What gauge should I get?

[Anise]

My subject should say - What gauge should I get. Sorry about the autocorrect.

Checking my supplies I realized that while I have plenty of kanthal premade coils I only have ss wire to build with. I want to get some kanthal wire but have no clue what gauge to buy.
I normally vape between .2 ohms to .55 ohms if that makes any difference in gauge. I'm really lost about this wire business.
Also where is the best place to get wire?
Thanks for any help.

 

[Eskie]

Temco is the best and most affordable place for wire, Kanthal and SS. Most of the "vape" companies are just reselling their wire, and they supply free shipping. As to gauge, are these simple round coils, or are you building something fancy like Claptons, or even twisted or parallel?

You can use Steam Engine to check your coiling plans and see what gauge will get you into the range you want with either Kanthal or Clapton. If I were to recommend I'd say 26G to 28G serves most purposes, and 24G comes in handy as well. Remember your resistance will be lower with SS, so as a rough example, a 26G Kanthal coil may need to be built with 28G SS to get the same number of wraps for size purposes (if your RTAs/RBAs are size limiting) at the same resistance.

Honestly, before ordering anything, play with Steam Engine for different builds and metal types and see what gauges will end up working best for your use. Then just save time and money and go to Temco and you'll be set.

 

[Anise]

Just simple round coils. I'm not up to anything else.
Ok I'll check out Steam Engine. Thanks!

 

[bombastinator]

In support of @Eskie ’s statement:

A few general points which may or may not matter:

one generally wants the thickest wire that is convenient because it can withstand more dryburns. If you are someone that does not dryburn in the first place this doesn’t matter.

as a rule thicker wire is stiffer and stronger so coils made from it are more resistant to damage. A smaller diameter coil is generally also more resistant for similar reasons. The bend is tighter.

thinner wire has less mass compared to surface area so thinner wire will heat faster and produce a cooler vape relative to thicker wire.

 

[Don29palms]

Temco is the best and most affordable place for wire, Kanthal and SS. Most of the "vape" companies are just reselling their wire, and they supply free shipping. As to gauge, are these simple round coils, or are you building something fancy like Claptons, or even twisted or parallel?

You can use Steam Engine to check your coiling plans and see what gauge will get you into the range you want with either Kanthal or Clapton. If I were to recommend I'd say 26G to 28G serves most purposes, and 24G comes in handy as well. Remember your resistance will be lower with SS, so as a rough example, a 26G Kanthal coil may need to be built with 28G SS to get the same number of wraps for size purposes (if your RTAs/RBAs are size limiting) at the same resistance.

Honestly, before ordering anything, play with Steam Engine for different builds and metal types and see what gauges will end up working best for your use. Then just save time and money and go to Temco and you'll be set.

That's excellent advice right there.

 

[Mordacai]

@Anise, have you tried any other wire than Kanthal? As I know that Kanthal has the highest resistance, maybe some Ni80 may be of interest if you're a wattage vaper.

 

[Blitzdonlife]

Unless you're making your own claptons, stay away from 34 GA up. Or you'll be like me, wondering wth I'm going to do with all of this angel hair sized wire... lol

 

[Mordacai]

@Blitzdonlife, a good simple idea is to make simple twisted coils to more complex versions where you twist twisted coils together.

For example twist three strands together clockwise and make three up, then twist the three twisted coils together anticlockwise. Makes a rather interesting looking coil indeed.

 

[Blitzdonlife]

@Blitzdonlife, a good simple idea is to make simple twisted coils to more complex versions where you twist twisted coils together.

For example twist three strands together clockwise and make three up, then twist the three twisted coils together anticlockwise. Makes a rather interesting looking coil indeed.

Good idea. I have no intention of trashing my wire, especially with the state of vape as it is right now. Twisted used to be very popular.

I wanted to make my own claptons, that's why I bought 38GA Kanthal. I made a few with ball bearing fishing swivels and a drill but I lost interest. I have complex coils to use, and I almost never use them.

I'm a roundwire spaced coil/fused coil guy. I remember when microcoils and subohming was considered risky. It's amazing how many changes this industry/hobby has seen in ten or so years.

 

[Anise]

have you tried any other wire than Kanthal?

I haven't made my own coils yet. I've been using premade coils. The wire I have is ss but thin so I thought I should start out with kanthal. I'll look into the ni80.

 

[DaveP]

I haven't made my own coils yet. I've been using premade coils. The wire I have is ss but thin so I thought I should start out with kanthal. I'll look into the ni80.

28 gauge is a common size for lower wattage. I vape around 10W and 28ga heats quickly. The higher the wattage the thicker (lower gauge) your wire may need to be. As Eskie said, go to Steam Engine and play with the numbers for your wattage levels to see the correlation between wire gauge, coil size, number of wraps, and wattage.

 

[Mordacai]

@Anise, if that Stainless is so thin that it's annoying you could try twisting it.

Cut a length about a little over twice the length you need, loop through a cup handle or the hole on the end of an adjustable spanner and then grab the ends with a pair of pliers. Then carefully start twisting whilst keeping the wire under tension, keep on twisting until the wire loop snaps.

You now have a dead simple 2 strand twisted coil, enjoy.

 

[Anise]

@Anise, if that Stainless is so thin that it's annoying you could try twisting it.

Cut a length about a little over twice the length you need, loop through a cup handle or the hole on the end of an adjustable spanner and then grab the ends with a pair of pliers. Then carefully start twisting whilst keeping the wire under tension, keep on twisting until the wire loop snaps.

You now have a dead simple 2 strand twisted coil, enjoy.

Cool! I knew there was a way to twist it but wasn't sure the best way. I appreciate it!

 

[Mordacai]

You're quite welcome @Anise, as it's the old school way to make twisted wire for coils.

Hopefully you'll end up getting something that's easier to work with and more importantly gives you a good vape.

 

[Frenchfry1942]

Single, round...tinker with Steam Engine. Figure about 4cm total for the legs. I go with an inside diameter of 3.0 so I can get more wicking inside the coil.

Many, many variations. Go to a a shop and see if you can just but 2' lengths of several gauges.

I used 28g kanthal and it burned up when I try dry burning it. I switched to 26g. Sweeter juices seem to gunk up the coil quicker and when I rewick, I dry burn at my normal watts plus 15 to burn the gunk off.

Try 26g in Steam Engine with different inner diameters to see if it gets you where you want.

 

[AngeNZ]

I'd go for 26ga if you vape 20-40watts - and just check in steam engine on whether you want kanthal, n80 or ss316l.