Twisted Kanthal shots

[PapaSloth]

Here are some close-up pictures of twisted Kanthal. I twisted two strands of 30 gauge Kanthal, and then reverse-twisted two of those together so that they interlocked.

Here's a far-out view of the twists:

Here's one showing a close-up of the interlocking strands:

Here's what Kanthal really looks like, up-close (around 250X magnification):

Never knew it was so scaly

 

[SLIPPY_EEL]

nice pics
at 100x zoom i can see ridges running along the length like the wire is pulled through an uneven hole, maybe thats how its made i dunno?

edit: how does that interlocked twisted vape? i'm alway's up for trying thing's like this

 

[PapaSloth]

nice pics
at 100x zoom i can see ridges running along the length like the wire is pulled through an uneven hole, maybe thats how its made i dunno?

edit: how does that interlocked twisted vape? i'm alway's up for trying thing's like this

Honestly, I'm not sure there's much difference at all. 4 strands of 30 is about the same as 24 gauge in terms of resistance. I think the wire maybe has some internal wicking qualities because of all the nooks and crannies, but that could be my imagination. You maybe have less wicking with four twisted strands without the reverse twist, but I think it would be hard to prove.

I'm running this in two builds on two EHPro Big Buddhas. One build is dual vertical coils with 8 wraps at 2mm, netting out around 0.4 Ohms, and the other build is dual horizontal coils with 4 wraps at 3mm (BIG coils) netting out at 0.3 Ohms. Both builds are wicked with rayon. I use spaced coils on both builds, which I prefer because I like my heat spread over as much surface area as possible (avoid high temperature spots and the flavor changes they produce). Both builds are working great!

 

[jersey_emt]

at 100x zoom i can see ridges running along the length like the wire is pulled through an uneven hole, maybe thats how its made i dunno?

Pretty much. Wire is drawn by pulling it through a die with a smaller diameter. This is done several times with increasingly smaller dies until the final diameter is reached.

 

[SLIPPY_EEL]

Pretty much. Wire is drawn by pulling it through a die with a smaller diameter. This is done several times with increasingly smaller dies until the final diameter is reached.

Thanks

they must heat the wire that's being pulled through orelse i'd imagine the thinner wire's snapping ?

 

[PapaSloth]

Thanks

they must heat the wire that's being pulled through orelse i'd imagine the thinner wire's snapping ?

Maybe, but Kanthal is pretty soft. I bet they can draw it without heat.

 

[pls0138]

I just did a quad-twist (4 wires) with 34 gauge kanthal in my lemo. I should have my tank polished off sometime tomorrow, so I'll take pictures after I clean and re-wick it. I noticed one of the benefits of using twisted wire is you get the advantages of using a lower gauge wire (more surface area, less wraps) but since you are using a higher resistance kanthal, you can get a nice vape at lower voltage/wattage settings.
I just used the power drill/paper clip method to twist them up, I folded a long piece of wire in half twice to get the four wraps (which is a pain in the ... with the super thin, super springy 34 gauge). I do like your idea of of taking two double twisted wires and twisting them together in the opposite direction, I think I may try that next time.