OK I'm Gonna do it!!

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Frantic9k

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May 19, 2013
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OK I am finally going to start dabbling with rebuilding.

I have 2 goals for myself:
1. Rebuild my own Protank coils
2. Rebuild either a Phoenix or Igo-L

From what I have red and been told I will need a Mini screw driver, a regular lighter, Kanthal (i'm still researching what gauge to use), and Silica (if I missed something please let me know, even if it is not needed but makes things easier please tell me :D ).

So what I am looking for right now is, Where do you like to buy your rebuilding supplies from?
 
R

*RJ*

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Hey Frantic! I bought my Phoenix and small amounts of wick and wire from Mountain Oak Vapors. Try to use coupon code TUC for 10% off. I also bought large amounts of wick and wire from The House of Vapor. Coupon code VF got me 10% off the wire but it didn't apply to the wick. This one let me choose my length of wick and wire and I ended up getting 100 feet of each. I have no idea how to rebuild a Protank but for my Phoenix I use silica wick and Kanthal A-1 32 gauge wire. I'm sure there are tons of other places. A lot of people use ebay for the wire and it seems like I've seen it on amazon if I'm not mistaken. I have no idea if those coupon codes still work. But what I always do before purchasing e-cig equipment is to google coupon codes for the different vendors. I always find one or two codes that way. Retailmenot.com seems to be my favorite coupon code finder.

You have a Provari right? You'll need something like that to check the ohms of your coils.

I hope this gives you a starting place and maybe someone else will chime in soon.

:)
 

Frantic9k

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May 19, 2013
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Thanks RJ, Yes I always check for coupon codes!!!

I didn't even think to check amazon, I have a $25 gift card for there that I won for hacking a web server at school (it was a little contest they were doing in our security class) So Yeah Im gonna head there now!

Yup I do have a Provari for checking ohms with :D Thanks for the awesome info RJ!!
 
R

*RJ*

Guest
Hey RJ, What MM of Silica do you use?

I bought the 2 mm as the bigger size wasn't available due to the FDA e-pocalypse rush to stock up during that time. For making my coils I use one strip of 2 mm and half of another strip to make it around 3 mm. I've read that some people use about 3.5 mm for most coils though. (I have no idea on the Protank)

Good luck on coil making! You can do it and you'll save so much money making your own. I think I figured up I was buying Vivi Nova heads for around $2.50-$2.75 each and I am making my own for $0.10. :ohmy: And personally, now that I'm getting more practice, I think my coils are better than the stock ones. :2cool:

Some people get lower gauge wire like 28 gauge or 30 but I just went with 32. It depends on what you are doing with it. You may want to read the Let's talk Hardware thread for more information on what others are doing.

:vapor:
 

Chakris

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Aug 22, 2012
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This should really be in the Hardware thread, but ... the mods are not looking very close.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

Vape Station - rebuild mode:

Wicking/Coiling Station | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Album link
Wrapping Coil on SS Mesh Wick - a set on Flickr

(It's incomplete as I didn't stop to take stills as I was rolling the Stainless Steel mesh and wrapping the coil.)

I probably went overboard on the needle nose pliers, but I work with electronic/computers a lot and you never know what you'll run into. One good pair of needle nose is fine for this job though.

A good pair of wire cutters (or nail clippers) work well on both the wire and the silica. (and rolled mesh, scissors for flat sheet)

A straight pin or two. One for supporting the silica as you wrap the coil and one for tweeking the wire to make sure it's spaced evenly and not over lapping anywhere.

I used a straightened out paper clip to support the wick. Also used if rolling SS mesh.

My mini screw driver set, bought before vaping, has philips head, flat head and Torx (six-pointed star) which you won't need but some atty's use sexkant (allen head) screws so it's good to have a small allen wrench set handy if they don't put one in the package.

Tissue paper or paper towels for wiping up juice.

On my T3 atty head, which is almost the same as Protanks and Evods and vary similar to ViVi nova heads, I used 2.5 mm silica in place of the 1 mm original wick (at least it looks like 1mm). One strand for the coil and 1 1/2 to 2 strands laid on top for extra wicking.

I think, I used A-1 32g Kanthal wire for the T3 coil and wrapped a 6/5 coil. The bag of wire wasn't marked, duh, so it may have been 30g wire. Anyway, it's reading 1.9 ohm.


A couple tutorials: just in case you haven't seen them already.
LET'S REBUILD A KANGER PROTANK 2013 - YouTube

LET'S REBUILD A KANGER PROTANK 2013 - YouTube

Good luck with rebuilding. Frantic9k. Let us know how it goes and come on over to the Hardware Thread and check it out. :D

EDIT: Ok, I just got done watching both those videos and both had some really good points in them, however, there were a couple things I would have done different.
Basilray didn't show how to wrap the wick around the coil; he wrapped it off camera and brought it in when he needed it. Not to cool if you've never wrapped a coil before.

GrimmGreen, again for the most part, fine video. The one section I didn't like was when he trimmed the coil wires. I believe it's better to leave them long until you have the robber grommet and the center pin back in place. The reason here is when you have that extra wire folded down over the edge, you can hold it in place under your finger while putting first the grommet and then the center without fear that either component is going to push the wire back into the whole, which pushes the coil up out of place. It happened to the T3 head I rebuilt - luckily I could grab the wire and gently snug the coil back down into the notch.

That said, I found this video:
Kanger EVOD Bottom Coil Atomizer Rebuild HD Close Up - YouTube

This third video is a good one also; it has more detail in wrapping the coil, better method of inserting the grommet and pin, but still there is something else that bothered me about this one. When Snaredrummmer88 does the dry burn he cranks the voltage up to max! Good way to pop your coil there!

I always start at the lowest voltage setting and gradually work my way up and holding the fire button down for a couple seconds at a time.
I also don't think you need to soak the coil/wick before vaping. I'd just rinse out everything before starting the build.
 
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Chakris

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Aug 22, 2012
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Thanks for allt he info Chak, I havent had a chance to read it yet (too busy the past couple days) but I plan to read that severasl times and check out all the links :D You rock sir!

Thanks, it was my pleasure, but I'm far from being a master coiler. I think I can count on one all the silica coils I've made and the rest on the other hand. :laugh: Just going by what I've heard, seen and read other people doing mainly.
 

Frantic9k

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May 19, 2013
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Oh gosh I'm no master coiler either...but I'm learning quickly! I just did two coils under 15 minutes! 1.9 ohms and 2.0 ohms.

UPDATE: With my 100% VG juices, 2 mm is the sweet spot on my coils. With 3 or 3.5 or 4 mm it was choking it off on my Vivis. So 2 mm it is.

:vapor:

When i was doing cartos I always had 3.0 and always enjoyed it, protanks i can only find as high as 2.5 and I like them a lot but wanted to see what it was like at 3.0, I just love high voltage vaping. I am also starting to go cool on some flavors though.
 
When i was doing cartos I always had 3.0 and always enjoyed it, protanks i can only find as high as 2.5 and I like them a lot but wanted to see what it was like at 3.0, I just love high voltage vaping. I am also starting to go cool on some flavors though.

I was talking about wick thickness. However, scratch my update. 3mm wick is ideal for me...it's just that my backup Twists don't have enough power in them to work correctly. My replacement Vamo batts/charger are OUT FOR DELIVERY so I'll be back to normal tonight. Thank goodness!

But I like around 2.0 to 2.5 ohms at around 4.4 volts give or take.

:vapor:
 
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