First build

[Skauth]

I wrapped my first coil this morning. Five wraps of 32 awg kanthal and some silica, wrapped and wired into some clone rda. Metered at 2.5 ohms, no hotspots or shorting. Nice, even glow. Vapes pretty well at 9 watts, I must say.

I know this is not anything new but my rebuildable atomizer journey has officially begun. Woo!

 

[LeoRex]

Awesome! Making your own coils is actually pretty fun... plus being able to make your own stuff keeps you from getting into a bind waiting for mail.

 

[Vapolith]

Good to hear! I'll be getting started once my RM2 and supplies arrive!

 

[Skauth]

Got some 28awg on the way, gonna try something LR!

 

[LeoRex]

Got some 28awg on the way, gonna try something LR!

What are you using the coils in? Clearos or something like an RDA?

You can also try some microcoils. You can make a microcoil with 28g in the 1.5 to 2.0 ohm range that works great on a RDA. It's a little slower to heat up than 32g, but you get a nice, smooth vape.

 

[Skauth]

Definitely an RDA, though I'm curious about recoiling my Protank atties too..

What declines a micro coil? Smaller and more wraps? Can I still wrap it around silica?

 

[LeoRex]

Definitely an RDA, though I'm curious about recoiling my Protank atties too..

What declines a micro coil? Smaller and more wraps? Can I still wrap it around silica?

Recoiling the protank coils are a little bit trickier than something like an RDA.... wrapping the coil is only half the job (and I think the easiest part to be honest, but it is also the part where most people seem to focus when they have how-to videos)... you then have to rebuild the coil correctly, otherwise you end up with a short on the positive leg. Keeping the coil in place while you seat the insulator and the positive post takes a little bit of patience. I've done a fair number of coils for my Evods (same coil head), and they all end up working great.

Microcoils have an inner diameter, typically, around 2mm, sometimes less... with no gaps between the winds. For instance, I have a 10 wrap coil of 28g Kanthal, wrapped around a 3/32 drill bit. Resistance ended up being 1.6ohms. I am using a cotton ball wick and it's on my RDA and it vapes awesome.

You can definitely use silica in a micro... it's just a matter of matching up the inner diameter of the coil with the size wick you have. You want the wick to slide through with just a little bit of resistance... too snug and choke the wick, too loose and you end up with gaps between the coil and the wick. I haven't tried a silica microcoil yet. I've been using cotton so far, mostly to try it out and see how it performs and the fact that it is REALLY easy to rewick (just take out the old cotton, dry burn the bare coil, thread some new cotton in and I'm done) and the sterile cotton balls I use might as well be free. I might give silica a shot... it'd be nice to be able to not have to worry about the wick getting too dry.

Actually, I am going to fiddle with my RDA tonight. I am going to stuff a toothpick in the little deck hole.. not worth the trouble. My 3mm silica just might fit in my current MC...we'll see.

 

[truen00b]

i just revuilt my first rda today myself! the coils that came with it were made with silica and ive made the switch to cotton so i just tossed em out without question and wrapped up some new ones. so far so great but im not sure if the cotton i purchased is working so well. i bought some balls and string. the string is by sugar and cream but doesnt seem to taste quite right but it might be the dual coil setup. more tinkering and research will show me the way

 

[Skauth]

Recoiling the protank coils are a little bit trickier than something like an RDA.... wrapping the coil is only half the job (and I think the easiest part to be honest, but it is also the part where most people seem to focus when they have how-to videos)... you then have to rebuild the coil correctly, otherwise you end up with a short on the positive leg. Keeping the coil in place while you seat the insulator and the positive post takes a little bit of patience. I've done a fair number of coils for my Evods (same coil head), and they all end up working great.

Microcoils have an inner diameter, typically, around 2mm, sometimes less... with no gaps between the winds. For instance, I have a 10 wrap coil of 28g Kanthal, wrapped around a 3/32 drill bit. Resistance ended up being 1.6ohms. I am using a cotton ball wick and it's on my RDA and it vapes awesome.

You can definitely use silica in a micro... it's just a matter of matching up the inner diameter of the coil with the size wick you have. You want the wick to slide through with just a little bit of resistance... too snug and choke the wick, too loose and you end up with gaps between the coil and the wick. I haven't tried a silica microcoil yet. I've been using cotton so far, mostly to try it out and see how it performs and the fact that it is REALLY easy to rewick (just take out the old cotton, dry burn the bare coil, thread some new cotton in and I'm done) and the sterile cotton balls I use might as well be free. I might give silica a shot... it'd be nice to be able to not have to worry about the wick getting too dry.

Actually, I am going to fiddle with my RDA tonight. I am going to stuff a toothpick in the little deck hole.. not worth the trouble. My 3mm silica just might fit in my current MC...we'll see.

Sounds like you have a lot of experience! I read some microcoil threads and I really like the idea.

Can you recommend decent tutorials or walkthroughs on wicking with cotton, and or recoiling protank or evod heads? I really appreciate it.

 

[Dominick0311]

What are you using the coils in? Clearos or something like an RDA?

You can also try some microcoils. You can make a microcoil with 28g in the 1.5 to 2.0 ohm range that works great on a RDA. It's a little slower to heat up than 32g, but you get a nice, smooth vape.

I was using 28g for my first couple builds and it was 1.7 ohms firing at 5.5 on my provari. Took a real longtime to heat up. Using 30g now but still want to try 28g micro coils. I figured it wouldn't take as long as it did but it sounds like it takes yours a little while? Is it so long to heat up that it's annoying or what?

 

[LeoRex]

I was using 28g for my first couple builds and it was 1.7 ohms firing at 5.5 on my provari. Took a real longtime to heat up. Using 30g now but still want to try 28g micro coils. I figured it wouldn't take as long as it did but it sounds like it takes yours a little while? Is it so long to heat up that it's annoying or what?

30 will heat up quicker than 28. The delay isn't bad... just a second longer maybe... it's like turbo lag. I end up with a better vape, so I'm cool with it.

 

[LeoRex]

Can you recommend decent tutorials or walkthroughs on wicking with cotton, and or recoiling protank or evod heads? I really appreciate it.

I kind of winged it with the microcoil part, just went on what I've read. But look for a video from Rip tripper... that was pretty good. That is pretty much how I prep the microcoil. I think the video was about turning a RSST into an auto-dripper, but microcoils are always build outside the device, so it should work for any.

For the coil build once you have it ready, The best one, I think, is Phil B's. He has a nice close-up of how to handle the wires right. It was that video that took away some of the intimidation factor... at least for me.

There may be one specifically for a micro/cotton in a Protank coil had, but I haven't really looked. Since I've been vaping my RDA and RSST, haven't touched my evods much.

 

[Skauth]

Thanks very much for the advice. I'll research and post progress.

 

[WattWick]

Pretty good tutorial on micro-coils. It's meant to demonstrate the use of a specialized jig, but you should get the idea. Just coil on a screwdriver, needle, something.

 

[jiveman]

the one above is def a good vid for microcoils. when i first vaped a microcoil i was like ahhhhh this is what i was waiting for



vid i made on normal protank/evod rebuilds, if ya need it.

 

[Skauth]

Watched a video and decided to tackle it.

My 28awg never came in the mail, so... I got impatient and tried to wrap 32awg 'microcoil' style. I ended up with six little wraps, metering at 2.9ohms. Wicked it with organic cotton in my RDA. Sucks down volts but vapes like a freakin dream!!

 

[Skauth]

Although, I feel like my wicking style leaves something to be desired.. I start getting drier tasting hits and the outer portions of the wick are still fully saturated.. Is my coil perhaps too tight, or too much wick?

 

[SilverZero]

Although, I feel like my wicking style leaves something to be desired.. I start getting drier tasting hits and the outer portions of the wick are still fully saturated.. Is my coil perhaps too tight, or too much wick?

Try rolling a thinner wick, it will swell when it gets wet and if you have too much inside the coil it will start to choke off. I've had that happen several times.

 

[Skauth]

Try rolling a thinner wick, it will swell when it gets wet and if you have too much inside the coil it will start to choke off. I've had that happen several times.

Thanks, that make sense.

Should the wick be uniform length throughout? Or can it be larger outside the coil. I just want to maximize the fluid reservoir, obviously.

 

[SilverZero]

Thanks, that make sense.

Should the wick be uniform length throughout? Or can it be larger outside the coil. I just want to maximize the fluid reservoir, obviously.

You want it to be pretty uniform, but as long as the wick inside the coil isn't too tight you can experiment a little. On my IGO-L RDA I cut the end of the cotton closest to the negative post short and leave the other end long enough so that it barely rests on the deck. That way the cotton will soak up any excess eliquid in there. I find that the less cotton that I use the better, I seem to get improved air flow with more open space and I get more vapor that way as well.

This was a couple of wicks ago with my current coil. It wicked and vaped really well but I've since started using less cotton and I think I like the performance better now. I'd take a pic of my new wick but I'm falling asleep.

Good luck.