Using mesh spool for your mesh RTA

[AvaOrchid]

I have been requested to show how I use vandy vape mesh wire spool in order to replace the mesh coil of the geek vape Zeus X mesh deck. It is an abnormal size and some people are wanting to ensure that they have mesh available or are having trouble finding the original coils meant for the deck.


This is really a pictorial of how I do things for people who have already been building on their own RTAs and therefore should know ohm's law should know battery safety etc.

If you are brand new please go to other threads about battery safety and building safety first to familiarize yourself with the process of beginning to build. This is simply for people who have ran out of their pre-cut mesh coils. And it is only how I do it.


*I do not know how to import video I'm not very tech savvy so I've just taken pictures at every relevant step and I'm going to try and put them below in order of what I did with a little bit of a description.

 

[AvaOrchid]

First you're going to need your mesh deck and you are going to need your spool of vaping friendly mesh. It does not have to be vandy vape in this case that's what I'm using. You are also going to need scissors or perhaps wire cutters I find scissors to be more precise you're going to need whatever coil jig your mesh deck desires.

And optimally you would have either a old mesh strip that's already been used or even better a new one. This is just to use for a size comparison and a size guide. If you do not have any of them you used or new I have done my best to give you an idea of the measurements. But they do not have to be exact.

You can also modify the vandy vapes spool as you are building if for whatever reason your measurement is a bit off especially as far as width. It just takes a simple little cut.

I personally like to start by just cutting a moderate piece off of my mesh spool I don't try to cut it into the right shape while it's still attached to the spool

You will have a little bit of wastage But these spools last for a very long time so while wastage is an ideal it's still going to give you a lot more usage than you would have gotten out of the precut coils that you buy and the spool is going to be significantly better priced for what you get.

 

[AvaOrchid]

You're going to take out your old coil if you haven't already done so using either your triple tree or whatever you used to take your coils out and if you are going to use an old coil for a size comparison flatten it out as best you can.

The older ones do suffer from a little bit of shrinkage from use but they will still be more than adequate to use if you have a new one. Even better.

Here is a rough size estimate next to a tiny little tape measure showing that lengthwise it's just short of 3/4 of an inch width wise just short of a quarter inch. This is only the size estimate for a coil for the Zeus X mesh deck

Smaller than necessary is better than bigger than necessary. But both are fine because you can always make adjustments while you're fitting your coil!

 

[AvaOrchid]

Here is me showing what the coil looks like after I have lined them up and cut them to as close as possible to the old coil. What I would suggest if you do not have a coil saved from your last deck or a new one to use as a comparison I would cut out a piece of paper based on the estimates with the tape measure and use it as a guide I would not try to freehand it. But again there is room to modify this when you're placing the coil! You can always make things smaller you can't make them bigger. But it doesn't have to be exact.

 

[AvaOrchid]

After you have it to the relative size of your previous coil or the cut out that you've made based on the sizing approximation that I showed for just the Zeus X mesh deck.

You proceed basically like you would with your mesh strip. However these are going to be a little bit harder to keep shape so I would still form it around your coil jig but expect to need a little bit more effort to get it into the leg ports and clamped.

Use a gentle touch you don't want to kink the screen. If you do kink the screen and it's something that will not work out even after rubbing it on your jig and trying to reshape it it would be best to start again as it can help contribute to hot spots.

That being said I have dented the screen before slightly and was still able to make it work I just had to ensure that the cotton could still touch that part of the mesh.

Use your discretion.

 

[AvaOrchid]

Now that you've got your mesh bendy and shaped as best you can and ready to put into the deck itself again you proceed basically like you would if this was your regular mesh strips that are pre-cut by the manufacturer.

You're going to want to place it into the clamp on one side gently put pressure on it so it stays down and then clamp it shut with your screwdriver or triple tree. And then you're going to want to maneuver the other side gently into its clamp location and screw it in so that it is clamped firmly.

If at this time you discover that your measurement was just a little bit off trim the offending side. I have not noticed a single solitary difference when I've had to trim off a little corner compared to when I have not and I had sized it perfectly.

You want it to be able to fit into the clamp area without it crimping or folding on itself. It's better for it to be a little bit uneven inside that clamp then it is for it to be touching itself bent or crimped.

 

[AvaOrchid]

At this point you have handled the coil extensively it probably has your finger oils on it. There is some debate about whether you can dry fire mesh. There is some debate on whether you should dry fire stainless steel. I do both. I do it at a very low wattage and I pulse it, frequently letting off the power. I also check for hotspots. This is completely up to you and how you wish to do things. I will not advise on the safety or reasonableness of either method. Do as you feel you should do.

I should mention also that the mesh in the spool is a woven mesh meaning that each individual little wire goes up and under the next. The commercial mesh strips in my opinion seem like they're more layered like they fuse a screen where all of the wires are going one way and a screen where all the wires are going the other way together on top of one of another. I personally think that the weave gives it a better flavor but I also like to use lower wattage. And the individual strands of the weave being smaller and more delicate lend nicely to me wanting to vape at 20 to 30 watts. I've never gone over 35 and I don't know if you should. That's a little bit beyond my pay grade I just want to show people how I do this so that they can follow suit if they wish.

Anyhow it's picking up at a .22 and there are no hot spots that I have seen I've gently glowed it to get any of the oils off shortly after I took this picture. So now it has a little bit of a different color to it a little bit more bronzy a little less shiny maybe but again that's not part of my instruction because some people do not dry fire. I personally dry fire this at 8 watts to begin with and I went up to 10 and that got me where I needed to be to know that everything's peachy. My ohms are not jumping very much (.02 difference while pulsing) and they are going back to .22 once it cools back down.

 

[AvaOrchid]

From there just wick it bearing in mind that this mesh is not as strong It's strong enough but it's not as thick of individual strands so you do have to be a little bit more gentle when pulling through your cotton however it's not super delicate either.

I know I'm always a little long-winded I apologize for that. But I just feel the need to say the things that I would tell you if you were standing next to me trying to find out how I do this. If there's any questions feel free to ask me and I'm going to tag the two people that I feel this would be relevant for.
@ArdentHope @DanR

 

[ShamrockPat]

Not too wordy at all. Crystal clear directions.

 

[ArdentHope]

@AvaOrchid - Wonderful instructions! Thank you for taking your time to write all this out. It's perfect!!

 

[AvaOrchid]

@AvaOrchid - Wonderful instructions! Thank you for taking your time to write all this out. It's perfect!!

Happy to help when I was first learning how to build I didn't even know the first thing about it and somebody literally did a whole video for me so it's the least I can do. This is way easier than teaching someone how to actually build

 

[ShowMeTwice]

@AvaOrchid, you did an excellent job with your tutorial!

 

[Seiggy]

Here are some mesh sizes for some RDA's/RTA's

Damn Vape INTENSE MESH RDA 16*3.5 mm
Geek Vape ZEUS X MESH RTA 18*6.2*0.1 mm
Vandy Vape Mesh v2 RDA 17*9.8 mm
Wotofo x Mr.JustRight1 Profile v1.5 RDA 17*8.5 mm