New to rebuildables question

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smokin95

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I just recently got in to coil building, have a new ehpro kayfun lite with a provari 2.5. I attempted to mimic the wattage of my previous vape, a protank 1.8 ohms on a ego twist 3.2 volts.

Managed to build a coil at 1.6 ohms using 10 wraps on 28g kanthal. And I've set my provari to 3.0 volts. Which yields around the same wattage (5.6)

However I noticed the vapor seems a bit cooler and it takes a few seconds for the coil to warm up before it produces vapor. I've upped the voltage to 3.2 and it seems to be a bit closer to what I'm used to with the protank but still takes a few sec to warm up.

So 2 questions:

Is this normal for the RTA, provari, maybe the batteries? I'm using cheapish efest 18490 1100 mah. Or is it an issue with the coil?

Also is wattage on all devices equal? Eg. Is it fair to compare wattage on my protank to the kayfun?

It's my first coil I think it came out okay, got it to glow evenly from the center out, the legs may be a bit uneven.
 

Shawn Hoefer

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I just recently got in to coil building, have a new ehpro kayfun lite with a provari 2.5. I attempted to mimic the wattage of my previous vape, a protank 1.8 ohms on a ego twist 3.2 volts.

Managed to build a coil at 1.6 ohms using 10 wraps on 28g kanthal. And I've set my provari to 3.0 volts. Which yields around the same wattage (5.6)

However I noticed the vapor seems a bit cooler and it takes a few seconds for the coil to warm up before it produces vapor. I've upped the voltage to 3.2 and it seems to be a bit closer to what I'm used to with the protank but still takes a few sec to warm up.

So 2 questions:

Is this normal for the RTA, provari, maybe the batteries? I'm using cheapish efest 18490 1100 mah. Or is it an issue with the coil?

Also is wattage on all devices equal? Eg. Is it fair to compare wattage on my protank to the kayfun?

It's my first coil I think it came out okay, got it to glow evenly from the center out, the legs may be a bit uneven.
Wattage is (for the more part ignoring some companies' claims) wattage. The issue is likely the wire and the draw/chamber. The Protank's coils are made with, i believe, 30 or 32 gauge. Heats a lot faster! A Protank's coil is miniscule compared to the chamber of a Kayfun. Increasing the voltage until you are happy with the vape will hurt nothing (unless you torch your coil, but let's not go there...)

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk
 
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smokin95

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Wattage is (for the more part ignoring some companies' claims) wattage. The issue is likely the wire and the draw/chamber. The Protank's coils are made with, i believe, 30 or 32 gauge. Heats a lot faster! A Protank's coil is miniscule compared to the chamber of a Kayfun. Increasing the voltage until you are happy with the vape will hurt nothing (unless you torch your coil, but let's not go there...)

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk
So it's normal for 28g to take a bit longer to heat up? Switch to 30 or 32 should eliminate it? Or it's a trait due to the larger chamber?
 

Shawn Hoefer

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So it's normal for 28g to take a bit longer to heat up? Switch to 30 or 32 should eliminate it? Or it's a trait due to the larger chamber?
Both. Thinner wire heats faster, and a larger chamber heats slower.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk
 

DaveP

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Thicker gauge wire requires higher settings. I vape 28ga Kanthal at 10W. For a 10W vape with a 1.6 ohm coil try 4 volts and adjust from there.

The easiest way to find your perfect vape is to adjust the wattage/voltage up and down until you find what you are looking for.

Larger wire diameter lets you create a coil with more wraps to contact more wick. 28ga is a good place to be compared to 32ga. 32ga is more for mods with less battery power to be able to create enough heat to vaporize juice. If you have a Provari 2.5 you have the power to fire larger wire gauges. Your eGo Twist couldn't fire heavier gauge wire nearly as well as your Provari.
 
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smokin95

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Thicker gauge wire requires higher settings. I vape 28ga Kanthal at 10W. For a 10W vape with a 1.6 ohm coil try 4 volts and adjust from there.

The easiest way to find your perfect vape is to adjust the wattage/voltage up and down until you find what you are looking for.

Larger wire diameter lets you create a coil with more wraps to contact more wick. 28ga is a good place to be compared to 32ga. 32ga is more for mods with less battery power to be able to create enough heat to vaporize juice. If you have a Provari 2.5 you have the power to fire larger wire gauges. Your eGo Twist couldn't fire heavier gauge wire nearly as well as your Provari.
Ah OK thanks for that explanation. I didn't understand why most people vape at higher watts (10+) when I've based all my knowledge on wattage on those optimal ohms/volts charts suggesting that 5.2-5.7 yields the optimal vape. But I suppose the variable is wire gauge and wraps.

One more noob question; is it OK to run my provari at 4 volts when the battery is discharged to 3.6-3.7? Is there a voltage I shouldn't let it drop below?
 

smokin95

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Mods use circuitry to step up or down the voltage left in the battery to provide what is needed for the atomizer.
You should try not to discharge a battery below 3.2 volts, but no need to worry because the mod notify you, or just cutout.
OK also is it OK to keep a battery in my provari when not in use, like overnight? I've read very scary things about batteries exploding because just because they were touching something metal.
 

smokin95

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Inside is fine, if your feeling really cautious turn it off at night.
Another question; I feel the kayfun is kicking my ... switching from the protank.

Is it possible to wrap a coil with 28g kanthal similar to that of a protank so it can be vaped around 6 watts?

Right now the coil I have is 9 or so wraps w/ 2mm inner diameter. Would less wraps and less resistance lower the voltage for less vapor? Basically I'm looking to decrease vapor and warmth but still have the throat hit and flavor to that of my protank.
 

sawlight

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If you are tasting cotton that sounds like a dry hit to me! I'd double check your wick.
If you really want to drop your wattage that much you might want to go with 32ga wire with 4-5 wraps. The thinner wire will heat much quicker but may not wick fast enough.
The old rule of thumb worked great on the kayfuns, resistance plus two got you voltage. In your case take the 1.6 ohms and add 2 which is 3.6v and puts you around 11 watts. But to run at 5-6 watts I really think you will need smaller wire or to take a puff then a draw with the fire button pushed the whole time. This "primer puff" draws juice to the wick and the time spent allows the coil to get to temp. I used to have to do that on unregulated low power devices to get the vape I liked.
 
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smokin95

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If you are tasting cotton that sounds like a dry hit to me! I'd double check your wick.
If you really want to drop your wattage that much you might want to go with 32ga wire with 4-5 wraps. The thinner wire will heat much quicker but may not wick fast enough.
The old rule of thumb worked great on the kayfuns, resistance plus two got you voltage. In your case take the 1.6 ohms and add 2 which is 3.6v and puts you around 11 watts. But to run at 5-6 watts I really think you will need smaller wire or to take a puff then a draw with the fire button pushed the whole time. This "primer puff" draws juice to the wick and the time spent allows the coil to get to temp. I used to have to do that on unregulated low power devices to get the vape I liked.
Thanks for the info; yeah I've settled around 3.6v.

I don't think I'm getting dry hits, the throat hit and vapor is there and I'm going through normal amounts of juice. The muted cotton taste is consistent through out, from the first puff after dripping juice directly onto the wicks.

Maybe i got crappy cotton? Are you familiar with the bacon cotton?
 
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