Temp control question

[Beamslider]

I use TC almost exclusively and have not had good experience with it on anything other than the following, not that I have tried everything out there.

Joyetech chipsets with Arctic fox firmware. Works alright but not perfect. Don't think the joytech at least the older chips read the resistance accurately enough.

Any DNA chipset device I have used works great with TC. The 75C and up chipset is better because you can change settings easily from the mod.

The Homhtech mods work great with TC as well but are no longer made. Though you can still find some cheap.

Only low end, cheap mods in the line but the vaporesso Swag and the Battlestar mini just don't work well in TC.

Premade coils for the most part never worked well for me. Spaced coils seem to be the only thing that work consistently.

 

[Coastal Cowboy]

Only low end, cheap mods in the line but the Vaporesso Swag and the Battlestar mini just don't work well in TC.

No experience with the Swag, but the Battlestar Mini was a disappointment. The full size Battlestar 200 is a solid TC performer. So is the Charon. Smoant lost their way with the Mini.

 

[ilporcupine]

I use TC almost exclusively and have not had good experience with it on anything other than the following, not that I have tried everything out there.

Joyetech chipsets with Arctic fox firmware. Works alright but not perfect. Don't think the joytech at least the older chips read the resistance accurately enough.

Any DNA chipset device I have used works great with TC. The 75C and up chipset is better because you can change settings easily from the mod.

The Homhtech mods work great with TC as well but are no longer made. Though you can still find some cheap.

Only low end, cheap mods in the line but the Vaporesso Swag and the Battlestar mini just don't work well in TC.

What happens with an 'inferior' TC mod? What symptoms are there? What does the user experience if the TC is not 'the best'?

 

[ilporcupine]

Those are Kanthal coils if I'm not mistaken, no shot at TC (except if you have a hohmtech or dicodes mod).
What mod are you using? That's usually more important than the tank you put on top (well that and the coil material). Some mods won't do good TC and with those I wouldn't recommend trying it, it would only deter you from ever using it.

Can you explain, please what that negative experience was like? I don't want to buy a crappy one just to satisfy my curious nature. I have a Pico, though I haven't gotten any SS wire yet. What is it like vaping a unit which does TC poorly, as opposed to one which you like? Read reams of background, and Cowboys blog. Still have the same question. Thanks!

 

[Beamslider]

It can be a whole range of problems. Too hot, instant burned wick even when set to a low temperature like 360F or anemic to no vapor even with a high setting. Or Ok for the beginning of the draw then the mod throttling in the middle off the draw. A whole multitude of possibilities.

The coil has to have the resistance read at close to room temp (72F) for the base resistance reading. Incorrect initial resistance reading is probably one of the biggest problems. The mod has to be able to read it fairly accurately or there will be problems. Since the TC works on changing resistance in the material the mod also has to have a chip capable of reading it fairly continuously and again within reason fairly accurately to work right.

If set and working properly, you will get a vape that is consistently the same every time you hit the button on the mod and take a hit. If set properly, it won't burn the wick even when the tank runs empty, it will just stop producing vapor. If it fluctuates and isn't consistent, it is not working right and a lousy vape.

There are a lot of variables and when first using TC it takes some effort to work out what works for you and what doesn't. You can make it easier by sticking with a decent mod known to do TC well. I don't know what all of those mods are. But can say that and brand with a DNA chip that I have tried is very good at it and the hohmtech mods (no longer made) are very good at it. It works better if the coils are subohm than above 1 ohm. It works better if the coils are spaced coils. You still need to set the wattage in a range that the coil would use if used in wattage mode. I use .5 ohm SS spaced coils set and set the power at 17W which is more than I would vape it in power mode.

Some mods don't let you set the Wattage when in TC mode and these in my experience just don't work well at all. Or some like the Vaporesso Swag won't let you set the wattage below a high level (30 W in the swag), this might not be an issue if you are using coils that take that much wattage but if you are using coils that don't then you will have problems with it.

I use mostly DNA mods along with the Hohmtech ones. But I have had fairly good results with Eleaf Pico and Arctic Fox firmware on it.

If you seriously want to use TC, get a DNA chipset or other mod with a chipset that has good rating from users of the chipset and TC. If you just want to play around and get your feet wet then you can find a Pico or other joyetech chipset device for $25 and put Arctic fox firmware on it to see if you like it.

 

[Beamslider]

Can you explain, please what that negative experience was like? I don't want to buy a crappy one just to satisfy my curious nature. I have a Pico, though I haven't gotten any SS wire yet. What is it like vaping a unit which does TC poorly, as opposed to one which you like? Read reams of background, and Cowboys blog. Still have the same question. Thanks!

If you have a PICO download Arctic Fox Firmware and put it on it.
NFE Team

The Pico will work fairly well with SS coils. Just build a spaced coil in SS around .5 ohm. Vape the coil for a few minutes in power mode to let the resistance settle on the coil. Let the tank and coil return to room temperature for about a half hour to hour. Then take it off the pico and hit button to clear the setting in the pico. Put it back on and set the pico to TC in SS and set the wattage around 17W. Should work for you.

 

[ilporcupine]

Thanks for that, Beamslider.

 

[untar]

Can you explain, please what that negative experience was like?

In addition to what beamslider said, bad TC can also make your vape "wavy". Like firing and not firing in fairly slow (1-2 Hz) and very noticeable succession. The Alien did that, I suspect the power setting in TC means something else on that mod and it will only use the power you set to regulate and not adjust it on the fly, resulting in "Morse vape".

 

[Janusz]

In addition to what beamslider said, bad TC can also make your vape "wavy". Like firing and not firing in fairly slow (1-2 Hz) and very noticeable succession. The Alien did that, I suspect the power setting in TC means something else on that mod and it will only use the power you set to regulate and not adjust it on the fly, resulting in "Morse vape".

"Wavy" "pulsating" feel I experience in TC mode on my Zelos mod. Aegis work very good when I build ss coil on my Siren2 RTA but when I tried to use TC with my Uwell Crown (with 0.25 ohm drop in coil) it does not work at all... even when I set temp to 500F vape is too cool with very little vapor... Yeah there is quite a lot of hassle with TC vaping... but when it works it is very consistent satisfying vape...

 

[untar]

Drop-in coils often use NR-R-NR wire with ni200 as NR part... which is a TC material. Putting different materials with vastly different TCR in series makes most TC regulators shrug and give up, the coil doesn't behave like expected and won't give a good experience.
I think there's a pure ni200 coil for the crown you might want to try that for TC instead of the (maybe) hybrid one (assuming you used the 0.25Ω SS coil).

 

[Janusz]

Drop-in coils often use NR-R-NR wire with ni200 as NR part... which is a TC material. Putting different materials with vastly different TCR in series makes most TC regulators shrug and give up, the coil doesn't behave like expected and won't give a good experience.
I think there's a pure ni200 coil for the crown you might want to try that for TC instead of the hybrid one (assuming you used the 0.25Ω SS coil).

Yes I used 0.25 ohm SS coil. So I am confused... 0.25 ohm ss uwell coil is not actually ss coil???

 

[untar]

The coil most likely is stainless, but the leads may not be.

Those above are NR-R-NR Kanthal coils (no-resistance + resistance + no-resistance wire), the coils are Kanthal but the leads are Nickel, you can see the welds near the coil. Many drop in coils are made that way because some of the leads may be quite long and the low resistance wire compensates for that.
To make sure you could disembowel a used up SS coil head to see for yourself if it's a hybrid material or plain SS.
I don't know if the uwell coils are that way but it's certainly a possibility (and would make TC... let's say "unpleasant").

 

[Janusz]

The coil most likely is stainless, but the leads may not be.
View attachment 740321
Those above are NR-R-NR Kanthal coils (no-resistance + resistance + no-resistance wire), the coils are Kanthal but the leads are Nickel, you can see the welds near the coil. Many drop in coils are made that way because some of the leads may be quite long and the low resistance wire compensates for that.
To make sure you could disembowel a used up SS coil head to see for yourself if it's a hybrid material or plain SS.
I don't know if the uwell coils are that way but it's certainly a possibility (and would make TC... let's say "unpleasant").

Thank you Untar. It does make sense for me now...in fact when I was using Steam Engine coil wrapping calculator I was wondering how stock vertical drop in coils get away with leg power loss that can make vape harsh or metalic tasting... and Uwell 0.25 ohm coil is double vertical coil so legs are "double long"

 

[ilporcupine]

In addition to what beamslider said, bad TC can also make your vape "wavy". Like firing and not firing in fairly slow (1-2 Hz) and very noticeable succession. The Alien did that, I suspect the power setting in TC means something else on that mod and it will only use the power you set to regulate and not adjust it on the fly, resulting in "Morse vape".

Thanks, Untar, for answering.