TC for me, and not going back.

[kbeam418]

Wish I hadn't waited so long to use TC. My builds were always with kanthal and wattage mode and was fine with that. Since getting SS wire and building (still using wattage mode) I was getting the same type of vape with my kanthal. My problem is I like long pulls and my builds get hot pretty quick and not always enjoyable, and as a result, I didn't build much and used stock coils that preformed better than my builds. Picked up another Pico this week and decided to use it instead of putting it away and put my build in TC mode and boom... loving it!

The consistency of the vape is awesome and I pull as long as I like and get great flavor every time. My builds last longer too and I don't seem to be rewicking as often as I did in wattage mode. I still like stock coils time to time, but I think my building is going to strictly be SS in TC mode for the most part.

Using a Pico with a Toptank mini rba, SS 316L 28g, 8wraps spaced, and 2.5mm diameter with TC set to 370 and 12watts. I can't put the darn thing down.

That's my experience anyway.

Same thing for me, I use a KF5 with a therion 166 and love it. I use 26 awg ss304 set to 430. Btw the Evolv boards are THE best for temp control, you'll enjoy tc much more if you a get a dna device.

 

[Bonskibon]

Same thing for me, I use a KF5 with a therion 166 and love it. I use 26 awg ss304 set to 430. Btw the Evolv boards are THE best for temp control, you'll enjoy tc much more if you a get a dna device.

I may end up getting a DNA device, but the Pico has been working just fine for me. I'm a simple kind of gal with simple kind of builds. Nothing fancy at this point for me and my tootle puffin ways. [emoji16]

 

[SteveS45]

Sometimes the simplest way achieves the desired result without a lot of extra work. Doesn't matter if you use a white board and spend hours figuring out the formula or 2 minutes with Steam Engine as long as it is a safe build that gives you the desired vape~!

 

[Alter]

as long as it is a safe build that gives you the desired vape

Thats the key phrase. Lots don't consider that low build could be dangerous. Some of the SS coils I built come out to less than .2ohm and that scares me a bit. Being new to stainless builds there still is a lot I have to learn and starting out with ultra low ohm builds isn't how I want to learn. Its a whole new learning curve for me that takes some time and effort to figure out and properly execute......the rewards from education and I'll have a superb vape quality experience.

 

[Foggy Road]

Um no, going to subohm is going to a different style of vaping typically. It's not "graduating" at all. It's more like "lookie.. big clouds.... weeeee" lol

Actually, I think going TC with the ability to "pull" forever added a lot more cloudage than going from 1.3 to .99 ever did.

 

[Foggy Road]

I keep at least four rta's in rotation and I can change a Kanthal build in five minutes to my liking with tc builds it is a big production. Not worth the effort for me.

Funny how some folks can take the simplest things and turn them into major endeavors. Except for being lower ohms there is no difference between building with SS than my Kanthal builds. I didn't originally switch to SS for TC purposes. I tried SS in order to squeeze lower ohms into my 4 tiny CLR heads and 1 Subtank mini RBA head in rotation and still have more than 2 wraps of wire. Since I was using TC compliant wire decided to give it go. To each their own.

 

[Bonskibon]

My biggest misunderstanding building with wire was resistance. I would build according to the resistance I liked instead of the power I liked to vape at not realizing that resistance wasn't really important on a regulated device. It was through following and participating on another thread that I was taught and it opened new doors for me. Now I build according to the power settings I like to use and don't really pay attention to resistance much.

The only time resistance matters is with an unregulated device where the resistance will dictate how much power the battery pushes.

 

[David Wolf]

My biggest misunderstanding building with wire was resistance. I would build according to the resistance I liked instead of the power I liked to vape at not realizing that resistance wasn't really important on a regulated device. It was through following and participating on another thread that I was taught and it opened new doors for me. Now I build according to the power settings I like to use and don't really pay attention to resistance much.

The only time resistance matters is with an unregulated device where the resistance will dictate how much power the battery pushes.

I agree with most of your post, however I do think that resistance matters, its part of the power equation, even if you don't look at it, haha. Resistance, voltage, wire diameter, number of wraps, all are a factor in the heat flux (mW/mm²) which is a very important parameter.

 

[Bonskibon]

I agree with most of your post, however I do think that resistance matters, its part of the power equation, even if you don't look at it, haha. Resistance, voltage, wire diameter, number of wraps, all are a factor in the heat flux (mW/mm²) which is a very important parameter.

Your right. I certainly don't understand it all. Trying to work it out in my head makes it hurt..lol.. I do use the heat flux in my settings when building. If not for Steam Engine I would be lost.

 

[David Wolf]

Your right. I certainly don't understand it all. Trying to work it out in my head makes it hurt..lol.. I do use the heat flux in my settings when building. If not for Steam Engine I would be lost.

Well truth be known, even this electrical/control systems engineer uses Steam Engine, lol!

 

[GeorgeS]

I generally take three variables into account: surface area (wick coverage), heat flux and resistance.

Most TC devices have a upper limit on resistance. The mod and TCR of the wire help define the lower resistance limit. Case in point:

0.1 Ohm SS304 coil at room temperature will be 0.11917 ohms at 392F while a

0.5 Ohm SS304 coil at room temperature will be 0.59585 ohms at 392F a difference of 0.07668 ohms at vaping temperature.

 

[DaveP]

Your right. I certainly don't understand it all. Trying to work it out in my head makes it hurt..lol.. I do use the heat flux in my settings when building. If not for Steam Engine I would be lost.

Heat flux is the key to a good coil. The right gauge wire for the temp and wattage creates a good vape. Steam Engine heat flux numbers reveal that easily. Keep it the green or the edge of yellow and it's good.

 

[DaveP]

Funny how some folks can take the simplest things and turn them into major endeavors. Except for being lower ohms there is no difference between building with SS than my Kanthal builds. I didn't originally switch to SS for TC purposes. I tried SS in order to squeeze lower ohms into my 4 tiny CLR heads and 1 Subtank mini RBA head in rotation and still have more than 2 wraps of wire. Since I was using TC compliant wire decided to give it go. To each their own.

Simple is best as long as it works to provide a good vape. I do it the easy way, too. 8 wraps on a 2mm mandrel gives me a good vape on Kanthal or SS316. With 28ga Kanthal it's 1.6 ohms for power mode. With 28ga SS316 it's .8 ohms for TC. Both have the same contact area and the vape is equally good on both.

 

[Bonskibon]

Heat flux is the key to a good coil. The right gauge wire for the temp and wattage creates a good vape. Steam Engine heat flux numbers reveal that easily.

Took me quite a few failed attempts to finally figure that out. To me the heat flux is the most important for my building.

 

[Bonskibon]

Simple is best as long as it works to provide a good vape. I do it the easy way, too. 8 wraps on a 2mm mandrel gives me a good vape on Kanthal or SS316. With 28ga Kanthal it's 1.6 ohms for power mode. With 28ga SS316 it's .8 ohms for TC. Both have the same contact area and the vape is equally good on both.

That's my build as well.

 

[Mowgli]

Your right. I certainly don't understand it all. Trying to work it out in my head makes it hurt..lol.. I do use the heat flux in my settings when building. If not for Steam Engine I would be lost.

Click "How It Works" at the lower left of each SE page to get more detailed info.
Some of the features on the page pop up an info box when you "mouse over" them too.

 

[tazzle]

When I make a kanthal coil with 28g, 8 wraps I get about 1.5 ohms... building with SS 28g, 8 wraps I get .8 ohms. I get the exact same vape from both even though the resistance is not the same. I keep my mod settings the same for both wires. The only time it would vape different is if I was using an unregulated mod where the resistance would be dictating the power.

Thanks for that comment, Bonskibon! I'm going to try that. I was trying to make at least a 1+ ohm coil with my 28g SS, and it took so many wraps, it was a huge pain (and I'm building on small decks, so space is tight).

 

[Bonskibon]

Thanks for that comment, Bonskibon! I'm going to try that. I was trying to make at least a 1+ ohm coil with my 28g SS, and it took so many wraps, it was a huge pain (and I'm building on small decks, so space is tight).

I am using the Toptank RBA which is pretty small too and have had no issues using that build. It's spaced too.

 

[DingerCPA]

Me too. Right now only my Pico's do SS. Have other TC mods, but no option for SS. Was thinking maybe figuring out how to use Ti mode with SS by fudging some numbers or something.

deleted - misread your quote.

What other mods? You can use TCR and set your own to replicate SS TC

 

[Bonskibon]

deleted - misread your quote.

What other mods? You can use TCR and set your own to replicate SS TC

I don't understand all that yet. All my other mods that have TC, don't have the SS option except my Picos. This is still new ground I'm breaking and I'm sure I will be researching more and more about TC.