Help with RBA+Vamo and resistance.

[Rummel]

Hey guys.
I got the Vamo V2, AGA-T+ and A1 28 Gage Kanthal Wire today.
As this is my first RBA i didn't expect everything to go flawless, but I've seen enough hours of tutorials etc so i thought i had a basic sense of what i had to do.
What i didn't know is that the Vamo has a resistance bottom cap of 1.2 ohms. And with 28 gage i struggle with getting the ohms up. I don't know if the way i coil is wrong, but i tried basically everything. I would've thought that with like 12 wraps I'd get close to 1.2 ohms, but it's sitting there nicely on 0,5-0,8.
I got it to 1,2 ohms once and i tried to fire it, then it stopped after like 2-3 seconds, and it read back to 0,5 again without me touching anything. And the weird thing is that it was with a 4/5 wrap i think. So I'm basically just oblivious to what I'm doing wrong here.

The Vamo is fitted with 2x 18350 batteries. The AGA-T+ has a #400 SS mesh and i soaked it with Boba's Bounty if that has anything to say, with 100% VG etc.

Both mesh and wire was oxidized beforehand.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Rule62]

Personally, I don't like 28ga wire on vv or vw devices, like the Vamo. I prefer 30ga., and make sure my coils are above 1.2Ω. Ideally, I like them somewhere around 1.4Ω. I only use 28ga on mechanical mods, for sub 1.0Ω coils.

 

[pdib]

I'm guessing your wick is pretty skinny. If your wick was, say, 1/8" thick, you oughta get over 1.2 with a 6/7 wrap. If you weren't going to bore your wick hole anyway, or if you only have the mesh that came with it, you might be stuck. If you have more mesh, but a small wick hole, you could wrap more around the top part of the wick to make it thicker. the wraps of a coil can touch each other, so wrap 'em close. This setup will have you tilting-for-juice more; but you'll be able to vape until the 30 or 32 gage arrives.

 

[Rummel]

I'm guessing your wick is pretty skinny. If your wick was, say, 1/8" thick, you oughta get over 1.2 with a 6/7 wrap. If you weren't going to bore your wick hole anyway, or if you only have the mesh that came with it, you might be stuck. If you have more mesh, but a small wick hole, you could wrap more around the top part of the wick to make it thicker. the wraps of a coil can touch each other, so wrap 'em close. This setup will have you tilting-for-juice more; but you'll be able to vape until the 30 or 32 gage arrives.

I haven't drilled out my wick hole, so i barely got the wick inside already. I didn't cut of anything other than the length. But yeah I'll have to order some more mesh and different wire. The problem is that as i live in Norway i have to order this from ebay, which takes like 3 weeks, so i hoped i did something wrong, or something i could do different to try out.

 

[pdib]

Can you tell me how thick your wick is (exactly, say within .5mm)? I might be able to come up with something.

 

[Rummel]

Can you tell me how thick your wick is (exactly, say within .5mm)? I might be able to come up with something.

It's quite precisely 3mm.

 

[jasl90]

I'll 2nd what Rule said... Leave the 28awg for low res coils on mechanical devices. Grab some 30 & 32 awg for use on you Vamo.

Since the above doesn't help you now... You can try tightening up your coil spacing to allow more wire to fit on your wick.

My atty probably isn't the best example but it does give you an idea of how closely I wrap my coils...

Here's one on an AGA-T... Not my best work... (But it worked)


Pdib also has some good example pics using tight coil spacing.

 

[pdib]

Ok, Rummel, I've got it. This will take two posts, since I can only put 4 pictures in one post. Remember, 28g will hold whatever shape you give it. Use a drill bit, or your wick loose (not in the wickhole) to begin. I'll check in to answer any questions, should you have any.

 

[Rummel]

I'll 2nd what Rule said... Leave the 28awg for low res coils on mechanical devices. Grab some 30 & 32 awg for use on you Vamo.

Since the above doesn't help you now... You can try tightening up your coil spacing to allow more wire to fit on your wick.

My atty probably isn't the best example but it does give you an idea of how closely I wrap my coils...
View attachment 196012
Here's one on an AGA-T... Not my best work... (But it worked)
View attachment 196013

Pdib also has some good example pics using tight coil spacing.

Well i did wrap my coil quite tight. Managed about 12 evenly wicks on it. But my problem with that as i said was that the ohm fluctuated quite a lot between 0,5-1,2 ohm, and when i actually had it on 1,2 ohm it burned just a couple of seconds before it was down again. And the taste wasn't really great on that. So from that I'd guess with so many wraps it will burn too hot and ruin the flavor.

From most of the tutorials I've seen it looks like a 4/5 wrap is most common, but i guess i didn't noticed they used a mechanical device or a different mesh perhaps. Cause it was 28g i wanted.

 

[pdib]

I think it's a 6/7 wrap. 3/32" drill bit (= 2.5mm), so you can go easier on the "legs" @ 3mm

View attachment 196030

 

[Rummel]

Ok, Rummel, I've got it. This will take two posts, since I can only put 4 pictures in one post. Remember, 28g will hold whatever shape you give it. Use a drill bit, or your wick loose (not in the wickhole) to begin. I'll check in to answer any questions, should you have any.

View attachment 196023View attachment 196024View attachment 196025View attachment 196026

Nice! I'll try this tomorrow as it's over 4 am here at the moment and i really need to get to bed
But I'll let you know as soon as I've tried it out.

 

[pdib]

Well i did wrap my coil quite tight. Managed about 12 evenly wicks on it. But my problem with that as i said was that the ohm fluctuated quite a lot between 0,5-1,2 ohm, and when i actually had it on 1,2 ohm it burned just a couple of seconds before it was down again. And the taste wasn't really great on that. So from that I'd guess with so many wraps it will burn too hot and ruin the flavor.

From most of the tutorials I've seen it looks like a 4/5 wrap is most common, but i guess i didn't noticed they used a mechanical device or a different mesh perhaps. Cause it was 28g i wanted.

OH! you didn't mention "jumping ohms"! tighten your connection at the top nut! . . . . . All that work!

 

[pdib]

sweet dreams . . . . . .oh, look, it was a 7/8 wrap. 1.8Ω though, not bad.

 

[StaircaseWit]

OH! you didn't mention "jumping ohms"! tighten your connection at the top nut! . . . . . All that work!

:sigh:

There needs to be a "jumping ohms means a loose connection" sticky.

 

[Rummel]

OH! you didn't mention "jumping ohms"! tighten your connection at the top nut! . . . . . All that work!

So i followed your pictures and instructions step by step, and funnily enough i got the same ohm as you I didn't get as nice glowing coil as you though, i got some hot spots at the top but I'm working on adjusting them.

And about the top nut connection, i did know beforehand that it needed to be tight so I've checked that. Though i read somewhere today that the wick shouldn't touch the bottom of the tank. Could that be it?

Anyway, thanks so much for the help! It really made things easier, it was driving me nuts yesterday.
Btw, did you try to vape with that setup and if so what did you think of the taste compared to let say a 4/5 wrap with 30/32g?

 

[cghildreth]

My setup on my Vamo with AGA-T+ (SF Edition) is a 5/6 wrap of 30g Kanthal A-1. Cold it ohms out at 1.7 ohms. Hot it ohms out at 1.5 ohms. Keep in mind that my wick hole is bored out a bit over the standard version of the AGA-T+. I've experimented a lot with different wick setups (pdib has an excellent thread on multi-wick setups that I tried with pretty damn good results). However, I have come to the very firm conclusion that nothing tastes as good or is as responsive as a tube wick. Downside of tube wicks is that you have to learn the fine art of tilting. I also find that resolving hot-spots tends to be a bit easier on a tube wick than with a solid wick. YMMV.

Long story short - order some stainless. Most folks are using either 400 or 500 mesh. Also order some 30 g and some 32 g Kanthal.

 

[Rummel]

My setup on my Vamo with AGA-T+ (SF Edition) is a 5/6 wrap of 30g Kanthal A-1. Cold it ohms out at 1.7 ohms. Hot it ohms out at 1.5 ohms. Keep in mind that my wick hole is bored out a bit over the standard version of the AGA-T+. I've experimented a lot with different wick setups (pdib has an excellent thread on multi-wick setups that I tried with pretty damn good results). However, I have come to the very firm conclusion that nothing tastes as good or is as responsive as a tube wick. Downside of tube wicks is that you have to learn the fine art of tilting. I also find that resolving hot-spots tends to be a bit easier on a tube wick than with a solid wick. YMMV.

Long story short - order some stainless. Most folks are using either 400 or 500 mesh. Also order some 30 g and some 32 g Kanthal.

Cool I'll definitely check that out.

 

[thxone]

28awg needs 7/6 or 8/7 tight, even wraps... just because the top nut is tight doesn't mean the middle nut is tight. If you get the wire in there and tighten the top nut to secure it, hold the middle nut with needle nose and tighten the top nut more if you can... so the middle nut doesn't move. My nuts move all the time.

 

[CountSmackula]

I've wrapped 28ga around my drill bit where the wires actually touched. Then I remove the drill bit & created even spacing by using a feeler gauge. That way I can get uniform coverage and a reasonably high (1.6-1.7) ohm range. I've only done it once because it was a bit time consuming. But... it was a tasty vape @ 10W w/ a fruit flavor juice.

 

[CountSmackula]

My nuts move all the time.

Mine too. Good thing I wear loose pants.