help building my first coils

[jerseyman32]

Hello my name is john and im on my friends profile here while hes out, im going to build my first coils today but i have some questions, im using his 28 gauge kanthal and want them to be 1.8 ohms,so how do i know how many millimeters to make them,does it really matter. Also whats the best thing to wrap them on,and do the wraps need to be really close together?

 

[novamatt]

Hi John. Different size coils seem to work a little better in different atties. What are you building it on?

For most things, with 28 and shooting for 1.8 ohms, I like to wrap an 11/12 wrap coil on a 3/32" (2.4mm, I think?) screwdriver (lots of people also use drill bits), and I keep the wraps touching. I only separate them if I'm using a really gunky juice, but it's a lot easier to keep your coil uniform if they're touching.

Check out some coil wrapping videos on YouTube to see how people wrap and make the coils touch. It's ok if your video is a higher or lower resistance or using a different wire - what you're looking for here is technique.

 

[thomas l]

this may help Steam Engine | free vaping calculators . i like to wrap around screw drivers. also check out rip he got all kind of coil builds RiPTrippers

 

[WTracyS]

You kinda gotta figure out what will fit in your atty. For instance, I have a TOBH. It's kinda narrow, but really deep, so I go with a larger inner diameter (3 mm), so I can do fewer wraps, therefore making it shorter.

That being said, there's an excellent calculator for coil wrapping by Steam. Google it, and bookmark it.

Since most of my coils are 3mm, I use the mandrel from a Dremel. I like it because it has that larger base that you can hold the coil against. Same goes for the precision screw drivers. I believe the largest phillips head in a precision set is about 2.5 mm. I also have a coiling jig, which is pretty good for wrapping, but kinda sucks for holding the shape of the coil while I install it.

Be patient with yourself. You're gonna kill a few coils before you get it right.

Yeah, and what novamatt said. YouTube is your friend.

Good luck

 

[jerseyman32]

What is the best size silica wick to use, how much bigger should your coil be in regards to your wick, likr if i build a 3mm coil should i use 2 mm silica, also on the coil calculator above, how do i lnow what leg length and the inner diameter of the coil is

 

[readeuler]

If you're using silica wick, I think most folks (at least starting out) wrap the coil directly on the wick, no screwdriver or drill bit necessary. You want any wick to be snug inside the coil, but not so tight that the coil reduces the ability for liquid to flow.

If you're trying to accomplish this today, a good question would be: what supplies do you plan on using? 28ga and silica?

The inner diameter is the outer diameter of what you're wrapping on: 2mm if you're wrapping on 2mm silica, 1/16" if you're wrapping on a 1/16" screwdriver, etc. I don't usually worry about the leg length, it's typically only off by a few mm, generally not a huge discrepancy.

 

[novamatt]

What are you building this coil for? Is it a dripper or a tank? And what kind?

While you can use silica and lots of people do, most of us find that other types of wicking tend to work significantly better. Rayon and several different kinds of cotton are much more popular. I use sterile cotton balls from the first aid section of the drugstore, and I'm about halfway through the $4 box of them I bought in April.