Help, please: Newbie to rebuildables

[Guido Ceccotti]

If you like very sweet e-juices, go for the Dvarw or Precisio. My Melon Twist tastes like heaven on both. For sweet tobaccos I prefer the kayfun lite 2019

 

[thanswr1]

Thanks all for your help and advice. Which is not to say I wouldn't welcome more.

I think what I'm going to do is invest in a fairly inexpensive tank and a small amount of wire and cotton.

I may fall in love with diy. Or I may decide it's not for me. Only one way to find out.

Again thanks all and keep 'em coming.

 

[vaper1960]

Not sure if you mentioned your mod... does it have a screen?

 

[thanswr1]

I'm old school. I use the Aspire Nautilus 5ml.

 

[vaper1960]

I'm old school. I use the Aspire Nautilus 5ml.

That's the tank... the "mod" is the battery part.

 

[Daniel Forsyth]

I'm old school. I use the Aspire Nautilus 5ml.

An Excellent RTA is the Brunhilde MTL RTA!
Very easy to build and wick and a very user friendly tank and it's 5ml too

 

[thanswr1]

That's the tank... the "mod" is the battery part.

Nevermind.

I use a tube mech mod with an Orbtronic 18650 battery (30A 3120mAh) and a Sigelei kick. Old school.
http://store.sigelei.com/

 

[thanswr1]

An Excellent RTA is the Brunhilde MTL RTA!
Very easy to build and wick and a very user friendly tank and it's 5ml too

I have looked at this one because of the 5ml tank. Filling up a 2ml tank would become a full time job.

 

[vaper1960]

Now I get it... you have a mech mod.
Yes, 2ml tanks are a PITA.

 

[DaveP]

Good point. I have been getting frustrated lately guessing how thick to cut the wick material... it was easier with the cotton pads... cut the same width every time. A few times I cut it uneven... one side too much, the other side not enough. Someone just gave me some good cotton pads... might go back to using that instead. Thanks for reminding me.

I used Egyptian cotton pads for quite a while before switching to Rayon. I still have several packs of Egyptian cotton. With Rayon you just pull off a little and form it by pulling it to get the right size and then roll a section into a wick sized rope. Cut off a length and then size it by pulling and smoothing again before inserting it into the coil. It doesn't take long to learn how to create the right wick size and once you do it's a quick task. A $5 box of Sally's Cellucotton Rayon from Amazon can last more than a year, maybe two or more if you aren't wasteful with it.

 

[DaveP]

How are the pre-made coils? I've seen a few and very few are in the 1.6 ohm range. Are they good or just the lazy person's way out?

A standard roll of resistance wire is 100 feet. If you aren't wasteful with it you can make 2 or 3 simple coils per foot of wire. That's 200 to 300 coils per roll. Compared to factory made coils it's like getting free coils (minus the cost of the wire). A roll of wire is usually less than $10.

A bag of factory made coils will also last you a long time. I haven't tried them. Making your own is easy peasy and only takes a minute or so to make them as needed.

When you mount the coil, keep it close to the air inlet. Too high and you lose vapor and flavor. Too low and you restrict the air flow of the atomizer. If it's low enough to touch the deck, you get a short warning and NO vapor on an electronic mod or a dangerous battery heatup on a mech! Don't let the coil bottom out and short to the deck!

 

[thanswr1]

Thanks all for the advice.

I'm looking at these coils. Yes, they are premade and cost a heckuva lot more than just buying wire and winding them myself.

$1.95 Nichrome Pre-Coiled Wires for RDA Atomizers (50-Pack) 50-pack - 1.6ohm / 0.3mm dia. (29 AWG) / 15*15mm leads at FastTech - Free Shipping

I'm also looking at a cheap tank to practice on.

$7.33 Authentic UD Bellus RTA Rebuildable Tank Atomizer - 5ml / stainless steel + glass at FastTech - Free Shipping

A question about the premade coils: is that 1.6 ohms accurate the way it would be, for example, a nautilus 1.6 ohm coil?

I'm new to this. I don't know if I want to go the rebuildabe route. At these prices, I have no complaints if I decide it isn't for me.

I do appreciate all the advice and good advice from people who know what they're talking about.

 

[DaveP]

Thanks all for the advice.

I'm looking at these coils. Yes, they are premade and cost a heckuva lot more than just buying wire and winding them myself.

$1.95 Nichrome Pre-Coiled Wires for RDA Atomizers (50-Pack) 50-pack - 1.6ohm / 0.3mm dia. (29 AWG) / 15*15mm leads at FastTech - Free Shipping

I'm also looking at a cheap tank to practice on.

$7.33 Authentic UD Bellus RTA Rebuildable Tank Atomizer - 5ml / stainless steel + glass at FastTech - Free Shipping

A question about the premade coils: is that 1.6 ohms accurate the way it would be, for example, a nautilus 1.6 ohm coil?

I'm new to this. I don't know if I want to go the rebuildabe route. At these prices, I have no complaints if I decide it isn't for me.

I do appreciate all the advice and good advice from people who know what they're talking about.

The UD Bellus tank is popular. I own lots of tanks, but haven't bought that one yet.

Nichrome is the same wire that's in your toaster, except what's in the toaster is probably a lot heavier gauge. Winding your own coils is easier than you think. YouTube is full of tutorial videos on how to wind various types of coils.

Resistance is resistance. A 1.6 ohm coil is just that. Different wires will have slightly different resistances. New coils may short together until a dry burn is done. Dry burning anneals the wire and it's a good idea to stretch the coil and push the coil back together after stretching. Slide the coil onto a nail that snugly fits the coil and you can stretch the coil and push it back together without bending the coils or warping the coil. Even after you push the coils back together there will be some tendency for the coils to ever so slightly expand so that the windings don't touch each other. That's a good thing.

You will save lots of money over time if you learn to make your own coils and install them yourself. Kanthal and Stainless Steel (SS316L) are some of the most popular wires for vaping. I used Nichrome at one time, but switched to SS316L just because it can be used in wattage mode or temperature control mode.

 

[thanswr1]

The UD Bellus tank is popular. I own lots of tanks, but haven't bought that one yet.

Nichrome is the same wire that's in your toaster, except what's in the toaster is probably a lot heavier gauge. Winding your own coils is easier than you think. YouTube is full of tutorial videos on how to wind various types of coils.

Resistance is resistance. A 1.6 ohm coil is just that. Different wires will have slightly different resistances. New coils may short together until a dry burn is done. Dry burning anneals the wire and it's a good idea to stretch the coil and push the coil back together after stretching. Slide the coil onto a nail that snugly fits the coil and you can stretch the coil and push it back together without bending the coils or warping the coil. Even after you push the coils back together there will be some tendency for the coils to ever so slightly expand so that the windings don't touch each other. That's a good thing.

You will save lots of money over time if you learn to make your own coils and install them yourself. Kanthal and Stainless Steel (SS316L) are some of the most popular wires for vaping. I used Nichrome at one time, but switched to SS316L just because it can be used in wattage mode or temperature control mode.

 

[thanswr1]

Thank you for your help.