Re-buildable advice wanted

[snork]

I am so glad you started this thread. I have never owned a rebuildable. I really want to pull the trigger on a strata for my P+18350. I just wonder how it would compare to a Empire mods 1.5 atty in flavor and performance. It seems to me that it's all about the right wire and wicking material.
I am still torn on what to do.

I am not a rebuildable guru. Far from it. I started with Odysseus and Penelope and learned on those, and only within limited parameters. For the longest time I made 1.5 ohm coils with 32 gauge wire on 2 or 3mm silica wick. I transferred that exact setup to any other rebuildable I tried subsequently and it works very well. There really is no need to be torn. A rebuildable coil can be as simple or as complex as you like but *still* outperform most other premade atomizers (most), especially in terms of longevity, maintenanance and cost.
I have branched out into different gauges of wire but still shoot for a 1.5 ohm-ish single coil on silica. I'm happy.
The hardest part for me is finding a rebuildable with characteristics I like. Like physically. They all seem to be able to vape great, but some leak, some are too fiddly, the draw may not be to my liking, etc. 99% of the time I vape with my Mark-T Infinity; it suits me best so far. But at least I've come to the realization that the *coil* part is a piece of cake.

Edit: The Infinity and the Spheroid. The Spheroid to me is basically like my Infinity with more juice capacity.

 

[Riverboat]

You might realize that once you start rebuilding, you won't find the need for a Kick anymore. One thing that might help us out in helping you out is what wattage you currently vape at. Knowing that will help us narrow down where you should start.
And don't worry, we have a lot of experienced builders here that will help you out along the way.

No Kick...? I don't know about that, I really like the consistent vape that a regulated mod delivers.... On the plus side removing the Kick would shorten things up..... I vape @ 11-12 watts

 

[palmbay18650]

(they both blow chunks IMO).

Is that a good thing or a bad thing ?

 

[pAth77]

Assuming 3.7V, you would hit 12watts with a 1.1Ω coil. For the sake of my calculations, I'll base it on 1.0Ω. Also, my calculations do not take into account the legs of your coil, which will generally add between 0.1-0.2Ω depending on how long your legs are and what gauge of wire you are using. You will need the following lengths of wire:

• 26g (0.275 Ω/in): 4 inches ≈ 1.0Ω
• 28g (0.439 Ω/in): 2.5 inches ≈1.0Ω
• 30g (0.696 Ω/in): 1.6 inches ≈1.0Ω

If you were to wrap your wire around a 3/32" drill bit (or nail, etc.), you would need the following number of coils:

• 26g (4.0 inches): 12 wraps - approximate resistance w/o legs ≈ 1.04Ω
• 28g (2.5 inches): 8 wraps - approximate resistance w/o legs ≈ 1.10Ω
• 30g (1.6 inches): 5 wraps - approximate resistance w/o legs ≈ 1.09Ω

The larger the diameter of your coil, the fewer wraps you will need (and vice versa). I try to avoid using excessively long lengths of wire because I don't like to wait too long for my coil to heat up. So with that in mind, I would suggest you start with 28g because thicker gauge wire is always easier to work with. People say that the increased coil surface area that is in contact with the wick results in better performance. I haven't really noticed that too much, but I can understand the logic of their argument.

I understand why people use regulated mods, and I was using a Kick for the longest time until I started rebuilding.
While the power output on an unregulated mod will diminish as your battery drains, it's not quite as noticeable unless you run way past 3.5V. Once you get used to it, you will have a sixth sense of when you should be swapping out your batteries. I pretty much know when my battery is around 3.5-3.6V, but I'll be honest, I have had to toss out more than a few batteries because I vaped them completely dry I generally vape at around 0.8Ω, and the performance is pretty consistent through the span of the battery.

 

[Riverboat]

I generally vape at around 0.8Ω, and the performance is pretty consistent through the span of the battery.

I have some 0.8 ohm coils ready to go..............will try them out and see if I can stand the heat
Stay tuned as I will have more questions once my Strata arrives.....Thanks

 

[snork]

Is that a good thing or a bad thing ?

Sorry, probably an unfamiliar slang term.
Blow chunks = hurl, projectile vomiting.

 

[mitchob123]

Very cool, and potentially very useful! Only problem is I can't get it to work. I have tied in Google docs and downloaded it as an excel file and opened it in excel. I am able to change the variables of wire type, gauge, etc, but it does not give me a calculated resistance. Could be something i am doing wrong? Educate me!

idk man, it works fine for me in google docs, it does say #VALUE at first but when i change a parameter it calculates. I have found it to be very accurate

 

[Barefoot Joe]

idk man, it works fine for me in google docs, it does say #VALUE at first but when i change a parameter it calculates. I have found it to be very accurate

Hmmm....it's working for me now. Very cool tool!

 

[OnTheFidele]

Simplest way to build consistent non-regulated setups I can imagine (with practical success):

1. Buy pre-made Kanthal R-NR wires at 1.8 ohms.
2. Wrap 2 wires around 2 2mm silica wicks each (4 2mm silica wicks total).
3. Install these 2 wick/coils:
3a) In opposite positions for RBAs with 2 opposing air holes
3b) One on top of the other for RBAs with 1 air hole

Takes me about 2-5 minutes after a bare minimum of practice.
Provides a solid vape, even down to 3.2 volts (very long pulls).

 

[Barefoot Joe]

Personally, I wouldn't run a dual micro coil on an 18350 battery, unless you were above 1.0 ohm. In order to get that high you would need to build two 2.0 ohm coils, and you would probably need 32g. You could use lower gauges, but you would need to use a crapload of wire....and you would get a significant amount if lag time. Plus, building a micro using thin wire is not easy to do cleanly. If I were you, I would stick to a single coil when using an 18350.

I'm starting to get it! 2 coils is do-able on a 3.7 volt mechanical mod, but would require lots of length of a thinner (higher gauge) wire in order to end up with a decent resistance, since the resistance is cut in half with 2 coils. That equals more/too much lag time for the coils to "light up". I'm just repeating what you said to be sure I have it right.

So, dual coils are more suited to higher or variable voltage mods?

 

[pAth77]

I'm starting to get it! 2 coils is do-able on a 3.7 volt mechanical mod, but would require lots of length of a thinner (higher gauge) wire in order to end up with a decent resistance, since the resistance is cut in half with 2 coils. That equals more/too much lag time for the coils to "light up". I'm just repeating what you said to be sure I have it right.

So, dual coils are more suited to higher or variable voltage mods?

Yes and no. The main reason why I advise you not to run sub 1Ω dual coils is because of the amount of current a setup like that pulls from the battery. If I remember correctly, an AW 18350 has a max continuous output of 6amps. A while back, David ran some tests with a continuous 10amp load on the 18350, and there were no ill effects. However, I still advise people to keep it in the safer ranges (manufacturer's battery specs) until they are more experienced in building. If you want to run sub 1Ω coils (whether it be single, dual, quad, etc.), you should really be using a battery that is capable of handling that those types of loads. 18350's are safe to run all the way down to 0.8Ω, but I just rounded it up to make things easy.

I've seen a bunch of charts around here that show the various batteries and the types of coils that they can safely handle. I'll try to find one for you.

Rebuilding is loads of fun, but remember......Safety First!

 

[Barefoot Joe]

"18350's are safe to run all the way down to 0.8Ω"

Very good to know. I will shoot to build, then test my coils for, around 1 ohm. Thanks again!