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Going strictly simple Kanthal

pescadore

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After using SS, Ni, Ti, in Temp control, aliens. Fused Claptons, twisted, hive, and others I have come to the conclusion that just a simple Kanthal build in wattage mode seems to work best for me. I have a sensitivity to Ni and honestly think SS effects me the same way with throat irritation and excessive coughing. When I use a simple Kanthal build I dont seem to have that problem. Guess I am just an old school kind of guy. Was just curious if anyone else had the same issues with more complex builds?

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UncleRJ

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I use both Kanthal and SS and I like both just fine.

Never had an issue with either one of them.
 

HondaDavidson

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I kinda agree.. but I don't see it so much as a material thing as a quantity of metal thing......

Vape wise SS Kanthal and Nichrome are pretty interchangeable for me.. which I use depends on the atty and ohm I'm targeting.

Big fancy builds are overkill too me. I also prefer simple coils. Although I will twist 2 or 3 small gauge wire together before going to a single strand oh heavy wire.

Note. Thickest wire I use 28. Lately have been running SS.. to see if I can make TC work for me. So far VW with curved output is winning.

If I can't get TC going I will go back to Nichrome....
So I guess that makes me even more Old School than the OP.



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AndriaD

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I've never tried any build fancier than simply 2 wires twisted together, which I tried when I was giving titanium TC a go. I don't want a lot of vapor, so anything more would definitely be unpleasant for me. I didn't like either titanium or stainless, or really, TC at all; titanium just doesn't bring the flavor at all, it's muted as hell, or maybe that was because of the TC, I dunno. Stainless is kinda the opposite, TOO MUCH flavor, but not a flavor I wanted -- I tasted the cotton itself, whether I was in TC or wattage mode, with stainless.

I suspect my trial of titanium TC just wasn't a very good trial, with one of those Joyetech VT things, the originals, when they first came out. My later trial of stainless TC with my Coolfire IV TC-18650 was a better trial, but I found it simply too hot to be able to enjoy it -- it starts the coil up at 30w, which is THREE TIMES the wattage I normally use, so that even the lowest temp setting was still too hot for me.

So, I'll stick to my kanthal 29ga, 8 or 9 wraps around 3/32, coming in right around 2 ohms, and running about 9.5-10w. Works great, vapes just the way I like it; ever so slightly warm, but never hot, and never so much vapor that it chokes me. The "cloud" produced seems quite similar to what I exhaled when I smoked, so it's JUST RIGHT.

Andria
 

xpen

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I've tested basically any wire materials over the past couple years, I'm eventually back to Kanthal for the most part..
The main problem being that TC is a pain in the ass for me, either it doesn't plain work or gives me an anemic vape.
Still using SS on mechs tho, its 'turbo ramp up' effect being a nice feature
 

pulsevape

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Member For 4 Years
I've tested basically any wire materials over the past couple years, I'm eventually back to Kanthal for the most part..
The main problem being that TC is a pain in the ass for me, either it doesn't plain work or gives me an anemic vape.
Still using SS on mechs tho, its 'turbo ramp up' effect being a nice feature
yeah I use SS on mechs....with SS mesh.
 

ej1024

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NICHROME FTW!
Kanthal is shit in my !
SS MAKES ME COUGH,although it gives the cleanest tasting flavor though!
All time favorite are...
FUSED 24/34 n80
FUSED 26/32 n80
FUSED 22/36 n80



I
 

fartbubble

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I kinda agree.. but I don't see it so much as a material thing as a quantity of metal thing......

Vape wise SS Kanthal and Nichrome are pretty interchangeable for me.. which I use depends on the atty and ohm I'm targeting.

Big fancy builds are overkill too me. I also prefer simple coils. Although I will twist 2 or 3 small gauge wire together before going to a single strand oh heavy wire.

Note. Thickest wire I use 28. Lately have been running SS.. to see if I can make TC work for me. So far VW with curved output is winning.

If I can't get TC going I will go back to Nichrome....
So I guess that makes me even more Old School than the OP.



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Get some 430SS from Unkamen or Crazy wire for TC (also great for mechs)
 

Train

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Member For 5 Years
Interesting to see a couple others here - I can't vape SS, and it's not the build, it's the metal.
Just a weird little cough it gives me...

I ALSO go with simple builds - but that's just preference for 1-battery mechs and "instant" response.

I use Kanthal, and am fiddling with some Nichrome, which seems good too...
 

gakudzu

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I'm just thankful for options. I've only vaped kanthol and ss, and can't taste a difference. I personally like big flavor with big clouds as a bonus, but I can't handle a hot vape. Fancy builds in TC give me my jollies.
 

pescadore

Silver Contributor
Member For 4 Years
NICHROME FTW!
Kanthal is shit in my !
SS MAKES ME COUGH,although it gives the cleanest tasting flavor though!
All time favorite are...
FUSED 24/34 n80
FUSED 26/32 n80
FUSED 22/36 n80



I
I'll try the N80. Glad to know SS makes someone else cough. It is so popular I was thinking it may have been in my head.

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ej1024

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Interesting to see a couple others here - I can't vape SS, and it's not the build, it's the metal.
Just a weird little cough it gives me...

I ALSO go with simple builds - but that's just preference for 1-battery mechs and "instant" response.

I use Kanthal, and am fiddling with some Nichrome, which seems good too...

I do
5 wraps 22g n80 with my ONLY single 18650 mech mod..once in a while you wanna go back where you started you know?!


I
 

Train

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I fiddle with other stuff - twisted or thicker for singles, etc. But a lot of my builds are
Dual, 27g Kanthal, 2.5 or 3 mm, 5 to 6 wraps, for 0.4 to 0.5 ohms.
 

Ryedan

Silver Contributor
Member For 4 Years
After using SS, Ni, Ti, in Temp control, aliens. Fused Claptons, twisted, hive, and others I have come to the conclusion that just a simple Kanthal build in wattage mode seems to work best for me. I have a sensitivity to Ni and honestly think SS effects me the same way with throat irritation and excessive coughing. When I use a simple Kanthal build I dont seem to have that problem. Guess I am just an old school kind of guy. Was just curious if anyone else had the same issues with more complex builds?

I've tried most of the wire materials we have today and found they all vape well. No issues getting TC to work either, but I rarely get a dry hit in VW mode so it's not much of an advantage for me and I still just prefer working with Kanthal more than any of the others. I've tried a few of the more complex wire builds, parallel, twisted, claptons and I've never found any of them worth the bother.

Lately I've been thinking to give SS and TC another try. I think our mods have improved to the point that if we're temp limited with SS they are fairly stable. Got a Pico 75 a little while back and from reviews it seems to be good at it anyway. Limiting the max wire temp seems like the right way to go just in case something does go wrong. I'll see how that goes, will be a bit of shits and giggles anyway :)
 

tj99959

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Bought a bunch of ready made Nichrome coils from FT. The're flimsy so can't clean them. So when they're gone it's back to simple Kanthal coils for me too.
 

AndriaD

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Bought a bunch of ready made Nichrome coils from FT. The're flimsy so can't clean them. So when they're gone it's back to simple Kanthal coils for me too.

Hey tj!!! Great to see ya here!!!!! Big hugs!!!!!! :hug:

:blowkiss:
Andria
 

anavidfan

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Great replies.... Goes to show that we all are just a tad different in what our bodies notice and react to and how taste buds are so different.

I think alot of the things are just hype..... If there was nothing but Kanthal or Nichrome we would all be back to argueing which one is better for you or for taste, or ease of build or longevity. Its always something isnt it?

I have tried some fancy coils, a good buddy made some for me and I tried them, other than looking like jewelry, I found no big difference. Just longer ramp time, shorter battery life etc. Tried it on my reg and again..... Meh.....Plus with all those nooks and crannies, I cant imagine how clean I can get them over the months that people claim they use them for.

Maybe its just me..... I love that vaping is not only healthier but it gives me something to do when worried or bored.

I went to SS real early, because of the nickel thing and because the difference in resistance was a favorable one for me and its softer, easier to wrap.

I found a place early on that sold SS wire and it was so cheap, so much cheaper than kanthal at the time, I ordered about 5lbs? of it and sold my Kanthal cheap. Flavor? To me it seems cleaner, but who knows, maybe it was cleaner because it WAS cleaner, NEW COIL :)

BUt whatever you chose , just find what works and stick to it. Of course Im sure that with time, there will be all sorts of alloys for vape use, all claiming to be better for health, for taste, for longivity, for whatever new technology our vape gear allows for. Try it, if you want , you might like it, but remember, you are vaping for YOUR health and enjoyment, Do vapers really get together and discuss and argue over how their atomizer is set up inside? No one can see it, right?
 

InAbsentiaMods

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I've never tried any build fancier than simply 2 wires twisted together, which I tried when I was giving titanium TC a go. I don't want a lot of vapor, so anything more would definitely be unpleasant for me. I didn't like either titanium or stainless, or really, TC at all; titanium just doesn't bring the flavor at all, it's muted as hell, or maybe that was because of the TC, I dunno. Stainless is kinda the opposite, TOO MUCH flavor, but not a flavor I wanted -- I tasted the cotton itself, whether I was in TC or wattage mode, with stainless.

I suspect my trial of titanium TC just wasn't a very good trial, with one of those Joyetech VT things, the originals, when they first came out. My later trial of stainless TC with my Coolfire IV TC-18650 was a better trial, but I found it simply too hot to be able to enjoy it -- it starts the coil up at 30w, which is THREE TIMES the wattage I normally use, so that even the lowest temp setting was still too hot for me.

So, I'll stick to my kanthal 29ga, 8 or 9 wraps around 3/32, coming in right around 2 ohms, and running about 9.5-10w. Works great, vapes just the way I like it; ever so slightly warm, but never hot, and never so much vapor that it chokes me. The "cloud" produced seems quite similar to what I exhaled when I smoked, so it's JUST RIGHT.

Andria

Gosh, I honestly don't think I've ever vaped a coil as thin as 29G before.

Even when I was still wrapping simple single wire builds I was mostly using 24/26G, because back then I didn't have a good understanding of what I was doing and tried to just stick to the sort of things I read or watched other people using.

I do now own wire that thin, and thinner, but only since I learned how to make more exotic builds and needed it for wrapping etc.

I guess I just haven't gotten to the point where I don't like complex builds yet, I absolutely love building, and usually will use even just getting another bottle of juice as an excuse to start building a new coil lol.
 

AndriaD

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Gosh, I honestly don't think I've ever vaped a coil as thin as 29G before.

Even when I was still wrapping simple single wire builds I was mostly using 24/26G, because back then I didn't have a good understanding of what I was doing and tried to just stick to the sort of things I read or watched other people using.

I do now own wire that thin, and thinner, but only since I learned how to make more exotic builds and needed it for wrapping etc.

I guess I just haven't gotten to the point where I don't like complex builds yet, I absolutely love building, and usually will use even just getting another bottle of juice as an excuse to start building a new coil lol.

When I started rebuilding, I was building coils for the T3S clearos I started with -- using 32ga wire, because that's all that will fit in those tiny heads. When I started using Kayfuns instead of clearos, I tried 30ga, and it was ok, but it's still very thin wire, easily deformed just by pulling a soaked wick thru it. I tried 28ga, but I could never get a vape I liked from it; it's such low resistance, I had to make a lot of wraps to get anywhere near where I wanted the resistance, and that much metal takes a while to heat up when you vape at 10w or less, though I did like the sturdiness of it compared to 30ga. So, I finally found a place to get 29ga kanthal, and found my "eureka zone" -- it's almost as sturdy as 28ga, but with higher resistance, so a coil with 7-9 wraps hits my desired target resistance -- lately I've used either 8 wraps, for JUST under 2 ohms, or 9 wraps, for just a bit over 2 ohms... it's perfect.

Andria
 

tj99959

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When using Kanthal, all I use is 30ga. Anything fatter is just too slow to ramp-up for me.
(spaced single wire - single coils @ 1.8-2.0 ohms & normally on a mech mod)
 

AndriaD

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When using Kanthal, all I use is 30ga. Anything fatter is just too slow to ramp-up for me.
(spaced single wire - single coils @ 1.8-2.0 ohms & normally on a mech mod)

I think the new kids on the vaping block think that vaping STARTED with 50w mods. :giggle: And when I tell them I can easily get 2 full days use out of a Samsung 25R or an LG HE2, they don't believe me... but it happens every 2 days with MY mods. There's a GREAT deal to be said for vaping at <10w. :D

Andria
 

tj99959

Member For 3 Years
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I think the new kids on the vaping block think that vaping STARTED with 50w mods. :giggle: And when I tell them I can easily get 2 full days use out of a Samsung 25R or an LG HE2, they don't believe me... but it happens every 2 days with MY mods. There's a GREAT deal to be said for vaping at <10w. :D

Andria


There's a reason for that.
Marketers want them to buy more juice! Us 7-10 watt vapors just don't use enough to keep their wallets fat.

Add:
Nicotine is the most expensive component of e-liquids. So they would much rather sell 3mg e-liquid instead of the 12-24mg liquid that most tootle puffers use.
Low wattage vapors use 3-5ml/day, and high wattage vapors use 15-30ml/day. Funny part is that daily consumption of nicotine is the same for the two groups.
 
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AndriaD

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There's a reason for that.
Marketers want them to buy more juice! Us 7-10 watt vapors just don't use enough to keep their wallets fat.

Add:
Nicotine is the most expensive component of e-liquids. So they would much rather sell 3mg e-liquid instead of the 12-24mg liquid that most tootle puffers use.
Low wattage vapors use 3-5ml/day, and high wattage vapors use 15-30ml/day. Funny part is that daily consumption of nicotine is the same for the two groups.

Hell, I don't buy juice at all, and haven't for quite some time. I haven't even bought any nicotine for nearly a year; last DIY supplies I bought was a fresh 100ml of shisha strawberry, last month. And the economics have as much to do with my conservative vaping style as my asthmatic lungs; why the HELL would I want to go thru a 10 day supply of ejuice (55ml) in 2-3 days??? That's just plain CRAZY. And clouds that thick would annoy the HELL out of my husband; I switched to vaping so I could stay indoors and OFF the front porch, I don't wanna be exiled again because of annoying clouds!

Andria
 

tj99959

Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
Hell, I don't buy juice at all, and haven't for quite some time. I haven't even bought any nicotine for nearly a year; last DIY supplies I bought was a fresh 100ml of shisha strawberry, last month. And the economics have as much to do with my conservative vaping style as my asthmatic lungs; why the HELL would I want to go thru a 10 day supply of ejuice (55ml) in 2-3 days??? That's just plain CRAZY. And clouds that thick would annoy the HELL out of my husband; I switched to vaping so I could stay indoors and OFF the front porch, I don't wanna be exiled again because of annoying clouds!

Andria


Ya I know, but us DIYers are the exception, not the rule. Joe public is still stopping by the convenience store for his little box of overpriced pre-filled cartridges.
I figure my juice costs me ~6 cents/ml. So this spending ~24 cents/day to vape is really braking me. :wait:

Funny, I still remember my dad saying "I'll be damned if I'll pay 25 cents for a pack of cigarettes!"
 

AndriaD

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Ya I know, but us DIYers are the exception, not the rule. Joe public is still stopping by the convenience store for his little box of overpriced pre-filled cartridges.
I figure my juice costs me ~6 cents/ml. So this spending ~24 cents/day to vape is really braking me. :wait:

Funny, I still remember my dad saying "I'll be damned if I'll pay 25 cents for a pack of cigarettes!"

ROFL... I was that way when they got close to a dollar a pack. Then when they got close to $5 a pk. But after they were +$5 a pk, I started REALLY begrudging the amount of money that had to be spent so wastefully, and kept trying to cut down. Maybe that was helpful when I started vaping, I didn't have such a whopper of a habit to overcome, though my lessening tolerance for nicotine, thx to the cutting down, made it a real challenge -- idjits at the vape shop insisted that a new vaper needed 18mg, which made me sick as a goat, and even 12mg made me sick, just took a little longer -- but when I finally got some 6mg, THEN I could start vaping regularly and start eliminating the cigarettes completely.

People who won't DIY their ejuice are like people who eat every meal out, because they'd rather eat total crap and waste money than learn to cook. Even though I still use a LOT of fairly expensive flavoring -- 14.5% of INW shisha strawberry, and another 10% +/- of backgriound flavors, mine is about 6 cents per ml too. So the 55ml bottles I mix every 10 days or so cost me $3.34. I couldn't smoke for HALF A DAY for that price. It's a tightwad's dream come true. :D

Andria
 

Swerved

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Yep.. According to Recipe Calculator my juice costs me about $1.28 per 30 ml bottles give or take a penny here or there. Bottles for the most part were donated to me by friends a long time ago; I would make juice for them, and they would give me all their glass bottles from previous purchases.. I'd boil them out, replace tops where necessary and bam! got a stock of bottles I will likely never deplete. Takes me about a week or more to go through 30 ml of juice so it's dirt cheap.
 

pulsevape

Diamond Contributor
Member For 4 Years
There's a reason for that.
Marketers want them to buy more juice! Us 7-10 watt vapors just don't use enough to keep their wallets fat.

Add:
Nicotine is the most expensive component of e-liquids. So they would much rather sell 3mg e-liquid instead of the 12-24mg liquid that most tootle puffers use.
Low wattage vapors use 3-5ml/day, and high wattage vapors use 15-30ml/day. Funny part is that daily consumption of nicotine is the same for the two groups.
yep the driving force for current trend in vaping is all about selling you a ton of juice and coil heads,and just like they marketed cigs and beer cloud chasing is being marketed as being hip and sexy has nothing to do with the quality or experince of the vape.
 

InAbsentiaMods

Member For 2 Years
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When I started rebuilding, I was building coils for the T3S clearos I started with -- using 32ga wire, because that's all that will fit in those tiny heads. When I started using Kayfuns instead of clearos, I tried 30ga, and it was ok, but it's still very thin wire, easily deformed just by pulling a soaked wick thru it. I tried 28ga, but I could never get a vape I liked from it; it's such low resistance, I had to make a lot of wraps to get anywhere near where I wanted the resistance, and that much metal takes a while to heat up when you vape at 10w or less, though I did like the sturdiness of it compared to 30ga. So, I finally found a place to get 29ga kanthal, and found my "eureka zone" -- it's almost as sturdy as 28ga, but with higher resistance, so a coil with 7-9 wraps hits my desired target resistance -- lately I've used either 8 wraps, for JUST under 2 ohms, or 9 wraps, for just a bit over 2 ohms... it's perfect.

Andria
Ah, that makes sense. I started vaping probably a lot later than many people, so I sort of missed out on that whole generation of devices.
 

tj99959

Member For 3 Years
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Ah, that makes sense. I started vaping probably a lot later than many people, so I sort of missed out on that whole generation of devices.


The odd part is that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
A person consumes XXX amount of nicotine a day. If you buy 3mg juice you just need to vape 4 times as much juice than if you bought 12mg.

Style of vape is sort of a determining factor. (mtl or dl). I kinda snicker & say that you can tell what folks were smoking by the style of their vape.;)
 
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AndriaD

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The odd part is that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
A person consumes XXX amount of nicotine a day. If you buy 3mg juice you just need to vape 4 times as much juice than if you bought 12mg.

Style of vape is sort of a determining factor. (mtl or dl). I kinda snicker & say that you can tell what folks were smoking by the style of their vape.;)

ROFL... I walked in the vape shop one day to see a guy who appeared to be trying to suck the floor up thru his vape. Totally insane. I can't think that those vaping to escape cigarettes would ever vape that way -- nobody ever appeared to be trying to suck the floor up via their cigarette, even those who could burn down a cigarette in 2-3 drags. :giggle:

Andria
 

pulsevape

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ROFL... I walked in the vape shop one day to see a guy who appeared to be trying to suck the floor up thru his vape. Totally insane. I can't think that those vaping to escape cigarettes would ever vape that way -- nobody ever appeared to be trying to suck the floor up via their cigarette, even those who could burn down a cigarette in 2-3 drags. :giggle:

Andria
yeah that style of vaping is more like smoking medicinal herb than tobacco.
 

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