BSD's vertical hollow core Micro Coil build for ARO, Evod, and Protank heads.

[TDC123]

Now to the top view. First is the view from above with the top wick in place.



Here is a pic of the top wick itself. Trust me when I say that I used a very wispy and tiny amount of cotton to make the top wick. I'm shocked at how much it swelled but I am learning that once the cotton saturates with juice it really swells. I was very skeptical it would work at all and expected to need to add more to the top wick.



Top view minus the wick.



Another view of the coil as it protrudes from the cotton packed in below the top wick.

 

[TDC123]

I switched out the juice and with some 80/20 pg/vg I get a little popping on my draw, not quite a gurgle. I like high ratio vg juices though and this "Thug juice" was included as a freebie with an order from Mt Baker Vapor. I'm not changing my setup for that juice. I suspect it will lessen the pleasant experience I get from this vertical coil with my go to high vg ratio liquids in my MPT3. There was a nice difference too. It was much better than the factory coils and also better than the dual micro coil build I did for this tank. Vapor was about the same but taste really improved. Building dual coils in a tiny protank head is doable but time consuming. I like this much better.

 

[clnire]

May be a silly question but although I regularly rebuild my Evod/Protank coils with horizontal coils I am eager to try this. Is your top wire or bottom wire your positive wire? Sorry if I don't have the technical terms right but this build intrigues me. And the top wire whichever positive or ground I assume can't touch the coil itself?

I have been reading this thread but I get confused and appreciate any info.

 

[Big Screen D]

You want to use the bottom leg for positive.

 

[TDC123]

As far as not shorting out the neg wire against the coil goes I use my tweezers to put a sharp 45 degree bend in that wire as it comes off the top of the coil versus a bend with my fingers. It's a thing you gotta try a few times to get right. Too close to the coil with a bend and the wire could likely make contact. I start my cotton wick by getting as much as I can started between the neg wire and the coil down at the bottom of the coil. That's not much wick that I can get started way down in the tight space in a protank head. Then as I wrap I take a small needle or something and try to poke some more in there.

I learned every bit of that reading this thread. I post it again for the recent posters sake. I'm a total newb myself. All I know about building this coil and I learned in this and a few other threads.

 

[clnire]

Thank you so much Big and TDC for your explanations and patience. I will also go back and read this thread from the start again.

 

[Moogle]

Wow! I was looking to build my first microcoil and came across this thread. Success on the first build but I need to tweak it. Came out to 3 ohms with 11 wraps of 30g. I am getting a bit of cotton taste and the taste dropped off after 7-8 toots but wow! The flavor I got. Better than anything else I've tried. Looks like all roads lead to micros and cotton.

Update: I turned my kick up to 10w from 8w and put in a new battery and it's really good. Definitely need to improve my skill with this technique but I'm liking it so far!

 

[yardbyrd]

A loud sound, like a broom sweeping, swishing, almost scratchy is heard. Suddenly YardByrd materializes seated on a plain, brown, wooden, perch, on the floor of the "BSD's hollow core..." thread. A platinum "YB" medallion around his neck is glowing Royal blue and you hear a deep, smooth, male, Latin, voice translating his communique:

"Hail, lauds, greetings, and salutations from across the Realms to those who seek a good rebuild of Protank/EVOD/ etc. heads in a manner that is upright! I have read this thread. I studied and considered. I have been looking for a good rebuild for Protank heads....but...alas..until now have found none! After much research, study, and consideration I tried the build described in this thread. I did do one thing not mentioned here: I took 1mm hollow Ekowool and took a tiny piece and put it over the negative connection. I am currently using my PT2, with this vertical rebuild, and a hybrid Cotton-Ekowool wick. I think -at long last- I may have found the solution to a GOOD Protank/EVOD etc., head rebuild. I used about 11 wraps of 28ga Kanthal, to build my microcoil.

I found, in the mark down bin in the grocery store, some "Turkey Lacers". They cost about 60 cents. I used the tines from them to build my coil. I then threaded the negative connector with 1mm hollow Ekowool. I completed the build and am currently using, evaluating, and watching over that build. So far it seems to be the build I am searching for. I have my PT2 on my "Hammer of Thor" e-pipe since I came in at 1.4 ohms. The flavor, vapor production, non-leaking nature of it seems to be A1! I apologize for no photos but will return later, after using this build on this mod for a while, and let you know how it is."

The scratchy, sweeping, brushing, sound returns, and YardByrd spreads his wings wide and opening his talons nods once and his perch sinks into the floor of this thread while he levitates in mid-air. He spreads his talons wide, turns his head to the right and suddenly resembles a Russian Icon of a Firebird. You hear his final, un translated, salute as he suddenly pops out of existence, leaving the smell of a pleasant, deep, rich, pipe-like tobacco, in his wake. "CAW!"

 

[JeremyR]

The Ekowool as an insulator it a good idea. Similar to what they do in a carto to avoid shorts

 

[Big Screen D]

I really need to give that Eco Wool wrap a try.

Really looking forward to running these in my Billet Box with the SABOT-DDD. Having airflow control is going to make getting the right amount of juice flow a snap.

 

[rjs987]

This looks interesting. Will have to give it a shot.

 

[cindycated]

I keep wanting to buy new gear and you guys just keep sucking me back to my Evods and Spinners.
Haven't done this build yet (I've been looking for this one), but wanted to keep tabs of this thread. On page 25... almost caught up...

 

[Big Screen D]

I just put one together with some Rayon wick that a couple of dear internet friends sent to me.

Simply put, it is by far the best material I have used for this build. Only did one just a while ago, so that statement would seem premature, but, I've done enough of these builds to know immediately that Rayon is clearly superior to cotton, or hemp fiber for this build.

I had gotten away from verticals for a while due to testing the SABOT-DDD atties for the Billet Box. Sort of had forgotten how well this coil vapes when done right. The Rayon made a tricky build easy as pie!

Thanks J and J!

 

[Nick N]

Admittedly I have not read the entire thread, I built one of these last night in a Mini PT3 using 28 ga and ~12 wraps to get 1.7 ohms. Looks great and heats well. Tried to use Sugar 'N Creme cotton yarn in the following manner:

One long piece going from bottom to top

Three pieces stacked, alternating sides of the coil, sticking out like a regular horizontal setup with flavor wicks on top.

In both cases I got gurgling and flooding. I have used a similar setup with horizontal coil with great results. Anyone else used yarn in their vertical setup? I even tried cotton ball with extremely tight draw followed by flooding.

I do feel this is a superior design from a ease of building standpoint (I have to use the coiling gizmo for super tight horizontal coils), I just need to get the wicking right. I am not ruling out that there may not be enough airflow, which seems to get better with an Aerotank bottom.

There is also a chance my coil "top" was covered by cotton. Judging by the pics in this thread the top should be viewable?

 

[kgs-wy]

Anyone else used yarn in their vertical setup? I even tried cotton ball with extremely tight draw followed by flooding.

I've used hemp yarn, and made a couple tutorials in this thread which might help you, since hemp yarn builds should be -- but not necessarily are -- quite similar to using cotton yarn. Here's the link to the post:

kgs-wy's hemp yarn packing tutorial for ProTank style clearomizers, wall o' text.
kgs-wy's hemp yarn packing tutorial for ProTank style clearomizers, wall o' text, but with pictures!

That said, one thing about the build could be related to the tight draw you mentioned. Clearomizers operate on pretty much the same principals as vacuum feed bottom coil RBAs (Kayfun, Taifun, et al); due to vacuum pulling in the e-liquid, the tighter the draw, the more e-liquid is fed. That can be combated somewhat by more or tighter packing, but that can, due to the nature of the build, cause the e-liquid to follow the path of least resistance, which means up and over the wick pack and down the coil tube. It's a pretty fine balance between too much and too little, but when ya get it down, it's great. Not quite to the level of a full on RBA, but damn good, nonetheless.

At any rate, keep on vaping, everyone!

-Laters...!
kgs-wy

 

[cindycated]

haha BSD, I wonder if they read your thread: Aspire Nautilus Mini (BVC) Glassomizer

Bottom hollow-core single coil glassomizer that just came out

I wonder if they also read Jeremy's and are using rayon for the filler.

 

[Big Screen D]

Hahaha. Makes you wonder lol. All I can say...it's about time!

Still waiting to see one of the Chinese manufactures jump on and hawk a "all natural, biodegradable wick". The Rayon wick that Jeremy discovered will be the first I'm thinking. It really is the best material I've ever used for a wick.

 

[aldenf]

Hi Gang!

Thanks so much for this thread, BSD, ksg, Jeremy and all who have made great posts and tutorials.

Fairly new to vaping. Saw pics of a vertical coil in the Protank Microcoil thread and decided to build one based solely on the pics. I'm rebuilding heads for my PT2, EVOD & EVOD Glass. I've been through both standard horizontal microcoils & nanocoils with really good results.

My first build was 6ish wraps of 30g KA1 on a 2mm drill bit (5/64th actually) for a 1.8-1.9 ohm coil. Installed the coil so the top just poked into the "cup" of the head. Wicked with two lengths of organic cotton. One on either side of the coil, with the ends sticking out the wicking slots. It vaped beautifully in the PT2 with strong snaps, crackles & pops. Flavor was dynamite. I like the cooler vape at higher wattage. I think that's the trick to the vert coil. The airflow helps the coil stay a little cooler, even at high wattage while pumping the flavor and vapor.

Thought I might still be missing something and found this thread just about the time that I picked up some rayon (CelluCotton from Sally's) and 28g KA1. I've built several versions, only to find that the 1.6mm & 1.75mm i.d. coils restricted airflow too much, especially on my PT2 w/AFC. I settled on a nine-wrap 28g on 2mm (1.7-1.8 ohm). Installed it in the head 3/64" above the positive pin/insulator. I've had no problems with hot legs or burning insulator. I've also tested performance at various air-flow levels.

My problem has been finding a good wicking for the build. I've tried one single length of rayon packed circularly from the bottom of the head to just over the coil, blocking the wicking slots but not protruding. It worked good to 15 watts in the PT2, but not great.

Then I tried a circular pack in the bottom of the head with dual wicks like in my first cotton build. Worked again to 15 watts but not greatly.

I tried a simple dual wick setup, one on either side of the coil, with the ends sticking out but trimmed closely. The wicks were pushed down the sides to ensure the coil was entirely surrounded by rayon... Worked. But, again, nothing special.

Finally, I tried a loose pack in the base of the head with a single length of rayon. Then I added two top wicks. Each wick goes 180 deg around the coil with a tail out the wicking slots and tucked into the juice cup of the PT2 base. No real improvement. In fact, I HAVE to push 15 watts just to get a reasonable experience.

I have not gone back to the organic cotton. I'd really like to make the rayon work. The flavor off the rayon is indeed superior to the cotton. But performance has not even come close to matching my horizontal builds with cotton or my first vertical build. No snaps, crackles or pops. :-( I'd just like to get a build that out-flavors my horizontals.

How have you been successful with vertical coils and rayon wicks? Any advice on the rayon?

Can anyone explain to me why the draw on vertical coils increases with lower wattage and loosens up with higher wattage? I'm sure it's worthy of a physics/hydrology experiment.

Thanks!

~Alden

 

[aldenf]

Hey All,

Had an hour or so this morning and rebuilt an EVOD glass head (BDC) with a single vertical microcoil. Wicked it simply with two rayon wicks, each surrounding half of the coil and sticking out the slots in the head. Trimmed the wicks close to the head, a little longer than stock. It vapes better than the PT2 but still no snaps, crackles or pops. I'm wondering now if the smaller slots in the single coil heads (BCC) choke the rayon and slow it's capillary action.

Any thoughts?

 

[aldenf]

Hey Guys...

Bump...

I've thrown some horizontal heads back in my Kangers. Got those wicking well with rayon. Still can't figure out how to wick the vertical with CCr. Maybe I should just go back to OC.

I've tried various builds of various densities but still no go. I'm wondering now if it's not a wicking issue but tank issues. Can the Kanger tanks feed juice fast/well enough to keep up with the rayon?

In three days, I'm up to page 176 (of 455!) in JeremyR's rayon thread, hoping to glean some info there. If anyone has any thoughts/advice specific to this application, I'd surely be appreciative.


Thanks!

~Alden

Update: I can't run the CCr as hot as I can the OC. It doesn't make sense. I can run the OC all day at 15 watts. With the same coil, CCr tops out around 10 watts. I'm really thinking it's a feeding not a wicking issue...