Help with rebuilding coils?

[Smacks]

Hi, I'm new here. I wanted to ask some advice about coil building.

A few months ago my gf and I picked up a Kangertech Nano. I like it fine, but we seem to go through coils pretty quickly (they usually start to taste bad after about a week). So I thought I might have a dabble in building my own coils.

I know the Nano isn't exactly designed for rebuilding. But I found I can easily tap the bottom out of the disposables with a screwdriver, and rebuild them. The problem is, no matter how neat a job I do, they never seem to taste very nice.

I picked up some 26 ga Nichrome wire, and 27 ga Kanthal A1 wire from Totally Wicked, and Japanese cotton. The wire is a lot thicker than the wire it's replacing. My latest coil is about 1.2 ohms, but when I vape it at 20 watts, it's really weak and no flavour at all. When I turn it up higher, I can get more vape, and can actually hear it boiling, but the flavour is awful. I wouldn't say burned, more like a bitter chemical taste.

What am I doing wrong? (I mean aside from rebuilding disposable coils). Am I using too thick a wire? Wrong wattage? Hot legs? Any advice would be helpful.

 

[zoiDman]

Hi, I'm new here. I wanted to ask some advice about coil building.

A few months ago my gf and I picked up a Kangertech Nano. I like it fine, but we seem to go through coils pretty quickly (they usually start to taste bad after about a week). So I thought I might have a dabble in building my own coils.

I know the Nano isn't exactly designed for rebuilding. But I found I can easily tap the bottom out of the disposables with a screwdriver, and rebuild them. The problem is, no matter how neat a job I do, they never seem to taste very nice.

I picked up some 26 ga Nichrome wire, and 27 ga Kanthal A1 wire from Totally Wicked, and Japanese cotton. The wire is a lot thicker than the wire it's replacing. My latest coil is about 1.2 ohms, but when I vape it at 20 watts, it's really weak and no flavour at all. When I turn it up higher, I can get more vape, and can actually hear it boiling, but the flavour is awful. I wouldn't say burned, more like a bitter chemical taste.

What am I doing wrong? (I mean aside from rebuilding disposable coils). Am I using too thick a wire? Wrong wattage? Hot legs? Any advice would be helpful.

Hi Smacks. Welcome to the ECF.

Rebuilding Pre-Made Coil heads can sometimes be a PITA. There Isn't a look of room to work with. So getting the Coil/Wick right can be an Exercise in Dexterity.

Hard to say what is the Problem(s) you are having? Did you Dry Burn the Coil before you put the Cotton in?

Since you have about Everything you Need to make your own coils Now, why don't you buy a Kanger TopTank Mini that includes an RBA Section?

Kanger Toptank Mini

The RBA Section was designed to be Rebuilt. And there are Tons of How To Vids on the Internet that have Step by Step instructions on doing it.

 

[Smacks]

I didn't try dry burning the coil before putting the cotton in, is that important? I also have a little blow torch, I read that can help with shaping the wire but I haven't tried it on coils yet.

I probably will pick up a TopTank at some point, I just thought I'd have a little go with the stuff I have.

 

[zoiDman]

I didn't try dry burning the coil before putting the cotton in, is that important? I also have a little blow torch, I read that can help with shaping the wire but I haven't tried it on coils yet.

I probably will pick up a TopTank at some point, I just thought I'd have a little go with the stuff I have.

Doing a Quick Dry Burn is Very Important to me.

It Cleans the Coil of any Residual Containments like Machine Oil. It also lets me see that the Coil is Heating Evenly from the Center of the Coil out.

I wouldn't use a Torch. Just Mount the Coil and then set the Watts on your Mod to something Low like 10 Watts or so. Then hold down the Power Button and when it starts to glow Happy Orange, release the Power Button.

All you need is Heat the Coil Slightly. Don't hold the Power Down until the Entire Coil is Angry Yellow like many people do in Utube Videos.

 

[zoiDman]

BTW - You might try 28ga NiChrome 80 in those Pre-Made Coil Heads.

 

[KenD]

Doing a Quick Dry Burn is Very Important to me.

It Cleans the Coil of any Residual Containments like Machine Oil. It also lets me see that the Coil is Heating Evenly from the Center of the Coil out.

I wouldn't use a Torch. Just Mount the Coil and then set the Watts on your Mod to something Low like 10 Watts or so. Then hold down the Power Button and when it starts to glow Happy Orange, release the Power Button.

All you need is Heat the Coil Slightly. Don't hold the Power Down until the Entire Coil is Angry Yellow like many people do in Utube Videos.

There's a risk of burning the insulator if doing that though, if not using coils with no resistance legs. Better to torch the coil before installing it.

Sent from my M7_PLUS using Tapatalk

 

[zoiDman]

There's a risk of burning the insulator if doing that though, if not using coils with no resistance legs. ...

This is True.

But if a Person uses a Low Wattage, and Don't Attempt to do the Tanning Salon type duration, I think they would be OK.

But I say go with a RTA that has an RBA Section. For 12 Bucks, it's not worth the Hassle of Rebuilding Coil Heads.

$12.34 Toptank Mini Styled Sub Ohm Tank Clearomizer - 4ml / 0.15ohm / stainless steel + glass at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping

 

[TheBMP]

just get a rta. there are so many great cheap(ish) options and since you already have wick&wire you dont need to buy anything more for quite some time. i spent like 15€ the whole year on building material on building 3-4 tanks and 2 rdas and still have tons of wire and rayon left.

time is money and getting crazy trying to rebuild factory coilheads sure isnt worth saving 10-30$ once

 

[Ben85]

Your issue is you are trying to rebuild something which isn't designed to be rebuilt.

Get an RTA. You will save the money back in no time.

 

[ErrrKT19]

i would think 30g or 32g might be better for rebuilding kanger heads. but i'm in agreement with everyone else here that if you can pick up a relatively inexpensive, single coil RTA like a kayfun 5 Clone, you'll be much more satisfied with the build experience, flavor, and cost of recoiling compared to the replacement heads