If coils were soldiers....

[wa9w00d]

My name would be Pickett, and I would be in Gettysburg. And I'm pretty sure VG would be my low stone wall. Everywhere I look I see blackened wire, charred cotton, and shards of coal.


Not sure of the best place for this post, as it touches on tanks, rebuildables, and juice. But I do know I'm a new member, so here is where I'll post (besides, I promised a quiz in my first post).


So I vape mostly RY4 type juice, mostly from ICT Vapes and Revolution Vapor. Some of this is 50/50 VG/PG, and that seems to be where the casualties are greatest. I'm talking not being able to finish one full tank in a kayfun or a protank before the coil is so clogged that it has to be rebuilt/replaced.


I've varied from this some, but I generally run 28 gauge with 1/8" I.D., 1.4 ohm, cotton wick in the kayfun, at 11 watts. The protank coils are 30 gauge, .178 I.D., 1.4 ohm cotton wick, no flavor wicking, 9 or 10 watts. Oh, and coils have been torched and tweezed.


So, I know that 50/50 is a common mix, I believe that my builds are also pedestrian, but I don't think many others are rebuilding with every tank. Or am I wrong about that?


I also drip, but lots of different juice, and do a lot of "pull the wick, burn, rinse, rewick" for the flavor changes, so the coils last a little longer.


If anyone has helpful hints, here is an advance "Thank You"
Wayne

 

[State O' Flux]

Speaking exclusively of cotton - and I mention this because I also use, porous ceramic, German silica, rayon and hemp - the more complex the atomizer, the less likely I am to run dark, sweet and/or high VG juices in it... reserving those for more easily and quickly re-wicked and dry burned RDAs.

Examples would be a light bodied 50/50 in my "out and about" RTAs... with juices like 80/20 Chocolate Mint more likely to occupy a Origen, Oden or Veritas with 0.4Ω net duals.
With something like a 60/40 Absinthe, I can go a week or so in an 1.0Ω R91% before I notice a loss of overall flavor performance, and perhaps a slightly increased dwell time... sufficient to warrant a wick change and DB.

Excessive torching can prematurely consume the (relatively smooth) alumina, insulative layer/content of Kanthal wire... leaving an exposed iron/chromium - more "pitted" surface. This rough surface has a greater tendency to accept the adherence of contaminates.

I stopped torching coils long ago... and dry burn just enough to turn contaminates to ash, where I brush them off with a very fine brass bristle brush.
The goal of this particular process is to reduce the amount of damage done to the developed aluminum oxide layer.

 

[wa9w00d]

Thanks, State.
Next kayfun build will be light dry burn only, and tanked with the Revolution - which I think is more like 70/30, and light color for an RY4. Have you ever messed with the protank coils? I'm not so sure about dry burning those with all resistance wire in them. Thankfully I have a Magma clone, that's almost a tank - to use up the 50/50 in.

Also - just caught an error in my original post - .078 I.D. on the protank builds.

 

[State O' Flux]

Have you ever messed with the protank coils?

I have not.

I'd imagine that if the PT/Aerotank DC heads have NR-R-NR wires, with plastic insulation sleeves over them... It'd be a safe bet that dry burning might cause them to melt, but as I don't have first hand experience, I can't say for sure.

 

[wa9w00d]

I have not.

I'd imagine that if the PT/Aerotank DC heads have NR-R-NR wires, with plastic insulation sleeves over them... It'd be a safe bet that dry burning might cause them to melt, but as I don't have first hand experience, I can't say for sure.

Thanks again, Just FYI - protank factory coils use NR-R-NR wire, but most rebuilders, like myself, use all Kanthal. It's fine, as long as everything stays wet - but hot and dry will start to melt the rubber or silicone insulators. Guess I just answered my own query on that. Gonna have to torch those coils still.
Again, Thanks!

 

[Susan~S]

I'd imagine that if the PT/Aerotank DC heads have NR-R-NR wires, with plastic insulation sleeves over them... It'd be a safe bet that dry burning might cause them to melt, but as I don't have first hand experience, I can't say for sure.

State is correct in that they are NR-R-NR with an insulator. However, many of us rebuild them with 28 or 30 gauge Kanthal and wick with cotton. We pulse dry burn them when we need to and re-wick. When the insulator starts to go bad (charred around the edges), we replace it. I don't torch mine (bic lighter for me). I also rebuild my BDC's (for my old Aerotanks) into single coils. Here's some video:

1. How to Clean & Dry Burn... Kanger ProTank II & Mini ProTank II, Protank 2 Tutorial
2. Mini Protank Micro Coil Rebuild
3. !!!! Aero Tank !!!! with 2.2 ohm micro coil build with cotton

 

[wa9w00d]

Thanks, Susan - yeah, the middle video is one I've watched before, along with about a dozen others, just on protank coil rebuilds. One thing I like about rebuilding the protanks (besides the cost saving) is that you can do a bunch ahead of time, know that they are good, and change out as easy as refilling. and with a good rebuilt, it's kind of a mini kayfun, quality of vape wise.

 

[Warpigs]

Welcome to ECF! Hope you find out your problem.