Spring material in mech mod switch

[KenD]

Does the material of the switch spring matter in a mech mod. I mean, the actual connection is made through the pin and the spring is just a spring, or am I wrong. I'm asking because I just got some 24 AWG kanthal that I realized is too thick to build functional coils of and thought I could instead use it to make an assortment of springs. Just worried that the resistance might increase the voltage drop, or something. If the spring material matters, what should I be using when making springs?

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[Richard75]

Does the material of the switch spring matter in a mech mod. I mean, the actual connection is made through the pin and the spring is just a spring, or am I wrong. I'm asking because I just got some 24 AWG kanthal that I realized is too thick to build functional coils of and thought I could instead use it to make an assortment of springs. Just worried that the resistance might increase the voltage drop, or something. If the spring material matters, what should I be using when making springs?

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Making a spring out of Kanthal is totally possible, but a big no no! The spring on most mechs technically connects the button itself to the body of the mod, so it is part of the circuit. If you stick a Kanthal spring in there, electricity is going to flow through it... and heat it up just like it would on your atomizer.

If you want to make a spring, stick with brass, copper, or steel.

 

[SpookyDriver]

Not every metal is suitable for spring material. Kanthal would likely deform under compression and not last very long in a spring application. Plus, it's resistance wire.

But in regards to function, the spring isn't a big part of the equation. Many of us use magnets instead, after all.

 

[KenD]

Yeah, I was thinking that it probably wasn't a good idea. Just noticed that the 24 AWG is nice and springy, and pretty much unusable as coil material. Guess I have to find yet another use for the 10m of it that I have

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[Blind Squirrel]

What about crimping it? A zigzagging piece that goes from one post to the other on a cotton bed may do the trick. Never tried it, just speculating on the 24 gauge.

 

[UncleChuck]

Have you been torching it before using? That will take a decent amount of the springiness out of it.

All torching isn't created equal too. What you want is a long, slow cool down of the wire to make it as soft as possible. Starting at one end with a proper torch, very slowly "drag" the glowing portion down the length of the wire. Slow enough it takes a full minute or so to torch your wire.

With thinner stuff how you torch isn't quite as important, but with stuff as thick as 24 it greatly benefits from a long slow torching. Takes a huge part of the spring away.

Although I'd still be a bit worried about using 24g simply due to how low the resistance would be.

 

[KenD]

I torch everything (mostly kanthal, not everything else in my vicinity). I pretty much only do micro coils, and I thought that 24 awg would let me do more wraps at the ohms I'm aiming for. No lower than 0.8, but I still wanted to do 9/8 wraps. I'll be sticking to 26 and 28 awg from now on (perhaps use the 24 for the next generation tin foil hat I've been working on).

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