Poor experience with SS316L

[medic181075]

Device: SBODY C2D1 DNA 75.

I had been using lightning vapes T-1 wire for a while. Apparently they are having difficulty with keeping this wire in stock, so after some research, I decided to give SS316L a shot. After many different attempts and updated TCRs, I finally gave up. It was either too cold or burned through my wick - no happy medium. The real strange thing is that I never got a burned taste, but I would take my tank apart after a few hours of vaping (and poor vapor) to find that the wick was completely burned away in the coil. Even when the temp was set at 450, the vapor production was terrible and I would find the wick to be partially burned away at the same time. My experience with this wire was so bad that I actually wished I had my old EVOD back. If this was my first experience at vaping, I would still be smoking.

Anyway, the new spool of T-1 showed up last night and I am so happy again. IMHO, 316L is completely worthless for TC vaping.

 

[Marc411]

A 24ga 4 wrap spaced 316L is my go to coil coming in at about .21Ω for years.

It vapes incredibly well in TC and watts. I'm not trying to be a jerk but it sounds like it may be a user error.

 

[zoiDman]

... IMHO, 316L is completely worthless for TC vaping.

I don't use TC all that much. But when I do, I find that 316/316L to work Fine with the different TC Mods I use it with.

Have you tired 316L in a Different Mod? Maybe something is Funky with the Mod you are using?

 

[stols001]

From the sounds of things, to me, it sounds like trouble coilbuilding with a new material. For one, you need the right gauge for your wattage. I've burned a coil or two by accidentally turning up the wattage, or using an insufficiently robust coil. Also, when used to one material there is a learning curve. I immediately identified certain things, if my coil "burnt." Incorrect build for my desired resistance, or wrong gauge of wire. Too much wick in the center of the coil can cause sudden breakage. Perhaps you need to reduce your wicking in your coil, try a spaced OR contact coil, depending on what you were using, consider some different gauge wire, ANY wire can burn through if not robust enough for its wattage needs. Etc.

You don't have to use SS if you do not wish. I'm glad I started with it, because I didn't have a comparison, and I required myself to "make" it work. I was not going to give up so quickly on a wire material that can so easily go from TC to wattage, and that I consider the safest wire out there in terms of my needs.

I would really experiment more, or I guess alternately, do what you did and go back to your former wire.

Wire is the same as any other vape equipment, there is a learning curve with it. Had you started in the rebuildable section and asked questions about the wire, I have a feeling your experience may have been different. I'm not trying to call you to the carpet or anything, I'm just noting that any vaping change requires a certain amount of study and experimentation and I am fairly certain (I am FAR from a master coilbuilder) that if you continue working with it, you will see results.

Whether it is worth it to you or not, you'd have to decide for yourself.

Good luck either way.

Anna

 

[steeledragon78]

i have had similar issues with lightning vapes 316l, i even tried the master of clouds 316l. 28 and 26 awg, same issue. my t1 works ok, but i think my building mojo is broken. took a break and am running dropins for now.

 

[ShowerHead]

Though I understand lots of people have good luck with 316(L), I have never had a good TC vape using it.
A wise person told me to try SS430, and I have never looked back.

Might be something for you to try if you want to get away from Ti/Ni.

AVS has pre-built coils from SS430, and Zivipf sells many gauges of the wire. For 28ga only, Unkamen sells it.

 

[Rangertrix]

I've had good luck with the Coil Master and Youde 316l.
Most mods never seem to have the right TCR for it on the stock setting though. YMMV

 

[Chodi]

If you are having problems getting TC to work well using stainless steel wire then you are the target market for Evolv's new Replay function. I have that on two of my DNA75C mods and it is clear to me that it was created just for this situation. I mostly vape in TC on a variety of mods so I am very comfortable with the concept and I use a variety of ss wire. Replay is for those that don't want to deal with all the settings or even look at Escribe. Just vape in wattage mode and when you get a puff that's perfect to your taste push the Replay button. That's all there is to it. It is very close to being an automatic TC. I still use more standard TC on even my DNA75C mods just cause I am very used to it.

 

[Tony01]

sounds like a setup issue. stainless 316ss is the cleanest way to go IMO. the 316 is the most common sst used in food grade products.

 

[Dropmyload]

I only have ss316 wires. I started with Temco 28 ga, not bad but thin, so I bought some more for kaybees and just built a parallel 26 ga coil. Not sure if its the kaybees wire but doesn't taste as clean/sharp/crisp as the Temco coil.

I find ss the 2nd best for flavour, behind titanium. Have ordered some titanium wire, but it seems hard to find.

 

[medic181075]

I'm glad so many of you have had good experience with SS. I finally gave up and went back to the last thing I remember working consistently - Ni200. I am now happy as a lark. All that really matters is that I'm not smoking cigarettes.

 

[Zaryk]

Everyone's taste is different. I too cannot use SS wire (I get a weird mouth feel from it, and sometimes a weird flavor). Glad to hear you found the type of wire you enjoy.

 

[DaveP]

No one has replied in a while to this thread.

Maybe I missed it, but I didn't hear @medic181075 say he used a spaced coil configuration with SS316L. The coils can't touch like they can with a compressed coil in power mode. They must be spaced out enough so that they don't touch each other (you can hold the coil up to the light and see spaces between the coils).

TC mode can't accurately read the resistance change with heat unless the coils are spaced and you will get an unpredictable vape level. 92 is a good place to start with TCR for SS316L. I've never seen a need to vary, but you can go up and down a few digits and experiment.

 

[Coastal Cowboy]

No one has replied in a while to this thread.

Maybe I missed it, but I didn't hear @medic181075 say he used a spaced coil configuration with SS316L. The coils can't touch like they can with a compressed coil in power mode. They must be spaced out enough so that they don't touch each other (you can hold the coil up to the light and see spaces between the coils).

TC mode can't accurately read the resistance change with heat unless the coils are spaced and you will get an unpredictable vape level. 92 is a good place to start with TCR for SS316L. I've never seen a need to vary, but you can go up and down a few digits and experiment.

Absolutely true.

Coils made from stainless steel must be spaced or the results will be unpredictable.

Multiwire coils can also cause problems with the amount of time it takes for a given power level to cause the resistance change expected by the mod. That is, if a SS316 fused Clapton coil doesn't achieve resistance x in y milliseconds at z Watts, the mod may think something is wrong.

 

[Beamslider]

I have great luck with TC and 26 AWG 316L wire wrapped at around .5 ohm and spaced. Using DNA 75 mods and it is outstanding. I usually end up with 395F or 400F. Lots of vapor and flavor.

In addition to the coil being spaced and not in contact anywhere, you need to be careful to get a fairly accurate reading on the coil at room temperature. Also works better in the range between .5 ohm and 1 ohm with SS. Don't know the resistance you are working with but very low or high not good with SS

 

[DaveP]

I use SS316L exclusively. My coils are usually 2.5mm and spaced by stretching the coil while it's on the mandrel and pressing it back together. After I install it I hold it up to the light and and rotate it back and forth to check for turns that touch. Wicking can change the spacing when installed. Twisting the wick in the same direction as the coil was wound while inserting it into the coil helps to propel it through the coil without bending the legs and changing the relationship of the turns.

It all sounds complicated, but it becomes second nature once you do it a few times.

 

[Mysteron]

Currently, SS316L, along with NiCr 80 (rarely), are the only wires I use now (wish I'd decided on them BEFORE I bought a cupboard full of Kanthal but hey-ho). NiCr 80 I find gives a better flavour with banana based juices (tried all manner of things when these juices tasted awful on SS and the switch to NiCr 80 did the trick) and it's also useful for builds requiring fewer wraps or keeping the ohms up.

Several of the attys I have are also clearly designed (at times, only) to work with big fancy coils (I haven't seen a review in ages where they are using micro coils) and sometimes the smaller SS builds can be a bit of a stretch (I hate having to use long deformed legs on coils at weird angles just to accommodate a build deck that's been designed [poorly IMO] with no consideration for micro coils!!) to fit in. For that reason, and where flavour is lacking on some juices I drop right down to 22ga SS316 to get an 8 wrap, 3mm ID, 0.25Ω coil, I like a really cool vape and that will vape nicely for me at around 32-42w; if the size of the deck is to small for 8 wraps, or where I'm using a heavier juice that doesn't seem to wick well down an 8 wrap coil, I switch to NiCr 80 which would give the same ohm at 5 wraps and would vape at 23-30w.

The problem for me with SS is that I often like to go for builds that are not crazy low ohm (0.4 - 1) and with SS, to keep the wraps down, the wire gets really flimsy for that power which I don't enjoy building with, too fiddly and the coils distort with way too much ease when wicking. So mostly I like to keep to 24 or 26 gauge with 22 when needed. I also mostly like to keep coils down to around 6 wraps as some juices I use are so thick they don't wick so well down an 8 coil wrap. So a 0.75Ω build with SS at 26 ga would require 10 wraps vs 7 wraps on NiCr 80. For that reason, as my SS stock dwindles I'll likely replace it with NiCr 80.

 

[Mr. Relentless]

If you are having problems getting TC to work well using stainless steel wire then you are the target market for Evolv's new Replay function. I have that on two of my DNA75C mods and it is clear to me that it was created just for this situation. I mostly vape in TC on a variety of mods so I am very comfortable with the concept and I use a variety of ss wire. Replay is for those that don't want to deal with all the settings or even look at Escribe. Just vape in wattage mode and when you get a puff that's perfect to your taste push the Replay button. That's all there is to it. It is very close to being an automatic TC. I still use more standard TC on even my DNA75C mods just cause I am very used to it.

Agree on replay. It makes it very simple. And if it doesn't say "save puff" after a hit you probably have something wrong with your build.

 

[stylemessiah]

Been building spaced 7/8 wrap 3mm SS316L coils @ around 0.6 ohms for like 2.5 years now, using them right now with almost max VG...no issues, and i like a cool vape as it happens

For SS316 on TC, drama free, building at 0.5+ will get you accuracy.

Also if you havent tried it, it might be worth trying rayon cellucotton instead of cotton, for me and many others it gives the best taste, very crisp hen combined with SS, even when you vape unflavoured 100% of the time like i do...my vape is noticeably different, and sweeter, on rayon over cotton...

 

[Anise]

Where would be the best place to order rayon cellucotton? I haven't seen it offered at the sites where I've gone.