Best Coils for Sweet Juice

[mydartswinger]

Howdy all,

Sorry for the incoming wall of text, but I want to ensure I get out as much pertinent information as possible to get the best answer possible.

I've been vaping exclusively for about 2 months or so now after being on and off since about 2008 (including periods of vaping and smoking). I'm using a firmware upgraded Joyetech Cuboid and a Kanger ProTank 4 with the 0.5 ohm SSOCC coils (red O-ring).

My problem is that I prefer the taste of the sweet flavors such as Twinkie and Strawberry Shortcake, but with those flavors I go through coils like crazy. I tested the theory of the sweetener by going to a cherry flavor. When doing this, I went from going through a coil every day and a half or so to using the same coil for 2+ weeks (I only changed coils because I changed flavors, so it could've gone longer). Twinkie was the flavor I used exclusively before I tried the cherry. I wasn't satisfied with the cherry flavor (good, but too "tangy" for my tastes and I had to watch what I ate or drank before vaping it, otherwise it would "burn" my tongue a bit when vaping. Spicy or tangy foods/drinks would increase this burning sensation), which tasted fine in the sampler (disposable tank and pen battery), but not as good when I put it in my tank. So I went to change flavors and ended up getting the Strawberry Shortcake flavor, bringing me back to a day to a day and a half on a coil. Seems like my palette prefers the sweet flavors. These juices are all from my local vape shop.

After a day or so, the Twinkie flavor would turn black, the cherry stayed clear, and the strawberry shortcake turns a bit darker. As for wattages, Twinkie seemed to vape best at 27w, strawberry shortcake at 25w, and the cherry at 30-33 watts.

I managed to get an extra day of vaping off of some of the coils doing a basic tap water rinse, dry (air dried in my car for about 5 days or so), and reuse. Going to try boiling some water and letting them soak in that soon. I'd rather not have to go through that cycle constantly, though. Due to my budget, I'd much rather stick with a coil every week or 2.

On to the questions.

I'm wondering if switching to the ceramic coils will help extend their life? If not, are there coils for the ProTank 4 that can handle sweetened juices for more than a day or 2? Or is my only option to stick it out and keep looking for a flavor I like without the sweetener? I'm also considering switching to the Smok TFV8 instead of the ProTank 4, will that do me any good?

Thanks in advance,
Dart

 

[Baditude]

I have no experience with ceramic coils, so I can't offer any advice on those.

With the sweeter juices, the sweeteners carmalize on the coil and will quickly form a burnt crud on ANY coil.

Pratically speaking, you need to consider getting a rebuildable drip atomizer (RDA) and learning to make your own coils. Then you'll be able to "dry burn" the coils clean to eliminate the problem of having to replace your coils so often. I've been able to allow rebuildable coils to last months at a time, dry burning them clean when necessary.

Dry burning is accomplished by pulsing the coils just until they glow (don't forget to remove the wick first). You might need to do this 2 - 3 times, and then rinse with water. This cleans the coil nearly good as new. Rewick, and you're good to go.

You can't dry burn a replaceable, factory-made coil because this will burn the wick (cotton).

​

Not only will homemade coils/wicks provide the best flavor and most vapor over factory-made coils, they will be much cheaper in the long run, too. You can get a year's supply of wire for $8. You can get a year's supply of cotton or Rayon (cellucotton) for about $10.

 

[retired1]

Should see my coil after two days of "Nessie's Nectar". We're talking some serious buildup and gunk.

 

[Bonskibon]

A couple of my ADV get my coils pretty gunky in a matter of days. Not to much you can do about it unless you rebuild like Bad said and change out the cotton when needed. I go through a lot of stock coils if I don't feel like building, but still cheaper than smoking.

 

[Gramdogg]

Yeah you need a RTA,RDTA,RBA or RDA. It's just the cotton that goes bad, like if you don't want to clean them every 2 days you'd have to rewick them every 2 days. I've been using the scottish roll wick method lately, uses more cotton but it lasts longer and tastes better too. Anything with a velocity style deck is super easy to use and your mod has multiple protections so you can't really mess anything up enough for it to be dangerous. It should have came with 1 RBA coil, the dome shaped top one. They come with 2 claptons installed so even if you don't want to rebuild it would probably be cheaper just to buy a new RBA coil every month and dry burn/rewick it then buy a pack of coils that last 10 days.

 

[mydartswinger]

I did use the Protank's RTA deck a couple of times. Flavor and vapor production was much better. I used regular cotton balls to wick it after the included wicking material was used up. It worked, but it seemed like the included RTA deck was super sensitive to the amount of cotton used and would take me several tries to re-wick it. Not only that, but I would have to "re-caramelize" the coil after cleaning and re-wicking (dry burn on the coil only, then drip, fire, and blow until it was good to go). If I didn't do it JUUUUUUSSSSTTT right, it would leak and/or not give any flavor. Also when re-wicking, it would bend the coils, eventually breaking them.

I wanted to stick with it, but every time I've tried RBA/RTA in the past (LD AGA-TD/LD IGO-W4) I've had issues getting the resistance consistent.

I'll run to the vape shop and see if they have any wire and cotton on hand to give building another go.

Thanks,
Dart

 

[gandymarsh]

Another option is to buy an Ego One or Tron S tank (they use the same coils) and some 1 ohm (or .5 ohm if you want more vapor and airflow) CLR coils. They are easy to dry burn, rewick and rebuild. Flavor with these is very good also.

 

[subwayaznm]

I too have no experience with Ceramic Coils, however I would suggest using an RTA or RDA where you can clean and re wick your coil more often cheaper. It's not that hard to build your own Coils and gives you a much more satisfying Vape as far as flavor.

 

[mydartswinger]

Thanks for the advice. I'll check into those as money permits.

Just got back from the vape shop (I live about a mile or so from them) and Radio Shack. Picked up 10 feet of 24 gauge wire, a tub of Cotton Candy, a couple of pre-wrapped Clapton coils, a new tip (for the AGA-TD, as I'm going to give it a go here shortly), and some wire snips.

Time to see how this goes.

 

[Gramdogg]

Thanks for the advice. I'll check into those as money permits.

Just got back from the vape shop (I live about a mile or so from them) and Radio Shack. Picked up 10 feet of 24 gauge wire, a tub of Cotton Candy, a couple of pre-wrapped Clapton coils, a new tip (for the AGA-TD, as I'm going to give it a go here shortly), and some wire snips.

Time to see how this goes.

My coils are never exactly the same just close is the best you can hope for without a coil master jig. Regular cotton should be boiled before you use it. Really want organic japanese cotton and a fluffy wick that fits snug in the coil. Check youtube for best wicking method for PT4, whats good for some causes others to leak, length, placement etc. Pancaked scottish wick works best in my RBA but its the CLR mentioned above not PT4.

 

[mydartswinger]

Got both my AGA-TD and my PT4 built.

Did a tight 6 wrap (wrapped it around the shaft of a jewelers flathead and pushed it against the handle) with 24 gauge wire and it came out to .25 ohm. It vapes good at 50w and even as low as 33w. I think my problem with the PT4 deck was actually the Clapton wires. It always hit like it was burning the wires with the Claptons. I'm not getting that with the straight 24 gauge wire.

Did the same thing with the AGA-TD, except I wrapped it around the handle instead of the shaft. It came out at .6 ohm and vapes good at 33w. It hits fine and tastes fine, but the airflow is horrible. It feels like I'm vaping on one of my Mini Nautilus tanks or worse when it comes to it's airflow. I need to take a drill to it and open up the airflow holes. After that it should be solid. I don't know why I had trouble building this thing before, as it was pretty simple once I found an image of showing the positive and negative posts. It a dripper tank (it wicks a little, but really needs to be tipped upside down for a few seconds to saturate the coil enough to vape), so I think I'll keep this one as more of a reserve setup.

Time and use will tell if they'll stand up to the sweetened juice.

Thanks again for all the help.

 

[Elvensilvan]

Yeah, sweet juice does make the coil go bad very quickly ... and faster even if you take long drags in succession.

I change my wicks daily on my RDA, puffing away some RY4 or vanilla custard.

 

[daviedog]

Sterilized cotton is fine. Sterilized with hydrogen peroxide. Open, allow to gas for 15 minutes. Good to go.
Boiling cotton opens a lot of problems. While drying, mold spores & whatever else is in your house may take root, start a family.
I prefer organic pads for the consistency of the the 'girth' when constructing wicks. Not that they are organic..

 

[BrotherBob]

Welcome and glad you joined.
This should help:
2015: The Art of the Drip - A Dripping Primer | Spinfuel Vape Reviews
(7) Information Resources for Your First RBA | E-Cigarette Forum
Wrapping Building Coils 101 For Beginners
With RDTA's and RDA's, no worry about FDA vape equipment shortages (pre built coils) after you have your set up. Wire and Rayon/cotton are not deemed tobacco devices.

 

[bwh79]

they will be much cheaper in the long run, too. You can get a year's supply of wire for $8. You can get a year's supply of cotton or Rayon (cellucotton) for about $10.

Or a (several) lifetimes' worth for under $20: CelluCotton Beauty Coil 3lbs.