I could be a genius, or I could be an idiot.....

[Shipwreck]

Be gentle on me LOL.... I tend to get excited when I get into something new that let's me tinker and play with new stuff. So I had this issue today with my MVP3 and nautilus where I thought I had two dead heads, still to be determined. I don't have the cash on hand to get new heads or materials for a rebuild. So... Being the creative (possibly overly creative) person I am I got looking around the house for materials I could use to rebuild my heads if I need to. Fund the cotton pretty easy in the medicine cabinet, then the search was on for something to use for the coil wire.... I have all kinds of different wire around the place as I tinker with a lot of different stuff that requires wire... But not sure if any of it it Kanthal or nichrome.... Then I literally stumbled over something....

I just moved into my place and am still unpacking. I have boxes that are partially unpacked, and when I went into my one room I stepped and almost twisted my ankle an old hair dryer. I looked down at this hair dryer for a couple of seconds.... The gears in my head started turning, my head tilted, my eye brows raised.... I thought, 'HEY!!!! That thing uses coiled wire as a heating element!!!!' I grabbed it up and ran back to the living room and jumped on google to find out what kind of wire hair dryers use for the heating coils and found this:

Heating a Hair Dryer - HowStuffWorks

OH MY GOD IT USES NICHROME WIRE!!!! I grabbed my tools and started tearing this thing apart, all giddy like a five year old on Christmas morning about jumping into my first rebuild.... Then this little voice said "Hey.... you might wanna see if that nichrome wire is the right kind of nichrome wire to use in a coil." I looked over and my dog, Sparky, was looking at me with his head tilted and a quizical look on his face.... I don't think he was the source of that voice..... Or was he???

Anyway.... So here I am.... pulling caution back in from the wind it was thrown into earlier... Would this nichrome wire in the hair dryer be ok to use in a coil for my nautilus BVC? Feel free to laugh at me if this is a totally dumb idea... LOL

 

[Das Auto]

I'm going to lean towards Idiot, but I am a pessimist! So don't take my word for it!! LoL

Honestly, it might just taste like burnt hair! But tell us how it works out! I know my woman has like 4 hair dryers lying around that I could dismantle!

Good Luck!

 

[State O' Flux]

I looked over and my dog, Sparky, was looking at me with his head tilted and a quizical look on his face....

Would this nichrome wire in the hair dryer be ok to use in a coil for my Nautilus BVC? Feel free to laugh at me if this is a totally dumb idea... LOL

It's not neccessarily a dumb idea... dangerous maybe, but not dumb. If it is nichrome, and it's a thickness (have a way to accurately measure thickness?) that is in the resistance range you want (have a way to accurately measure resistance?)... then give it a shot.

If you like Sparky... put him in another room when you hit the button.

 

[BlueSnake]

FYI A 50’ or 100’ roll of resistance wire can run $5 to $7 shipped. I can understand being short of cash, but is the risk worth it for the price?

 

[Shipwreck]

I'm going to lean towards Idiot, but I am a pessimist! So don't take my word for it!! LoL

Honestly, it might just taste like burnt hair! But tell us how it works out! I know my woman has like 4 hair dryers lying around that I could dismantle!

Good Luck!

LMAO It actually turned out very well, more on that below.....

It's not neccessarily a dumb idea... dangerous maybe, but not dumb. If it is nichrome, and it's a thickness (have a way to accurately measure thickness?) that is in the resistance range you want (have a way to accurately measure resistance?)... then give it a shot.

If you like Sparky... put him in another room when you hit the button.

LMAO It is indeed nichrome N60 C. There were actually three different strands all different gauges and over 20 feet of each. I took it to a buddy who own an electronics repair shop. He knew right off the bat what it was because he's repaired a few commercial hair dryers LOL. The gauges are 28, 26, and 24.

As Das Auto mentioned I thought about dirt and such. So I soaked it all in a little tub of vinegar for a few hours and then rinsed it all off and let it soak in boiled water.

Did my first Nautilus coil rebuild with the 28 gauge at 9 wraps and came out with 1.4 ohms. Been vaping happily since LOL.

FYI A 50’ or 100’ roll of resistance wire can run $5 to $7 shipped. I can understand being short of cash, but is the risk worth it for the price?

Being cash strapped was the big factor in my little experiment LOL. But as I mentioned above I took the precaution of taking it to my buddy to make sure it was nichrome and I could use it for vaping.

 

[Snugglepooter]

You are not alone, this is the second hair dryer epiphany on the forum this week...

Your talking dog took the bonus points though, leaving you ahead in this game.

 

[Shipwreck]

You are not alone, this is the second hair dryer epiphany on the forum this week...

Your talking dog took the bonus points though, leaving you ahead in this game.

LMAO woo hoo Sparky!! Glad I'm not alone. Can you link the other one @Snugglepooter ? I'd like to check that one out too LOL

 

[sonicbomb]

I thought this was going to be a poll?

 

[Snugglepooter]

I have graduated.... In two ways!! | E-Cigarette Forum

 

[motordude]

Oh, you crazy Canadians.

 

[Shipwreck]

I thought this was going to be a poll?

LMAO maybe I should have made it a poll LOL.

I have graduated.... In two ways!! | E-Cigarette Forum

Aaaahhh.. LOL I AM alone then Snuggle. That's my thread too LOL

 

[Shipwreck]

Oh, you crazy Canadians.

Yes, but we're the good kinda crazy LOL

 

[Snugglepooter]

Well, I guess it's clear that I am not a genius...

(at least on the interwebz! )

 

[Jdurand]

I took apart a 20 dollar hair dryer to save money on 5 dollars worth of wire. Yup, you guys are the good kind of crazy all right!

 

[sonicbomb]

Should have left the wire in the hair dryer, and wicked it. Assisted air flow, nice warm vape, clouds for days bro.

 

[93gc40]

What the risk??????????????? Your electric appliances are using the EXACT same wire we use many time from the exact same ORIGINAL source. You really think Timco is in business to supply vapers????

 

[Shipwreck]

Well, I guess it's clear that I am not a genius...

(at least on the interwebz! )

LOL don't feel bad, my mom mistakes me for other people all the time too LOL

I took apart a 20 dollar hair dryer to save money on 5 dollars worth of wire. Yup, you guys are the good kind of crazy all right!

Actually, the hair dryer was free. It belonged to my ex wife whom I divorced about 5 or 6 years ago LOL, plus it had been sitting in a box in storage for about 2 or 3 years to boot.

Should have left the wire in the hair dryer, and wicked it. Assisted air flow, nice warm vape, clouds for days bro.

LMAO I actually thought about that, but I didn't have enough wicking or ejuice LOL... Could you imagine the size of tank you'd need for a hair dryer??? Probably better to use it for dripping LOL.... Uh oh............... Now watch all the cloud chasing drippers start using their hair dryers to vape..... LOL

 

[RandyF]

This isn't nearly as bad as the guy that asked if it would be okay to wick his coil with the stuffing from his couch cushions (this was a while ago). It's white and fluffy, it must be okay....right?

 

[erratum]

after all, what's a little hairspray in your vape?

 

[Jdurand]

This isn't nearly as bad as the guy that asked if it would be okay to wick his coil with the stuffing from his couch cushions (this was a while ago). It's white and fluffy, it must be okay....right?

I think I read that one at one time, thanks for the reminder that the stupid question is the one unasked.