Mysteries of the coil

[ProjectJ]

Hello fellow vapors!

I have appeared to reach an impasse. 9 months ago I started on the vaping journey, enjoying every mile stone. Typically i am able to figure things out with enough research or finding that diamond in the rough that answers the direct question.

Down to brass tacks. I am using a Provari, equipped with a Pheonix dripping RBA. This weekend it was time to change the coil. Im using 32 gauge kanthal on SS mesh, my initial wrap came out at 1.8 ohms. The downside is it was kind of messy and had some bad hotspots near the leads that i just couldn't get rid of. My next attempt was much cleaner and measured out at 2.6 ohm (about 4/5 wraps). After cleaning all the hotspots and getting an even glow, juice was added and attempted... to be enjoyed.

The problem i having with this wrap and with other foreseeable constructs in the future. Even though the resistance is acceptable and the coil glows nice an even, it is just not producing vapor to the standard that was previously experienced. Increasing voltage does not make a difference, seems the coils are taking too long to hit vaping temperature. Finally this wrap i am noticing fluctuates in resistance, I have seen it measure out between 1.7 - 4.3 ohm. How can this be when dry burn testing procedures indicate a working coil that should vape like a son of a gun.

Any suggestions or redirects to a solution would be great. Feel free to ask any questions that i may have not addressed.

ProjectJ

 

[Kanj.nguyen]

When that happens to be usually the coil is making bad contact somewhere.

 

[HunterSeeker]

Was the mesh oxidized?

 

[ProjectJ]

For the contact.... it appears the coil makes consistent contact with the wick. The leads have been loosened / snugged with no noticeable change. No hot spots to speak of.

The mesh is significantly oxidized as it is the same wick that had the previous coil on it that was working well.

 

[greentoke]

When I see the ohms jump up that high it sometimes means the top nut isn't tight.

 

[Jimmyhat]

If i were you I would rewrap a coil and use the petar k method (how to's can be found on youtube). i use this method with unoxidized wicks and anything from wrapped 32ga to 28 ga to wrapped 30 ga with no issues. It sounds like your coil is making consistent contact with the mesh and grounding out but not creating a hotspot.

 

[vanillagurilla]

When the ohms jump around on my agat + the top nut is loose or the whole post is loose

 

[sharkky1987]

hey everyone im new to this but i have a couple aga t + and i love them. everything in here has been a lot of help

 

[Plentyobass]

Sounds like a short somewhere. Sometimes it's easier to strip it all and start over, than wreck your brain finding a tiny short. The extra coil building practice doesn't hurt, either!

 

[gravewolf]

Most of the times it's actually the wick that's the problem, you can make a good coil but it if wounds too tight on a wick then you'd get dry hits. If the wick isn't getting enough juice then you get a decent vape. Also the position of hole plays an important factor in vapor production. The pathway of the air hole to the coil must not be blocked in order to get the optimum amount of air to condense the e-liquid to turn it into vapor.

 

[Baditude]

If the Provari isn't giving any error codes, I question whether there are indeed shorts present, as some have mentioned. I've found my Provari pretty good at "seeing" things that I can't; it seems pretty sensitive in this matter. If I get an error, I prod the coils some like Zen does in his ZAP video until it's satisfied with the coil.

If you like the ohm that you have, maybe a heavier wire will help. A larger diameter wire will allow more electrons to travel faster and heat the wire faster, from my understanding. I'm using a 30 wire on my AGA T+.

Any other thoughts from the experts?

 

[sharkky1987]

im new to the coil building and it seems to be going grt . all i did was roll and oxy my mesh and make sure the air hole was lined up with the wick and off i went. but now it toots well but then eventually tastes burnt and is not cause it isnt wicking im sorta outta answer. i wrap the coil around a drill bit and its not tom tight or to loose

 

[ProjectJ]

Considering i built three coils this weekend, this one seemed to be sufficient enough that it should operate to par. Currently the situation is better than what i this post started with. Vapor product is better... still doesn't reflect the vape i was getting before i started this quest. As for what has seem to help is torquing down the leads, i was hesitant to do so since the screws are really small and the strength of the threads are unknown. Resistance seems to be stable now at 2.4, vape production appears to be more immediate. Any additional tips or knowledge will be consumed. Thank you for the information and assistance ill keep you posted if necessary of any unforeseen downfalls. So much information this community has to generously donate.

ProjectJ

 

[NancyR]

Make sure nothing is touching the base of the phoenix, also make sure you don't have some old wire that has worked down into the screw holes, this can happen and cause major issues

 

[sharkky1987]

ive had grt taste out of my aga but after a day it started tasting burnt and it was wicking very well so idk what is going on now