Confused about wires

[doveman]

I want to buy a Pico Squeeze and a Vapor Storm Raptor, plus the Wasp Nano RDA www.fasttech.com/products/9647956 and probably the Nano RDTA to use with my box mod www.fasttech.com/products/9650419

I'll get 50 of these 32 AWG, 0.2mm, 0.26ohm SS Alien Clapton coils to get started with www.fasttech.com/products/9646621 but I want to get some SS Clapton (not necessarily Alien) and A1 Kanthal wire to make my own coils long-term but there's so many options I'm totally lost!

I thought that Clapton meant there was a core wire wrapped by a thinner wire but those coils only mention one wire, the 32 AWG. Is this reel of 32 AWG 0.2mm essentially the same thing? www.fasttech.com/products/3361700

Assuming I've put in the right figures, Steam Engine reckons I'd need 5 full wraps for a target resistance of 0.35ohm. Does that mean 5 wraps plus the two at each end with the legs, so that picture of the coils from FT would be 3 full wraps and two half wraps? As for the "mod setting" of 1.9W/0.8v is that meant to indicate what settings on a variable regulated mod would produce the same result? With my mod I run it at 9W/2.5v/0.7ohm with a 50:50 mix which doesn't create much in the way of clouds but if I increase the wattage I just get a nasty burnt taste and it hurts my throat. I don't mind though, I'm not really bothered about clouds. I'm just curious why SE says 1.9W and how this relates to the 9W I'm currently vaping at, if at all? As the Squonk mods I'm getting are unregulated I'm just a bit nervous that it will be running at the full 50W and I won't be able to handle it.

As for the A1 Kanthal, would all of these be suitable for the mods and RDA I want to get?
www.fasttech.com/products/0/10008276/2219904-authentic-kanthal-a1-resistance-wire-for
www.fasttech.com/products/0/10051333/9644182-xfkm-kanthal-a1-heating-wire
www.fasttech.com/products/0/10051189/9643276-coil-father-kanthal-a1-heating-wire

They all say 32 AWG 0.2mm but only the first one gives an ohm rating, 1.15ohm, which seems strange but maybe that's not important. Changing Steam Engine to Kanthal A1 but leaving all the other parameters as for the Clapton gives a result of 1 full wrap, which surely can't be right?

Also, will I need to get new batteries for the Squonk mods? I've got a couple of Efest 3500mAh 20A 3.7V but they're probably 2-3 years old now, so maybe they've degraded somewhat.

[Get Off My Cloud]

The alien claptons you listed the core is 0.3mm*0.8mm flat wire wrapped by 32AWG so no not the same as just using 32AWG wire.
Claptons work by the core wire being heated by the power from the mod and the outside wrap gets heated by the core wire heating up the outer wire not the power directly.
Electricity will take the path of least resistance that's why the core wire gets heated by the battery not the outside wire.

Your steam engine settings are all wrong.
You have the coil inner diameter set at 0.2mm, that's not asking for wire size it's asking what size you want the hole to be for cotton to go through, most people use either 2.5mm or 3mm and sometimes 2mm if the deck is really small and a larger coil wouldn't fit.

The 1.15ohm rating on the wire you linked to is the ohms per cm of wire.

Just my opinion but if you want to have a go at making your own coils i would get a spool of 24AWG Kanthal.
32AWG is very thin and flimsy and fiddly to use and really only suitable for higher resistance coils.
24AWG is thicker and easier to use but middle of the road in terms of resistance so you could make a low resistance build with it or a higher one if you like.

www.steam-engine.org/coil.html?r=0.7&awg=24&id=2.5
8 wraps is the total the legs are accounted for in the calculation.

[striker42]

I was trying to pick my way through the OP to see where things had gone wrong Get Off My Cloud but after your post it's a bit clearer.
Just a few observations from me doveman.
If you put those pre built coils in a wasp on a squeeze or rage squonker, your wattage will be 60w + on a fresh battery. It's a bit of a jump, as you've indicated at the moment you vape 9w on a 0.7ohm coil.
On a mechanical sqonker, Ni80 wire works best for me. All my squonkers are coiled with a variety of Ni80, either 22awg, 24 awg, twisted 26awg or two different sizes of tri core fused clapton. All coiled between 0.2-0.3 ohms. The ramp up time is by far, quicker than kanthal. SS I've no great experience with as it leaves the inside of my mouth like bubble wrap after a few hours, so for obvious reasons I don't use it.
When it comes to batteries, I'm a bit boring, still tend to stick to Samsung 25r's or Sony VTC5a. There are others on the market said to be better at a price and when you can actually get them. For now I'll stick with what's proven.

[beedee]

I would second what Get Off My Cloud says, doveman . Personally I would sooner have a major operation than try and build coils with a 32awg wire. It’s just so thin. 28 or 26awg are a better starting point. Also puzzled why you are getting those massive pre built Alien Clapton's, then thinking of that very thin wire for building.

Might be good to look out a video on the web on how to use steam engine -there are lots about. I think there is a post on here about using steam engine, but could not find it.

I know it’s all bloody confusing at first, but start simple and do a bit of looking around for instructions vids and it does get easier. it’s well worth the trouble.

Above all, enjoy!

[doveman]

Get Off My Cloud , thanks, I understand now. I guess I'd have to measure the diameter of the hole on the coils if I buy them. I'll get some 24AWG wire as you suggest.

I'm curious about your target resistance of 0.7ohm as someone told me that the sweet spot (maybe specifically for the Pico Squeeze and Wasp Nano) is generally 0.15ohm-0.4ohms, that at 0.15ohms it puts out ~50w and less at higher ohms, that 0.15ohm runs hot and ramps up quick and 0.35ohm heats slowly and runs cool. If I put the target resistance as 0.35ohm that gives 5 wraps and 16W, which is nearer the 9W I'm currently vaping at but I'm not sure I can really compare the wattage between my current gear and the squonk mod. I'm using these coils at the moment, so maybe it's those that are limiting me to 9W? www.fasttech.com/products/2133108

[doveman]

striker42 yeah if those coils will run at 60w that might be a bit much for me, so it's probably best I just buy some wire and make my own to run at a lower wattage. I'll look for some Ni80 and probably get some Kanthal A1 to play with as well. I think I was leaning towards the SS as I read they give great flavour but if it leaves your mouth like bubble wrap that rather puts me off!

I see the Samsung 25r's are only 2500mAh, whereas my Efest is 3500mAh. I'm quite comfortable with how long the Efest lasts me, so I don't really want to go for anything lower. I'm guessing that using an unregulated Squonk mod will drain the battery quicker than my regulated mod at 9W does anyway. I just found this rather worrying, albeit 4 year old, thread about Efest batteries though so maybe I should avoid them! www.e-cigarette-forum.com/threads/purple-efest-18650-battery-warning.587759/

[doveman]

beedee I actually bought a jig tool and some wire a while back but I think I probably got 32AWG (all it says on the reel is 0.4, 25m so I'm not sure). It's very thin and fiddly so I never really bothered with it and just used the pre-made coils I've got. I will order some thicker wire and try with that.

I think I understand the Steam Engine now after Get Off My Cloud explained where I was going wrong but it's a good idea for me to find a video about it, thanks.

I'm just being a bit cautious as I've never used an unregulated mod before and I keep reading warnings about ensuring one understands about batteries and ohms law before doing anything, so I want to make sure I'm using the right coils and batteries before I start.

[Get Off My Cloud]

Aug 1, 2018 23:36:55 GMT doveman said:

beedee I actually bought a jig tool and some wire a while back but I think I probably got 32AWG (all it says on the reel is 0.4, 25m so I'm not sure). It's very thin and fiddly so I never really bothered with it and just used the pre-made coils I've got. I will order some thicker wire and try with that.

I think I understand the Steam Engine now after Get Off My Cloud explained where I was going wrong but it's a good idea for me to find a video about it, thanks.

I'm just being a bit cautious as I've never used an unregulated mod before and I keep reading warnings about ensuring one understands about batteries and ohms law before doing anything, so I want to make sure I'm using the right coils and batteries before I start.

0.4 would be 0.4mm which is 26AWG wire.

There is a difference between unregulated and mechanical mods.

Both will output direct voltage from the battery but an unregulated device has safety features built in.

An unregulated device will only allow you to draw a set amount of Amps from the battery which will prevent you from overloading the cell assuming the battery Amp rating is the same as or higher than the cut off limit of the protection board.

A mechanical device has no protection at all so there is nothing to prevent drawing too many Amps from the battery other than making sure the coil resistance is within the range the battery can cope with.

[marksixysix]

Aug 2, 2018 0:23:36 GMT Get Off My Cloud said:

Aug 1, 2018 23:36:55 GMT doveman said:

beedee I actually bought a jig tool and some wire a while back but I think I probably got 32AWG (all it says on the reel is 0.4, 25m so I'm not sure). It's very thin and fiddly so I never really bothered with it and just used the pre-made coils I've got. I will order some thicker wire and try with that.

I think I understand the Steam Engine now after Get Off My Cloud explained where I was going wrong but it's a good idea for me to find a video about it, thanks.

I'm just being a bit cautious as I've never used an unregulated mod before and I keep reading warnings about ensuring one understands about batteries and ohms law before doing anything, so I want to make sure I'm using the right coils and batteries before I start.

0.4 would be 0.4mm which is 26AWG wire.

There is a difference between unregulated and mechanical mods.

Both will output direct voltage from the battery but an unregulated device has safety features built in.

An unregulated device will only allow you to draw a set amount of Amps from the battery which will prevent you from overloading the cell assuming the battery Amp rating is the same as or higher than the cut off limit of the protection board.

A mechanical device has no protection at all so there is nothing to prevent drawing too many Amps from the battery other than making sure the coil resistance is within the range the battery can cope with.

[Get Off My Cloud]

marksixysix ???
Unregulated refers only to the fact that there is no regulation of the voltage output other than the bi-product of a maximum voltage output by virtue of the Amp draw limit set by the safety electronics.
As the charge level drops on your battery so does the voltage output of the device with an unregulated device, that's where it differs to a regulated device which will regulate the output so the output remains the same regardless of the charge level of the battery.

[marksixysix]

Aug 2, 2018 4:34:20 GMT Get Off My Cloud said:

marksixysix ???
Unregulated refers only to the fact that there is no regulation of the voltage output other than the bi-product of a maximum voltage output by virtue of the Amp draw limit set by the safety electronics.
As the charge level drops on your battery so does the voltage output of the device with an unregulated device, that's where it differs to a regulated device which will regulate the output so the output remains the same regardless of the charge level of the battery.

Sorry Get Off My Cloud I thought it was a typo that I was just underlining for the benefit of others but my mistake.

I just read it again

[doveman]

Aug 2, 2018 0:23:36 GMT Get Off My Cloud said:

0.4 would be 0.4mm which is 26AWG wire.

There is a difference between unregulated and mechanical mods.

Both will output direct voltage from the battery but an unregulated device has safety features built in.

An unregulated device will only allow you to draw a set amount of Amps from the battery which will prevent you from overloading the cell assuming the battery Amp rating is the same as or higher than the cut off limit of the protection board.

A mechanical device has no protection at all so there is nothing to prevent drawing too many Amps from the battery other than making sure the coil resistance is within the range the battery can cope with.

OK, I should practice making some coils with the 26AWG wire I've already got then.

I was thinking the Pico Squeeze was an unregulated mod but I see it's mechanical. I was probably confusing it with the Pico Squeeze 2 which is actually regulated but it's a lot more expensive. The Vapor Storm Raptor is regulated though and about the same price as the Pico Squeeze, so that might be the best option for me to start with.

[buggritt]

I think you need to know a lot more before using unregulated mods.

[Get Off My Cloud]

Aug 3, 2018 0:47:12 GMT doveman said:

Aug 2, 2018 0:23:36 GMT Get Off My Cloud said:

0.4 would be 0.4mm which is 26AWG wire.

There is a difference between unregulated and mechanical mods.

Both will output direct voltage from the battery but an unregulated device has safety features built in.

An unregulated device will only allow you to draw a set amount of Amps from the battery which will prevent you from overloading the cell assuming the battery Amp rating is the same as or higher than the cut off limit of the protection board.

A mechanical device has no protection at all so there is nothing to prevent drawing too many Amps from the battery other than making sure the coil resistance is within the range the battery can cope with.

OK, I should practice making some coils with the 26AWG wire I've already got then.

I was thinking the Pico Squeeze was an unregulated mod but I see it's mechanical. I was probably confusing it with the Pico Squeeze 2 which is actually regulated but it's a lot more expensive. The Vapor Storm Raptor is regulated though and about the same price as the Pico Squeeze, so that might be the best option for me to start with.

The Pico squeeze is an unregulated mod.

Unregulated mod is one where the power output is not adjustable but it still has electronics in which provide safety features.

A mechanical mod is one where the power output is not adjustable and it has no electronic safety features.

[doveman]

Aug 3, 2018 12:23:33 GMT Get Off My Cloud said:

The Pico squeeze is an unregulated mod. Unregulated mod is one where the power output is not adjustable but it still has electronics in which provide safety features.A mechanical mod is one where the power output is not adjustable and it has no electronic safety features.

Are you sure 'cos FT list it as a mechanical mod? www.fasttech.com/products/5517604