Info on RDA's

[Altaire Versailles]

Does anybody know somewhere theres a source of information on basic safety, how to, build types, effect wicking and wire types have, etc. for rda's? Ive been going though stuff on the board and googling for over an hour and not finding any answers to my questions...

I just bought an rda and Im trying to find out how to not blow myself up pretty much

 

[unloaded]

Which one did you get? What mod and batteries are you using? What wicks and wires do you have? With those details we'll probably be able to get you going in the right direction pretty easily. We could give you TONS of general info but most of it wouldn't be what you're looking for.

 

[Thrasher]

pretty simple really, just watch for shorts and be safe.

do you have a mech or a VV device?
with a mechanical people are going into the .6 to 1.2ohm range with anywhere between 28g and 32g wire. but it is best to check it with a multimeter first and run protected batteries or a small battery fuse. one brand is called a short stop.
and most important if the mech becomes really hot really fast STOP theres probably a short.

for a VV IF the mod doesnt have a built in resistance check (most do now) you still check for shorts with a multimeter using the ohms or continuity setting.

but you generally stay in the 1.5 or higher resistance range usually using 30 or 32g wire, with a IMR high drain battery, most VV/VW mods have short circuit protection to shut down if a short occurs.

except for some basic rules like this it comes down to trial and error, like what wick i like best, do i prefer 4 wraps of wire on 2 mm wick for 1.6 ohms or 6 wraps on a 3 mm wick for 2.3 ohms etc etc.

i know what will get me where i need to go so i take 3mm wick and 32 g wire and hold the wick and a paperclip together for stiffness, wrap 4 or 5 coils real quick. connect it to the atty, pull the paperclip out and check the resistance 1.5 to 1.9 - perfect! drip, test fire, fill and vape.

and just keep digging here in the rba forums and you will find post after post talking about different wicks, ways to make coils, tips and tricks.

Ive been going though stuff on the board and googling for over an hour and not finding any answers to my questions..

directly asking these questions will get you direct answers.........................ask away good sir.

 

[Kamoch]

Yup, you are better off listing your gear & asking specific questions here on your thread. Which RDA did you buy, inquiring minds want to know???

 

[Altaire Versailles]

I bought an octopus, 28 and 34 awg wire, and kanthol wicking, i have the grey protected Panasonic batteries and a vamo...

So what do i need the multimeter for other than checking the resistance of the coil i made? How do i"watch for shorts"? What effect does how many times i wrap the coil around have?

 

[Thrasher]

I bought an octopus, 28 and 34 awg wire, and kanthol wicking, i have the grey protected Panasonic batteries and a vamo...

So what do i need the multimeter for other than checking the resistance of the coil i made? How do i"watch for shorts"? What effect does how many times i wrap the coil around have?

wel with the vamo you can check the resistance by holding down the + button so multimeter not mandatory.
a short will be when there is no resistance and again the vamo will stop this and give you a "Lo" warning i believe.

shorts will cause the resistance to drop too low, make sure the leads are cut short after you put the coil in the dripper and the coil does not touch the cap or it will short and not fire.
once running shorts on a silica dripper are rare.

resistance or ohms is decided by thickness and length of wire
the higher the gauge the higher the resistance per inch of wire -

works like this (this is just for example dont trust these numbers!!!!)
4 wraps of 30g will be 1.4 ohms
4 wraps of 32 will be 1.8 ohms on the same wick.

everytime you add a wrap you make the resistance higher.

for the very first try i would say 4 wraps of 34g. and you will probably get around 2.3- 2.5 ohms. after you test the resistance with the vamo, drip some juice on the coil and see if it fires correctly at say 3.3 v

then add 2 to the resistance so you know where a good voltage to start on the vamo is (2.3ohms+2 = 4.3 volts) set the cap on the dripper airhole facing the coil. get it good and wet and see what happens. silica drippers are pretty easy to start with.

 

[Altaire Versailles]

wel with the vamo you can check the resistance by holding down the + button so multimeter not mandatory.
a short will be when there is no resistance and again the vamo will stop this and give you a "Lo" warning i believe.

shorts will cause the resistance to drop too low, make sure the leads are cut short after you put the coil in the dripper and the coil does not touch the cap or it will short and not fire.
once running shorts on a silica dripper are rare.

resistance or ohms is decided by thickness and length of wire
the higher the gauge the higher the resistance per inch of wire -

works like this (this is just for example dont trust these numbers!!!!)
4 wraps of 30g will be 1.4 ohms
4 wraps of 32 will be 1.8 ohms on the same wick.

everytime you add a wrap you make the resistance higher.

for the very first try i would say 4 wraps of 34g. and you will probably get around 2.3- 2.5 ohms. after you test the resistance with the vamo, drip some juice on the coil and see if it fires correctly at say 3.3 v

then add 2 to the resistance so you know where a good voltage to start on the vamo is (2.3ohms+2 = 4.3 volts) set the cap on the dripper airhole facing the coil. get it good and wet and see what happens. silica drippers are pretty easy to start with.

dont you have to burn the wire or something before you put it on? whats the difference between kanthol and yarn? and the more times I wrap the wick the higher the resistance? so in your example if 4 wraps is 1.4 then 3 wraps would be like 1 ohm, no? Ive seen people make two separate coils with separate wicks with the same lead, what effect does that have?

 

[bazmonkey]

Kanthal is the wire, not the wick. "Regular" wick (what you usually find in heads) is silica. Yarn is cotton mostly, but often wool or other stuff.

The entire length of the wire contributes to the resistance, so going from 4 wraps to three isn't taking 25% of the length of the wire away. Much of the length is from the connection to the terminals.

Two coils will obviously produce more vapor. It will also drain your battery twice as fast. This is hard on batteries. Careful with that. Also be careful with resistances approaching 1.0 ohms for the same reason.

The multimeter is for "watching for shorts". A shorted atomizer will show a resistance of 0 ohms or very close. Checking for that is probably the single biggest safety factor. If your coils have a normal resistance, there's little chance you're going to mess up a battery shorting out.

 

[Altaire Versailles]

Kanthal is the wire, not the wick. "Regular" wick (what you usually find in heads) is silica. Yarn is cotton mostly, but often wool or other stuff.

The entire length of the wire contributes to the resistance, so going from 4 wraps to three isn't taking 25% of the length of the wire away. Much of the length is from the connection to the terminals.

Two coils will obviously produce more vapor. It will also drain your battery twice as fast. This is hard on batteries. Careful with that. Also be careful with resistances approaching 1.0 ohms for the same reason.

The multimeter is for "watching for shorts". A shorted atomizer will show a resistance of 0 ohms or very close. Checking for that is probably the single biggest safety factor. If your coils have a normal resistance, there's little chance you're going to mess up a battery shorting out.

I meant to say whats the difference between silica and cotton lol

 

[bazmonkey]

I meant to say whats the difference between silica and cotton lol

Haha, makes a lot more sense

Silica is used most commonly because it doesn't burn that easily. You can actually take a lighter to it without setting it on fire, and even after part gets burnt, the taste passes. From a safety standpoint, it's more likely to melt in a catastrophe than combust. It also wicks pretty well without expanding much.

Cotton swells up, can be burnt, and that burnt taste will linger. It can't withstand a dry hit, so there's no way it could be used as a stock head. However, it does a superior job of wicking up juice, which gives better flavor. Clean cotton doesn't impart much flavor itself, either.

Basically, cotton is "better" as a wick than silica except that it burns... which is a big deal for a manufacturer, so they opt for silica.

 

[Altaire Versailles]

okay so I got the RDA today, Ive made 3 different coils on this thing and I cant get it above an ohm to use it. Ive fooled around with the wire, putting them closer, moving them apart up down, etc... Im using 34awg kanthol ive done 4/5 and 5/6 coils and they keep coming out between 0.7 and 1 ohm and the vamo wont let me vape on it...suggestions?

 

[manji1]

Fold your silica over so it's doubled, then wrap it with 4 or 5 loops. Since you are doubling the thickness you will have more resistance.

 

[Vedra]

Also, don't wrap them too tight, you don't want the coil squeezing the wick much if at all. My experience is limited, but pinched wicks are definitely part of that experience.

As far as your question about burning the wire, torch it till it glows and move the glowing part all along the length you've cut. I use a kitchen torch, but a lighter will do, it just takes longer. Helps burn off impurities, and makes the wire stay where you wrap it better. I also torch silica wicks until they glow, then rinse them with ro/di water. I wouldn't recommend trying it with a cigarette lighter because it deposits gunk on the wick and takes a long time to get it glowing. Don't know how it affects the wick, but those were the instructions I got from the vendor, so I figured why not do it. Couldn't burn the stuff if i tried, and well, with a torch in my hand, I gotta admit, I tried it.

 

[Altaire Versailles]

Fold your silica over so it's doubled, then wrap it with 4 or 5 loops. Since you are doubling the thickness you will have more resistance.

ok Ill try that tonight, thanks...seems like that might come out too big, wrapping the thickness of 16 strands I dunno if that'll fit under the cap but Ill try it...I thought the 34 awg was supposed to give a higher resistance anyway?

 

[Thrasher]

well it sounds like:
your coils are touching the posts or the leads are touching the coils somewhere and lowering the resistance.
or
You really didnt get 34g wire. some vendors have mislabeled them in the past.
with 34 you should easily be in the 2 to 3 ohm ohm or higher range, looking at the picture that wire does look kinda heavy. is it kind of stiff?

 

[Baditude]

Does anybody know somewhere theres a source of information on basic safety, how to, build types, effect wicking and wire types have, etc. for RDA's? Ive been going though stuff on the board and googling for over an hour and not finding any answers to my questions...

I just bought an RDA and Im trying to find out how to not blow myself up pretty much

Having noticed that there is no such guide available, and that I am still a student myself with RBA devices and therefore don't consider myself an authority of any sorts to qualify writing a RBA tutorial, I decided to at least make a collection of information resources for people such as yourself.

Advice and Tips for Vapors Looking to Try Their First RBA:

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/blogs/baditude/4454-7-advice-tips-vapors-looking-try-their-first-rba.html

Any positive feedback is appreciated in order to make this guide even more informative.

 

[CloudZ]

View attachment 225789

okay so I got the RDA today, Ive made 3 different coils on this thing and I cant get it above an ohm to use it. Ive fooled around with the wire, putting them closer, moving them apart up down, etc... Im using 34awg kanthol ive done 4/5 and 5/6 coils and they keep coming out between 0.7 and 1 ohm and the vamo wont let me vape on it...suggestions?

It looks and sounds like the wire you are using is 28 gauge. That will basically be no good on a regulated mod. 34 gauge wire is much thinner than 28 gauge. I recommend picking up some 30 gauge kanthal, it is great for 1.3 ish ohm coils. 28 gauge is best for sub-ohm, which is unregulated mechanical mod territory. 34 gauge will be best at 2 ohms or more, probably best suited for rebuilding clearomizer heads.

\*_* Posted from my humanoid robot phone *_*/

 

[Vedra]

Even if the wire isn't 34 gauge, more wraps can be fun. I try to build micro coils with as many wraps as I can, it supposedly increases surface area in contact with the wick. All I know is, even at higher ohms, longer coils give me a more pleasant vape.

 

[Altaire Versailles]

well it sounds like:
your coils are touching the posts or the leads are touching the coils somewhere and lowering the resistance.
or
You really didnt get 34g wire. some vendors have mislabeled them in the past.
with 34 you should easily be in the 2 to 3 ohm ohm or higher range, looking at the picture that wire does look kinda heavy. is it kind of stiff?

well i ordered 28 and 34. I thought the 34 was the thicker wire and thicker wire gives higher resistance, is that right? The one labeled 34 is stiffer than the 28. I dont really have a frame of reference yet to judge if its mislabeled

 

[Altaire Versailles]

It looks and sounds like the wire you are using is 28 gauge. That will basically be no good on a regulated mod. 34 gauge wire is much thinner than 28 gauge. I recommend picking up some 30 gauge kanthal, it is great for 1.3 ish ohm coils. 28 gauge is best for sub-ohm, which is unregulated mechanical mod territory. 34 gauge will be best at 2 ohms or more, probably best suited for rebuilding clearomizer heads.

\*_* Posted from my humanoid robot phone *_*/

Thats would make sense if that was the 28 then with the low resistances im getting. They may be in the wrong bags. Ill try making one with the other wire tonight and see how it goes...