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How many times can you reuse a coil, only replacing the wick?

rj9923

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Recently I've been reducing the amount of times I have to rebuild, and the amount of wire I use by just replacing the wick. I just remove the coil and take a torch to it to get the gunk off, and then put some new cotton in. Ive done this about three times already to one coil, and it tasted new every time.

Is there a reason why people replace the coil every time? I understand the wire may get worn out over time, but it seems to last much longer than how long people usually use them.

What I'm doing is saving me a lot of time by not having to rebuild as often, so I know there must be a good reason why other people don't reuse their coils.
 

BUDKISS

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If i put serious time in making a fancy coil (ie staggered clapton, fused clapton, zipper coil) I will preserve it as long as the ohms stay true. I dry fire, rinse, repeat and then rewick. If it is just a simple coil... nah.
 

UncleRJ

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Hell, I don't even remove the coil!

I just take the tank apart for a quick clean and then I remove the wick, apply power to the coil until it glows bright red, then I carefully dip the coil while still red hot into a small bowl of water. I do this a couple of times and the sucker is clean.

As long as the ohms remain constant to the original measurement, I just keep using them.

Right now I have two builds each from 27 gauge Kanthal that are about 3 months old and still working just fine.
 

Kent B Marshall

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Cost isn't the reason I don't rebuilding every-time. I'm lazy. lol
My last between 2 to 3 months. They would last longer, but, I rebuild them.
I've seen no performance concerns with 2-3 months.
 

Breazy_Com

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Uncle Rj is 100% correct ! Burn off the coils, ohms stay the same re wick it and go ! I use 12 wrap dual coil 24 gauge kanthal. Other thing I look for is that the coils burn from the inside out. Meaning they start glowing orange in the middle and both progressively work the orange glow out to the ends. That's only when I up the wattage to around 65 watts to burn them off then I go back down to 45-50 watts. If they dont burn from the inside out I heat them and squeeze them tight with a tweezer or needle nose. (slight adjustment)
 

rj9923

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Alright, well I guess other people do reuse coils. Sorry for thinking nobody else did.
 

OBDave

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I re-wick once or twice a week, but only rebuild every month or so - could probably go longer, but that's just about how often I feel like doing it...
 

nodor

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I agree with all the above. Only thing to add is the awg of wire is a factor also. When you heat to red and quench your coil you actually do loose some albeit minute amount of coil. On a 30 or 32 gauge coil you would probably need to change it more often. I've got twisted 26 awg coils on my goliath that I haven't changed since I got it. Thats probably about 2 months now. I quench and rewick it about every 3 days. Still as good as new
 

rolltidevaper

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I re-wick every 5-7 days, but I seldom change my coil. As long as it's still reading right I dry burn it, blow it off a few times and wick away. I've only been building a few months and the coil in my Kayfun is the first one I put in it. Still performing great! The old saying is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" and I subscribe to that!!! Or, I might just be lazy....but it works.
 

Pauly Walnuts

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When Im testing my diy juices, I might change a wick 20times in a night!!! The coil lasts and lasts. Just dry burn and go, no need to take it out.
 

ConcreteBob

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The lifetime of a coil is dependent on a couple of factors. One, the gauge of the wire, and two, the type of wire. Thinner wire will give you less lifetime, as certain metal compositions will also wear out faster. Kanthal, in my experience, doesn't last as long as Nichrome, I suspect due to the higher iron content. But if you can heat and clean them, and the resistance remains steady, keep using them.
 

rj9923

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The lifetime of a coil is dependent on a couple of factors. One, the gauge of the wire, and two, the type of wire. Thinner wire will give you less lifetime, as certain metal compositions will also wear out faster. Kanthal, in my experience, doesn't last as long as Nichrome, I suspect due to the higher iron content. But if you can heat and clean them, and the resistance remains steady, keep using them.
Over time, does the resistance go higher or lower?
 

ConcreteBob

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It will increase as the wire wears.
 

ConcreteBob

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Less wire equals more resistance and wire wear is corrosion and metal fatigue. So you will be decreasing the conductivity of the wire. Anything more than .1 or so is time to trash them.
 

DirtyGoat

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I know i am always changing my coils more than i should because of tring out new builds but if a coil is working good I will save them. If new coil isnt doing it for me I will throw my old one in and wick it up. I will only reuse once before making an exact copy then toss the old.
Also, cleaning coils on the deck by glowing coils then dip in water a few times. Just make sure you dry off deck completely in between dips. Water is not conductive by itself, but the minerals added to it are!!!
 

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