I've been rebuilding the same PT2 heads for at least three years. The insulators tend to scorch and tear but you can buy baggies of them. I've broken off one side of a coil cup but as long as they stay intact and you don't lose the center posts or chimneys they can be rebuilt almost indefinitely.
And to you and yours Mac! Your advice, as usual, spot on.Hey @karlmetz, hope the t.m.c.'s have kept improving. If not, you know where to reach me.
Best to you and yours this holiday season. Good luck all.
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Hi J (@JJOOHHNN), thanks for the interest. Glad you caught that. By stabilizing the turn to turn relationship, balancing the rigidity to ensure effective oxidation and insulation by pulsing you can extend the life of wire.
First, two things compromise the wire significantly with time. High wire temperature as by excessive dry burn. This can erode the insulation but more importantly exceed the original oxidation (cool) temperature promoting warping. As distortion increases segments of the coil can overheat beyond the original insulation temp's and this causes premature surface erosion (rusting basically). You won't see the original gains in performance or temperature conductivity (efficiency). You'll get a hotter coil overall which feeds to the cycle (diffusion). Along with this these zones tend to accumulate more pigment accretion, requiring more dry burns of the coil…and there goes the ball game.
So the answer is impressive. I've had various t.m.c.'s in various styles of wind that have gone out beyond a year. Not what you want to use as they evidenced various degrees of distortion. Realistically some well made t.m.c.'s prudently but diligently dry burned at low temp's could go out months. For a Protank head average single coil use is 4-6 weeks requiring a wet wash and dry burn at 7-10 days (assuming light dry burns in place every 2-4 days with Nextel, KGD or cotton wick replacement. Or about at least twice the life of a factory coil to stave off accretion). So depending on the juice chemistry you could go out beyond a month to 6-weeks. Cotton or KGD coils will see an average towards the lower side of 7 days. If you have a half dozen or so coils you'll see that much variation.This compares to a factory life average of 4-5 days or 25 days for the 5-pack. Even as t.m.c.'s are more consistent they're still not perfect. Juices and vaping style can affect even small variations more than others.
Both Aerotank Mini and Protank 3 are good, take the original (PT2) coils. I enjoy them. Still build them for myself and others. The advantage is you can probably find some of the original Protank's for about 10$!!! Love the form and that fantastic leather case. Protank 3 and Aero take the high slot coil which works a bit better including the Aero Mega which is my fav (not a subtank but not for off either with the right coil and power, over 15W). The newer factory coils have a very slightly larger air hole (perhaps a mm). Doesn't seem like much but it does help, even as I was skeptical. Don't forget to drill out the air holes to the maximum in either the standard bases or the AFC versions. Especially if you use ceramic wicking. You will get some extra duty from your pin vise from the jump there J.
Now for something completely different...
Twisted-lead Parallel, Tensioned Micro Coil
Tensioned Micro Coil, 3-point, twisted positive leadTwisted-lead Parallel, Tensioned Micro Coil
Tensioned Micro Coil, 3-point, twisted positive lead
Last but not least, I love the Subtank series. Have tried and sampled a number of alternatives and it is a superbly crafted and balanced RTA concept. There is a dual coil (3-wire) twisted center lead wind see above that works flawlessly with the factory OCC coil. Considerably easier to build than the PT with its tight fit. Rock solid termination and resistance. It's a bit drier than the PT heads but still can wet the base through the 510 if you let power get too low and over-saturate the wick (gunk up). I've used the coil out beyond two months. Practical use about a month as I prefer low levels of accretion. But really rock solid performance at 15W. And if you like the low end of power 12-15W you could get into a Subtank Nano as an alternative. These are also inexpensive now and a great value for the volume vaper (which I am). Lot's of juices and gear.
J thanks for looking in. The Protank will give you the skills to build dead on predictably for any device. You will understand how you got there and be able to repeat results. That's why I keep this thread alive. I strongly suspect there will be many who'll need it in the circumstances we may be facing soon.
My standing offer…if you get hung or require specialized help contact me. I'll do the best I can or put you in touch with another accomplished t.m.c. rebuilder. Any question, post here and some subscriber will answer or give me a nudge.
Best of luck to you J and Happy Holidays.
p.s. Still looking for pics for this reply. Check back.
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Thanks, what got me interested a small for factor to carry lose in a pocket. To keep things small I have elected to not have VV but instead fixed voltage. Pen shapes have the advantage of fitting in some pen holding slots.
I have a bunch of stainless Evod 650 mah batteries and I have four more Aerotank Mini's in route.
My pocket carry gear is going to be a selection of a these 5 Aerotank Mini's, A 18350 device with a Nano Kayfun when I can carry something a little larger, and two more small devices. I use pocket carry gear a lot.
An Aerotank Mini on a 650mah fixed voltage Evod battery makes for a rather small easy to carry package.
Yes, it is if you like/need compact. I also liked the Magneto in eGo/18500 mode for those mini's. Also, 18350 with a kick for low, consistent and long lasting power. Was for a long time my fav movie theater carry. Just don't sit on it, lol. I wishboned 'em too often!
Well, you have yourself a great holiday J. Here anytime as I said. Good luck.
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Yes, it is if you like/need compact. I also liked the Magneto in eGo/18500 mode for those mini's. Also, 18350 with a kick for low, consistent and long lasting power. Was for a long time my fav movie theater carry. Just don't sit on it, lol. I wishboned 'em too often!
Well, you have yourself a great holiday J. Here anytime as I said. Good luck.
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I hear you. As a kayaker I use old EVOD tanks rebuilt for old eGo batteries so that dropping my vape in the Hudson is no great loss.Form factor is as important to me as vape quality. I am a bit of an odd ball out here, I am the only smoker or exsmoker that do the activities I do. At home I am 100% 18650, I like to climb, decend into caves, ridge run, and bicycle is steep hill country and when I can mountain country.
One reason I am interested in learning to wrap these coils is fixed voltage is size efficient. Since I am giving up VV I want to learn how to make coils that match the battery instead of making the battery match the coils. I know the juice makes a difference as well. I am going to try and find 4-6 juices that work well with a specific battery coil combination.
Form factor is as important to me as vape quality. I am a bit of an odd ball out here, I am the only smoker or exsmoker that do the activities I do. At home I am 100% 18650, I like to climb, decend into caves, ridge run, and bicycle in steep hill country and when I can mountain country.
One reason I am interested in learning to wrap these coils is fixed voltage is size efficient. Since I am giving up VV I want to learn how to make coils that match the battery instead of making the battery match the coils. I know the juice makes a difference as well. I am going to try and find 4-6 juices that work well with a specific battery coil combination.
Good news.I made a rebuild of 1.8 ohms and am running at 9.8 watts and am vaping 50 vg 50 pg and am having no mouth burning sensation.It feels great and a real relief that I can keep on vaping .It shows my problem lay with my pg and I also changed my temperature just to be on the safe side.I think my next move will be to go full vg and thin it with distilled water like I was advised.Thanks for all your help I am really happy now.
@mhertz
I find that with a tmc, I can get the same performance at a lower wattage. Let's say with a standard coil I run it at 30w. With a tmc I find I get similar vapor production, throat hit, and flavor running 16 or 17w. And I get longer wick and coil life.
Sounds great. I have found that with proper tension, I don't need to compress my coil. I have gone to the extreme, in this regard, and built a special jig to help create tension, adhesion and compression. All that is required is to fire the coil a few times to create the metallic oxide layers on the coil, wick it, and then I'm ready to vape. Here's a shot of a rig I use:
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One can certainly duplicate these results fairly closely by hand. Adding the correct side tensioning, though, would require some assistance, but you can still get fairly close by hand, and using a hand coil wrap has the advantage of "feel" that I don't get with equipment. On the other hand, I can wrap about a coil every minute or so, and complete my coil building for the month in a few minutes. Since I make coils for other house members, I do need to make quite a few coils every month, and I'm picky about precision. Good luck to you and get some more kanthal. I'm using 28 and 29 at the moment. YMMV.
So tell me brother Russ. Does the Gizmo sit in the corner these days? You sold me on the CM 3 and tensioning with two needle nose. Works great for this Cranky Squonker.
Well....coming from you.....I better rethink the tensioned method. At 75 years of age, change comes slowly.....Lifted from the thread...Tensioned Micro Coils. The next step. | Page 67 | E-Cigarette Forum
Hey rev…
Let me tell ya little story
'bout a man named Loud.
Bought a winning ticket
from the Vapors of a Cloud.
Came back later with the Ω
as low could be…
but couldn't taste the vape
for all the heat ya see.
Fixed up his Tobh with a brand
new t.m.c.
This time strained to turns and
and posts tightly.
Now his vape's as cool as 'posed
to be…
and he's chuckin plumes 'cause of
conductivity.
Moral of the story
is you need good oxidation.
Otherwise you'll suffer more
vaper...consternation.
Other's may look right but they're
only simulation.
To get 'em that there tight bro
you've gotta wind with tension.
Good luck.
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Thanks!I'm kind of enjoying wrapping different coils just for fun! I need to remember I made three different mandrils to wrap on. I have a 2, 2.5 and 3. I always grab the 2. :-\
This may be a bit OT here but is the idea to keep the heat flux low?
Do you guys mind if Toptank owners post here too or is there a separate thread for that one?
I just made my first coil & was hoping for some feedback.
I did ten and a bit wraps in 26g grade 1 titanium (comes in @0,4ohm) but I can't really get it spaced out evenly (the ti wire is very springy), I know it is far from pretty but will this be a problem in use?
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My first mod will arrive tomorrow so I'm just trying to get everything ready so I can start vaping as soon as it gets here
I think I'll order some 28g too so I can do with a few less wraps for the same resistance, ten seems a little much for the little Kanger RBA.