new to RBAs & I have some questions

[Zealous]

Hi, I'm a big lurker here but don't post much. HST, I have been interested in rebuildables & decided to practice with a phoenix style rba & also with my mini vivi novas.

One problem I'm having is shorts in my builds. Where should I be looking to figure out where it's not right? I thought maybe if the coils were touching each other that would cause it. but when I space them out enough they're still showing shorted. Is it the part of the wire that's connected to the posts maybe?

And this leads to my second question. What is the purpose of nonresistance wire & do I need to use this or is it just optional? I know on the tutorials for the vivi novas they don't use them so I guess it's not required on those. But the other rba I got came with 1 atty already built & that one had nonresistance wire on each end. But in the little supply package that came with it there was only resistance wire & wicking. I've seen some tutorials for other RBAs that show them using this wire. Is there a reason I should be using it & is it necessary?

Thanks for any help anyone can provide.

edit: oops. Sorry I posted it here. I didn't think I'd posted 5 times yet. Guess I have.

 

[Brantis]

For your problem with shorts, I would recommend doing the drill but method. I am pretty good at wrapping a coil, but this method makes it so much easier to get it right on the first try without having to poke and prod the thing forever.

As far a nonresistance wire, I cannot offer any suggestions. I tend to stick with what works, and I'm still exploring the world of kanthal.

Sent from my VS840 4G using Tapatalk 2

 

[bryce704]

you can cause a short if your wick is touching the bottom the tank. Pull it up and make sure there is a little space between the wick and the bottom.

 

[Zealous]

Thanks Brantis. On the nonresistance wire, I was just concerned because when I took the atty apart on my new RBA it had it on the ends. But as I said, it didn't come with any so it's confusing. If I can use Kantal only I'd prefer to but I didn't know if you HAVE to use the nonresistance on some or not.

Thanks Bryce. I was not aware of that. I don't think that's the problem since the wick is pretty short. But I'll keep that in mind for the future.

 

[Kanj.nguyen]

you can cause a short if your wick is touching the bottom the tank. Pull it up and make sure there is a little space between the wick and the bottom.

Not if wick is oxidized.

How do you know if its a short? Could be just too low of a resistance.

 

[Oktyabr]

What is the purpose of nonresistance wire & do I need to use this or is it just optional?

Resistance wire, like the kanthal, IS the heating element. Electrical resistance in the wire itself causes it to heat up when current passes through it producing heat and vaporizing the liquid supplied to it by your wick. Non-resistance wire is usually only used in special cases where the wick *itself* is intended to be the heating element, i.e. stainless steel mesh. I've only seen one video where they did a hybrid like this but I think it's a pretty unconventional design anyway so...

Vivis and like, if you are using silica, need resistance wire since the silica itself is a very poor conductor (even wet).

We are all assuming you are using SS mesh... Care to supply the model of Phoenix?

 

[Kanj.nguyen]

Non resistance wire can also be used when the positive and/or negative posts are too far from where you want the coil. Then if you use all resistance wire you would waste power in the part where wire is not touching wick.

 

[Oktyabr]

Non resistance wire can also be used when the positive and/or negative posts are too far from where you want the coil. Then if you use all resistance wire you would waste power in the part where wire is not touching wick.

Good point. I actually remember seeing a photo somewhere of an RBA that was set up like that. It had tiny little crimps holding the resistance wire onto what I presume was non-resistance, which made up the rest of the legs. I thought it looked a bit peculiar at the time but didn't give it much more thought. Personally, I'm not sure I'd buy an RBA that required that level of detail!

 

[Brantis]

My vivinova came with those wires you speak of.... They broke very very easy when you try to tighten your setup. I would imagine this is helpful if your wick is really far from the posts.

 

[Oktyabr]

My vivinova came with those wires you speak of.... They broke very very easy when you try to tighten your setup. I would imagine this is helpful if your wick is really far from the posts.

Huh? I've *never* seen a vivi with wires such as you describe. Do you have a link to where you got it? A photo maybe?

 

[Brantis]

It was directly from altsmoke

 

[ruff]

The vivi rebuildable tank and the vivi nova are 2 different things, the vivi tank comes with the nr wire you speak of and isnt needed to make it work, the vivi novas on the other hand have replaceable heads

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[Zealous]

How do you know if its a short? Could be just too low of a resistance.

The results have been varied. Sometimes it has tested @ high unstable oms (ie 6.?-9.? & fluctuating) & other times it's tested as 1/0 on the atty tester/multimeter. I thought those were indicators of shorts.

We are all assuming you are using SS mesh... Care to supply the model of Phoenix?

It's called Fahrenheit & I got it @ madvapes. I'm using 34 Kantal & cotton yarn wicking. No steel mesh. I've tried it with 4, 5 & 6 wraps & have gotten the same result each time.

 

[Cooked7]

So im new to this forum but not to ecigs. Ive mostly just read threads on ECF for info but I cant seem to figure out my RBA problem. I try to test the ohms with a multimeter however it just reads 0.00 Im touching the outside threads and the inner post on my T2 but have had no luck. Any suggestions?

 

[Thompson]

Try testing the coil from the top, just touch the center post & the ground your using.

May also depend on the dmm setting your on.

Faxed in on the Mojo Wire

 

[Kanj.nguyen]

The results have been varied. Sometimes it has tested @ high unstable oms (ie 6.?-9.? & fluctuating) & other times it's tested as 1/0 on the atty tester/multimeter. I thought those were indicators of shorts.



It's called Fahrenheit & I got it @ madvapes. I'm using 34 Kantal & cotton yarn wicking. No steel mesh. I've tried it with 4, 5 & 6 wraps & have gotten the same result each time.

Fluctuating resistance is usually sign of loose contacts. Check the screws that capture your wire.

 

[Cooked7]

Okay ill try that. Im on 20k OHM setting

 

[Cooked7]

Their all tight I tried testing a replacement coil aswell and I still got no reading. Hmm I tried the coil it flashes some numbers then goes to 0.00

 

[Cooked7]

I set the mm to 200 and got a reading of 2.0, does that sound about right?

 

[Tium]

So you'll get a short if the wire touches the bottom. Is it possible to get a short if the wire touches the SIDES?