Merlin by Augvape and Roxy

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billybc96

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Aug 24, 2010
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Hi. I've got some Merlins on the way from FT, and in the meantime have gotten some Goblin Mini V3s that I've been trying to work with after several years of not having built my own coils (on an old Kayfun). The Goblin Mini V3 and Merlin build decks are very similar, so I figured I could get some help here regarding building a good single coil MTL style setup on either one of these tanks.

I'm using rayon for the first time, which has been working out okay, but I'm sure I'm probably not quite trimming it right, and may be using a bit too much material. It is hard to tell with rayon. I get a bit of discoloration on either end of the wick, just past the coil. I only have 26 gauge double twisted kanthal and 30 gauge single strand kanthal for now. The 30 gauge is kind of tough to work with because it is so thin. The 26 gauge double twisted is just too big to get a good above ohm MTL build. The best I've been able to do is 0.82 ohms, using a 3.5 inner diameter and 10 wraps. But, of course, for MTL vaping that ends up being too warm. I've got some 28 gauge kanthal coming in, which I think will workout better overall, along with some other wire (SS 316L, etc.) to experiment with - including some 32 gauge double twisted kanthal.

So, basically I'm asking for some advice on doing good single coil, above ohm mouth-to-lung builds using the Merlin's type of velocity deck - including best practices for using rayon wick (which I've already read quite a bit of generally info on). Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you.
 

Alter

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With me I have some .4 kanthal ribbon wire that has been kicking around for ages inwhich is the 28 gauge round wire equivalent. Twisted the ribbon wire, made a clapton with 32 gauge and 5 wraps on a 2.5mm dowel comes out to 1.4 ohm. Perfect for my wife's tootle puffing vaping. Twisted 28 core with 32 clapton should come almost the same as the .4 ribbon. Making claptons isn't hard at all but they vape nice and last longer. As for the rayon, you do have to trim the tails for most attys, once you get it figured out then rayon is the only way to go.
 

billybc96

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Aug 24, 2010
715
689
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Reno, Nevada, USA
With me I have some .4 kanthal ribbon wire that has been kicking around for ages inwhich is the 28 gauge round wire equivalent. Twisted the ribbon wire, made a clapton with 32 gauge and 5 wraps on a 2.5mm dowel comes out to 1.4 ohm. Perfect for my wife's tootle puffing vaping. Twisted 28 core with 32 clapton should come almost the same as the .4 ribbon. Making claptons isn't hard at all but they vape nice and last longer. As for the rayon, you do have to trim the tails for most attys, once you get it figured out then rayon is the only way to go.

Cool. I was reading elsewhere, if I'm going for a restricted draw, I should have the wick maybe about 1/3 into the wick/juice ports? Doing a wick thinning sort of "V" cut on both ends of the wick? Do you also remove about 50% or so off each end of the wick, at about where the wick will curve down? I feel like when I do that I still end up with to thick a chunk of wick on the tails, so maybe cut (remove) more than 50%?
 

TrollDragon

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Dec 3, 2014
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Hi. I've got some Merlins on the way from FT, and in the meantime have gotten some Goblin Mini V3s that I've been trying to work with after several years of not having built my own coils (on an old Kayfun). The Goblin Mini V3 and Merlin build decks are very similar, so I figured I could get some help here regarding building a good single coil MTL style setup on either one of these tanks.

I'm using rayon for the first time, which has been working out okay, but I'm sure I'm probably not quite trimming it right, and may be using a bit too much material. It is hard to tell with rayon. I get a bit of discoloration on either end of the wick, just past the coil. I only have 26 gauge double twisted kanthal and 30 gauge single strand kanthal for now. The 30 gauge is kind of tough to work with because it is so thin. The 26 gauge double twisted is just too big to get a good above ohm MTL build. The best I've been able to do is 0.82 ohms, using a 3.5 inner diameter and 10 wraps. But, of course, for MTL vaping that ends up being too warm. I've got some 28 gauge kanthal coming in, which I think will workout better overall, along with some other wire (SS 316L, etc.) to experiment with - including some 32 gauge double twisted kanthal.

So, basically I'm asking for some advice on doing good single coil, above ohm mouth-to-lung builds using the Merlin's type of velocity deck - including best practices for using rayon wick (which I've already read quite a bit of generally info on). Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you.
Get a drill and twist up some of your 30g, that will make it easier to work with and get you a reasonable coil size in the 1 ohm range.

Try this 1.2 ohm wrap -> Coil wrapping
 

billybc96

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Aug 24, 2010
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Reno, Nevada, USA
I picked up some 28 gauge kanthal at a local vape shop today. Too eager to get coiling again, I guess. I'll see how it goes with the advice I'm getting. I screwed up with the Coil Build Calculator, ending up with a 2.18 ohm coil when I was shooting for a 1.5 ohm one! But that's still okay for MTL compared to 0.82 ohms! 2.11 ohms (once the tank was fully re-assembled) is much better in comparison - though obviously a bit weak for me. I should be on target for a 1.5 ohm build next time around. I feel like I'm doing better with the rayon wick, but still have major juice seepage issues after top refilling the tank - despite shutting everything down before opening up.
 
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Schlinky

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Oct 10, 2015
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Any ideas how I can track down the source of this leaking?

The air hole on the deck is unobstructed with no cotton touching, there is no excess juice in the well around the liquid inlets.

There is no liquid inside (where the air enters the atty).

My guess is that it's leaking between the airflow ring and the section that screws on to the mod. Whenever I remove the atty from the mod it is always sitting in some liquid underneath, sometimes a little, sometimes more than a little.
 
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TrollDragon

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Any ideas how I can track down the source of this leaking?

The air hole on the deck is unobstructed with no cotton touching, there is no excess juice in the well around the liquid inlets.

There is no liquid inside (where the air enters the atty).

My guess is that it's leaking between the airflow ring and the section that screws on to the mod. Whenever I remove the atty from the mod it is always sitting in some liquid underneath, sometimes a little, sometimes more than a little.
Welcome to the Merlin and its lovely character trait of seeping. It seeps between the base and AFC ring through the JFC because it's press fit together.

There are methods posted of pressing the parts tighter with two sockets. A small one on the base to protect the 510 pin and a spark plug socket on the JFC ring, just clearing the threads.
 

Alter

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Apr 2, 2013
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Any ideas how I can track down the source of this leaking?

The air hole on the deck is unobstructed with no cotton touching, there is no excess juice in the well around the liquid inlets.

There is no liquid inside (where the air enters the atty).

My guess is that it's leaking between the airflow ring and the section that screws on to the mod. Whenever I remove the atty from the mod it is always sitting in some liquid underneath, sometimes a little, sometimes more than a little.

Your going to have to read back a whole bunch of pages....I suck at searching or I'd send you to a forum post number link. My merlin seeped badly and I posted my finding, short video on how to take it apart and in the end of it all it still seeps and the bottom line is that the seeping is a pressfit problem. I did kinda solve the seeping but my merlin has to sit on a mech with a solid pin so there is a space between the hitter and atty and not on a mod with a floating pin that sits flush or it seeps....thats my fix. ;)
 
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Schlinky

Full Member
Oct 10, 2015
48
112
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Welcome to the Merlin and its lovely character trait of seeping. It seeps between the base and AFC ring through the JFC because it's press fit together.

There are methods posted of pressing the parts tighter with two sockets. A small one on the base to protect the 510 pin and a spark plug socket on the JFC ring, just clearing the threads.
Thanks for letting me know.

Well that's a real shame, I thought/hoped it might be user error.

So even if I get the right socket sizes and smash it with a hammer it's still going to leak?
:(

I can't use an atty that leaks, both the silver and the black do it, I thought I'd found 'the one'.
 
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