Dripping tips and tricks?

[Coelli]

My boyfriend and I recently moved into RDAs - we have a couple of IGO-Ws and a Forge clone. The IGO-Ws and Forge clone have had larger airholes drilled, so that's all settled.

What are the things you've learned along the way? I find that the first few hits are awesome on either dripper, but eventually I get to a place where it always feels like there's not enough juice or too much.

I've built them with cotton or silica. It seems like the silica works a little better; maybe I'm using too much cotton when I build? What's the right amount for a microcoil? Should it be really loose, or fairly full?

Just wondering if anyone has tips and tricks they learned along the way to get a consistent great vape. Thanks.

 

[dripdaze]

I am a noob with the IGO-W so I'll be watching for tips as well.

I'm still trying to figure out the best coil for the right temperature. My first coils were a little too hot. They made a lot of vapor in a hurry but the taste was a little poor and I burned the wicks a couple times.

My second set of coils had more wraps. They are a little slow to fire and the vapor is reduced but the flavor is much better and no more burned coils.

 

[bender817]

I use my igo-w all the time. I have done countless setups in it and I always end up back with micro coils and cotton. I use a 1/16" drill bit and 28g kanthal. Wrap 8-10 times and compress with a torch. The cotton is easy once you get the hang of it. I posted the same thing before but I'll say it again: Use less, and then once you think you've got it, a little less than that. I pull it apart so you can almost see through it. It should not be rolled tight at all, just barely rolled to give it a round shape.

As far as dripping goes, you have to learn each setup. Take the cap off to drip and count drops. It almost always takes twice as many drops to wet initially than it does re wet. With mine I know I can get 3 good hits before it starts tasting dry, and it takes 7 drops to re wet, so every three hits, I yank out the driptip and give it 7 drops. Its not the same for different setups. I haav had setups that took 15 drops every 2 hits. You just need to learn it before you can do it mindlessly. Hope this helps.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

 

[StarsAndBars]

Been using an Igo-L almost exclusively for a few months now. Drilled out the air hole and build my coil to where it is directly in front of the air hole and it vapes very well. I've tried 28, 30, and 32 gauge wire and have settled with 30 gauge for 9/10 wrap micro coils and cotton wicking. I generally like my coils to hover around 2 ohms and give them 4.6-5 volts.

This setup doesn't always produce crazy YouTube clouds but I'd say well above average. BTW I don't pre-torch the wire. I simply build the coil then fire the device. When the coil is glowing I release the fire button then squeeze the coils together. I have found this to be an effective, hassle free way to make a sweet micro.

I guess the drops per hits depends entirely on the bottle and the size of the drops. I typically get 5-6 decent hits from 4 large drops or from 6-7 med/small drops. I'll never go back to any other method.

As for how much cotton to use, you shouldn't use so much that it has to be overly compressed or rolled in order to slide through the coil. I likely use more than most do on micro coils but I've tried many methods and I've found than using an amount that slides through the coil.... Meh, a little snug works best for me. I don't use big globs of cotton on the deck, I simply leave enough to lay on the deck and wrap about a fifth of the way around the inner circumference of the deck.

Hope this helps.

 

[Coelli]

Cool, thanks for the tip about the cotton - I just reduced the amount I was using and it does seem to work as well or better than when I had it more packed. I always hate that because the coils are to one side there's more wick on that side than the other - I guess it doesn't matter though.

 

[savagemann]

How many vapes per drop is going to be dependent upon several things.
Most importantly, how low of a resistance you wrap your coils.
I've had 1.6ohm micro coils that got over 12 vapes per dripping. About 7-8 drops into an igoW or L.
I've had .3ohm coils that got about 2 vapes per dripping. About 7-8 drops into igoW or L.

I prefer the CVS sterile cotton. I used organic for quite some time, but have pretty much switched over to sterile.
The sterile is a little harder to work with.
If you use just a hair too much, it can separate, whereas the organic has longer strands and doesn't come apart as easily.
The sterile wicks way faster in my experience.

Also, wick..........it's been said before and has held true for every dripper setup I have used.......Less is more!
You don't want to choke the wick.
You shouldn't feel much if any resistance when pulling the cotton through the coil.
If the coil gets tugged the direction you are pulling the wick through, you are using more than twice the amount that you need.
If the cotton bunches up on one side of the coil, but you don't feel much resistance, you almost have the correct amount, but still a hair too much.
It should be a nice wisp of cotton that fills the inside of the coil, but not more.
If you can see a gap between the cotton and coil, I hate to say it, but you may have used a hair too little.

You want the wick just long enough that it touches the deck, but not snaking it's way through the deck of your atty.
Maybe enough to touch the deck, and barely lay between the posts of your IgoW, but not extending beyond them.
Do not stuff you wick underneath the coil. Rather, have it lay gently near the sides of it.

Keep your wick wet, but do not drip so much that the level of the fluid comes up to the coil.

Keep your airhole inline with the coil.
Try to keep you airhole centered on the coil, vertically and horizontally.
If the airhole is above the centerline of the coil, the vape will be cooler.
If the airhole is below the coil, it will be a bit harsher.
You can play with this adjustment to tailor the vape to your needs.
I prefer mine dead center.

Keep the airhole pointed away from yourself. Straight out is nice.
If you tilt your atty towards you with the airhole pointed down/towards you, it will flood the coil, gurgle and produce a weak vape.

As far as wires/wraps goes. Personal preference.
I was very satisfied with a standard wrap, non micro coil for quite some time.
After a few months, I started fooling with micro coils more, and finally found my sweet spot.
On my drippers, I usually use 26 or 27ga kanthal, and wrap around a 1.7mm rod and shoot for about .8ohms through 1ohm. Wrapping as a micro coil. Usually about 9-11 wraps I think.
On my kayfun style tanks, which I use the most, i use 27 or 28ga, wrap a micro around 1.7mm rod. Aiming for between .95 through 1.3 ohms.

 

[savagemann]

Here is a picture of where I used a little more cotton than I would normally use.
This twisted tiger coil burns hot, so I was playing with wicks to find the sweet spot.
This setup worked good for me with THIS coil.
You can see how the wick extends about to the posts, but not beyond them.




Here is another I was fooling around with where I wrapped a micro with 24ga kanthal.
this sucker just explodes when the button is pressed.
Again, a little more cotton than I would normally use.




This is about what your IgoW should look like though.......Dry, before dripping.
This was the setup that kept me happy enough for several months, before I started fooling with micros and different wraps.




Something to keep in mind about these pictures, the cotton will swell up after it is soaked.

Also, after your first dripping, you will need to drip less and will get more vapes per dripping than the initial drips onto a fresh wick.