My coil problems must end...

[Sloth Tonight]

Ok I must resolve my coil building issues once and for all it is getting out of hand...hot legs running around at White Pine Camp too seductive the guests are complaining they are on vacation with their wives kids etc not supposed to be getting stiffys from all these hot legs...

Thank you to anyone willing to help, in advance - sorry to be such a coil-sucking reonaut always asking for help with hot legs

I've taken some pics but they're blurry - on this final push to rid of hot legs I will take many pics as i have time to work on this. Trying to solve blurry pic problem as i doubt these pics are very useful.

What I'm confident of: my issue lies in my coils (not my wicks or mods or attys etc) and is 100% user error. sometimes I get a bad wick and have to re-do it but i know when that is the problem. it's rare and i can tell and re-wick life goes on. this same issue is on 2 different reomizers, both tested on 2 different REOs and an MVP. thus the issue is definitely coils and user error

Here is an example (by far not my best one though) of a coil fresh off the gizmo:


Even off the gizmo I sometimes take pliers to undo the end wrap as it is not always perfectly touching, but usually it seems fine

Now I then mount the coil while it is still on the gizmo rod. Watched Super X's latest video, and now want to get a 17ga luer lock needle to use something smaller. in the meantime I don't have anything smaller (except the smaller gizmo rod but i think it's too small) so i keep it on the rod it was wrapped on to mount it. I then push/pull the coil into the area i want it to end up, and tighten screws down. I then pull the coil out (on the rod) to its final resting position. Remove rod. Pulse. sometimes I have a true hot log - that is, it glows at the leg first, or just unevenly not center out. Running the rod back and forth like SuperX shows fixes this 99% of the time sometimes I have to fiddle with the leads or something too but I always get it fixed. Now it's glowing evenly center out. But it almost ALWAYS glows out down the legs as well, 1/4 to 1/2 of the way to the post then stops glowing.

I always notice too that my end wraps come slightly away from the coil to go to the posts. I have tried bending the wire prior to mounting and everything - but this always happens to me.

Here are pics of my coil but so blurry

 

[Sloth Tonight]

those last 2 show what I'm currently vaping on. it's not good. if I take very, very short drags - it tastes ok. anything longer than say 2 seconds even freshly squonked is gonna be dry tasting

no. idea. what. i'm. doing. wrong.

 

[olefolks]

Sloth, what type of wick are you using? Sorry, can't make anything out in the pics!! Back off the atty a little for more clarity!!

 

[Izan]

Hi mate,
What AWG is the wire and what is your ohmage?

Cheer
I

 

[Vapeaholic]

The hot leg problem would be a bit better if you practice with getting good 90 degree bends on your leads to get them spaced out the same width as the posts. All your coils including the outside ones need to be tight to the others. Then mount it and do quick pulses looking for hot legs. Gently squeeze with tweezers and the hot legs should go away and the coil should start glowing from the center to the outside.
The wick problem sounds like you may not have enough wick or are not getting good saturation when squonking. The wick should fill the coil completely but not be tight, and squeeze and hold it for a 3 to 5 count before releasing. Take off the drip tip and watch to be sure you are getting complete saturation.

 

[Sloth Tonight]

I have tried bending it like you suggest vapeaholic but I don't seem to do any better when i do that...maybe because i have a hard time getting the bend close to the coil. tips for making those bends?

I'm using 28ga kanthal. KGD for the wick but again the wicking is not a problem, i'm 100% certain the issue is with coils.

sometimes i luck out - rocking a good coil on Raekavik right now, had it going for 2-3 weeks. It's rocking in flavor and vapor but it's 1.3 ohms - all my coils right now are 1.2 or 1.3 this is because i seem to have a much harder time with hot legs when i use less wraps otherwise i'd like .9 or 1 ohm

 

[Sloth Tonight]

Sloth, what type of wick are you using? Sorry, can't make anything out in the pics!! Back off the atty a little for more clarity!!

sorry I will try for better pics next time (sometime today soon hopefully gotta do some stuff for work first) KGD for wick

 

[Izan]

I have tried bending it like you suggest vapeaholic but I don't seem to do any better when i do that...maybe because i have a hard time getting the bend close to the coil. tips for making those bends?

I'm using 28ga kanthal. KGD for the wick but again the wicking is not a problem, i'm 100% certain the issue is with coils.

sometimes i luck out - rocking a good coil on Raekavik right now, had it going for 2-3 weeks. It's rocking in flavor and vapor but it's 1.3 ohms - all my coils right now are 1.2 or 1.3 this is because i seem to have a much harder time with hot legs when i use less wraps otherwise i'd like .9 or 1 ohm

As a "cheat", I can make my legs super short if I use a larger coil diameter. Jump to a 3mm mandrel and wrap a 5/6 coil to ~1.2Ω.

Have fun
I

 

[Vapeaholic]

I have tried bending it like you suggest vapeaholic but I don't seem to do any better when i do that...maybe because i have a hard time getting the bend close to the coil. tips for making those bends

You can start the bend with tweezers while the coil is still on the rod. Just get a little kink in it right up against the coil with the tweezers then you can use your finger to push it down parallel to the rod. The second bend can be done with tweezers all the way.If you try to make the first bend fully with the tweezers it will pull the bend away from the coil by the thickness of the tweezer end. This works for me anyway.

 

[Sloth Tonight]

that is ingenious never once did i think of using tweezers to make the bend. ok, will report back. gonna walk dogwog and get to it soon afterwards

 

[Sloth Tonight]

As a "cheat", I can make my legs super short if I use a larger coil diameter. Jump to a 3mm mandrel and wrap a 5/6 coil to ~1.2Ω.

Have fun
I

i don't think i have a 3mm mandrel isnt the next size up super huge? i could wrap by hand on a larger size drill bit

 

[Izan]

i don't think i have a 3mm mandrel isnt the next size up super huge? i could wrap by hand on a larger size drill bit

Sorry, I am gizmo-less,
I free wrap on dremel bits.

 

[super_X_drifter]

i don't think i have a 3mm mandrel isnt the next size up super huge? i could wrap by hand on a larger size drill bit

3mm is huge.

If you hold down on the fire button long enough, even the legs on the cleanest coils will glow. The trick is to first cue with a slightly smaller rod to resolve the hot legs so they are not the first thing glowing. Then continue to cue the coil with the slightly smaller rod (always pulling it away from the posts as you cue). The goal is to resolve the hot legs for a minimum of the duration of your worst case drag.

 

[Filthy-Beast]

Your first post even though the photo is blurry is does not appear to have a hot leg, SxD brings up a good point. when your wicked and fully squonked that will keep the mail part of the coil from glowing, do you get a leg that glows? Are you burning any wicks under normal usage.

Now for something completely off the wall. wrap your coils in the other direction. so if you start with the wire going over the top of the mandrel switch it up and go under. Should have no effect but it might force a subtle change in something your doing.

 

[Rmcgloth]

On low ohm coils, I get this also, especially if the is a departure angle from the coil leading to the post. If I am in a hurry, I just drape the end of the wick tails back over the legs and tuck them in the middle. If not rushed, I will take the time to pinch the back side of the coil where the wires depart a few times to ensure contact.

 

[built4feel]

My legs still glow a little bit after the center and rest of the coil glows....... I have to suggest you build at the 1ohm, or wherever you prefer... because, you're taking longer drags to compensate for higher resistance? So build lower and you won't have to heat up the coil as long... Thats the way I see it anyway... Try to keep you wick away from the legs too- that may be the cause.. Just thinking aloud here.. hope you get it vaping proper soon!

edit:

I've been using the gizmo since yesterday and love it. I noticed its important to keep the exact same tension before the first wrap till the end. Also, I used a 1.4mm precision screwdriver and this other tool that I don't even know what to call it...(its slightly bigger than 1.4mm)...as my pool stick to cue the coils... until I find/order a 17ga blunt tip needle...

 

[Sloth Tonight]

ok so these last few comments and my last build got me thinking...here's where i'm at now.

I just built what appears to be one of the better coils i have ever made. NO hot legs whatsoever. Perfect contact on every wrap. Glows center out like a beauty. I'd take a pic but it's gonna be as blurry as before unfortunately but by bending the legs with tweezers prior to inserting i got a fantastic looking 1.3 ohm coil.

Aaaand every wick i've tried, dry hits. this time i see no visible explanation at all. though i'm not convinced that my problem is something else - i'm curious.

B4F - your suggestion to keep the wick away from the legs...so, i have been usually tucking the wick kind of up against the leg. I gently push it down to where it touches the deck then push it back along the wire to the posts. is that a possible cause, you're saying? only thing is - if so - i wonder why it's not an issue when i do get a "good coil." my coil in Raekavik has been rocking hard for 2-3 weeks now, still looks and vapes brand new. every single wick - always done about the same way.

the scary thing is, i've gotta get it figured out because once that coil in Raekavik goes bad i could be in trouble

i do not burn wicks under normal usage - they never appear burned. also, if i take off the cap and fire - even for a long duration - i see no glowing or sizzling or anything like that.

as i've been cueing, i have NOT been simultaneously pulling away from the posts; been doing those steps separately. hmmm...

 

[Sloth Tonight]

... i am so confused

same coil i just mentioned - went back in, did 2 things. took the smallest mandrel (tiny one, smaller than the 1/16 i wrap on), put it through the coil, cued and pulled outwards from the posts simultaneously several times. then wicked, trying to keep the wick off the legs as much as possible. it seems to be vaping fine...

...? the wick vs leg thing makes no sense to me - if a leg is heating up, wouldn't it avoid dry hits to have wick against it? in this case though the leg is not heating up, but on all my other coils?

and ...? if pulling/cueing like 10-12 times solely fixed this, ...? no visible difference in how it glows etc

and no idea if this will continue to vape fine next wick etc

the weirdest is when i first got my REO i just slapped on a crappy coil in 5 mins and whammo flavor, only recently did i run into this trouble

superx if someone doesn't have a slightly smaller utility to mount it cue it etc, do you think the smallest mandrel rod is acceptable?

edit - i still don't think it's vaping perfectly..the taste is much sweeter off a 1 second drag than a 2 or 3 or 4 second drag. could just be that the juice gets a darker taste as the coil gets hotter though (oreo cookie flavor)

 

[k2zs]

The easiest way to bend nice tight angles is to use a LuerLock needle as a bender. Slide the leg in and and make your bend. Saw it in somebody's video but cant remember where...

 

[RSZ1]

From the blurred pictures, it looks like you may be choking off your coil with too much cotton.