Questions, Questions, Questions.

[Sub Zero]

As I have a v5 rba on the way and I don't know anything about RBA's time to shell out the questions.

What gauge wire should I order and what is the difference in gauge?
What type of wick I'm hearing all this stuff about fiberglass is bad others saying its fine. Ekowool VS Cotton etc etc.

After I get those all I'm noticing is.... positive negative pole's wrap around my wick connect, test on ohm meter and done?

Keep in mind I use a vamo (will get to mechs soon enough) so I need to run 1.5+ ohms.

Also, I see people setting there coils on fire with a lighter. Is that to burn off the juice I guess?

 

[shroom]

Start here first: phoenix v5 rba - YouTube

I also use Vamo I wind my microcoil on 1/16 drill bit using 30 gauge of kanthal wire. For wicking I use boiled SVC cotton because it has a bit cotton taste in it.

 

[Jazzi Mike]

I like 32 gauge for builds for my VVVW mods. I get between 1.8-2.1 ohms with a 3/4 wrap. I also prefer Ekowool/silica. However, you can definitely experiment. For your first few builds, I'd actually recommend silica since it is so forgiving.

As for burning juice onto the wick, that is mainly for builds that use SS mesh as the wick.

 

[Sub Zero]

Ok but what is the difference between the gauge of kanthal wire?
Also what if the difference in thickness of wick? Does it just hold more juice?
On some builds I see people using EXTRA wick is that to disperse the juice or just so you can do a lot of drips in one session?

And I did see someone say it was Silica that they burned how would SS burn :O

What are the pro's to cotton as it seems hella cheep probably need 100% cotton also?

 

[shroom]

Wire Gauge Measurements

 

[Sub Zero]

Wire Gauge Measurements

Nice read up but, does a thinner wire = more Resistance or does it = more heat per pull. Sorry for all the questions.
I still have some unanswered

 

[Thrasher]

thinner/higher gauge is more resistance for the same piece length.

to kind of help with the question here is what I do
I use 3mm silica in most of my attys and I double it over.
i like a faster response time so i also keep the wraps to around 4 or 5.

for my mechanical (higher wattage) i wrap 28g for around .8 ohms
the same atty on my VV i wrap 32g for around 1.8 ohms
with a little playing and tweaking I can make them work almost identical.

if you take low resistance wire like 28 then try to build a higher resistance coil with many wraps the response time/heat will be slower.

much of this will change with micro coils but that is a different story.

in my v5 i am running doubled 3mm with 32g @4 wraps for 1.9 ohms and it puts out volumes. the wick length will be up to you, personally I fill about half the atty with wick when i wrap it all around the posts. more wick will hold more juice but i think it also means more making sure all that wick stays wet.
less wick will always be wet as long as the atty has extra juice in the bottom but could be prone to leaking easier if you hold it the wrong way.

 

[shroom]

Thinner wire has higher resistance.

More resistance less heat.

Longer wire more resistance.

Higher the gauge thinner the wire and more resistance.

Resistance is being measured by Ohm (R).

Voltage is U and amperage is Amp (A).

Ohm's Law: R x A = U, U / A = R, U / R = A

Example #1. Your coil is 2 ohm and you energize your coil with 4 volt to get amperage you divide 4 volt / 2 ohms = 2 amp

Wattage is W, W = A x U, you pay for your electricity at home by Kilo Watts, 1kW=1000W

Example #2. To get the wattage of your coil you multiply Wattage and Amperage: 2 amp x 4 volt = 8 watt

You can regulate Voltage or Wattage if you have an electronic mod like Vamo and so.

If you have a short and you use mechanical using the same Ohm Law formula the result will be: The resistance will be close to zero, Voltage will go to zero, and Amperage will go to infinity.

I suggest to never use a mechanical mod with out a fuse.

 

[Sub Zero]

Ok long as hell update due to fast tech shipping yay! Today I wrapped 32G on 3M silica.

Turned out.. HORRIBLE.

I did 4 wraps checked on vamo had 3.0 I said w/e as long as it works as it was my first build. Saturated it took a hit HORRIBLY harsh kick in the throat tryed a few more times same thing. Removed and re did with shorter silica not doubles but just one strand this time pushed coils together as I was guessing that was the problem.

Vamo said 2.9 took a hit a BIT better but still unvapeable. Someone help me! (2/5 of the wraps toward the middle post were BARELY lighting I think that's a flaw. Go on tell me what I did wrong!)

 

[Dj Xy]

Did you heat you wire with a torch to get rid of any machine oil?
Also some silica needs to be torched till it glows white or else you will get a bad taste.

 

[Sub Zero]

I did put the silica under a flame from top to bottom all of it then washed then redid that process. Any reasoning for not all the coils lighting?

 

[Thrasher]

I did put the silica under a flame from top to bottom all of it then washed then redid that process. Any reasoning for not all the coils lighting?

uneven wraps or spacing within the coil itself. you need to dry fire it, the silica will not burn, and while dry firing it adjust the coils with a paperclip or screwdriver or something fire a bit, adjust fire some more, adjust etc. they should be glowing close to even. the "legs" coming off the coil need to be close to even as well.

if one part is glowing before the rest this will result in that one wrap becoming hotter then the rest of the coils and burn or scorch the juice and as you found out taste horrible,

I hold the wick with a paperclip and wrap it that way, makes the wick nice and stiff, easier to attach and when you pull out the clip its just enough slack to not strangle the wick.

 

[Sub Zero]

Hmm...this is a picture of my first coil I made I made another coil after like I said but made it tighter. Here it is...give me some feedback probably did it wrong and I did saturate like crazy.

 

[Xobeloot]

First off, being your first RBA, PLEASE be safe.


That being said, how are you wrapping your coil? Are you going direct to the silica? Are you wrapping the coil then feeding the silica? What type of silica are you using?

I haven't used the stuff in ages, but when I did, I would always torch the silica first. It becomes a bit brittle, but seemed to wick better, taste better, and just function all-around... Better!


32awg kanthal is super thin, so getting a high resist will be very easy. Take a small nail ir something of the sort and press it next to the silica. wrap the wire tight against the wick and nail. Silica doesn't really "choke" like cotton does, so a nice tight, uniform wrap will help.

Once you mount the coil, dry fire it a couple times. A properly wrapped coil will glow from the center out. If it is glowing more on one side than the other, poke at it a bit w/ a screwdriver until it fires center to edge.

Next is air hole placement:

Try to center your air hole on the center of the coil. Dead center will balance the flavor and TH. Raise the coil above the air hole to get more TH, or lower the coil so the air hits the top of it for more sweet notes. Also, the further the coil is from the air hole (centered or not) will increase the TH.

Since you are using a vamo, once the coil is glowing well, the coil is where you want it, etc... start low. Myself, I use a 3Ω coil on my VV reo. I've never really measured what I crank it to since there is no display, but I just start low and slowly inch it up until it has fast response time without burning my juice (again, air position is key here).

When I first started w/ rebuildables, I made more turds than I did anything remotely resembling a success.

Keep building... You'll get it!

 

[Thrasher]

Hmm...this is a picture of my first coil I made I made another coil after like I said but made it tighter. Here it is...give me some feedback probably did it wrong and I did saturate like crazy.

View attachment 265182

that is a lot of wick lol but no biggie, the coil is too widely spaced i think, it should end up no wider then the two posts its going to attach to.

 

[Sub Zero]

I am wraping directly onto the silica about 4-5 wraps the silica I am using is 3MM hollow. I would leave it on a stove flame for a while. Do you need to TORCH it? I am using 32g for the 4-5 wraps and I did make another one tigher but no progress still harsh and faint clouds.

I did dry fire to only see a few coils light or take a long time for all of them to light.

I rotated the top all around with no progress the draw is quite airy as it is to me then again first RBA.

I am getting 2.9 - 3.1 on my 3 builds that failed! Tried all diff VV settings too

 

[Xobeloot]

switch to cotton and micro-coil

 

[Sub Zero]

switch to cotton and micro-coil

Ahhhhhhh more stuff lol, by the way on my last build I fired and boom there was a FIRE O.O I was like wdf I could have inhaled that. Any reason for that?

 

[Xobeloot]

not enough juice and/or airflow on the wick. e-juice is flammable.

I think you'd see better results w/ 30awg kanthal. A couple more wraps in a tighter coil would give you significantly more surface area of wire in contact with the wick.