No glow when firing new coil

[SavantCS]

So I'm new to building coils and this is my first time with an RTA. I'm using the Vaporesso Revenger kit with a Zeus RTA (single coil). So I went ahead and built a parallel coil (I was recommended to do so by the guy from the vape shop where I bought it) and wicked it up before testing for hot spots. That gave close to no vapor and an instant dry hit so I started over following a YouTube tutorial and realized I forgot to check for hot spots and so on my second attempt I did and it wasn't glowing at all. The build came to 0.25Ohm (which dropped down to 0.21Ohm when firing). Not quite sure what I did wrong here.

Thanks for the help in advance,
SavantCS

EDIT: Perhaps some more info would help: I'm using Kanthal A1 24 gauge wire for the parallel coil and wound it around a 3mm bit 5 times.

 

[jwill]

You should start with a simple single coil and remove all elements of complexity for a first build. Knowing wire info and pics would remove a lot of guess work.

 

[PoppaVic]

Well, at least Steam Engine confirms the numbers.

 

[SavantCS]

You should start with a simple single coil and remove all elements of complexity for a first build. Knowing wire info and pics would remove a lot of guess work.

Thanks, went ahead and edited the post to include info about the wire. I'm guessing you're right that I should start out with a single coil but I'd still like to know why it's failing since I'm likely to have this issue even after doing a single.

Pictures (excuse the quality, I'm no photographer):
No clue why they decided to rotate themselves the original pictures were standing up.

Spoiler

 

[zephyr]

Thanks, went ahead and edited the post to include info about the wire. I'm guessing you're right that I should start out with a single coil but I'd still like to know why it's failing since I'm likely to have this issue even after doing a single.

Pictures (excuse the quality, I'm no photographer):
No clue why they decided to rotate themselves the original pictures were standing up.

Spoiler

Make sure all 4 legs are secure in each hole, and try separating the coil wraps before heating at first, then pinch together if you like after they glow from the inside out


What wattage are you trying to get them to glow with?

 

[SavantCS]

Make sure all 4 legs are secure in each hole, and try separating the coil wraps before heating at first, then pinch together if you like after they glow from the inside out


What wattage are you trying to get them to glow with?

All legs are secured, I've been told I should always get it as close as possible when winding the coil itself so I guess I'll space em out a bit now and try again. I'm trying it with 45W.

EDIT: Tried it with a separated coil and same result.
Thought I'd also point out that the guy from the vape shop built it for me once to show me how to do it with the prebuilt clapton (I'm guessing it was clapton anyway the box didn't say what type of coil it was). I just put in the prebuilt coil again and I'm having the same effect with it.

 

[zephyr]

All legs are secured, I've been told I should always get it as close as possible when winding the coil itself so I guess I'll space em out a bit now and try again. I'm trying it with 45W.

EDIT: Tried it with a separated coil and same result.
Thought I'd also point out that the guy from the vape shop built it for me once to show me how to do it with the prebuilt clapton (I'm guessing it was clapton anyway the box didn't say what type of coil it was). I just put in the prebuilt coil again and I'm having the same effect with it.

Does the coil get warm at all?
Try the atomizer on a different mod

 

[SavantCS]

Does the coil get warm at all?
Try the atomizer on a different mod

The coil does smoke so it does get hot, I don't have a different mod to try it on (I came from a kit with a built in tank before I got the Revenger). I'm guessing my best bet would be to head back over to the vape shop and ask them about it?

 

[zephyr]

The coil does smoke so it does get hot, I don't have a different mod to try it on (I came from a kit with a built in tank before I got the Revenger). I'm guessing my best bet would be to head back over to the vape shop and ask them about it?

make sure your mod is in Power or Wattage mode, and not Temperature control mode

 

[SavantCS]

make sure your mod is in Power or Wattage mode, and not Temperature control mode

It is. Thanks for the help so far.

 

[zephyr]

hmm yeah, someone who can get hands on it could fix it faster i betcha

 

[SavantCS]

hmm yeah, someone who can get hands on it could fix it faster i betcha

Thought I'd try it out here see if anyone could help me out, thanks again. If I end up finding out what the issue was I'll go ahead and post it here so others with the same issue will benefit from it (that is if I don't forget about it).

 

[PoppaVic]

And, then there are Those Mods... (Smok OSub for example ;-)

 

[choderfett]

so basically when you try to fire it up with just the coils (un-wicked), it doesnt get red...
how long are you holding it down for? pulsing or steady? at what wattage?
Seems to be like your connections should be good since the mod is reading ohms..
maybe try hold it down in longer periods at a high wattage...

just curious what kind of coils (material) are you using?

 

[r055co]

1. Insure the coil legs are snug in the post holes
2. Use Voltage NOT Watt's and you should be around 3.7V when firing
3. Pulse, don't just hold down power
4. Pulse to red only then squeeze and strum the coils with ceramic tweezers

 

[SavantCS]

so basically when you try to fire it up with just the coils (un-wicked), it doesnt get red...
how long are you holding it down for? pulsing or steady? at what wattage?
Seems to be like your connections should be good since the mod is reading ohms..
maybe try hold it down in longer periods at a high wattage...

just curious what kind of coils (material) are you using?

1. Insure the coil legs are snug in the post holes
2. Use Voltage NOT Watt's and you should be around 3.7V when firing
3. Pulse, don't just hold down power
4. Pulse to red only then squeeze and strum the coils with ceramic tweezers

The connection is rock solid (checked it about a dozen times now).
I'm pulsing for short periods of time and doing it longer (same wattage) has no effect either. I'm not quite sure I can adjust the voltage? Unless it's bypass you mean. I guess I could try with a higher wattage but I don't think that's gonna have an effect. I'm using Kanthal A1 wire wound to a parallel coil as described in the edit on my main post.

EDIT: I'm also not getting a glow at all so I can't fix out hotspots and ensure the coil light from inside out equally.

Thanks all for the help,
SavantCS

 

[r055co]

The connection is rock solid (checked it about a dozen times now).
I'm pulsing for short periods of time and doing it longer (same wattage) has no effect either. I'm not quite sure I can adjust the voltage? Unless it's bypass you mean. I guess I could try with a higher wattage but I don't think that's gonna have an effect. I'm using Kanthal A1 wire wound to a parallel coil as described in the edit on my main post.

EDIT: I'm also not getting a glow at all so I can't fix out hotspots and ensure the coil light from inside out equally.

Thanks all for the help,
SavantCS

Your mod should be able to switch to Voltage, if not figure around 58-60W with a 0.23Ω build. That and I recommend your next regulated mod be one that will show Voltage. When I first started Vaping I thought it easier for Watt's but in all reality IMO Voltage is much, much better. Where you wanna stay is around 3.6V - 4.2V for most general vaping purposes. Watt's will change drastically with what ever the coils Ohm out to be.

Anyway that's my two bits worth.

 

[zephyr]

The connection is rock solid (checked it about a dozen times now).
I'm pulsing for short periods of time and doing it longer (same wattage) has no effect either. I'm not quite sure I can adjust the voltage? Unless it's bypass you mean. I guess I could try with a higher wattage but I don't think that's gonna have an effect. I'm using Kanthal A1 wire wound to a parallel coil as described in the edit on my main post.

EDIT: I'm also not getting a glow at all so I can't fix out hotspots and ensure the coil light from inside out equally.

Thanks all for the help,
SavantCS

You say you see smoke though? Perhaps you have a stray bit of wire somewhere in the posts that is sucking up all the heat

You increase voltage by increasing wattage - most mods will show voltage while firing only

 

[SavantCS]

You say you see smoke though? Perhaps you have a stray bit of wire somewhere in the posts that is sucking up all the heat

You increase voltage by increasing wattage - most mods will show voltage while firing only

Your mod should be able to switch to Voltage, if not figure around 58-60W with a 0.23Ω build. That and I recommend your next regulated mod be one that will show Voltage. When I first started Vaping I thought it easier for Watt's but in all reality IMO Voltage is much, much better. Where you wanna stay is around 3.6V - 4.2V for most general vaping purposes. Watt's will change drastically with what ever the coils Ohm out to be.

Anyway that's my two bits worth.

It does indeed show voltage when firing and at 60W the result is exactly the same. As far as stray wires go I've checked about a dozen times and I don't see any stray wire. And even then if one point was sucking up all the heat I should see it glow up right? There's no glow at all anywhere. The coil remains the same as it looked before firing and there's no discoloration anywhere. I'm quite fine with the variable wattage as soon as I find the sweet spot.

 

[SteveS45]

What batteries are you using and are they fully charged?

 

[SavantCS]

What batteries are you using and are they fully charged?

The batteries I'm using are 2 2.6Ah 18650 batteries by Sony (https://www.nkon.nl/sony-us18650vtc5-flat-top.html). They're not fully charged, I charged em yesterday and haven't used them that much since then. They're not completely drained so I should at least still see some glow right?

 

[SteveS45]

When testing any electrical circuit you should start with fully charged batteries.

 

[r055co]

Jump it up to around 70W or 75W, you're using 24g which is fatter wire

 

[SavantCS]

Jump it up to around 70W or 75W, you're using 24g which is fatter wire

Awesome! 75W did the trick, it's not glowing equally so now it comes down to strumming the coil! The ohm reading did drop down to .19 from .21 (guessing the resistance drops due to the heat?) should I be worried about that? My previous one dropped down from 0.26 to 0.13 so I'm guessing something was wrong with the coil (probably had a crossing somewhere in my parallel coil.

 

[SavantCS]

Wicked her up and took a few hits and she's going good so far. I'm pretty sure my wicking wasn't really good, but that's a process I can fix through trial and error. I'm not quite sure if it's a burnt taste I'm getting or a cotton taste. I'm gonna guess it's the latter since I'm using Kendo Gold Edition and it does break down much slower vs cotton bacon or something similar.

Thanks again to all who took the time to try and help me out!
(Not quite sure how it works on this forum but this topic can be closed if it works that way.)

 

[r055co]

Awesome! 75W did the trick, it's not glowing equally so now it comes down to strumming the coil! The ohm reading did drop down to .19 from .21 (guessing the resistance drops due to the heat?) should I be worried about that? My previous one dropped down from 0.26 to 0.13 so I'm guessing something was wrong with the coil (probably had a crossing somewhere in my parallel coil.

It's a balancing act between wire mass and resistance when it comes down to power that is needed. Personally I'm not into giant fatty coils, that is unless I'm on my Series Mod's. Anyway my go to is SS Fused Claptons around 28x2/38 or 30x2/40 between 0.15Ω - 0.2Ω, that's my sweet spot.