Question - DIY improved my experience by 100%... Next? Building?

[Ed Brown]

I always felt the opposite. With side by side posts you need the legs to come off the coil in the same direction. If the holes are at the same height I have trouble bending the legs without deforming the coil. And if the separation of the holes is wider than the length of the coil you have to bend the legs sideways as well as up and down.

I did have a tank once with side by side posts where the separation was the same as the length of my coils, and one hole was higher than the other, so I didn't have to bend the legs at all. Can't remember what tank that was and it's gone now.

My favorite is the "Velocity Style Deck." It has two posts spaced far apart, with two holes in each post, one hole above the other. At one end of the coil, the leg goes in the top hole, and at the other end of the coil, the leg goes in the bottom hole. Then the other coil is the opposite.

One of the primary factors in building coils is making the coil length match the terminals. The wire type/thickness and the coil diameter can be adjusted to get the desired resistance. If a coil must be shorter, it can be stretched so there is a space between the wraps.

 

[KurtVD]

There’s also the matter of the post itself: I hate the system where the wire is held by the top of the screw head, it makes installing thinner wire coils very challenging. If I use 28 or 30G, the wire has a tendency to slip out, to make sure that doesn’t happen I have to either ‘double-wire the legs’, by twisting the wire , or wrap it completely around the screw, both of which are finicky processes. I prefer by far the posts with holes.

My favorite is the "Velocity Style Deck." It has two posts spaced far apart, with two holes in each post, one hole above the other. At one end of the coil, the leg goes in the top hole, and at the other end of the coil, the leg goes in the bottom hole. Then the other coil is the opposite.

One of the primary factors in building coils is making the coil length match the terminals. The wire type/thickness and the coil diameter can be adjusted to get the desired resistance. If a coil must be shorter, it can be stretched so there is a space between the wraps.

 

[KurtVD]

. If the holes are at the same height I have trouble bending the legs without deforming the coil.
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Yes, but isn’t that the same either way? I always bend the legs while my coil is still wrapped around the building rod, that way the coil doesn’t get deformed. If the wire is soft like Ni200, I don’t remove the rod until the coil is screwed in. I guess this only works well with a small building rod, I use a drill bit. Cheap, lightweight and easily available in different sizes.

 

[englishmick]

Yes, but isn’t that the same either way? I always bend the legs while my coil is still wrapped around the building rod, that way the coil doesn’t get deformed. If the wire is soft like Ni200, I don’t remove the rod until the coil is screwed in. I guess this only works well with a small building rod, I use a drill bit. Cheap, lightweight and easily available in different sizes.

Yeah, that's what I do. I found it doable but kind of annoying, especially if the coil had to be close to the posts. The legs always ended up bending in strange ways. Forgot, I still have one like that, an Ammit MTL that I use on a Woodie. Still don't like recoiling it. Takes a long time and it never seems quite right.

 

[Ed Brown]

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[Ed Brown]

 

[KurtVD]

Funny I had the Ammit and found it very easy to install the coil and the wick. Sold it because I didn’t like dripping, but I found it very easy to use. Maybe it’s because I learned the whole process with a Berserker mini, which I find a pain to use in this regard, even after years (v1, v2 has side-by-side posts).

Forgot, I still have one like that, an Ammit MTL that I use on a Woodie. Still don't like recoiling it. Takes a long time and it never seems quite right.

 

[Unforeseen]

It's all a matter of preference when vaping. Some people may prefer not to build anything at all and just want to vape. Others that may want to save money, get more involved with the hobby of vaping, or just like DIY will tend to favor making their own coils. In the end, the choice is yours and would suggest giving it a try first to see how you like building your own coils. Doesn't require many tools and plenty of resources on the forum or on Youtube.

For MTL vaping, there are couple of categories that people fall into. It's either they like a tight draw or a loose draw, most of that stemming from what type of draw they liked when they were smoking. Both of those can be achieved with varying amounts of airflow, ohms, etc. As others have noted, it can be even more refined depending on your preferences.

Couple things to note when choosing a tank. The one's labeled as MTL or traditional MTL will be a tight draw in most instances. Loose MTL is somewhere in between tight MTL and RDL (Restricted Direct Lung). You will need a 1.8mm or above airflow to achieve this style of vaping. Many reasons for this but, mainly the coil you will install needs a bit more airflow to achieve the type of draw and vapor production that is commonly associated with loose MTL. It'll be the opposite for tight MTL who mainly prefer 1.2mm and less.

In general, you will want to pay attention to the specifications of the RTA to see if it matches your style. As far as style of posts and decks, that can only be decided by you.