What is wrong with this coil?

[tmcase]

This is Stormy's Vapor Cellar's RA SVC Storm Genesis RA Tank IN STOCK! - $39.99 : Stormys Vapor Cellar, Electronic Cigarettes & More

I've oxidized over and over and with ciggy paper. If wrapped with all different ga of Kanthal and 80 Nichrome. I've made 8-9 coils and on every single one the top coil at the nut turns red. I've gotten a resistance of .08 to 1.2 ohms with each try. Even with 5 wraps of .34 ga Kanthal I can't get above 1.2 ohms. I think I may have had the top nut upside down in these photos so I made a new coil with the top nut the right way but got exactly the same results. Top coil glows red no matter how close or how far away from the wick.

I have a cheap Chinese knockoff that I got in a co-op that worked fine with the first coil. So what is wrong with this one? Click to enlarge a little.

View attachment 134853View attachment 134855

 

[Atlantisboy]

Hard to tell from the photos but make sure your wire coming from the negative post is close to the bottom until it reaches the wick and on the top coil I keep wrapping anti clockwise but then wrap clockwise in between the top nuts. I also put a kink it the top coil as its coming off the wick to keep as much of it connected to the wick before it goes off to the positive post , are any of the other coils glowing when you do a dry burn?

 

[tmcase]

Hard to tell from the photos but make sure your wire coming from the negative post is close to the bottom until it reaches the wick and on the top coil I keep wrapping anti clockwise but then wrap clockwise in between the top nuts. I also put a kink it the top coil as its coming off the wick to keep as much of it connected to the wick before it goes off to the positive post , are any of the other coils glowing when you do a dry burn?

Thanks for your suggestions. Only the top wrap glows red. I'll try the anti clockwise, clockwise method and kink.

 

[Atlantisboy]

Good luck , also don't crank the positive screws down too hard, just enough to hold the wire.I noticed when they were too tight I had a hotspot in the same place.Let me know how you make out.

 

[tmcase]

Good luck , also don't crank the positive screws down too hard, just enough to hold the wire.I noticed when they were too tight I had a hotspot in the same place.Let me know how you make out.

Really? I tighten it down as tight as I can get it. Oh wait. Is the positive the nuts or the screw. Wow, that didn't sound good.

Edit: Never mind. Stupid question.

 

[tmcase]

The whole top coil isn't glowing now but the wire from the top coil to the nut still glows a bit but at least it's not burning my throat. It seems the farther away from the wick that top coil is the better it works. Is that normal?

 

[MISTer E]

I advise a rewrap in the opposite direction so that the first coil on the bottom does not get near that silicon seal & melt it.

 

[tmcase]

I advise a rewrap in the opposite direction so that the first coil on the bottom does not get near that silicon seal & melt it.

I have made several more coils with the bottom coil closer to the floor of the tank and away from the silicon seal to no avail. I notice in your pic that you have the top coil almost touching the wick. When I do that I get a bright red glow on that whole top coil. When I move the top coil farther away then only the wire from the coil to the nut glows but it only works for a few drags and then it's back to glowing the whole coil. I'm getting really discouraged.

 

[Atlantisboy]

Did you try not screwing the nuts down on the positive post too hard. What I do is fire the coil on a mechanical mod and while its firing I will fiddle with the coils, fiddle with the nuts on the positive post and if none of that works trying turning your wick a quarter turn to see if that help until I start to see all the coils glowing.

 

[RsK0807]

Move the other coils around just a bit, do so until you get all the coils to glow together... You can try dripping a bit of juice on the top coil when doing this...

 

[tmcase]

Move the other coils around just a bit, do so until you get all the coils to glow together... You can try dripping a bit of juice on the top coil when doing this...

I thought the point was to not have any coils glowing.

 

[RsK0807]

you want to make sure the coils glow together before you add juice to the tank. You want the coils to burn evenly, if one coil glows by itself, there's a short. if they glow together, you have a good circuit.
When you have a good circuit, THEN you add juice and the coils don't glow anymore when they're wet...

 

[tmcase]

I think I know what the problem is. There's nothing wrong with any of the wicks I've made. The coils all glow when I dry burn but when I add juice the top coil glows red after a few seconds burn. I'm using 325 ss mesh and 100% VG dilluted with 5% distilled water. The problem is my wick isn't wicking. When I add juice directly to the wick, I get 2 -3 good drags before I start to taste burnt. I have the fill hole open because I've heard that that helps with wicking but the juice isn't reaching the top of the wick. I've also heard that 325 was good for VG but it's not working for me. Any other suggestions?

 

[BigBulli]

From the looks of it your coil is not oxidized , after you heat it and than submerge it in water a few times try soaking it in e liquid and lighting that on fire it does seem to help prevent any shorts...also make sure you get the whole wick not just where the coil is at.

 

[tmcase]

From the looks of it your coil is not oxidized , after you heat it and than submerge it in water a few times try soaking it in e liquid and lighting that on fire it does seem to help prevent any shorts...also make sure you get the whole wick not just where the coil is at.

Thanks but I have oxidized this wick many times with ejuice, burn and quenched. The wick is not wicking. It turns gray after a few seconds burn. I can turn my mod upside down and the wick still does not get wet. When I put juice directly on the wick it works great for a couple of drags and then the wick is dry again and that's when the top coil glows. I've run a paper clip down the hole in the wick so I know there is know blockage. I've about had it with genesis. They don't like VG juice.

 

[BigBulli]

You're right, I switched to a higher pg mix since using more ss wicks, when I was using pure vg I found silica wicks worked a lot better. Have you tried using a silica wick or even wrapping a small piece of ss mech around silica like with the bulli a2-t?

 

[tmcase]

You're right, I switched to a higher pg mix since using more ss wicks, when I was using pure vg I found silica wicks worked a lot better. Have you tried using a silica wick or even wrapping a small piece of ss mech around silica like with the bulli a2-t?

Yes, I have used silica and cotton wicks in my Penelope without any wicking problems. It's funny that you suggested wrapping ss around silica because that's what I was thinking about trying. And here I thought it was my own idea. I don't know anything about the Bulli a2-t but I'm going to check it out. Thanks for the help.

Edit: Oh yeah, I had one of those and sold it right away. I couldn't get the wick in the spike. I'll give that a try with this genesis atty.

 

[Atlantisboy]

I think I know what the problem is. There's nothing wrong with any of the wicks I've made. The coils all glow when I dry burn but when I add juice the top coil glows red after a few seconds burn. I'm using 325 ss mesh and 100% VG dilluted with 5% distilled water. The problem is my wick isn't wicking. When I add juice directly to the wick, I get 2 -3 good drags before I start to taste burnt. I have the fill hole open because I've heard that that helps with wicking but the juice isn't reaching the top of the wick. I've also heard that 325 was good for VG but it's not working for me. Any other suggestions?

400 or preferably 500 mesh very fat wick will work with vg.

 

[tmcase]

400 or preferably 500 mesh very fat wick will work with vg.

I've been hearing about 500 mesh but haven't tried it. What makes it better for VG? I thought the lower the number the better for wicking VG. No?

 

[tmcase]

Update: I wrapped 325 ss mesh around a strand of silica and it is now wicking much better and no hot spots but also very little vapor or flavor. I hate silica. What's weird is my coil started out at 2.0 ohms with 6 wraps of .34 ga Kanthal. After vaping for about 5 - 10 minutes my ohms dropped to 1.3 ohms so I can only use a very low voltage (3.4v) which I guess would explain the very little vapor. I'm going to give this some time and then try wrapping mesh around a cotton strand.