Soooo I got my first mod and rda after vaping cheap ego style sticks for about a year and I dont have an ohm reader but i plan on buying one eventually am I good to build for now? Im not doing anything extravagant or fancy yet just standard 6 wrap build with 26 gauge kanthal wire. As long as I take all other precautions will I be fine?
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Is an ohm reader/meter crucial??
- Thread starter Miguel Martinez
- Start date
You won't necessarily know if you have a short, especially if you're new to building coils, so I personally wouldn't!
A ohm reader is pretty important for someone new to building. You can get one for $10 if you do some finger walking. It only takes on small thing you do not see to creat a short. Being new, that one thing may slip by you a little easier than someone who has been doing it for a while.
Were we crazy with our genesis hybrid attys back in the day? No way to check them, fiddling with the coil while we were firing it. We should be glad we have hands left lol.
Were we crazy with our genesis hybrid attys back in the day? No way to check them, fiddling with the coil while we were firing it. We should be glad we have hands left lol.
what would cause the short? besides the coil touching the deck or the post?
When I am done and have a coil the way I want it, I check it on my ohm meter. With the meter on I lightly tap on the coils. If the reading is bouncing around I know something is loose and needs to be adjusted/tightened. Also I you are building sub ohm coils you need to know you are being safe for what your battery can handle. I use mine as a building platform, nice and easy to build on and I don't have to worry about accidentally firing it.
Over crimping your coil till they over lap. The wire touching the post a rid bit on the leg at the post hole. Like if you push your coil and it bends against the post a bit.
Wire warps after using a bit and has to be retightened, if it is lose your ohms will bounce. If you're at .2 or .3 when that happens you risk over amping your battery. If a .2 jumps down to .075 - 1 ohm and you're using a 30 amp, you risk your battery safy. ET.......
Besides not knowing if you have a short there is also needing to know what the ohms are so you can see if your battery can handle the amp load safely. Just running rough numbers using steam engine is showing close to a .5 ohm coil IF everything is fine, without the meter there is no way of knowing. It's risky and I would not advise it.
If you have access to a multimeter you could find your resistance with it until you get a dedicated meter, they just makes it easier plus can double as a stand to hold the RDA/RTA while putting the coil on and wicking. Also what batteries are you using?
If you have access to a multimeter you could find your resistance with it until you get a dedicated meter, they just makes it easier plus can double as a stand to hold the RDA/RTA while putting the coil on and wicking. Also what batteries are you using?
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I have built literally hundreds of atties....but even though I know by heart what I need to do, and how to do it....what I cant tell visually is the condition of the centre post insulator. Combine that with what the previous members posted...the short and only answer is.......YES.
First thing I do with a new RBA is test it to make sure it doesn't have an internal short, this is before I even try to put a coil on it. Any manufacturer can make a mistake and I have no idea what their QC is like.
Not a chance in hell would I rebuild without one, ALL rebuilds gets and ohm test before it hits a mod period.
I would rather be safe not have a battery go in my hand or have a wire pop in my face.
I build, test, then if ok it gets fired and crimped, repeat on coil 2-4. then retest after it is complete.
Anal retentive? yes but then again I have first hand knowledge of how fast and explosive batteries can be.
I would rather be safe not have a battery go in my hand or have a wire pop in my face.
I build, test, then if ok it gets fired and crimped, repeat on coil 2-4. then retest after it is complete.
Anal retentive? yes but then again I have first hand knowledge of how fast and explosive batteries can be.
Aside from ever experiencing battery failure, I am identical to you. RDA I check after coil, wick, and again after juicing before I will fire it. I do pulse between coiling and wicking, but have checked already.
Kayfun, I check after coiling, pulsing, wicking, putting on the deck sleeve, the cone, and then final assembly. Again after I fill it.
You can never be too careful especially with a mech. If you're ohms are wandering on a box, so will your volts to compensate, which isn't good, too.
I recently built a kayfun and noticed some juice in the 510 pin area, the pin had unscrewed from the deck. Had I not checked, it could've been bad.
Everyone has said the same thing in different ways, you can never be too careful, and it takes no real time. The Eleaf ohm reader is under ten bucks, and reads to the hundredth. I recommend it highly, it also makes a good build deck.
So... The answer is YES. /Thread. Be safe!
madmonkey
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another way to get a short is your post screw loosening on you while wicking. It only needs to slightly loosen. near impossible to see with the naked eye especially if you're not looking for it....
I have a tobh clone that the screws refused to stay tight on...I thought I had them finally secure and wicked up and didn't check my meter again and "CRACK"...a small spark shot off my atty...luckily I had a VTC battery in there so all it did was kill the battery by draining it completely in that one instant and didn't vent thankfully....aapon investigation the screw had ever so slightly wiggled...no way I could see it with a naked eye....I had checked my build before I pinched and after I pinched but I forgot to check after wicking that one time and I'll never forget again. Ohm's readers are key...period.
I have a tobh clone that the screws refused to stay tight on...I thought I had them finally secure and wicked up and didn't check my meter again and "CRACK"...a small spark shot off my atty...luckily I had a VTC battery in there so all it did was kill the battery by draining it completely in that one instant and didn't vent thankfully....aapon investigation the screw had ever so slightly wiggled...no way I could see it with a naked eye....I had checked my build before I pinched and after I pinched but I forgot to check after wicking that one time and I'll never forget again. Ohm's readers are key...period.
The short answer is YES.
The long answer is put that mech down and get a damn ohm meter.
The long answer is put that mech down and get a damn ohm meter.
madmonkey
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True...and the never VV/WV's ohm readers are much more accurate than the old ones and yes I know our little ohm boxes aren't completely accurate but it's always good to have one to check against the other...I use a ohm checker and a DNA 40 now I have one to verify my readings as best as I can, I used to have two ohm checker boxes but I PIF'd one to a friend I am teaching to rebuild....never hurts to double check.
Honestly building for just myself I roll a coil.. check it for shorts on the ohm reader, put it on a mech and pinch fire the coil. roll a second coil recheck ohm and for shorts, pinch fire it.
once both are pinch fired and cooled down back to the reader for final ohm reading.
madmonkey
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honestly, I check a coil three times, before pinching, after pinching, and after wicking/juicing...I just don't trust older clone atty screws...too many of them seem to want to wiggle loose. As I break down and order new RDA's because curiousity is getting the best of me I notice some of the newer ones hold a lot better, but I never want another short over something so stupid...maybe I am a broken record, but having sparks fly in my hand put the vaping fear of God into me
Mine was instant heat with a sharp sounding sizzling with hot metal. KTS clone spring nuke.. followed shortly after with a arced button scorched nemy button.
madmonkey
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ouch...that sucks....mine was sparks flying off of a EhPro Tobh clone screwed into an Hcigar Stingray X...I was lucky to have a fully charged VTC in and I don't think it was a complete hard short because the wire was still touching the post, the screw just came loose without me noticing.... it so it completely drained the battery...my charger tried it's best to use it's restore and save the battery and it holds a charge but even in the regulated mods I used in (I figured i'd have more protection if it decided to fail on me that way) it had a greatly reduced runtime and I still scrapped it for safety..
I broke the button on my K100, I loved that mod as a take to work beat up mod...but the little tiny pos thin washer that held the whole button together snapped on me...I still use it once in a while at home though....I just hold the button in place...but it's traveling days are over. I am sorry to hear about yours.
Celtic Fog
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I don't have one...I sub ohm. I really want to get one. But I am pretty ocd about putting my atty together. I recommend them to new users and builders. Think I will order one tonight.
madmonkey
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I use them inronically for non sub ohm builds more than anything...it seems that if I let my rebuild protank heads sit unused for too long they like to short themselves out for some reason...I built a shitload of them all at once when I first started rebuilding and piled them all in a slotbox with more recently, know I built them solid heads, so I have to check them now to make sure I don't use a bad one before I use it
Miguel,
It's absolutely not essential. Think of it sorta like driving at night without lights. You can do it, and if you're lucky you'll get where your going undamaged. You simply won't know when you're luck is 'bout to run out. Keep a towel handy or sump'n.
I'm resisting the urge to tell you any multimeter is better than no multimeter. But, you should know you can likely pick up a multimeter at your local wally world for <$10.
Or harbor freight
My wife is a crazy coupon lady...I had 14 of those "free w/ no purchase" multimeter coupons and 14 of the free 24 pack AA/AAA batteries...guess where I made a road trip to with as many people as I could stuff into our minivan (yes we did look like a clown car
)
My wife is a crazy coupon lady...I had 14 of those "free w/ no purchase" multimeter coupons and 14 of the free 24 pack AA/AAA batteries...guess where I made a road trip to with as many people as I could stuff into our minivan (yes we did look like a clown car
)
I've been building without one for about 6 or 7 months now after my last one broke, been using a couple different regulated mods to check my coils when I have one with me....had a few coils pop on me cuz I didn't check em, wasn't fun. Just ordered a new ohm checker yesterday. But in short(no pun intended) yes I believe an ohm check or voltameter is a necessity even if your expirienced
E-Leaf ohm meters are about $10 and can be found at most vape/tobacco shops. They measure volts and ohms. You can check your battery and coils on it. I wouldn't build without it. Sure, I might know that I can make a 2mm 1 ohm coil in 9 wraps with 26ga kanthal A1, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to just stick the legs in and start pulsing. I don't have any way to know if it's shorted somewhere I can't see.
ajaymes2001
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Not to beat a dead horse, but yes, you should have some sort of ohm meter to check your build. Whether it comes from ToBeCo with nifty blue LEDs or as a function of your vv/vw device doesn't matter as long as it is accurate. An inexpensive vv mod that is really accurate is the 40W Vamo V7. I checked it vs. the above mentioned ToBeCo and found that there was only a .01 variance between the two. My older Vamo is .2 off...not a huge deal, unless your build is .2 or less.
Not to nitpick, but it's actually a big deal if you're planning to build within 0.2ohms of your battery's safety threshold.
ajaymes2001
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It's all good, not taking it as nitpicking...although I was being quite facetious about it not being a huge deal...that much of a variance can mean the difference between operating your mod within safe parameters and a battery in thermal runaway.
Anus Braun
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I had a couple coils build yersterday, to a given omega, and saw their meter's reading, get home re-juiced, fired, and checked by my in-line, and John Fluke, reading was .03 ohms higher, giver or take. I have wire in a different gauge, and Steam Engine, three ways total of measuring.
