Ohms too low

[Cabinboy]

Hi there
I'm a newcomer to vaping- I started about three mo ths ago with a thing called a JustFog J-easy 3 to help me give up smoking my pipe. Fwiw, I 've smoked Capstan Navy Cut Flake in a pipe for nearly 40 years and inhaled every puff, so it seemed like about time I packed it in...With that just fog device (I don't know what the correct name for it is) I quickly started making my own juice with real tobacco extracts and have got it to a very satisfactory flavour and throat hit but those cartridge coils need changing every three days as my home made juice is pretty dirty. About a week ago I took the plunger and bought a thing called a Berserker MTL but after I wore out the factory coil that came with it, I have been unable to get my own coils to work. I have 24g nickel wire and no matter how many turns I make the coil (I've tried from 4 to 11), the battery pack thing says Ohms Too Low. Honestly, I find the power pack thing bloody complicated, but can at least manage to select the wattage, which with the factory supplied coil seemed good at between 20 and 30, depending on the time of day. Anyway, hope I haven't bored the pants off you and would really appreciate some advice. Cheers.

 

[CactusFanaticus]

Nickel? Are you using temp control and what mod are you using? Nickel should never be used in watts mode, only temp control and a select few mods do temp control well.
Also a rebuildable coil should last more than a week, just pull out cotton, dry burn and replace cotton. I’d suggest going with kanthal for a MTL rebuildable, or higher gauge SS.

 

[CactusFanaticus]

Also 11 wraps of 24g nickel even on a single coil would come out to around.03 ohms, 3 hundredths of an ohm from a dead short, very few mods will fire this low and only in temp mode. Go higher gauge on a different metal.

 

[PoppaVic]

well, welcome - first off.. (ANd I often miss my meerschaums as well)

First off, insure you use NI80 or Kanthal A1 - and not NI200 - as the latter is also called "no resistance wire".

I dunno how you can stand only 900maH - I'd be screaming by the time I got to work.

I'd get at least a single-cell (removable) regulated device - maybe even start with a 2x700 cell mod, since you are new anyway. Order at least 2 cells and a charger for them.

 

[Cabinboy]

Nickel? Are you using temp control and what mod are you using? Nickel should never be used in watts mode, only temp control and a select few mods do temp control well.
Also a rebuildable coil should last more than a week, just pull out cotton, dry burn and replace cotton. I’d suggest going with kanthal for a MTL rebuildable, or higher gauge SS.

Nickel because I know zippo on the subject and I think the woman in the shop knows slightly less. So thank you, I'll see which one of the wires you suggest I can get here (Italy).
Honestly, the Chineenglish instruction booklet with the Smok power pack is so bad, I cannot figure out how to switch to temp control. Btw, what is a MOD?

 

[PoppaVic]

Go higher gauge

Yes, I'd get hold of 28 and 26awg, and MAYBE even 30awg. 28 is the Go-To size.

 

[PoppaVic]

The "mod" is the actual device - generally meant one with a removable battery.
The "atty" is your RTA, RDA, RBA, etc.

 

[Cabinboy]

Yes, I'd get hold of 28 and 26awg, and MAYBE even 30awg. 28 is the Go-To size.

Thank you- and thanks too because I didn't realise I could pull out and replace just the cotton. How do you know when the coil itself needs replacing?

 

[Cabinboy]

G

The "mod" is the actual device - generally meant one with a removable battery.
The "atty" is your RTA, RDA, RBA, etc.

ot it. My mod is a Smok AL 85.

 

[PoppaVic]

The cotton can last as long as a week, but I'd ditch it after that. You can then brush off the coil, run a mandrel thru it and/or pulse it with low watts - like 10 or 15w - to clear the crud. I rinse in tapwater as well. I clear the wick out as soon as the flavors taste off, or if rotating in another atty.

Coils can last a really variable amount of time - some folks can use the same coil for months. I just swap coils every week or three because I can - winding wire is trivial, I usually just wait for a day off and spin up one or two.


Smok products have the worst QC possible - there are a few folks defend them, but the rest of the vaping community avoid them like plague. YMMV

 

[CactusFanaticus]

Thank you- and thanks too because I didn't realise I could pull out and replace just the cotton. How do you know when the coil itself needs replacing?

When it breaks, starts performing poorly after rewicking or when you get bored with that build, they can last quite a while. I usually get bored and just feel like rebuilding before the coil is bad.

 

[CactusFanaticus]

Get you another type of metal in a gauge poppa vic recommended above and you will have yourself a great vape experience, congratulations getting away from tobacco.

 

[Cabinboy]

The cotton can last as long as a week, but I'd ditch it after that. You can then brush off the coil, run a mandrel thru it and/or pulse it with low watts - like 10 or 15w - to clear the crud. I rinse in tapwater as well. I clear the wick out as soon as the flavors taste off, or if rotating in another atty.

Coils can last a really variable amount of time - some folks can use the same coil for months. I just swap coils every week or three because I can - winding wire is trivial, I usually just wait for a day off and spin up one or two.


Smok products have the worst QC possible - there are a few folks defend them, but the rest of the vaping community avoid them like plague. YMMV

Just my luck!

 

[Cabinboy]

Get you another type of metal in a gauge poppa vic recommended above and you will have yourself a great vape experience, congratulations getting away from tobacco.

Thank you very much. I look forward to learning- it's a complex subject, it seems.

 

[CactusFanaticus]

Thank you very much. I look forward to learning- it's a complex subject, it seems.

Not bad once you get into it and are interested in the hobby aspect of it. Just read, watch videos and soak it up. May be some trial and error, but that’s learning. Once it clicks and you find that vape you’re looking for it is very rewarding.

 

[PoppaVic]

Well, it's simpler than cooking or reloading or electronics DESIGN.

One of the things to remember as well is: it never hurts to have a spare mod or atty - I keep about 3 or 4 atty in a small plastic bin near the sink; I keep at least 3 mods and atty ready to rock&roll.. And, I tend to switch and swap tanks as I empty them, (sort of like letting a pipe rest overnight). The exception to this is when I am flogging an atty or mod to see wtf I'm getting wrong or right.

Don't forget to SEARCH Vapingunderground posts, (although I hate the search engine), as well as YouTube - you can find a whole lot of info BEFORE you ask things, and you can also decide to ask ABOUT things you think you understand due to them as well.