Wire guage question

[Mr Moustache]

I have seen posts similar to this but didn't find my answer so please bear with me.

I have a 4nine, TOBH atty, and built at .5 ohm with 28 guage kanthal around a 2mm screwdriver.

I am pretty happy with my results but I see everyone using 26 or 24 guage and I feel like I'm missing out on something. When I calculate a .5 ohm coil around 2mm with 24 it's 18 wraps!! With 28 I only need 6-7.

I know im missing something here, can anyone fill me in on what that is? Why do you prefer 24 to 28?

Thanks a bunch!

 

[Kevin littell]

the fellows running 24 or 26 are stress testing their batteries....

 

[Dissonance]

the fellows running 24 or 26 are stress testing their batteries....

Not necessarily... Right now I'm running 24 gauge dual coil parallel 5 wraps and it's sitting at .14Ω... That puts it at the edge of the continuous amp rating, and well within the pulse rating for my batteries. Unless I let it autofire (which I'm very careful not to) then I'd need to drop it to 2-3 wraps to be "stress testing" my battery.

I like 24 over 28 since it covers more surface area and goes into lower resistance, which since I'm using a mech and not a regulated device means more wattage, more flavor, and bigger clouds. It also gives a warmer vape, which I find more satisfying. If you're using 24g in dual coil, you're not shooting for .5Ω... More like .3 or lower. That's what you're missing

 

[Cullin Kin]

Not necessarily... Right now I'm running 24 gauge dual coil parallel 5 wraps and it's sitting at .14Ω... That puts it at the edge of the continuous amp rating, and well within the pulse rating for my batteries. Unless I let it autofire (which I'm very careful not to) then I'd need to drop it to 2-3 wraps to be "stress testing" my battery.

I like 24 over 28 since it covers more surface area and goes into lower resistance, which since I'm using a mech and not a regulated device means more wattage, more flavor, and bigger clouds. It also gives a warmer vape, which I find more satisfying. If you're using 24g in dual coil, you're not shooting for .5Ω... More like .3 or lower. That's what you're missing

I would say that is actually stress testing your battery, my friend. Thats basically like running your car at redline, constantly. And as for the 'pulse' rating... I read a battery study once that covered the myth pulse rating: When electronics are turned on, many instantaneously spike in how much power and current they draw before leveling out to where ohms law says they should be. I say instantaneously because this occurs over fractions of a second, milliseconds, an imperceivable amount of time. If there is a genuine pulse limit, this is what it was designed for, not for taking 5-10 second pulls on a PV. It should never even be considered when determining what resistance you should build at, only the continuous rating. Even with the continuous rating, a 10-20% safety window below the rating is preferred. I know you've probably seen the safety speech on this site before considering how long you've been on here, so I will stop right here skip right to the point: Please be careful. If anything happens, please keep it between you and your doctor.

To the OP, 24 gauge mainly is definitely for resistances lower than what you are aiming for. I use 24 gauge for my 0.26Ω build, and I will never go any lower than that. I vape a lot of bakery flavors and they definitely taste better, to me, with a warmer vape. You could achieve your 0.5Ω build (more reasonably than 18 wraps lol) with 26 gauge if you use a mandrel with a wider diameter. I wrap my coils on a 3.0mm mandrel, and you could achieve a 0.5Ω build with 7 wraps of 26 gauge on that mandrel, dual coils. So, if you are happy with where you're at, don't worry about it.

I use 26 and 24 gauge because, as Dissonance said, it's easier to increase surface area contact with the wick since it's much thicker wire. It's also much sturdier and easier to work with, not as springy. Maybe 26 gauge will suit you, maybe not. You could always go to a B&M and see if anyone has any 26 gauge and see if they would toss you a foot or two to play with, I know I would (kanthal is cheap). If so, try the build I mentioned above.

Vape Happy,

Cullin Kin

 

[Poisontail]

I run 24 gauge only thing I use! 8 wraps around a 7/64 dual coil around .32 ohms with a vtc5 it's the best thing I run this setup in all my Drippers and gennys

 

[Mr Moustache]

Thanks for all the info, I have a AW IMR 18650 20amp so I'm not too comfortable going under .5 although I could go to .4 safely, I would rather not push it. My buddy is getting some 26 guage and I've built him about 10 coils for him from my spool so I'm sure he will let me make a few from it. Right Nick? Lol, I finally got him on this forum so maybe he will chime in.

 

[Kevin littell]

Sir,

I work in the electronics industry as a repair tech...With Military experience.


When I buy batteries I compute and run coils with a 50 percent overhead.


And I buy batteries once a year OR with a new Mechanical.


Sometimes Bigger Better faster isn't. You only get one set of natural teeth.


If you like your vape and your equipment isn't .....ing about it stick with it.

 

[jersey_emt]

Dual coil 24 gauge build on a TOBH (8 wraps around a 2 mm rod, 0.3 ohms):

 

[Froth]

Thicker wire is meant for lower resistance builds, so building a .5 with 24G will in all likelihood perform not as good as 28G due to the amount of wire and heat up time needed at that resistance. With 24G I would personally say that .35 and below is where 24G comes alive more.

While I do like 24G many of the builds I use it for ended up being twisted 24G. One of my current go-to builds is actually 22G, I've got four devices currently set up with dual 7wrap 22G over a 2mm screwdriver, comes out to ~.13 depending on leg length. The reason I use such thick gauge wire is two fold, one - I really like supersubohm level resistances, the majority of my vaping is done at over 100W. The second reason I like big wire is that 22G coils last a LONG time, we're talking 3+ months of every day supersubohm use before they're needing to be changed.

 

[wshanncap]

I guess I'm a little different than the rest. I am using 28 now and I'm not convinced it is any better other than on really small decks. I learned to build on 24 Kanthal and I ran coils at 1.2 to 1.4 ohm. Wasn't a problem. The only difference that I am seeing that I like is that the 28 has a faster ramp up than the 24. So my batteries last a little longer.

 

[ronnbert]

I would say that is actually stress testing your battery, my friend. Thats basically like running your car at redline, constantly. And as for the 'pulse' rating... I read a battery study once that covered the myth pulse rating: When electronics are turned on, many instantaneously spike in how much power and current they draw before leveling out to where ohms law says they should be. I say instantaneously because this occurs over fractions of a second, milliseconds, an imperceivable amount of time. If there is a genuine pulse limit, this is what it was designed for, not for taking 5-10 second pulls on a PV. It should never even be considered when determining what resistance you should build at, only the continuous rating. Even with the continuous rating, a 10-20% safety window below the rating is preferred. I know you've probably seen the safety speech on this site before considering how long you've been on here, so I will stop right here skip right to the point: Please be careful. If anything happens, please keep it between you and your doctor.

To the OP, 24 gauge mainly is definitely for resistances lower than what you are aiming for. I use 24 gauge for my 0.26Ω build, and I will never go any lower than that. I vape a lot of bakery flavors and they definitely taste better, to me, with a warmer vape. You could achieve your 0.5Ω build (more reasonably than 18 wraps lol) with 26 gauge if you use a mandrel with a wider diameter. I wrap my coils on a 3.0mm mandrel, and you could achieve a 0.5Ω build with 7 wraps of 26 gauge on that mandrel, dual coils. So, if you are happy with where you're at, don't worry about it.

I use 26 and 24 gauge because, as Dissonance said, it's easier to increase surface area contact with the wick since it's much thicker wire. It's also much sturdier and easier to work with, not as springy. Maybe 26 gauge will suit you, maybe not. You could always go to a B&M and see if anyone has any 26 gauge and see if they would toss you a foot or two to play with, I know I would (kanthal is cheap). If so, try the build I mentioned above.

Vape Happy,

Cullin Kin

I was just getting ready to say all of this, and you saved me the time and effort!

I swear we must be on the same frequency, because I wrapped a .43 ohm coil on a 3mm screwdriver, but I did do 24g at 11 wraps to see how it performed. It does take a second or so to heat up, but it is very tasty! The surface area is wonderful, though I may rip out the uglier coil to help the heat up time. I am not sure about a .86 single coil though.

For the person with the 20 amp battery: .21 ohm is exactly 20 amps, so I would personally feel safe going down to .3ish without much concern.