Coil Questions

[DigitalVI]

I have been using micro coils in my kayfuns for months now and they work very well. I stay about 1.2 - 1.7 ohms. All I have is 28 kanthal.

My questions are which are better for wicking and vapor/flavor production. 2mm with more wraps or 3mm with less wraps. Is more cotton inside the wick (3mm) better than a smaller diameter (2mm) longer coil. If both are about the same ohm does one heat faster than the other. Is there anywhere this information is located so I can learn and try to find answers?

Dan

 

[Baditude]

It's basically personal preferences based on past experience.

The more coil surface area that you end up with will provide more vapor. Thicker wire will provide more surface area per coil and the higher resistance of heavier coils will require more wraps to achieve a specific resistance (not a bad thing). However, it will take longer to heat the coil and require more amperage from the battery. So, that's a tradeoff.

I prefer larger diameter coils myself because I find it easier to insert the cotton, which I use for the wick. I also make microcoils as they allow more uniform heat production and are less likely to develop hot spots (shorts). I use both 28 and 30 gauge kanthal in my KFL+. I'll probably try some 26 gauge in the future.

You don't want to use too much cotton as that can strangulate the wicking to the inside of the coil. You also don't want to block the juice inlets with the cotton. Not too much, not too little. Basically less is more. I'm probably using less cotton now than in the below pics. The amount like in the last pic works best for me.

 

[Dj Xy]

What works for me is a 1/16" micro coil, 6-7 wraps of 30 gauge around 1.6-1.9 ohms. anything lower and I've noticed the wicking can't keep up but YMMV.

 

[steved5600]

It depends on the wicking material. As long as the wicking material can keep up it's better to have as small a ID as you can IME. To a point. I don't go below 1.5mm. Typically i use 2mm 2.5mm. at least 6 preferably 8+ turns. For me the distance from post to post defines the length of the coil. I would never go over a centimeter. I'd say on my RBA's they are like 5ish mm. Rda's I go between 6-8mm lengths not ID. I find that slightly lose cellucotton or cotton works best on 2-2.5mm for them. 2mm for tanks 2.5mm for drippers. I go bigger on drippers because i use High VG juice in them most of the time.