RBA newbie Kanger Mini Top Tank

[chellie]

Finally I am moving to an rba. Been buying coils for years and now I am ready to try my hand at diy.

Got a Kanger Mini and ordered the RBA.

Watched the videos, have an OHM meter, cotton and cutting tools so I feel confident I can do it.

Two questions

1.) What type of wire do I need - can someone tell me exactly what I should order. It seems that there are so many opinions. I vape .5 at around 20-22 watts and was using the SSOCC nc ss. Have tried the claptons and I like them too. I think I like NC and Clapton the best. I do not use temp control just wattage. Want something considered safe and possibly a recommended place to order from.

2.) My OHM meter is really just the small square battery operated one. I have tested them on the coils I buy and they appear to be accurate. Just want to be sure that this is an OK setup or do I need a better tester?

 

[stols001]

I use the small, square battery operated one, and it works fine. If you are using wattage mode, I personally find kanthal wire easiest to deal with, but some say SS has a better taste, although I'm not really sure, I mostly use SS 28 gauge for wrapping. I bought my wire from amazon, and they're okay for most vape related supplies, other than mods and nic obviously, but many vape establishments carry wire, so once you've figured out what you want just do some price comparison, I guess.

Anna

 

[chellie]

That helps a lot. Thanks. I was Looking at Kanthal A1 and trying to decide between 26/28 so that helps. I am not crazy about the SS taste for some reason. Once I do a few and test, I was going to make a lot of them to store so it is is easier for me. Do you pre-make a bunch or just wrap as needed?

 

[stols001]

I just wrap as needed, although I have some prewrapped coils coming due to my fine motor tremor, they are a PITA for me, so having some backups will be useful.... I think some folks do wrap multiples at a time.

Anna

 

[puffon]

I recommend 26g for the STM rba, any thinner it won't trap easily without wrapping it around the screw head.
Of course an assortment of wire is good to have. You could twist 2 strands of 28 or 30g.
I usually do 26g, 7 wraps on 3mm or 2.5mm, .8-1ohm

 

[SupplyDaddy]

Finally I am moving to an RBA. Been buying coils for years and now I am ready to try my hand at diy.

Got a Kanger Mini and ordered the RBA.

Watched the videos, have an OHM meter, cotton and cutting tools so I feel confident I can do it.

Two questions

1.) What type of wire do I need - can someone tell me exactly what I should order. It seems that there are so many opinions. I vape .5 at around 20-22 watts and was using the SSOCC nc ss. Have tried the claptons and I like them too. I think I like NC and Clapton the best. I do not use temp control just wattage. Want something considered safe and possibly a recommended place to order from.

2.) My OHM meter is really just the small square battery operated one. I have tested them on the coils I buy and they appear to be accurate. Just want to be sure that this is an OK setup or do I need a better tester?

I think claptons will be a bit much for your tank.
As said elsewhere, 26ga should work the best. I use to use 28ga in mine now and then but kept getting read errors.
Kanthal a1 is fine, nc will be fine also if you like it. I ended up with mostly SS 316L.

You might want to also try rayon instead of cotton. Just a suggestion, not a requirement.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[chellie]

I recommend 26g for the STM rba, any thinner it won't trap easily without wrapping it around the screw head.
Of course an assortment of wire is good to have. You could twist 2 strands of 28 or 30g.
I usually do 26g, 7 wraps on 3mm or 2.5mm, .8-1ohm

Super helpful --took me a minute to figure out STM ----thanks. I am going to try the Kanthal a1 at 26. No twisting yet.

Never heard about Rayon - all I hear is the Japanese Organic Cotton. I found a link but it does not work https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/r...ck-better-flow-flavor-saturation-nic-hit.html

Is Rayon better - why? Safe?

 

[SupplyDaddy]

https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/posts/20275669/ This will give you some info for Rayon.

Most times I would rather use rayon. I find it cleaner tasting, more forgiving with wicking errors, can be stuffed in the coil and still wick great. Read, see what you think.

 

[halbgott]

When you're comfortable after a few tries youtube using that rba for a vertical coil. Getting the cotton right can be a pain but it's pretty good on flavor.

 

[zoiDman]

...

Is Rayon better - why? Safe?

I have done a lot of Side-by-Side tests of Rayon vs Cotton Pad Cotton. For Me, and the way I vape, I don't see a Huge difference in the two.

Perhaps I would give a Slight Edge to Rayon all the way around. But it Isn't Nearly as easy to build with as Cotton Pads.

So for a 1st Time Builder, I would recommend going with Cotton Pads. Then when you get Everything all dialed In, and you have Building down pat, give Rayon a try.

And yes, I would suggest starting with a 26ga Wire to start with also.

---

Here are 2 Tips for building the SubTank/TopTank Mini that you might find useful.

One... Check the Ohms after you mount your Coil. But also check it after you put the Top Cover on the RBA Barrel. Once in awhile you coil could get mounted Too High on the Deck. And will touch the Top Cover. Better to know about this Before you put everything together and Fill it with e-Liquid.

Two... On a New Build, only fill the Tank about 1/3 full. That way if you need to Open things up and adjust you Wick, it isn't a Colossal Sticky Overflowing Mess because the Tank is full. If the Tank is only 1/3 Full, pulling out the Base/RBA Section isn't a Big deal.

After you know that a New Build is hitting the way you want to, you can go ahead and Fill the tank to the top.

 

[Beamslider]

26 or 27 or 28 gauge Stainless for that ohm range at 2.5 mm core

24 gauge Kanthal for that range

 

[Letitia]

You are going to love the flavor you get with rba head in STM.

 

[zoiDman]

You are going to love the flavor you get with rba head in STM.

And the Freedom of never having to buy Coil Heads again!

 

[chellie]

You are going to love the flavor you get with rba head in STM.

Yeah - I am so technical minded so I do not know what the heck took me so long. And somehow I thought the mini was so much bigger than the nano but it is not. The kit I ordered did not include the RBA so I ordered it. Can't wait.

 

[chellie]

And the Freedom of never having to buy Coil Heads again!

I know. I started vaping for health reasons and also for financial reasons since it was getting soooo expensive and now I will even save on not buying coil heads. Woo hoo.

 

[chellie]

I have done a lot of Side-by-Side tests of Rayon vs Cotton Pad Cotton. For Me, and the way I vape, I don't see a Huge difference in the two.

Perhaps I would give a Slight Edge to Rayon all the way around. But it Isn't Nearly as easy to build with as Cotton Pads.

So for a 1st Time Builder, I would recommend going with Cotton Pads. Then when you get Everything all dialed In, and you have Building down pat, give Rayon a try.

And yes, I would suggest starting with a 26ga Wire to start with also.

---

Here are 2 Tips for building the SubTank/TopTank Mini that you might find useful.

One... Check the Ohms after you mount your Coil. But also check it after you put the Top Cover on the RBA Barrel. Once in awhile you coil could get mounted Too High on the Deck. And will touch the Top Cover. Better to know about this Before you put everything together and Fill it with e-Liquid.

Two... On a New Build, only fill the Tank about 1/3 full. That way if you need to Open things up and adjust you Wick, it isn't a Colossal Sticky Overflowing Mess because the Tank is full. If the Tank is only 1/3 Full, pulling out the Base/RBA Section isn't a Big deal.

After you know that a New Build is hitting the way you want to, you can go ahead and Fill the tank to the top.

Keeping this to go by once once the RBA and wire arrives.

 

[zoiDman]

Keeping this to go by once once the RBA and wire arrives.

I think you will find that Building your own coils is actually Easier than it sounds. And once you do a Couple of builds, and get all you Tools together in one place (I like to keep mine in an Old Cigar Box) that you can Crank Out a build in No Time.

 

[chellie]

Thanks all

26 or 27 or 28 gauge Stainless for that ohm range at 2.5 mm core

24 gauge Kanthal for that range

I know everyone has different opinions and I value all of them. I was going to go with Kanthal A1 26g which seems to be what many recommend and I see that you recommend 24 in Kanthal with 2.5 core. Why do you recommend 24 vs 26?

 

[Beamslider]

26 awg is alright and workable but I prefer the 24 guage.

You indicated that you like .5 ohm around 20-22 W for vaping. The wire is thicker and stiffer so it holds up longer for me and is easy to burn off and rewick without messing up the coil.

24 AWG Kanthal A1 2.5 mm core gets right to 4.8 to.5 ohms and your stated preferred wattage range with 6 wraps and vapes around 20+ watts.

26 AWG Kanthal A1 2.5 mm core gets to .5 ohm at 4 wraps. But the vape range isn't anywhere near 20 watts more like 10 to 12 W.

The deck on the RBA is small but 6 wraps will fit in it. 3 mm core is too large for the deck and will spit juice or that is my experience. 2.5 mm core is what Kanger ships it with and seems to work best. Some claim that 2 mm is better because the flavor is stronger, I tried that but too hard to wick and didn't notice any real flavor improvement.

I have used both and both work fine. Wire is cheap, try both see which you like best. Around $5 for 100 feet, enough to make a couple hundred coils.

 

[chellie]

26 awg is alright and workable but I prefer the 24 guage.

You indicated that you like .5 ohm around 20-22 W for vaping. The wire is thicker and stiffer so it holds up longer for me and is easy to burn off and rewick without messing up the coil.

24 AWG Kanthal A1 2.5 mm core gets right to 4.8 to.5 ohms and your stated preferred wattage range with 6 wraps and vapes around 20+ watts.

26 AWG Kanthal A1 2.5 mm core gets to .5 ohm at 4 wraps. But the vape range isn't anywhere near 20 watts more like 10 to 12 W.

The deck on the RBA is small but 6 wraps will fit in it. 3 mm core is too large for the deck and will spit juice or that is my experience. 2.5 mm core is what Kanger ships it with and seems to work best. Some claim that 2 mm is better because the flavor is stronger, I tried that but too hard to wick and didn't notice any real flavor improvement.

I have used both and both work fine. Wire is cheap, try both see which you like best. Around $5 for 100 feet, enough to make a couple hundred coils.

Many thanks ...... SUPER informative. I will order both. Just fired it up with the SS coil to test it out. I know I will be happy with it.