Old Coils?

[rollcoil]

Do coils get old? I’ve read in another forum that some people say they are losing flavor with an old coil. My kayfun coil is a couple of months old. I just burn, clean the coil and re-wick. I also check to make sure the ohms are still where I want it. I haven’t detected a flavor reduction.

If the ohms are the same I don’t see how a flavor loss could happen. Thoughts?

 

[State O' Flux]

Kanthal wire coils "wear out". As they are used, dry burned, rewicked etc etc... the aluminum oxide (alumina) component - which provides a self-generating, protective oxide layer that is both thermally conductive and electrically resistive - degrades, leaving primarily iron and chromium. Once you're down to that, corrosion will set in, and for many, you can "taste" the iron.

Resistance can, oddly enough, stay near the same... resistance increases due to loss of conductivity, while at the same time, resistance decreases as the alumina insulation disappears. What you see on an Ohm meter can often result in a wash... although very few people allow a coil to degrade that far before replacement.

Under a high power loupe, you can see the alumina start to "pit"... then you start to see patches of iron... then pretty much all black, and no more aluminum. If you've gone that far... you're really milking a coil for all it's worth. ;-)

 

[rollcoil]

Wow, very complete answer, thanks! I know vaping habits will very but what would be the typical life of a coil?

 

[State O' Flux]

Wow, very complete answer, thanks! I know vaping habits will very but what would be the typical life of a coil?

I honestly can't say for sure

... too many variables - 1,000 and 1 vaping styles.

A few to consider... resistance of course, then perhaps frequency of dry burns, the wire gauge will play a roll - with thicker wire lasting longer than thinner. A regulated or unregulated power supply, where a mech - assuming you have resistance and amperage parity - will deliver resistance based current, while a regulated APV can be set to a value less (or more) than optimal.

I'm not the best person to set standards by. As a compulsive experimenter, I seldom leave a coil in place for more than a few weeks before I want to try something different. Wire's cheap... and trying different builds is fun for me. ;-)

 

[rollcoil]

Yeah, I knew that would be a tough one to answer. Thanks again and happy coiling.

 

[State O' Flux]

Yeah, I knew that would be a tough one to answer. Thanks again and happy coiling.

No problemo... keeps me out of the bars at night. (and during the day too ;-) )

 

[Cman1337]

I by no means have as complete of an answer as state o' flux, but I seem to instinctively change mine every 2-3 weeks. Usually thats when I start visually noticing the coils kind of getting pitted / rigid (dont know if thats the right word choice). But I run my coils at 0.25-3.5 ohms so I know I heat mine up quite a bit.

I think you have gotten the most thorough answer you will receive. From here on out is personal preference.

 

[SteamHead]

I had no idea this (coils getting old) was a "thing".

Thanks for the info, S o' F