Wire Thickness for Same Resistance Coil?

[jamesbeat]

Sorry for the noob question, but I've searched and can't find a satisfying answer.

Say I build two different coils of exactly the same resistance from, say, 30ga and 28ga wire and run them at the exact same wattage, what would the difference be in performance?

Is there an advantage to one or the other?

I know I could try this, but currently only have 28ga wire.
I'm currently stocking up for the Vapocalypse, and I don't want to buy anything that I don't absolutely need until after August 8th...

 

[Rixsta]

We'll take these builds ......

30g kanthal 5 wraps 3mm inner diameter 40w = 1.6 ohms The higher the number Gauge = thinner wire = higher resistance.

28g kanthal 5 wraps 3mm inner diameter 40w = 1.1 ohms The lower the number Gauge = thicker wire = lower resistance.

Lower the build the more watts / volts you can put through it without getting dry hits and the more vapor it will produce, this is of course depending on your atty, wicking and airflow ect....

Higher resistance is more for mouth to lung, lower resistance wire is more for direct lung hits..

 

[Bonskibon]

Steam Engine is an awesome reference in coil building and so many other calculations.

 

[zoiDman]

Sorry for the noob question, but I've searched and can't find a satisfying answer.

Say I build two different coils of exactly the same resistance from, say, 30ga and 28ga wire and run them at the exact same wattage, what would the difference be in performance?

Is there an advantage to one or the other?

I know I could try this, but currently only have 28ga wire.
I'm currently stocking up for the Vapocalypse, and I don't want to buy anything that I don't absolutely need until after August 8th...

This actually Isn't a noob question at all. Although the Answers you get May Not be what you are Expecting.

Go to this site and put in all the Parameters (Wire Type, Gauge, Coil Diameter, Ohms, Watts) for a given Coil that you have used and Like.

Coil wrapping

Now change the Gauge of the Wire and leave Everything Else the same.

Notice how the Heat Flux and the Heat Capacity changes? Now Notice that as you change the Watts alone, that the Only the Heat Flux changes.

In very Basic terms, you can think of Heat Flux as the amount of Heat a Coil produces. And Heat Capacity as to How Quickly a Coil heats up.

Thicker Wire, of the same Alloy, take Longer to reach a given Heat Flux. ie: they have Slow Ramp Up. Where as Thinner Wires have Faster Ramp Up. This is also true for Ramping Down. Thicker Wire take Longer to Cool Off than a Thinner Wire.

So what are the Advantages? That's hard to Say. And a lot depends on if you are using a Mechanical Mod where you can Not Change the Voltage. Or if you are using a VV/VW Mod where you Can changes the Voltage. Which resultantly, changes the Wattage.

What many people do is Find a Coil set-up that they like at a give Wattage and then Look at the Heat Flux as a Baseline Number. Then they try Other combinations of Gauge, Wire Type, Ohms, etc, keeping that Baseline Heat Flux in mind. And then compare what the effects on Flavor, Vapor, Wicking are.

Hard to say what the Advantage of a 30ga is over a 28ga wire for you. Because I don't know what type of Hit you are looking for? Or if you are Using a Mech or a VV/VW Mod?

For Me, using a VV/VW device and wanting Flavor over Clouds, Fast Ramp-Up over Slow, I build leaning toward Thinner Gauges vs. Thicker Gauges.

 

[jamesbeat]

Ah, so basically, assuming all other factors to be equal, (the only variable being wire gauge) it is the heat flux that is different.

That makes a lot of sense, thanks for the explanation.

I might experiment with some thinner gauge wire and see what a faster ramp up is like.

 

[puffon]

Also keep in mind the atty you're using.
A smaller chamber atty such as a Low Pro, may require a higher ohm, to keep from getting too hot.
A Velocity with a larger chamber, may require a lower ohm, to get the same vape you like.

 

[zoiDman]

...

I might experiment with some thinner gauge wire and see what a faster ramp up is like.

That's Really what it is All About. Trying things and seeing what the Effects are.

Because sometimes it is Easy to get Lost in all the Numbers. And forget that it is what comes out of the Drip Tip that Matters. And the Only way to get that is to Try Different things.

One last thing. Notice as the Wire gets Thinner, the Change in the Heat Flux happens much Faster when the Watts are changed.

So a Very Thin Wire can have the same "Sweet Spot" for a given wattage. But finding it can be Harder. Because Very Small Changes in Wattage will cause a Large Change in the Heat Flux.

 

[CMD-Ky]

I use a mechanical (a REO) and I build to the heat flux number on Steam Engine rather than Ohm's. SE makes it very easy to try different wire types, gauges, wrap number and ohm's while keeping the coil near the same heat. Using it was a real eye opener for me and brought a much better understanding of what I was doing.

 

[Rule62]

I use a mechanical (a REO) and I build to the heat flux number on Steam Engine rather than Ohm's. SE makes it very easy to try different wire types, gauges, wrap number and ohm's while keeping the coil near the same heat. Using it was a real eye opener for me and brought a much better understanding of what I was doing.

I'm the same way. I build to Heat Flux as much or mor than I do ohms. It's especially important, since all I use are mechanical mods(REOs). Once you've fooled around with HF for a while, you settle in on a range where you like to vape.

 

[Layzee Vaper]

With the same wire type and resistance, the thinner wire will be hotter and also faster to heat up.

Like Rule62 I know roughly what my requirements are in terms of heat flux and tend to build for that.

As long as my resistance value is high enough to stay within my battery limits, I see it as consequence of my other build requirements (surface area, heat flux, heat capacity)

 

[crxess]

Energy required to reach same heat level in same time frame.
Total Surface Area exposed to do its job - Variable by Wire type.

For shorter draws, higher gauge wire works well at lower power.(battery saving)
For longer enjoyable draws lower gauge wire works better at lower resistances and mild power levels.

For Cloud Chasing the simplest solution seems to be very low Gauge wire or exotic multi stranded wire, very low resistance, plenty of Watts and Lots of high VG E-liquid.

what do I know? I just Vape