How to determine and prevent....

[buklao]

It is my first time rebuilding a coil, I have been watching videos on how to build but I still doubt myself, therefore I wanted to ask you people where to look for shorts and what do you do to prevent them? Like say the coils shouldn't touch the post, etc.

Thank you in advance!

 

[Stosh]

Depends on what you're building your coil on or for, coils touching a post would be one thing to watch for, also the coil touching a top cap when assembled. The most important thing is to check the assembled unit with a digital multimeter BEFORE firing it for the first time. Counting the number of coils, size of the coils, gauge of the wire all will get you in the ballpark, actually measuring the ohms let's you know it's safe with no shorts....

 

[buklao]

Depends on what you're building your coil on or for, coils touching a post would be one thing to watch for, also the coil touching a top cap when assembled. The most important thing is to check the assembled unit with a digital multimeter BEFORE firing it for the first time. Counting the number of coils, size of the coils, gauge of the wire all will get you in the ballpark, actually measuring the ohms let's you know it's safe with no shorts....

"actually measuring the ohms let's you know it's safe with no shorts" - what do you mean by this? As long as you calculate a coil's ohm it means that it doesnt have a short?

Im only doing a basic single coil or dual coil build on igo-w using a 30gauge kanthal. Ohms should be around 1.2 - 1.5 with a 2mm silica wick.

 

[Stosh]

Once you've completed the coils, and attached them, replaced the top cover on the IGO-W the last thing you want to do is measure the ohms of your IGO at the 510 connector. Don't ever trust the calculations of wire length, number of coils, etc...without measuring the ohms at the 510 connector....measuring as the last check, not only catches shorts, but a "mis-calculated" coil resistance also....

I like my IGO-W for the room to work, holes in the posts, and cost. My first few coils were a touch too close to the cover and shorted, a quick re-positioning fixed the problem...

 

[buklao]

Once you've completed the coils, and attached them, replaced the top cover on the IGO-W the last thing you want to do is measure the ohms of your IGO at the 510 connector. Don't ever trust the calculations of wire length, number of coils, etc...without measuring the ohms at the 510 connector....measuring as the last check, not only catches shorts, but a "mis-calculated" coil resistance also....

I like my IGO-W for the room to work, holes in the posts, and cost. My first few coils were a touch too close to the cover and shorted, a quick re-positioning fixed the problem...

"measuring as the last check, not only catches shorts, but a "mis-calculated" coil resistance also"
- how would I know its a miscalculation w/o having a base number to compare it with? My desired ohms cant be the base number right?

 

[edyle]

Measure the ohms.

Don't just depend on calculation and assumption.

MEASURE IT with a meter.

 

[classwife]

Moved to Rebuildable Atomizer Systems from The Modding Forum - Atomizer Mods

 

[Stosh]

"measuring as the last check, not only catches shorts, but a "mis-calculated" coil resistance also"
- how would I know its a miscalculation w/o having a base number to compare it with? My desired ohms cant be the base number right?

Your desired ohms are exactly it....I will wind a 30ga kanthral coil around a toothpick, 6 wraps SHOULD get me about 2.0 ohms, my "calculated" result. I know this because I've coiled many times, with the same toothpicks, and wire. If you assume that using a toothpick and your own wire, coiling technique would also give you 2.0 ohm coil would be a stretch, without measuring with a meter, and doing a bunch of coils yourself.

With experience and a bit of trial and error you will get a feel for how many wraps, how big a coil, will result in so many ohms in your atty. Then always measure the result to ensure safety....

 

[grayscale]

Don't wait till last to check the ohms - if you do, no you've found you may have wasted juice and wick. You should generally check them twice - once after you've built/attached it or them, and then once it's all complete.
Another place to look for a short is where you "clamp" down on the coils leads or "legs". Sometimes, especially if you have something that has holes you pass the wire through, when you screw them down, the leads can break. Doesn't happen often, but is a place you might find one.
Also, if you have a cheapo dripper, you may find that the screws will not tighten down all the way/far enough, sometimes due to bad or stripped threads. Anyhow, this can cause a short situation too.

 

[buklao]

Thank you for all these info, keep them coming pls! This would be greatly appreciated!

Also, please feel free to post links of threads/articles/sites regarding this topic that you think would be of good help.

Ill do as much reading as i can before doing it.

One question, how do you suppose to dry the wick after you've dripped juice? Is it supposed to go back to its white form (dry form before dripping) ?