Are you saying that contact coils are working for you in TC? A friend loaned me a 50W Invader with a Derringer and some 30g tempered Ni200, and I have to admit, I'm pretty impressed, so far. I just can't keep coils in it. I don't think that 30g is up to the task of running 450 degrees and 45W. I ordered some tempered 28, so I'll give it a try. I'm just not getting more than a couple of days out of a coil right now. I have built with spaced coils, and once with contact coil. I couldn't tell if either was better than the other as they just didn't last that long.
No, the 28 gauge nickel coil that's still working well is an unevenly spaced coil with a touching loop or two... the uneven spacing was not deliberate. I'm not a highly experienced coil builder and should have used a magnifier when I was making it.Those 30 g coils just end up giving up after a couple of days. One leg will always break. I've gotten used to dual coils in my mechanicals, and my friend is introducing me to TC and I'm liking it, but maybe the temp and wattage that works for me might be more than that thin wire can do. I've ordered some 28g and I'll see if that doesn't hold up a little better.
I do not dry burn coils... I wick them, wet them thoroughly and vape them. I built the coil on the rebuildable head of a Kanger Subtank and took a picture of it before I started to use it, see below.
I've settled in on 380 degrees at 25 watts using my Heatvape Invader Mini PV.
I've had zero luck with the pre-built 0.15 ohm OCC nickel heads for the Subtank. Neither of the two that I used lasted through 50 draws, and they vaped poorly. I'm really glad I only bought one 5-pack, they're not made well.
Here's the coil that's still chugging away happily: