New to RTA's

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JamesDMad

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Just got my first rta and to say it's a bit intimidating would be an understatement. A look at the gear includes the following
  • Pharaoh mini from DigiFlavor
  • Smoant Charon TC 218
  • Coilology 3mm .3o ohm framed staple coils
  • Cotton Bacon from Wick N vape
So as i sit here looking at all this stuff like a kid at Christmas, and looking dauntingly at the stuff thinking I'm not in Kansas anymore Toto.....

Any help would be greatly appreciated from the Knowing and Knowledgeable
 

bombastinator

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Tools you will need: something that can trim the wick wire after it’s installed. A wire cutter, or in a pinch a toe nail clipper will work.

There should be a ton of videos for how to coil and wick a pharoh25 mini on YT.

Don’t be too worried. It’s not that difficult and you’ve got a regulated mod which should protect you from any agredious errors. The worst that can possibly happen is you waste a coil. No big deal. Coils are cheap.
 

JamesDMad

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Tools you will need: something that can trim the wick wire after it’s installed. A wire cutter, or in a pinch a toe nail clipper will work.

There should be a ton of videos for how to coil and wick a pharoh25 mini on YT.

Don’t be too worried. It’s not that difficult and you’ve got a regulated mod which should protect you from any agredious errors. The worst that can possibly happen is you waste a coil. No big deal. Coils are cheap.
Thanks for the heads up, but unsure what you refer to as "YT"
 

Vapemesilly

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Welcome. When I started building my own coils was when I became just a little obsessive about the whole vaping thing. It became sort of a hobby.

My first couple of coils looked like a two year old made them but they worked. Now I take great pride in how well I can wrap wire around a screwdriver.
 

NealBJr

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Just got my first RTA and to say it's a bit intimidating would be an understatement. A look at the gear includes the following
  • Pharaoh mini from DigiFlavor
  • Smoant Charon TC 218
  • Coilology 3mm .3o ohm framed staple coils
  • Cotton Bacon from Wick N Vape
So as i sit here looking at all this stuff like a kid at Christmas, and looking dauntingly at the stuff thinking I'm not in Kansas anymore Toto.....

Any help would be greatly appreciated from the Knowing and Knowledgeable

Tools you will need... Like what bombastinator said, you'll need something to cut wire. For stapled claptons, I recommend wire cutters, and toenail cutters like he said. For just regular wire, I actually prefer fingernail cutters since they cut close to the posts. If you're looking to buy wire cutters, make sure you get one that has a singe sided blade. Ones that have a double sided blade tend to leave a bit of the wire sticking out of the post which can be annoying when you're building. Scissors. make sure they're sharp. I specifically have a sharp pair just for the cotton cutting, since dull scissors may cut paper fine, but they don't cut cotton well. You'll need some sort of post that fits in the middle of the coil for positioning it once it's screwed in. Usually the end of a drill bit (not the sharp edge) works fine.. just make sure you clean it first thoroughly. They make special rods, for that, or a coil building kit, but since you already bought premade coils, you don't need a kit. And an Ohm meter is preferred. If you don't have one, then your Charon should work fine.

Now, one thing to note, you have .3 ohm coil, which is fine for the pharoh. But if you ever decide to get a two coil atomizer, you'll want to look for a higher ohm coil, since you will be halving the resistance. But for the pharoh, you should be good to go.

I think you have a great setup there. I think the setup you have is perfect for beginning RTA's. The pharoh is a good atomizer to learn how to build RTA's I can tell you've done some research. The best thing to do is to dive down in and start using that video he provided. How much cotton to use takes some practice, but use your best judgement to begin with... if it dry hits... use less cotton, if it floods, use more. Just try not to pack the cotton tight. Usually when you seperate it, try not to pinch it together too much.. just enough to shape it round.
 

Nikhforos

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Tools you will need... Like what bombastinator said, you'll need something to cut wire. For stapled claptons, I recommend wire cutters, and toenail cutters like he said. For just regular wire, I actually prefer fingernail cutters since they cut close to the posts. If you're looking to buy wire cutters, make sure you get one that has a singe sided blade. Ones that have a double sided blade tend to leave a bit of the wire sticking out of the post which can be annoying when you're building. Scissors. make sure they're sharp. I specifically have a sharp pair just for the cotton cutting, since dull scissors may cut paper fine, but they don't cut cotton well. You'll need some sort of post that fits in the middle of the coil for positioning it once it's screwed in. Usually the end of a drill bit (not the sharp edge) works fine.. just make sure you clean it first thoroughly. They make special rods, for that, or a coil building kit, but since you already bought premade coils, you don't need a kit. And an Ohm meter is preferred. If you don't have one, then your Charon should work fine.

Now, one thing to note, you have .3 ohm coil, which is fine for the pharoh. But if you ever decide to get a two coil atomizer, you'll want to look for a higher ohm coil, since you will be halving the resistance. But for the pharoh, you should be good to go.

I think you have a great setup there. I think the setup you have is perfect for beginning RTA's. The pharoh is a good atomizer to learn how to build RTA's I can tell you've done some research. The best thing to do is to dive down in and start using that video he provided. How much cotton to use takes some practice, but use your best judgement to begin with... if it dry hits... use less cotton, if it floods, use more. Just try not to pack the cotton tight. Usually when you seperate it, try not to pinch it together too much.. just enough to shape it round.
Good info, but I'll have to disagree on one part. Too little cotton can cause dry hits too. That's because not enough cotton is there, so not enough juice will be reaching your coil either. Regardless the cause of the ''missing'' juice, cotton, will burn. Cheers
 

goalie

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I just started with an RTA afew weeks ago.. wicking is key.. too little cotton and it'll leak some out the bottom.. just keep trying.. it took me afew trys to get it right but now I'm hooked.. Got some great coils off ebay and amazon, pick up some non-metalic tweezers to help poke the cotton down and you're good to go.
 

stols001

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Depending on how intimidated you are, a coilmaster kit (with an ohm's reader) came in handy for me. I use most of the tools, but my favorite thing is the ohm's reader, more because it is a stable base that is inexpensive for me to build on, leak all over, etc. I use mine right up until I take my first test puff, and if all is well, I transfer it to my (more expensive mods) that I don't want to leak all over. You can use a regulated mod as well to check resistance, but an ohms reader is handy. If you have most else of what you need, can get one separately.

I would check out steam-engine.org, and play around with it until you figure out what resistance you want to "target" with the wire you have how many wraps and coil diameter, etc. It's easy enough to wrap "around" a screwdriver, but you'll need to measure its diameter. I find the ceramic tweezers to be helpful/necessary, and while I do use a coil jig, I mostly use it like I would a screwdriver, I find that way of wrapping to be easier than letting the coil jig do the work.

Best of luck, I also second the rayon suggestion. It is much more forgiving with respect to wicking and the wicks last longer and withstand heat well. You can get Graham cellucotton (make sure you get the kind that is marked "100% rayon," as they do make a cotton version pretty inexpensively from any Sally's store or online from Amazon.

Best of luck, you will be wrapping and installing coils and wicking in no time.

Anna
 

JamesDMad

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Depending on how intimidated you are, a coilmaster kit (with an ohm's reader) came in handy for me. I use most of the tools, but my favorite thing is the ohm's reader, more because it is a stable base that is inexpensive for me to build on, leak all over, etc. I use mine right up until I take my first test puff, and if all is well, I transfer it to my (more expensive mods) that I don't want to leak all over. You can use a regulated mod as well to check resistance, but an ohms reader is handy. If you have most else of what you need, can get one separately.

I would check out steam-engine.org, and play around with it until you figure out what resistance you want to "target" with the wire you have how many wraps and coil diameter, etc. It's easy enough to wrap "around" a screwdriver, but you'll need to measure its diameter. I find the ceramic tweezers to be helpful/necessary, and while I do use a coil jig, I mostly use it like I would a screwdriver, I find that way of wrapping to be easier than letting the coil jig do the work.

Best of luck, I also second the rayon suggestion. It is much more forgiving with respect to wicking and the wicks last longer and withstand heat well. You can get Graham cellucotton (make sure you get the kind that is marked "100% rayon," as they do make a cotton version pretty inexpensively from any Sally's store or online from Amazon.

Best of luck, you will be wrapping and installing coils and wicking in no time.

Anna
Hey Anna,

Thanks very much for all the suggestions and you must have read my mind as I placed an order yesterday for an ohm's reader with the fire button.
Not familiar with "Sally's" that you mentioned on procuring rayon vs. cotton. I will definitely order some as I really don't like changing coils out frequently in my sub-ohm mods and i think that will be the same situation for my RTA.
You like many others here are so very helpful and willing to step in and offer advice. Quite refreshing experience here.

Take care

james
 

Opinionated

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Everyone has given you lovely advice..

Just a heads up - everyone has a different opinion on which wicking is best...

personally, I cannot stand rayon. I think it's nasty at best, nor do I find it forgiving in the least.

I use Japanese organic cotton and absolutely love it.

Your best bet before you go to a beauty supply place and purchase enough rayon to last 10 people a lifetime, is that you might see if someone here cannot mail you a small quantity to try out or find a tiny package of it somewhere like eBay, and purchase a couple other wicking materials like cotton bacon and Japanese organic cotton ...

That way you make up your own mind on which you actually like, prior to getting too much of something you find you don't like.
 

JamesDMad

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Everyone has given you lovely advice..

Just a heads up - everyone has a different opinion on which wicking is best...

personally, I cannot stand rayon. I think it's nasty at best, nor do I find it forgiving in the least.

I use Japanese organic cotton and absolutely love it.

Your best bet before you go to a beauty supply place and purchase enough rayon to last 10 people a lifetime, is that you might see if someone here cannot mail you a small quantity to try out or find a tiny package of it somewhere like eBay, and purchase a couple other wicking materials like cotton bacon and Japanese organic cotton ...

That way you make up your own mind on which you actually like, prior to getting too much of something you find you don't like.
Too late, ordered some rayon from Amazon for 6.00 plus free shipping... not out too much if i don't like it..
 

Baditude

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As @Opinionated said, everyone has a different opinion on which wick material is best.

She strongly prefers Japanese organic cotton. Others, including myself, prefer cellucotton otherwise known as Rayon. I always get a "new cotton" taste for the first 24 hours using any kind of cotton wick, which then disappears. I don't get that taste with Rayon. I've also found that Rayon absorbs/transfers e-liquid easier in my personal experience. And seems to last a little longer than cotton. Rayon is extremely inexpensive in the long run. $10 worth is a lifetime supply for several people. $10 of Japanese organic cotton might last you 6 months.

My suggestion is to try both and see which you prefer. ;)

 

stols001

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Yep, I can rest secure in my love of rayon, knowing that cotton and I don't get along. It's not the taste that bothered me.... It was the leaking/seeping/constant rewicking, LOL. Fortunately, I seem to find rayon has little taste, either. And it's so much easier to use.... And yes, rather inexpensive, especially when considering its longer life than cotton.

Of course, variety is the spice of life, they say! I like consistency, not variety, when it comes to wicking though. I adore rayon. I got the smaller box, and when it is gone, I will buy the larger box. Haha.

Anna
 
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