How do I know when a coil has gone bad?

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soulcatcher

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I usually notice the flavor and more so the vapor drops off and know it is time for a cleaning. In my experience the coil will far outlast the wick. Depending on your atty you can remove the coil, do a dry burn to get any buildup off the coils then rewick and get back to vaping. I have had coils last months although my wicks NEVER last that long.

Let us know what your set-up is and we can give you some cleaning tips to make it last. Also, if you can get to the coil to replace the wick rayon aka. cellulocotton (from Sally's Beauty Supply) works soooooooo much better the factory silica wicks. Def worth a try if you feel so inclined.
 

JavaDan

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As others correctly said, when the vapor starts to go or it becomes tasteless. I usually know when I have to drag harder than I did with the same tank.

I also noted (at least with my iClear 30s tanks) that the resistance seems to climb. What used to read 1.9 will start to show 2.2 or 2.3 ohms and it's done for. I guess its the coil getting gunked up.
 

glointhedark

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Once you remove the chimney on the Kanger coil, you will see 2 wicks. I use tweezers to remove these and put them carefully to the side. Underneath these wicks you will see your coil, with another wick threaded through the center of the coil. Put your base with the coil attached on your battery. Fire your battery in short bursts until the coil glows red from end to end. Let it cool for a bit, put the top wicks back on, attach the chimney and grommet, and you should be good to go.
 

EbenezerScrews

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Different style coils have different lifespans. Each person's vaping habits also contribute to varying lifespans.

How well a coil is performing is something you will learn to detect as you continue vaping. Subtle changes in taste & vapor will become more pronounced to you. Its very important to have plenty of spares.

Personally, I don't wait for coils to get fussy on me. These lil replaceable bottom coils from kanger/smoktech get tossed after 2-3 days for a new one, something like a 901 will get 5-7 days. For me, and my preferences.

I'm a devout non-fiddler, haha.
 

soulcatcher

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I am using a evod clone with a single bottom coil. Do I have to take the wicks out to dry burn them? I've seen several videos on utube on dry burning and they showed removing the wick and not removing it..I am confused.

If the wick is ceramic (which it prob is) you can dry burn w/ the wick in place. You can't do that with cotton/rayon because it will burn.

As stated, remove the base from the tank. Then wiggle the 'chimney' off of the head so you can see the coil and wick. To dry-burn you need to pulse the fire button on and off until the coil glows red and you can see that any residue has burnt off. Blow on the coil to lift out any remaining ash and the coil should be good to go. (some people will soak the coil in alcohol or boil them and brush the coils to clean them up, but dry-burning has worked well for me. YMMV)

I would use the stock wicks until performance starts degrading, unless you have a bit of time and patience to learn how to re-wick them. IMO ceramic works and is convenient because you do not have to remove them to dry-burn / clean, but rayon/cellulocotton and even cotton works much better. Better flavor, better wicking, better overall performance; and once you have learned the technique it is quite easy and fast to do.
 

volume control

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I build new coils roughly once every 2 months, vape about 2.5ml a day. Rewicking and dry burning will enhance their life quite a bit, also if you do build your own coils thicker wire seems to hold up better, but i use 28 and 30 gauge and still get a pretty great life from them. I like the 30 gauge for dual coil builds since you split your wattage between two coils, they run a little cooler so that thinner qire helps it heat faster (dual 1.8ohm). Single coil builds 28 gauge(single 1.3ohm)


I replace them when even after dry burning they still look a little corroded or cruddy. As long as they look shiny after dry burn i keep using. I had a cruddy coil warp on me once and short on the post, it fused and broke thank god. So i make sure to catch em before that happens
 
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Myrany

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Once you remove the chimney on the Kanger coil, you will see 2 wicks. I use tweezers to remove these and put them carefully to the side. Underneath these wicks you will see your coil, with another wick threaded through the center of the coil. Put your base with the coil attached on your battery. Fire your battery in short bursts until the coil glows red from end to end. Let it cool for a bit, put the top wicks back on, attach the chimney and grommet, and you should be good to go.

^This with one modification

After I do the burn but before I put it all back together again I give it a good rinse. Gets all the ash you just burnt off the coil out of there. :)
 

antony73

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Interesting posts.

I've recently been using 10ml bottles of liquid instead of the 50ml I usually use, (I'm going through an experimenting phase with flavors). At first I thought I may need to build a new coil, (EVOD/Protank coil), for changing every 2-3 days, ready for a new flavor. But simply cleaning up the coil up and changing the wicks is a much better way. This way I can use 2-3 coils on a constant rotation.
 

VAscooter

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I use all rebuildable atties like KFL+, Fogger V4 and the Reo reomizers. I don't think I've replaced a coil in over a month unless I wanted to put in a higher or lower ohm coil. I generally replace my cotton wicks about every 2-3 days depending on the juice and dry burn the coils before inserting a new wick.
 
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