Just Built My First "Real" Coil!

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revco

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I did it! I've been rebuilding Kangers for a bit now, but finally took the plunge into rda's. I'd been thinking about it, as I'd gotten pretty decent at those Kangers, and fortunately ZeroOhm here PM'd me and encouraged me to try out an RDA. So, I got an IGO-L in just today and whipped up a quick 30GA, 7/8 wrap microcoil with a cotton wick. Seemed to get it together allright on the first go, measured out at 2.1 ohm so I knew she'd be good on my APV.

Drip, drip, drip. Pull. Cough, cough, cough, cough! Oh my God! I now see what you all have been talking about, the flavor is incredible! Huge tongue taste and a mouthful of dense vapor, I've never vaped like this before. I probably shouldn't have chosen a cinnamon-esque flavor as my first hit, I wasn't quite prepared for the intensity of it all! I can all ready tell...this is the beginning of the end for me with vaping, isn't it? ;) (You'll save money, they say. Mmmmhmmm...)

Just wanted to pay particular thanks to ZeroOhm for the nudge forward and all the rest of you out there that have helped me learn about this stuff. ECF is such an incredible resource for me, so thanks to you all for being a part of it and my journey off the ciggies and into vaping. I couldn't have it without you!

P.S. I feel like this *should* be in the newb section, as I'm still a newb...but I can't post new topics in there anymore.
 

State O' Flux

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Jul 17, 2013
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I see by your history that you've seldom left the comfort of the New Members Forum. ;-)

Now that you're an official coil winder/RDAs aficionado, it's time to expand your horizons. Dip a toe (or your whole foot) into the Rebuildable Atomizer Forum... where like minded individuals will cause you to empty your bank account at a far greater rate than your current meager outlay.

Also... what are you using to test resistance? Not to alarm you, but 2.1Ω is a little on the high side for the coil you've described - by about 0.5Ω, unless you have some long coil tails.

And... as one new to the mech/rebuildable world, here's some stuff - on top of the stuff you've already been buried with - you may find handy.

Cheers
 

revco

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I see by your history that you've seldom left the comfort of the New Members Forum. ;-)

Now that you're an official coil winder/RDAs aficionado, it's time to expand your horizons. Dip a toe (or your whole foot) into the Rebuildable Atomizer Forum... where like minded individuals will cause you to empty your bank account at a far greater rate than your current meager outlay.

Also... what are you using to test resistance? Not to alarm you, but 2.1Ω is a little on the high side for the coil you've described - by about 0.5Ω, unless you have some long coil tails.

And... as one new to the mech/rebuildable world, here's some stuff - on top of the stuff you've already been buried with - you may find handy.

Cheers

True, true. I still feel like a new member, but I think your first RDA is cause to branch out. ;)

As for resistance, I have a 510 ohm meter. Checked it on that and my mod, to be sure, since it was my first coil. I have a DMM, but haven't needed it since I reference checked my 510 meter for accuracy (+/- .2 ohms). I do want to go lower (and will), but this was my first go at it and probably wrapped a couple extra so I could be sure I was in my comfort zone. I'm using an APV, so I wanted to be sure I was above my power limit & wasn't sure what to expect.

I'll definitely check out that forum...I've been here over a month and I'm still finding the nooks and crannies of ECF! Thanks for the tip, State O' Flux!
 

CBone8408

Full Member
Jan 30, 2014
55
30
Midway, TX
Darned you revco! I'm an old guy and a new vaper/ecf member who took the plunge to successfully quit smoking. I swore I wouldn't get sucked in to all this rebuilding and RDA stuff. After reading your post I just ordered an Igo-S, some Kanthal, and a couple of types of wicking material.

I said the same thing when I finally saw something other than that eGo-c that I started with.... What a difference a "few" more dollars make!
 

jmercury1

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Aug 6, 2013
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I did it! I've been rebuilding Kangers for a bit now, but finally took the plunge into RDA's. I'd been thinking about it, as I'd gotten pretty decent at those Kangers, and fortunately ZeroOhm here PM'd me and encouraged me to try out an RDA. So, I got an IGO-L in just today and whipped up a quick 30GA, 7/8 wrap microcoil with a cotton wick. Seemed to get it together allright on the first go, measured out at 2.1 ohm so I knew she'd be good on my APV.

Drip, drip, drip. Pull. Cough, cough, cough, cough! Oh my God! I now see what you all have been talking about, the flavor is incredible! Huge tongue taste and a mouthful of dense vapor, I've never vaped like this before. I probably shouldn't have chosen a cinnamon-esque flavor as my first hit, I wasn't quite prepared for the intensity of it all! I can all ready tell...this is the beginning of the end for me with vaping, isn't it? ;) (You'll save money, they say. Mmmmhmmm...)

Just wanted to pay particular thanks to ZeroOhm for the nudge forward and all the rest of you out there that have helped me learn about this stuff. ECF is such an incredible resource for me, so thanks to you all for being a part of it and my journey off the ciggies and into vaping. I couldn't have it without you!

P.S. I feel like this *should* be in the newb section, as I'm still a newb...but I can't post new topics in there anymore.
great job, keep on vapeing...
 

havinfun1

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Darned you revco! I'm an old guy and a new vaper/ecf member who took the plunge to successfully quit smoking. I swore I wouldn't get sucked in to all this rebuilding and RDA stuff. After reading your post I just ordered an Igo-S, some Kanthal, and a couple of types of wicking material.

Try some cotton wicking. No need to order it just run down to Walgreen's or Walmart. A bag of organic cotton will last a lifetime.
 

ZeroOhms

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:headbang::headbang::headbang:
Welcome to the RDA world! You are doing awesome! Maybe some pics?? :)

For others:
Let's be clear about one thing. I exchanged a few PM's with revco but he was reading and learning this inside and out on his own. That's why I felt comfortable enough to make the suggestion. Rebuilds do require quite a bit of learning. So those of you who are just getting off eGo and want to try this out, please spend the time to learn.
 

revco

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Darned you revco! I'm an old guy and a new vaper/ecf member who took the plunge to successfully quit smoking. I swore I wouldn't get sucked in to all this rebuilding and RDA stuff. After reading your post I just ordered an Igo-S, some Kanthal, and a couple of types of wicking material.

Hahaha. I'm sorry halfempty, but not really that sorry. You'll be surprised if you've been sucking on those eGo's like I have, the first hit practically knocked me off of my chair it was so intense. It really *is* what they say it is...and I'm one who doesn't believe most of the "hype" I've seen around here. I'd concur that cotton's a good cheap material to work with, but silica wicks will be more consistent and a good start if you haven't done any rebuilding whatsoever. I struggled with cotton at first and switched to silica/ekowool on my Kanger builds, but once I was comfortable and familiar with what I needed to achieve, it wasn't as difficult to pick up cotton a bit down the rebuild road.

Thanks for the encouragement all. I see less money in my future. ;)
 

halfempty

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... I'd concur that cotton's a good cheap material to work with, but silica wicks will be more consistent and a good start if you haven't done any rebuilding whatsoever. I struggled with cotton at first and switched to silica/ekowool on my Kanger builds, but once I was comfortable and familiar with what I needed to achieve ...
Thanks for the suggestions, encouragement, and warnings from you and all the others. I have the bag of organic cotton balls from Walgreens, started re-wicking my Kangers and got it just right. Then I used a thinner juice and wound up drinking some 'till I found the new perfect amount of cotton. Then some guy at the local B&M I was buying juice at gave me a length of 30ga. Kanthal he had in his pocket, it was enough to wrap a coil for a Kanger. Much to my surprise it worked and the resistance was where I would have liked it, unfortunately the drill bit I used was not the same one Kanger used, so the diameter was different. Drank some more juice 'till I adjusted the cotton again. That's when I figured this rebuilding thing was too much trouble, and I would just re-wick the stock coils. Ordered a Smoktech SID (should be delivered tomorrow) to have more control over power and decided I would leave it at that.

Then you came along with your post which started me thinking and pushed me over the edge, now I HAVE to try a dripper. That's why I still think it's your fault :) To have the bases covered I cleaned off all my small diameter drill bits and besides the dripper ordered a spool each of 30ga. and 32ga. To deal with wicking problems I may/will encounter I ordered some silica, organic hemp, and some unbleached organic cotton hand picked by hippies probably wearing organic surgical gloves. I hope you're starting to feel guilty :)
 

ElConquistador

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I bought an IGO L last weekend just to fool around with so I wouldn't have to empty my tank to experiment with different coils and wicks. I've only got a super simple coil in it with some cotton wick, but it's amazing. I got a Russian a couple of weeks ago and thought it was about as good as it could get. Don't know why it's better than a tank, but it is.
 

revco

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:headbang::headbang::headbang:
Welcome to the RDA world! You are doing awesome! Maybe some pics?? :)

Pix as requested. This is my 4th coil, 1.7 ohm 30GA 5/6 wrap, best I've done yet. I definitely want a larger gauge Kanthal, I can't get the size coil I want without increasing the resistance too much. I get my 28GA in tomorrow, so should be able to get closer. I've definitely seen a correlation between lower resistance/better flavor and the length of the coil to produce vapor. Also need to learn to control the coil a little better...it's a little finicky to manipulate to perfection, I've found.

And agreed, ZeroOhm, I did a LOT of reading and homework before I jumped into this.

IGO-L_30GA_5-6_1.7Ohm.jpg

Edit: What the heck, I'm into vape pron...here's a 1.4Ohm, 30GA, 4/5 wrap...lowest I'd probably go for now. Coil was too small to produce as much vapor, but taste was excellent.

IGO-L,30GA_4-5_1.3Ohm.jpg


Then you came along with your post which started me thinking and pushed me over the edge, now I HAVE to try a dripper. That's why I still think it's your fault :)

It probably is, you can blame me for improving your vape experience...how terrible of me. ;) Sounds to me like you're pretty much where I was, well, yesterday. You'll do fine, just play around with things and find what you like...as you do it, you'll learn things, get a little bit better on the next one and then you'll be a "pro" like, well, someone else. (Not me. Haha.)

I am loving this RDA...been vaping on it all night, with a half dozen juices and wick changes behind me for practice.
 
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Skeeps72

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Jul 29, 2012
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Another newbie to re-building here. Been vaping for 1yr. 4mo. and bought a Ehpro Kayfun clone today. Also some 28ga. kanthal, torch, ohm checker yada yada yada.... Have used carto tanks, protanks 1 and 2, and various others. First micro came to 1.7 on the clone and it is amazing. Thought what the heck might as well try the protank heads that I had saved for this very moment. First one came to 1.5 and the next also came to 1.5 as well. Put one in the wife's protank with out telling her and she asked what the heck happened to her juice. No more buying heads for these vapers. If I knew I could do this all along would have made been doing this long ago....
 
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