DNA40 Ni200 the basics - build and info

[RandyF]

Also, FYI, Brandon mentioned using "tempered" Ni200 in the vid with Pbusardo so I looked into it. It is a LOT more stiff than any Ni200 that is not labeled as "tempered" which is all annealed.

Annealed Ni200 is the soft, flimsy, malleable stuff everybody's using and complaining about and trying to find solutions to working with (twisting, twisting with kanthal, using lower gauges to find something firmer, etc.)

Tempered Ni200 is a lot more stiff and behaves a lot more like kanthal.

Before figuring all of this out I was using the drill bit and pliers method to my Ni200 to stiffen it up like Rips mentions in this vid:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yA_iUkuKufs


With regular Ni200 it helped somewhat, but "tempered" Ni200 is even more stiff and hardened than regular stuff gone through the straightening process in the vid!

That said, when I used this straightening method on "tempered" Ni200, it was WAY more firm than any kanthal I have ever touched. It felt like I was trying to wrap a metal pipe around a bit, haha. But firm and simple to work with.

I searched everywhere looking for tempered Ni200 & couldn't find it anywhere in the US. I even contacted Temco about it because I found that ALL of their Ni200 was annealed. (It doesn't say its annealed but it doesn't say its tempered either and if you look into the details about their stock of Ni200 it does state that it is in fact the annoying soft annealed stuff).

The only place for "tempered" Ni200 I've seen has been from one website in the UK, StealthVapes. Because its considered 'rebuildable supplies' their shipping is only around $5 and usually takes about a week to reach me on the east coast.

I highly suggest you all give it a try! I'm not associated in any way shape or form with that company and if anything am actually annoyed that I haven't come across it from anywhere else, let alone closer to home.

So again, just my two cents / word to the wise, especially those annoyed with using Ni200.

It would be nice if someone here in the states would stock tempered nickel, it would likely help a lot of people having issues with their coils.

As for the screw sizes and ID's, they are right, but I can see how it could be confusing.

 

[nj1001]

Thanks you guys. I've had a hell of a time trying to find a way to get a machine screw to work for threading coils on the strictly 3mm channel of the squape W deck, which also means that outer diameter of threads have to be taken into account but it makes perfect sense that the inner threads where the wire goes would be smaller than the outer. Thank you guys for helping me to wrap my mind around this (I definitely had a duh moment at my own expense, haha!) Unfortunately I'm still out of luck and taking this into consideration means that at best I will end up with a smaller than 3mm coil on any screw size I can get to fit in there.
Either way, I guess I'll have to just stick with my non-screw guided methods unless the folks at StattQualm are able to adequately translate and take into account my emailed suggestions to put the channel on the other side of the posts.

On a side note, I don't ever dry burn my Ni200 but when I have tried to clean a crusty coil as a last ditch effort to prolong wrapping up a new coil, I'll set it to 590 (because heating Ni200 above 600 will cause Ni200 to graphitize) but whenever I try this, the coil gets so brittle it makes rewicking tricky and I have found that the flavor afterwards seems negatively impacted. I suppose the only good thing about this is that, despite the pain of having to recoil every few days, since practice makes perfect, it forces you to get really good at twisting damn good coils.

 

[JaccoMacacco]

I suppose the only good thing about this is that, despite the pain of having to recoil every few days, since practice makes perfect, it forces you to get really good at twisting damn good coils.

Yup, I'm slowly becoming a master at ni200 coils because I am definitely not a master a rewicking i200 coils.

 

[RandyF]

Yup, I'm slowly becoming a master at ni200 coils because I am definitely not a master a rewicking i200 coils.

Same here, it is easier just to do another coil than rewick.

 

[bwhitt]

I have found a trick to removing the old wick from Nickel coils. I cut the extra wick off both sides of the coil and the slowly pull the remaining wick out of the coil from both ends at the same time. Pull form the top on one side and from the bottom on the other side. If I get one that is stuck, I simply pull a few strands of wick out at a time. This seems to work well for me most of the time. Some juices caramelize on the wick so much that the wick and coil become fused together; a simple hot water bath usually takes care of this. My re wicking success rate is about 90%.

 

[nj1001]

Now if we can figure out how to clean the coils without dry burning. Does the bath help de-gunk it? I suppose recoiling is probably the easiest/most sure fire way to get it working best.

As for re-wicking, sometimes, if it hasn't gone too long on a particular wick, I found rewicking to be pretty easy. More often than not lately, it's been fused on too well to be possible, but i agree, it definitely depends on the juice I'm vaping.

 

[RandyF]

Excellent DNA40 focused video from the Reviewers Queue, which includes basilray, one of the DNA40 beta testers. Long video, but it has some great information.

 

[Crunchy2k]

Interesting. This too much too soon. One fellow held up his reason why. The others acted like typical mystified people who wonder how they are even able to drive a car. And I mean no insult. Watch the documentary, 'Arts and Crafts' 2014 and think where you fit into this world. Mark A. Landis is a very amazing person that makes fun of those he chooses. He is a remarkable man that bull....s for fun and entertainment. BTW, his paintings are worth a small fortune and he has never sold one.

The people in the show have to ask themselves if it is for real or if they are kidding someone somewhere like Mark Landis. I respect Mark and then, I only respect the fellow that made his own DNA40 egrip device that is still larger than a VTR.

 

[TheotherSteveS]

deleted - wrong post

 

[Marc411]

I'm using 24ga titanium and 6 wraps settles at about .19Ω

The coils have a much longer life and it's becoming much easier to find.

 

[Insomaniac10]

Well I'll be damned, things still working! It's still not as good as I would like it to be but it is definitely an improvement on my other builds, now I got a:
1/8th size spaced coil with 9 wraps
on Vulcan wrapped around posts- .11ohm
with limit at 480 the build can fire at 18 watts and take at least 3 seconds to hit limit.
Still not quiteeeee there but as I said still better.

Hi Dirzted.

So, almost 3 months after the fact haha, have you been able to sort out your troubles and find consistency? I have been suffering from these very symptoms since I got my VaporShark a month ago. No matter what I do, I cannot get this thing to perform at the level that everyone else seems to be at.

Like you, I currently am running very reasonable settings (.18ohms, 14watts 420degrees), and I hit TP within a second...regardless of how wet my wick is, or airflow, or draw strength. It seems as though I need to jack up my temp in order to avoid TP for an extra second or two, but at that point the vape isn't even enjoyable to me, and puts my wick and juice at risk...which defeats the very purpose of TP.

I'm sure Randy is sick of seeing my name in all of these threads, but I'm truly at my wit's end. I've tried different wire gauges, different airflow options, different RDAs, I've tried my damndest to make sure I have a solid connection (out of all the coils I've wrapped, you'd think I'd get it right at least once haha), different wick sizes....you name it, I've tried it. It seems there is absolutely nothing I can do without TP trying to dictate every little aspect of my life.

So please, if you found what you were doing wrong and/or found a workaround or solution - please share! Thanks.

 

[Rikk]

Hi Dirzted.

So, almost 3 months after the fact haha, have you been able to sort out your troubles and find consistency? I have been suffering from these very symptoms since I got my VaporShark a month ago. No matter what I do, I cannot get this thing to perform at the level that everyone else seems to be at.

Like you, I currently am running very reasonable settings (.18ohms, 14watts 420degrees), and I hit TP within a second...regardless of how wet my wick is, or airflow, or draw strength. It seems as though I need to jack up my temp in order to avoid TP for an extra second or two, but at that point the vape isn't even enjoyable to me, and puts my wick and juice at risk...which defeats the very purpose of TP.

I'm sure Randy is sick of seeing my name in all of these threads, but I'm truly at my wit's end. I've tried different wire gauges, different airflow options, different RDAs, I've tried my damndest to make sure I have a solid connection (out of all the coils I've wrapped, you'd think I'd get it right at least once haha), different wick sizes....you name it, I've tried it. It seems there is absolutely nothing I can do without TP trying to dictate every little aspect of my life.

So please, if you found what you were doing wrong and/or found a workaround or solution - please share! Thanks.

Have you tried tempered nickel yet? It was the only thing that saved me from giving up on nickel. I've sort of been preaching it's praises lately. But only because it's totally worked for me. Ever since I started using it, my builds are predictable and stable. It's only been a little over a month, but I've done many builds, more than I maybe needed to because I wanted to prove to myself it wasn't some fluke.

 

[Insomaniac10]

Have you tried tempered nickel yet? It was the only thing that saved me from giving up on nickel. I've sort of been preaching it's praises lately. But only because it's totally worked for me. Ever since I started using it, my builds are predictable and stable. It's only been a little over a month, but I've done many builds, more than I maybe needed to because I wanted to prove to myself it wasn't some fluke.

Can you tell me a little bit more about tempered nickel? How does it differ from NI200? Is it softer or stiffer? Does it in post holes as easily? Do you know exactly what it was about tempered nickel that put you over the hump?

Thanks.

 

[ozen]

Can you tell me a little bit more about tempered nickel? How does it differ from NI200? Is it softer or stiffer? Does it in post holes as easily? Do you know exactly what it was about tempered nickel that put you over the hump?

Thanks.

Tempered nickel a bit stiffer and easy to work with than annealed nickel. Only stealthvape in UK selling them, shipping $5 flat rate and takes about a week to arrive
TEMPERED Nickel ni200 DNA40 Wire

Oh now they're selling tempered ribbon nickel
TEMPERED Nickel ni200 DNA40 Ribbon Wire

 

[Rikk]

What ozen said. I won't use anything else any more. I have 28, 29 and 30ga. I think it should almost be a prerequisite for the DNA 40. Saves me a lot of frustration. Twisting nickel makes it easier to work with too, but I always seem to have issues with it too. This stuff just works for me.