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1st Clapton - very underwhelming

Browncoat

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I bought some premade Clapton wire: dual 28 gauge wrapped with 32 gauge. My drill has been on the fritz lately, so I didn't have the capacity to wind it myself. Anyway...I did 6 wraps @ 2mm ID, which came out to 0.56 ohms. That's higher than I normally vape, which is in the 0.3 - 0.4 range.

I'm not impressed. The coil takes far too long to ramp up, and the vape is very sub-par. What am I missing?
 

Deeks

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I'm pretty much right there with you on the clapton coil. I spun up a 24 gauge wrapped with 32 gauge and the ramp up time on a mech was pretty meh. I threw it on a box mod and it definitely fired better at closer to 70 watts. I wasn't all that impressed with the flavor/vapor compared with the time I put into making it. Looks cool yes and works well at higher wattages. Worth it? Not for this guy.
 

Deeks

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I should note I used only kanthal, nichrome may be the key to the ramp up time. I've never tried nichrome so I can't say for certain but everything I've read makes it seem like there's a big difference in ramp up time between the two.
 

Fishee

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I've yet to build one that really impressed me.
But I keep trying every few months to build that one that's gonna somehow give some sense of validity to the claims that they are the shizznit.
Nah, fuck that. I'm done making claptons.

I blow big fucking clouds and get mad flavor from my tried and true builds.
Exotic builds are just that, and not worth the hastle
 

Rommel

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After i got 36 gauge i fell in love claptons. On mechs its still way too chilly for me, but at 70w its absolutely heavenly. Thats 24 gauge core claptoned with 36 gauge, six wraps around 2.4mm for 0.3something ohms.
 

Browncoat

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Thanks for the response, guys. It's a bit comforting to know that I'm not alone wallowing in the mediocrity of the Clapton coil. I really thought I was missing something after hearing how great it was supposed to be.

Maybe @Rommel is right. Maybe it's a coil that needs more wattage to be worth it. But as a tube mech mod user, this definitely isn't the coil for me.
 

Rommel

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The outer wire acts as a heat sink, and thats why these claptons need a bit more oomph than your regular old micros/macros.
 

Browncoat

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The outer wire acts as a heat sink, and thats why these claptons need a bit more oomph than your regular old micros/macros.
I was thinking that exactly the first time I saw one. There was all this talk about increased surface area, and I'm like...that's just a heat sink. This thing would suck.
 

Rommel

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Well, you could try to find nichrome 80, 24 and 40 gauge and try claptons with that. Should bump down the ramp up due to lower ohms and smaller outer wire. That 40 gauge is tiny, smaller than a hair from your head.
 

Browncoat

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Yeah, I'm going to try some different builds. Replaced my busted cordless drill this morning, so I'm going to play around a bit today. I need to get some ribbon wire also.
 
I was impressed with my first clapton. I twisted one piece of' 24 KA1 and then wrapped that with the same gauge. I only did 3 wraps on the tiniest drill bit I had. I can't remember exactly what it red at but it was definitely less than .4 and it produced great clouds. also, it didn't take long to heat up at all. I also just finished a single coil build with 26 N80 wrapped with .5 ribbon K1. it reads at .32, heats up quick and produces huge clouds with very pronounced flavor.
 

BoomStick

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I think sometimes people get bored and want to try some fancy builds that in the end aren't really worth the trouble. Once I get all the basic gear I want, my focus will be dialing in my diy recipes and building myself some custom mods. For me that will be more fun and more productive than screwing with fancy builds that aren't much if any better than simple builds.
 

Faceless Vapes

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I wrap mine around 24g-26g nichrome and it ramps up far quicker. Im rocking a .3 ohm clapton single coil and its a pretty decent vape. I honestly like the zipper coils more.
 

dirtygary

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Didn't like clapton coils till i did fused with 26 core and 36 on external wrapping 6 wrap single on a 1/8 bit .3 ohms at like 60 watts hella clouds and flavor good ramp time just saying
 

scarecrowjenkins

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I do agree that the single core clapton is a bit anti-climactic. Six wraps is probably too many, with a resistance that high it'll definitely take a while to heat up. Five would probably land you right where you said you normally vape, or run at least two strands through the core. I've got a flattened clapton in mine right now, 4 wraps at .18ohms (coil size limited a 5th wrap) and even down to 3v it is an awesome vape. I should mention that it's 6 strands of 28g wrapped in 33g all kanthal. Ramp up time is practically non existent due to the multiple core wires being parallel. If i'd had stopped after my first clapton coil i'd have missed out on a lot, once you find a build you really like it doesn't matter how much time it takes to make. For me spending an hour on a coil is well worth a week or two of an amazing vaping experience. At least that's how i choose to look at it
 

Bryan Miller

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I was underwhelmed until I tried a fused clapton w/ higher gauge wire. My goto build was a 28g parallel build as it was my highest gauge(22-28g) and gave off the best flavor production. So, I stuck with it --- 28g fused clapton w/ 34 wrapped around it. 7 Wraps, 2mm dia, dual coil in an MX.

It's my goto build. Now, all I need are the skills to wrap them consistently. Since I did my first smooth, even clapton, I haven't been able to replicate it because the skin on my fingertips are all dried up and flaking.
 

ConcreteBob

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Also very unimpressed. Just a craft wire, as far as I can tell. But, it definitely looks nice. And of course, all vapers know that clouds and flavor don't count if you don't have a fancy build. Yeah, right...
 

dave/jayce

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Hmm and I was just going to give the Clapton a try first the first time, sounds like it'll be waste of time, I'm use to a simple dual coil 22/20 gauge around .2 which fires for me fast. The lag time will totally kill it for me
 

TwistedWires

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heres a useful bump.. try 40ga on 25ga. doesnt take long to ramp up gets great clouds and flavor. ramps up in .3 seconds according to my istick
 

dre

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I bought some premade Clapton wire: dual 28 gauge wrapped with 32 gauge. My drill has been on the fritz lately, so I didn't have the capacity to wind it myself. Anyway...I did 6 wraps @ 2mm ID, which came out to 0.56 ohms. That's higher than I normally vape, which is in the 0.3 - 0.4 range.

I'm not impressed. The coil takes far too long to ramp up, and the vape is very sub-par. What am I missing?
More power! Throw that bitch on a high power vw mod.

Sent from my XT1030 using Tapatalk
 

iLiptiKal

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More power! Throw that bitch on a high power vw mod.

Sent from my XT1030 using Tapatalk

Can confirm. Have a 6 wrap 28/32 0.4ohm clapton in my twisted messes powered by my sig 150. Currently running 131W/7.5V and it's great. All day battery with the higher ohms, but still a hot flavourful vape.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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martinelias

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im using.8 flat kanthal wrapped over 24 g nichrome 80 which kicks major ass. 5 wraps dual coil.
 

Faceless Vapes

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I wasn't crazy about the clapton, but the fused clapton is much better imo

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk
 

pjerzy

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I have dual claptons in my mutation v3 right now. Running at 75w. .5 ohm 2.5mm ID, 6 wrap.

I am not impressed at all. The ramp up time is disappointing and I've been getting a lot of spit back. I'm using epiclouds so I know it's not that. The vapor production is weak and comparable to a single parallel coil. Flavor is good though. But not worth it to me. I'll be taking it out and throwing a new build in tonight.


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Regarding ramp up time, the wrapping wire should be very thin, think 32-36g, 36g being better. Honestly, when it's thin like that, it isn't doing much electrically. Sure, it does technicalities affect the resistance, but not a huge amount.

If your have a multimeter or ammeter, test the resistance on the core, wrap it, and retest, it didn't change significantly.

From what I can tell work all Clapton variations, is, it's all about the increased surface area. Giving thirstier coils.

The first Clapton coil I made allowed me to vape juices above 45w I couldn't before. All the way up to 100. Same juice, same type of coil otherwise, same wicking style, and boom, not coughing my ass off, good flavors, new depths in flavors at other wattage.
 
Forgot one other thing, you can clip the wrapping wire, leaving only the core, for the legs. This will allow them to fit more post holes and whatever very minor electrical difference they add, can be reduced a bit. Again, since it's for more surface area for the juice, the legs won't matter.
 
You might want to give this a try: Stainless steel 2 core 26 gauge wrapped with 32 gauge stainless. Available at ebay. 15 feet of Fused Clapton wire for $14.95 as of this post. It says it makes over 50 coils!!
The S.S wire heats way faster and at lower wattages than Kanthal. I believe the S.S. gives of a cleaner taste. I don't use mechs so I cant speak on that...
 

TwistedWires

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i wrap 30 around 25 kanthal i do not feed the the 30 through the posts with the 25. i clip the 30 at the end leaving 2mm of just the 25 core for the coil legs. by doing this the outer ''clapton'' disipates the heat from the core evenly. if you feed the claptoned wire into the posts with the core it turns the outer wire into a heat conductor rather than a heat exchager. like a fire, you hold a hot dog over it youll burn a lil bit here and there, now put a pan between the dog and the fire, the pan takes that heat and transfers it evenly to the dogs. feeding the core and outer into the post together shit might as well use a thicker solid wire with ridges cut into it. its about how electricty flows through objects and how heat energy is exchanged. but dont take my word for it give it a try once more. if you are not going to make your own wire then when you buy it inspect it first. the core should be EXTREMELY snug inside the outer wire. and clip the outer wire at the ends leaving enough core wire to fit in the posts next roll your clapton on a drill bit or what ever you use. do not pull it dont want to stretch the outer spiral too much want to keep the pitch as even as possible. but yeah try it out see if that works for ya. this is all i ever coil up since i got a box. 40w 4 v dual at 0.4 ohm total. 12 foot cloud bursts and lots of flavor out of a derringer. so much vapor i have to run it with the afc ring removed for more air flow. hope this helps!!
 
I should note I used only kanthal, nichrome may be the key to the ramp up time. I've never tried nichrome so I can't say for certain but everything I've read makes it seem like there's a big difference in ramp up time between the two.
I know this is old but I'm sure people will come looking for this information and be turned away. When built correctly, clapton coils are are amazing!! For flavor and cloud production. The ramp up problem you are all speaking of is due to the material you are using first of all and the amount of wraps that you seem to be using. Get you something like niChrome 80 that has a ramp up time that is much faster. Also stainless steel seems to work pretty good. What I like to do is make my core out of niChrome 80 and Clapton it with some stainless steel. I prefer a 24 gauge coil with a 32 gauge wrap. For those of you out there don't see a difference in a Clapton from a regular coil must have had a Clapton made of pure Kanthal or one that was wrapped too many times and had too much surface area to heat up properly. If you have a strong enough mod, you should be able to control that as well but then again this post is two years old and things have come a long way. my recommendation if you my recommendation if you want something that ramps up fast is to get yourself some nichrome 80 unless you're allergic to nickel.
 

Deeks

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I know this is old but I'm sure people will come looking for this information and be turned away. When built correctly, clapton coils are are amazing!! For flavor and cloud production. The ramp up problem you are all speaking of is due to the material you are using first of all and the amount of wraps that you seem to be using. Get you something like niChrome 80 that has a ramp up time that is much faster. Also stainless steel seems to work pretty good. What I like to do is make my core out of niChrome 80 and Clapton it with some stainless steel. I prefer a 24 gauge coil with a 32 gauge wrap. For those of you out there don't see a difference in a Clapton from a regular coil must have had a Clapton made of pure Kanthal or one that was wrapped too many times and had too much surface area to heat up properly. If you have a strong enough mod, you should be able to control that as well but then again this post is two years old and things have come a long way. my recommendation if you my recommendation if you want something that ramps up fast is to get yourself some nichrome 80 unless you're allergic to nickel.


This just goes all back to personal preference really. I'm still not overly impressed by any means with any Clapton I've made or used since this post was made almost 2 years ago. I prefer single wire builds that don't need a shitload of power to run. As far as flavor goes, that's completely subjective but I have zero issues with flavor on spaced simple stainless steel temp control builds. So I stand by my 2 year old comment and end with this... Worth it? Not for this guy.
 

MrScaryZ

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I bought some premade Clapton wire: dual 28 gauge wrapped with 32 gauge. My drill has been on the fritz lately, so I didn't have the capacity to wind it myself. Anyway...I did 6 wraps @ 2mm ID, which came out to 0.56 ohms. That's higher than I normally vape, which is in the 0.3 - 0.4 range.

I'm not impressed. The coil takes far too long to ramp up, and the vape is very sub-par. What am I missing?
if your mod has a preheat function this can make the ramp up time almost not existent getting them to function properly is a mix of the wire the mods ability to preheat etc.. its more than one issue not just the wire type or wraps ...
 

r055co

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32g sucks for wrapping wire, way to long ramp up and high heat retention. For wrapping wire I use 36g - 40g wire, mostly have settled on 38g for most of my builds. My go to 29x2/38g 317L SS Fused Clapton around 0.2 Ohms, very responsive and very satisfying Vape on my Mech's.
 
40 gauge? Does that not break really easy? Most pre-made on the market use 34 gauge at the most. When I first watched one built a couple years ago, every person I ever saw make a plain Clapton used 32 gauge wire for the wrap or 34 at the most. they say to go up 8 to 10 gauge from core to wrap. I personally like 24 gauge core with 32 gauge wrap for claptons. for my fused I use 2-26 gauge cores with a 34 gauge wrap. I have amazing ramp up time just making mine with a nichrome 80 core with either stainless steel or nichrome wrap and I have amazing results with it. I do agree that it's all personal preference. If you like extremely dense flavorful clouds, then this is absolutely the right build for you. I wouldn't recommend it for tricks or anything like that though. It makes the vapor a little too heavy. fused Clapton's are amazing and they don't fall part as easy as the original Clapton's or at all I should say. I also have become privy to alien wire. It's not just about the build and the beauty of the build. When you drop liquid into any of these three builds I've mentioned you see it suck into the coil. It's amazing how absorbent they are and how great they work for flavor production. I have never I have never gotten the amount of flavor out of any other bill that I've gotten out of making different builds of the Clapton.
 
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r055co

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40 gauge? Does that not break really easy? Most pre-made on the market use 34 gauge at the most. When I first watched one built a couple years ago, every person I ever saw make a plain Clapton use 32 gauge wire for the wrap or 34. Personally I have amazing ramp up time just making mine with a nichrome 80 core with either stainless with either stainless steel or nichrome wrap and I have amazing results with it. I do agree that I do agree that it's all too personal preference. If you like extremely dense flavorful clouds, then this is absolutely the right build for you. I wouldn't recommend it for tricks or anything like that though. It makes the vapor a little too heavy. Also, fused Clapton's are amazing and they don't fall part is easy as the original Clapton's or at all I should say. I also have become privy to alien wire. It's not just about the build in the beauty of the build. When you drop liquid into any of these three builds I've mentioned you see it suck into the coil. It's amazing how absorbent they are and how great they work for flavor production.
You just need to know the right tension to use, smaller gauge is easier to use IMO. 32g just holds way too much heat and I don't vape for tricks or clouds, it's all about flavor. As I mentioned thinner wire for the wrapping wire is way more responsive.

I've also tried niChrome and don't like the flavor
 

verdigris

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Claptons are superior coils.
If you don't like em, your doing it wrong.
Just slapping clap in with no thought or Logic behind the gauges used will fail Everytime.
Clapton just to Clapton just to complain sounds like you fear change.
 
You just need to know the right tension to use, smaller gauge is easier to use IMO. 32g just holds way too much heat and I don't vape for tricks or clouds, it's all about flavor. As I mentioned thinner wire for the wrapping wire is way more responsive.

I've also tried niChrome and don't like the flavor
Smaller gauge wire = lower ohms = hotter coils.. also, your wrap is only a tiny percentage of your ohms in the end. It mostly comes from your core. Regardless, where are you even finding this 40 gauge? hell I can't even seem to find 38 very many places. Also, what material are you using? I tried wrapping with 36 Gauge before and it kept snapping. That was nichrome though. I even searched YouTube for a video with someone using 40 gauge to wrap and again I didn't see anybody use anything over 34 gauge. some people use the 36 but they also said that it's known for snapping. I prefer my 24 gauge or 26 gauge core personally and like they say usually to only go up 8 to 10 gauges for your wrap but to each their own. Bottom line is is that Clapton's are amazing for flavor but to each their own. I also agree with the poster who just posted below. If you're not getting good results out of the amazing technology which is a Clapton, you're not making them correctly. The difference is immediately noticed if they are done right.
 

Deeks

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That's the beauty of vaping, its all subjective, good on you if you like claptons.. for me personally I don't care for them. I've tried to like them trust me, but its not that big of a OMG so awesome feels when I get one built and put in, just not worth my precious time to fuck with em when I get a completely satisfying vape from simple builds.
 
That's the beauty of vaping, its all subjective, good on you if you like claptons.. for me personally I don't care for them. I've tried to like them trust me, but its not that big of a OMG so awesome feels when I get one built and put in, just not worth my precious time to fuck with em when I get a completely satisfying vape from simple builds.
you can always buy pre-built Clapton wire and just wrap it yourself. It is a very big noticeable difference if they are done right. To each their own though and it seems like I'm not going to change your mind.
 
I
You just need to know the right tension to use, smaller gauge is easier to use IMO. 32g just holds way too much heat and I don't vape for tricks or clouds, it's all about flavor. As I mentioned thinner wire for the wrapping wire is way more responsive.

I've also tried niChrome and don't like the flavor
I found the 40 gauge. You like higher ohms don't you? I like to vape in the .2 - .5 ohm area. The wraps I use are perfect for this.
 

r055co

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I

I found the 40 gauge. You like higher ohms don't you? I like to vape in the .2 - .5 ohm area. The wraps I use are perfect for this.

I Vape between 0.15-0.2 with tube and Parallel, 0.4-0.6 for series. Thinner gauge wrapping wire is a lot more responsive and doesn't hold the heat as long. I'm mostly using SS but also use Kanthal on occasion. 32g wrapping wire holds the heat, longer ramp up time, gets the Atty hot and ends up scorching the wick and juice.

I really dislike it

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
 

mach1ne

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i just typed out a huge post on pre made wire, the relationships between builders and regular vapers and all the problems that badly made and mislabeled chinese coils cause. how about i just put in another vote for high gauge wraps and call it a day :hug:

use high gauge wraps. trust me, you will get a better vape. :cheers:
 

gbalkam

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Adding a bit here. Currently, I only use 32ga SS to wrap with, mainly because I can actually see it while I am wrapping. That said, I do get really great flavor on my flavor coils. (vs cloud coils). It is all in the build.
Now a couple things from other posts I have read here...
NiChrome has a lower resistance than Kanthal, so you need more wraps per target resistance. Example.. 6 wraps kanthal on 3.0mm core = 8 wraps NiCr on 3.0mm core. Difference? On a mech NiCr has more mass to push and needs more power to heat. So plan ahead for how much resistance and surface area you want. Keep in mind, larger coils do not draw juice as well, so you have to keep them wet.
When making dual parallel coils for a Mech, keep safe resistance in mind. 26 or 28ga dual core means higher resistance and less power needed to heat. Remember, you have to keep your resistance at a safe level, but also puch enough power to heat your coil.
On a regulated mod, you are limited by the power you can put out to the coils. Again, plan ahead to get the desired result.
I figure a 34ga SS would give better flavor than the 32ga I use, but it is much harder to work with for newer builders.
Other factors that affect flavor are air flow. To much airflow = weak flavored vape, to little = vape to hot. Find your happy place.
Also, the size of your drip tip. Larger bore tip = more air, smaller = less air / more heat. Smaller tips give better flavor.
Chimney shape also affects flavor. Shorter chimney=better flavor (vapor expands less) longer chimney lets vapor expand (better cloud)

You may notice, I have not stated any resistances.. if you use a mech you should already know what resistance to build at. If you use a regulated mod, resistance doesn't matter as long as it falls between your mods min and max resistance.

Deck space is also a consideration, when it comes to the size of the coil you can use. a 20 loop coil might be ok in theory, but may not fit your deck.
(loop vs wrap.. 2 core parallel 1 wrap = 2 loops)
 

champton

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It's my understanding that "storebought" claptons are extremely low quality compared to what you can make yourself. (Someone posted on here about why this is the case, I think they said something about storebought claptons being twisted or something like that, but I don't recall exactly.) Also, Lower gauge wires are bigger, and therefore 32g isn't that great for wrapping claptons. I think it's because you get more surface area out of higher gauge wire because it's smaller and the wraps can pack closer together, but I'm not certain on that one. I'm vaping on a set of four double core 28g NiChrome wrapped with 38g Stainless Steel. The taste is heavenly, and I'm getting really good vapor production out of them and low ramp-up times. I'm using a box mod though. I'm getting 0.32 ohms with 4x 7-wraps. I also have another box I use as a test deck. That one's running 2 6-wraps at 0.24 ohms.

BTW, whiteowl helped me with these coils. If you're wanting to know how to wrap a proper clapton, why you shouldn't use low-gauge wire, why certain materials are better than others, etc., he'd be the man to ask. I do hope he chimes in here, he gives awesome advice, and I've learned quite a lot from him. If you check in the "Post your builds" thread, he gives some awesome advice there as well.
 

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