Lifespan of an atomizer/coil

[OGNDY]

I realize that there are many variables to my question, but I'm looking for a ballpark answer.

I have Aspire SR72 tanks and a Smoketech tank. Both have similar ready-built disposable coils. What is the expected lifespan of such coils (not in days/weeks, but in ml juice, which seems intuitively more relevant to me)? I guess I'm a light vaper and on a heavy-use day I go through 2ml at most. Still trying to figure out what pg/vg ratios and nic levels/flavors I like.

 

[SuperTaz]

Hi OGNDY. I vape about 2mls a day. I have the Nautilis mini and change my coils every third week . I mostly vape Flavour Crafters Black Cherry 70/30 12mg.

 

[Bunnykiller]

once again, variables come into play even with ml usage... I can go thru 15 ml of some juices before a wick/coil change is required and other juices ( NETs) 1/2 ml and a change is needed

 

[WoWwYnAtoR]

This is almost an impossible question to answer for a plethora of reasons.

1) Juices vary. Purity of PG/VG, type and ammount of sweetner, flavor bases and ingredients, PG/VG ratios, even colorings all contribute to how much crud builds up on your coils and how quickly.

2) Vaping power. Depending on what wattage and/or voltage your device is set to, or capable of producing, produces different temperatures. The higher the power, the hotter the coil gets and the faster the wick burns up. The lower the power, the cooler the vapor, the faster crud builds up on your coil.

3) AIRFLOW! Yup, another variable to add to the equation. The more airflow the cooler the vape and the lighter the flavor. The lesser the airflow, the hotter the vape and the fuller the flavor. This has to be balanced to the power properties above, but with air flow, with too little, the vapor sits on the coils too much/too long and you get build up/scorching joose and gunked up coils...

4) SURFACE AREA. This determines the Heat Flux (mw/mm^2) which is basicaly how concentrated the heat is for a given size coil of a given ohm load of a given gauge wire fired at a certain power level.

So you can see why it is impossible to accurately answer your question...

However, for most new vapers, a coil can last between a week to two weeks. Sometimes longer, sometimes shorter.

Two things you can do to enhance the life of your coils is to:

1) Always keep plenty of joose on/in your wicks. sounds like common-sense, but we know it isn't common. The more juice in in a bottom coil style device, the less effort the wicks have to do to get fuel to the coil. just keet her topped off as much as you can.

2) PRIME YOUR NEW COIL!!! Don't just throw it in and fire away, this can either burn up your brand new wicks because there has not been enough time for joose to saturate it, or worse, the temperature gan get to high so fast because there's no joose and "pop" your new coil. (the wire gets too hot and melts) Taking a few pulls with out firing can prime your wicks by drawing fluid into them, or you can let it sit for 5-15 minutes depending on how thick your joose is.

 

[OGNDY]

Thanks for the helpful replies, guys!

So, when a coil needs to be replaced, is it just a slow decline in the quality of the vape, or does it just reach it's limit and you know for certain that it's gone bad?

I've been vaping away for about 10 days on 3 different tanks/coils now (for all practical purposes identical setups) with different juices. 2 are still producing as they did the day I installed them, while one is getting a bit harsh in the flavor and also, for some reason, seems to send unvaped juice up the suck-tube/chimney (lingo, lol?). I'm pretty meticulous about keeping things clean and keeping juice away from where it's not supposed to be.

I realize I'm pretty much answering my own questions here, but still want to share in case I can pick up a few hints and tips. The learning curve is steep.

 

[EBates]

For me I let the atty head tell me when it's time for a change.
Is it flooding? (juice in the suck-tube) Blow it out and see if it happens again. If so, time to change.
Is the taste off or weaker than normal vapor production? Time for a change.
You do know that you can clean and dryburn single coil atty heads? If not check out the videos on how to do it.
I've never been a fan of dual/vertical coil tanks so I'm not sure that a good cleaning technique exists for them.

 

[HazyShades]

Hi! The resistance of the coil will likely start getting higher and require more power to heat up and you'll get more dry hits.
Of course there are as you mentioned lots of variables involved which were elaborated elsewhere in this thread..
Voltage/wattage, how much you vape, the consistency of the juice, ETC.
I've found my coils typically last between 15ml to 30 maybe a little more. I like to use 1.8Ohm coils in my tanks at 3.9 volts.

 

[djsvapour]

It's all MigCigs? I'm pretty sure what the SR72 is... it's an Aspire ETS, only for more money, no doubt. Either way, it uses the small BVCs and they aren't that good.

I vape 2ml a day and have only ever exceeded more than 4-5 days with Aspire Nautilus BVC.

Wow... I am down on Mig.... $35 Spinners, making up names for products, all the worst sort of e-cig company behavior.

 

[OGNDY]

I just changed the coil in the tank that started to taste funky, and although it looked undamaged and identical to the new one, the replacement gave my juice a new burst of pleasant flavor. Very noticeable. On a different not the mailman just dropped of a package from VapeWild with 11 10ml bottles of different flavored e-juice in different nic strengths and VG/PG combos, so I guess I'll be putting that coil through its paces.

 

[djsvapour]

I just changed the coil in the tank that started to taste funky, and although it looked undamaged and identical to the new one, the replacement gave my juice a new burst of pleasant flavor. Very noticeable. On a different not the mailman just dropped of a package from VapeWild with 11 10ml bottles of different flavored e-juice in different nic strengths and VG/PG combos, so I guess I'll be putting that coil through its paces.

That's good news.

Aren't you waiting on some hardware too? (or did I get it wrong)....

 

[OGNDY]

It's all MigCigs? I'm pretty sure what the SR72 is... it's an Aspire ETS, only for more money, no doubt. Either way, it uses the small BVCs and they aren't that good.

I vape 2ml a day and have only ever exceeded more than 4-5 days with Aspire Nautilus BVC.

Wow... I am down on Mig.... $35 Spinners, making up names for products, all the worst sort of e-cig company behavior.

Two tanks and batteries are MigCigs. The tanks are Aspire Nautilus indeed and the batteries are 1300 mAh spinners (VV). My 3rd tank is a SmokeTech. And I'm with you on the nomenclature/naming conventions/rebranding etc. Usage of the proper terms/brand names seems to be very inconsistent and this is confusing to say the least for us newbies.

 

[TonyB66]

Very much depends on the juice you are using and possibly the power you are putting through it. I've had pre built coils last 10ml worth of juice some much longer. Thicker sweeter juices tend to gunk up the coil and wicking material quicker than thinner juices. Sometimes you can flush and dry burn the gunk off and a coil will last a bit longer.

So far I've used several versions of Kanger coils and they have got better as they develope the builds and wicking but the last ones I bought version 3 worked well on the vapor side but tended to leak more than the earlier double coils. Nautilus BVC coils have been the best so far.

 

[underwhelmd]

Lifespan of an atomizer....

I hear they live longer in Zoos and when kept as Pets. In the wild, they are often poached for their copper content which has value in third world scrap markets.

. . . .



......bad joke. Sorry.

 

[OGNDY]

That's good news.

Aren't you waiting on some hardware too? (or did I get it wrong)....

You have no idea! My Vamo 5/Aspire Nautilus from China was just shipped, but I'm too impatient so I ordered a Cloudpor Mini with an Aspire Atlantis from a domestic vendor in the mean time. Should be here by this w/e. I know, crazy for a beginner, but it's like a whole exiting new hobby and I gotta to have it all. NOW!

 

[TonyB66]

That's what I call jumping in with both feet. Took me nearly 2 yrs before I got to that level of equipment, but things are moving so fast on the equipment front there's a new tank/box mod every month these days. It gets expensive real fast.