Wonder Why Coils aren't Done Like this

[tA71ana]

Yes, it eliminates the tight spots on the wick and it vapes flawlessly- Even at such a low resistance, which can be tough to achieve. And I am a sucker for the clouds lol!

And yes, YES! Try it! Just remember to keep your wire tight in the figure 8 and it holds up nicely once the wrapping guides are removed. 28g helped because it is heavier, but I can see this working with 32g also if you are more gentle.

All thanks to tA71ana!

I will try it, although I don't expect mine to look nearly as neat as yours, lol.
i will check out the rba forum...there is quite a bit for me to learn, as I know absolutely zilch.
Thank you for doing the build - now I know that it works in practice, not just theory!

 

[Unforeseen]

Moved to Assorted PV Topics - tanks

 

[tA71ana]

Then too....
How about threading the wire straight through the center of the wick and then looping it into a coil, with the loose wire at both ends for connections?
That might work, too.

@MinimalSaint...that wick looks thick enough to do something like that with..

 

[tA71ana]

@MinimalSaint: What make/model of RBA is that you are using?

ETA: I just reread earlier posts and you mentioned a Phoenix RBA.
I think I will see if there are any Utube vids on how to rebuild one of those.

 

[JBL-37]

@MinimalSaint: What make/model of RBA is that you are using?

I like the terminals spread out like that.

 

[JBL-37]

Smok just came out with a new version like the octopus I have been looking at. It looks like the terminals are spread like the pic. I don't have a octopus but I do have a couple squids. They are not as good as the igo as far as quality but work very well. I did order two more igo-l rda's cause I really like them.

I like the coil ideas. I'm going to try the infinity coil later today.

 

[tA71ana]

I was looking at this IGO - L...it looks like it might be easier for me to work with

 

[JBL-37]

It is a nice one, for the price you can have several for different setups. There is lots of room for different setups inside too. I have mine crammed full of wick atm so it holds a lot of juice. I ran ss for a while and flavor change was super fast. Rinse, fling and dry burn while checking coils.

 

[Brewmaster B]

I've tried a couple similar setups to some of the ideas here, and it taught me a very important factor when building coils. The coil itself, the wire, needs air flow. If the coil is buried in wick, it just heats up in there and the vapor doesn't make it out of the wick. I keep it a rule for myself to give air exposure to most or all of the coil. Any sandwiching of wick or covering the coil will work if within reason, but gives a hotter and wetter vape. One setup I tried was a smooth loop of wire, shape of a single O, with the wick wrapped around it. Total fail

 

[minimalsaint]

Then too....
How about threading the wire straight through the center of the wick and then looping it into a coil, with the loose wire at both ends for connections?
That might work, too.

@MinimalSaint...that wick looks thick enough to do something like that with..

I actually tried this exact same thing once but to no avail, which makes sense since the coil is what actually vaporizes the liquid and surface area on the wick is key to good production.
The Phoenix was my first RBA and really the only dripping type I have, but building small and compact coils that need to fit between the Phoenix posts has definitely upped my skill level on builds.... An IGO would be like a dinner plate for me lol.
I recommend anyone with the means to build a coil try this method- it took a minute to get the coils tight and in place, but it is by far the best coil I have ever built for this atty.

 

[tA71ana]

I've tried a couple similar setups to some of the ideas here, and it taught me a very important factor when building coils. The coil itself, the wire, needs air flow. If the coil is buried in wick, it just heats up in there and the vapor doesn't make it out of the wick. I keep it a rule for myself to give air exposure to most or all of the coil. Any sandwiching of wick or covering the coil will work if within reason, but gives a hotter and wetter vape. One setup I tried was a smooth loop of wire, shape of a single O, with the wick wrapped around it. Total fail

Thanks for the tip! This is the type of stuff that good to know...I am looking forward to working with RBAs
I was just watching a pbusardo vid on the ST RSST..looks very simple but a little spendy

 

[tA71ana]

I actually tried this exact same thing once but to no avail, which makes sense since the coil is what actually vaporizes the liquid and surface area on the wick is key to good production.
The Phoenix was my first RBA and really the only dripping type I have, but building small and compact coils that need to fit between the Phoenix posts has definitely upped my skill level on builds.... An IGO would be like a dinner plate for me lol.
I recommend anyone with the means to build a coil try this method- it took a minute to get the coils tight and in place, but it is by far the best coil I have ever built for this atty.

Yes I def want to try it and I think I may go for a couple different RBAs to work with...an IGO might be good for me because I need a large surface area due to Fat and Fumbly Finger Syndrome, lol

 

[minimalsaint]

Smok just came out with a new version like the octopus I have been looking at. It looks like the terminals are spread like the pic. I don't have a octopus but I do have a couple squids. They are not as good as the igo as far as quality but work very well. I did order two more igo-l rda's cause I really like them.

I like the coil ideas. I'm going to try the infinity coil later today.

I want to see what you come up with!
I found it worked best to wrap the coils in a (sort of) loose figure 8 and then pull the wire into tight loops around the 2 guides. Otherwise, it was just angling the coil to fit, bending the legs for the connections and tightening everything up. I will say that it is best to space your coils while they are still wrapped around the guides, since major adjustments on the finished coil will not only move the coil you are touching, but also the one below. I'm hesitant to try with 32g as the 28g kept a really good shape while I was wicking the coils but I'm sure it could be done. I think I will build another around 1.5ohm which should be interesting, so maybe I will take some step-by-step pics as I go.
Maybe it's just because I think it's cool, but it is the best vape I have gotten out of ANY build I have done to date. I'm enjoying it immensely!
Good luck!

 

[minimalsaint]

Yes I def want to try it and I think I may go for a couple different RBAs to work with...an IGO might be good for me because I need a large surface area due to Fat and Fumbly Finger Syndrome, lol

It can be done fairly cheap and it is definitely worth it for the crafty or handy person. As for the size of what you are building on, most of the work can be done off the atty itself and then it is just a matter of making the connections and testing the coil.
The Phoenix just happens to be my only RBA that isn't a genesis type that use more of a vertical coil and connection setup. Normally I can wrap and wick a coil in 2 minutes- it was just a challenge to stuff that huge coil into such a small space and make it function- not just form.
Read, read, read the RBA forums and learn all you can- there is a lot of great help for new and not so new users alike, and more importantly- have fun!

 

[Dannyboy5691]

I love the bottom feed coil, the gurgles and leaks I can figure out how to work with, but why why WHY does the coil gunk up so fast and taste like yuck!!! I have a fondness for dark sweet juices and I am not getting more than 3 or 4 days of good taste out of a head. That's why I'm trying to learn how to rebuild them as opposed to throwing out 2 per week. . .

Why not just dry burn them instead of throwing them out? You can do this for quite a while and save some money. It's not as good as rebuilding but not bad either. Good luck.

 

[Crash Moses]

Okay, my two IGO-Ls arrived today (giving me three to play with) so I sat down to make some coils. No pics as I don't have a camera (sorry).

I made two coils using 32 awg Kanthal. The Kanthal kept it's shape very well (surprisingly). I may try some Nichrome 60 next but I'm still playing with these two.

The first I made using two micro screwdrivers as minimalsaint suggested (wedged in a small vise). The coils came out very nice but just a smidgeon bigger than the 3mm silica which made it easier to thread the wick but harder to tighten the coils for good contact so....not as pretty as minimalsaint's attempt.

The second I wrapped by hand just to see if I could.

I did both with three wraps around each coil and they both came out to 2.0 ohms.

I used the same juice for both (some 0 nic Winterberry from MBV) and compared them to my third IGO which contains a standard coil around four silica wicks (which just vapes awesome fwiw) at 2.2 ohms.

The two new "infinity" coils had great flavor but not as much vapor as the standard coil so I widened the air holes on the two new IGOs a smidgeon and vapor production increased dramatically (I'd been on the fence as to the advantage of a larger air hole...I've since hopped over). I can't tell you how much bigger I made the holes other than the layman's term "smidgeon". I just used a self tapping metal screw.

I still got great flavor and better vapor but still not as much as my standard coil. I fiddled with the coils themselves for a bit and made sure I had similar spacing between coils and similar height above the deck in relation to the air hole, etc. but what I ended up doing was cutting off one side of the wick (so instead of four tails coming off the wick...two on each side...there are only two tails on one side of the coil) which is how my standard coil is constructed.

NOW they start vaping like they're supposed to. Very, very nice. These were my first two of this style and I a bit rough around the edges. I'm going to keep experimenting to see If I can't improve the construction. I have an A7 on the way and I'm anxious to see if I can't get something similar to what minimalsaint had come up with.

Great idea tA71ana, this is fun.

 

[tA71ana]

Okay, my two IGO-Ls arrived today (giving me three to play with) so I sat down to make some coils. No pics as I don't have a camera (sorry).

I made two coils using 32 awg Kanthal. The Kanthal kept it's shape very well (surprisingly). I may try some Nichrome 60 next but I'm still playing with these two.

The first I made using two micro screwdrivers as minimalsaint suggested (wedged in a small vise). The coils came out very nice but just a smidgeon bigger than the 3mm silica which made it easier to thread the wick but harder to tighten the coils for good contact so....not as pretty as minimalsaint's attempt.

The second I wrapped by hand just to see if I could.

I did both with three wraps around each coil and they both came out to 2.0 ohms.

I used the same juice for both (some 0 nic Winterberry from MBV) and compared them to my third IGO which contains a standard coil around four silica wicks (which just vapes awesome fwiw) at 2.2 ohms.

The two new "infinity" coils had great flavor but not as much vapor as the standard coil so I widened the air holes on the two new IGOs a smidgeon and vapor production increased dramatically (I'd been on the fence as to the advantage of a larger air hole...I've since hopped over). I can't tell you how much bigger I made the holes other than the layman's term "smidgeon". I just used a self tapping metal screw.

I still got great flavor and better vapor but still not as much as my standard coil. I fiddled with the coils themselves for a bit and made sure I had similar spacing between coils and similar height above the deck in relation to the air hole, etc. but what I ended up doing was cutting off one side of the wick (so instead of four tails coming off the wick...two on each side...there are only two tails on one side of the coil) which is how my standard coil is constructed.

NOW they start vaping like they're supposed to. Very, very nice. These were my first two of this style and I a bit rough around the edges. I'm going to keep experimenting to see If I can't improve the construction. I have an A7 on the way and I'm anxious to see if I can't get something similar to what minimalsaint had come up with.

Great idea tA71ana, this is fun.

I'm glad you are having fun with this!
i can't wait to get my RBA so I can play with it, too.
I still want to see exactly what I can accomplish with the Vivi Nova tank I have

 

[minimalsaint]

Okay, my two IGO-Ls arrived today (giving me three to play with) so I sat down to make some coils. No pics as I don't have a camera (sorry).

I made two coils using 32 awg Kanthal. The Kanthal kept it's shape very well (surprisingly). I may try some Nichrome 60 next but I'm still playing with these two.

The first I made using two micro screwdrivers as minimalsaint suggested (wedged in a small vise). The coils came out very nice but just a smidgeon bigger than the 3mm silica which made it easier to thread the wick but harder to tighten the coils for good contact so....not as pretty as minimalsaint's attempt.

The second I wrapped by hand just to see if I could.

I did both with three wraps around each coil and they both came out to 2.0 ohms.

I used the same juice for both (some 0 nic Winterberry from MBV) and compared them to my third IGO which contains a standard coil around four silica wicks (which just vapes awesome fwiw) at 2.2 ohms.

The two new "infinity" coils had great flavor but not as much vapor as the standard coil so I widened the air holes on the two new IGOs a smidgeon and vapor production increased dramatically (I'd been on the fence as to the advantage of a larger air hole...I've since hopped over). I can't tell you how much bigger I made the holes other than the layman's term "smidgeon". I just used a self tapping metal screw.

I still got great flavor and better vapor but still not as much as my standard coil. I fiddled with the coils themselves for a bit and made sure I had similar spacing between coils and similar height above the deck in relation to the air hole, etc. but what I ended up doing was cutting off one side of the wick (so instead of four tails coming off the wick...two on each side...there are only two tails on one side of the coil) which is how my standard coil is constructed.

NOW they start vaping like they're supposed to. Very, very nice. These were my first two of this style and I a bit rough around the edges. I'm going to keep experimenting to see If I can't improve the construction. I have an A7 on the way and I'm anxious to see if I can't get something similar to what minimalsaint had come up with.

Great idea tA71ana, this is fun.

Nice!
The air chamber in an IGO is definitely larger than the Phoenix- I would lend part of this coil's performance in my setup to the fact that it literally takes up almost all of the area between the posts and there is plenty of air movement, even without a larger hole or needing to align the hole period.
It also sounds like your wicks were getting too wet with 4 tails, but I'm glad you found a solution that worked instead of trashing the whole idea. I don't know if you have ever used cotton, but the stuff pictured in mine is just cotton candle wick from hobby lobby, boiled a couple of times and voila. I find that the ends hold together better than silica if you are trying to wick a premade coil, and the weave in the cotton wick seems to have excellent absorption - never had a dry hit, though I am more conscious of making sure I drip regularly to avoid scorching the wicks.
It really is a fun build, especially when wrapping single coils just gets to be..... Well..... Boring.

 

[minimalsaint]

Next..... The clover coil (dun dun duunnnnnn)

 

[minimalsaint]

I'm glad you are having fun with this!
i can't wait to get my RBA so I can play with it, too.
I still want to see exactly what I can accomplish with the Vivi Nova tank I have

I have some 1mm silica and 32g kanthal in my kit so maybe I will see how small I can get this setup to work. I don't have a nova but if I get something that looks like it may fit, I will send it your way!