Wire Thickness, Resistance Settings, Etc

[Bonez007]

Hey guys,

So i am a total noob, but i am getting me a magma rda to get into the coil building thing. After the KZN Vape Meet I have seen how much of fun and flavour i am missing out on, hahaha.

Now, i dont know what else i should buy. I know i need an ohm meter.

What thickness wire should i buy, and wick material?

I dont really want to go very low resistance and safety is of utmost importance. What would one recommend as coil resistances and configuration? Dual coil? Single coil? 1ohm?

I will using the ipv v2 with sony vtc5 batteries. This website tells me the sweet spot is 0.988ohms, can anyone concur? http://www.steam-engine.org/modrange.asp

Also, are there any safety guidelines for a noob, so that he doesn't blow his face off?

Thanks

 

[Andre]

Read/watch the stickies at the top of this forum: http://www.ecigssa.co.za/forums/electronic-cigarette-mods/

Kanthal 28 g is a good starting wire. For wicking you can do Ekowool, cotton, rayon.....

You need a good little screwdriver. You need something to wrap your coil on, like a 1.5 mm drill bit. You need a little blowtorch, but a gas stove or even a good lighter will also work.

Do a Google search for how to coil/wick the Magna, should find many videos.

Yes, around 1.0 ohms should be a good starting point.

 

[Rob Fisher]

Everything @Andre said!

 

[WHeunis]

1 ohms flat (or as close as possible) should be fine.
That site gives good calculator values, so you can trust what it gives you.

I don't know what to recommend as far as wire thickness (gauge) goes. I don't know the atty, so it's hard to say.
As a baseline, I would probably recommend going with thinner wire to start off with. They are higher resistance per given distance, and you would probably end up making a few 1.5+ ohm coils to begin with.
A wire you probably won't go too terribly wrong with right out the shoot, is 28 gauge. Very much middle-of-the-road.
Heck, wouldn't even be such a horrid idea to start out with 2 ohm coils!
As you get more familiar with your equipment and personal skills, you can adjust wire thickness as needed.
The only SOLID advice I can give on this topic is: Don't buy too much of one thickness... youre gonna have to play around for a while to find your own personal sweet spot...

As for wick; the best newbie-friendly wick available will be silica/ekowool. It doesn't burn. This will give you a lot of leeway in terms of learning to wick properly. A botched cotton/rayon wick running dry is prone to light on fire, so you don't wanna jump right into that particular ocean right off the bat if you're not comfortable with that sort of consequence...
Thickness of the wick is gonna be yours to toy with as your coils grow or skrink in size.

As for setup, single coil will be the way to go. Dual coil brings with it a whole new set of things to be aware of with safety.

You already mentioned an ohm meter, so good step there.

Also consider a small butane torch. Torching your wire before use is good for getting any factory chemicals off them, as well as making it slightly more workable.
Another good piece to add to your toolkit is an insulated needle-nose plier. MAKE SURE IT'S INSULATED!
Alternatively, ceramic-tipped tweezers (although they are a little bit harder to come by).
A small but comfortable wire-cutter will also be needed, as well as a small screwdriver kit.
You can probably get the pliers, cutter, and screwdrivers in a small kit at your local hardware shop.
Wouldn't hurt to get s basic set of drillbits either (to wrap coils around)

The biggest piece of advice that I can give you is that you should NEVER (regardless of newbie or pro) build a coil on a mod as you see people do in Youtube videos.
I can't even begin to tell you just how dangerous that actually is. Apart from burning your fingers, one false move and you really can short a mod to death, or a battery into thermal runaway.
It rubs me completely the wrong way when I see people do this...
Always build disconnected, or if you absolutely must, build on the ohm meter if it has a 510 connection.

Can't think if I missed anything, please do ask if you are unsure about any of this. I'm pretty sure other folks will probably chime in on anything I missed.
(it's been a long night of work for me, so my head is a little fuzzy)


EDIT: fuzzy head also types slow, everything @Andre said (in a more compact way) - i get chatty when im tired.

 

[Riaz]

yip @Andre pretty much summed it up @Bonez007

have fun!!!

keep us posted, and if you get stuck, you know where to come

 

[Bonez007]

Wow thank you so much guys. I am now armed with enough information much love

 

[MarkK]

@bones the protections built into the IPV V2 are decent, its the Yihie SX 330 Board in that unit, so your face will stay pretty Your box mod will tell you what to do (IE: Short, check atomizer, resistance tooo low or tooo high, check battery)

I will second the sound advice of starting at 1 ohm and I will add have fun! Welcome to the coil & drip club

 

[WHeunis]

@Bonez007
Oh! I almost forgot!

As a newbie to RBA's, you REALLY want to think of getting some fingerhoodies (rubber tips for your fingers, commonly used for sewing), if you have sensitive fingers.
Newbie fingers can get quite tender with all that wire fiddling...

 

[Bonez007]

@Bonez007
Oh! I almost forgot!

As a newbie to RBA's, you REALLY want to think of getting some fingerhoodies (rubber tips for your fingers, commonly used for sewing), if you have sensitive fingers.
Newbie fingers can get quite tender with all that wire fiddling...

Nice tip bro

I play guitar so I should be fine. If not, i will steal my moms thimble things

 

[WHeunis]

Nice tip bro

I play guitar so I should be fine. If not, i will steal my moms thimble things

I was also blessed/cursed (depends how you look at it) with guitar fingers.
I could cut glass with my left hand's fingers...

 

[capetocuba]

@Bonez007
Oh! I almost forgot!

As a newbie to RBA's, you REALLY want to think of getting some fingerhoodies (rubber tips for your fingers, commonly used for sewing), if you have sensitive fingers.
Newbie fingers can get quite tender with all that wire fiddling...

I have sensitive fingers and have been building coils for over 8 months now. I see absolutely no need for these finger hoodies as they would interfere with the build. I either wrap my coil around a drill bit or on the jig I have. I have never managed to cut myself of whatever in that time. I have burnt myself on a coil though, that was after priming it and then wanting to tighten atty onto mod.

 

[rvdwesth]

Hey guys,

So i am a total noob, but i am getting me a magma rda to get into the coil building thing. After the KZN Vape Meet I have seen how much of fun and flavour i am missing out on, hahaha.

Now, i dont know what else i should buy. I know i need an ohm meter.

What thickness wire should i buy, and wick material?

I dont really want to go very low resistance and safety is of utmost importance. What would one recommend as coil resistances and configuration? Dual coil? Single coil? 1ohm?

I will using the ipv v2 with sony vtc5 batteries. This website tells me the sweet spot is 0.988ohms, can anyone concur? http://www.steam-engine.org/modrange.asp

Also, are there any safety guidelines for a noob, so that he doesn't blow his face off?

Thanks

@Bonez007 I had the same dilemma, and built a few just to test.

The Elec Mods all have built in ohm meters so I personally don't use a separate one. The device wont let you fire if there is a short etc. What i did find is that there are plenty sources out there to give you a very good indication of how many wraps on what diameter will give you what ohms. I use a App on my phone called Vaper's Toolbox (I have Android, not sure about IOS) and the details are pretty accurate.
So during my build journey, I have now found a wire that works, in my case 30G Kanthral with cotton and I know exactly how many wraps i prefer on my Kayfun for a good vape. I use a different ohm for my Protank and the wife also prefer a different ohm for her protank mini...

In summary I'd say if you use a Elec Mod, play and find your sweet spot for each take, document or make a mental note for each setup...
Lastly I prefer Kanthral to Nicrome, although I find Nicrome is much easier to wrap than kanthral.

 

[Bonez007]

Orders have been placed now the dreaded wait (overnight) for vape mails lol.
Bank balance out the window

 

[rvdwesth]

Orders have been placed now the dreaded wait (overnight) for vape mails lol.
Bank balance out the window

@Bonez007 , what did you order?

 

[Bonez007]

Ipv v2
Magma rda
Ekowool
Kanthal 28g
Nitecore l2 charger
Kangertech coils (for my mini protank 3)
Coil jig
USB charger and wall adaptor (for my spinner)
Some liquids

Also waiting for a response, to confirm these:
Drip tips
Sony vtc5 x2

 

[Andre]

Ipv v2
Magma rda
Ekowool
Kanthal 28g
Nitecore l2 charger
Kangertech coils (for my mini protank 3)
Coil jig
USB charger and wall adaptor (for my spinner)
Some liquids

Also waiting for a response, to confirm these:
Drip tips
Sony vtc5 x2

Ooh, you are gonna have soooo much fun!

 

[Bonez007]

Ooh, you are gonna have soooo much fun!

I should not have attended the vape meet

 

[rvdwesth]

Ipv v2
Magma rda
Ekowool
Kanthal 28g
Nitecore l2 charger
Kangertech coils (for my mini protank 3)
Coil jig
USB charger and wall adaptor (for my spinner)
Some liquids

Also waiting for a response, to confirm these:
Drip tips
Sony vtc5 x2

Jealous much I am!!!!
I am sooooo in two minds between ZNA 30 vs Hcigar 30 vs IPV v2 --> I just cannot make up my mind.
I do not want an evic again and I do not want a mech and I do not want something with an external charger - My device has to be able to charge without removing the battery overnight while I sleep.

 

[Riaz]

Ipv v2
Magma rda
Ekowool
Kanthal 28g
Nitecore l2 charger
Kangertech coils (for my mini protank 3)
Coil jig
USB charger and wall adaptor (for my spinner)
Some liquids

Also waiting for a response, to confirm these:
Drip tips
Sony vtc5 x2

thats a beautiful list buddy

 

[Andre]

Jealous much I am!!!!
I am sooooo in two minds between ZNA 30 vs Hcigar 30 vs IPV v2 --> I just cannot make up my mind.
I do not want an evic again and I do not want a mech and I do not want something with an external charger - My device has to be able to charge without removing the battery overnight while I sleep.

The ZNA30 clone is of unknown quality at this stage. I had the Cana 30W and have the IPV50W. Prefer the IPV for its feel and quality to the Cana 30W. Also trust the IPV electronics more than that of the Cana30W. If that helps.

 

[Al3x]

awesome @Bonez007 looks like we need to have a mini vape session soon

 

[rvdwesth]

The ZNA30 clone is of unknown quality at this stage. I had the Cana 30W and have the IPV50W. Prefer the IPV for its feel and quality to the Cana 30W. Also trust the IPV electronics more than that of the Cana30W. If that helps.

Thanks @Andre it helps a lot!

 

[Jibbz786]

@Bonez007 you need any help with coiling gimme just gimme a shout, maybe have a mini coil building meet with the durbs guys, what you say @Al3x

 

[Bonez007]

Jealous much I am!!!!
I am sooooo in two minds between ZNA 30 vs Hcigar 30 vs IPV v2 --> I just cannot make up my mind.
I do not want an evic again and I do not want a mech and I do not want something with an external charger - My device has to be able to charge without removing the battery overnight while I sleep.

I was also very confused, but at the vape meet i got a chance to play around with the hana and ipv, and other stuff. I came home even more confused lol, because both those devices are top notch. But for me the ipv felt more comfortable in my hand, plus its got. 20 extra watts, so i ordered it. It is a trade off a bit in the looks department, as i hear 22mm attys have a slight overhang, and some dont seat flush.

But i dont really care about it, it feels good to me. This is why vape meets are brilliant. Before this, all i knew about mods were from youtube videos and internet pages, but i was so shocked to see how much smaller these things looked in real life, and the weight of those things!

Go to a meet, then you will make up your mind, else, just take either the hana or ipv, you wont go wrong with either

Note, the ipv has its charging port at the bottom, so you may have to remove your atty to charge

 

[Bonez007]

@Bonez007 you need any help with coiling gimme just gimme a shout, maybe have a mini coil building meet with the durbs guys, what you say @Al3x

@Baverz you are wasting time. Get your rda man