Protank MicroCoil Discussion!!

[M_DuBb716]

My builds aren't perfect, but as you can see from the close-up pictures above, the coils are pretty tight and close.. After I heat the coil up for the first time, I squeeze them tight with tweezers. And I usually get the coil very tight and close when winding it, before firing it up. I've only been building microcoils (or ANY coils, lol), for about 3 months now - but I think I've come pretty far and started producing some very nice MC's!!
......... Either way, these vape wayy better than stock Protank coils - huge thick plumes of vapor from all that coil sizzling the juice, which results in amazing flavor and throat hit (cotton helps)! And soo much cheaper$$!

I'd like to see a closeup of your coils if possible, Mac.. Does your camera have a "Macro-Mode"? lol
I do only have my eVic to test my resistance, no ohm reader or anything. But I've come a very long way; from starting with cheap Kanger T2's (paying $2+ per coil), on a basic EGO 1000mah regulated 3.7v battery

 

[MacTechVpr]

My builds aren't perfect, but as you can see from the close-up pictures above, the coils are pretty tight and close.. After I heat the coil up for the first time, I squeeze them tight with tweezers. And I usually get the coil very tight and close when winding it, before firing it up. I've only been building microcoils (or ANY coils, lol), for about 3 months now - but I think I've come pretty far and started producing some very nice MC's!!
......... Either way, these vape wayy better than stock Protank coils - huge thick plumes of vapor from all that coil sizzling the juice, which results in amazing flavor and throat hit (cotton helps)! And soo much cheaper$$!

I'd like to see a closeup of your coils if possible, Mac.. Does your camera have a "Macro-Mode"? lol
I do only have my eVic to test my resistance, no ohm reader or anything. But I've come a very long way; from starting with cheap Kanger T2's (paying $2+ per coil), on a basic EGO 1000mah regulated 3.7v battery

Sounds like yoiure doing far better than you give yourself credit for. And enjoying it! I love it. Just what I want to see and encourage in myself and others. More people trying precision winding. It is not that difficult. I've talked to quite a few mature folks like myself, some with difficulties, having great fun and success doing this and, like us, beating the factory winds hands down.

Your recent reply was provocative and curious. I'm concerned about how much deviation we might be seeing in the VV/VS devices were using and the simple instruments we rely on for our safety. Part of what confounded me in the beginning was how broad the range of res. results folks were reporting. It was hard to gauge what should be. The wire length for a Protank say can't vary much more than a few fractions of a mm without their being a result. It was interesting and appreciated to have you report back your eVic pic. I'm on it M. Real curious and working on a build this morning which I'll meter externally later. It's an interesting research question — the resistance variability.

No I can't shoot Macro with my iPhone as 4" is the closest I can focus. Have more sophisticated gear but too much trouble to locate and config or hunt down a point-and-shoot. I'll try a closest focus and crop with the iPhone to see if that helps for the next ones. That's always handy and wifi download convenient. Sorry I know the folks like the hi-res here on this forum.

But I bumped the frame size and here's a few meantime…



The first is a 30g, 9/8 wrap on ~1.75mm which by my records should come out to ~2.03Ω +/-.02 (lowest recorded). Basically my "confirmed" resistance targets have become the lowest recorded that verify on at least one other device or separate ohmmeter; and, which don't falter in spec to end-of-tank…based on the objective design of the wind. In this case, 1.75mm. As the integrity and taughtness of my builds has improved this number has come down at my three targets of 1.8, 2.2 and 2.5Ω.

Also a gratuitous exhibition of my fav mod to date, an original Immortalizer and Nzonic with authentic Chief Vapers colored blue sleeve and original hybrid brass/delrin "fatboy". Configured for ribbon 0.5 x 0.1, 6/7, 2.5mm i.d. (rolled cotton), tight=1.8Ω.

Back at ya laters.

 

[M_DuBb716]

Thanks Mac, that's a very nice looking coil from what I can see! Thanks for the support - I've learned so much from this thread. You've helped me so much, this reminds me of my 1ST MC Thread (http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/general-e-smoking-discussion/447835-just-built-my-1st-micro-coil.html) You have a lot of devices and batteries lol!

I really need to get a mod and a good RBA/RDA!! I'll do some more experimenting with my Protank and the microcoil, though

 

[MacTechVpr]

Thanks Mac, that's a very nice looking coil from what I can see! Thanks for the support - I've learned so much from this thread. You've helped me so much, this reminds me of my 1ST MC Thread (http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/general-e-smoking-discussion/447835-just-built-my-1st-micro-coil.html) You have a lot of devices and batteries lol!

I really need to get a mod and a good RBA/RDA!! I'll do some more experimenting with my Protank and the microcoil, though

HAHAHA My friend you have no clue how many of these darned gadgets I have. And, how many I've worked! It's like a damned mushroom field around here. Every time I turn around another family of 'em have popped up out'a nowhere.

Mentioned elsewhere, I'm blown away by the lowly Vision Destiny. First dripper I bought before most anything else after Vivi's. It lives on a mixed China GG clone, kicked. And provides the sweetest of the notes on a light vape as well as the warmest of the exhale chocolate ones on the exhale for my fav Boba's. But I'm building a lot for the Immortalizer right now and it's truly impressive if you watch Todd's review. A clone may still be available at vivid smoke.com from whom I've purchased in the past. The black originals have been at last disappearing from vendor stocks in recent weeks coming up on the holidays so they are getting rare. I suspect the plain alum may soon follow.

I love the "Forge" clone which was the first Nimbus I started to work with but extremely variable airflow, surprising vapor volume. Downright fun but no flavor comparison to the Immo. That's just…well, watch Todd's expression.

Still trying to get to metering the build on that 10'er without distractions. And I'll report (with pic's).

Stay well and good luck!

 

[KurrptSenate]

I've been doing about 10-12 wraps around my syringe bottle tip for my protank 2s using 28 gauge kanthal. Come out to about 2 ohms, give or take.

 

[magicmyst]

I decided to give cotton wicked micro-coils one last try, and built an absolutely perfect coil: 9 tight 30 gauge wraps on a 1/16" drill bit, held them together with tweezers and torched, all wraps touching, beautiful, perfect symmetry, perfectly aligned in the head, 1.9Ω, a freakin' work of art- fires beautifully. Gently threaded a perfect organic cotton wick- not to tight, room to expand when saturated. Saturated the wick and a light flavor wick before replacing the stem.

The result: Lots of vapor, but all the flavor is not there. I compared with another EVOD with the same juice (Ahlusion's delicious Lime Cream) and a silica rebuild. The creamy sweetness and color notes are just not there with the cotton micro.

Conclusion: Either I'm doing something wrong (but doubt it, because I've really done my homework on this) or the folks who are raving about cotton micro-coils are using flavors that are so aggressive that they don't notice the difference, or these folks are just not that sensitive to flavor subtleties.

So, until I hear a reasonable suggestion for something different to try, I'm done with cotton micros.

 

[MacTechVpr]

I decided to give cotton wicked micro-coils one last try, and built an absolutely perfect coil: 9 tight 30 gauge wraps on a 1/16" drill bit, held them together with tweezers and torched, all wraps touching, beautiful, perfect symmetry, perfectly aligned in the head, 1.9Ω, a freakin' work of art- fires beautifully. Gently threaded a perfect organic cotton wick- not to tight, room to expand when saturated. Saturated the wick and a light flavor wick before replacing the stem.

The result: Lots of vapor, but all the flavor is not there. I compared with another EVOD with the same juice (Ahlusion's delicious Lime Cream) and a silica rebuild. The creamy sweetness and color notes are just not there with the cotton micro.

Conclusion: Either I'm doing something wrong (but doubt it, because I've really done my homework on this) or the folks who are raving about cotton micro-coils are using flavors that are so aggressive that they don't notice the difference, or these folks are just not that sensitive to flavor subtleties.

So, until I hear a reasonable suggestion for something different to try, I'm done with cotton micros.

As I've commented elsewhere, love the flavor. But magic hard to get the balance right in that little tiny slot without either inducing leaking or the opposite, flooding it. Much, much easier on an RDA. And as has been my point you need a really tightly controlled build to get that atomizer to work just right. When you do the Protank is fabulous. And it is so far with Nextel. Next Ekowool if I can find a coil config that's threadable. That's the ticket.

Congratz on the effort.

Good luck!

 

[lifted74]

Just wanted to add the way I've been doing the Protank micro coils to the discussion.

I'm using a 1.44 mm mini screwdriver (not sure the inch equivalent), 30g Kanthal, 12 wraps and I am getting a consistent 2.2-2.3 ohm coil. I've been following the Rip Trippers methods of compressing and torching the coil to get them good and touching. Just one small organic cotton wick threaded through the coil. Haven't had any leakage or gurgling whatsoever.

It burns real nice, hot and even.

Only problem I've encountered is that the coil seems to gunk up a lot quicker than a stock coil. I pretty much have to dry burn and re-wick after every tank. When I'm re wicking the cotton is also usually kind of burnt in the middle.

It's no big deal, but I am wondering if this is normal, or is there something I should be doing differently? It seems to have gotten better as I use less and less cotton.

How long do your coils last before having to be cleaned, dry burned & re-wicked?

 

[MacTechVpr]

Just wanted to add the way I've been doing the Protank micro coils to the discussion.

I'm using a 1.44 mm mini screwdriver (not sure the inch equivalent), 30g Kanthal, 12 wraps and I am getting a consistent 2.2-2.3 ohm coil. I've been following the Rip Trippers methods of compressing and torching the coil to get them good and touching. Just one small organic cotton wick threaded through the coil. Haven't had any leakage or gurgling whatsoever.

It burns real nice, hot and even.

Only problem I've encountered is that the coil seems to gunk up a lot quicker than a stock coil. I pretty much have to dry burn and re-wick after every tank. When I'm re wicking the cotton is also usually kind of burnt in the middle.

It's no big deal, but I am wondering if this is normal, or is there something I should be doing differently? It seems to have gotten better as I use less and less cotton.

How long do your coils last before having to be cleaned, dry burned & re-wicked?

Just posted re this on another thread lifted…

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-built-my-1st-micro-coil-14.html#post11270364

I don't see any more accumulation than Ekowool but far and away less than silica. Certainly not the kind that shreds the wick from the inside like the latter. You're all right man. But the flavor's so much better with precise stationary builds. Rebuild or a little tank matenance. Six of one, half dozen the other. But taste is best. S'all good.

Good luck!

 

[vdaedalus]

Just built my first micro, went a bit nuts with 10 (or was it 11, dang) wraps, 30AWG, 1.75mm, cotton. It's metering at 2.5ohm, which is certainly higher than I wanted, I'm going to try again with 7-8 wraps.

Having said this, my goodness, the flavour, the vapour. And it was a lot easier than I expected. Wrapped tightly, compressed and torched, used a toothpick to hold the coil in place for insertion into the head, snuck some cotton in there, tiny bit more on top, and we're done.

Off to try again!

 

[M_DuBb716]

Ughh... Just cracked the glass again, on my Protank 2! This is like the 3rd glass piece I've broken, not counting the regular PT1's I've shattered. And I can't get just the glass piece at the vape shops around here, yet..

Back to the airier PT1!

 

[vdaedalus]

Okay, I got my second one down to 2.0ohm, which is a start. However, on both of them I'm experiencing flooding and gurgling. Any tips? More cotton over top? less? none?

 

[Jellyfish]

First, thanks to everyone that has posted...and especially to Mac for sharing his opinions on Rip Tripper's video build and also for sharing his experiences with PT microcoils.

I built my first microcoil today. It was a 10/9 wrap of 30 gauge Kanthal around a 1/16" bit that measured out at 2.3 ohms. I first formed the coil then took it off the drill bit, torched it and finally compressed it (2X).

I was wondering if it would make any difference if I torched it while it was compressed?

Thanks...from another 'green zone' vaper!

 

[Whiplash205]

Hmm. Everyone seems to be shooting for standard resistance coils. I usually run mine at 1ohm using 28g kanthal in my pt2s. And for some reason I get more consistent flavor wrapping on a smaller jig, ie either a 16g needle or piano wire. When I use a 1/16 bit I seem to lose a bit of flavor. The smaller id coils work better for me.

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk

 

[vdaedalus]

I say torch while compressed. I did it the way you described at first, and wasn't satisfied with how it looked. Torched it while tweezing and it was a completely different animal. Tight and solid-looking.

 

[MacTechVpr]

Okay, I got my second one down to 2.0ohm, which is a start. However, on both of them I'm experiencing flooding and gurgling. Any tips? More cotton over top? less? none?

Good job vdaedalus. What were the specs of that wind again? I'm winding 1.75mm tight 9/8 getting 2.03 (on the base). Curious.

Thanks!

 

[MacTechVpr]

I say torch while compressed. I did it the way you described at first, and wasn't satisfied with how it looked. Torched it while tweezing and it was a completely different animal. Tight and solid-looking.

You got that right. I light torch right on the mandrel taking care not to burn off the legs (under tension they will easily). Then typically two on medical tweezers quenching each time and they get tight and hold through at least two reworks. It's a darlin' thing to see.

 

[MacTechVpr]

Hmm. Everyone seems to be shooting for standard resistance coils. I usually run mine at 1ohm using 28g kanthal in my pt2s. And for some reason I get more consistent flavor wrapping on a smaller jig, ie either a 16g needle or piano wire. When I use a 1/16 bit I seem to lose a bit of flavor. The smaller id coils work better for me.

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk

I've been down to 8/7, 28g on 2mm for the PT1 and it's quite warm for the form factor. Let me rephrase that – I burned my lips off my face!

Glad you can handle it!

I did do a very sweet 30AWG, 7/6 1.58mm i.d. (XC-132), microcoil = 1.57Ω today for the PT 2 Mini that blows clouds like mad at higher wattage. And here I thought the little missy had no legs.

 

[vdaedalus]

Good job vdaedalus. What were the specs of that wind again? I'm winding 1.75mm tight 9/8 getting 2.03 (on the base). Curious.

It was exactly that. 9/8, 1.75mm. I'll try 8/7 (tomorrow, I got lazy after supper) and see where that gets me. Should be right about where I want it.

Now about the flooding...

 

[MacTechVpr]

First, thanks to everyone that has posted...and especially to Mac for sharing his opinions on Rip Tripper's video build and also for sharing his experiences with PT microcoils.

I built my first microcoil today. It was a 10/9 wrap of 30 gauge Kanthal around a 1/16" bit that measured out at 2.3 ohms. I first formed the coil then took it off the drill bit, torched it and finally compressed it (2X).

I was wondering if it would make any difference if I torched it while it was compressed?

Thanks...from another 'green zone' vaper!

That's an outstanding first attempt. Torch it on the tweezer, forceps, etc. then quench it on the tool. I use an old film can (remember those?). That sets it real good. And I loves to hear that steam hissin'. Careful not to overlap. I seldom burn more than 5-6 secs. avoiding scorching the legs. Just enough to glow the coil. I rotate the work getting all sides. Nothing worse than going through all that detail then losing a leg later tensioning the build because you weakened a leg. Slow and steady. Don't push the work. Let it work you. Even so once you get the rhythm the whole thing can be done in less than 5 mins. Even for a fumble-fingers like me.

And I agree cooooool is niiiiiice. But I do enjoy the dense vapor. It happens when you find the sweet spot for the atomizer. There is an optimal.

Good luck!