DID Clone Coil Problem

[myxomatosis]

I'm trying to dip my toes into the genesis style rba's so I picked up a DID clone.

I'm not exactly sure what gauge the kanthal was they sent and I don't know much about the SS mesh that was included either, but after watching several reviews/tutorials I decided to give it a shot.

I blew through the ENTIRE pack of coil trying to get it to work. Just about every time the top coil would glow brightly before popping and I'd start again. I'm suspicious of the nuts that hold the coil to the post not making a great connection but I'm truly lost.

The one time I was able to successfully get the coil to glow evenly and look like it should, I used the drill bit method, tested it and pushed the wick through. As soon as I did that, same result.

I realize I'm not the first to have this issue, but I can't find many useful results using ECF search for "DID clone coil". As it turns out I'm out of coil - I still have some mesh, but I imagine since the clone was so cheap, neither of these are the best quality, so I'm open to replacement coil/mesh suggestions as well.

 

[myxomatosis]

I should add that since this was my first time building one of these, I mainly tested the coil on @ 3.7 on an ego. But I also tried a mod at 3v.

 

[corruption42]

I should add that since this was my first time building one of these, I mainly tested the coil on @ 3.7 on an ego. But I also tried a mod at 3v.

Are you checking the ohm rating on the coil prior to attempting to fire it? How about dripping a bit of juice on the coil while you test-fire it to cool down and level off hotspots?

The keys I found were to get the negative post leg of the coil (the one attached to the screw on the plate, not the threaded post) as close to the plate as possible, and likewise make the upper leg as short as possible from the wick to the center post. My wick is actually pulled at a slight angle closing the gap to the center post:

 

[myxomatosis]

I was testing the coils prior to firing and they came in between ratings of .8 and 1.3. I didn't try dropping the juice to level hotspots though. It seemed like my problem was consistently popping the top coil from the top of the wick to the center post. Most times it would be the only part of the coil that would glow when fired. Sometimes it would just pop and break immediately. Other times it wouldn't fire at all.

 

[corruption42]

Thats a hot spot between the leg and the coil -- the resistance is a bit higher there, theres likely some 'grounding' occurring at the wick. Pull the leg closer to the center post -- if it pulls the wick out of a straight line, thats fine, it'll still wick perfectly fine. When you start burning in the coil, 'paint' a little e-juice on that top leg, and keep a bottle/dripper handy so you can re-add it as it heats. I usually cook around .5ml off the coil like this to break in a new one -- as a coil lasts me about a month on my DID clone.

Ohm rating is pretty low for something you're just starting with. I know people rave and rave about their sub-ohm coils on gennys -- but get the basics down before you start dealing with that kind of coiling. I typically push a 2-2.2 ohm coil @ 5.3-5.5v.. roughly 13w... but I break in the coil closer to 3.7-4v. At a .8 ohm, before the coil is broken in, 3.7 is pushing 9.25w -- I usually break in a bit closer to 6w.

Oh, another tip that helped me out -- run a flame of some sort over your kanthal/nichrome before attempting to wrap a coil. I do this with my butane torch on a low setting, so I can use 2 hands to feed the kanthal through the flame with some tension. It brings the slack out of the wire, and cooks off any potential impurities -- made it much easier to work with for me.

 

[myxomatosis]

Thats a hot spot between the leg and the coil -- the resistance is a bit higher there, theres likely some 'grounding' occurring at the wick. Pull the leg closer to the center post -- if it pulls the wick out of a straight line, thats fine, it'll still wick perfectly fine. When you start burning in the coil, 'paint' a little e-juice on that top leg, and keep a bottle/dripper handy so you can re-add it as it heats. I usually cook around .5ml off the coil like this to break in a new one -- as a coil lasts me about a month on my DID clone.

I'll try that when I get some more coil in. If I could get a month out of a coil that would be serious motivation for me.

Ohm rating is pretty low for something you're just starting with. I know people rave and rave about their sub-ohm coils on gennys -- but get the basics down before you start dealing with that kind of coiling. I typically push a 2-2.2 ohm coil @ 5.3-5.5v.. roughly 13w... but I break in the coil closer to 3.7-4v. At a .8 ohm, before the coil is broken in, 3.7 is pushing 9.25w -- I usually break in a bit closer to 6w.

I'm still really green when it comes to RBAs. I just bought one hoping to jump right in. Despite having watched several tutorials, I'm not sure how to increase the resistance. Up to reading your response I always assumed that it was dependent on the coil gauge itself and the number of wraps. Is this not the case?

I would actually prefer a higher ohm resistance. I like the flexibility it allows on my mods. The higher the better in my opinion. If you could point me to some required reading/viewing or some info that could help me increase the resistance, I'd appreciate it.

Oh, another tip that helped me out -- run a flame of some sort over your kanthal/nichrome before attempting to wrap a coil. I do this with my butane torch on a low setting, so I can use 2 hands to feed the kanthal through the flame with some tension. It brings the slack out of the wire, and cooks off any potential impurities -- made it much easier to work with for me.

Excellent advice. I will try that.

In your experience what materials have been best to use on this model (or similiar gen RBAs)? As it sits now, I'm completely out of kanthal and I have no idea what quality of mesh I'm working with since both were included.

 

[corruption42]

I'll try that when I get some more coil in. If I could get a month out of a coil that would be serious motivation for me.



I'm still really green when it comes to RBAs. I just bought one hoping to jump right in. Despite having watched several tutorials, I'm not sure how to increase the resistance. Up to reading your response I always assumed that it was dependent on the coil gauge itself and the number of wraps. Is this not the case?

I would actually prefer a higher ohm resistance. I like the flexibility it allows on my mods. The higher the better in my opinion. If you could point me to some required reading/viewing or some info that could help me increase the resistance, I'd appreciate it.



Excellent advice. I will try that.

In your experience what materials have been best to use on this model (or similiar gen RBAs)? As it sits now, I'm completely out of kanthal and I have no idea what quality of mesh I'm working with since both were included.

For me, I've had good luck with 400 mesh and 32 gauge Kanthal. You are absolutely correct -- resistance is an effect of the amount of wire used. The more wire, the higher the resistance.

For some perspective, I got my clone DID in one of the first batches to come over and be sold, back in July or so last year. I spent a month trying to get it down, and just frustrated myself. I largely set it aside and moved to other things before revisiting it again about 2.5-3 months ago. When I revisited it, it all just clicked -- though to be fair I had worked with other types of rebuildables at that time such as the Bulli-Smoker A2, as well as almost 6 months building my own coils for Vivi Nova heads. Its unfortunately just something that comes with a hefty learning curve -- but don't get discouraged, you will find it... and when you do, you'll be glad you took the time

 

[myxomatosis]

You're awesome man.

Much appreciated.

 

[corruption42]

Glad to help -- let me know if you have any more questions. If you post it and I miss it, fire me a PM

 

[corruption42]

Oh, just thought of one more tip that helped me out.

So, after I finally got the whole thing working as I wanted to, I kept getting just a tad of seepage out of the top of the tank, and into the threading of my Provari. Couldn't figure out what was causing it, til I completely disassembled the center pin assembly. The fake DID uses these extremely thin silicon 'gaskets' to fit at both ends of the center pin -- one that fits into the gapping between the inner tube and the top plate, and one that fits in the 510 connector. When I pulled it apart, both had been destroyed, leaving only a torn o-ring in their place. After a couple days trying to locate replacement insulators online specifically for the fake DID -- an epiphany hit me. 510 connectors share the same dimensions as the connectors for Vivi Nova heads -- which I had dozens upon dozens of still sitting around unused. I pulled apart a couple of the Vivi Nova heads and removed the insulator from the bottom -- and it was a perfect fit for the fake DID. Seals the tube both directions perfectly, is made of a much more robust material than the thin silicon that it came with, and I've got tons of them if I need more. If you start experiencing seeping from either the top or the bottom, it might be worth considering

 

[Telescope Neil]

It seems like you're just recoiling it again when you see a hotspot. Hotspots are normal! the way to deal with them is to filddle with wrapped coils a little bit. when it's all wrapped, pulse your PV at a low voltage setting and look for the hotspot. when you see it, move the coils up and down, or press down on the coils with ample force. also, fiddling with coils are much easier when they're glowing since they are more flexible when they are hot. your first mistake was re wrapping coils after every hotspot you see.

I have a DID clone myself, and only had it for 4 days, and got it working like a god for 2 days. it was also my first try on gennies. I really wasn't lucky, i spent 2 months on searching about gennies before i got my did clone. hope this helps

 

[Kemosabe]

OP, try kinking your top lead. it will help alleviate the hot spot. if your looking at the coil birds-eye style, try to have the lead come off in more of a Q shape than a O or perfect spiral. he does the kink at about 10:30, but you may want to watch the whole video. its helpful (although it is for a lavagen, it matters not). check it out:

Oh, just thought of one more tip that helped me out.

So, after I finally got the whole thing working as I wanted to, I kept getting just a tad of seepage out of the top of the tank, and into the threading of my Provari. Couldn't figure out what was causing it, til I completely disassembled the center pin assembly. The fake DID uses these extremely thin silicon 'gaskets' to fit at both ends of the center pin -- one that fits into the gapping between the inner tube and the top plate, and one that fits in the 510 connector. When I pulled it apart, both had been destroyed, leaving only a torn o-ring in their place. After a couple days trying to locate replacement insulators online specifically for the fake DID -- an epiphany hit me. 510 connectors share the same dimensions as the connectors for Vivi Nova heads -- which I had dozens upon dozens of still sitting around unused. I pulled apart a couple of the Vivi Nova heads and removed the insulator from the bottom -- and it was a perfect fit for the fake DID. Seals the tube both directions perfectly, is made of a much more robust material than the thin silicon that it came with, and I've got tons of them if I need more. If you start experiencing seeping from either the top or the bottom, it might be worth considering

Boom! my DuD silicones are on their way out and i was wondering what i was gonna do. thanks for the tip