I'd like to switch from using silica wicks in my Aerotank to cotton, hemp or bamboo, mainly for safety reasons. That being said, I've never replaced a wick on my own and have no idea how to do so. Is it possible to buy replaceable atomizer heads for the Aerotank that don't utilize silica? Am I wrong to be concerned in the first place?
Is it possible to get atomizers with cotton wicks for Kanger Aerotank?
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Yes quite easily, same principle as the pt pt2 builds just need a bit more cotton on the side so it won't leak.
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Single coil is easy enough to rebuild. I haven't investigated the double. You definitely want to check out youtube on this. Either way...there are no stock coil heads built with cotton
If you want something other than silica wick on a Kanger coil you have to build it yourself.
While the Protank 3 and the Aerotank both have dual coils, Kanger made them differently and they're not compatible with each other.
Kanger dual coils look extremely difficult, if even possible, to rebuild.
You can rebuild the Protank 3/Aerotank coils with a single micro-coil. Follow the instructions for rebuilding a regular Protank coil, but add an extra flavor wick on top to plug up the side holes and prevent gurgling.
I've been doing this for a few weeks now, and while I don't consider myself an expert, but I think they're pretty darned good. Definitely better than the commercially available silica-wicked dual coils.
In fact, right now, if someone handed me a fresh pack of Protank 3/Aerotank coils, I wouldn't hesitate to rip out the stock coils and replace them with a single micro-coil wicked with cotton.
Yeah, that's how much better I think it is.
I've been doing this for a few weeks now, and while I don't consider myself an expert, but I think they're pretty darned good. Definitely better than the commercially available silica-wicked dual coils.
In fact, right now, if someone handed me a fresh pack of Protank 3/Aerotank coils, I wouldn't hesitate to rip out the stock coils and replace them with a single micro-coil wicked with cotton.
Yeah, that's how much better I think it is.
They most certainly are compatible with each other. The only difference is that the chimney on the PT3 coils is much smaller. But still, pop that bad boy in and it works just fine. In fact, I ordered a 5-pack of the AeroTank coils and because they were out of stock, they sent me PT3 coils instead. I actually prefer them over the AeroTank coils.
Mind you that these might not be the cheapest you can find them, but this is just to give you a general idea:
Kanthal A-1 Wire ~ 32 Gauge (dual coil build)
Kanthal A-1 Wire ~ 28 Gauge (single coil build)
Organic Cotton Balls
Simple YouTube Video - Kanger AeroTank Coil Rebuild
Almost forgot: Ohm's Law Calculator
Tips from personal experience:
- For single coil builds, wrap the kanthal wire around a plastic zip-tie to give it an oblong shape
- Dual coil builds will require that each coil is 2x the resistance of what you want. (i.e. The standard 2 ohm dual coil would require 2 4 ohm coils running in parallel - you may want to step it down to 34 gauge wire to achieve this)
- An invaluable tool that I use is called "Steam Engine". In the 'Wraps and dimensions' section, you can specify the resistance of the coil you want, the material you're using, etc, and this calculator will tell you exactly how many wraps of wire you need.
- Dual coils are considerably harder to make than single coils. Try making a single coil first and once you are comfortable with that, then you might try stepping it up to dual.
I now feel in over my head. Anyone wanna just do this for me?
AHH..HA..HA.HA..Seriously, do them yourself. Ruby Roo, Candy McCann, Riptrippers all have easy to follow videos in Youtube. You won't regret it!
^ What he said.
To the OP: It looks like you're at the point in your vaping career when you're asking for more customization/control than is available from commercially available products. I have no doubt that some company somewhere will offer cotton-wicked coils for purchase, some day.
You can wait for that day. It might be a long wait, and you'll have to pay for the privilege.
Or you can take matters into your own hands, DIY, and experience it now.
1. I wouldn't bother rebuilding dual coils, just make a single micro coil.
2. What i usually do for the pt3/Aero casing is to make one long cotton strand, stick it in the coil and pull it to the middle, then fold it from one side through the groove then from the other side, place the top cap on and cut the sides.
3. If you use 30 to 28 AWG wire you can easily replace the cotton without making a new coil every time, but 32 AWG wire might be too fregile for that.
4. To start rebuilding you will need a roll of kanthal, twizers, nail clippers, torch, something to wrap the coil over like a drill bit, but once you get the hang of it you will get better coils then the stock and will never have to buy new heads ever again.
2. What i usually do for the pt3/Aero casing is to make one long cotton strand, stick it in the coil and pull it to the middle, then fold it from one side through the groove then from the other side, place the top cap on and cut the sides.
3. If you use 30 to 28 AWG wire you can easily replace the cotton without making a new coil every time, but 32 AWG wire might be too fregile for that.
4. To start rebuilding you will need a roll of kanthal, twizers, nail clippers, torch, something to wrap the coil over like a drill bit, but once you get the hang of it you will get better coils then the stock and will never have to buy new heads ever again.
There sure is! But by using a regulated mod, and checking the resistance of each coil before firing, I feel I've effectively minimized this danger.
I usually aim for 1.7 - 1.8 ohms. If my coil is below 1.2 ohms, my mods will refuse to fire.
My mods will also refuse to fire when the batteries are discharged below a safe level.
I feel my danger level now is much, much less than when I was smoking a pack-per-day of analog cigarettes.
There are dangers in using mech mods, by shorting the battery out or build a coil of too low resistence for the battery to handle.
But when using an ego or a regulated mod there is no danger of that, since they have protection circuits.
If you have the proper device, not at all. Almost all electronic/regulated mods will prevent an atomizer that has a short or too low of resistance from firing. This is a slightly different story when it comes to mechanical mods, however. With a mechanical mod, you need to make sure that the resistance of the coil you're building is within the amp limit of the battery you are using as well as making sure that your new coil does not have a short.
Using that Ohm's Law Calculator is key. Simply put two values in there and see what the other two come out to be:
For VV/VW devices, put either the Voltage/Wattage you like to vape at and the resistance of the coil you want. The calculator will tell you how many amps your battery will need to fire the coil. Most batteries will show in their description what their amp limit is - if not, it's an easy google solution.
If you're using a mechanical mod, put in the voltage of your battery (typically 3.7 or 4.2) and the amperage limit of the battery. The calculator will then tell you the lowest possible resistance you can have for a coil.
I understand your concern with an explosion. I was the same way. Just understand this: Most explosions from e-cigs (which there are only a handful of reported cases) are from poorly designed mechanical mods. These mechanical mods are fired with a short and the battery in them ruptures. When this happens, a gas is released from the battery. These poorly designed mods do not have ventilation which causes the gas to build up inside the metal tube creating a type of pipe bomb. Most standard mechanical mods in present day will have ventilation holes to prevent this from occurring.
When building coils, it is always a good idea (if not required) to have a resistance tester on hand to know what you've built. Personally, until I can get an independant one, I just put the coil on my MPV 2 and test the resistance with a built in function. I've had no problems thus far with this method.
If you want to be on the safe side use IMR batteries which use safer chemistry, these batteries can melt or leak if they fail, but won't explode.
There are also unprotected ICR batteries (which i call pipe bomb batteries) and protected ICR which include a fuse.
There are also unprotected ICR batteries (which i call pipe bomb batteries) and protected ICR which include a fuse.
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