iClear 16 replacement coils-faulty?

[SchmidtyKy]

Hi there,

I'm hoping some IClear16 users will be able to provide me with some insight today.

I recently started using an IClear16 solely for specific liquids (RY4's and Custards) because I enjoy the warmer vape it provides. These type of liquids taste better on a top coil device (at least to me they do!). I mainly use protanks for other liquids.

I recently purchased a 5 pack of replacement heads at 2.1 ohms. Out of the 5, 3 of them did not seem to function properly. One of them was even logging in a 3.8 ohms. My liquids are not producing much vapor or throat hit on these shoddy coils (obviously).

Are these type of coils considered to be as finicky as protank coils? You know, lots of duds? I know this happens with protank coils quite often, but at almost $2 for each one, I hate that so many of them are duds.

Is this typical?

If so, perhaps I need a new top coil solution.....

 

[DetraMental]

I've had the same issue using bottom coil replacements. Like you, 3 out of 5 were bad. You could contact the vendor and let them know it may be something they can help you with.

 

[Texmac1011]

I would say I have bought about 50 or so replacement coils and have maybe 3 bad ones. I get mine from Fasttech for about $1.15 each.

 

[MacTechVpr]

Hi there,

I'm hoping some IClear16 users will be able to provide me with some insight today.

I recently started using an IClear16 solely for specific liquids (RY4's and Custards) because I enjoy the warmer vape it provides. These type of liquids taste better on a top coil device (at least to me they do!). I mainly use protanks for other liquids.

I recently purchased a 5 pack of replacement heads at 2.1 ohms. Out of the 5, 3 of them did not seem to function properly. One of them was even logging in a 3.8 ohms. My liquids are not producing much vapor or throat hit on these shoddy coils (obviously).

Are these type of coils considered to be as finicky as protank coils? You know, lots of duds? I know this happens with protank coils quite often, but at almost $2 for each one, I hate that so many of them are duds.

Is this typical?

If so, perhaps I need a new top coil solution.....

I've had the same issue using bottom coil replacements. Like you, 3 out of 5 were bad. You could contact the vendor and let them know it may be something they can help you with.

I would say I have bought about 50 or so replacement coils and have maybe 3 bad ones. I get mine from Fasttech for about $1.15 each.

Hi Schmidty, DM, Tex. I'll start with you first Tex. I have a bit of electronics background. Came into vaping skeptical of succeeding because I knew from the jump the stuff wasn't quite ready for prime time. And back in the day when I started more than a year back you could look right into a Vivi Nova head and see the legs crossed, bowed, on the verge of shorting out with the next time you tightened the tank down. Or insulator burned, stinkin' evidencing the irregular loose coil turns and hot legs. Of course that meant massive leaking, sputtering, dry hits and burnt taste everything. That hasn't changed. These days buried inside a high-top insulated dual-coil setup it takes a Herculean effort to take apart, you have no clue. They're still wound exactly the same whether from Aspire, Kanger or Fastech. Still have the same apparent percentage likelihood of failing. So Tex, you seem to have the most favorable outcome, how long does the typical coil last you? And what do you consider no mas? You gotta put the thing down and screw in a new one. What's not workin' mean in your neck of the woods? What's a bad one do for ya? At $1.15 makes it practical to just pop one, problem gone. So that begs the question how much do ya vape (equiv PAD) and how many coils do you go through? See that tells us out here what the difficulty rate is that you're actually having. The way you pose it, it's hard to tell. If you just throw in a clean one at the first sign of trouble and that's every day or two for a clearo, that's a pretty high failure rate.

DM I feel ya. I was running into those kinds of stats and if I hadn't been willing to step in and help myself I would have fallen flat on my face inside of two weeks. Not much of a surprise schmidty's post on 3/5 bad. I deal with a great many B&M's doing workshops and such and have had 'em concede dud rates as high 40% comin' in the door (from their sampling)…before putting them out for sale!

Well schmidty, I'm glad to see you pose the fair question. When you came back with a sale offer after my educational post here I couldn't tell where you were coming from. I see you are a flavor lover like me. That's why I'm chasin' the perfected electronics. But I realize not everybody's cut out to rebuild…no time, skills or inclination. Heard that. Still, we gotta vape. If I hadn't taken the bull by the horns I would've crapped out. So I guess I would pose the same question to you…what do you consider the outside limit (can't take this anymore) and why? Then, how often does that happen (how long typically for your coils)?

Not singling out IClear, or Kanger or anyone. I chose to work on Kanger's product in my study as they were the most widely adopted. So I focused on a general solution for clearo's on a platform that a great majority would have access to. Don't have any preferences per se. I find good qualities and engineering in all of these consumer tank products. But the dismal state of the electronics is astounding.

Any better? Do ya think?

Anyway I penned a little missive on this in technicolor with my post...What are you waiting for fella's??? An invitation?

Take a minute to mention how you're each doin' on lifespan. The info would be helpful.

Thanks and good luck fella's.

 

[maraud]

I personally have never had problems with Innokin iClear 16 coils and that's all I used for the first 6 mos I vaped. I only buy authentic ones though and not clones. The 30s has presented me with a single bad head out of over 50.

 

[MacTechVpr]

I personally have never had problems with Innokin iClear 16 coils and that's all I used for the first 6 mos I vaped. I only buy authentic ones though and not clones. The 30s has presented me with a single bad head out of over 50.

Then you're fortunate and your supplier/s have a good supply chain.

Off and on I've run into clones and purchased them knowingly. Some perform great and…as predictably as the OEM.

The subject I'm hinting at here is that measure of coil/wind efficiency is how much wire is performing work. In vaping the work is vaporization. Hand winds and non-contact, non-micro, non-tensioned, non-automated production winds are intrinsically inefficient. The winds are irregular (lost turn contact), high turns, deformed (geometry), etc. These all contribute to diffusion of vapor already produced than the maximum or optimal rate of vaporization. Some confuse this heat production with efficiency. But if you think about it if you target the power level that you like and get it you have both temperature and vapor density.

We're paying a lot for these consumables relatively. The discussion as to the lack of their consistent performance riddles these pages. So the topic I'm alluding to and inquiring about here is electrical efficiency. Interested to know how often that, or the lack of it, leads to failure. Not getting it is a problem (as demonstrated by the two factory winds in the photograph).

Good luck all.



p.s. Like I said, not singling out iClear.

 

[Texmac1011]

Hi Schmidty, DM, Tex. I'll start with you first Tex. I have a bit of electronics background. Came into vaping skeptical of succeeding because I knew from the jump the stuff wasn't quite ready for prime time. And back in the day when I started more than a year back you could look right into a Vivi Nova head and see the legs crossed, bowed, on the verge of shorting out with the next time you tightened the tank down. Or insulator burned, stinkin' evidencing the irregular loose coil turns and hot legs. Of course that meant massive leaking, sputtering, dry hits and burnt taste everything. That hasn't changed. These days buried inside a high-top insulated dual-coil setup it takes a Herculean effort to take apart, you have no clue. They're still wound exactly the same whether from Aspire, Kanger or Fastech. Still have the same apparent percentage likelihood of failing. So Tex, you seem to have the most favorable outcome, how long does the typical coil last you? And what do you consider no mas? You gotta put the thing down and screw in a new one. What's not workin' mean in your neck of the woods? What's a bad one do for ya? At $1.15 makes it practical to just pop one, problem gone. So that begs the question how much do ya vape (equiv PAD) and how many coils do you go through? See that tells us out here what the difficulty rate is that you're actually having. The way you pose it, it's hard to tell. If you just throw in a clean one at the first sign of trouble and that's every day or two for a clearo, that's a pretty high failure rate.

A coil last me +/- 3weeks and I am a little bit less than a chain vapor. The coils that did fail me, just didn't fire. I don't recall ever having a coil work "just a little bit".

 

[MacTechVpr]

A coil last me +/- 3weeks and I am a little bit less than a chain vapor. The coils that did fail me, just didn't fire. I don't recall ever having a coil work "just a little bit".

Yeah, right? You can't be just a little bit pregnant. Well you can be if you're a wick. They all do Tex (work "just a little bit").

A wick starts to saturate with pigmentation the minute you start vaping. It's more like a sponge. They get dirty with time in the real world…even if you clean 'em all the time. And time…even if you don't vape or vape aggressively...will finish off a coil faster than just about anything.

Now if your coil is inefficient, to the extent it is, it will just gunk up and trap more pigment in your wick rather than pushing it through to vaporization. Eventually that extrudes to your coil and it too gunks up faster. Oxidation of this pigment will cluster* that flow dude. So "less than a chain vaper" is not gonna help. Not using the PV ain't gonna spare that coil. Witness just how many samplers at flavor stations suck. It is what it is.

I'm at dozens of S Fl venues sampling both the performance of flavor station and user devices as well as their juice choices. By the dozens most weeks. Ain't no magic factory wicks out there.

Three weeks is about half my best using Nextel ceramic braid wicking with perfected contact coils. The test juice, Ginger's RY4 (The Vapor Room). Great coil, great juice, frequent washing and purging of the wick (can't really do the latter with silica) you can get six weeks. Now a perfect vape…no. Physics still applies and you can't be getting the same vape (flavor) at the end of those 6 weeks. Nextel surprisingly though retains most of its flow right up to saturation. Then a quick drop. Why I recommend it for the average user that can't be re-wicking every couple'a three days (time, money, &#*$).

My take on the typical life of the common consumer silica wick is less than one week. If you're gettin' 3 weeks without a flavor/vapor drop off or outright failure, congratz. Then you're buildin' 'em and got a good coil dia, wick, power combo goin' right there. Props bro. Most silica will drop off well in advance of its limit. Do us a favor. Post one, after three weeks, won't ya? And your wind data too so we can try it. I think we'd all love to know. Because I've run hundreds of factory coils for comparison in my consumer study and your source seems to elude me.

For those of you who want to try to build such a beast yourselves rather than just readin' about these miraculous wicks…two threads where some of your fellow ECFer's are getting those results…

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/tips-tricks/463771-protank-cotton-rebuild-way-i-do.html
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/clearomizers/486794-protank-microcoil-discussion.html

Thanks for the comeback and your input. Hope you really are getting that great vape.

Good luck Tex. Look in anytime.