How long can I keep reusing the coil?

[smartham]

I'm lazy, lazy AF as my posting history will clearly demonstrate.

I'm at a point where I'm rebuilding because $4/ea for a subohm coil that makes me drink fluid like it's my daily water intake was just stupid. That's cool. I mostly got it down. It's not so hard.

I then realized that I could easily just use garden variety "organic cotton balls" from the local Sprawlmart and save more, it's fun rewicking every 3 or so days because it's all but free to do so but I'm curious about how many times the coils can be overheated and then cleaned off before they start to lose effectiveness/flavour output.

I know, it's nearly limitless but at the same time surely people who've been doing this longer have come to terms that after 2 or 4 or 8 or whatever they're not as effective as start.

(yeah yeah, wire's cheap... it's mostly about the effort)

 

[Don29palms]

How many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop? The world may never know?

As far as I know there is really no set answer. I clean and rewick mine when they get gunked up. I change the coils when they get hot spots or they won't fire evenly anymore.

 

[wheelie]

I got in a busy mode with work, life in general and I bet my single coil were six months old. Changed one the other day and mod I am vaping right now still has same coil but have not used this tank as much as the other tank. Did not have to change but just figured I would. So up to you if there is no degrading or metal flaking or something. Like you rewick every few days when it loses vapor production or just not tasting right. CHEERS!

 

[Dougiestyle]

Too many variables to give a specific answer.

What flavors/sweeteners/NET/
What wire? Complex clapton?
What wattage?
What topper?

I get as many reuses as I can get before performance fails.That's as specific of a number as I can muster.

 

[mimöschen]

It's impossible to give you an exact timeframe, but when the resistance of the coil increases after the dryburn procedure, it's most probably time to install a new coil.
Other reasons to change your coils may include a decrease in flavor, an overall funky taste, the coil just doesn't look right, you have to try some new fancy wire, or simply your irresistible urge to do so.

 

[vaper1960]

When I need to re-wick, first I do a quick dry-burn (and light brushing if needed), give everything a good rinse, dry and re-wick. I've used ordinary cotton balls before (in fact that's still what I use for quick and dirty taste tests with a RDA for DIY juices) but I do boil the cotton first (and dry well) Recently tried rayon... love it. If you are cheap, just order rayon from amazon and you will have a lifetime supply! Haven't been doing this long enough to tell you when to replace coils, but with wind my own simple coils it's too freaking easy (yes, you are lazy) Sometimes I might do it anyway because the ends of the wire under the screws need cleaning... easier to just make a new one. I also use pre-wound claptons but at $2 for 6 why not just change them often?

 

[vaper1960]

Oh, I almost forgot...

 

[LoveVanilla]

Studies have shown ecigarettes emit significantly higher levels of acetaldehyde and acrolein when vaped with dirty coils or above 450F. Been a while since I read this study but it changed my practice. Though I always run TC, I am now much quicker to wash wicks and change coils. Enjoy!

 

[mimöschen]

It's the decomposition of VG at temperatures above 320°C into toxic acrolein/acetaldehyde.
But only in low oxygen environments.
More airflow, less acrolein.

 

[LoveVanilla]

Thanks, acrolein and acetaldehyde (corrected above). Volume increases with temperature and significantly above 450F. There was another finding of acrolein and acetaldehyde with baked on/dirty coils as suspect.

 

[AvaOrchid]

As long as it's registering and you don't notice a funny taste or an unpleasant vaping experience I think they last as long as you feel that they last. Of course the wicking needs to be changed and the coil should be cleaned but as long as there's not a ton of build up that you're dealing with that won't come off there's no reason to change it unless you want to. I don't think there is any set time. I hear people that like to change their coil every week and others that haven't changed theirs in 5 and 1/2 months. Me personally I don't know because I tend to change wire out frequently because I get bored of the build LOL

 

[vaper1960]

One of my RTAs has this "honeycomb" airflow insert below the coil. The small holes get clogged with juice and to remove/clean it I have to remove the coil anyway (no big deal I wind my own coils with simple round wire) My other RTA (same actually) I use the insert with larger holes so can clean it without removing the coil (that's good because I'm using pre-wound claptons in it)

 

[MacTechVpr]

Murphy's law. But it stands to reason then — the better the build, the better the vape.

Twisted Lead Parallel

• MacTechVpr
• Nov 21, 2017
• 1
• tensioned microcoil twisted lead parallel

If you're a LMF like I am, as you say, getting it predictably right consistently makes a diff.

Good luck and Happy New Year all!

p.s. Strain-wound, parallel, Nextel, 40-100W…about 1-3 mos with weekly dry-burns of coils and wick (installed) but I prefer to rebuild every 4-6 weeks when poss.

 

[AngeNZ]

I usually vape below 30 watts, depending on the build.

For 28ga single wire, there's only so many times I dry burn/rewick it before it gets either too yuck (technical term) or thin. For me, that is usually 4-6 times.

Flat/rectangular wire lasts me a lot longer, especially kanthal. Currently using 0.5mm * 0.2mm wire in 4 RDAs and after 6 dry burn/rewicks, it is vaping as good as it did on the first day. It's also MUCH MUCH easier to clean than fused claptons

 

[Punk In Drublic]

I take @MacTechVpr approach. By utilizing 2 different colour post screws, you offset the molecular structure of the wire thus creating a state of thermal flux that repels juice junk instead of attracting it. But one must pay attention of the correct polarity – should you mistakenly use the blue screw on the positive post, you can create a negative quantum matrix where juice takes on the opposite perception of what it is intended to be. Apples taste like orange, pies tastes like cakes and tobacco’s taste like … crap! And should one carry this error onto a dual post, dual coil setup, there can be a cancelling effect where you would get no taste at all.

Happy New Year everyone

 

[vaper1960]

If you are color blind the effects are negligible. On the other had, under certain circumstances (or substances) unflavored juices may take on extreme flavors

 

[MacTechVpr]

I take @MacTechVpr approach. By utilizing 2 different colour post screws, you offset the molecular structure of the wire thus creating a state of thermal flux that repels juice junk instead of attracting it. But one must pay attention of the correct polarity – should you mistakenly use the blue screw on the positive post, you can create a negative quantum matrix where juice takes on the opposite perception of what it is intended to be. Apples taste like orange, pies tastes like cakes and tobacco’s taste like … crap! And should one carry this error onto a dual post, dual coil setup, there can be a cancelling effect where you would get no taste at all.

Happy New Year everyone

Sounds like you may be missing an electron in your recipe.

Happy New Year all and good luck.

 

[Punk In Drublic]

Sounds like you may be missing an electron in your recipe.

Happy New Year all and good luck.

Might be a little more than an electron

Happy New Year

 

[Max Brown]

I’m even more lazy than topicstarter, and I extend the life of the coils by cleaning them with a round brush for cleaning a tobacco smoking pipe. All of my coils are vertical, so I clean them without having to take apart the evaporator at all, just after disconnecting the mouthpiece. I clamp the round brush in the drill, insert it inside evaporator, 1-2 seconds - and the coil is almost like new.

Spoiler: brush

I determine the next cleaning time as follows: the state of the coil makes me set the power 10% more than I have set after the first 10 puffs. This happens about 1 time per day.
When cleaning by brush no longer helps, I take apart the evaporator, burn the coil, replace the cotton wool. This happens about 3 times a month. Finally, about once every 2-3 months, I wind a new clapton.

 

[Brewdawg1181]

I know I'm an oddball here, but I never dry fire and re-use coils. Some don't because of metal concerns or what LoveVanilla said, but that's not why I do it. I tried many times, and it just never seemed quite as good as new to me, and only takes another moment to replace the coil, which costs less than $0.02. In fact, it may take less time than some people spend firing, cleaning/rinsing the old coil, from posts I've seen here. Since I use round wire, simple spaced coils, I generally make a dozen or so at at time, and that only takes a few minutes.

Of course, if I used more complicated or expensive coils, I'd go the dry firing route, though- and use it until it didn't fire evenly anymore or when performance dropped.