I might be over my head...

[Tabfreejon]

Hi Miss Gem. I've been using a TM150 for about 5 months now, almost every day, and I still think it's superb. Heavy as hell, but works a charm every button press. Your old man bought you a decent mod there.

The only thing you'll have to remember, is that in TC mode, you can't change your wattage. So make sure you set your watts, then go back to Ni/Ti mode and change your temp. You've probably figured all that out by now though.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do mine.

 

[Maiar]

I have managed to make myself feel like a noob all over again, lol.

I've been vaping coming on two years, and I felt like a noob not 4 months ago when I decided I was no longer going to pay crack prices for factory coils that work for 2 days. Take it from me, all you need is a screwdriver set, some wire and cotton and a week or so of practice and you'll be making your own coils in your sleep.
I use the kanger subtank RBA section, and my coils will out perform every stock coil kanger makes, often using less power too. Then there's my doge v2 dripper, which is just a beast and a total joy to use. I'll never buy stock coils again.

Long story short, no matter what you set your goal in vaping, you can totally do it.

 

[MissGem]

You can find lots of videos on youtube on coil building for beginners. You can also buy pre-made coils. What tank are you running on your VTC Mini and what type of coil are you using?

I have a Uwell Crown with SS dual .5 coils...

 

[MissGem]

I've been vaping since Sept, 2015 and last month I purchased my second RDA a Twisted Messes Squared. It rocks!!! Believe me, you can handle this. I went all in and bought around 2,500+ ft of coil wire, mostly stainless steel 316L and Kanthal A1, as well as premade coils from UD Tech.

Premade coils can be purchased from several sources online. I recommend a few below. At some locations they can be cheap and others very expensive. If you are willing to "COIL" the wire, you can get premade clapton wire

PREMADE COILS
UD Tech Ferris Wheel
CoilMaster
Lightning Vapes
Twisted Messes
My Freedom Smokes


STAINLESS STEEL 316L
TemCo
Kidney Puncher
Lightning Vapes

TemCo is probably going to be your best bet for wire prices, but you will have to coil it. No biggie!!!

Thank you for all the info, I am taking notes and looking into them. I think Im going to order some of both, premade coils and wire to make my own. Yesterday I was feeling a little overwhelmed at the idea of all the extra stuff I need to get like battery chargers, coil testers, and what not... lol. But I feel better about it today. Again, thanks for all the info... you guys rock!

 

[MissGem]

Hey, if you don't like it I will gladly take it off your hands ..... Kidding aside, that is some nice gear for sure.

Not a chance! lol

 

[AXIOM_1]

Not a chance! lol

lol

 

[bigdogsam]

@MissGem

I feel your pain

You can definitely accumulate a lot of gear if you are not careful (I did).

It's not really needed. I'm sure in your area there are lots of vape stores, find one you like and they will help you through this. The one I go to will even build coils, install them or show you how to install them.

Your regulated mod will give you Ohm readings of your coils, a small set of screwdrivers not only lets you tighten things down but you can wrap your coils around them. If you look at youtube lots of people use a small screwdriver and nail clippers to do their coils.

Did you know, 18650 batteries (what most mods use) are also used in flashlights? Way bright led flashlights. Bet you didn't know your vaping stuff also gets you ready for hurricane season! And you can find really good ones, cheap on ebay, 6 - 10 dollars cheap!

I also have a 4 battery charger that is also can be used as a backup usb charging station for you phone or tablet the one I have is:
https://www.amazon.com/10400mAh-Ext...65884920&sr=8-1&keywords=18650+usb+power+bank
I actually use this to charge my batteries for my mod, I rotate between two sets.
Also something to have for hurricane season.
Yes I live in South Florida

Ease into this slowly, not like me, accumulate things slowly, I always find better, cheaper options AFTER I buy stuff :-(

 

[Frenchfry1942]

I kept my clearomizer going as I built coils and built. A month later, the RTA is leading the way. I bought more and retired the old.

Good step forward!!!

 

[MissGem]

So I bought some pre-made kanthal twisted clapton coils to try getting my mod going and I got it going... Ohms is reading at .3 and I'm vaping at 70 watts... I don't like the taste but hard to explain what I'm tasting. Maybe the cotton? Maybe the coil? I used Japanese Organic Cotton. I'm sure I did something wrong or don't even know what I should be expecting? Go higher? Any advice? I come to you guys before running to the vape store, lol...

 

[speedy_r6]

Does it taste like gym socks? If so, that is the cotton. I notice it normally takes a few puffs to break it in(sometimes quite a few).

Also, it looks like it may be wicked a little heavy.

 

[dcfluegel]

View attachment 566089 So I bought some pre-made kanthal twisted clapton coils to try getting my mod going and I got it going... Ohms is reading at .3 and I'm vaping at 70 watts... I don't like the taste but hard to explain what I'm tasting. Maybe the cotton? Maybe the coil? I used Japanese Organic Cotton. I'm sure I did something wrong or don't even know what I should be expecting? Go higher? Any advice? I come to you guys before running to the vape store, lol...

first off, looks like a pretty nice job on the install

second off, speedy is spot on - with the koh gen do (japanese organic cotton) it can take a little bit to 'break the cotton in'... does not look like the cotton at/ around coil is browning or getting burned, so that is a good thing (would indicate that wicking was too tight and juice flow was constricted) - keep in mind, there is a little learning curve with wicking - depending on type of wicking used, how tight you want to wick it, break in time, etc...

generally, i start with lower wattages and work my way up to where i am hitting in the 3.5-4.2 volt range (depending on how it is actually vaping - as cray as it may sound, different juices will vape differently on exact same set up - some 'prefer' a bit more wattage, some less)... when breaking in new wicking, i tend to start low, vape a couple times... bump up 5 watts or so (at least on that range of build - would be a bad idea to use 5 watt increments on a 1.5+ ohm coil...) and vape again until i find the 'sweet spot'

 

[MissGem]

Does it taste like gym socks? If so, that is the cotton. I notice it normally takes a few puffs to break it in(sometimes quite a few).

Also, it looks like it may be wicked a little heavy.

Like gym socks...? I think that could be used to describe it. I know the first few puffs last night were DEATH, today its not horrible... Im not coughing up lungs. I'll keep puffing it to see where it goes.

 

[MissGem]

first off, looks like a pretty nice job on the install

second off, speedy is spot on - with the koh gen do (japanese organic cotton) it can take a little bit to 'break the cotton in'... does not look like the cotton at/ around coil is browning or getting burned, so that is a good thing (would indicate that wicking was too tight and juice flow was constricted) - keep in mind, there is a little learning curve with wicking - depending on type of wicking used, how tight you want to wick it, break in time, etc...

generally, i start with lower wattages and work my way up to where i am hitting in the 3.5-4.2 volt range (depending on how it is actually vaping - as cray as it may sound, different juices will vape differently on exact same set up - some 'prefer' a bit more wattage, some less)... when breaking in new wicking, i tend to start low, vape a couple times... bump up 5 watts or so (at least on that range of build - would be a bad idea to use 5 watt increments on a 1.5+ ohm coil...) and vape again until i find the 'sweet spot'

So it 'looks' good then. Okay, I needed that confirmation. And the ohms being at .3 is okay? The juice I am on now is King's Crest Duchess Reserve (30% PG / 70% VG), not sure how much of a variable that is. Bringing it down to 50W and working my way up.

 

[speedy_r6]

Like gym socks...? I think that could be used to describe it. I know the first few puffs last night were DEATH, today its not horrible... Im not coughing up lungs. I'll keep puffing it to see where it goes.

I know the gym socks thing sounds weird, but to me, the taste i get when breaking in new cotton always seems to have the same effect on me as when my nose gets a little too close to a pair of socks that have been too well used.

Just give it a little time and see if it gets better. If not, rewick and try again(try with a little less cotton. If that doesnt work, try more. Just keep experimenting). The coils look like they are positioned great, so the wicking should be the only thing left to tackle. It takes some trial and error to get it right. The wattage can also be a big factor. Play around with that, too. You never know what may work great.

 

[jseah]

I predominantly use rayon and rayon has a break in period as well. On a brand new wick, I always get a "nutty" taste at first and after about 5-10 vapes that taste goes away.

 

[Baditude]

I prefer Rayon myself, as well.

As a newer vaper, I wouldn't have built such a low ohm coil initially (0.3 ohm). Sub-ohm vaping takes some getting used to. It took me two years to like sub-ohm coils. Even now, 0.6 ohm dual coils (two 1.2 ohm coils) is the lowest I build. Generally speaking, the lower the ohms the hotter the vape will be.

Also, 70 watts seems like a lot to me. I only vape around 30 watts. Although, with all of that metal mass with the Clapton coils, you probably need a lot of watts to fire them up. More metal mass requires more power (watts) and drains batteries faster.

You might consider building simple coils (either spaced or compressed, doesn't really matter) with kanthal wire to see what difference it makes. I'm a proponent of K.I.S.S. (Keep it simple, stupid). I've tried the fancy exotic builds before and although they can make more vapor, IMHO they don't improve the flavor. Ramp up time with simple coils is fast, and they don't drain your battery as fast as the exotic coils.

 

[Tommy-Chi]

View attachment 566089 So I bought some pre-made kanthal twisted clapton coils to try getting my mod going and I got it going... Ohms is reading at .3 and I'm vaping at 70 watts... I don't like the taste but hard to explain what I'm tasting. Maybe the cotton? Maybe the coil? I used Japanese Organic Cotton. I'm sure I did something wrong or don't even know what I should be expecting? Go higher? Any advice? I come to you guys before running to the vape store, lol...

70W is not a negative... you know start at 55W, then 65W...hit 70W...and keep right on going until the e-liquid is properly vaporized. That's all I do. It depends on how you inhale/draw from the device, wicking, how much e-liquid you have on the cotton, etc.

I make use of Koh Gen Do cotton. Works for me.

One day I'm at 120W, the next 150W, the next 170W. Many factors.

 

[Eskie]

I'm waiting on my first RTA right now ("surprise" Father's Day gift from my daughter) and already picked up some basic supplies of coil and cotton. I'm not at all concerned about building the coil, that seems very straightforward, especially a simple Kanthal build (I'm a MTL , low watt type). It's the wicking I'm worried about. I've seen so many different approaches on YouTube videos, and know it's the one real "art" to master.

That and seeing people build all kinds of amazing twisted/braided coils that are utterly incomprehensible to me to make. Check out the Coil porn thread on here for some wild photos (and they apparently work, too!). Then again, I was never very good braiding my daughter's hair, either.

 

[flatfootandy]

Locks fine.
Keep the whole wire in contact with the wick.
On the photo the long ends to negative pole seem to be in the "air".
Not liquidcooled wire might cause strange taste.
Just lift a part of the wick to get it in touch.

 

[MissGem]

I gave it a chance, broke it in a little and now its vaping great... The flavor is pretty good too, juicing King's Crest Duchess Reserve. The whole keeping it moist is a habit to make indeed, fearing those dry hits... lol. The trick is definitely going to be in the wicking, it seems to have 'settled' a little now that its been used. All in all, Im loving it. I have been playing with the watts, was down in the 50s now up in the 90s. Depending on the time of day, I raise or lower it (have to start low in the mornings).