Why sub ohm

[Sean Kurz]

Definately here to learn, thanks for giving me somewhere to start

 

[Arnie H]

I'm fairly new to rebuildables, and I love what I'm getting out of them so far. I haven't ventured into sub ohm setups, I'm quite happy with a 1.2 ohm single or dual coil setup. I don't understand the appeal of an unstable sub ohm set up that could potentially hurt oneself when you can operate at a safer resistance and simply up the voltage/ wattage.... Is there a significant enough difference in performance to risk injury if something were to go wrong? Why use a mechanical and run it at .2 ohms (or whatever) when you can use a 1.5 ohm coil on a provari or a dna20 or a vamo (or whatever) increase the output of the device, AND have the protection of the device? I've seen videos by riptrippers where he's getting vapor production equal to that of a mechanical sub ohm setup but he's at 15-18 watts on a coil that's not sub ohm, and it's much safer. Am I missing something here?

Also, it seems to me (based ignorantly and entirely on common sense) that in such a scenario of catastrophic failure resulting in a battery actually causing bodily harm, wouldn't it heat up sufficiently enough to warn the user? I feel like you would drop a superheated mod rather than grasp it, continue to vape, and blow your face off... Or is there something else that I should know?

I have asked this question myself. But who knows, we may not know what we are missing. I will try it one of these days (so I can see and know for myself), but we must make sure we understand what we are doing, as with anything.

 

[tj99959]

I think it's great that we don't all have to like the same things, but I also think that sub ohm is just one phase in finding out what you do/don't like. There are a lot of folks (like me) that have tried sub ohm, and just decided that it wasn't our thing. This 2.1 ohm coil that I'm using right now vapes just fine at a lowly 3.8v which is only 6.87 watts. But, just because I like it, doesn't mean that you have to.

How you do the build is what determines what resistance is proper.

 

[Sean Kurz]

What other resources do you all recommend to learn more about sub ohming

 

[niczgreat]

I'll answer the question, why sub ohm.

It's all about the Gauge of the wire. For Sub Ohm Vaping lower Gauge Wire is used. The lower gauge at least when wrapped at least a 4-3 wrap heats up slower than the Higher Gauge Wire and often tops out at a lower temperature.

I've found that Sub Ohm Vaping is a smoother vape for this reason.

 

[Sean Kurz]

I'll answer the question, why sub ohm.

It's all about the Gauge of the wire. For Sub Ohm Vaping lower Gauge Wire is used. The lower gauge at least when wrapped at least a 4-3 wrap heats up slower than the Higher Gauge Wire and often tops out at a lower temperature.

I've found that Sub Ohm Vaping is a smoother vape for this reason.

This sounds backwards. Lower resistance means higher power means faster vaporization. I thought one of the reasons you need large air holes on sub ohm because you need increased airflow to cool the vape down because it burns hotter

 

[niczgreat]

This sounds backwards. Lower resistance means higher power means faster vaporization. I thought one of the reasons you need large air holes on sub ohm because you need increased airflow to cool the vape down because it burns hotter

Seeing is believing

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-high-gauge-kanthal-whichheats-up-faster.html

 

[StarsAndBars]

Thanks for posting the videos! I've just seen it and still not sure I believe it. I think other factors may be proximity of one coil to the next, and amount of gunk build up on the coils. I think I remember you mentioning that you dry burned the coils prior to the video, but would submit using new coils may give more conclusive results.

Trying to wrap my brain around this now and don't understand why they wouldn't heat at the same rate all factors (except gauge) being exactly equal.

I always thought the benefit of smaller gauge (larger wire) was less resistance, hence you can squeeze an extra coil into the wrap (gaining a small amount of heat and surface area). Now I'm not sure what I think.

 

[suspectK]

The more surface area, the more heat distribution, the slower the wire heats up. The benefit to lower gauges is lower resistance + surface area. Not only can you build larger coils, but smaller coils function better and last longer than higher gauge coils.

 

[niczgreat]

Thanks for posting the videos! I've just seen it and still not sure I believe it. I think other factors may be proximity of one coil to the next, and amount of gunk build up on the coils. I think I remember you mentioning that you dry burned the coils prior to the video, but would submit using new coils may give more conclusive results.

Trying to wrap my brain around this now and don't understand why they wouldn't heat at the same rate all factors (except gauge) being exactly equal.

I always thought the benefit of smaller gauge (larger wire) was less resistance, hence you can squeeze an extra coil into the wrap (gaining a small amount of heat and surface area). Now I'm not sure what I think.

Both Coils were brand new. The reason for the difference is the lower Gauge Wire is thicker and also covers more surface area.
I had no agenda when shooting the Video except to see what a low Gauge and a High Gauge Wire would do at the same Ohm Level.

I promise you no tricks played. The playing field was even.

 

[StarsAndBars]

Both Coils were brand new. The reason for the difference is the lower Gauge Wire is thicker and also covers more surface area.
I had no agenda when shooting the Video except to see what a low Gauge and a High Gauge Wire would do at the same Ohm Level.

I promise you no tricks played. The playing field was even.

Totally man. Wasn't trying to imply that your video wasn't legit. Just because I don't understand something surely doesn't keep it from being so. Don't electrons travel at the speed of light? I just cant imagine that small difference in surface area would account for the difference in 'heat up' time.'

Very interested in this though. I have been using 32 gauge exclusively and considering going to 30, so I'd like to get all the info I can about this.

 

[suspectK]

I was using 32, but I've decided 30 works better for me. I use microcoils, and I use high resistance, compared to most that use RBA's. I believe it was in the beginning of this thread that I mentioned I've been using a 4.3 Ohm micro on my AGI.

AWG 28: Low Resistance (0.44 ohms/inch)
AWG 30: Low Resistance (0.70 ohms/ inch)
AWG 32: Low - Standard Resistance (1.1 ohms/ inch)
AWG 33: Low - Standard - High Resistance (1.39 ohms/inch)
AWG 34: Standard - High Resistance (1.76 ohms/inch)

 

[StarsAndBars]

Now that I look into it, Tom is right. Larger gauge wire has a lower resistance, which means lower heat. This is because resistance is the cause of heat in an electrical circuit. But then again don't watts produce heat? Crap, still confused.

 

[suspectK]

Watts/Power is the measurement of heat...not heat. The heat being produced is from the resistance and current flow.

 

[StarsAndBars]

Watts/Power is the measurement of heat...not heat. The heat being produced is from the resistance and current flow.

Good call, thanks man.

 

[niczgreat]

Here is an explanation.
The lower Gauge wire was a 5 wrap, the Higher gauge a 2-1 wrap.

The length of the wire was 2 1/2 times that of the other. The thickness of the wire is much thicker.

They were both wrapped around a FC-2000 Porous Ceramic Wick 1/8, the wick absorbs heat 2 1/2 times the amount of wire was in touch with the wick, so much more surface space for the wick to absorb heat. And finally with 2 1/2 times the length we are talking triple the exposure to air, which again will dissipate heat.

I'm sure if I did a 2-1 wrap with the low Gauge Kanthal it would have flared much higher than the high gauge Kanthal. But we weren't comparing how the Gauges react when the same length is used, we were comparing the same Ohm's created using low Gauge and High Gauge.