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olds97_lss

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anybody know where to buy pre-made coils for the rba in the STM? If it is at fasttech do you have a link? I have scoured that darn website looking for them

Those are pretty small for the RDA. Probably more for the smaller tank heads.

These are pretty close to what I make for RDA in my NEBOX:
$7.55 Authentic UD Kanthal A1 Pre-Coiled Resistance Wire for Rebuildable Atomizers (50-Pack) - 26 AWG / 0.4mm dia. / 1ohm at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping

Still would require wrapping a bit more or unwrapping to get the legs parrallel to work in the subtank rda.
 
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halfempty

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olds97_lss

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That's a lot of wraps for .5ohm, looks like 8 wraps. Wonder what gauge that wire is and how small the ID of the coil is.

I've been wrapping mine around 3mm ID with 26awg kenthal and I think it's currently at 9 or 10 wraps and reads 1.15ohm on my NEBOX.

Does look like the right style of wrap though for the flat decks they use.
 

MacTechVpr

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That's a lot of wraps for .5ohm, looks like 8 wraps. Wonder what gauge that wire is and how small the ID of the coil is.

Assuming like your suggestion (26awg, ~2.75mm) and if Kanthal…

26/7/7 2.778 (7/64") @ 0.9899Ω

[n.b. that the #/turns for the authentic Kanthal in Fasttech's pic is x8 for 1.0Ω. Do you really know what your'e getting?]

The spaced wind shouldn't be that diff in resistance but how the heck do you install them in the post spread without distorting the crap out of them? And that might well ensure lowsy performance or failure.

Or we could just spin up a half-dozen of these in a few minutes…


The precise known strain of hand tensioned winding aids and accelerates Kanthal coil oxidation. Strain winding such straight wire singles yields very temp stable coils and enhanced vapor output.

It's an ocean of folks out there who'd love to get to where the rest of us are. You could be their champion in 2017 with the simple process I'm suggesting. Learning about vaping could take months or even years for them. I meet folks all the time along this long curve. Many stuck in adequate drive. They need help. Experienced rebuilders who can take them right to the solution inside of 15 minutes. I do it all the time. All of you could too. The Subtank's a perfect medium for exposition of the method.

Good luck all and Merry Christmas. :)


 
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Cheallaigh

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umm not to be too much of a downer... but really, 2.5/3mm ID is the max you want to put in one, 3 mm is a tight fit as is. i find the coils i make at 2.5mm about perfect. oh and unless you do a nice tensioned coil like mac... yeah anything above 8 wraps is really pushing it.
 

MacTechVpr

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umm not to be too much of a downer... but really, 2.5/3mm ID is the max you want to put in one, 3 mm is a tight fit as is. i find the coils i make at 2.5mm about perfect. oh and unless you do a nice tensioned coil like mac... yeah anything above 8 wraps is really pushing it.

Yep, you start having problems with juice flow above 2.5mm at any significant power over 18W. I drill out channels and a matching notch on the v1 RDA cylinders for about a 1/16" Ø port to support flow up to 25W with as dense as 3mm coils (2.75mm the ideal for Nextel). To give these enough air you can drill out the RDA 510 contact pin holes a bit at a time to match the fluid flow. A bit tedious without a Dremmel but can be done using some fine diamond and metal round files with a bit of patience. Pays dividends.

The killer was the change to the new RDA. This latter design tends to diffuse vapor far more regardless of wind than the base channel version. It's difficult to work at any power level and dries out spontaneously just as often as it over saturates. But trying to sort out some workarounds at the moment.

Have a merry C. :D Good luck!

 
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chanelvaps

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I am a builder of coils most of the time. I build them for my Taifuns, Lemo's and Aromamizer. I cannot get a good build for the RBA of the STM. Sort of got used to using these little drop ins and they work great.
It is such a small space and you are limited to 8 wraps, 9 is pushing it and yes the coil does start to warp a bit.
If someone has the best way to build for them please share (as in gauge of wire and how many wraps) I like .5 and I rarely go above 24 watts
 

ruet

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I am a builder of coils most of the time. I build them for my Taifuns, Lemo's and Aromamizer. I cannot get a good build for the RBA of the STM. Sort of got used to using these little drop ins and they work great.
It is such a small space and you are limited to 8 wraps, 9 is pushing it and yes the coil does start to warp a bit.
If someone has the best way to build for them please share (as in gauge of wire and how many wraps) I like .5 and I rarely go above 24 watts

I use twisted 28ga. with a 2.5 ID. 4-5 wraps gets me .5-.7 ohms. I might be +/- on the gauge as I havn't had to build one in months. I've tried many, many single-strand coils with the RBA and they either run too hot, heat-up too quickly or heat up too slowly. My twisted coils seem to strike just the right balance of heat, vapor and flavor.

Slightly off topic... I was in a local brick and mortar yesterday. As I was scanning their atomizer offerings and spied a red box with a Kanger logo and pic of what appeared to be a Subtank mini on it. I almost couldn't contain myself as I asked the clerk to see it. Turns out it was just a regular Subtank and not a mini. :(
 
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olds97_lss

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Yep, you start having problems with juice flow above 2.5mm at any significant power over 18W. I drill out channels and a matching notch on the v1 RDA cylinders for about a 1/16" Ø port to support flow up to 25W with as dense as 3mm coils (2.75mm the ideal for Nextel). To give these enough air you can drill out the RDA 510 contact pin holes a bit at a time to match the fluid flow. A bit tedious without a Dremmel but can be done using some fine diamond and metal round files with a bit of patience. Pays dividends.

The killer was the change to the new RDA. This latter design tends to diffuse vapor far more regardless of wind than the base channel version. It's difficult to work at any power level and dries out spontaneously just as often as it over saturates. But trying to sort out some workarounds at the moment.

Have a merry C. :D Good luck!


Man, I'm doing something wrong then... if I eek up much over 11W in my NEBOX, it burns after a few 5 second pulls. I usually keep at at 10.5W. Right now, the coil I have is about 3mm ID with 8-9 wraps (can't remember), the NEBOX says it's 1.15ohm and 3.45-3.5V when in use. I've enlarged the channels quite a bit and lessened the amount of cotton bacon wick I use, which seemed to help.

Maybe I should try a lower PG juice? I've been using Mech sauce 80/20 6mg Ape Frenzy for the past 6 months.

I use similar coils (couple more wraps per coil) in my Avocado dual coil on an Eleaf iStick 100W box. It says .78ohm, 4V and 21W.

In both devices with how I have them, I can go 4-5 days before the wick gets bad tasting. I dry burn the coils and hit them with cold water to clean them, then re-wick.

This is my avocado, don't have a recent photo of my nebox:
2016-1221-Avocado-WickTrim&Coil.jpg

2016-1221-Avocado-Coil-ID.jpg

2016-1221-Avocado-WickInTank.jpg
 

olds97_lss

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I use twisted 28ga. with a 2.5 ID. 4-5 wraps gets me .5-.7 ohms. I might be +/- on the gauge as I havn't had to build one in months. I've tried many, many single-strand coils with the RBA and they either run too hot, heat-up too quickly or heat up too slowly. My twisted coils seem to strike just the right balance of heat, vapor and flavor.

Slightly off topic... I was in a local brick and mortar yesterday. As I was scanning their atomizer offerings and spied a red box with a Kanger logo and pic of what appeared to be a Subtank mini on it. I almost couldn't contain myself as I asked the clerk to see it. Turns out it was just a regular Subtank and not a mini. :(
I have a couple of them, a white one and a silver one. I don't use them anymore. I use the silver ones base to clean/rebuild my coils for my NEBOX since it's all internal. They use the same RBA deck and pre-built coils.

No matter what I did with the subtank mini, I'd get a lot of spitting and it would tear up my tongue after using it for a day. The NEBOX has a much longer air tube, so I rarely get any spitting out of it.
 

Cheallaigh

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I am a builder of coils most of the time. I build them for my Taifuns, Lemo's and Aromamizer. I cannot get a good build for the RBA of the STM. Sort of got used to using these little drop ins and they work great.
It is such a small space and you are limited to 8 wraps, 9 is pushing it and yes the coil does start to warp a bit.
If someone has the best way to build for them please share (as in gauge of wire and how many wraps) I like .5 and I rarely go above 24 watts

i use 28g SS316l 2.5mm 5 full wraps... usually gets me .5 to .6, 2.5mm 4 full 2-1/2 wraps with 28g SS316L clapton will also get me in the .5 to .6 ohms range. i usually vape them 22.5 to 25w
 

Rickb119

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I was in a local brick and mortar yesterday. As I was scanning their atomizer offerings and spied a red box with a Kanger logo and pic of what appeared to be a Subtank mini on it. I almost couldn't contain myself as I asked the clerk to see it. Turns out it was just a regular Subtank and not a mini. :(

The STM (authentic) is still available at FT. :)
 

puffon

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    To give these enough air you can drill out the RDA 510 contact pin holes a bit at a time to match the fluid flow. A bit tedious without a Dremmel but can be done using some fine diamond and metal round files with a bit of patience. Pays dividends.
    Good idea!
    I've always thought that was the air flow "choke point", when using the RBA.
     
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    BreSha6869

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    The STM (authentic) is still available at FT. :)
    Or buy an authentic $5 base, $1 bell cap and an authentic $6 RBA from Fasttech. Done for $9-ish all in with the SANTACLAUS code.

    I have a few authentic full STMs, but I have bought and still use/gave away about 10 of these Franken-STMs. I love them. Cheap and simple.
     

    Shawn Hoefer

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    Man, I'm doing something wrong then... if I eek up much over 11W in my NEBOX, it burns after a few 5 second pulls. I usually keep at at 10.5W. Right now, the coil I have is about 3mm ID with 8-9 wraps (can't remember), the NEBOX says it's 1.15ohm and 3.45-3.5V when in use. I've enlarged the channels quite a bit and lessened the amount of cotton bacon wick I use, which seemed to help.

    Maybe I should try a lower PG juice? I've been using Mech sauce 80/20 6mg Ape Frenzy for the past 6 months.

    I use similar coils (couple more wraps per coil) in my Avocado dual coil on an Eleaf iStick 100W box. It says .78ohm, 4V and 21W.

    In both devices with how I have them, I can go 4-5 days before the wick gets bad tasting. I dry burn the coils and hit them with cold water to clean them, then re-wick.

    This is my avocado, don't have a recent photo of my nebox:
    2016-1221-Avocado-WickTrim&Coil.jpg

    2016-1221-Avocado-Coil-ID.jpg

    2016-1221-Avocado-WickInTank.jpg
    For starters, space your coils. Coils that close hold the heat in. This is a good thing with mech mods when ramp up is a challenge, but completely unnecessary on a regulated box. Your coils also look to be getting hotter on one side. They should heat from the center out. Chances are you're not getting a dry hit, but a hot leg... almost as nasty...

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk
     

    Rickb119

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    Or buy an authentic $5 base, $1 bell cap and an authentic $6 RBA from Fasttech. Done for $9-ish all in with the SANTACLAUS code.

    I have a few authentic full STMs, but I have bought and still use/gave away about 10 of these Franken-STMs. I love them. Cheap and simple.
    I have more than a few (12) authentic and enough bases, RBA's and bell caps to make at least 15 more, and will order more bases and RBA's tomorrow. (Ya never can tell, ya know ;))

    The bell caps that I have hold a little less juice than the originals. My favorites go in the originals. Juice I don't vape often, in the bell cap ones.
     

    Leo Bak

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    ...I cannot get a good build for the RBA of the STM. Sort of got used to using these little drop ins and they work great.
    It is such a small space and you are limited to 8 wraps, 9 is pushing it and yes the coil does start to warp a bit.
    If someone has the best way to build for them please share (as in gauge of wire and how many wraps) I like .5 and I rarely go above 24 watts
    The RBA Plus is quite small. But there are some workarounds. Dont use the RBA V1 (bottom feed, no holes on the sides). Make sure you use the RBA Plus V1 with the larger juiceholes. When using the RBA Plus V2 or the Toptank RBA with even smalller holes, either drill them out or get some caps from RBA Plus clones that have the right sized holes.

    Spaced
    Since there's not a lot of airflow you need to space your coils slightly. This limits the number of wraps to 7, when using 24-26 AWG range.

    SS316L
    • 26 AWG
    • 3mm ID
    • 7 wraps
    • .5 Ohm
    • 20W -> 180 heatflux

    Kanthal A1
    • 24 AWG
    • 3mm ID
    • 6 wraps
    • Slightly more spaced
    • .5 Ohm
    • 20W -> 180 heatflux
    • but longer rampup/cooldown time

    Cotton
    • remove outer layers on both sides of the pad
    • take a strip of 6mm/7mm width, depending on the thickness of the pad
    • diagonally cut off one end
    • put the cotton through the coil and point the ends upwards
    • put the cap back on
    • cut off both ends so they stick out appr. 5mm
    • fluff them really good
    • push the fluffed ends in with a screwdriver or tweezers
    • prime everything, also from the outside through the juiceholes
    • adjust the cotton so that it doesn't touch the poles too much
    • put the lid on, fill the tank
    • close the afc and cover with your fingers
    • give it a few puffs, let it rest a few minutes
    I can use these coils a month or two, dryburning and putting in new cotton weekly, depending on flavours and amount of liquid. I'm using 50/50 with average 3% flavours (all tobaccos).
     
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    MacTechVpr

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    If you want to be happy for the rest of your life
    Try and build a contact coil for your wife
    And from my personal point of view…
    Jus' a little strain will get ya through

    Put one of these…

    Tensioned micro: 25/7/7 2.75mmØ=0.7995Ω
    17.12-22.06W @ 3.7-4.2V (4.63-5.25A) 134-173 mW/mm²


    in one of these…


    Good luck and Merry Christmas all. :)

    Tensioned Micro Coils. The next step.
    Protank MicroCoil Discussion!!

     
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    Grego25

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    Great thread. It's interesting to read the older posts and see how much vaping has progressed over the last couple years. I started last April with a high power sub ohm setup. Shorty after that I got a topbox kit for portability and to try something different and liked the idea of rebuilding. I gave it to my wife when her subtank broke and have picked up several tanks since then.
    I have been interested in checking out mtl so I'm thinking about building a higher ohm coil for the toptank. I have some 24 kanthal and could build something around .8 with 10 wraps. Will that build fit the rba deck? I know I'd be better off with a thinner wire but can't really make it out to get some right now. I will definitely go that route next time if I like the results.


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