New to Temp Control...

[g_vape]

Hello vapingunderground. I have been vaping since July of this year and started building my own coils almost immediately. For the past 5 months I have been vaping exclusively in variable wattage (power) mode and on mech mods.

Last week I purchased a DNA 200 device to start playing around with temperature control.

I built some SS316L fused clapton coils. The outer wrap is Nichrome 80. Perhaps this is part of the problem? 2x22ga ss316L/34ga ni80 5 wrap w/ a 3mm ID. They take 85-100 watts to get a nice vape out of. These are much larger than what I generally put in my RTAs... normally I do 2x26/34. 22 was just what I had on me at the time.

In SS316L TC mode I set the wattage to 100 and the temperature to 480F. I like a warm vape.

Yesterday I had issues where the vape did not seem consistent. Inside everything was great. However, I leave my vape in my truck and go out to vape when I am on break. It's cold here, about 40F. It seemed as though the vape would never really get up to temp. So, this morning, before vaping, I locked my resistance while my mod was in my 70F home.

It seems like I still have to play with the temperature to get the warmth and flavor that I want.

I have read numerous threads and guides. However, I seem to struggle to find exactly the vape that I am looking for in TC mode. It's like it stops producing vapor once the temperature is met.

I am a bit of a chain vaper and these coils retain a lot of heat. It seems as though a near immediate second vape produces less flavor and vapor. I can only assume this is because the vape is already close to temp and therefore has less ramp up.

Can anyone offer some advice as to what to try?

I plan on doing a simple SS316L 24ga build later this evening to see if perhaps its just these huge coils.

Should I be building spaced coils? Currently I am building my coils exactly as I do for mech/vw vaping.


Mod: Lost Vape Triade (DNA 200)
RTA: Griffin 25 Plus
Coil: 2x22ga 316L / 34ga Ni80 Fused Clapton 5-wrap w/ 3mm ID
Settings: 480F, 100w, 0.05ohm locked @ 70F after sitting all night and not vaping

The attached photo shows an example of my coils. These were, however, on a mech mod. I do not have a photo of them in my Griffin.

Thanks!

Edit: I probably should also say that I am looking for good flavor with TC. I can blow clouds with my mech or other VW mods.

 

[SirRichardRear]

congrats on vaping and the nice set up and for wanting more and welcome to the forum!

with that said you are correct, you can't use the nichrome wrap as it will throw off the temp control. It needs to be all 1 material for it to work with your mod. The only mods that will do nichrome, kenthal and mixed wires are the G2 and slice from hohmtech. Your device will do pretty much everything else though. Stick to SS wire IMO overall it's the best because it's so widely available. If you want to try other wire. NiFe is amazing for DNA mods as well.

 

[g_vape]

Thanks SirRichardRear, I will be trying those SS only simple 6/7/8 wrap coils later this evening. Is it okay to pre-fire them and pinch them for TC? or should they be spaced?

 

[SirRichardRear]

Thanks SirRichardRear, I will be trying those SS only simple 6/7/8 wrap coils later this evening. Is it okay to pre-fire them and pinch them for TC? or should they be spaced?

you can do space or contact. both work fine. I usually do contact personally. There are companies that sell fancy wire in SS316 like advancedvapesupply.com i purchased quite a bit of wire from them and it's great. Love the 6 wire vertebraid SS316l the triple core fused clapton SS316l and the SS430 clapton wire they sell.

If you are going to use regular wire i highly recommend trying NiFe out.

This is a good write up from reddit explaining the wire types
https://www.reddit.com/r/electronic_cigarette/comments/3k9y0r/best_wire_for_temp_control_dna200/

 

[g_vape]

I have hundreds of feet of various wire sizes in Ni80, Ka1, and SS316L that I purchased from Temco. I will consider NiFe for when I order next, though!

 

[SirRichardRear]

I have hundreds of feet of various wire sizes in Ni80, Ka1, and SS316L that I purchased from Temco. I will consider NiFe for when I order next, though!

Ni80 and KA1 are for watt mode only. Only 2 devices with be able to temp control those wires (G2 and Slice from hohmtech) SS316L will work in both watt mode and TC mode and is a great and versatile wire

 

[Deucesjack]

Also, if you're using a DNA do not lock the resistance.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

[nightshard]

The point of TC is to help you not hinder you.
If you like a hot vape at high wattage but at the same time set your temp too low, you will get an inconsistent vape since mod will cut off before you reach either the length of the pull you are used to or the the wattage you set the mod to.

In my opinion 480 is too low, set it to 500 and check, if there is no improvement try raise it a bit more.

 

[g_vape]

I built new coils. 24ga 8 wrap .17 ohm. I set it to 500 but it was vaping weird and kept hitting temperature protection too soon. Unscrewing the atomizer and reseating it helped. I might completely remove the atomizer for 10 minutes to let it cool and put it back on. thanks for the help.

 

[g_vape]

I may not fully comprehend the way temperature control is supposed to work... My understanding was that I could set a temp and vape that temp for the entire rip. Are you saying I should try to set it so it does not hit temp protection all the time?

I have been trying to get it to ramp to 500 and coast at that temp for let's say 3 seconds while I inhale. It does not vape how I expect once it hits temp.

 

[SirRichardRear]

I built new coils. 24ga 8 wrap .17 ohm. I set it to 500 but it was vaping weird and kept hitting temperature protection too soon. Unscrewing the atomizer and reseating it helped. I might completely remove the atomizer for 10 minutes to let it cool and put it back on. thanks for the help.

your coils have to be room temp before you put it on the device

 

[SirRichardRear]

I may not fully comprehend the way temperature control is supposed to work... My understanding was that I could set a temp and vape that temp for the entire rip. Are you saying I should try to set it so it sure not hit temp protection all the time?

I have been trying to get it to ramp to 500 and coast at that temp for let's say 3 seconds while I inhale.

that is correct. thats how it works. but it needs to be set up correctly to work. It doens't actually read temperature, what it reads the rise in the wire's resistance and uses an alogrythm to calculate temp based on resistance

 

[g_vape]

So I think the issue was that I had the wattage too high. I set the watts to 55 and the temp to 500. It gets to 500 less quickly but once it hits it the vape is fantastic. I'll continue to play around with it but I must say the flavor is the best part. You can really find a sweet spot. I'm vaping a strawberry yogurt and it's almost as if I am eating it right off the spoon with this vape right now. Thanks for your help and advice.

 

[g_vape]

that is correct. thats how it works. but it needs to be set up correctly to work. It doens't actually read temperature, what it reads the rise in the wire's resistance and uses an alogrythm to calculate temp based on resistance

The curve based on material type in escribe? Right?

 

[SirRichardRear]

The curve based on material type in escribe? Right?

Yup. But make sure your coils aren't hot when u put them on your mod

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[nightshard]

TC works just like a thermostat, it cuts the power off once the temp you set is reached.
However unlike a thermostat it doesn't measure the temp itself, but instead calculates it based on idle resistance compared to working resistance while using the tcr preset or custom tcr value you set.

 

[gbalkam]

Personally, I don't like TC. It isn't consistent enough. I prefer just setting my watts and that is that.
One problem with stainless steel is that the resistance is rather low. I use SS for cloud builds for this reason.. more wraps per ohm. But, since it is more wraps, it takes more power to heat. So for better flavor, you would want a kanthal core (for heat) and stainless steel wrap (for flavor). Kanthal brings up the base flavor notes, ss will bring up the mid to high notes.
It is all about what you like best though. Just saying, a SS core takes a lot of power to heat, and then you have to heat the wraps as well. Wraps are heated off the core since they carry very little current. So for better vape, you want the core to heat fast, which heats the wraps faster which then evaporates your juice. Im not sure how that would work in TC mode though.

 

[g_vape]

I slammed my big fat Clapton's in here again and put it in tc mode. I set it to 500F and it does a great job of protecting to make sure it doesn't vape too hot and burn the wick.

2x22ga ss316l/36ni80

I have the wattage set at 100 so it rarely hits tc but if I take a long as rip it helps. I kind of like it. It doesn't get in the way unless it needs to. I think when people vape in tc they expect something different. I sure did. But having it setup like this makes it worth it. You barely notice it at all.

 

[gbalkam]

Might be borderline topic but... Usually I build cloud builds. I just finished a flavor coil build. 24ga NiChrome wrapped in 32ga stainless steel. Running in VW mode. I nearly choked on the flavor. lol. About 3 times what I am used to. I used a 4.0mm core and 5 wraps. Roughly 0.2 ohms.
Anyone really interested in flavor really needs to learn how to clapton. It will save a ton of $$$ in the long run and you can play with your own coil materials. For example, a Nichrome core will give better flavor than a kanthal core. I mean, sure you can just buy your coils, but ive seen them selling for $15 to $20 a set and UP!
I'm going to build a box to hold my spool while letting the spool spin freely or with slight tension. Hardest part I find is keeping the wire from popping off the sides of the spool while winding. I may buy a clapton making machine at some point, but once you learn how to, it is rather pointless. I made enough wire for 2 coils in about 10 minutes and that includes setting up the drill.

I'll have to do more study on how TC works though. Not sure if it runs off the core, the entire coil or just the wraps. (in the case of a NiChrome core and SS wrap) lol my nerdery project for later today.

 

[g_vape]

Honestly with having the stainless as the core and being such thick wire I think it works just fine. The Clapton wrap acts like a heat sink so it does add to ramp up but the temperature control appears to function as well as it did without the nichrome wrap.

Definitely like the nichrome flavor better than kanthal but these stainless are comparable imo

 

[gbalkam]

Honestly with having the stainless as the core and being such thick wire I think it works just fine. The Clapton wrap acts like a heat sink so it does add to ramp up but the temperature control appears to function as well as it did without the nichrome wrap.

Definitely like the nichrome flavor better than kanthal but these stainless are comparable imo

Oh for sure. SS is great for flavor, but that NiChr gets those lower tones very nicely. I wouldnt wrap with it, since it takes more heat to bring up to temp than SS which conducts heat much better (so heats faster as a wrap).

Use whatever you like best of course. No 2 people have the same taste. I'm more of a cloud chaser, but as such, I did a lot of study on wire properties. For example, for bad ass clouds on a regulated, go Kanthal. For clouds on a Mech, Stainless steel. (SS has lower resistance, so you need more wraps to get your target resistance. Resistance isn't really a factor on regulated though, but it is a major consideration on mechanicals) Doesn't really mean a whole lot flavor wise, but has an impact on ramp up time. I guess it is all about trying different things and whatever you like best is the right one for you.