Titanium wire, vaping and safety

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icebat

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I wish there were cliffsnotes for this thread. I don't think I have time to read 114 pages, although I did start. Can anyone suggest a good titanium build for a kayfun lite? Never tried temp control up to this point, but think I'm going to be picking up an ipvd2 very soon. Looks like stealth vape is the way to go for wire, but I'm only seeing 26 and 24. I've always used 28 when building with kanthal. Has anyone made a similar switch? Anyone have any tricks, tips, pointers, advice, or things I need to avoid? I've read to not dry burn, and to run spaced coils. Is cleaning the wire necessary when ordering from stealth vape?
 

druckle

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I wish there were cliffsnotes for this thread. I don't think I have time to read 114 pages, although I did start. Can anyone suggest a good titanium build for a kayfun lite? Never tried temp control up to this point, but think I'm going to be picking up an ipvd2 very soon. Looks like stealth vape is the way to go for wire, but I'm only seeing 26 and 24. I've always used 28 when building with kanthal. Has anyone made a similar switch? Anyone have any tricks, tips, pointers, advice, or things I need to avoid? I've read to not dry burn, and to run spaced coils. Is cleaning the wire necessary when ordering from stealth vape?
Even if wire is clean with an alcohol wipe on paper towel I clean it anyway. I've had many cases of apparently clean wire which still give off a little vapor if I do a warm (temp controlled) "dry burn" with the temp set at 600. It goes away quick but I guess it's possible that there's still some colorless light oil on the wire. My OCD tells me the first couple of vapes taste better if I thoroughly clean the wire no matter whether it's apparent that it needs it or not.

Duane
 

TheBloke

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My Stealth Vape definitely needs cleaning, like most wires. Only wire I've so far seen that does not is Unkamen and random Chinese stuff from 3FVape (only checked 26G of each.) But I would still clean those too, just to be sure.

@icebat keep it simple to start. 8 wraps of 26G will work fine. Keep the legs as short as possible. Make sure they're as tight as possible under the screw heads. Do you have experience with Ni200 TC? If so, mostly everything that applies there applies here - make sure to lock your resistance (or press fire for the first time, on a DNA 40/200 (clone) when the atomizer/coil is completely cold.

You can do contact coils with Titanium but keep it slightly spaced to start with, like with Ni200 (though you don't need to be quite as careful to have it absolutely perfectly spaced.)

When the coil is on there and resistance is locked, but before wick is in, hold down fire and confirm the coil doesn't glow or blow up. On a Yihi it should flash "DRY COIL", on a DNA 40/200 it will flash the TP messaage and should show it firing at very low watts. Other mods/clones will be similar.

Then wick and vape as normal.

What TC mod(s) do you have? If it has a native Titanium mode, that's great. If not, you need a temperature offset. On any mod besides an authentic DNA 40, a range of 135°C - 160°C / 280 - 320°F should be tried first. On a DNA 40, the range is 155 - 185°C / 310°F - 365°F. If you have a DNA 40, check this graph for the measured correct temp.

If you want to verify your setting, you can always do a cotton burn test with a dry cotton wick in the coil.

Regarding wire type, if you want gauges other than 24 and 26 check out Crazy Wire: GR1 (Grade 1) Titanium Wire They're also much cheaper per spool, however factoring in shipping to the US they might not be cheaper, depending on how many spools you buy. If you buy several they should be cheapest, especially if you buy five (and thus get the cheapest free.)

Or being in the US you could use Unkamen, whom I know have 26, 28, 30 and 32 gauge and probably 24 as well.

All that should get you started. Most important thing is to build and try that first coil. Then we can help with any more specific questions and difficulties. Nothing beats experimentation.
 

icebat

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Even if wire is clean with an alcohol wipe on paper towel I clean it anyway. I've had many cases of apparently clean wire which still give off a little vapor if I do a warm (temp controlled) "dry burn" with the temp set at 600. It goes away quick but I guess it's possible that there's still some colorless light oil on the wire. My OCD tells me the first couple of vapes taste better if I thoroughly clean the wire no matter whether it's apparent that it needs it or not.

Duane

Thanks Duane, I'll definitely be cleaning my wire. Great tip with the temp controlled dry burn.

My Stealth Vape definitely needs cleaning, like most wires. Only wire I've so far seen that does not is Unkamen and random Chinese stuff from 3FVape (only checked 26G of each.) But I would still clean those too, just to be sure.

@icebat keep it simple to start. 8 wraps of 26G will work fine. Keep the legs as short as possible. Make sure they're as tight as possible under the screw heads. Do you have experience with Ni200 TC? If so, mostly everything that applies there applies here - make sure to lock your resistance (or press fire for the first time, on a DNA 40/200 (clone) when the atomizer/coil is completely cold.

I do not have experience with ni200, this will be my first time diving into temp control.

You can do contact coils with Titanium but keep it slightly spaced to start with, like with Ni200 (though you don't need to be quite as careful to have it absolutely perfectly spaced.)

When the coil is on there and resistance is locked, but before wick is in, hold down fire and confirm the coil doesn't glow or blow up. On a Yihi it should flash "DRY COIL", on a DNA 40/200 it will flash the TP messaage and should show it firing at very low watts. Other mods/clones will be similar.
Very good tips here, glad you told me this as I haven't seen or heard that mentioned before.
Then wick and vape as normal.

What TC mod(s) do you have? If it has a native Titanium mode, that's great. If not, you need a temperature offset. On any mod besides an authentic DNA 40, a range of 135°C - 160°C / 280 - 320°F should be tried first. On a DNA 40, the range is 155 - 185°C / 310°F - 365°F. If you have a DNA 40, check this graph for the measured correct temp.

I actually don't have any temp control mods at the moment, but I'm planning on picking up an ipvd2 soon which does have a native titanium mode. Just trying to do all the research I can before I take the plunge. Thanks for those numbers though, as I've had my eye on a dna 40 mod for awhile.

If you want to verify your setting, you can always do a cotton burn test with a dry cotton wick in the coil.

Regarding wire type, if you want gauges other than 24 and 26 check out Crazy Wire: GR1 (Grade 1) Titanium Wire They're also much cheaper per spool, however factoring in shipping to the US they might not be cheaper, depending on how many spools you buy. If you buy several they should be cheapest, especially if you buy five (and thus get the cheapest free.)

Or being in the US you could use Unkamen, whom I know have 26, 28, 30 and 32 gauge and probably 24 as well.

More great info here. Do you have a suggestion for wire size? Would I be best sticking with 28 like I'm used to?

All that should get you started. Most important thing is to build and try that first coil. Then we can help with any more specific questions and difficulties. Nothing beats experimentation.


Thank you for taking the time to provide all this great info. I really appreciate, and I'm sure it will help a lot of other people in my same situation.

Out of curiosity, do you still vape with Kanthal? One thing that's been holding me back about trying TC, is not wanting to go back to regular kanthal. Not that I'm worried about wasting a spool, but more of the fact that some of my current mods would see no more use if I get hooked on the whole TC thing. The only other thing that's been holding me back is some safety concerns that I've read about the use of nickel and titanium. I vape at low wattages, around 10-14 watts all on kayfuns. The main benefits I think I would get with TC would be, no worry of dry hits when chain vaping which I tend to do quite often, and also not having to worry about overheating my coil when chain vaping. It would also be nice to be able to throw a little more power at my kayfun's from time to time. I'm just trying to gather as much info as possible, so I can vape as safe as possible.

Cheers
Sean
 
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IanDVaypes

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I've been using TI for several weeks now. I decided to plunge into the contact TI coils. I twisted two 28g strands and wound it around a 3mm jig and compressed the coils together on my dicodes 2380. It Vaped like a dream. Then I just got some 26g and 24g from stealth vape (which required A LOT of cleaning) and wound up the 24g to do another contact coil. Pulsed it on my dicodes at 6 watts and compressed it. Nice, even, slight red glow. Then I wicked it and juiced it. Put it on my dna200 mod and set the TI profile.

I took a vape and POOOOOOFFF. It scared the living crap out of me. It was so hot and disturbing. The coil legs ended up breaking and igniting the TI. Luckily I'm a mouth to lung guy and didn't inhale any TI dioxide but it was still disturbing.

What did I do wrong?
 
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tchavei

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I've been using TI for several weeks now. I decided to plunge into the contact TI coils. I twisted two 28g strands and wound it around a 3mm jig and compressed the coils together on my dicodes 2380. It Vaped like a dream. Then I just got some 26g and 24g from stealth vape (which required A LOT of cleaning) and wound up the 24g to do another contact coil. Pulsed it on my dicodes at 6 watts and compressed it. Nice, even, slight red glow. Then I wicked it and juiced it. Put it on my dna200 mod and set the TI profile.

I took a vape and POOOOOOFFF. It scared the living crap out of me. It was so hot and disturbing. The coil legs ended up breaking and igniting the TI. Luckily I'm a mouth to lung guy and didn't inhale any TI dioxide but it was still disturbing.

What did I do wrong?
This is just a guess but I think you shorted the coil across the wraps and the full power went through the legs which made them snap.

I managed to have a similar experience (although not so extreme) by firing a Ti coil under running water (stupid experience). Don't ask me why but under water, the SPACED coil somehow shorted out and the legs which were out of the water stream started to glow bright white.

Regards
Tony

Sent from my keyboard through my phone or something like that.
 

IanDVaypes

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This is just a guess but I think you shorted the coil across the wraps and the full power went through the legs which made them snap.

I managed to have a similar experience (although not so extreme) by firing a Ti coil under running water (stupid experience). Don't ask me why but under water, the SPACED coil somehow shorted out and the legs which were out of the water stream started to glow bright white.

Regards
Tony

Sent from my keyboard through my phone or something like that.
And here I thought the dna200 protects me from shorts.
 

LouisLeBeau

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Thanks Duane, I'll definitely be cleaning my wire. Great tip with the temp controlled dry burn.
Thank you for taking the time to provide all this great info. I really appreciate, and I'm sure it will help a lot of other people in my same situation.

Out of curiosity, do you still vape with Kanthal? One thing that's been holding me back about trying TC, is not wanting to go back to regular kanthal. Not that I'm worried about wasting a spool, but more of the fact that some of my current mods would see no more use if I get hooked on the whole TC thing. The only other thing that's been holding me back is some safety concerns that I've read about the use of nickel and titanium. I vape at low wattages, around 10-14 watts all on kayfuns. The main benefits I think I would get with TC would be, no worry of dry hits when chain vaping which I tend to do quite often, and also not having to worry about overheating my coil when chain vaping. It would also be nice to be able to throw a little more power at my kayfun's from time to time. I'm just trying to gather as much info as possible, so I can vape as safe as possible.

Cheers
Sean

I share your concern about my Non-TC mods falling into disuse. I don't plan on using Ni200, so the concern about nickle is gone. Ti won't be a concern if you don't dry burn it, or at least not to the point of making it glow.
To me, the greatest danger of using both Kanthal AND Ti, is making sure I don't forget which atty's are setup with which kind of coil, and not accidently putting a low ohm Ti build on a mech mod. I haven't tried a Ti coil in my Kayfuns yet, but I hope to soon.
 
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SotosB

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This is just a guess but I think you shorted the coil across the wraps and the full power went through the legs which made them snap.

I managed to have a similar experience (although not so extreme) by firing a Ti coil under running water (stupid experience). Don't ask me why but under water, the SPACED coil somehow shorted out and the legs which were out of the water stream started to glow bright white.

Regards
Tony

Sent from my keyboard through my phone or something like that.

I had the same experience with Ti and water once. I also used to have hot legs at some simple spaced build. I don't know the cause of it. It could be a wicking problem as the legs weren't touching the wet cotton and they became too hot. I don't have any problems since a while though. All my Ti builds work prefect.
 

HolmanGT

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I share your concern about my Non-TC mods falling into disuse. I don't plan on using Ni200, so the concern about nickle is gone. Ti won't be a concern if you don't dry burn it, or at least not to the point of making it glow.
To me, the greatest danger of using both Kanthal AND Ti, is making sure I don't forget which atty's are setup with which kind of coil, and not accidently putting a low ohm Ti build on a mech mod. I haven't tried a Ti coil in my Kayfuns yet, but I hope to soon.

Louis,

I don't know why people don't post their location i.e. "California" is not exactly going to give up your location but simple thing like that make it easier for others to help. I wouldn't tell 'Tony' (tchavei) to look in Walmart for obvious reasons but I would tell you if I new where the heck you lived at least narrowed down to a country like the USA. :rolleyes:

A very simple way to mark tanks is to make a trip to Walmart and in the hair products section pick up a package of colored rubber bands. They come in assorted colors. They are approximately 0.7" in diameter (about 50 - 100 in a pack) and will fit on your tanks for the purpose of color coding what type of coil is within.

The are used for girls to tie off the end of their pigtails.
 
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tchavei

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And here I thought the dna200 protects me from shorts.
As any TC device, it averages the temperature over the entire coil. This mean that in weird scenarios like firing a coil under water, the temperature difference between the legs and the center of the coil will be massive tricking any TC mod into thinking everything is fine.

I'm actually not sure if the coil under water shorted out or if it was only a matter of a gigantic temperature difference.

Regards
Tony

Sent from my keyboard through my phone or something like that.
 
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druckle

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As any TC device, it averages the temperature over the entire coil. This mean that in weird scenarios like firing a coil under water, the temperature difference between the legs and the center of the coil will be massive tricking any TC mod into thinking everything is fine.

I'm actually not sure if the coil under water shorted out or if it was only a matter of a gigantic temperature difference.

Regards
Tony

Sent from my keyboard through my phone or something like that.
My guess is that part of the coil stayed wet and part was dry in your water test Tony.

I think we all need to pay a lot of attention to keeping coil legs to a minimum length and/or tucking some extra wick against the legs so we have better control over the whole coil temperature with temperature control activated in normal vaping. I've seen long Ni 200 legs start to glow when there was nothing to keep them wet. I don't see why that isn't likely with any coil material.

Duane
 
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LouisLeBeau

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Louis,

I don't know why people don't post their location i.e. "California" is not exactly going to give up your location but simple thing like that make it easier for others to help. I wouldn't tell 'Tony' (tchavei) to look in Walmart for obvious reasons but I would tell you if I new where the heck you lived at least narrowed down to a country like the USA. :rolleyes:

What ARE you on about, man? Does my location not say Nevada? I appreciate the suggestion, but last I checked, it was still next to Utah?
 
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HolmanGT

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What ARE you on about, man? Does my location not say Nevada? I appreciate the suggestion, but last I checked, it was still next to Utah?

Louis,

Either you just added "Nevada" and you are trying to "Gas Light" me or I am hallucinating and it was there all the time. I swear I am only puffing e-juice and no it is not spiked with anything. :facepalm:
 

Thayamax

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Louis,

Either you just added "Nevada" and you are trying to "Gas Light" me or I am hallucinating and it was there all the time. I swear I am only puffing e-juice and no it is not spiked with anything. :facepalm:

:lol: I didn't see it before now either, and I know I'm sober.
 
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HolmanGT

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Dobo

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I had a similar experience and the culprit was a loose connection point.

I've been using TI for several weeks now. I decided to plunge into the contact TI coils. I twisted two 28g strands and wound it around a 3mm jig and compressed the coils together on my dicodes 2380. It Vaped like a dream. Then I just got some 26g and 24g from stealth vape (which required A LOT of cleaning) and wound up the 24g to do another contact coil. Pulsed it on my dicodes at 6 watts and compressed it. Nice, even, slight red glow. Then I wicked it and juiced it. Put it on my dna200 mod and set the TI profile.

I took a vape and POOOOOOFFF. It scared the living crap out of me. It was so hot and disturbing. The coil legs ended up breaking and igniting the TI. Luckily I'm a mouth to lung guy and didn't inhale any TI dioxide but it was still disturbing.

What did I do wrong?
 

tchavei

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My guess is that part of the coil stayed wet and part was dry in your water test Tony.

I think we all need to pay a lot of attention to keeping coil legs to a minimum length and/or tucking some extra wick against the legs so we have better control over the whole coil temperature with temperature control activated in normal vaping. I've seen long Ni 200 legs start to glow when there was nothing to keep them wet. I don't see why that isn't likely with any coil material.

Duane
Yes, the legs were out of the water stream. Hence why I referred to temperature /resistance difference between the legs (dry) and center coil (submerged in water)

Regards
Tony

Sent from my keyboard through my phone or something like that.
 
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