Help! With COV DID Copy

[TakenALeft67]

So, at Vapercon i got a little carried away and got all sorts of stuff.

One thing I picked up was the Did copy from COV. (I think its called the COV gen1)

Took it home, watched a thousand how to videos on the DID, and other genesis style rebuildables and tried my hand at it.

anddddddd FAIL!

not sure whats going on, but everytime i hook it up to my Zmax its reading somewhere between 0.1 - 0.6 ohms.

I've tried everything, from 1 coil wrap to 15 coil wraps, all different (some very close together, some far apart, some tight, some lose, ect.) and the highest ive gotten the resistance to go up is to 1.1

Now the tank came in a box with unlabeled wire, and some mesh. I'm oxidizing the mesh, twisting the coils, trying everything, but i cant get it to work.

I tried it on other e-cigs and the only thing so far that has happened was it lit-up and then burned out quickly and the wire snapped. I really should have gotten someone to help me out at Vapecon, but i was pretty sure I could handle it on my own

Do I need new wire? a new brain? A multimeter? A new tank?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[iamtumus]

buy a multimeter. vaping without one is like lighting a stick of dynamite and putting it in your pocket.

what you're describing is a short...
reoxidize mesh, cigarette paper trick, adjust coils, only do short pulses of firing with a non freshly charged battery

 

[RsK0807]

Make sure that your oxidizing the mesh good enough. Try oxidizing both sides BEFORE rolling and fold over the end that will be on the outside of the mesh (this is so there are no strands off mesh causing shorts)
The wire that comes with those did knock offs is nichrome so it has a tendency to pop easier than kanthal would.
Try a 3/4 or 4/5 wrap. Make sure coils touch wick but aren't to tight that they choke the wick.
Now before you add juice, you want to pulse dry burn the coil to check for hotspots and adjust accordingly.

Good luck! Don't stress having to try again. It took me a few times to get the process down.

 

[bubbajoe72]

Check the center post and the silicone washers. Make sure the center screws aren't screwed down too tight to where it's pushing the silicone out of the way and the center post is coming in contact with the side.

 

[rotohammer]

Some of the notes in my how-to may help: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/blogs/rotohammer/3206-stainless-wick-how.html

 

[vpsi333]

If oxidizing is being done correctly, try rolling more mesh in your wick. I increase and decrease my resistance that way since my fat fingers and unsteady hand can't get more than a 4/5 coil wrap. also make sure the center post wire is short, not bent, and has a little tension (lightly force the wick back with a paper clip).

 

[TakenALeft67]

Thanks for the help guys! (i checked the silicone in the center post, got a multimeter, re-oxidized the wick)

now its working...sort of... (at least now it's turning on and not shorting)

New Problems: tastes horrible(harshest throat hit ever), catches fire while using (good for entertaining, not good for my hair) , resistance is changing when I screw the top on (like from 1.5 - .5ohms, without even touching the coils...)

This is definitely a toy for tinkering with.

I'm thinking I need a new torch so I can oxidize the mesh more evenly.

Pretty sure this is an error on my end, but any other tips?

 

[spraintz]

Oxidizing mesh can be a very delicate dance between too much and not enough. Not enough and you will very obviously short against expose SS, too much and you will have very strange results that will haunt you and make you think you are going crazy......

You have the right idea in regards to oxidizing the wick evenly but something that not to many touch on is "how much" to oxidize.....

When starting out with SS mesh wicks there is a tendency is to "torch the crap out of the wick" as in many scenarios in life there is "no such thing as too much"...

Well, when oxidizing a wick there can be such a thing as too much. If you "over-oxidize" the wick (super stiff/tempered with a dark black surface) this can lead to a very brittle wick with a brittle "oxidation layer" that gets easily scraped off or burned through, this could be creating some of the weird resistance readings that you have mentioned. The horrible taste and and catching fire are most likely due to a shorting wick where all the coils are not firing and the parts that are firing are running really hot really quick. When oxidizing, try to slowly and evenly heat the wick incrementally until it reaches a dark gold or brown. this should provide enough oxidation yet still be forgiving when wrapping a coil. Then you can soak the wick in juice and light the juice with a lighter and let it burn off....this will help temper the SS to give it some stiffness and add another layer of protection to the wick.

Stick with it, you will see how easy it is once you finally "get it". Feel free to PM if you have any questions......we have all been right where you are before

Hope this helps, good luck.