Best Cloud Chasing Set Up

[Phonzy Owens]

Im very serious about cloud chasin but i cant seem to find good intel from anyone explaining how to build the right way and what to use in order to achieve what i'm trying to accomplish...

I currently use a Ipv4s with a troll rda. I usually build with a 20 gage kanthal ramping at .12 ohms but still cant get my O's thick and stable enough. Therefore i am currently doing some digging on what mech mod to use. Seems like a lot of people who are really into chasing uses them. but i still need more info regarding the right builds.

 

Can anyone help me out please

[FXRich]

More wraps = more juice contact, try 24g. Don't try to use a .12 coil on a mech mod, with a .12 coil and a fully charged battery you will draw about 35 amps from the battery, it will be a bomb waiting to go off. A regulated mod is much safer for builds below .2 ohms. Other people here will tell you not to use a mech mod with a coil below .2 ohms. A lot of cloud chasers prefer Clapton wire, you can try that too.

You can also look for the thread called Share Your Coil Builds, it might give you some idea of what to do.

Edited April 29, 2016 by FXRich

[Earthling789]

Once again, FXRich is right... for better clouds, you need more surface area (and airflow, too), which is achieved by using lower gauge wire, which gives you more wraps.  There is a point where you can have too much wire, though... which is why I believe Rich suggested 24ga wire over 20ga?  Type of wick (Organic cotton, Japanese cotton, square, round, braided, twisted, etc.) can also make a difference, as well as micro-coil vs macro-coil (micro have coils squeezed together, macro allows spacing between coils).  I've gotten great clouds out of a 0.5 Ohm build using 24ga macro coil and Japanese organic cotton... moreso than going lower in my resistance... plus the lower you go, the hotter the vape, which I do NOT prefer!

You kinda have to play with your set-up... coil wire type/style (single, twisted pairs/triple/quad, Clapton, tiger, etc.), gauges, resistance, spacing, wick material/thickness... to find what works best for YOU.

One last thing to consider is many people you see on youtube that are billowing massive clouds are also using PURE VG with no flavorings, for maximum cloud.  Any PG, water, or flavor will reduce the amount of cloud possible, when compared to pure VG in your rig.  Personally, I can't vape pure VG as it tastes like sucking on a hot glycerine bar (or brings back memories of my mouth being washed out with hand-made soap, by my grandmother, lol).

Edited April 29, 2016 by Earthling789

[Phonzy Owens]

Wow thanks guys. I was having serious trouble trying to find people who knew what they were talking about.

I've honestly used Clapton coils and didn't care for them too much but once again that was on a regulated mod and I was going for low ohms so yes. I have 24 gauge which I've used as well but I'll try to build up higher oh counts and see how that goes and I do vape Max PG, i actually have a bottle of vegetable glycerin. 

One more thing @Earthling789 and/or @FXRich... 

What type of coils would you recommend I've been looking into nichrome I figured if I'm going to do more wraps I can get a higher ramp time on it

[FXRich]

I personally have a preference for SS316L, but that is my preference. Other people prefer other wire. 5 wraps of 28g on 3mm gives me .50 - .53 ohms in a Kanger Subtank Mini RBA single coil build. I don't care for Clapton coils either, they draw more power and don't give much more vapor in my opinion. Some people have a preference for flat wire, I have used it and it works well but a PITA to build. With a little higher ohm build you can get more volts out of the mod you have, I don't know what watts you run at but your mod is limited to 120w. At 120w with a .12 coil you mill run about 3.7 volts, with a .25 coil at the same watts you will get 5.7 volts. A mech mod will only supply the voltage that the battery has, a regulated mod will increase the voltage.

[Earthling789]

1 hour ago, Phonzy Owens said:

I do vape Max PG, i actually have a bottle of vegetable glycerin.

VG is what makes vapor... PG is a flavor carrier and makes VERY LITTLE vapor on it's own.  Now matter how you build a coil, with max PG, you're looking at poor vapor and heavy throat-hit.

My personal favorite for RBA/RDA is Kanthal, either single strand or twisted two-strand.  I tried Clapton coils and didn't care for them either.  I've tried Ni200 for TC, and they were okay, but Titanium is better and SS316L is even better still.... for TC devices anyway.

[FXRich]

I still use Kanthal in my KPT coils, but for everything else I use SS, the only thing about using SS in power mode is the resistance increases with heat, my .8 coils go to .9 when I'm vaping in power mode, when dry burning they can go as high as 1.2, so the only time I use them in power mode is on a Subvod, anytime else I use them in TC. IT seems like Kanthal is the most widely used wire, I even tried it a few times in Nichrome  mode, and it seemed to work OK, as long as the temp was set a lot lower than what I wanted.

[Phonzy Owens]

My bad @Earthling789, that was totally a typo. I meant VG. 

But yes, sounds like I'm gonna stick with my kanthal. 

So any mech mods u guys recommend. I was looking into a loan wolf or rug but Idk

[FXRich]

I don't have any mech mods, and never did, so I can't recommend something I never had. The mod you have from what I hear is one of the best out there, in some ways it will out perform a mech mod. If you want a mod that will out perform any mech mod get a RX200. Just my opinion.

[jasonculp]

I really can't recommend one either.  I have a few, but they are all cantankerous, and potentially unsafe if not well maintained.

The possible power output is much lower than any decent variable wattage mod. (not that high wattage is necessary for cloud chasing)

A single battery mechanical mod that is 4.2V with a .15 ohm coil would be only producing 126 watts/30 Amps.  This is about as high as you can go, without being dangerous.  As @FXRich said the RX 200 with the proper batteries can safely go to 250 watts and not be unsafe.  It also will provide the same amount of wattage to the atomizer for the entire charge of the batteries.  The mechanical will only provide 126 watts for a few seconds, and depending on battery sag, the second draw could be less than 91 watts.

I keep a few around, just in case vapocalypse happens, but don't use them.

[Phonzy Owens]

Yea, I've been pretty interested in the RX 200 but I absolutely can't stand the shape of it. I love how my 4S fits in my pocket and everything. But I'm gonna see if there's anyone I know who has one so I can see how I truly feel about it simply because if I get one I'll have to give up my 4S

Edited May 1, 2016 by Phonzy Owens

[jasonculp]

12 minutes ago, Phonzy Owens said:

Yea, I've been pretty interested in the RX 200 but I absolutely can't stand the shape of it. I love how my 4S fits in my pocket and everything. But I'm gonna see if there's anyone I know who has one so I can see how I truly feel about it simply because if I get one I'll have to give up my 4S

The 4S is would be a great cloud chasing rig if topped with the correct atomizer.  I am not an expert by any stretch of the imagination. 100 watts is more than enough with the correct build.  I personal don't do much intentional cloud chasing.  I use kanthal or kantal/nichrome clapton wire and a velocity clone for high wattage.  I use the same premade clapton wire for my all day vape too (25watts - 30watts).  I personally need a bit of PG (80vg/20pg or 70vg/30pg) because I need the throat hit.  Max VG, high airflow, and high coil surface area are the most important things for large clouds.  These things don't really fit my vaping style, I like a warmer, slightly restricted, vape.

[Squid]

I run my Starre tank with a .25 factory coil at 45 watts on my IPV4s (70vg/30pg or 60vg/40pg)and it looks like Cheech and Chong are here in my 15X20 living room. My wife hates it, I don't get to use this set up in the house often...... I am not really into making clouds just for the heck of it, I just like the visual of it now and then, kind of a link to the days of smoking without the ashtray smell.

I have used a friends RX, it fits the hand well even though it looks a bit weird IMO.

Edited May 2, 2016 by Squid

[Phonzy Owens]

That's awesome. 

I mean my main concern is Vape tricks I am pretty knowledgeable on how to do them and I do them okay but my O's and stuff arent as dense as I feel like they should be. they dissipate quickly sometimes and I'm looking for something that's going to give me the best results. 

I've looked into a couple that I most likely will be getting but tomorrow I'm buying a Neptune Mech mod off of somebody and we're going to see how that goes

[Earthling789]

I have several mech Mods, but don't use them any more... actually not used one in over a year.  I always liked a regulated device after buying my MVP 2.0 (a month into vaping), but I actually tried mechs (and dripping) for a while... it just didn't appeal to me as a go-to daily thing.  Jason hit the nail on the head with a mech, and that's the battery being constantly less power from each hit to the next.  I liked my RTA @ 3.9V, so a fresh battery was a bit harsh, and once I dropped below 3.9V, it was time to change the battery again, lol.  A decent VV/VW device was far better (and consistent) for my vaping style, which is mostly tanks, RTA's, and yes, the occasional bout of dripping.

I can't offer more for achieving a "thicker" vapor, but having good airflow, drawing slower, and exhaling slower seems to provide thicker vapor for me, even on my daily rig (Subtank Mini with 1.2 Ohm coil and 18W, 30/70 PG/VG).  Slowing down the draw seems to be the real key for me to increase the thickness (volume) of my vapor cloud?

[Phonzy Owens]

Totally agree. That's why I'm gonna try to keep my ipv and try to go back and forth with an RTA on that and whatever mech I settle with. Also u are very right about draw techniques which I am aware of