Macro-coil troubles

EDIT: I'm a goofball and forgot to check my battery's charge. With a full charge they heat just fine. Still mystified by the ohm's difference though.

So I thought I'd branch out and try a macro-coil. I'm having a few problems with it. I'm using these coils in a Tugboat clone. The build is being powered by a Sony VTC5 in a black FUhattan.

The problem is that it takes way too long to heat the coils. They're 3mm in diameter, dual coil, 7 wraps, 26ga Kanthal A1, clocking in a 0.63ohms (more about that later). In total it takes about 2 seconds to get rolling compared to my 2mm micro coils that roll almost as soon as I throw the firing button.

Granted, once they're going they behave exactly like you'd expect a macro-coil would. It tastes better than a micro-coil and hits harder as well.

I'm just wondering why, first of all, these coils are clocking a full 0.13ohms higher than they should. Secondly, I'm wondering why they're taking so long to heat. 0.13ohms shouldn't make that much difference.

0.13 ohms higher than they should? Bigger ID means you're using more wire = more resistance.

Sorry for my ignorance but what exactly is the difference between a "macro" and a "micro" coil.

Micro 2.5 and under diameter macro everything above 2.5 both with wraps all touching

dre said:

Micro 2.5 and under diameter macro everything above 2.5 both with wraps all touching

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So coils are touching in both "micro" and "macro"?

Yeah and when someone say a standard coil that's when they are spaced

vaperature said:

Sorry for my ignorance but what exactly is the difference between a "macro" and a "micro" coil.

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To my understanding macro-coils are bigger than 3mm in internal diameter. Micro-coils are 3-2mm in ID. Nano-coils are 2-1mm in ID. Super-nano-coils are less than 1mm in ID.

Rommel said:

0.13 ohms higher than they should? Bigger ID means you're using more wire = more resistance.

Click to expand...

I get that. I used Steam Engine's calculator to get the coil size. It works for micro-coils. I guess I'll try six wraps. Later. I'm working with a 2.4 dual setup right now that's closer to the mark. I guess the moral of the story is don't just blindly trust Steam Engine. Thanks for the help though.

dre said:

Yeah and when someone say a standard coil that's when they are spaced

Click to expand...

Right. Technically what most all of us use in RDAs are contact coils, where each wrap touches the other. It forms a continuous short in the coil. That's why they should glow evenly when fired.

I know a lot in theory. I just don't have a lot of hands-on experience with building.

dre said:

Yeah and when someone say a standard coil that's when they are spaced

Click to expand...

Thanks for your help, I understand now.

Also op account the legs too add resistance. Also with smaller coils the ramp up is faster due to less area to heat up. Like it's more compact so heat transfers faster.

Also your 7 wraps might actually be 7.25 or even a half. It took me a while to figure that part out.

dre said:

Also your 7 wraps might actually be 7.25 or even a half. It took me a while to figure that part out.

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Ah. Okay. Thanks. Hadn't thought of the legs.

I do love a good macro coil, nearly all of my builds are 3mm ID. Flavor is better, wicking is better and i can fit more juice in my attys.

The bigger the mass, the longer it takes to heat up (and cool down).
At what wattage are you running it?

nightshard said:

The bigger the mass, the longer it takes to heat up (and cool down).
At what wattage are you running it?

Click to expand...

It's a mechanical mod. Steam engine says 26.73w with a 4.2v charge on the battery.

On a tugboat a .4 dual coil is optimal for a balance of flavor and clouds try that out. Try 2.5 diameter with 6 wraps with 26g

dre said:

On a tugboat a .4 dual coil is optimal for a balance of flavor and clouds try that out. Try 2.5 diameter with 6 wraps with 26g

Click to expand...

Close. Clocks in at 0.48ohm. It's a pretty warm vape. Pretty good. I think I'll keep these coils for a while.

In general, most of my coils utilized on a mech. mod, are 0.3 - 0.5 Ohm and 24-26 gauge. It depends on the liquid, whether I use lower or higher Ohm coils of that range. I have just one 22g @ 0.2 Ohm build on a Mutation X V3 for clouds, that I have to put on my Sigelei 100 Plus set to 70W. However, the DIY juice I'm using with it, actually tastes better with it as well. I was about to dump that juice, when I accidentally put it in that dripper.