I am looking to rebuild my ProTank...

Status
Not open for further replies.

Blkwdw86

Senior Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Oct 6, 2013
256
149
Gladewater, TX
There are videos on how to rebuild Evod heads, they're the same heads.

You need 32 gauge Kanthal wire.

For wicks, you can use pretty much anything. 3mm Ekowool, 2mm silica, Peaches n Cream cotton yarn from Walmart (my fave), cotton balls, whichever. I've even come across people using ss mesh. Sky's the limit.
 
Last edited:

elfy

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Nov 8, 2013
368
375
Elfland, everywhere, USA
I did this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrvwOf13U-s

I used 30 guage kanthal wire, 10 wraps, and some sterile cotton balls from CVS. I think (not sure) it came out to 2 ohms, or around that. My ohm meter sucks.

I also used a helping hands magnifying glass with LED light from Harbor Freight so I could really see up close so make sure nothing was touching in the head.

I used a 5/64ths drill bit from Home Depot to wrap the wire, and then heated it up with my (now) lonely cig lighter. Then I tried as best as I could to squish the coils together to fit them into my Protank II mini's head.

I *might* use the silicon gasket on top next time, since when I lay my vape on its side, it likes to gurgle a bit.

But it works, and the flavor is ok for now.
 

vaperature

Moved On
ECF Veteran
Oct 8, 2013
1,752
1,869
Chicago

PhatRon

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Oct 14, 2013
871
467
Cumming, GA, USA
32 Gauge Kanthal

30 Gauge Kanthal

30ft 3mm Silica Wick

3mm Braided Hollow Ekowool

Walgreens- Organic Cotton Balls

Rip Trippers Microcoil Protank rebuild

[Edit:] Here's a better picture
Kanthal Wire Chart.jpg
 
Last edited:

Rickb119

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Jul 20, 2013
1,824
4,109
Greeley, CO, USA
My method: I use 32ga Kanthal wire and wrap it 5 times around a large needle (approx. 2mm). (I have my wire pre-cut and pre-burned.) I then cut a length (3-4 inches) of boiled cotton cooking twine (Bed Bath and Beyond). The twine has 8 strands and I pull off 3 of them and lay them to the side. I take the remaining 5 strands and thread them through a bead threading needle (Hobby Lobby). I thread the needle through the coil and now have 10 strands in the coil. At this point the coil wraps will need to be adjusted/separated. Once that is done, the coil is installed in the metal base. After that the remaining 3 strands are folded over and used as the flavor wicks. Replace the stem, cut off the excess wick and check the resistance. I always get between 2.0 and 2.2 ohms.

I've tried using fewer strands but always had problems with gurgling. Of course YMMV.

Try several different methods (the wire and cotton are cheap) to see what works best for you.
 

Ronald3638

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Aug 16, 2013
429
240
Zeeland, MI, USA
I wrap 5 turns of 32 gauge resistance wire on a 4-40 screw.
After wrapping I twist the end of my 100% cotton yarn (sugar n cream same as peaches n cream) to a point and push it through the coil instal it in the head and trim it down.
I take a piece of the trimmings, untwist it and use two of the strands as flavor wicks. I wind up with 2.2 ohms using 5 wraps and 4 wraps should give about 1.9 ohms.
When I start to loose flavor I pull the wick out of the coil, dry burn the bare coil an insert a new wick.
 

Blkwdw86

Senior Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Oct 6, 2013
256
149
Gladewater, TX
I've never boiled my yarn. It's a practicality issue. I got 120 yards on a spool, boiling it will get it soaking wet and if I don't go through the hassle of stretching every inch out to dry (with the dirt/contaminants/animal fur), it will turn into a big moldy mess.

If there are any contaminants or chemicals in it, the miniscule amount I'd get with each draw off such a tiny piece (3/8 inch maybe) isn't going to amount to anything measurable without government scientific machinery.

Works great for me, no issues.
 

jocat54

Senior Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Aug 15, 2013
159
134
Lindale, Texas
I've never boiled my yarn. It's a practicality issue. I got 120 yards on a spool, boiling it will get it soaking wet and if I don't go through the hassle of stretching every inch out to dry (with the dirt/contaminants/animal fur), it will turn into a big moldy mess.

If there are any contaminants or chemicals in it, the miniscule amount I'd get with each draw off such a tiny piece (3/8 inch maybe) isn't going to amount to anything measurable without government scientific machinery.

Works great for me, no issues.


I just pull about 6-8 ft off the spool and boil it---dries really fast and will last me a long time. Not sure if it does any good though, just did it cuz.
 

sunnata

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Oct 28, 2013
418
431
voidness
I did this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrvwOf13U-s

I used 30 guage kanthal wire, 10 wraps, and some sterile cotton balls from CVS. I think (not sure) it came out to 2 ohms, or around that. My ohm meter sucks.

I also used a helping hands magnifying glass with LED light from Harbor Freight so I could really see up close so make sure nothing was touching in the head.

I used a 5/64ths drill bit from Home Depot to wrap the wire, and then heated it up with my (now) lonely cig lighter. Then I tried as best as I could to squish the coils together to fit them into my Protank II mini's head.

I *might* use the silicon gasket on top next time, since when I lay my vape on its side, it likes to gurgle a bit.

But it works, and the flavor is ok for now.


I received my order of kanthal tonight, that build looked easier than wrapping around silica, so I wanted to try it first. I haven't done any coils before, I heard everyone say it was easy..and I agree, it wasn't bad. I could use more practice wrapping tho lol

The first attempt turned out a lot better than I expected, it came out at 2.0ohms, I was aiming at 1.8. Tested it out... wow..! Kept adding more and more volts...til the poor ego was maxed out, and it still performed flawlessly. Warm vape, so very tasty, and no sign of burning. Good times. But after using it for about an hour or so, it sort of stopped working. I get the lightest vape ever.. I tried priming it, played around with different configurations (add/remove flavor wicks, grommet, etc). Still can't figure out what is wrong.

So I made a second coil, this time it's 1.8ohms, and have been using it for the past few minutes. no issues so far, tastes absolutely amazing.

I am sure that with time and a bit more experience I will be able to tweak it more to taste, but I am just very happy about the results and the improvement over stock heads.

anyway, I just wanted to say thank you, to all that have shared their builds and experience for making this possible for a noob like myself

cheers! :vapor:
 
Last edited:

elfy

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Nov 8, 2013
368
375
Elfland, everywhere, USA
I had issues with lower and lower vapor etc, but I think it all came down to one coil I made (30g, 6 wraps or so) being such low ohms (like 1.5 or something) it drained the hell out of my batt..ha ha.

I need to be making these in the 2.2 ohm range I believe. I need an expert to tell me what im doing right and what im missing. Ive done exactly 3 coils now, so I need to really learn more about it. but its fun to make the tight coils and have them blast out vapor. my 10 or 11 wrap coil worked well all day today, till my batt more or less gave out. plus I was vaping it up last night so it could have easily only had half a charge.

once i get the coil thing down then I guess I can save up for a really nice tank or three and a real Mod or something...with more/better batteries....maybe in a couple of months...

meanwhile im busy looking at DIY jooses.

I am enjoying this, I know I felt some cravings for stinkies when I was out and about and didnt have my vape with me, but I really dont want tobacco. I am enjoying vaping a LOT.
 

sunnata

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Oct 28, 2013
418
431
voidness
I hear you, the savings sound fantastic, and the freedom to control your ohms and tweak the build to taste is awesome.

The next logical step on my list is looking into a RBA in the near future. the past three weeks were...shopping intensive. but so worth it. I haven't touched an analog since day 1, the quality of the vape has only improved, I have found a couple juices that I can truly vape all day, it's almost too good to be true.

DIY juice.. it's not something I am ready for yet, but hey.. if you told me three weeks ago "the answer to your cravings is a warm lemon vapor, with custom built coils!" I would have laughed pretty hard.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Users who are viewing this thread