Why do my coils/wicks pop & crackle like crazy? (mini explosions)

[Exile]

I am fairly new to rebuildable atomizers, and am hoping some of the more experienced vapers on here can tell me what im doing wrong?

I got my first Phoenix V3 rba 3-4 days ago. (IGO-L on order)

I vaped on the Phoenix V3 with the stock coil/wick it came with for a few days with good results.

So yesterday I tried rebuilding my first coil/wick for it. But no matter what I do or try the thing pops & crackles like crazy! Like mini juice explosions going on in my drip tip & mouth? And the throat hit is sooo harsh I cant vape it? I tried building 4-5 different coils/wicks different ways with the same results?

I used 28g kanthal with 2.5mm silica wick wrapping the coils around a 1/16 drill bit then sliding the wick through the coil...

3/4 wrap (regular coil)
5/6 wrap (regular coil)
8/9 wrap (micro coil)
10/12 wrap (micro coil)

There is lots of flavor & vapor, but no matter what I do I cant get the excessive popping & cracking to stop? And the harsh throat hit I just cant handle...

I dont have a ohm checker so I am just taking a chance with them. (Vamo on order) I am using it on a 900mah Ego Twist between 3.4v-3.8v.

I am making sure the air flow hole is right in front of the coil, and there is no excessive juice. (flooding) Just the wick is saturated.

I dont have any pics of the coils/wicks right now, but I can post some later today. But they all looked really good/straight. (imo)



Any feedback on what im doing wrong is appreciated...

 

[MJMcMahon]

Exile -

hard to say exactly what's happening without knowing the resistance of the coil and I'm hardly an expert but I'll try to help

I have run into similar issues that turned out to be a poor connection on one of the legs of the coil OR unequal leg lengths. One of the ways I discovered the poor connection was to remove the wick and fire the coil without wick in place. Make sure your coil is getting red from the center out. If you see one of the leg wires getting hot you've got a short.

Good luck...I've heard the Phoenix is a good RBA and have been considering getting one.

 

[Exile]

Make sure your coil is getting red from the center out. If you see one of the leg wires getting hot you've got a short.

Yea my legs were all pretty much the same exact length, and I did a dry burn on the coils, and they all seemed to get red/glow from the center out like they are suppose to. I didnt see any legs getting red/glowing first...

Though im new to building coils/wicks, I have done sooo much reading, research, and watching videos on building coils/wicks I didnt think I would have much of a problem doing it, but I just cant seem to get it to vape right...

Back to the carto tanks for now...

 

[MJMcMahon]

don't feel bad...I literally just rebuilt a coil at my desk at work and mine is acting like I've got a hotspot too. grumble, grumble, grumble

 

[wyetterp]

I love the sound of that popping & crackling! It's the juice when it heats up. This is a good thing.

However it sounds like your having another problem. The hits shouldn't be super harsh. Sounds to me like your coils aren't contacted the wick well enough. Which would cause unnecessary heat and harshness. I don't like any space between my coils & wick. Maybe try just wrapping straight on to the silica.

Also is your air hole lining up with the coil? Got to make sure it's doing that.

Word of advice though. Be really careful using 28g on the ego battery. If you over push that battery it could cause some serious problems. I diffidently would not be using a 3/4 28g wrap on a ego battery.

Maybe consider a cheaper mechanical & some good batteries.

 

[michliu]

The harsh throat hit sounds like a hot spot. Wrapping around a 1/16" drill bit, 3/4 wraps of 28g should be way under 1 ohm and not firing on your twist. Even 5/6 will have you hovering around 1.0 ohms 5/6 wraps of 28g around a 3/32 drill bit gives me about 1.2 ohms. Next, sounds like wicking is the problem. Is the wick choked in the coil? It should be pretty loose after threading through the coil, because it will expand with juice. Maybe it's the silica. You might try cotton. Use a cotton ball, cheesecloth, or cotton year and see if that helps stop the popping and harsh vape. Just let the cotton soak for a few minutes before you vape it because it will burn.

 

[t8kiteasy]

How close is the coil to the posts,if the coil is touching the post,or the top cap when you place it on to vape that will cause a harsh taste too.It does sound like you are getting too much space between your coil and wick though.I would suggest when wrapping,straighten out a paperclip place the wick you are going to use against the clip and wrap around that.I have found that,even with 3mm silica,after pulling the clip out,when the wick is wrapped,leaves just enough room for the coil and wick to come into contact.

 

[Exile]

sounds like wicking is the problem. Is the wick choked in the coil? It should be pretty loose after threading through the coil, because it will expand with juice.

Sounds to me like your coils aren't contacted the wick well enough. Which would cause unnecessary heat and harshness.

It does sound like you are getting too much space between your coil and wick.

Im pretty sure the wick is not "choked". When I wrap my coil around the 1/16 drill bit I then slide the 2.5mm silica through the coil, which I think if anything the wick might actually be on the loose side in the coil...

 

[Exile]

Maybe it's the silica. You might try cotton. Use a cotton ball, cheesecloth, or cotton year and see if that helps stop the popping and harsh vape. Just let the cotton soak for a few minutes before you vape it because it will burn.

Yea I was thinking the same thing, and was actually gonna stop, and pick up some cotton balls (CVS) today after work to see how cotton does...

How close is the coil to the posts,if the coil is touching the post,or the top cap when you place it on to vape that will cause a harsh taste too.

The coil is not touching the post or side/top cap. The coil has room all the way around it...

 

[michliu]

If it's too loose, then use a paper clip or pin, place the silica along the pin, and wrap straight onto the silica. Removing the pin once you're done will give the silica room to expand. You're almost there.

 

[BigLebowski]

I have found the microcoil idea to work much better on a loop of silica/ekowool rather than just one. Doesn't wick fast enough for the way I like to vape.

 

[Borescoped]

I have found the microcoil idea to work much better on a loop of silica/ekowool rather than just one. Doesn't wick fast enough for the way I like to vape.

Have you got any pics of that micro and loop? Meant to ask you on that other thread, but forgot.

 

[BigLebowski]

I'll post it when I get home. Stuck at work right now. . . 2 and a half more hours

 

[scrappy]

The problem you're having is because your coil is too low. You should have enough space between your coil and the bottom of your atty that juice in the well doesn't touch the coil. If you tuck your wick under your coil then take that distance into account because the wick will pool a lot of juice under your coil. The excessive popping and harshness is from the juice acting like a heatsink and doesn't let the coil heat up quickly.

 

[Exile]

The problem you're having is because your coil is too low. You should have enough space between your coil and the bottom of your atty that juice in the well doesn't touch the coil.

I actually have the coils setup pretty high so its not from the coil sitting down too low in the juice well.

If you tuck your wick under your coil then take that distance into account because the wick will pool a lot of juice under your coil.

However I think your on to something there... The Phoenix V3 is a very small atomizer (in diameter) so you dont have much room to work with, and I have been tucking the excess wicks down right under the coil. So even though I havnt been flooding/over dripping, the saturated wicks have been sitting right up under the coil... hmmm

I am gonna cut the wicks a little shorter, and try to route them a different way further away from the coil.

Ill report back soon....

 

[rouxdoo]

Go get a cheap meter so you *know* what your resistance is. Really, they're cheap.

I suspect you're boiling your juice instead of vaporizing it, but not knowing your resistance means nobody here can help you. If you're using it at low wattage, the answer is to crank up your power or drop your resistance.

 

[BigLebowski]

Have you got any pics of that micro and loop? Meant to ask you on that other thread, but forgot.

Here is my go-to coil for my Igo-L, went through a few different setups and settled on this, one loop with 10 wraps (microcoil) of 30g kanthal. Produces a ton of vapor and the taste is amazing.

 

[Exile]

Well I picked up some CVS Rolled 100% Cotton last night, and tried making a few more coils/wicks. I tried using a little shorter wicks this time, and the cotton seems not to pop & crackle (explode) quite as bad as the silica did.

But no matter how I seem to wrap the coils I am still getting way to harsh of a throat hit. So I started messing around with where the coil itself is positioned in the atomizer...

I had originally been setting the coils up kinda high, in front of, but up above the air flow hole. Which I was steadily getting way too harsh of a throat hit. So I tried positioning the coil down lower right in front/center of the air flow hole, and the throat hit got much smoother? But its still not quite as smooth as I would like...

So my question is where is the best place to position the coil to the air flow hole? Above the air flow hole? In the center of the air flow hole? Or below the air flow hole?

Also the Phoenix V3 comes with a 1mm air flow hole. I keep reading that a bigger air flow hole with help smooth out throat hits? So if I drill the air flow hole out with a 1/16 drill bit (1.6mm) it should help smooth out the throat hit?

 

[gotalotgoingon]

I can't tell you what is good on the Phoenix but on the Igo-L, I drilled out the stock 1mm air hole to 1.5mm. Worked wonders on air flow and throat hit for me. Also, correct position of your coil will work wonders as well. I would try making sure you air hole is lined up with your coil first. I use a syringe needle and stick it through the air hole to make sure my coil is lined up. If I hit the coil solid, I am golden, if I miss it or if I can go above or below it, I readjust until it is perfect. Makes all the difference in the world.

 

[gotalotgoingon]

Just an FYI, I getting the cracking, and popping as well. I run a micro coil at 1.3-1.4ohms with cotton. I like to crank up the volts or wattage depending on the device I am using at the time so I can expect the heat is going to vaporize the juice at a volatile rate. I have had the top cap off and watch it before and it just cranks out the vapor to the point that makes a genny look tame.