Basic coil building and wicking

[jasonculp]

I didn't want to hijack the other thread about coil diameter, because my questions are similar, but different.

I am building with 26ga Kanthal. I have been using a 3.1mm pin to wrap on. It is just under 1/8". Is this too big? I am using 6 wraps (dual coils/parallel) and compressing them. I am coming up with .45ohms or so. It heats fast and even.

My main concern is wicking. I have been using both organic cotton and rayon. Rayon seems to work the best for me up to this point. I am using just enough to cause pretty good resistance when sliding it through the coil. I am building on a tobh (the small one). I am cutting it very near the coil on the side near the top cap and leaving enough to fill the drip well on the opposite side. There is no wicking material under the coil itself. Is this correct? How do I know if I am swamping the coil or if it is wicking correctly? I have the air holes directly in front of the coils (well as close as you can get it on a TOBH)

[Bebop]

All of your principles are sound.

Swamping just reduces vapor. The coil can't keep up/gets smothered.

The only thing I can see is you might try experimenting with a little less wicking material (less tight in the coil). You could also balance the material on either side.

Maybe a couple of more wraps slightly smaller but I wouldn't go below 5/64 ( a little over 1/16th).

Otherwise you're right there. Sounds like good solid building.

[jasonculp]

Thanks. I will try that. Here are some pictures of what I am talking about. I am coiling it close to one side to avoid the tab in the center. I position the air hole right in front of the coil and there is no wick below it. I am not sure this is right. It is working pretty well, but I have nothing to go by.

Please don't make fun of my terrible pictures and poorly wrapped coils...lol

Edited September 3, 2014 by jasonculp

[christov11]

Jason, we should start a beginners guide to dripping thread lol I think to the both of us we're gonna cover any noob questions that might come up haha! Make it a sticky so anyone wanting to come to dripping will be able to see where we went step by step into great builds & huge clouds!

[Compenstine]

With ToBH you would know if you were swamping the coil. It would be draining out the air holes. I know because that is what I use. Your wicking looks good and is not too excessive but could be shortened just a tad on the well side. Your one coil could use a tad bit of tightening on the - post side, When you have separations in your coil you will get hot legs and it will kill the performance some.

[Raptor Vaper]

Make sure you get those coils centered. I find doing it that way you can get even cotton distribution. I found this to get the best flavor. Make sure the cotton isn't too tight. I cut mine about a 1/8" past the edge of the cup depending on the Atty I'm using. Like on my mutation x, it has a very deep juice well so you can cut it a little bit further from the edge.

Wicking is very important. It can make or break your build. I recommend to experiment with the wicks. Try a loose wick then experiment a little. Pretty much it shouldn't be very difficult to slide the cotton through. I use organic cotton and almost always a dual parallel. I get the cotton just tight enough to touch the coils but not so tight that it chokes the coil. Also don't drip straight on the coil. It splatters and un-vaporized hot juice is unpleasant. For a while I couldn't figure out why but I had an awful cotton taste. The wick was way too tight. Re-wicked it and it vapes great

Edited September 3, 2014 by Raptor Vaper

[jasonculp]

@christov11 - I agree. So far it seems like no matter how many posts I read or videos I watch the only way I learn is to screw them up and try again! I have used quite a bit of Kanthal! I will try again this evening after work. It seems like the TOBH has a unique set of challenges, but I guess they all do!

@Compenstine - Thanks! I noticed that gap in the pictures. It was more visible in the pictures than in real life. I dry burned it after i took the picture and it tightened up a bit. I may recoil tonight and try to get it a little more uniform. When I rewicked I did use a tad less and it seemed to work good. PS - I can't wait until the new flavor is ready (the one from the renaming contest) I have been drooling from the description!

@Raptor Vaper - That explains a lot! I think I was getting quite a bit on my coils and getting hot juice in my mouth. The newest juice does not taste as bad as my normal juice when it gets in your mouth, but it is still not good.

Thanks for all of the help. I am sure I will have new questions tonight!

[christov11]

I used 15 feet in a week hahaha those cotton balls last forever though! I'm gonna work on a vertical build maybe on my tobh since the post holes are offset it should be easy but I'm not sure that it's ideal for vapor production. We shall see!

[christov11]

on the cotton question***

I used to use too much cotton, like not too thick but too long. what ive seen works best is barely any resistance when sliding it through and for the length just enough so that when fanning out the ends of the strand, it covers the whole bottom of the well. not like a carpet just the last thin strands of cotton... im gonna get you a picture in an hour or 2...