Of course I have to check my spaced coils, I build them without special tools, I just wrap wire around a rod, and it’s totally possible that two wires get a little bit too close. If the coil is heating up unevenly, I need to correct that.
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KurtVD, you can build them as contact coils too. Then usually on a rod it is easier and stretch it like a spring. If you stretch them too far you can compress them back again (although they probably will never get close enough for being contact coils again). Just a little practice you'll be a pro. Stiffer wires are a bit harder, but they are still doable.
i see. But given that the resistance of Ni200 is very low, doesn’t that mean that it heats up quicker than a wire with high resistance? Which means that the mod must react quicker to prevent ‘over’heating (over the set temp), correct? So in this sense it would be true that Ni200 makes dry hits more likely (obviously only if there’s something wrong in the first place, like bad wicking), isn’t it?[/QUOTE]
Well err.... no.
NI200 has a very high TCR which means the resistance change while it heats up is greater than any other wire type. It is much easier to calculate the change in temperature with a high TCR.
Scientifically, what you want is BOTH high TCR AND resistance. However with NI200 it is fairly difficult to get high resistance values. You ether or both have to use very small gauge wire (28awg is the largest I'd ever use) and lots and lots of spaced windings (I've had coils with over +10 windings!).
Due to the fairly large resistance CHANGE from room temperature to typical temperatures we vape at, NI200 was the first TC supported wire type. TI was added to many mods within a few months after the first TC regulated mods came out followed by SS and mods that had user programmable TCR values. DNA mods were the first to have a "table" to define the nonlinear resistance change many wire types have over temperature.
While I'll dry fire a NI200 coil to see if anything 'glows' or there are any hot spots, I surely would not bother attempting to 'dry burn' a NI200 coil as the wire I use is so soft, attempting to get the wick out generally deforms or destroys the coil. I don't think I've ever made a NI200 coil glow.
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Years ago (2014-2015) while a bunch of us were experimenting with different wire types to temperature regulate, NiFE48/52 was the one I settled on to use. As easy to use as TI (firm, springy), similar resistance and better TCR (405) it is the ONLY wire I use unless the mod only supports NI and/or TI.
I got my supply of Nife from Germany. I've used 24-32awg (most builds are 26-28awg) and they offer 28&30awg NiFE flat wire. (fun to use!)
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If you dryburn Ni200, the coil is ruined.
If the coil gets glowing hot, it develops a nickeloxide layer, which is toxic and highly unhealthy.
So no. You absolutely DO NOT want to DRYBURN NICKEL to check for hotspots. The same is true for titanium as well btw.
Is the same true for ni90/80 ?
Since it is 90/80% nickel with 10/20% chromium and ni200 is just 100% nickel.
Of the wire types where dry burning is common NO coil should be dry burned beyond a "dull" orange glow. It does not take much power to accomplish that.
Dry burn a coil to a bright orange, or near red, glow and ya might as well toss the coil.
There are plenty of discussions, and a few decent YT videos, covering this. They are easily found.
Dry burn a coil to a bright orange, or near red, glow and ya might as well toss the coil.
There are plenty of discussions, and a few decent YT videos, covering this. They are easily found.
NiChrome is a lot less reactive than pure nickel, so there's no problem when dry burning, but as showmetwice said, keep the temperature as low as possible. A dull red glow should suffice. The same is true for SS316l btw.
The only type of wire you can dryburn without any problems is Kanthal, because it's the least reactive of all the 5 standard alloys.
I live very close to Germany (part of the year, at least), do you have an address where I could order some ?
That worked really well, thanks for the tip. Unfortunately the only Ni200 spool I could find was 32 Gauge, and that’s really soft and flimsy. But this technique worked great anyway.
There are a few popular Review sites where the build is heated to bright orange/red? They do not explain the time or color to stop checking for hot spots. They then wick and vape.
Yup. That they do. I laugh every time I see one of "those".
Those so-called "popular" reviewers aren't very Educated when it comes to wire. And why are "they" popular? (rhetorical)
For those who are having problems with NI200 annealed (soft) wire you could try to twist two strands of wire together. The twisting makes it more tempered (hard) and easier to wick. You may have to add a wrap or two to get the resistance a little higher. The benefit is a stiffer wire and the added twists for liquid to get trapped in. I haven't used NI200 for awhile since I switched to SS316L mesh for TC.
ROTFLMAO!!
The only TRUE portion of your statement is that YES it does not require much wattage to get a coil glowing.
It takes a few months to get a coil "gunked up" even with unflavored juice. This is fairly easy to notice as the vapor production drops off. Then comes the ritual of exposing the coil, removing the wick and then DRY BURNING (and YES very very bright red) the gunk off. Once all the gunk is gone (and the coil has returned to room temperature) rewick and reprime/flood the wick/coil and reassemble.
After all, it is just WIRE. Even 'heating wire' to be more specific. There is nothing wrong with letting it GLOW.
Frankly, I actually can't recall the last time I wound a coil.
Disclaimer: when it comes to NI200 I use 28awg and NEVER seem to get the wick out without destroying the coil, so have never dryburned NI200 coils. (IDK: high heat may make the coils harder or softer)
With TI coils if you get the coil hot enough a white residue (oxide) will form on the coil. The idea of getting this oxide in their lungs scared the paranoids (it can be simply and easily washed off) so they migrated to SS.
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It's not about destroying a coil when dryburning. The integrity of the metal may still be intact, but if the temperature gets too high, the metal oxidizes on the surface. That oxidized layer will flake off, so you will inhale it.
Problem is that those oxides are highly toxic.
The only wiretype that does not form a toxic layer through heating is Kanthal.
Problem is that those oxides are highly toxic.
The only wiretype that does not form a toxic layer through heating is Kanthal.
ROTFLMAO!!
The only TRUE portion of your statement is that YES it does not require much wattage to get a coil glowing.
It takes a few months to get a coil "gunked up" even with unflavored juice. This is fairly easy to notice as the vapor production drops off. Then comes the ritual of exposing the coil, removing the wick and then DRY BURNING (and YES very very bright red) the gunk off. Once all the gunk is gone (and the coil has returned to room temperature) rewick and reprime/flood the wick/coil and reassemble.
After all, it is just WIRE. Even 'heating wire' to be more specific. There is nothing wrong with letting it GLOW.
Frankly, I actually can't recall the last time I wound a coil.
Disclaimer: when it comes to NI200 I use 28awg and NEVER seem to get the wick out without destroying the coil, so have never dryburned NI200 coils. (IDK: high heat may make the coils harder or softer)
With TI coils if you get the coil hot enough a white residue (oxide) will form on the coil. The idea of getting this oxide in their lungs scared the paranoids (it can be simply and easily washed off) so they migrated to SS.
g.
ROTFLMAO!! First wire type I used was 28g Kanthal. And I noticed somewhere after about the third dry burning, you'll be vaping away and suddenly you will get an open coil. Examining the coil under a microscope, I saw lots of tiny fractures. Worse, looking inside of the cracks, there was rust forming.
Then I switched to Ni200. I never dry burned them. But I steamed cleaned things before, so I got this crazy idea to steam clean Ni200 coils. So I rewicked a dirty Ni200 coil and soaked the wicking in water. And I couldn't get the coil anywhere high enough to produce steam. So I used a 200 watt mod and crank it up to 200 watts and tried again. The temperature still wouldn't get to 212°F to produce steam. But the coil legs were glowing red hot. So I gave up on that idea. Ni200 coils clean up pretty nicely with just a brush anyway. And nickel is cheap to replace as well.
Yes pulsing titanium will form a white residue. Sure you can wash it off. But it still taste like crap afterwards. That is why many of us won't dry burn titanium.
I also noticed SS and Ni80 too tastes like crap after pulsing them. No amount of brushing and cleaning will get rid of it either. And not only do they taste bad to me, but I can smell it in the wire at room temperature. Am I just sensitive to nickel or something? Who knows. Today I use all of the common wire types.
So people can do what they want to do. But for me, pulsing all wire types just causes more problems than it is worth. Just use spaced coils, replace coils when it is time, and quit being cheap. It's no big deal.
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