Safe to build a non-subohm coil with Steam-Engine's data?

[DeliciousClouds]

I know, I know, I need an Ohm-meter to check my coils to be sure of their resistance. But, my Kanthal, Igo-L and cotton will be arriving tomorrow, while my Ohm meter will probably take a few weeks more (fasttech was my non-overpriced option). So, I wonder.. If I punch in all the relevant data (Kanthal type & gauge, length of the coil 'feet', etc) into Steam-Engine, will the desired resistance reflect the actual result with any degree of accuracy? Nothing fancy, just want to try making a few coils in the 1.5-2.5 Ohm range.

I have a battery that can check for shorts and won't fire coils below 1 Ohm. I'm also not planning on getting into the sub-Ohm business anytime soon, if ever. So it should be relatively safe, right?

Riiiight?

 

[Singaw]

First you really should know the ohms of the coil before you vape it but then I get from your comment that you already know that. I have played with the steam-engine coil calculator in the past and it is probably about as accurate as an ohm meter from Fasttech, meaning close but not dead on. I would say 'yes' you a relatively safer than somebody just guessing the ohms. Don't you have a regulated mod to check the ohms or at least a friend with one? A multimeter would be useful too and I think almost everyone has one in a box somewhere.

 

[anumber1]

Even Walmart sells a $10 multimeter. That will suffice for checking a coil AND checking various other things like battery levels and so forth.

 

[DeliciousClouds]

First you really should know the ohms of the coil before you vape it but then I get from your comment that you already know that. I have played with the steam-engine coil calculator in the past and it is probably about as accurate as an ohm meter from Fasttech, meaning close but not dead on. I would say 'yes' you a relatively safer than somebody just guessing the ohms. Don't you have a regulated mod to check the ohms or at least a friend with one? A multimeter would be useful too and I think almost everyone has one in a box somewhere.

Nope, I only have a few VV batteries so far (Spinner II's). No multimeter either but I think my neighbor does. I'll ask him tomorrow. And thanks for the comparison information.

 

[danca90]

Even Walmart sells a $10 multimeter. That will suffice for checking a coil AND checking various other things like battery levels and so forth.

No walmart in the Netherlands. I got mine at Lidl. But, I don't know if lidl is in the Netherlands either.

 

[DeliciousClouds]

No walmart in the Netherlands. I got mine at Lidl. But, I don't know if lidl is in the Netherlands either.

We do! Lots of tasty products for little money. But I think most electronics are offered on a temporary basis, including something like a multimeter. But I can always pick one up at a local or online utility store.

 

[K_Tech]

On paper, you should be okay, but I'd be hesitant to give you a personal green light because people make mistakes and equipment sometimes fails.

But to answer your question about the Steam Engine, although I use a different calculator (The "Vaper's Toolbox" app on Android) I've found that I am usually within a tenth of an ohm from my calculated resistance if everything goes right.

And as comfortable as I have become wrapping coils, I still check my resistance. But then again, I'm a technician and a geek, so I test everything.

 

[p7willm]

Of course it is up to you but I would not use a coil I built before testing the resistance. Steam engine is just a calculator that figures out how long a piece of wire will be and then calculates te resistance based on that information. It does not take into account anything that might go wrong, like problems with your atty, problems with how you put the coil in, mistakes you might make in building the coil, etc.

If everything is fine then it will come fairly close to the actual resistance of a coil, but I would always check before sticking it in my face.

I know it is hard not to use the new toy. Things will probably be just fine. You are not trying to build .3 with the danger of a .2, even if you are off by 50% it will be over 1 ohm. I just would not do it.

 

[danca90]

The spinner shouldn't fire if it's too low. I give it a green light.

 

[me5647]

Steam Engine always works out to be pretty close for me. I always use nichrome (its what I have), it has a slightly different resistance per length, so my number of wraps are different from builds that I see posted with kanthal. So generally when I'm trying out a new build I'll use Steam Engine to get an estimate of how many wraps I need. It almost always comes out within .1-.2 ohms of what I expected.

It seems to me the biggest source of error when using Steam Engine is the inner diameter of the coil, ie you make a 7/6 wrap of 30ga A1 around a 2mm screwdriver, which theoretically gives you around 1.5ohm. However the wire is going to spring back, opening the inner diameter by say ~.3-.5mm. This gives you an actual ID of 2.3-2.5mm and changes the resistance of your 7/6 wrap to 1.6-1.7ohm.

At least this puts you on the 'safe' side. There are obviously many other sources of error as well, how close to the ideal .255mm dia is your 30ga?, are you using the default leg length?, in my experience the leg length varies greatly between rbas and builds.

Also keep in mind that if you are planning on running duals it could compound errors in the calculations (duals at >1.5ohm with any reasonable size wire, 32 and lower, take forever to heat up and are a waste of time IMO).

I absolutely recommend that you get an ohm meter and check your build.

I have a battery that can check for shorts and won't fire coils below 1 Ohm.

I have zero experience with spinners but if this is true and it were me, I'd shoot for 2.0, look for shorts (the coil must not touch anything), and then look again.. and have at it.

 

[TheRac25]

i believe the real danger here, if not venturing into subsub-ohms is making a short, seems like you have something that can detect a short so id say go for it

 

[bulldog63h]

I'd say if the spinner fires it without issue, you're good to go. Just be careful. A short on a mech is not something I'd like to experience.

 

[DeliciousClouds]

And so I've made my first few coils today in the Igo-L. It sure is fiddly having to wrap the coil legs around the screws, my next one will definitely have holes in them. But so far so good, flavor is nice and I'm blowing big clouds!

 

[Singaw]

Personally I don't wrap the coil legs round the screws. I keep the coil on whatever I happen to wrap the coil to maintain it's shape and then just trap the coil legs under the screws. I also use quite a few RDA's with holes in the post which does make some things like multiple coils easier but I have also cut a lot of coil legs off by tightening the screws too much. Whichever system you use it will always have it's own set of troubles but with practice you will get better every time. Congrats on your progress so far and welcome to RDA's.

 

[DeliciousClouds]

Personally I don't wrap the coil legs round the screws. I keep the coil on whatever I happen to wrap the coil to maintain it's shape and then just trap the coil legs under the screws. I also use quite a few RDA's with holes in the post which does make some things like multiple coils easier but I have also cut a lot of coil legs off by tightening the screws too much. Whichever system you use it will always have it's own set of troubles but with practice you will get better every time. Congrats on your progress so far and welcome to RDA's.

Thanks man, I'll try trapping the legs on my next build. On my current one I've already noticed that about half a wrap is enough, and definitely easier. Will probably need a building stand at some point, because building on a tall battery isn't ideal, but resting the atomizer on its thread even less so. But for as long as my current build keeps working I'll hold out until I get the Ohm-meter. It's just safer in the end.

 

[Singaw]

You can make a simple stand to build on with a small block of wood and hole just big enough that the 510 fits a little tight. I don't think wood could damage the thread but just in case I wouldn't want it to be too tight. Just tight enough that it won't spin freely seems to work good for me and if the hole becomes too loose I just drill another. The ohmmeter you have on order will also make a great building stand when it finally arrives.

Note: for reference the drill bit I use is 17/64.