Need quick guide to coils/resistance/etc

[Zaryk]

its all good! I'm glad that all of this came out, and it was the right thing to tell me those things! i will take it as an opportunity to learn.
embarrassed a bit - for not investigating the subject thoroughly, and for blindly trusting 'mech specialist' in a vape shop who taught me how to work with mech. (one of the reasons btw that i was dead sure battery voltage in series is 7.4v...). should have investigate it myself really...
but, i guess its better to find out sooner rather than later!


BTW thanks to everyone who participated, i will put the valuable lessons to good use!

I like that you are willing to accept the advice given. We just don't want to see someone else get hurt when it can easily be prevented.

 

[BaronHarkonnen]

I like that you are willing to accept the advice given. We just don't want to see someone else get hurt when it can easily be prevented.

well, life taught me that listening to constructive criticism, and listening to advice of those who are better may be hard on the ego, but its worth it. An opportunity to become better and competent.

So I’ll make my readings, and hopefully my next post will get a reply of approval!

 

[DaveP]

well, life taught me that listening to constructive criticism, and listening to advice of those who are better may be hard on the ego, but its worth it. An opportunity to become better and competent.

So I’ll make my readings, and hopefully my next post will get a reply of approval!

The takeaway from all this is that a mech mod offers no safety from mistakes you might make or things that happen without warning (like a dead short in the mech mod from a cracked or nicked battery wrap). With a regulated mod all that happens is that you get a coil shorted or coil too low warning notification in the window after you discover it's not working anymore. That's much better than a catastrophic short and burned skin and clothes.

 

[BaronHarkonnen]

The takeaway from all this is that a mech mod offers no safety from mistakes you might make or things that happen without warning (like a dead short in the mech mod from a cracked or nicked battery wrap). With a regulated mod all that happens is that you get a coil shorted or coil too low warning notification in the window after you discover it's not working anymore. That's much better than a catastrophic short and burned skin and clothes.

i agree 100%. the only reason i went mech is because back then i purchased VGOD limited something series hybrid mod - don't remember the name (but remember the price of 250$).
it was suppose to be the best mod ever - both reg, and somehow mech at the same time. - my dream back than.
just only after a month it started to short out on me, culminating in burning without button pressed in my pocket while i was driving.
angrily i returned the mod, saying that i don't want anything that is not built like a tank, over engineered by germans, - the best that won't break!

the only thing they had that suited my build quality needs was VaperCloudZ Stratus (unfortunately) mech series mod.
so, i kept with it since, i really liked that its unbreakable (though the button was the weakest link after all), easy to repair, nothing to brake really. this thing is indestructible.

In any case ill move to regulated mods (already am, my old mod for now), later will get myself some DICODES mod with its german engineering - should be reliable (they betta be!).

But i'll still think that i should learn the necessary things that will allow me to build my coils, both for reg, and both for mech in case ill want to. just do it the right way, knowing what is what, - without mistakes.

 

[Hawise]

so my question is,
what is the difference between say very low resistance coil + low wattage VS higher resistance coil + higher wattage? i mean in practice?
say 0.15 ohm VS 1ohm, with adequate Wattage for each to produce the same vapor effect - why would i chose one or the other? (especially in MTL context - i'm new to MTL).

for example now with MTL i have 1ohm coil (that's what came with the tank), at 35w, and its fine...but i do want to build my own coil, problem is my wire that i have now is low resistance.
maybe its not problem, but i have no idea really.

i know that different materials ramp up different, that i know, but besides that, i never figured out what different ohm in a wire really do in terms of experience unless it's a mech mod.

if someone could explain to me in a simple language what is the difference, i would appreciate!

This never really got answered, so I thought I'd have a go. The difference between low resistance + low wattage and high resistance + high wattage is an awful lot of heat. Lower resistance coils are usually used with higher wattage, which lower wattage goes with high resistance coils.

With a mech, you will have been using the resistance (ohms) as a sort of power control - lower resistance for a hotter vape and higher resistance for a cooler vape. Regulated mods don't exactly work that way because you now have the ability to control the power directly. If you want a hotter vape, turn it up; if you want a cooler vape, turn it down.

Resistance does still matter, but it's mostly indirect. Assuming you're using simple wire (not twisted or claptons or other fancier builds) it works like this:

Resistance depends on:

• The material a wire is made of - kanthal, stainless steel 316L, or whatever else you're using
• The wire's gauge, which is a measure of its diameter. Higher gauge wire has a smaller diameter, so it's thinner. Lower gauge wire is thicker, with a bigger diameter. The fatter the wire, the lower the resistance.
• The length of wire in your coil. This is a factor of the coil's ID (inside diameter) and the number of wraps. Shorter wire = less resistance; longer wire = higher resistance.

Say you build a coil of 24 gauge Kanthal A1. 5 wraps at 2.5 mm ID would give you a coil of about 0.43 ohm. Now you want to switch to MTL, so you want a higher resistance coil (usually). There are two ways to do it. You could add more wraps and/or increase your ID so you're using a longer wire for your coil. 8 wraps of 24 ga Kanthal A1 at 2.5 mm would give you 0.66 ohms.

Or you could switch to a thinner wire. 5 wraps at 2.5 mm of 26 gauge wire instead of 24 gauge wire would give you about 0.64 ohm.

Those two coils would have almost the same resistance, but they'd behave very differently and would need different wattages to power them, mostly because the 24 gauge one has an awful lot more metal in it than the 26 gauge coil. Steam engine suggests 32 w for the first coil and 16 w for the second one (actually, Steam Engine doesn't recommend making the first coil at all - it has too much metal and would take too long to heat up and cool down).

If you want to learn more about what combinations of gauge and coil size are likely to work well, I'd suggest checking out Steam Engine's Coil Wrapping page.

 

[BaronHarkonnen]

This never really got answered, so I thought I'd have a go. The difference between low resistance + low wattage and high resistance + high wattage is an awful lot of heat. Lower resistance coils are usually used with higher wattage, which lower wattage goes with high resistance coils.

With a mech, you will have been using the resistance (ohms) as a sort of power control - lower resistance for a hotter vape and higher resistance for a cooler vape. Regulated mods don't exactly work that way because you now have the ability to control the power directly. If you want a hotter vape, turn it up; if you want a cooler vape, turn it down.

Resistance does still matter, but it's mostly indirect. Assuming you're using simple wire (not twisted or claptons or other fancier builds) it works like this:

Resistance depends on:

• The material a wire is made of - kanthal, stainless steel 316L, or whatever else you're using
• The wire's gauge, which is a measure of its diameter. Higher gauge wire has a smaller diameter, so it's thinner. Lower gauge wire is thicker, with a bigger diameter. The fatter the wire, the lower the resistance.
• The length of wire in your coil. This is a factor of the coil's ID (inside diameter) and the number of wraps. Shorter wire = less resistance; longer wire = higher resistance.

Say you build a coil of 24 gauge Kanthal A1. 5 wraps at 2.5 mm ID would give you a coil of about 0.43 ohm. Now you want to switch to MTL, so you want a higher resistance coil (usually). There are two ways to do it. You could add more wraps and/or increase your ID so you're using a longer wire for your coil. 8 wraps of 24 ga Kanthal A1 at 2.5 mm would give you 0.66 ohms.

Or you could switch to a thinner wire. 5 wraps at 2.5 mm of 26 gauge wire instead of 24 gauge wire would give you about 0.64 ohm.

Those two coils would have almost the same resistance, but they'd behave very differently and would need different wattages to power them, mostly because the 24 gauge one has an awful lot more metal in it than the 26 gauge coil. Steam engine suggests 32 w for the first coil and 16 w for the second one (actually, Steam Engine doesn't recommend making the first coil at all - it has too much metal and would take too long to heat up and cool down).

If you want to learn more about what combinations of gauge and coil size are likely to work well, I'd suggest checking out Steam Engine's Coil Wrapping page.

yes! I knew there was a missing link.
I’ll look into the link
Thanks!