Got my a7 rba and my coils. Now what?

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DrMagick

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Dec 8, 2011
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Hey guys,

I got my A7 delivered from empire mods the other week, and just this morning was delivered my Kanthal A1 32g.
Now what? I can't find any wicks available locally, so plan to buy some sterile gauze from the chemists tomorrow.

I know the kanthal will need to be wrapped around my wick (or gauze) and have each end connected to a post. Is that it? I just can't get my head around how I turn this sterile gauze into a wick lol

I've had a little look around for answers and pictures, but it seems the only pictures I can find in the threads i've read are of mega setups with giant fat wicks and lots of coils lol.

Are there any good tutorials around?
I plan to check out youtube in the meantime, but some info would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Kev ;)
 
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DrMagick

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Dec 8, 2011
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Here's a vid I found
A7 rebuildable atomizer - YouTube

Is it the best way for a beginner to go? I vape mainly 100% VG juices on my Grand. Will I have wicking problems using somthing like this? I guess I could dilute with PG as I have a truckload not being used, i just prefer VG.

Also, since I vape at 3.7v, my preferred resistance is 1.5ohms. How would I go about getting 1.5ohms with my 32ga Kanthal A1?

I know the ERA and Chalice are better for the Reo Grand, but I cannot find any ERA stock, and I'm currently waiting for the Chalice 2 to be released. So till then I hope I can get this A7 attie to work properly on my Reo Grand.

Cheers
Kev
 
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Kevin King

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i dont have any expierence on the a7, but id strongly recommend 100%cotton cheesecloth. its white, looks like mesh kinda, and can be bought from pretty much any kitchen/cooking store. ive only used silica, rolled cotton(like cotton balls), and cheesecloth, and the cheesecloth is by far the best in flavor and does not burn as quickly as the rolled cotton does.
 

gdeal

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If you go the path of cheesecloth or sterile gauze, here is a great video on making a wick. It is tutorial for a penny, but the concept is the same. This guy is a master.

GG Penelope with a Cheese Cloth Wick - YouTube

This video and your posted A7 video tutorial should get you there. I vape only VG and Cheesecloth never has a problem. I do lower the viscosity with distilled water to about ~15% dilution in total on pure VG base, including any flavorings.
 

bubbajoe72

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There are plenty of youtube tutorials but this is what I do for all my rebuildables that use cotton:
1. Buy a multimeter and some connector wires with alligator clips on each end and use it to measure your wire.
- attach one end of the connector wire to the multimeter lead and the other end to the wire.
- do the same for the other multimeter lead and attach to the wire about an inch or so away from the other clip.
- adjust the distance between the clips until you get the desired resistance and remember to leave some excess for the posts.
2. Boil your gauze/cheesecloth to remove any impurities.
3. Wrap the wire around your wick with the coils fairly close to each other but not touching - this will cause shorts. Watch youtube videos/look at pictures of other people's wicks to see how they set it up but essentially you want one or both ends of the wick/gauze reaching the bottom of the well and going up through the coil.
4. Loosen the screws on your posts and insert the wire. Try and get the same amount of excess "outside" of the posts to get the same resistance that you measured for ("inside" the posts would be what you measured in between the alligator clips).
5. Check the coils again and use a paper clip or maybe a pin to separate any coils that may be touching.
6. Use the multimeter to check resistance once everything is put together. It should read what you measured for. If less or no resistance, you may have a short and should check your setup before you put it on your battery.
7. Once you've checked for shorts and are satisfied there are none, put some juice on it and attach it to your battery.
8. Fire it up and watch it sizzle.

If your eyes glazed over at the wall of text and can only remember one thing - remember this: BUY A MULTIMETER AND LEARN HOW TO USE IT. It can save you from a lot of frustration and dead batteries. Rebuildable attys are an advanced skill and you can ruin your batteries if you are not careful.
 
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iKN0WaGH0ST

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Feb 5, 2012
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Hey guys,

I got my A7 delivered from empire mods the other week, and just this morning was delivered my Kanthal A1 32g.
Now what? I can't find any wicks available locally, so plan to buy some sterile gauze from the chemists tomorrow.

I know the kanthal will need to be wrapped around my wick (or gauze) and have each end connected to a post. Is that it? I just can't get my head around how I turn this sterile gauze into a wick lol

I've had a little look around for answers and pictures, but it seems the only pictures I can find in the threads i've read are of mega setups with giant fat wicks and lots of coils lol.

Are there any good tutorials around?
I plan to check out youtube in the meantime, but some info would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Kev ;)

Run to walmart and grab some 100% cotton yarn. I think it is size 3 or 4. It is the easiest to work with IMO. Cheesecloth, for me at least, was a PITA.
 

DrMagick

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Dec 8, 2011
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53
Australia
Thanks for all the feedback guys, it's great :)

Wasn't able to find any cheesecloth or 100% cotton gauze, but I did find 100% natural cotton bandage which is latex free so I'm assuming it is the same. Will boil the cotton and boil n bake my A7 tonight and and have a go.

I do own a cheap little multimeter which I use to check my batteries, but it doesn't have any aligator clips. Once the coil is installed can I measure the resistance by inserting the probes into the head of the post screws? Or does it need to be directly on the coil/wire?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 

bubbajoe72

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Sep 18, 2010
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It's best to measure the resistance by the putting probes on the 510 connection - put the positive probe on the center post and the negative probe on the threads. It helps if you can secure the atty while measuring so you can get a good reading or you can pick up something like this - Cartomizer and Atomizer Ohm Meter. It can also make a good base for working on your rebuildables.
 

DrMagick

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Dec 8, 2011
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53
Australia
OK, I boiled the a7 a couple of times. Also, some silica wick that I ordered was delivered today too.
Anyways, I built my first coil/wick today. I tested the resistance and it was higher than i prefer. It read 2.5 when i prefer 1.5-1.8.
Any tips on how to get the resistance down? Is it a shorter coil that will reduce the resistance?
 
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