Protank MicroCoil Discussion!!

[MacTechVpr]

My remarks and news on the thread…It's Offical On November Ballot - FL Constitutional Amendment #9 - YEA or NAE | Page 1 | Post #13…would criminalize vaping in the workplace without a foundational definition equating vaping to smoking by FL legislature. This end run to steamroller an uninformed public opinion would set a very bad precedent for us all.

Good luck.

 

[MacTechVpr]

Lifted from the thread Okay to use regular cotton? | Page 5 | Post #99 on wicking and a little history lesson for our mutual edification…

I heard they used to be made of fiberglass,…

Oh, you mean like silica?

(Which was mostly being used before strain and the microcoil.)

What matters is that you get the vape you like. Cotton balls, Drug Store cotton, Koh Gen Do, Egyptian Cotton, Mesh, Rayon, or whatever is best for your taste is fine. They all work.

I still have remnants of all it in my vape stash cabinet. If necessary, I'l twist up some cotton if I run out of Rayon.

And had the convo with sXd gone the other way as we were debating best wicking for tensioned micro's just before he introduced KGD (I favored popularizing Jeremy's ceramic for flavor, ease of insertion and fit, he exclusively used straight VG at the time)…

Well, you might most of you be using ReadyXwick (I relented after a couple'a three calls as he was kind enough to touch base with me before shooting his KGD video recommending it on the t.m.c.).

Shortly after a certain VIVA paper towel proponent famous for a copycat thread introduced a hybrid synth/org alternative deprecating forever our beloved pharmacy bought common cotton balls.

True this, 'sall good.

Good luck.

 

[Alter]

The bottom line is that cotton is cotton no matter where its from or its cost. They all have the same properties...expand when wet, all else is marketing. Juice flow inside the fiber means easy to plug up so no more flow in that fiber until no more fibers left to flow juice then it burns. It don't take much to plug up cotton fibers.
Silica is old school but still like everything else can make a comeback. Haveta sit down one day and build too see if silica can quench a thirsty nasty build. Not touched silica in years.
Rayon...opposite properties too cotton, juice flows outside the fiber so no plugging up the fibers like cotton, the build cocoons with carbon long before rayon is spent. Takes a knack to wick with but a properly wicked and thinned rayon build will outlast and out perform any cotton or any other wicking material.

 

[MacTechVpr]

The bottom line is that cotton is cotton no matter where its from or its cost. They all have the same properties...expand when wet, all else is marketing. Juice flow inside the fiber means easy to plug up so no more flow in that fiber until no more fibers left to flow juice then it burns. It don't take much to plug up cotton fibers.
Silica is old school but still like everything else can make a comeback. Haveta sit down one day and build too see if silica can quench a thirsty nasty build. Not touched silica in years.
Rayon...opposite properties too cotton, juice flows outside the fiber so no plugging up the fibers like cotton, the build cocoons with carbon long before rayon is spent. Takes a knack to wick with but a properly wicked and thinned rayon build will outlast and out perform any cotton or any other wicking material.

Hey alter, tell us how you really feel.

I pull out some silica every great while, just as a reminder how much better ordinary cotton can be.

Hey did you know 3M makes a silica weave good to 1400deg just like Nextel (RxW)? Bet most users don't and it's a great flavor/performance wick that can last months with dry burn. It's a bit more neutral in that silica taste which I can't mask for some reason. There are alternatives most will never see (or enjoy) unless they hit legacy threads like this.

Thx for the reminder. I'm all outta rayon samples, I just noticed.

Nice to see ya. Good luck.

 

[Alter]

Hey alter, tell us how you really feel.

Well ya.....some pay exorbitant amounts of money for their cotton that IMO does the exact same as drug store balls. I bought a 1lb roll of cotton baton that is very much like the fancy layered pads, has a top layer one can peel off and in a thin sheet...paid 5 bucks for it. Its each too their own.
I have literally miles of silica and hollow ekowool I was buying from coops. I just barely started using the silica before I came across trying a qtip swab cotton in my PT build....Game changer then shelved the silica.
Just got plain tired of rewicking attys for my wife and I every couple days using cotton so I used hemp fiber, the hemp is still easy to cook but lasted much longer but had too prep by removing off colored shards and bunnies to remove the woodzy breakin taste...almost couple years using hemp fiber.
Thinking of running a rayon core through some ekowool, loosing the dryburn ability but owell, even thinking of going back enough to dust off a kayfun for my ekowool reminiscing.
I assume its kinda the same with rayon but I dunno nothing about the other brands just the box 44060, never needed to research the other brands out.
Just like subohm was a phase...did the nasty low ohm building but ended up reverting to 1.2-1.6Ω claptons that produce great cloudz without using huge amounts of juice or excessive stress on my batteries.

 

[MacTechVpr]

Well ya.....some pay exorbitant amounts of money for their cotton that IMO does the exact same as drug store balls. I bought a 1lb roll of cotton baton that is very much like the fancy layered pads, has a top layer one can peel off and in a thin sheet...paid 5 bucks for it. Its each too their own.
I have literally miles of silica and hollow ekowool I was buying from coops. I just barely started using the silica before I came across trying a qtip swab cotton in my PT build....Game changer then shelved the silica.
Just got plain tired of rewicking attys for my wife and I every couple days using cotton so I used hemp fiber, the hemp is still easy to cook but lasted much longer but had too prep by removing off colored shards and bunnies to remove the woodzy breakin taste...almost couple years using hemp fiber.
Thinking of running a rayon core through some ekowool, loosing the dryburn ability but owell, even thinking of going back enough to dust off a kayfun for my ekowool reminiscing.
I assume its kinda the same with rayon but I dunno nothing about the other brands just the box 44060, never needed to research the other brands out.
Just like subohm was a phase...did the nasty low ohm building but ended up reverting to 1.2-1.6Ω claptons that produce great cloudz without using huge amounts of juice or excessive stress on my batteries.

Cotton was a great adaptation. But long fiber KGD just bust it open! In my testing with so many people wicking various media revealed that we tend to mostly settle into a groove once we get an adequate vape. It tends to get better refined. But it's easy to get stuck there. Because of my testing I got to try an incredible variety of things for myself while others perfected their own with my assist. It gave me a better vantage point.

Past two years I've focused on making best use of synthetics for their durability and ease of use. I focus on trying to help folks quit and rebuilding even if just rewicking factory. It's always an obstacle. I'd prefer to see most try tho as remade is by far cheaper [and often better performing] by comparison. It's a bit of a challenge to quickly get the larger share of new vapers to master wicking with raw media like cotton or rayon. No matter, I encourage folks to try as many kinds of wicking as practicable for them alter as you never know where a person's sweet spot is going to be.

Thx for the context.

Good luck.

 

[MacTechVpr]

Just call me Chain-a-Lot. I DIY 'em all day like a bot.
I'm a jester and a tester, genuine Kanthal micro strainer.
Building builders that's my biz, and at that some call me wiz.
I'd show ya how to do one better, strain'll def wind 'em wetter.
Mix you up my anon brew, treat yourself, dazzle your crew.
If you're cruisin' on my beach, a rippin' vape's within your reach.
So holler at me, any channel…getcha strain-wound, tight'n parallel.
Don't go dopey, dry and listless. We'll be sure to Merry Christmas.

Good luck all.

 

[MacTechVpr]

Lifted from the thread…Vaping isn't exciting anymore | Page 5 | Post #97 for reference…

It's not the vape that excites us; it's the context. I wrote…

…It's nice, especially this time of year, to not be banished to the outdoors for 5-7 minute intervals.

…and not to be treated like a criminal. Yes, freedom.

Addiction, like prejudice and slavery is something we are subjected to.



The opposite of addiction is connection. What we had and which has been horribly suppressed.

Resist dehumanization. Encourage community with our own and all around you.

Good luck and Merry Christmas all.

 

[MacTechVpr]

Pulled from the thread E-liquid in mouth | Page 3 | Post #49 for info on draw and results…

Hi Mac!

When I want a tighter draw from my Subtank mini I use Aspire BVC coils.

That said, I prefer loose MTL (restricted DTL) vaping nowadays. I was very happy when Kanger introduced Aerotanks and Emows with adjustable AFC and retired my Protanks immediately. But this Protank 5 that comes with OP's kit does look airy in the videos I watched. Have you tried it?

My vaping style is quite varied and across the board. MTL, DL and mixed draw of both depending on juice flavor pref's and attributes of the device I may use one or all of these techniques. If I've built adequately for the widest potential of the mod I can use it for all. The clincher for me was committing to fully wide bore DT's and learning how to use air flow suppression (slipstream) to deter or prolong vaporization (decrease or increase inlet air speed).

Sometimes this req's closing down some airflow but often enough this works. So I can be using a ST base glass or stock and pull clouds from it if I want to. Unless I've built for very high density at low power then I'm stuck with using the tighter draw. Can MTL chain off a comp mod if I have to or in the mood. Just have to watch for over-saturation and take a good pull from time to time. Not a good practice tho as such short pulls tend to crud up things even when careful at any power level. Under-vaporization is our nemesis.

Very rarely change device airflow. Usually it's matched carefully to the requirements of the build, set-and-forget. From there it's either constraining DT draw flow and length of draw. Temp generally very constant with this approach. Note here, a coil requires more air as it gets warmer in the fire cycle to ensure adequate vaporization. If you stifle the AF you will crud up as the coil gets warmer than necessary for the juice flow. Those of you who never test your device's output limits will never know where that threshold lives or understand why you run dirty. We all have our preferences but your setup has its own.

All said, you can use a varied draw technique to reap the most out of the setup you want by playing with restriction and draw vacuum. It starts to more resemble using a musical instrument. And girl I like those flavor notes.

Good luck.

 

[MacTechVpr]

For info from the thread More and More Restrictions are Put on E-cigarettes: See What Happened!…

…
In China, Hong Kong will ban sales, manufacture, importation, distribution, or promotion of vapor products and heat-not-burn (HNB) tobacco products according to the South China Morning Post. A conviction for any of these crimes could result in up to six months in jail and a fine of 50,000 Hong Kong dollars (about $6,370 U.S.).

Sparse news on this here in US. A China ecig takedown would mark the end of real vaping for us. Nothing left but state sanctioned tobacco mega corp offerings. We're already well on the way to being acclimated to the one-vape-fits-all and liking it…all the while vilified for corrupting the kids. Back to being criminals all.

Guess RoC finally figured out vapers spend less than smokers. And they need their tobacco industry. Took 'em a while. Wonder how much US influence was in play. But the autocrats there are just as determined to roll back the liberties of HK citizens as our's are here at home. It's more saddening by the day to live on this planet.

First they came for the vapers…

Good luck. (as I've been saying)

 

[MacTechVpr]

Posted elsewhere and for information here…

It's not that Kanthal has a particularly lower resistance. It's forte is that it is significantly stable in resistance; and, particularly so with the methods I introduced here on VU and on the e-cigarette-forum.

A search on my username and the terms tension(ed), strain, pin vise here should get you started.

Strain is about subtly forcing an internal reordering of the structure of the wire as the wind is shaped…as opposed to "bending" or the application of external force to "form" the wind.

Tensioned coils behave like a spring with embedded rigidity which lends to their durability. Pulsing them in this more precise state further reinforces the orientation at a slight loss of rigidity but accelerating oxidation which makes them a more effective circuit as a contact coil by insulating touching turns from each other electrically. Done right they don't fire "inside out"; rather, more uniformly end-to-end. This optimizes the thermal output of the turns (the working part of the element) restricting thermal loss by any segment of the wind from overheating. The objective being to put as much and consistent heat on every part of the wetted surface of the wire to produce a consistent output as close as possible to the spec wire resistance.

Predictable, repeatable performance.

Good luck J.

 

[MacTechVpr]

Ridiculous. They passed HB 7119 through Appropriations today almost unanimously.

At 18 you can drive, vote, smoke, drink and marry in the State of Florida…
but God forbid you try a vape.

You would think almost imperceptible traces of nicotinic acid were as toxic as plutonium.

But there is nothing more toxic or as seriiously addictive in the universe is government and taxes.

Good luck.

 

[MacTechVpr]

Lifted from the thread Steam-engine and coil length question, Post #27 for reference.

Steam-engine and coil length question, Post #27

On the accurate use of Steam-Engine…

If you look at the right hand table in this example you will see the calculated coil width.
Coil wrapping | Steam Engine | free vaping calculators

You make a good point. It's listed but I've not found the calc to be exact and I'm not always sure why. If we're taking about the same thing?…It's #turns+spacing(wire width). However most I don't think use S-E accurately as they just set the target res and if it's close run with it.

For your ex. the target res accurately if you chose to round down to half turn (return coil) would be 4.5 turns, or 0.2435Ω — Coil wrapping | Steam Engine | free vaping calculators

The width of 2.898 is rounded to 2.9. Hmmm, close enough. Mebe not so much if the calc is done at .25Ω (4.63 turns) rounded to 3mm.

At installation that extra 10th might mean the difference as to whether we end up having to constrain the leads inward or splay them out (induce strain) and producing some end turn separation. Such subtle variations in strain no matter how neat and consistent the wind otherwise can sometimes stifle our expectations of what may be otherwise an outstanding wind.

Just sayin. It's about matching the build to atty geometry as best as possible. Or not, cause it ain't goin there.

Have a great Memorial Day holiday everyone!

Good luck.

 

[CMD-Ky]

Have a great Memorial Day holiday everyone!

Good luck.

And the same back to you, MTV.

 

[MacTechVpr]

Happy Independence Day all!

Good luck.

 

[MacTechVpr]

Lifted from the thread Tensioned Micro Coils. The next step. | Post #1731 for reference…

Believe it or not, I read this entire thread a few months back. It inspired me to get an artistic wire coiling gizmo and go to town. I bought the professional version because it had the rods I wanted to use, then had to modify it to keep the wire tensioned. I've been wrapping my own coils for years, but this set-up made a big difference in the smoothness and tastiness of my vape. It's also a lot easier to wrap a bunch of coils at a time. I'm not sure why this thread has died - right now is the time for many vapers to learn how to be self-sufficient considering what's going on at the FDA.

I agree Linda. Glad you are enjoying the vape. Too wish more of the community had adopted and endorsed the various methods of strain winding discussed on this and the introductory thread…Protank MicroCoil Discussion!!

Smoother and not as dry or hot as you're getting more vapor density from the concentration of wire surface. This usually presents a substantially cooler vapor and not as harsh, regardless of nic level. You can always use a slightly lower resistance to make it warmer and even more dense. If you haven't perfected oxidizing the coils, this is a good tweak. Oxidation also helps reveal imperfections, hot or cold (grey zones), in the coil that detract from performance. The more consistent the surface the better and more uniform that heat transfer occurs.

Hail me anytime on this or the above thread with your questions. Always glad to help. Enjoy!

Good luck.

 

[MacTechVpr]

Just for the memories and those folks still enjoying some t.m.c based MTL vapes… thanks to @Mordacai for this great find on the very first and original Subtank!

Kangertech Subtank 25mm

Get them while you can!

Good luck.

p.s. Still vaping mine.

 

[MacTechVpr]

Howdy all! Long time no see!

All of these years later.. I am still in my vaping 'happy place'.. GP PAPS X, KFL+, DIY Coffee juice via Nude Nicotine supplies, and Kanthal A1 (24 awg) tension wrapped at .42 with my Gizmo. The only thing I have changed.. I have decreased my nic to 3mg.

View attachment 847419

Great kit you got there @Cucco! Nothing like dialing in a precision build for your favorite vape.

New (and experienced) vapers droppin in here can easily start on the road to reliable and repeatable builds by first learning the simple wind and build techniques described on this thread. Contenti has a good quality pin vise to start with…

Swivel Head Pin Vise with Wood Handle

Your 30 seconds to vaping bliss can be our little secret.

Good luck.

 

[MacTechVpr]

Don't duck this Thanksgiving, have a good one all.

Good luck.

 

[MacTechVpr]

Merry Christmas everyone…and to all a great vape!



Good luck.