you'll be running into slow heat up if you push a fat wire too high). 30g might be suitable for 1.5Ω and would be fine w/ 1.8Ω. Don't forget that Nichrome has lower resistance per gauge than does Kanthal. (it also has a faster heat up time, as it has less resistance per wire mass).

Really, ideal for you (given the uncertainty of your target range, what with getting into RBAs and airflow and all that) would be 30g Nichrome, or 29g Kanthal.


You'll find a significant difference in longevity the instant you get below 32g. If you're counting your 32 in days, you'll find the recommended gauges to last for weeks. This, also gets back to airflow, tho. With the greater airflow provided by a stock rebuildable, you'll be putting a lot less stress on your wire. (the air is the coolant on your little engine)

 

[Miira]

Most rebuildable atties have a looser draw than clearos n' such. Most can also be "opened up" to allow for more airflow. The point being that the more airflow you have, the lower you tend to go with the resistance of your build. You may find that a 1.2 -1.5Ω coil works best for you (given greater airflow on an RBA straight from the factory). You could get away with 28g on the 1.2Ω end of the spectrum (as suspectK says, you'll be running into slow heat up if you push a fat wire too high). 30g might be suitable for 1.5Ω and would be fine w/ 1.8Ω. Don't forget that Nichrome has lower resistance per gauge than does Kanthal. (it also has a faster heat up time, as it has less resistance per wire mass).

Really, ideal for you (given the uncertainty of your target range, what with getting into RBAs and airflow and all that) would be 30g Nichrome, or 29g Kanthal.


You'll find a significant difference in longevity the instant you get below 32g. If you're counting your 32 in days, you'll find the recommended gauges to last for weeks. This, also gets back to airflow, tho. With the greater airflow provided by a stock rebuildable, you'll be putting a lot less stress on your wire. (the air is the coolant on your little engine)

Thanks so much for the detailed response. I had long forgotten my initial reason for choosing NiChrome(heat time). I now know why my coils were fading so fast, are stock clearo attys also 32 gauge wire(stardusts and Aspire ET-S)? I'll be sure to order 30g NiChrome and 29g Kanthal and test them out.

 

[gpjoe]

I have only use Kanthal wire, in 32, 30 , and 28ga. I have built coils for Kanger heads using 32ga with cotton and replaced the cotton on the coils a couple of times, though I can't tell you anything about the logetivity of the wire/coil as I have only been using these for a short while.

I have used the 32 and 30ga wire for rebuilding my dripping atomizers and found that they both perform well. The 32ga is a bit trickier when mounting through holes and is easy break if you over-tighten the RDA screws. 30ga, being a bit thicker, is easier to mount without breaking it. I have replaced the cotton wicks on my dripping atomizers many times without replacing the coils. Just pull the old cotton, rinse the atty deck with coil, pat dry, check resistance, burn the coil to clean/dry, add new cotton/juice and vape. I don't know how long the coils will last but it's been weeks of use, using Kantal on Igo dripping atomizers. It seems like these coils can/will go on for a looooong time, with a periodic change of the cotton wick. Edited to add that all of my RDA coils are around 1.3 to 1.6 ohm range.

So, I use 32ga Kanthal mainly for cotton rebuilds on Protank coiils, and sometimes cotton builds on drippers, but prefer to use 30ga Kanthal with cotton for my RDAs. I have been using 28ga Kanthal mainly for rebuilding my Kayfun clone and it seems to work well.

That is my limited experience - for what it's worth.