My micro coil / cotton honest test run

[ltrainer]

Just to be clear for everyone about filing the tip of the pin. All you have to do is take the battery out. push the firing button just enough to expose the tip and run a file over it. Theres no need to take off the derlin cover. I think more damage has been done to Reo by removing the cover than any other one thing

 

[hubseven]

Vap. My pin needs a frequent scuff (file) and a dab. I don't know if it's cause I'm drawing lots of current @ .5 or if it's the flat-button top batteries; but the way I do it, nets such results. Anymore, about every other night I'll take a few seconds to make a quick swipe with a fine file and apply a tiny dab.

had same prob with inconsistent firing, it would get better if i rotated the battery, now i just put a little noalox on the tip of my batteries, I have ones with nipple on top and the firing issues go away, just a very thin film on top of batt does the trick.

 

[hildicat]

I had similar issues with the Grand not firing consistently. Its a used Grand that I got in a trade so I have no idea how old it is.

To be quite honest I never resolved the problem because I just fell in love with the VVG. To me there are so many benefits of the VVG over the Grand, not the least of which is not having to file contacts or deal with grey goop.

 

[JC Okie]

When you guys are talking about scuffing.....don't be timid....run a file over the tip of the firing pin a couple of times using a little pressure. It's not going to hurt it. And....you shouldn't/won't have to do it as often.....once every few months after you give your Grand a bath under hot running water. And as ltrainer said, you should not take the delrin cover off....it's a booger to get back on without stripping the screw....just remove the battery, push the pin down where you can get to the tip, run a file over it a few times, apply Noalox. I know you've pretty much covered the sparks issue, but I just wanted to make sure you know to scruff the tip with more pressure than you might think. I was being too timid at first, and I learned from Rob to give it a little pressure.....we're knocking oxidation off the tip and it takes a little aggression.

 

[FeistyAlice]

It makes sense to me that it does not matter if the legnth of firing pin is oxidized as long as the tip making contact with battery is free of oxidation and the points of contact where center pin is free. After all the current run internally in the metal. Any oxidation along length is not much different from any insulator.

Feisty Alice

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 2

 

[pdib]

Yes, ma'am!

 

[pdib]

stupid phone! Too slow AND I can't edit!

Yes, JC, MA'AM

 

[JC Okie]

stupid phone! Too slow AND I can't exit!

Yes, JC, MA'AM

Clucking mother! LOL I just wanted to make it perfectly clear.................

 

[pdib]

It took me a few hours of trying before I filed hard enough. I'm timid with that kinda thing. I still start off gentle. Its just the kind of guy what I am.

 

[vapdivrr]

I did actually know that this filing & noalox thing was a maintenance thing and it didn't sound like it was a big deal, and is no difference to any other device that I own. the issue I had was that the device was just a couple of days old, so I didn't think that this was the issue. anyways I am glad that it was this simple thing and its now rocking again. thanks.

 

[vapdivrr]

stool softener, hah! I don't know, vap, try it and let us know what you think.

I will as soon as I get off of this shyttar

 

[JC Okie]

I did actually know that this filing & noalox thing was a maintenance thing and it didn't sound like it was a big deal, and is no difference to any other device that I own. the issue I had was that the device was just a couple of days old, so I didn't think that this was the issue. anyways I am glad that it was this simple thing and its now rocking again. thanks.

It's almost a foreign concept to those of us who for several years now have had to stand in line and play "F5" for hours at a time to get the REO we wanted, but these days I think some of Rob's inventory actually has an opportunity to sit on the shelf for a little while. Possibly that's why some of the brand new ones need a good scuffing right off the bat. Who knows; it's a thought.

 

[CATastrophe]

On the scuffing of the firing pin - My two minis are very different in that regard. One needs the pin scuffed and noaloxed about every two weeks and the other mini maybe once every couple months. I chalk it up to the uniqueness of the units. One button presses more easily than the other, and the pin shapes are a tad different, too.

 

[darkzero]

You may be on to something p-dibby. I do vape at fairly high resistance, like 2 - 2.3ish. Perhaps that's why I skate by with NO - alox.

The coils on my Reos have pretty much always been 1.1-1.2Ω, again I never use Noalox. I wiped the Noalox off & first applied ProGold to the firing pin. Every so often I'll apply ProGold to the battey's button top, fire & twist the battery to disperse the liquid. I have tried cleaning with Deoxit but the time I did I never got a dirty residue when wiping it off as I normally do when cleaning other contacts. I can't say that I would recommend the ProGold or Deoxit as I didn't know if they are actually working & they are expensive. But the products do work as I use them for other things.

A fellow member actually contacted me a couple of days ago asking if I knew of a good "solution" to this. Well I do have two ideas. The firing pin feels & looks like SS so one idea is not going to work, haven't checked yet though if it is SS. The other idea would probably help but it's not as simple.

SS is not the best eltrical conductor but it's not the material, the reason for arcing (sparking) is the small contact area of the firing pin. Increasing the contact area may not completely eliminate the sparking but it will reduce the time it takes to oxidize & having to clean/file it.

To test, I cleaned the firing pin completely then checked for arcing. Don't have to turn off the lights, you should be able to see it between the delrin cover & battery if indoors. As recommended you should not mash on the button to fire but you should also practice a good firm press. With my firing pin completely clean I can see arcing if I give the button a light press as it fires & when I release. If I give it a firm press I don't see any arcing at all when it makes contact but I do see it slightly when I release.

Each time it arcs is when carbon can form. So the less arcing you have, the less carbon that needs to be cleaned. I would say do this check to give you a good idea of how much pressure you should apply to the firing button. Practicing this alone should greatly reduce the intervals needed for cleaning.

Again I have never filed or reapplied Noalox on my Reos. With the firing pin clean & arcing at times, I reapplied the ProGold, it completely elimnated the arcing so I guess this stuff is working, can't say it's any better or worse than Noalox so keep using Noalox people.

I told the person who contacted me that I will look at it more so I may just try it. If I do I will be sure to post if the results are worthwhile. Personally with my use, I really have no need to try the ideas I have. My Reos are working just as good as they did from day one (except for getting into into RBAs) & don't need any upgrades.

 

[Big Hitter]

Vapdivrr, I am one of the rare few who had never noaloxed my current crop of REOs. The oldest one I currently have is about 4 or 5 months old. I have either been lucky, or I don't know what I'm missing. My REO vape is consistently off the chain. I keep it spotless inside.

Perhaps later, I'll give it a bath, scuff the pin and hit it with a little noalox from my lifetime supply bottle and see if there's any difference.


I think there's little that can fail with the switch, but if your a button masher, that has been known to cause issues by deforming the pin. Very gentle pressure is all I use, just enough to make contact.

Try to scuff the very tip of the pin and hit it with some noalox and see if it helps. You wanna be sparing with it and not get it on anything but the tip of the pin cause it'll trap lint and stuff in it.

Are your AW IMRs new?

I'm with you sXd ..... 2 years and 9 months never without a grand and never once have I used noalox .....
I clean it right off every time I get a new one before I even put a battery in.

I keep my shat clean as new and they work as new every single time.

IMHO all that noalox does is make dirt and grit stick in the exact spot you don't want it .......

But we all know by now I'm the odd man out usually ...

I think noalox is kinda like hi-test gas back in the day.
I'm convinced that in the 80's you put one tank of hi-test in a car that engine needed that shat the rest of its life or it would start a knockin like a mother.

I don't need crazy wattage though .... heck I kicked the habbit back when 1.5 ohms was just a dream some crazy person had.

 

[Rmcgloth]

Back to the flavor difference, the first time I tried Voos brew from cc it had sort of a cat urine tinge to it. This was in a vivi nova and in ce4s. I put it away thinking maybe it was a seasoning issue. Wen I got an octopus, I re wicked with cotton, being deep into the micro coil thread at the time, and suddenly the taste was great! Well balanced, no funky cat pee. I just today filled a protank that now has a micro and cotton, and the taste is almost identical the the dripper. Another instance, with white rabbit from aiv, it was delicious in a dct dual coil, and still good but very different in a chobra with ss mesh and .08 kanthal ribbon at .8 ohms on a kts.

There are so many variables, it's like Disneyland at night without your parents!

 

[pdib]

back to the hijack . . .. I've just recently started wondering about the arcing and the pressing, dizzie. Everyone cautioned me to not press too hard, or I'd mash the pin. And I've just recently been observing that an overly cautious//hesitant press sets off the fireworks in there. I'm gonna try some consistently firm presses for a few days and see if things change. (I can do that because I've got a fresh pin arriving tomorrow. so if I toast it, no big deal)

Thanks for the "confirmation", Diz.

 

[darkzero]

IMHO I think it would be hard to damage the firing pin by pressing too hard, unless maybe Robert changed the design or material of it at some point. No offense to those who have but maybe they were expecting the button to click & give feedback or something. I get a feel for any type of button I press only after a few times, never broke one from pressing it more than necessary & I've been pressing all kinds of random buttons all my life.

 

[supertrunker]

My issue with the coils is simple - i hate using cotton. It doesn't last and 2 days is good and then rewick. It's good in a real pinch - say you have no time to make something good and can borrow a qtip from some strange woman!

The xc-116 is well worth a bash - it's silica and durable, i managed nearly 2 weeks from it. SS mesh is hard to run in an RM2, even if you hybrid it with cotton yarn thru the middle.

Porous ceramic - waste of time - might as well use a dripper.

The micros are some nice looking coils though.

T

 

[pdib]

IMHO I think it would be hard to damage the firing pin by pressing too hard, unless maybe Robert changed the design or material of it at some point. No offense to those who have but maybe they were expecting the button to click & give feedback or something. I get a feel for any type of button I press only after a few times, never broke one from pressing it more than necessary & I've been pressing all kinds of random buttons all my life.

makes me think of opera . . . .