I bought my first rda an IGO-W a few days ago and started trying to build it today but I'm having a difficult time. I wanted to build a single coil and was shooting for ~2 ohms. I'm using 30 ga kanthal wire and cotton. The first coil was completely erratic and wouldn't give me a stable reading so I scrapped it. The second was a little too high, closer to 3 ohms, and just tasted awful. The third I got to be around 2 ohms but it was so underwhelming. I mean I was barely making any vapor and the taste was really light. I have some Cisco 510 atomizers that hit harder and taste better than that. I was wrapping the wire around a jewelery screwdriver, running it through the posts, reading ohms, testing for hotspots, wicking it then trying it out. But it just wasn't any good. I'm not really sure what I'm doing wrong but rebuilding has been pretty disappointing and I'm considering buying an HH357 for convenience's sake. I tried torching the coils to tighten them too but nothing really seemed to change the lack of vapor and flavor and whenever I moved them around once set up it would sometimes change the ohms dramatically... Oh by the way I'm using it on an MVP 2.0. Can anyone help me or give me some tips on how to make a good single coil build in this thing? I know the IGO-L is better for single coil but I figured I'd get the W in case I ever wanted to do dual-coil but now I don't think I really will. I just want to be able to use this and not have to spend more on disposable drippers. Thanks.
IGO-W Help
- Thread starter cpi47
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Show us a few pics!
Did you drill the airholes out? Where did you put the airholes?
I run a single coil in mine, usually 1.5ohm, and had a nice improvement after drilling out both airholes to 1/16.
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Did you drill the airholes out? Where did you put the airholes?
I run a single coil in mine, usually 1.5ohm, and had a nice improvement after drilling out both airholes to 1/16.
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A picture would be helpful.
11 Watts may not be enough to ever get a decent vape out of an IGO-W. IMO they really need 15 Watts or more and be built as a dual coil. The smaller IGO-S may be better since it has a much smaller chamber.
Your best bet for now is to get good at building 2 ohm microcoils with the 30 gauge wire, make sure it is wicked properly, cover one of the air holes in the cap and align the open air hole with the center of the coil. Peg the MVP at 11 Watts and hope for the best. Also, it sounds like you aren't getting a very good connection in the posts since moving the coil around causes the resistance to change. You could try doubling the coil legs and tightening down the screws more to make sure the connection is good. I know that it is difficult to capture 30 gauge solidly without breaking it, so that is what the doubled legs are for.
Good luck!
11 Watts may not be enough to ever get a decent vape out of an IGO-W. IMO they really need 15 Watts or more and be built as a dual coil. The smaller IGO-S may be better since it has a much smaller chamber.
Your best bet for now is to get good at building 2 ohm microcoils with the 30 gauge wire, make sure it is wicked properly, cover one of the air holes in the cap and align the open air hole with the center of the coil. Peg the MVP at 11 Watts and hope for the best. Also, it sounds like you aren't getting a very good connection in the posts since moving the coil around causes the resistance to change. You could try doubling the coil legs and tightening down the screws more to make sure the connection is good. I know that it is difficult to capture 30 gauge solidly without breaking it, so that is what the doubled legs are for.
Good luck!
I did put the airhole over the coil and covered the other with some cotton... CloudZ I didn't even think about putting all the way up. hydruid I see that you left some wire between the post and the coil. I have mine right next to the post but I'll try that setup on the next build. I'll also wrap the wire around the screws to see if it secures my connection better, I never really did the like the thought of just spinning off the excess.
Ahhhh it looks like you already burned your cotton. Try making a micro coil, it will work much better!
I move my coils to the outer edge lol. It's not required but yours seems a little close to the posts.
To help with loose connections, tighten until the wire moves, trim it, bend the excess up, tighten them up!
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I move my coils to the outer edge lol. It's not required but yours seems a little close to the posts.
To help with loose connections, tighten until the wire moves, trim it, bend the excess up, tighten them up!
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That coil is huge... wrap your coils on something smaller... use a 1/16 drill bit and do 9 wraps... if I remember right you should be at about 1.5 ohms... wrap your coils so they are touching and dry burn them till they see really hot and pinch them together... wick the coil and put the mvp on voltage mode at 4.0 volts and see how that works... I would also drill an air hole to 1/16th... rda's need air to produce good vapor!
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MAKE SURE you RELEASE the "Fire" button BEFORE you squeeze the coils together...or you'll have a short!!!8-o
Also.....moving the coil CLOSER to the cap - without touching it - and lining it up with the air hole should result in more TH, but also better flavor....
Happy (vaping) Trails!
You don't need to torch it, you can do it on the MOD itself.
Try and wrap your coils as tightly together as possible on your screwdriver. It doesn't need to be perfect, but get them as close as you can. Test it on an Ohm meter to make sure you're close to where you want to be. Put it on a MOD and fire it, when it gets red hot (takes just a few seconds), TAKE YOUR FINGER OFF THE FIRE BUTTON (unless you have ceramic tipped tweezers) and use tweezers or needle nose pliers to squeeze the coils together until you get a nice looking , even coil. Do it multiple times if you need to.
Watch this video. It's about the Kayfun, and not everything will apply, but Grimm Green shows exactly how to use the MOD to heat your coil. There is no need to torch it. I have never torched any of mine, and I've gotten pretty good at it.
You also might want to try 28g Kanthal, rather than 30, because it's a bit easier to wrap and get to play nice.
And drill out your air flow holes on the top cap to AT LEAST 1/16" (If you have any access to a drill press, use it rather than a hand drill, though a hand drill will work fine if you go very slow - either way, let the bit do the work, don't force it. If you're looking to blow clouds, go even bigger (I've seen as large as 1/8"). I don't chase clouds so I went with 1/16" and get a GREAT vape at .8Ω with LOADS of flavor. It's not too hot, yet I still get a great vape and good vapor production.
It looks like you are really close to having it built well. IMO, there's nothing wrong with the coil diameter and number of wraps, as long as it gets you the resistance you need. Don't worry about making a touching wrap microcoil just yet, get the technique down with a normal coil first. Just pull it out a little farther away from the posts since some of the wraps could be shorting out on them. If you pull it out a little, make sure the coil isn't shorting out on the lip of the deck or the cap.
It also looks like there isn't quite enough cotton going through the coil, I think I see a big gap between the wick and the coil wraps. You want the cotton to fill the coil, but just so. Loose enough so it slides through easily but not so tight that it bunches up when you pull it through. Make sure it is well saturated before firing it for the first time. Like I said, you are really close, just give these suggestions a try and report back with the results and another picture if it still isn't working well.
Here are a few pictures of mine (dual coils though, I use a mechanical mod and 28 gauge kanthal). One is a normal coil, one is a touching wrap "mini" coil, and the other is a microcoil (not sure what order they will attach in). I actually like the normal coils the best.
You don't need a perfect looking coil, and it's fine to have some space between the individual coils.
I would focus on getting the coil at the resistance you want, and positioned correctly in the Igo. You want the coil close to the cap without touching, and you don't want the coil too high or too low in relation to the hole in the cap.
Here's what I do, which by no means it the only correct way, but it works for me:
- Wrap the coil around a 1/16" drill bit and leave the bit in the coil. Just try to wrap the coils as close as possible. Push/squeeze the coils together on the bit. You will be surprised how nice a coil you can wrap using this method - but remember, it's not a beauty contest - minor gaps are OK and functional.
- Thread the coil ends through the Igo posts. While holding the coil/bit in position on the edge of the deck, snug up the post screws. The coil should be as close to the edge as possible without touching. If you hold the bit/coil down while tightening the screws, the bottom of the coil should be about even with the top edge of the deck. If not you can gently adjust it up or down. Re-check the screws for tightness.
- Remove the drill bit and test the coil/RDA on an ohm meter.
- Wick with cotton and saturate with juice.
- Replace the top cap and vape.
A couple of more things: IMO 2-3 ohms is a bit high - you can go to 1.5 ohms safely. Also consider drilling out at least one hole. I use my Igo W's in single coil configuration with one hole drilled to 1/16" and they work great.
I would focus on getting the coil at the resistance you want, and positioned correctly in the Igo. You want the coil close to the cap without touching, and you don't want the coil too high or too low in relation to the hole in the cap.
Here's what I do, which by no means it the only correct way, but it works for me:
- Wrap the coil around a 1/16" drill bit and leave the bit in the coil. Just try to wrap the coils as close as possible. Push/squeeze the coils together on the bit. You will be surprised how nice a coil you can wrap using this method - but remember, it's not a beauty contest - minor gaps are OK and functional.
- Thread the coil ends through the Igo posts. While holding the coil/bit in position on the edge of the deck, snug up the post screws. The coil should be as close to the edge as possible without touching. If you hold the bit/coil down while tightening the screws, the bottom of the coil should be about even with the top edge of the deck. If not you can gently adjust it up or down. Re-check the screws for tightness.
- Remove the drill bit and test the coil/RDA on an ohm meter.
- Wick with cotton and saturate with juice.
- Replace the top cap and vape.
A couple of more things: IMO 2-3 ohms is a bit high - you can go to 1.5 ohms safely. Also consider drilling out at least one hole. I use my Igo W's in single coil configuration with one hole drilled to 1/16" and they work great.
I appreciate all the help guys. I think I'm getting better at this but I'm still getting a terrible taste from all the coils I've set up. I got a decent one at 2.3 and I'm running a 1.7 ohm coil right now but every build tastes like utter crap... I mean I don't know what to describe it as. Maybe burnt, chemical-like? I can't pinpoint because I've never experienced it but it's downright nauseating. I wish I had some silica to test if it's the cotton. Could it be the kanthal wire or cotton that I'm using? The coil is from lighting vapes and the cotton is organic cotton balls from cvs...
Did you wash it out well? There may be some residual machining oil. It shouldn't burning juice at the low wattage you are running at.
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