What gauge kanthal do I need?

[Bubba]

I've got an AGA-TD that I want to run at about 1.5-2.0 ohms but not sure what gauge wire to get for this.

My plan is to run it as a dual coil with cotton wick but not sure what would be the best wire to accomplish this. I don't have any plans at the moment to get into sub ohm builds so that's not a concern.

Any advice is appreciated - thanks!

 

[joecil]

I use pretty much 28 in my kayfun and IGO attys however sometimes I go to 30ga really depending on what I'm looking for in a coil.

 

[Bubba]

So the 28 should be fine then?

 

[CloudZ]

So the 28 should be fine then?

No, use 30 for that resistance. 28 will heat too slowly or require you to dump a ton of power into it for better response time.

 

[Bubba]

Gotcha - thanks

 

[PhatRon]

If you are planning on running dual coils with a total resistance of 1.5-2.0 ohms then I would recommend you get 32 gauge. This is because you would need to make each coil at 3 ohms - 4 ohms. Possibly even try 34 gauge. You will need a hell of a lot of wraps to get that with anything under 32 gauge. If you're going for single coil then possibly 30 gauge, but you will need to do around 10 wraps on a 1/16th bit. That may be a lot of wraps to try to do in a Genesis style setup, either way good luck with it and make sure you test the resistance a few times.

 

[Bubba]

Of course I just bought the 30 gauge...

 

[folkphys]

30g will work. The AGA-TD has big wick holes.

 

[PhatRon]

wrap your coils on an ID of 5/64th bit or 3/32th or something similar and it should work out fine.

 

[Bubba]

I bought the 30 ga from temco on ebay; sent them a message asking if I could switch to 32 ga but no response. I can make it work either way, or just fork over 5 bucks and get the 32 ga if needed

 

[CloudZ]

I bought the 30 ga from temco on ebay; sent them a message asking if I could switch to 32 ga but no response. I can make it work either way, or just fork over 5 bucks and get the 32 ga if needed

Sorry, the fact that the TD is a dual coil didn't occur to me when I made the recommendation for the 30 gauge. You can probably still use it with decent results, certainly much better than the 28 gauge. 32 is definitely going to be better for dual coils at that resistance level. You could just build it as a single coil and it should work fine. Otherwise shoot for a resistance more like 1.2 ohms dual (2.4 ohms each) and it should heat up decently fast. 30 gauge is great for microcoils, so if possible you can make use of it that way. Either way, dual coils with 28 gauge would need to be run sub-ohm to work well (18+ watts).

 

[Bubba]

Could I just do a micro coil with either? Don't want 99 ohms resistance but don't want sub ohm at the moment, don't have the batteries for that yet.

Not sure but seems that I could use 30 or 32 gauge if I'm doing micro coils, or am I wrong?

 

[Myk]

I have .5x.1mm ribbon in my TD, something like 7-9 wraps (can't count right now, they're gummed up and my eyes aren't doing good) for 1.5Ω. They're bunched together micro style. I run it at 5v-6v.
Don't worry so much about what gauge should you get but what gauge do you like.

I I liked 30 on it before I went back to ribbon on my gennies. I liked it so much that I still have those coils in a bag in case I wanted to go back to them.

I suggest getting ceramic wick. Duals on mesh was a royal pain.

 

[CloudZ]

Could I just do a micro coil with either? Don't want 99 ohms resistance but don't want sub ohm at the moment, don't have the batteries for that yet.

Not sure but seems that I could use 30 or 32 gauge if I'm doing micro coils, or am I wrong?

Yep, you can do a micro coil with either. Doing so with the 30 gauge will increase its efficiency, which is the main reason why they work better at higher resistance. Micro may not be necessary with 32 gauge, but that is up to you to decide. I am in the camp that believes microcoils are not ALWAYS better, but sometimes they help out a ton. I won't bore you by going through all of my reasoning in thinking this way.

I also don't think any soft wick works well in a genesis atty unless it is a sheath over a metal wick, but maybe you will get it working well and like it. Personally, I would try a dual mini coil u-wick with the 30 gauge and cotton at 1.2 ohms overall with your setup and materials.

 

[Myk]

I also don't think any soft wick works well in a genesis atty

I've tried a couple times with eko. Pain in the .... to get it fed through the hole and coil. Pain to coil after the fact. Couldn't get it sized right to feed right, either too loose or too tight.

The only way I've seen soft wick on a gennie is as a tank fed dripper. With a TD that would be a major leak problem. With ceramic I got mine so I can lay it down for a short while but too long in the wrong position and it still pours out.

 

[Bubba]

OK just heard back from Temco, they were able to ship me the 32 rather than the 30 ga so all should be good.

 

[Bubba]

Yep, you can do a micro coil with either. Doing so with the 30 gauge will increase its efficiency, which is the main reason why they work better at higher resistance. Micro may not be necessary with 32 gauge, but that is up to you to decide. I am in the camp that believes microcoils are not ALWAYS better, but sometimes they help out a ton. I won't bore you by going through all of my reasoning in thinking this way.

I also don't think any soft wick works well in a genesis atty unless it is a sheath over a metal wick, but maybe you will get it working well and like it. Personally, I would try a dual mini coil u-wick with the 30 gauge and cotton at 1.2 ohms overall with your setup and materials.

By all means, tell me why you think this way. I'm just starting out so would like to hear pros and cons. Also, what is a dual mini coil U wick?

Finally, I saw someone post that softer wick materials (like the cotton I'm planning on using) don't work well in a genny? The whole reason I was thinking cotton instead of mesh is because it's readily available at little/no cost and I saw a youtube of a guy using cotton and micro coils on the TD. I'm basing this off zero experience and Youtube videos so please chime in with other points of view.

 

[Myk]

By all means, tell me why you think this way. I'm just starting out so would like to hear pros and cons. Also, what is a dual mini coil U wick?

Finally, I saw someone post that softer wick materials (like the cotton I'm planning on using) don't work well in a genny? The whole reason I was thinking cotton instead of mesh is because it's readily available at little/no cost and I saw a youtube of a guy using cotton and micro coils on the TD. I'm basing this off zero experience and Youtube videos so please chime in with other points of view.

You mean to use a gennie lie a dripper where you tilt it to drip? 2 wick holes are very willing to drip.
Don't lay it down. Just as it's willing to drip it will be willing to pour out if laid down.

I know I was talking more along the lines of trying to use something as a wick to pull liquid up (cotton doesn't wick well) like in a top coil clearo.

 

[Nate Rager]

I bought the 30 ga from temco on ebay; sent them a message asking if I could switch to 32 ga but no response. I can make it work either way, or just fork over 5 bucks and get the 32 ga if needed

You can never have too much wire of different gauges. You never know when you might want to do a build that needs a different gauge.

 

[Land0Calrissian]

From what I've heard 30 is likely to be better for genny/kayfun to get a higher resistance build