Evolv-ing Thread

[SlickWilly]

So those claptons are TC? I'd love to try them if they are! I didn't think they made TC claptons?

Could be you don't have enough rayon in the coil, look toward the open ends of the coil you shouldn't loose any contact with the coil. It's takes more rayon then using cotton because it settles/shrinks down after a while. I put a couple arrows on your pic where it looks like the rayon has shrunk but you really need to look at the ends to tell for sure. If it was me, I'd also try thinning those tails down to 25% unless you need that much tail to keep the atty from leaking, you'll be surprised how well really thinned tails will feed juice, although those coils are good and wet, do they stay that way during a full draw? When I thin I cut the top of the tails off for a few reasons but mainly, if you get too much packed in you can pull a few strands out at a time with tweezers and it makes the bends gentler and closer to the coil because you aren't folding over the cut end but in that atty room isn't an issue.

 

[cigatron]

Say SlickWilly, have you tried 26/32 nickel Claptons? Here is one after 3 months (over a liter of juice through it). And I just pull the wicking out, set the temp to 600°F. And then run it under cold tap water. Then it looks brand new again.

View attachment 771479

This was also my second attempt with rayon I think. The rayon looks worse from this angle as it really doesn't look that bad. But I was getting a weird taste from my Dead Rabbits RDAs. Kind of like a new cotton ball kind of taste even with rayon over several weeks. I thought maybe I was getting a sensitivity towards nickel over 3 years of using it.

I pulled this coil out and replaced it with UD 26g SS316L. Nope, weird taste is still there. Flavor was otherwise fine and everything. But like you, it was gunking up horribly every 2-5 days with the same hazelnut cappuccino juice those Claptons were vaping. It won't clean off by heating and running it under cold water either. I'm thinking about trying some SS26/K32 Claptons next to see how that works out. Although nothing wrong with my nickel Claptons to be honest. Especially now I know that weird taste isn't from nickel.

Your rayon was underwicked Bill. It should be tighter in the coil creating visible shoulders where it exits the coil. By shoulders we mean the wick appears larger than the coil ID where it exits.
Tighter wicking with rayon is mandatory for long wick life but you have to be patient during break in; it may take a while before the rayon taste fades and full flavor comes in. The reward is better flavor than cotton and waaaay longer wick life.

 

[cigatron]

When I thin I cut the top of the tails off for a few reasons but mainly, if you get too much packed in you can pull a few strands out at a time

I have never had to remove rayon, have never overwicked. I'm not even sure that's possible with rayon. If your pulling strands to get instant flavor gratification then you might be defeating the purpose of using rayon to begin with.
The last dryburn and rewick on my Peerless SS316L fused clapton build was at 200ml, a record for me with this juice. BTW, it took vaping almost 10ml for the rayon taste to fade and the flavor to come on fully.

 

[BillW50]

So those claptons are TC? I'd love to try them if they are! I didn't think they made TC claptons?

Absolutely! They are 100% nickel and run TC perfectly. 3mmID of 26/32 is 0.01Ω per wrap. I usually do 8 to 10 wraps so 0.08Ω to 0.1Ω coil resistance.

Could be you don't have enough rayon in the coil, look toward the open ends of the coil you shouldn't loose any contact with the coil.

Yeah I bet. I combed the ends which thinned the ends of the coil too. But yeah it stays really wet even with hard pulls.

Your rayon was underwicked Bill.

Yeah I know... learning in progress.

 

[awsum140]

One other little trick, Willie. Keep drawing for a second or two after you release the fire button. It can make a major difference in coil life. I have developed that habit and get months out of nickel builds on my DNA40. My wife doesn't do that and rarely gets more than three weeks out of a coil. Granted the liquids aren't identical, but both contain significant amounts of gunking components.

 

[mikepetro]

I make my own TI fused Clapton coils that work great in TC. Never found any off the shelf TC Clapton before, but now that I have developed the feel for making them I probably would flinch at the money for premade. Mine only cost about a nickel each.

My coils last a long long time on unflavored juice, probably only about a month with my peach medley.

 

[dwcraig1]

For mine (rayon) if I rolled it any tighter it would turn back into wood. If I tried pull anymore into the coil it would distort the coil. Tight and tight

 

[dwcraig1]

Any collective thoughts on this?

No TC out of the box but a firmware upgrade is available to make it so.

 

[cigatron]

Top fill, 21700 bat, 10ml silcone bottle, 90w and $75 US....nice. Not enough power for me but good for the single coil adherents. I find it amusing that it takes 52 individual pieces to make things "simple" though.
21700 batt and 10ml bottle are a good match as are 18650 batts and 8.5ml bottles. With the Topside you'll probably need to swap batts when the bottle is empty so you have to remove a panel anyway and I learned long ago how to fill squonk bottles without spilling a drop. I'll wait.

 

[BillW50]

Yeah I saw the Topside by Dovpo about 3 weeks back before any was available. Nice top fill design. Although adding to cigatron comments. The top fill comes at a cost. As it uses a proprietary bottle and that crossover piece looks like a nightmare to deal with. And I wouldn't hold your breath about TC. As Dovpo isn't known for their wonderful TC regulation.

 

[awsum140]

My first thought was why didn't they use a DNA75 or DNA75C, or even a DNA60, chipset? It's supposed to be "the best" so why not use the best instead of something, shall we say, more than likely not the best?

 

[BillW50]

But like you, it was gunking up horribly every 2-5 days with the same hazelnut cappuccino juice those Claptons were vaping. It won't clean off by heating and running it under cold water either.

Here is what I am talking about SlickWilly. I pushed this 26g SS316L too long at 6 days. Sorry I did hit it with tap water before taking a snapshot hoping it would rinse off, but no. I didn't realize how thick those wicking ends looks when I zoomed in. They look thin by eye. And they are just thick enough to cover the juice holes below the deck.

 

[TrollDragon]

Saw this posted on The Shed, looks like it's just starting to get seasoned.

I have no idea what the little chain thing is on the right.

 

[BillW50]

Wow! Did anybody ever take an eye loupe and look at a coil while it is firing? There is a huge steady stream of juice that flows on the outside of the coil near the wicking. The stream behaves much like a shower water stream does, but follows the coil all the way around. It is amazing the stream is moving pretty fast and most of it never flies off of the coil. If someone made a video of it, I bet they would get a quarter million hits easy.

 

[BillW50]

Wow! Did anybody ever take an eye loupe and look at a coil while it is firing? There is a huge steady stream of juice that flows on the outside of the coil near the wicking. The stream behaves much like a shower water stream does, but follows the coil all the way around. It is amazing the stream is moving pretty fast and most of it never flies off of the coil. If someone made a video of it, I bet they would get a quarter million hits easy.

Never mind! I looked at it again and now I don't think it is a steady stream of juice flowing around the coil. I think now it is just dancing on the coil giving it an illusion of a stream moving fast. It kinda looks like taking a hot dry frying pan and putting some drops of water on it and watching the water droplets dance around in the pan.

Besides vapor being created, there is also a very fine mist coming off of the coils. Although the mist doesn't last long after creation and just disappears quickly.

 

[SlickWilly]

I would find it very interesting to see close up vids of juice on firing coils, like the idea, hope someone runs with it!

 

[dwcraig1]

XPV DNA-75C DIY Kit

 

[cigatron]

XPV DNA-75C DIY Kit

Nice little mod. Slightly smaller than my Lavabox 75. I like the pocket clip feature too.

 

[tiburonfirst]

 

[dwcraig1]