Resistance-No Resistance wire welder

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turnforward

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The multimeter is draining the cap I would surmise...

It ended up being the Diode. I got another Cap and pack of Diodes from Radio Shack, started with the Cap and it still drained, and when I removed the Diode and tested it it was opened both ways. It must got damaged when I soldered it.

I made a couple of coils with it, one for my Steam Machine and one for one of my Euphoria's. I made the resistance wires a little longer. since now I would have more room for the coils with out those KNOTS on the end. I was surprised that I got lower resistance with a longer coil, I guess the twisting adds a few more OMS. I love it, especially when I check the oms and they stay the same as when I first checked it. I am a HAPPY CAMPER now.

Is 35 volts perfect for all joins? My board can go up to 37 volts. Has anyone played with the volts with this thing? What is your experience?
 

Firestorm

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Awesome - so glad to hear that you figured out the problem and that you love it too! A welded wire is so much easier to wrap and stuff in a ceramic than one with knots (although I did learn to make really tight joins).

I've left mine at 35v. I pretty much weld 32awg Kanthal and nickel and Kanthal ribbon (.5mm x .1mm). I've also gotten really good at welding on the fly if my wire breaks after winding it by attaching my clips and re-welding it on the spot.
 

dsy5

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Strange?! I increase the volts running the LM board's pot Counter-Clock wise.

Your pot posts were installed reverse. I have had that happen on some boards.

Yup, really not that strange at all - if the pot has inline pins this can happen quite easily. Some pots have a triangular pin pattern and if the board is designed properly, will work as expected.
 

turnforward

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Well, Same thing happened to me again. Just like the first time with the first Cap and Diode, the next day the Cap started loosing its charge fast. That's when I got another cap and diode, replaced the cap and it discharged fast, then installed new diode and it held its charge. Good thing I made three coils, that night, to keep me going.

Now then the next day I wanted to practice my joins and experiment with other size wire, and I now have the same problems as I did last time. The Cap looses it's charge fast (with or without the m meter hooked up). I get a good spark after 1 second of the release of the button, 2 to 3 seconds I get a medium spark, 4 to 5 seconds I might get a tiny spark or none at all.

Shouldn't Caps hold a charge for a long time? I know that it is the diode that went bad, just as it did the last time. I guess I'll take it to this electronics business in town (this guy has A LOT of new and used electronic parts, and seems like a tech or a hobbyist). Maybe he can suggest a heavy duty Diode or something.
 

turnforward

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That store I talked about was closed when I got there. So I went to another electronic supply store, the guy at the counter didn't understand what I was trying to do. So I asked for a more powerful diode and ended up buying two 1N4004B Diodes.

These are at least twice the size of the one called for here. These are 400V 1A instead of 100V 1A as stated in the instructions. I installed it, and it has never worked so well. It's still going strong.
 

Scope666

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That store I talked about was closed when I got there. So I went to another electronic supply store, the guy at the counter didn't understand what I was trying to do. So I asked for a more powerful diode and ended up buying two 1N4004B Diodes.

These are at least twice the size of the one called for here. These are 400V 1A instead of 100V 1A as stated in the instructions. I installed it, and it has never worked so well. It's still going strong.


I've got mine built up, just waiting for the LM2577 to arrive. I even used the 1N4004 diode on your advice. Can't wait to finish it and test it out! :)
 

Scope666

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Which kind of Atty('s) are you gonna build with these?


Mainly my Hercules (Ithaka clone), Oddy clone and a JUK23 (ebaron clone) ... but also want to play around with NR - R - NR for things like my wife's clearos (Kanger T2's) as well as Protank heads. I find the resistance wire is rough on the little rubber insulators because it gets hot. If you take apart a stock T2 or Protank head they actually use NR - R - NR setups.
 

turnforward

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My best buddy recoils his Kanger EVODS and was complaining about an occasional rubbery taste. After I put together my welder, I suggested he use nr wire also. He said it stopped giving him the rubbery taste, probably because he has rebuilt his 10 EVOD heads dozens of times.
I have an Oddy clone, Steam Machine and two Penelope (Euphoria) clone. I could never get the Oddy clone to taste as good as the Steam Machine, plus it is to bulky and has a cool vape. I use my two Euphoria's all the time now. And with the welded wires it is so easy to set-up now, and you don't have to worry about the KNOTS chocking the wick. I like having my first and last wrap the N/R wire, from .5 to 1 wrap, it keeps the coil from getting pulled while installing.
Don't get to crazy when you get your welder working. If you prepare enough wire to last you months, that means it will be months before you need to use the welder again.
 
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