# Failing With Coil Building



## Imthiaz Khan (22/6/14)

Hi All,

So i'm trying to get my coils to 1.2 ohms but failing getting to my target resistance. I am using 26g kanthal & according to vapours toolbox it should be 11/12 wraps on a 2mm ID. When i build it, it comes 3.7 ohms . What am i doing wrong?


----------



## Silver (22/6/14)

Sounds strange @Bubbly 
26g wire 11 wraps should not be anywhere near that high in ohms
I suspect either the way you connected it up is interfering with the reading or the ohm meter is giving a strange reading. 

Also, cant really see how you have connected it in your photo and i have no experience with the 3D dripper.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## BhavZ (22/6/14)

There could be a few reasons why you are getting high ohms

ohm reader is fault
the wraps of the coil could be overlapping 
The legs on your coil are two long

resistance is not just about wraps on a coil but also about how much kanthal you are using (leg length plays a big part in this)


Hope that helps

Reactions: Agree 3


----------



## ET (22/6/14)

aye, any chance you have something like a svd to test the ohm's on instead?
you might also not have 26g kanthal, might be a thinner wire there


----------



## Imthiaz Khan (22/6/14)

Thanks @Silver , @BhavZ , @denizenx ,

I did not know about the legs so i will try a re-build later with the legs as close to the posts as possible.
I did test the atty on the resistance tester & the SVD, both show 3.5/3.7

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## ET (22/6/14)

as a test measure a little longer than 1 inch worth of kanthal off, just long enough so the distance from the positive to the negative post should be 1 inch and test the resistance then. should give a good test to see if it's getting the correct resistance or what gauge kanthal it is


----------



## Imthiaz Khan (22/6/14)

The kanthal is from Vape King, when i bought they said it was 26g, it's also mentioned as 26g on the invoice.


----------



## ET (22/6/14)

go do the 1 inch test, not much will be wasted and it's a good problem finding idea  doooo iiiit

Reactions: Agree 1


----------



## Spiri (22/6/14)

Just by the looks of that wire I would say that it is not 26g you have there, it looks way too thin to me. I'm guessing you have 32g there. As a test, do another 6 wrap coil, if it comes to the region of 1.8 - 2 Ω then you have 32g.

Reactions: Agree 1


----------



## TylerD (22/6/14)

Switch on the ohm meter, and fiddle with the posts. It might be a loose post as well.

Reactions: Agree 1


----------



## ET (22/6/14)

Spiri said:


> Just by the looks of that wire I would say that it is not 26g you have there, it looks way too thin to me. I'm guessing you have 32g there. As a test, do another 6 wrap coil, if it comes to the region of 1.8 - 2 Ω then you have 32g.


 
ag no man dont go confusing the poor oke, why waste all that kanthal when i have already suggested just using an inch?


----------



## Imthiaz Khan (22/6/14)

Thanks for the advice guys!
So the test i should try, is take 1 inch of the wire, attach 1 end to the negative & the end to the positive & test what resistance i'm getting?


----------



## Spiri (22/6/14)

lolz, @denizenx , I completely missed your post - I agree with you, do the inch test! That wire does look thin to me though.


----------



## ET (22/6/14)

aye, does look more spaghetti than macaroni

Reactions: Funny 1


----------



## devdev (22/6/14)

denizenx said:


> aye, does look more spaghetti than macaroni


Not sure how you guys can tell, that wire looks blurry to me...

Reactions: Agree 1


----------



## ET (22/6/14)

yeah the wire is slightly out of focus so you can determine from there that it is thinner than it appears. also the shape of the coil is slightly squiff and you don't get that with the thicker wire coils. size of the coil also seems to suggest thinner wire

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


----------



## Spiri (22/6/14)

@Bubbly, here is a resistance per inch chart just for reference:

Resistance in Ohms/inch for the Resistance Wires
Kanthal Grade----- A-1 ------ A -------- D ----- Nichrome 60 -------- Nichrome 80
30 awg (Ω/in)----- 0.7 ------ 0.7 ------ 0.7 -------- 0.6 -------- -------- 0.5
31 awg (Ω/in)----- 0.9 ------ 0.9 ------ 0.8
32 awg (Ω/in)----- 1.2 ------ 1.1 ------ 1.1 -------- 0.9 -------- -------- 0.9
33 awg (Ω/in)----- 1.4 ------ 1.4 ------ 1.3
34 awg (Ω/in)----- 1.8 ------ 1.8 ------ 1.7 -------- 1.4 -------- -------- 1.4
35 awg (Ω/in)----- 2.3 ------ 2.2 ------ 2.1
36 awg (Ω/in)----- 2.9 ------ 2.8 ------ 2.7 -------- 2.3 -------- -------- 2.1

Reactions: Thanks 1


----------



## PeterHarris (22/6/14)

yea i also think that the wire is not 26G in that pic, 
yes coil leg lenght will affect the ressistance, but for 3.7 Ohms he would need F ing long legs....

Reactions: Thanks 1


----------



## Imthiaz Khan (22/6/14)

@Spiri thanks for the chart!
So it looks like i have 31g/32g kanthal, right?


----------



## ET (22/6/14)

probably 30 or 32 gauge kanthal is what you got yes. now you can go make a coil using 32 guage as the kanthal and if it differs too much for the calculater just assume its 30 gauge and go happily coiling yourself some new coils. good luck dude

Reactions: Thanks 1


----------



## Imthiaz Khan (22/6/14)

Thanks tons guys!!!
Hope it goes well!


----------



## Spiri (22/6/14)

Glad we could help to sort that one out, it does seem like you have 31/32g there. Go for 4 wraps to get your target 1.2Ω coil @Bubbly. Let us know how it went mkay.

Reactions: Thanks 1


----------



## Imthiaz Khan (23/6/14)

Yay, it's much better now, i'm getting 1.8Ω and its vaping much much better! 
I'm still not good at building coils...but with some practice i will hopefully get there.
Also going to get some 28g rather.
Thanks a mil guys! Really appreciate all your help, assistance & advice!
You guys rock

Reactions: Like 4


----------

