Hey guys I'm new to the genesis thing and I just picked up a DID clone. I've got a hot spot where the coil connects to the positive post. I used the cig paper method and have tried re-torching the wick and re-wrapped several times. The gap between the wick and post is as short as it can possibly be. What's up with this? I've watched a whole bunch of youtube videos and none of them seem to have this problem. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!
DID hot spot will not go away
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Dear LucidAce, I have seen some of your posts about coils and ss wicks, I too have been having problems with getting them to work properly, Here is what I have found to work- when wrapping your coil around your wick try not to make it perfect, you have to really be careful about how tight you are wrapping your coil. When you wrap the coil you should be able to slide your wick up and down in it pretty easily. I know this does not sound right but beleive me this method works really well, the coils should not be contacting the wick very tightly at all, when you are done wrapping your coil if you see it pushing into the wick at all you have wrapped your coil to tight, try this method one time and you will be amazed. The coil will heat the juice just fine, after little use the coil will build up a carbon layer and the wick will stay in place just fine. I am no expert but from multiple experience I have found this to work very well. At first I thought that my wicks were not oxidized properly but after numerous attempts and beleive me there has been alot, it was that I was wrapping my coils to tight, and not the wicks that were the problem. Hope this helps Ron R
yah, to tight could be it. but i own a did and sometimes the very bottom coil could be to lose and be touching the bottom nut. try taking a tooth pick and wedging in between the wick at the bottom and the bottom of the positive post to make a separation, dont leave the tooth pick there just try to get it separated just a tad. also try twisting the wick around just a little bit, sometimes there can be a tiny frey on the ss wick causing a short. also the height of the top coil should be perfectly in-line with the nut where it attaches to the positive post. these should help
If you go to the DiD thread you will find pleanty of good information on every possible problem and solution you can think of regarding the DiD there's multiple set ups you can use to your advantage. The one that works best for me is using twisted coils, 5 wraps on top of cig paper....looks like this
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Slide out the wick (should slide easily, otherwise roll it a bit tighter). Drop some juice on the bare coil and power up the battery. I do this 4-5 times to get a nice coating on the coil so it doesn't short to the wick.
Thanks for the tips. I did get it going for about half a day then it developed the same hot spot. I was happy with it when it was working but this thing is just frustrating. Are higher quality genesis attys easier to set up than this cheap one? I don't recall having anywhere near this many problems getting the phoenix going. I expected genesis attys to be about the same in terms of difficulty.
I don't own any higher quality genesis', but since the wick and mesh are the same, I would think that they have the same problems. Just keep it loose, but not too loose. Also be careful when attaching the wire to the pos nuts - the wire moves and makes the top coil a bit tighter on the wick.
That was my problem too, I was wrapping the coil too tight around the mesh......drill bit method worked best for me
What is your process of making and oxidizing your wick, what mesh are you using, and what gauge and what type of wire?
I found there is a fine line between "too-loose/hot-spot" and "too-tight/shorting". Here are some tricks I've come across and tried. may have to try a few of these before you get one that works well:
Have you tried cotton over your SS wick, rather than cigarette paper? I tried it, and had NO shorts. Took a cotton swab (could have used a cotton ball) and rolled the wick against the cotton to snag some fibers...maybe 1/4 of the swab end in total. Ran a tank or 2 through it with some new DIY ejuice. Didn't like the flavor it gave--not sure if it was my DIY or the wick. I removed the wick, peeled the cotton off, and now have a plain SS wick.
Wind the coil around a suitably sized drill bit (the size that fits the wick hole), ball-point pen refill, or in my case, a 'yarn needle' (large needle from craft section at Walmart.) Leave the drill bit in the coil and then connect to the screws, to keep coil from being deformed while you connect it. Then carefully remove the drill bit. Your wick should have been rolled small enough to fit the did hole, and thus barely fit inside the coil. I've done this with SS wick. I've also done this with cotton wick.
Currently trying a 'glass bead' on the top wire from the coil (Walmart craft section again: GLASS seed beads, without metal shiny centers). Bead is supposed to keep you from getting the wick/coil too close to the center post, and will absorb some of the heat from the coil-to-center-post to keep that from glowing red as quickly. Just thread one on the wire before you attach to center post. If you pull the wire (top wrap on the wick) too tightly, it will scrape off the oxidation, and short to the wick.
Remove the wick, cover in ejuice, and light it on fire a few more times. Maybe you didn't oxidize enough the first time?
I've only had my did-clone a couple of weeks, and have been experimenting to see what worked well, and what didn't. Pointed tweezers and jeweller's loupe help here.
Have you tried cotton over your SS wick, rather than cigarette paper? I tried it, and had NO shorts. Took a cotton swab (could have used a cotton ball) and rolled the wick against the cotton to snag some fibers...maybe 1/4 of the swab end in total. Ran a tank or 2 through it with some new DIY ejuice. Didn't like the flavor it gave--not sure if it was my DIY or the wick. I removed the wick, peeled the cotton off, and now have a plain SS wick.
Wind the coil around a suitably sized drill bit (the size that fits the wick hole), ball-point pen refill, or in my case, a 'yarn needle' (large needle from craft section at Walmart.) Leave the drill bit in the coil and then connect to the screws, to keep coil from being deformed while you connect it. Then carefully remove the drill bit. Your wick should have been rolled small enough to fit the did hole, and thus barely fit inside the coil. I've done this with SS wick. I've also done this with cotton wick.
Currently trying a 'glass bead' on the top wire from the coil (Walmart craft section again: GLASS seed beads, without metal shiny centers). Bead is supposed to keep you from getting the wick/coil too close to the center post, and will absorb some of the heat from the coil-to-center-post to keep that from glowing red as quickly. Just thread one on the wire before you attach to center post. If you pull the wire (top wrap on the wick) too tightly, it will scrape off the oxidation, and short to the wick.
Remove the wick, cover in ejuice, and light it on fire a few more times. Maybe you didn't oxidize enough the first time?
I've only had my did-clone a couple of weeks, and have been experimenting to see what worked well, and what didn't. Pointed tweezers and jeweller's loupe help here.
I have been using a metal ferule on the top and bottom of the coil and have had some success with eliminating hot spots. I crimp them with a pair of needle-nose pliers and cut them short to make sure they do not touch the wick.
Top coil shorts seem to be the most common and can be hard to deal with. Maybe some others will share what they have tried and learned.
When I roll my wicks, there is a slight hole in the center. After I insert the wick into the tank, I put a needle in that hole. Keeps the wick nice and still while I wrap the coil around it. I wrap it a little on the tight side. Then, I tighten down the positive nut just enough to hold it and give the needle a little wiggle to loosen the wraps just a bit.
If I have a hot spot at the top coild, I'll take that needle and poke and prod at the top coil, moving it up or down. If I still have a hot spot at the top, I will put a kink in the wire between the wick and the positive terminal.
If the first "o" is the wick, the second "o" is the positive post, and the wire in in between: o\o is how most wraps look, oVo is what I mean by putting a kink in it.
If I have a hot spot at the top coild, I'll take that needle and poke and prod at the top coil, moving it up or down. If I still have a hot spot at the top, I will put a kink in the wire between the wick and the positive terminal.
If the first "o" is the wick, the second "o" is the positive post, and the wire in in between: o\o is how most wraps look, oVo is what I mean by putting a kink in it.
Got my problem sorted out. The hotspots seem to have been caused by the nuts on the positive post. They either wouldn't hold the wire or would pull it way too tight. After messing with them for 10 minutes I got them to gently lock the wire in place. Vapes like champ now. Has anyone had this problem with the DUD? The locking nuts don't seem too user friendly to me.
That's a common issue with all gennies. Most instructions / tutorials warn not to tighten your nuts too much. You basically want it just tight enough to hold it in place.
I tinkered with my CHID, DUD, or whatever last night and the top wire going to the positive post was the only part to glow when powring the battery. My coils are pretty evenly spaced. Is this because the top coil is too tight?
The trick is after locking the wire down tight. Loosen the center post nut and spin the center post back the other way. Tighten that down when your lined up.
Its a possibility, or your coil is shorting on the mesh. Give the mesh a twist to make the coil lay on a different part of it. move the coils up and down a little (like < 1mm, just kind of poke at them). After a while, you can see what's happening.
This is the most common problem I've had in the past with these things- the other issue that comes up the most, as far as shorts go, has to do with the edge of the SS not being oxidized enough, or sometimes having too many little micro-hairs poking out of it.
My wicks have a slight bend/curve to them, so they lean gently towards the center post. By 'slight', I mean the bend/curve is not readily noticable until you hold the wick up to a straight edge, or on a desktop and find it won't roll away.
Also, with the center post: put the wire on one side so that the loose end could wrap around the post clockwise, and tightening the nut will yank the wire tighter against the wick. Put the wire on the other side so that it would wrap around the post counter(anti)clockwise, and tightening the nut will push the wire slightly away from the wick (this is the way I like). Then, with the nuts barely tight, I pull the wire just until I see the wick bend. Tighten the nut (not too tight--just 'snug') and it gets rid of the pull/bend that the wire put on the wick. We're only talking about 1/2 to 1 mm of difference between 'just right' and 'just wrong', so it will take me sometimes 4 or 5 tries to get it working. It is every bit as much of an art as a science.
Also, with the center post: put the wire on one side so that the loose end could wrap around the post clockwise, and tightening the nut will yank the wire tighter against the wick. Put the wire on the other side so that it would wrap around the post counter(anti)clockwise, and tightening the nut will push the wire slightly away from the wick (this is the way I like). Then, with the nuts barely tight, I pull the wire just until I see the wick bend. Tighten the nut (not too tight--just 'snug') and it gets rid of the pull/bend that the wire put on the wick. We're only talking about 1/2 to 1 mm of difference between 'just right' and 'just wrong', so it will take me sometimes 4 or 5 tries to get it working. It is every bit as much of an art as a science.
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