Progress report on wrapping coils

[Ed Brown]

My first ever coils, made a few days ago used the 24 ga Kanthal wire that came with the coilmaster kit, and I'm still using them. They are 8/7 wraps, 3MM dia and ended up at .66 ohms each. The legs didn't line up with the terminals in the Zeus X, so I spaced out the wraps so there is maybe one mm space between each wrap. They vape nicely at 40W and give good flavor. Some slight crackling, but it doesn't bother me.

I just received two 100' spools of 22ga Kanthal A-1 and am in the process of making a bunch of coils 7/6, 3mm dia. Steam Engine projects them to be about 0.4 ohms each.

Looks like I can get 3 coils per foot of wire. The cost of the wire, plus shipping was $25 from Amazon. $25.00/600 coils works out to 4 cents per coil. Pretty reasonable, huh?

Next up, I'm waiting for a delivery of single core clapton wire.

The only question I have is "why did I wait so long to try it?"

 

[Ed Brown]

Oh, I forgot. At first I tried to visually count the wraps as a form of quality control, but my eyes just couldn't do it, even with a magnifying glass. But I learned that you can count the wraps by running a micro screwdriver along the coil and counting the bumps by feel.

Feeling good about this. lotsa nic in the freezer, making DIY juice, and now making coils was the last piece of the puzzle!

 

[vaper1960]

Good for you! Sounds like you have a great start. I have debated about spaced vs contact coils and (like you) I found spaced just helps them fit better on some builds (and no hot spots to deal with) Some really small build decks you have to use contact coils. I can't really say which is better over all (have had success with both) I also had success today on my new RTA (had mostly good luck with my others but some leaking issues) Is that a single or dual coil build? 22 ga is pushing it but IMHO maybe better than super fancy wires and simple claptons are always a good choice (I use those too) There is also rectangular wire like 0.9 mm x 0,3 mm. It feels good to not be a slave to "drop-in" coils (save money, no worris about being out of stock and freedom to experiment. Big green smile...

 

[UncLeJunkLe]

Looks like I can get 3 coils per foot of wire. The cost of the wire, plus shipping was $25 from Amazon. $25.00/600 coils works out to 4 cents per coil. Pretty reasonable, huh?

Yes, this is one way you can make vaping cheap, that and DIYing your juice. At that point, any amount you do spend on vaping becomes almost negligible - assuming you don't give into shinyitis and buy every mod/tank/rda on the market

Looks like I can get 3 coils per foot of wire. The cost of the wire, plus shipping was $25 from Amazon. $25.00/600 coils works out to 4 cents per coil. Pretty reasonable, huh?

Just so you know, a good place to buy Kanthal A1 and other vape wire is Temco Industrial. 250 ft of 22AWG Kanthal A1 for $22 shipped.

 

[CaveFurby]

There is alot of satisfaction from teaching yourself how to make coils, and realizing you aren't tied to buying overpriced coils, or even premade coils. The CoilMaster is my friend. Like you folks I found I liked slightly spaced coils with my kanthal roundwire. Kanthal had always been my favorite and I'm back to using it again and enjoying it. Temco is a great place to get it. Did you know they have odd sizes in Kanthal? Like 24 but don't want to go to 22g....try 23g...they have it. They're in the States, in case you are also, good prices, great wire.

 

[CaveFurby]

Lol Uncle, didn't see your post till I put mine in. Yep, Temco is my go-to for wire.

 

[UncLeJunkLe]

They're in the States

I forgot about that . Probably not worth buying from Temco if you are in another country.

 

[Ed Brown]

Vaper 1960: It's a dual coil setup in the Zeus X. Haven't tried the 22 ga coils yet. Hate to take out perfectly good coils just to try something new. Patience, Patience, Patience.

I swear by the top air RTAs - the Zeus and Dead Rabbit. (slight edge to the Zeus in terms of quality, but DR has a better build deck.) If they do leak, at least it's contained and doesn't get all over the mod and your hands. Waiting for an OBS Engine in the mail from China. waiting, waiting, waiting.

 

[Don29palms]

$41.59 Authentic Avidartisan Daedalus Pro Clapton Wire DIY Tool V2 Coil Jig Kit - 2*18650 at FastTech - Free Shipping

Ed please look at this seriously. Out of all the vape tools I have the Avidartisan Daedalus is the one I love the most. I can do claptons by hand but this tool makes it SOOOOOO simple. It's worth every penny at twice the price. Trust me.

 

[DaveP]

Ed Brown, Spacing coils isn't necessary unless you are vaping in TC mode, but spacing coils slightly does allow some exposure of the wick between the coils and I think it helps to create a little more vapor. At least the vapor can rise through the spaces in the coils.

 

[CaveFurby]

Quick little video on spacing coils, if you want to try it:

 

[vaper1960]

I've seen that video before (and recommend it to beginners) I just use the second method (and you don't need a coiling tool just a nail, screwdriver... any rod will do)

 

[Don29palms]

I've seen that video before (and recommend it to beginners) I just use the second method (and you don't need a coiling tool just a nail, screwdriver... any rod will do)

Those methods definitely work. Another method is to wrap a parallel contact coil then separate it into two single wire coils.

 

[Ed Brown]

$41.59 Authentic Avidartisan Daedalus Pro Clapton Wire DIY Tool V2 Coil Jig Kit - 2*18650 at FastTech - Free Shipping

Ed please look at this seriously. Out of all the vape tools I have the Avidartisan Daedalus is the one I love the most. I can do claptons by hand but this tool makes it SOOOOOO simple. It's worth every penny at twice the price. Trust me.

Thanks! Don. I'm going to check it out. Is FastTech from China?

edit: Those spool tamers look good too. Found out real quick how unruly a spool of wire can be. And that was with a 10' roll. I hate to think of the mess that a 100' roll could cause.

 

[UncLeJunkLe]

Is FastTech from China?

Is the pope Catholic? J/K

Yes.

 

[Ed Brown]

Duh! Kidding deserved and accepted w/o protest.