Flat Wrap/Zig Zag Heating Element

[Akya2120]

So I tried this the other day and it's been working excellently. Good flavor and vapor. I want to call it a heating element because it is no longer a coil IMO. I did a seven fold element with 30SWG nichrome and it is metering .6 ohms as a dual element. I have the center post leads bent with two 90 degree bends so that the sides of the elements farther from the air holes sit higher. I haven't tried it totally flat as I think propping the inside up exposes the coil to more airflow. Once I get the elements mounted I stuffed some cotton under it. It's really easy to change the wicks on this. Make sure wet cotton is touching the whole element or you will get hot spots.

I want to build one in a kayfun but after looking under the hood for a while it seems like it would be hard to fit. Maybe something with a bigger deck would work.

Edit: I used tweezers to make the bends. I also think there might be a way to make a bending board that has pins so the heating wire is a little easier to bend into a zig zag evenly.

 

[wonner]

Sounds interesting, but do you have a higher resolution image you could post?

Maybe it's these old tired eyes, but I cannot make out any detail in that photo (even when I click on it to get full size) to see what you actually did.

 

[keenanmcfar]

Thats an interesting idea. I'm definitely going to be trying this when i get a chance.

 

[Akya2120]

I can't get a better picture without using a photo hosting site. I will take another later with a jewellers loop.

 

[Rook45]

Sounds interesting, but do you have a higher resolution image you could post?

Maybe it's these old tired eyes, but I cannot make out any detail in that photo (even when I click on it to get full size) to see what you actually did.

Jon

 

[Akya2120]

That might be a little easier to see. This thing is making huge vapor. I think it is crucial to have the wire slanting up on the center post. My brother tried to build one flat and it isn't making near the vapor. I'm really happy with the build. Just make sure there are no hot spots. If you can't get rid of all the hot spots it needs a bit more cotton.

Anyone else try this yet? My IGO-W has dual 3/32 air holes I'm pretty sure... quite massive but it's making huge vapor.

 

[BobC]

Doesn't look like enough surface to really produce the desired heat

 

[edyle]

I'm trying to figure out what is that stuff that looks like glue; I take it that is the wick, but what material is that?

 

[matthew2478]

So I tried this the other day and it's been working excellently. Good flavor and vapor. I want to call it a heating element because it is no longer a coil IMO. I did a seven fold element with 30SWG nichrome and it is metering .6 ohms as a dual element. I have the center post leads bent with two 90 degree bends so that the sides of the elements farther from the air holes sit higher. I haven't tried it totally flat as I think propping the inside up exposes the coil to more airflow. Once I get the elements mounted I stuffed some cotton under it. It's really easy to change the wicks on this. Make sure wet cotton is touching the whole element or you will get hot spots.

I want to build one in a kayfun but after looking under the hood for a while it seems like it would be hard to fit. Maybe something with a bigger deck would work.

Edit: I used tweezers to make the bends. I also think there might be a way to make a bending board that has pins so the heating wire is a little easier to bend into a zig zag evenly.

View attachment 284475

What ohms
Ha


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[edyle]

What ohms
Ha


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

0.6 ohms he said

I did a seven fold element with 30SWG nichrome and it is metering .6 ohms as a dual element.

 

[Akya2120]

Doesn't look like enough surface to really produce the desired heat

Oh it is. Try setting it up with 30 gauge like this. It gets warm, with huge clouds. I can post a video if you'd like?

I'm trying to figure out what is that stuff that looks like glue; I take it that is the wick, but what material is that?

That is plain cotton from a cotton ball. Boiled a handful for about ten minutes and left them out to dry over night with a paper towel over them. Don't squish then because that diminishes the fuzziness. When you go to put it in your coil or flat wrap make sure to shred it up with your hands really well, that increases the fuzziness. Also if you are getting a cotton flavor, you used too much cotton. If you are getting hot spots you used too little cotton, or the setup isn't packed right.

 

[Akya2120]

There's a video for you guys. My first upload to YouTube lol.

 

[edyle]

Oh it is. Try setting it up with 30 gauge like this. It gets warm, with huge clouds. I can post a video if you'd like?



That is plain cotton from a cotton ball. Boiled a handful for about ten minutes and left them out to dry over night with a paper towel over them. Don't squish then because that diminishes the fuzziness. When you go to put it in your coil or flat wrap make sure to shred it up with your hands really well, that increases the fuzziness. Also if you are getting a cotton flavor, you used too much cotton. If you are getting hot spots you used too little cotton, or the setup isn't packed right.

I figure there is a too-packed-cotton, and there is a too little cotton.

Oh; you need a cotton candy fuzzynesss? Is that about right?

 

[edyle]

There's a video for you guys. My first upload to YouTube lol.

oo00oo yeah! Nice fog machine dude!

 

[Akya2120]

Just well shredded works, cotton balls already look like cotton candy to me lol. I use a pinch of cotton and pull it apart maybe twenty times in different directions.

 

[shellac]

I did that awhile back with one of my homebuilt attys. I usually build them with the positive on one side of the deck and the negative on the other so the element was larger and in the middle. It worked really well at just over an ohm with 28ga Kanthal A1. I hadn't given much thought to the idea lately since all my latest atomizers have the air feeding straight up through the center. The flavor and vapor were both really good if I recall. Good to see others playing with this.

 

[Akya2120]

I did that awhile back with one of my homebuilt attys. I usually build them with the positive on one side of the deck and the negative on the other so the element was larger and in the middle. It worked really well at just over an ohm with 28ga Kanthal A1. I hadn't given much thought to the idea lately since all my latest atomizers have the air feeding straight up through the center. The flavor and vapor were both really good if I recall. Good to see others playing with this.

I'm going to try and put one of these in my russian next time I build it. I think this is the most vapor I have made thus far. It is pretty absurd. When I get home from vacation I will try setting this build up a little differently. That video is the first setup I have done with it, I am still using it and it's working great. I was trying to get the exterior folds to match the deck but didn't have much success, I think next time I rebuild it it will come out better.

 

[BobC]

Really don't get the point of this, where's the benefit over a tight coil, both from a heat and surface perspective, sorry, for the life of me, don't see the science in this.
Love new ideas, but they have to make sense.

 

[grindle]

Really don't get the point of this, where's the benefit over a tight coil, both from a heat and surface perspective, sorry, for the life of me, don't see the science in this.
Love new ideas, but they have to make sense.

The idea is probably that all of the wire is facing the airhole as opposed to just the front, top & bottom of a coil.
More air hitting more wire in contact with juice should equal more vapour.
I've stopped tinkering with fancier coils since trying that dragon nano-coil thingy - it was actually too powerful and too much upkeep to keep as my standard setup so I've reverted back to the trusty microcoils, but for people who like rebuilding you might as well give everything a try?
I'd push the parallel lines of wire closer together like a microcoil if I were to try this build but maybe that's hard to do because it's flat and the bends are going to want to spring back while you repeatedly heat and compress.

 

[Akya2120]

Good question and a good answer. I will eventually make a jig so I can set these up pefectly. I also think there is more cotton to wick exposure. Not to mention the wick is only transferring from bottom to top through essentially a pad rather than being bottle necked inside a coil. If I could fold the wire closer I think it would make better vapor and flavor but it's still great as is. I have replaced the wick on that build about eight times now and it's still working hard.