Need some help wrapping my first coil..

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kraze1994

Full Member
Jul 7, 2011
21
1
California
Hi,

I recently purchased some supplies so I could start building my own coils, but I'm having a hell of a time. I started off with Kanthal A1 28G wire and some 316 Stainless Steel cable wick. Each time I finish wrapping the cable I always end up getting an inconsistent ohm reading that changes after my first fire. Here some pictures of my current wrap.

http://i.imgur.com/qP8DYix.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/ufrTEH0.jpg

Please note this is like the sixth wrap and four hours later so my patience has worn thing and it's showing on my wrapping skills. Anyways, with that wrap I am being told it's 1.8ohms. Fire it once and it suddenly drops to 1.1ohms. Unfortunately, both devices I have require at least 1.2ohms to fire. I've keep trying over and over again but I continue to fail. I have no idea what I'm doing incorrectly here.
 

k702

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Feb 18, 2014
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lost wages, sin city, NV
^^ what he asked.

Once you get that other lead under the positive screw and tightened down get rid of the extra kanthall left from the legs and use a screwdriver or pair of tweezers to move those wraps up and down until the gaps are nice and even in between them. pulse fire (hit the fire button for 2 seconds maybe then release, wait 1 second and fire it again, then repeat until the whole thing lights up red at the same time.) the coil after all of that, and continue to make sure the coil wraps are nice and separated and eventually everything should equal out.
 

twgbonehead

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Apr 28, 2011
3,705
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MA, USA
Stainless wicks can be a real pain. The problem is that the stainless is conductive, and if your coil is wound too tightly around it, the wick will short out turns of the coil. I gave up on stainless wicks for exactly this reason (plus I really didn't like the taste it gives).

Make sure you can move the turns of the coil easily up and down with a toothpick. Once you can get it to fire, make sure it's firing evenly across the whole coil, and not dark in places (which would be indicative of a short). And don't be surprised if the problem comes back, even after you fix it. Or just try a rayon wick instead.
 

AzPlumber

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Aug 28, 2011
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Coils wrapped directly onto SS cable are tough for highly experienced builders. Most will use a piece of oxidized SS mesh between the coil and cable as it is almost impossible to eliminate hot spots with just cable. I suggest you initially start building coils with a much easier wick media (silica, cotton, rayon) before trying SS mesh or cable.
 
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