# When to replace pre-built coils



## franshorn (3/8/18)

So I'm still new to whole rebuilding thing. 

How do I know when to replace the coil? 
What I do now is just dry burn the coil clean before rewicking and I do a strip down of the tank when I see it starts looking dirty and use a tooth brush to clean everything.

Read somewhere one should change the coil when the resistance starts to change. Is this the sign?
Or is it once the coil starts showing hot spots that don't go away with some repositioning/ strumming?


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## craigb (3/8/18)

what coils are you using ? Sometimes they can last as long as 6 months or even longer with good care and maintenance.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## franshorn (3/8/18)

Coil company aliens...


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## RainstormZA (3/8/18)

craigb said:


> what coils are you using ? Sometimes they can last as long as 6 months or even longer with good care and maintenance.



What he said. I've had the standard coil that came with my Pirate King RDA. It's been a month now, with daily burning, cleaning with an old toothbrush and dish liquid. 

Because of daily cleaning, I may have replace it very soon. Losing flavour here but still cloudy with a chance of meatballs. Lol.

Reactions: Like 1 | Winner 2


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## craigb (3/8/18)

franshorn said:


> Coil company aliens...


When you are no longer getting a good vape out of them, that's when you change them (I know, super specific hey)

You don't want hot spots, so like you said, if you can't get rid of them, ditch them. But do make sure they are persistent, that seemingly immovable hot spot might just need a jig jiggling to sort out, so make sure you gently try as many things as possible.

Coil Company coils should last you a long time though, but sadly, nothing lasts forever.


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## Martin Narainsamy (3/8/18)

franshorn said:


> So I'm still new to whole rebuilding thing.
> 
> How do I know when to replace the coil?
> What I do now is just dry burn the coil clean before rewicking and I do a strip down of the tank when I see it starts looking dirty and use a tooth brush to clean everything.
> ...


 Rememeber that some wire(eg.Steel) will change in resistance as the wire heats up... so I would not go with that as a rule of thumb...Other variables also come into play such as the post screws not been tight as I find that screws loosen over time and that will also cause resistance to fluxuate.

The Hotspots are not a clear indicator as come new coils with a lot of wire will take a long time to work out hotspots.

For me, I rewick on a 3 day basis because I tend to change up types of coils and juices.
But as a rule of thumb, I would say Rewick on a weekly basis.
As for re-coiling. Certain coils outlast others depending on the material used and quality of wrapping. 
So when you start to get a burnt taste of hotter vape than what you are used to at your parameters or when you start to get a slight metallic taste, then re-coil (keeping in mind that you are not Dry-hitting).

Hope this answers your question.

Reactions: Thanks 1 | Informative 1 | Disagree 1


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## RainstormZA (3/8/18)

Oh BTW my ohms have stayed the same, more or less at 0.22 which is perfect for me using an RDA. 

The only advice which I got from smilelykumeenit is when they don't look clean after a good toothbrush scrubbing or when you are losing flavour.

Reactions: Like 3


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## RainstormZA (3/8/18)

Coils in my Armour rda, more than two months old




Flavour is still awesome and these are smilelykumeenit coils

Reactions: Winner 2


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## RainstormZA (3/8/18)

Before and after cleaning - dry burn, scrub and dry burn again.

Reactions: Like 1 | Winner 2


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## MrGSmokeFree (3/8/18)

RainstormZA said:


> What he said. I've had the standard coil that came with my Pirate King RDA. It's been a month now, with daily burning, cleaning with an old toothbrush and dish liquid.
> 
> Because of daily cleaning, I may have replace it very soon. Losing flavour here but still cloudy with a chance of meatballs. Lol.
> 
> ...


Hi @RainstormZA sorry I am off the topic here. I am just curious what is the white thingy under your RDA in the pic

Reactions: Funny 1


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## RainstormZA (3/8/18)

MrGSmokeFree said:


> Hi @RainstormZA sorry I am off the topic here. I am just curious what is the white thingy under your RDA in the pic



Coffee filter cutouts as that rda condenses a lot.

Reactions: Like 1 | Informative 1


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## MrGSmokeFree (3/8/18)

RainstormZA said:


> Coffee filter cutouts as that rda condenses a lot.


Cool thank you for the response.


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## Hallucinated_ (3/8/18)

Martin Narainsamy said:


> Rememeber that some wire(eg.Steel) will change in resistance as the wire heats up... so I would not go with that as a rule of thumb...Other variables also come into play such as the post screws not been tight as I find that screws loosen over time and that will also cause resistance to fluxuate.
> 
> The Hotspots are not a clear indicator as come new coils with a lot of wire will take a long time to work out hotspots.
> 
> ...


Re wick on a weekly basis ? Please


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## daniel craig (3/8/18)

With proper care, pre-built coils from top coil makers like Coil Company and Smiley can last 10 months+.

Reactions: Agree 1 | Winner 1


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## Rob Fisher (3/8/18)

I find that I need to replace my coils after about 2-3 months. All of a sudden I can taste that there is some muting of the flavour.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## IVapesDaNicotine (3/8/18)

depends on the coils if you use chinese coils they don't last as long as ones from countries with better regulations but they are dirt cheap and easy to find


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## Modyrts (3/8/18)

Personally i change my coils once a month i go buy a fresh pair because DIY is too much effort for me to make fused claptons or aliens.

Although it may not be necessary to do so i prefer to as i used to change my smok coils at the same time


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## Martin Narainsamy (3/8/18)

Hallucinated_ said:


> Re wick on a weekly basis ? Please


Clearly you do not vape the same way i DO...if you go through about 300mls of juice a week then you are on my level.
I go through about 20 plus juices a week because I review them.....
I do not know what you mean in you comment @Hallucinated_ because in my case(as I did state in that msg) I have to or the wick is too slimey.
If you would take the time to educate me on the right way because clearly i have been doing something wrong for about 6 years...

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Martin Narainsamy (3/8/18)

Martin Narainsamy said:


> Rememeber that some wire(eg.Steel) will change in resistance as the wire heats up... so I would not go with that as a rule of thumb...Other variables also come into play such as the post screws not been tight as I find that screws loosen over time and that will also cause resistance to fluxuate.
> 
> The Hotspots are not a clear indicator as come new coils with a lot of wire will take a long time to work out hotspots.
> 
> ...



Remember that I go through roughly 300ml of juice a week!


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## Faiyaz Cheulkar (3/8/18)

MrGSmokeFree said:


> Hi @RainstormZA sorry I am off the topic here. I am just curious what is the white thingy under your RDA in the pic


It's a bib for her RDA.

Reactions: Funny 4


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## MrGSmokeFree (3/8/18)

Faiyaz Cheulkar said:


> It's a bib for her RDA.


 @Faiyaz Cheulkar I wanted to ask why it is so big.

Reactions: Like 1 | Funny 1


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## Martin Narainsamy (3/8/18)

RainstormZA said:


> Coffee filter cutouts as that rda condenses a lot.


something new I can Try because I find myself constantly wiping off the condensation from the mod

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Faiyaz Cheulkar (3/8/18)

MrGSmokeFree said:


> @Faiyaz Cheulkar I wanted to ask why it is so big.


That question only she can answer. May be to suck out the excess?? Anyway that's an expensive mod that she is holding, I would have got that mod a silicone sleeve too.

Reactions: Agree 1 | Funny 1


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## RainstormZA (3/8/18)

MrGSmokeFree said:


> @Faiyaz Cheulkar I wanted to ask why it is so big.


Hahahahahaha @Faiyaz Cheulkar is correct.

Condensation covers the whole top. Rather be safe than sorry. 

Now you've given me an idea, resin top cover...

Reactions: Like 2 | Funny 1


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## MrGSmokeFree (3/8/18)

@RainstormZA I think you are veryyyyy safe the size of that coffee filter should take about 50 ml of juice before there is any damage

Reactions: Funny 3


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## Bulldog (3/8/18)

Coils you just know when needing to replace, I have my atties not used as often that could go months and others after a month need replacing. You get to know when you not getting the best from the coil. As for rewicking every 2 days on my Kylin Mini or Intake whichever one is in daily use at the time which equates to 60 to 80 ml of juice so as a general rule I would say I rewick after 60ml of juice in any RTA,RDA or RDTA.


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## Vilaishima (3/8/18)

Rewick get to me depends on the juice very much. My '''heavier" juice like my Lemon Tart fouls the wicks really quick. The fruity stuff not nearly as quick.

I am still quite new at this but the Geek Vape nichrome claptons lasted about a month whereas the twisted Kanthals have been going for much longer. I had to replace the nichrome claptons this week as they just did not taste spot on anymore with some harshness. I suspect the Chinese wire had something to do with it. 

I replace them with DIY twisted Nichrothal coils and will see how long they last.


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## Silver (3/8/18)

franshorn said:


> So I'm still new to whole rebuilding thing.
> 
> How do I know when to replace the coil?
> What I do now is just dry burn the coil clean before rewicking and I do a strip down of the tank when I see it starts looking dirty and use a tooth brush to clean everything.
> ...



Hi @franshorn

Coil life depends on several factors

Power you vape at
The juices you vape
What the coil is made of and the quality of material

For my basic coils that I make myself (simple round wire, not exotics - mostly Kanthal and NI80) I find it lasts me at least 3 months, even as much as 6 months. I don't vape exclusively on one device though. I find the coil doesn't feel 100% right and gunk build up makes marks on the coil even when dry burning and cleaning etc. Sometimes hotspots too. Then its time to build a new coil. But this happens gradually and I don't really notice the drop off in the vape. I am often surprised how much better the vape is when I make a new coil. Fires with more vigour and "purrs". Perhaps if I got into the habit of building new coils more frequently I would notice it more, lol. 

As for the exotic coils, obviously one wants them to last longer, especially the custom ones you buy from coil specialists. I havent got a lot of experience with that - I only have a few coils from Smiley and had one from The Coil Company. My Coil Company coil was in my Billet Box and it lasted very long. About six months. I only changed it because I thought I should but not really because I noticed any degradation in the vape.

I think juices and power also play a role. Dark juices and those that gunk up the coils and wicks tend to make my coils last less long. I generally vape at lowish power - but the higher the power the more stress on the coil so I would imagine that high power vaping reduces coil life a bit as well.

Reactions: Like 1


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## RainstormZA (3/8/18)

Oh BTW that Asvape Gabriel mod is R3200...

Anyway back to the original topic coils...

It all depends on the quality - some last longer, others are crap.

Reactions: Like 1


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