Let me start by saying, I am no coil building guru, I can put together some nice coils, but I am no RiP or Twisted Messes. This is just the basics, nothing fancy, just coils that are simple to build and work well in one easy to find place. I will not (or at least try not to) inject my opinions, just the information gathered from some of the intelligent people around this forum. These builds are not meant to be the only options, just a couple that I, and others, have found to work consistently with good flavor and vapor.
Suggestions are welcome, but remember this is just for a couple basic coils that people new to the DNA40 can use and enjoy, while hopefully avoiding some of the headaches.
Here are some things we do know:
1. Connection to the atty is more important that it has ever been. That means the ideal way to attach the coil is by trapping it under the screw head. If post holes and grub screws are your only option, then putting a piece of kanthal through the hole, with the leg of the coil, is something Brandon from Evolv suggested. Whatever connection you choose, it has to be rock solid, that cannot be stressed enough.
2. Contact coils versus spaced coils. Spaced coils are going to be the easier choice and are less likely to give you issues. Contact coils can work, but it can be difficult, very difficult, to keep these working properly. I'm not going to go into all the reasons why, but I would advise just starting out with spaced coils and work your way to other builds from there.
3. You should not be building, or attaching, your coils while the atty is attached to your device. Do not attach the atty until your are ready to have the DNA chip get the initial reading of the coil.
4. When you attach your atty, with the new coil, to your device for the first time, the coil MUST be at room temperature. If the coil is warm/hot the DNA chip will not get the proper base reading it needs to regulate temperature. You should know the general resistance of the coil you are building, either from experience or from a meter, so you know if the chip is getting the right reading. If you build the coil I suggested and the resistance is say .20, something is wrong. People want to go right to a faulty chip as the problem, but more than likely, it is something you did wrong. It can be very tricky at first, but as you do it more and more, and get a better understanding, you can usually boil it down to one or two fixes.
5. The DNA40 chip is constantly reading the coil and refining. It will keep doing this, if you don't fire it, for an hour, at which point it will go into sleep mode. That means you may see small fluctuations in the resistance. I tend to ignore +/- .02 changes (others may disagree with this), but anything larger and I either change to a new atty, or let the device and atty(coil) "settle" for about 15 or 20 minutes. This allows the device and coil come back to the a resting temperature and it usually corrects itself. I rarely have this problem anymore since I have learned more about how the DNA chip functions. Random large fluctuations usually point to connection, and/or coil, problems that resting is not likely to fix. Bad, or dirty, 510 connections can also cause issues, albeit less likely that the coil.
6. Dual batteries and the DNA40. I do not have a dual battery device, but I have seen a post that stated a short has been caused between the batteries if one is placed correctly and the second is placed incorrectly. This scenario creates a short between the batteries themselves that the DNA40 cannot protect against. If BOTH batteries are placed upside down, the DNA40 will protect you, but the first scenario is far more likely if you are not careful. The mods themselves can have built-in protection against this type of short, so it is a good idea to know whether yours has it or not.
Suggested build:
28g 9wraps around a 6-32 machine screw (approx. ID 2.5)
28g 8wraps around a 8-32 machine screw (approx. ID 3.0)
The only major difference in the two is the internal diameter (ID). I prefer the 6-32, but others prefer the larger 8-32, which will allow for more wick. One less wrap may also fit better on some attys. Resistance should be about .12 to .14
Using the machine screw will allow you to wrap a perfect coil. You can keep the coil on the screw while you attach it to your atty, helping keep its form while you lock down the legs. Once it is attached and positioned correctly, just unscrew the screw and you should have a perfect coil with no need for adjustments.
Dry firing Ni200 is debatable. If you feel you need to do it, the best way I can suggest is to raise your temperature to 600F and fire the device. Temperature protection is going to kick in almost immediately, but it should be enough to just barely glow the coil for a second, which should give you all the information you need. If the glow was centered in the coil, you should be good to go. If there are any hot spots or hot legs, those will be the first to glow and you know you have to fix something. Remember, if you are dry firing the coil, the coil MUST be cooled back to room temperature before you put it on the device. Impatience with this is only going to cause you to have to wait longer (see #5).
It is important for the DNA chip to have the correct base reading. A .14 coil build that the chip has determined to be .20 will still work, and you may even enjoy the vape more because it will be warmer, but it is warmer because the chip is regulating the temperature based off a .20 coil that should actually be .14. The chip does not actually know the temp of the coil, it is calculating it based off the resistance, which is why it is so important that it is using the correct one.
I have not re-watched this video, but I do believe it has been edited now, so the 10:10 suggestion may be off now. Good information (most, if not all, of which the people here had already figured out) straight from Brandon with Evolv. Still good to have the findings confirmed.
I'm sure I have left out some important facts. I will update this post as new, or better, information comes to the surface.
Suggestions are welcome, but remember this is just for a couple basic coils that people new to the DNA40 can use and enjoy, while hopefully avoiding some of the headaches.
Here are some things we do know:
1. Connection to the atty is more important that it has ever been. That means the ideal way to attach the coil is by trapping it under the screw head. If post holes and grub screws are your only option, then putting a piece of kanthal through the hole, with the leg of the coil, is something Brandon from Evolv suggested. Whatever connection you choose, it has to be rock solid, that cannot be stressed enough.
2. Contact coils versus spaced coils. Spaced coils are going to be the easier choice and are less likely to give you issues. Contact coils can work, but it can be difficult, very difficult, to keep these working properly. I'm not going to go into all the reasons why, but I would advise just starting out with spaced coils and work your way to other builds from there.
3. You should not be building, or attaching, your coils while the atty is attached to your device. Do not attach the atty until your are ready to have the DNA chip get the initial reading of the coil.
4. When you attach your atty, with the new coil, to your device for the first time, the coil MUST be at room temperature. If the coil is warm/hot the DNA chip will not get the proper base reading it needs to regulate temperature. You should know the general resistance of the coil you are building, either from experience or from a meter, so you know if the chip is getting the right reading. If you build the coil I suggested and the resistance is say .20, something is wrong. People want to go right to a faulty chip as the problem, but more than likely, it is something you did wrong. It can be very tricky at first, but as you do it more and more, and get a better understanding, you can usually boil it down to one or two fixes.
5. The DNA40 chip is constantly reading the coil and refining. It will keep doing this, if you don't fire it, for an hour, at which point it will go into sleep mode. That means you may see small fluctuations in the resistance. I tend to ignore +/- .02 changes (others may disagree with this), but anything larger and I either change to a new atty, or let the device and atty(coil) "settle" for about 15 or 20 minutes. This allows the device and coil come back to the a resting temperature and it usually corrects itself. I rarely have this problem anymore since I have learned more about how the DNA chip functions. Random large fluctuations usually point to connection, and/or coil, problems that resting is not likely to fix. Bad, or dirty, 510 connections can also cause issues, albeit less likely that the coil.
6. Dual batteries and the DNA40. I do not have a dual battery device, but I have seen a post that stated a short has been caused between the batteries if one is placed correctly and the second is placed incorrectly. This scenario creates a short between the batteries themselves that the DNA40 cannot protect against. If BOTH batteries are placed upside down, the DNA40 will protect you, but the first scenario is far more likely if you are not careful. The mods themselves can have built-in protection against this type of short, so it is a good idea to know whether yours has it or not.
Suggested build:
28g 9wraps around a 6-32 machine screw (approx. ID 2.5)
28g 8wraps around a 8-32 machine screw (approx. ID 3.0)
The only major difference in the two is the internal diameter (ID). I prefer the 6-32, but others prefer the larger 8-32, which will allow for more wick. One less wrap may also fit better on some attys. Resistance should be about .12 to .14
Using the machine screw will allow you to wrap a perfect coil. You can keep the coil on the screw while you attach it to your atty, helping keep its form while you lock down the legs. Once it is attached and positioned correctly, just unscrew the screw and you should have a perfect coil with no need for adjustments.
Dry firing Ni200 is debatable. If you feel you need to do it, the best way I can suggest is to raise your temperature to 600F and fire the device. Temperature protection is going to kick in almost immediately, but it should be enough to just barely glow the coil for a second, which should give you all the information you need. If the glow was centered in the coil, you should be good to go. If there are any hot spots or hot legs, those will be the first to glow and you know you have to fix something. Remember, if you are dry firing the coil, the coil MUST be cooled back to room temperature before you put it on the device. Impatience with this is only going to cause you to have to wait longer (see #5).
It is important for the DNA chip to have the correct base reading. A .14 coil build that the chip has determined to be .20 will still work, and you may even enjoy the vape more because it will be warmer, but it is warmer because the chip is regulating the temperature based off a .20 coil that should actually be .14. The chip does not actually know the temp of the coil, it is calculating it based off the resistance, which is why it is so important that it is using the correct one.
I have not re-watched this video, but I do believe it has been edited now, so the 10:10 suggestion may be off now. Good information (most, if not all, of which the people here had already figured out) straight from Brandon with Evolv. Still good to have the findings confirmed.
I'm sure I have left out some important facts. I will update this post as new, or better, information comes to the surface.
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