The "I'm new to nickel builds, help me please!" Thread

[chykensa]

I am completely new to the Temperature Control/Nickel wire building malarkey, and thought a thread like this might also help others in a similar position.

Having recently bought a Sigelei 75w TC mod, I thought it would be churlish not to attempt a nickel build, and I have today ordered some .32 Nickel200 from Stealthvape, hoping it will arrive tomorrow.

I intend to build in a Kayfun Lite first, just to see if all works as it should, before moving on to . . . well, that''s just one of the many questions I have, dear reader!

From what I have gleaned from reading nickel posts on this esteemed forum, I am going to try a .15ohm build using a 3.5mm mandrel to wind on, and this works out at 9 wraps, as per here Steam Engine

OK, assuming that I get an open coil, all wicked with cotton, and I'm ready to set up the Sigelei, what do I do next? I know something of the need to ensure that the coil is completely cold before starting, but do I simply dial in about 300deg C and away I go? Or is there more to it than that? Is that a good ballpark temperature to start at, of do I need to do some sort of calibration?

I might discover as a result of some of the replies that a kayfun is not a good tank to start with. What others would people recommend? Obviously they need to be rebuildable, and ideally single coil, which is why I figured a KFL would fit, but I could be wrong.

I'm confident that someone who feels sorry for me will respond to these questions, and will help me, and others, through the journey to nickel fulfillment!!

Thanks in advance

[Deleted]

I have only tried it on a subtank mini Andy ... I'm not sure you would have sufficient air flow on the Kayfuns.
Regarding the coil being cold, you are right there and then you should lock that resistance into your device.
Mike Vapes does a great video on YouTube on the Sigelei which you might find useful.

[Get Off My Cloud]

Nothing really mysterious about it just make sure the coil is well secured, you need a stable contact or the resistance will be thrown off resulting the temp sensing being inaccurate.
The Sigelei 75w can go down to 0.05ohms, so you could get away with a coil with fewer wraps or a smaller diameter, i don't like to use lots and lots of wraps with my nickel coils, you'll see once you wrap one the coils are kinda floppy compared to kanthal and i find fewer wraps makes a less floppy coil so it's more stable.

You need to lock the resistance on the Sigelei when you attach the atty and the coil is at room temp hold the down button and press the fire button to lock the resistance in.

[glen]

What I would suggest chykensa is once you have built and wicked your coil, attach to your mod, lower the temp setting and fire, keep gradually moving the wick so you can see when it starts to burn, just keep raising the temp by say 10f each fire until you see the scorch mark on the cotton, reduce your temp by maybe 10 to 20f, then you are ready to prime. Put atty together fill and you should be good to go, knowing that the temp sensing will kick in before the cotton has reached its burning point, you can then just adjust the temp below your scorch temp to find a vape to your taste,
I use kayfuns for most of my builds and find they work well.
Cheers Glen

[chykensa]

Great thought on a smaller coil, Get Off My Cloud, may aim for a smaller number of wraps first.

Will try out that idea of testing on some cotton first to find the critical temperature - thanks glen

Keep these coming folks, I'm learning all the time

[chykensa]

Jul 30, 2015 19:16:02 GMT Get Off My Cloud said:

You need to lock the resistance on the Sigelei when you attach the atty and the coil is at room temp hold the down button and press the fire button to lock the resistance in.

Wouldn't have known about this either, great advice, Get Off My Cloud

[letsavit]

Pretty much what the guys have said......Yes the reading the resistance at room temp is key to every temp mod. The kayfuns are solid with NI200 with the screw type connections opposed to posts, wrap the wire around the screw say halfway and nip it up nice and tight. I would drop the wraps too, 5-7 spaced sit nice on a kayfun deck and is plenty, some what forgot ohms for now, you have a nice lower limit on this mod to play with.


the new sig 75 watt does look rather nice BTW...enjoy.

[*-SARIN-*]

435F 30w is a good starting point

[VapingBad]

Read the instructions and see if it needs the resistance locked for temp limiting, if the atty needs to be at the same temp as the mod. Don't try and make you're coils too small it will make the temp limit kick in earlier you need the heat spread over a higher surface area. If you are not getting enough vapour it is better to add wraps rather than just turning up the temp, also don't discount the airflow effest if the temp limit is cutting in. 400-420 F is a good starting point, I got a dripper running at 100 W last night and for part of the puff it was under 400 F. Bearing in mind that was a proper 100 W, I just read this on ECF "I notice one thing on my dna 200 especially. my herakles seems to hit harder at 70 watts than my sig 150."

But don't worry about getting it all correct in the first day, week or month just get it vaping nicely and have an experiment once you are more used to it and have time on your hands.

[phatfil]

fwiw im not doing to well with the nickel builds, heating to glow will soften the metal, and when soft the slightest snag on the cotton when threading thru the coil will deform it.. twisting 2xx thinner strands together does provide a stronger structure and is the way to go i think..

due to skill shortages im using kanger nickel 200 occ heads in subtank minis for TC vaping. they dont half last well when on the protanks a coil would last a week perhaps a lil longer or even a lil shorter.. ive had an Occ ni200 coil in my subtank+ which is my regular vape atty for the day for just over 6 weeks now still vaping as good as day 1!!

[VapingBad]

You don't have to do a micro-coil and then put the wick through it, you can just wrap the coil straight round the wick. Now we can wash and dry our cotton wicks with temp limiting, remember these coils became fashionable when we switched from silica to cotton and are not then only coils in the book. Or through them and use fresh wire it is still much cheaper than a coil head.

[drunkenbum]

I've been using .25 tempered ni200 from stealthvape chykensa. With it being tempered it has more of a kanthal type feel feel to it. Also being thinner wire I don't need so many wraps. I've been using the subtank mini rba as it's an absolute doddle to trap the leads but had no difficulties with my kfl either. As glen said try the dry burn to see what the cotton burn point is on the sigelei as it seems all the devices read temp differently

[jevans]

Now that chykensa has taken the TC plunge I'm getting really interested!
Would like advice on which mod to get, ideally a similar size to the Cloupor mini and uses 1 x 18650.

Jim

[chykensa]

Jul 31, 2015 9:29:06 GMT jevans said:

Now that chykensa has taken the TC plunge I'm getting really interested!
Would like advice on which mod to get, ideally a similar size to the Cloupor mini and uses 1 x 18650.

Jim

Jim jevans, don't be in too much of a hurry - I haven't had time to completely cock things up yet!! I'm reading this thread with great interest, it's what this forum is best at, sharing information and tip and tricks to help noobs like me gain skills!

[DiscoDes]

As I've said in other threads Twisting the Nickel wire makes it a lot more durable especially when putting your wick in (no sniggering at the back!)