Kanthal vs. NiChrome

[SkbR]

I recently bought 22 gauge, NiChrome wires because the vape shop I usually visit ran out of 22 gauge, Kanthal.

The shop owner warned me that NiChrome is a lower resistance wire and burns hotter than usual and could even melt when pulsing when you're building it. He told me to add an additional wrap to however much wraps I usually make with Kanthal.

Do you guys have any tips for switching to these NiChrome wires (safety, building, differences between the two)? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Alien Traveler]

Nichrome and kanthal have about the same melting temperature, so no worry about melting.
Nichrome has lower resistance (20-40%), so you need to add about 20-40% more wraps (not just one wrap). You have to measure resistance of coil carefully - calculator will not work.

I often use premaid coils from Fasttech (I believe they are made of nichrome) without any problems.

 

[drunkenbatman]

Listen to the alien; it is something you need to be really careful of if you're building yourself but generally only if you're being sloppy. A lot of times people try to leave a 20% or so margin for their batteries, but they know X ohms is Y wraps of kanthal on their drill bit. People are supposed to test, but hey. Then you use nichrome the same, and your margin is not only gone but could be far past it into real danger.

 

[Mark Andersen]

Buy a coil tester, or use a good DMM w mini grabber probes.
Test every build, as there are small differences in resistance in each length of wire.

 

[twgbonehead]

Do you know if it's nichrome 60 or nichrome 80? Personally I find the 80 to be a superior wire, better than either the 60 or the kanthal.

But any of these are fine. Use an ohmmeter.