My Vape Nirvana + Endurance Trial

[Statistic]

Well.. I have reached the current pinnacle of my vaping experience in a big way. When I started down the path of building rebuildable atomizers I had some hopes for what I might achieve and as I learned more they became goals. Dripping has it's place in vaping, obviously, but it is not my preferred system. I have come to really like genesis style atty's for their ability to hold lots of juice and typically robust construction.

My goals for an ideal genny build:

• Fast and full performance. Hit the button - get clouds (delicious ones) - DONE
• No genny tilt. I want to hold my device however the hell I want, not having to tilt it to or over 90. - DONE, wicks like mad
• NO LEAKING. I want to carry my device in my pocket and set it down on tables without any concern it may leak a mess all over the place. - DONE, in fact I've held this build upside down for nearly a minute without it dripping a drop.. somehow it still wicks like mad
• Longevity. I want at least one setup that I can count on for any occasion. (within reason, stuff happens, always have backups ) - Time will tell

I have achieved all of this with a hybrid build that has been blowing my mind... and I recently made a pretty lofty assertion about its durability, lol..

How long does your coil last, may I ask?

Indefinitely. The SS rope isn't going anywhere, the ceramic under the coil can withstand 1500+ degress so I use the coil to burn it clean.


I don't really know how long it would last before I "had" to replace it but I see no reason why it wouldn't last for months and months and months, or even years, with proper care (ie. periodic cleaning)

Now.. I don't really think anyone would use a single atty build for years, there's just no reason to, but I do think the materials have the potential to last quite a long time.

If I hadn't just added 3 more RBA's to my collection no build would last a week in my house, I'd be tearing it down and rebuilding it just to tinker. However.. my mighty build did fall this morning when I tightened my telescope a little too much for the last time. I severed the insulator at the connector on my beloved AGA-T+ (with glass tank, lol). So after the above quoted statement I decided to build the best version of this wonderful setup I could build and put it to the test. This build will be my primary vape for as long as I can stand it. I will report at least weekly about its condition. I'll be cleaning it regularly. If I have to replace any part of it the trial is over. If it becomes too gunked up to clean well and becomes a disgusting vape the trial is over. If I build a better setup I will continue using this one daily because I'm truly curious how long this will last.


For starters I decided not to use a replacement insulator that came with the AGA. It failed once after only a couple weeks on my floating pin EA Mod. I found a great solution right in my toolbag.. the #60 o-rings I bought anticipating I'd have to fix my VAMO positive post one day (that day has not come yet, btw).





Perfect fit!!

Then I got my wick and coil wire ready. The wick is 3/32" 7*7 316ss rope. Once cut I rounded the edges, also with the dremel, then I removed the nylon strands inside it and boiled it for ~8 min. The wire is 32g Kanthal A-1, double strands, not twisted. The ceramic rope is xc-116 from BigTex.



I slid about a half inch of xc-116 over one end of the wick.



This pic skips a step.. I wrapped the coil THEN snipped the xc-116 at the end of the wick.



Finally I dropped the wick in the AGA, set the coil and trimmed up the excess xc-116.



The xc-116 needs to be wetted to sort of prime it (this needs to be done any time it is dry, like after dry burning it clean) but once it's going this wick works better than many sump pumps I have encountered. I do not leave the fill hole screw out, the only hole in the deck of my AGA is the wick hole.

This is my best vape yet, by a wide margin. It makes me happy to be a vaper, and happy I decided to try out rebuilding.

5/23/2013 approximately 2:30am EST I finished this build and began vaping it. This is not just a test of how long this wick and coil will last but how long this wick and coil will be awesome to vape. Let's just see how long this puppy kicks ash!!



Details about the build:
AGA-T2
.8ohms
32g Kanthal A-1, two untwisted strands wrapped 3/2
SS rope - 3/32" 7*7 316ss
Ceramic rope - xc-116

 

[Kanj.nguyen]

Hey Stat, nice walkthrough.

Question: did you drill out your wick hole? I use the wick you sent in my AGA and sadly it is not wicking nearly as well as i had hoped. When i pushed the wick in it felt a little snug.

 

[Statistic]

I did not drill out the wick hole. I will say though the difference between oxidized and not oxidized is night and day. I didn't get then cut yet, will do it today, bit I'm gonna send you some more wicks not oxidized. Sounds like your wick hole might be a bit smaller though.. I wouldn't describe the fit on mine as snug.

 

[Kanj.nguyen]

Hm, quite odd. I appreciate it though; could you make it a tinnnnnsy bit longer than last time? (so i can reach into the little gap at the bottom of the tank). And if possible a little ceramic at the top just like yours; i only have silica sleeving on my hand right now and im leaving too soon to order anything.

Ceramic is a nice add-on; i would imagine it alleviates the heat sink effect quite a bit. I take it you still torch it clean before using though? And have you tried ribbon on that? I could send you a few feet to try out.

 

[Statistic]

Alright Mr Kanj.. it's in the mail. I realized today that I misspelled a word in your address on the last package I sent, lol. Should be there by Saturday, hopefully the coil survives the trip.

It's a double strand 32g Kanthal A-1, 3/2. The bottom of the wick is flat and should sit right on the bottom of the tank. The top of the wick is the tapered end, I cut it to be even with the top of the positive post on one of my AGA-T2'S. You'll want to slide the coil down a bit on the xc when you get it installed and probably trim some of the xc off the top. I boiled this wick for about 8 minutes. I don't torch the xc, it's heat treated, but I do flame it with a lighter before installing and dry burn the coil before putting any juice on it just to make sure it's clean. I did not burn the xc I sent you at all so that part is up to you.
Also I included a few inches of xc-116; in case you want to try your ribbon wire or another gauge or something.

When I bought my 100' spool of 32g I got such a good deal I haven't been able to bring myself to pay the same amount for 1/10th the amount of other materials so I haven't tried anything other than 32 and 30g Kanthal. When I do find a good price I plan to stock up on several options. If you have some extra ribbon I'd definitely like to give it a try

 

[Kanj.nguyen]

Much obliged. Hopefully this is Nirvana! if my wick hole is a little small i think i can widen it with a roll of sand paper. I have no drills.

Let me try this with ribbon and if i think it performs well i will send you a couple of feet. So far ribbon has not let me down. It was weird when i opened the top cap of my mini DID clone, the only think i have not rebuilt with ribbon, and see a round wire coil i was like why does that look weird? Lol ribbon spoiled.

 

[Statistic]

18 hours .. is how long that coil lasted... lol

It must have shorted on the ss wick and popped one of the strands, I did a lot (too much) fiddling with this coil. It started hitting real weak this afternoon so I checked the resistance and it was all over the place from 1.1 to 3.4. The pos nuts and neg screw were all tight, that wasn't the issue.

So I wrapped a new coil tonight, on a drill bit. Another .8ohms. Then I slid a fresh 1/2" of xc over the end of the ss rope and sort of screwed it down into the coil, I felt like this ensured better insulation between the ss rope and the coil. So far this one is rocking my socks too, keeping my fingers crossed.

So.. the counter is reset, lol, to about 10:30pm today.

 

[Satava]

Hey Stat, nice walkthrough.

Question: did you drill out your wick hole? I use the wick you sent in my AGA and sadly it is not wicking nearly as well as i had hoped. When i pushed the wick in it felt a little snug.

If the 3/32 isn't fitting in your AGA then it might be slightly untwisted. Just try twisting it a little tighter. I had this issue once when I took it apart to pull the nylon thread.

@Statistic- Do you have any 1/16 stainless rope floating around? I've been wanting to try a 1/16 with a full xc-116 sleeve top to bottom in my AGA but Big Tex is always out of stock. It seems when they do get it in I have no money and when payday hits its all gone lol. Been wondering how a "Micro-Coil" would work on a hybrid like that.

 

[Statistic]

I don't, sorry. The only SS ropes I have are 3/32 and 1/8th. Although I am guessing the center strand of the 7*7 3/32 would be 1/32.. I wonder if using some of it inside the 1/32 nextel would be any better than just the nextel by itself... hmmm.

I know jasl90 is using the skinny in a genny, I have had exactly zero luck with the skinny in mine, just isn't wickin fast enough for me.

Before I try any more experimening though I have to fix the incredibly stupid thing I did last night... this has ruined my day, all the vaping parts of it at least

 

[Statistic]

ok.. back on track

4th try's a charm? lol.. so much for the endurance trial. I have learned a few things about this combo in the last few days though.

I often find myself drawing comparisons between vaping and operating/maintaining an automobile. They both involve a lot of metal machined to exacting tolerances and utilized in very specific ways. They both involve fluids and sources of energy. They are both complex machines.

Like an automobile the parts of an atomizer must be assembled in the correct arrangement or the machine will not work. Variations on the components will yield varying results. If you run it too hot for too long the results will be.. undesirable.

I was wrapping my coils on a 9/64" drill bit and they were doing great, then I ruined it by drilling my air hole out from 1/16" to 5/64", the coil got so nasty I decided to start over. Then I switched to another cap with a 1/16" air hole and wrapped up a new coil, this time on a 1/8" drill bit, thinking the tighter contact would help keep juice on the coil. It's pretty much impossible to choke this SS rope but the tighter coil heated the SS up so much it was cooking the juice in no time partly because the SS wicks so fast and holds heat so while it's still piping hot it's also sucking juice up cooking it as fast as it wicks until the rope cools.

So I wrapped another coil on the 9/64" bit I used before and I'm getting fantastic results. I find the slightly looser coil heats up the juice as good or better than the tighter one and puts FAR less heat into the SS rope. With the 9/64" coil I can still singe my juice on the Nextel but it takes a bit more effort. I have realized this setup is similar to a cartomizer in that if you burn it it is burnt until you fix it so it is important to respect the wick and coils limitations and avoid burning them too hot for too long. A carto would find a home in the trash, fortunately you can fix this ss rope/Nextel hybrid wick with a good dry burn. It also dawned on me that after a good dry burn it is important to keep juice AWAY from the wick until it has cooled or it'll just get cooked and you'll have to do another dry burn to clean it off.

So I am now happily vaping away again at .8 ohms. I'll vape it as long as I can but for now this isn't much of an endurance trial, more like a trial and error, lol.