Is TC an option for me?

[Fwt Buckeye]

I'm what could be considered a boring vaper. I don't chase clouds and have never low resistance sub-ohm'd. I have a few RTA's (Ammit, Kayfun V5 clone, OBS Nano)and build single coils that average about 1 ohm (I'm comfortable with anything between .80-1.20). I vape 10-15 watts and have been on the same juice for 5 years, 1.8% nic. I have used prebuilt SS coils in the past in power mode and bought a spool of 30 gauge 316L SS. I'm going to stick with the same type of builds, just swapping out kanthal for stainless.

Reading on different forums about TC and I can't find much if anything from vapers that are in a similar situation as myself. I found several posts about setups at 50 watts and then a temp range of 400+ with single or dual coils in the .10-.35 range, but that's well above my norm. Not everyone likes TC, but a lot of people have said it has improved their vape and I'd like to try, but I'm not sure my set up translates into TC. Worst case, I use SS in power mode and get a cleaner taste.

Mods I use daily that are TC capable are Aspire Evo75, Aspire Archon 150W, and a Kanger Topbox 75W that I've never used, just ordered on sale one day as an emergency back up.

Can I switch to TC?
What temp should I start with and target?
If I set my wattage "max" to 15 watts with a temp range, will it even vape like I'm used to?

Any suggestions you can offer is appreciated. Thank you for the help!

 

[Bonskibon]

I used kanthal for the longest time and was told in another thread (another whole different conversation) to build the exact same way with SS and I'd get the same vape. Even thought the resistance is different, kanthal and SS built the same way will vape the same. Only works on a regulated mod though.

 

[IMFire3605]

Well, a 1.0ohmish TC build is not impractical at 10 to 15watts, use one with my Kayfun V4 Clone at about 430F in the 10watts range on DNA75 Device though.

Don't know much about Aspire's TC regulation, but the Kanger Mini mod will be a no go, set a Kanger into TC mode it auto sets the watts to maximum, if your Aspire mods do the same you'd be better served TC wise with an Eleaf Pico, Joyetech VTC Mini, mod with a Yihi TC board or an Evolv DNA board that allow adjusting the watts and TC setting both or program the firmware to do so (Evolv's Escribe software for the DNA boards for example, or the Arctic Fox 3rd party firmware for the Evic VTC Mini).

 

[Hawise]

Can't hurt to try. Best case you'll find something that suits you. Worst case you won't like it and will go back to what you're doing now.

Oh, did I mention that I'm currently vaping a 1.3 ohm SS316L coil @ 15 W and 195 C? That's about 383 f, according to Google.

Remember that SS and kanthal have different resistances, so you'll have to add a few wraps to get the resistance you're looking for. Steam Engine will help you calculate what you need.

You might want to up your max watts a bit (probably not more than 20 - 25) once you work out the temperature you like. It's nice to get there quickly and stay there.

 

[Bonskibon]

What temp should I start with and target?
If I set my wattage "max" to 15 watts with a temp range, will it even vape like I'm used to?

I use 370 F and 12watts (that's how I used kanthal) and works great for me.

 

[Hawise]

I'm a bit surprised to see such quick responses by people using TC at these resistances. When I first started asking about it, people thought I wouldn't get much out of TC unless I was subohming, but I quite like it. It's nice to see that others have the same experience.

 

[Bonskibon]

I'm a bit surprised to see such quick responses by people using TC at these resistances. When I first started asking about it, people thought I wouldn't get much out of TC unless I was subohming, but I quite like it. It's nice to see that others have the same experience.

I had a total misunderstanding about SS in TC mode and thought resistance mattered (for regulated mods), but it didn't for me at all and vape a .8 ohm coil the same way I vape a kanathal 1.5.

 

[Fwt Buckeye]

Thank you for the feedback. This is very helpful as I'm a noob when it comes to TC.

 

[djsvapour]

Switching has proved less easy than I expected.
In theory, it makes sense to swap, but getting the right combo of wire/wraps/coils etc is less obvious.
Maybe the folks building in SS316 can give us more information about how they are doing it.
I bought the wire gauge suggested by a coil making calculator, but they come out low ohms and ultra thin wire.

 

[Carl2]

I've used temp mode since I first started vaping a year ago, to get more flavor I began making nickel coils and bought Vaporesso Gemini RBA's. I got a bit more flavor from the Kanger top box mini and the Eleaf Pico but if I tried putting in SS coils the unit would switch to the wattage mode.
I next moved to the Smok G-Priv with the big baby beast tank, and used RBA decks in the tanks that comes with dual Clapton coils. It has 2 .80 ohm coils for .4 ohms total resistance. Works great and delivers the vapor and flavor.
To keep the Smok unit safe I bought the Pico 25 which has a Ello tank with a .25 ohm resistance. I had wanted to use the Smok tank on the Pico but it switches to wattage.
Next I'm going to try nickel wire in the Pico and see if that will work.

 

[listopencil]

Can't hurt to try. Best case you'll find something that suits you. Worst case you won't like it and will go back to what you're doing now.

Oh, did I mention that I'm currently vaping a 1.3 ohm SS316L coil @ 15 W and 195 C? That's about 383 f, according to Google.

Remember that SS and kanthal have different resistances, so you'll have to add a few wraps to get the resistance you're looking for. Steam Engine will help you calculate what you need.

You might want to up your max watts a bit (probably not more than 20 - 25) once you work out the temperature you like. It's nice to get there quickly and stay there.

Well, a 1.0ohmish TC build is not impractical at 10 to 15watts, use one with my Kayfun V4 Clone at about 430F in the 10watts range on DNA75 Device though.

Don't know much about Aspire's TC regulation, but the Kanger Mini mod will be a no go, set a Kanger into TC mode it auto sets the watts to maximum, if your Aspire mods do the same you'd be better served TC wise with an Eleaf Pico, Joyetech VTC Mini, mod with a Yihi TC board or an Evolv DNA board that allow adjusting the watts and TC setting both or program the firmware to do so (Evolv's Escribe software for the DNA boards for example, or the Arctic Fox 3rd party firmware for the Evic VTC Mini).

How do you decide what Wattage to set your mod to in TC mode if it's an option?

 

[djsvapour]

At this moment, I am running a factory coil Ni200 by Innokin.
It's just about the first ever Ni200 coil that has a) worked properly and b) been enjoyable to vape.
The taste is so-so (not bad, not great) and for me, inferior to SS.
Maybe I should swap it to a Pico @Carl2 and see if it works as good?

 

[stols001]

If you want something un-extraordinarily expensive with good build quality, I'd suggest an IPV mod, the newer ones have TC that you can preset with wattage, I forget what number they're up to now, but I have the IPV-5 and nothing about it suggests to me that I won't be able to vape TC at low wattages. IPV are ugly, functional, nice and heavy (that's something I prefer, less likely to drop it) and I'm vaping (not TC yet, that will be slightly later) on a 0.7 coil at 14 watts, there are plenty of people who sub ohm those temps, staying on the higher side of sub-ohm... I can't do like, 0.3 like my Cleto tank without raising my watts a substantial amount. So I think a lot will depend on your build, but no, you don't have to go nuts on watts to vape TC, as far as I'm aware.

Anna

 

[listopencil]

How do you decide what Wattage to set your mod to in TC mode if it's an option?

Well I had a brain fart when it comes to this. I have only been looking at temp ranges for TC coils. I don't build my own, I'm buying them to put in my tank. I looked up the atomizer and it had a Watt range listed right there next to the temp range. Doh!

 

[BrotherBob]

I'm what could be considered a boring vaper. I don't chase clouds and have never low resistance sub-ohm'd. I have a few RTA's (Ammit, Kayfun V5 clone, OBS Nano)and build single coils that average about 1 ohm (I'm comfortable with anything between .80-1.20). I vape 10-15 watts and have been on the same juice for 5 years, 1.8% nic. I have used prebuilt SS coils in the past in power mode and bought a spool of 30 gauge 316L SS. I'm going to stick with the same type of builds, just swapping out kanthal for stainless.
Reading on different forums about TC and I can't find much if anything from vapers that are in a similar situation as myself. I found several posts about setups at 50 watts and then a temp range of 400+ with single or dual coils in the .10-.35 range, but that's well above my norm. Not everyone likes TC, but a lot of people have said it has improved their vape and I'd like to try, but I'm not sure my set up translates into TC. Worst case, I use SS in power mode and get a cleaner taste.
Mods I use daily that are TC capable are Aspire Evo75, Aspire Archon 150W, and a Kanger Topbox 75W that I've never used, just ordered on sale one day as an emergency back up.
Can I switch to TC?
What temp should I start with and target?
If I set my wattage "max" to 15 watts with a temp range, will it even vape like I'm used to?
Any suggestions you can offer is appreciated. Thank you for the help!

Could check out:
Temp Controlled Vaping Rocks

 

[Beamslider]

Just started a few days ago with ss 316l TC on a subtank/pico. Really like it better than wattage on Kanthal.

Currently using it with a 30 awg and 2.5m diameter coil that reads 1.25 on the pico. Currently have it set at 14W and 380F. Nice flavor and nice amount of vapor.

Waiting on a roll of SS316L 28 awg to come in the mail. Plan on making a .7 or .8 ohm coil and trying that out. Mainly because the 32 awg SS is hard to work with for me at least.

So definitely give it a try out.

 

[Beamslider]

How do you decide what Wattage to set your mod to in TC mode if it's an option?

The online Ohm coil calculator will give you a ball park wattage on the coil you build and you can start in that range.

On the pico and this may be the wrong way of doing it. I set it at 12w to start and the max temp I wanted of 380F then watched the display to see what temperature it reached. I then kept raising the W until it surpassed that and said Protection on the screen. Then kicked it back down until it came close to the temp or reached it on the screen without saying Protection.

Works for me to pick it as I get instant vapor and don't have to go for long draws on it. Like I said though might not be the right way to do it.

 

[Fwt Buckeye]

Don't know much about Aspire's TC regulation

After reading this post, I did some further research and found that the Aspire NX75 and Archon both have the ability to set wattage and temp range across three main metals, Ni/Ti/SS. It also has TCR ability. I lucked out because when I bought them, the focus wasn't moving to TC, so this is a plus that my mods have the adjustability others have.

With some of the info from posts here, I'm going to test out a similar build to what I'm used to, bump up the wattage to get the temp there, and then rely on TC to manage the heat. This has been very useful. Thanks again to all.

 

[listopencil]

The online Ohm coil calculator will give you a ball park wattage on the coil you build and you can start in that range.

On the pico and this may be the wrong way of doing it. I set it at 12w to start and the max temp I wanted of 380F then watched the display to see what temperature it reached. I then kept raising the W until it surpassed that and said Protection on the screen. Then kicked it back down until it came close to the temp or reached it on the screen without saying Protection.

Works for me to pick it as I get instant vapor and don't have to go for long draws on it. Like I said though might not be the right way to do it.

Interesting. I'm not building coils yet, but I did order a tank that will let me play with making them. Thanks for the insight.

 

[djsvapour]

b.t.w. @Carl2 my Innokin Ni200 coil (factory iSub) does not work on the Pico in Nickel mode.
Another 'combo' fail in the world of failure TC coils.
Doesn't mean a hand wrapped coil won't work of course.