When to re-wick, when to recoil?

[Mant1k0re]

Pretty new to rta, I'm learning on the rba deck that came with my Kanger Subtank-mini.

It's been about 3 tanks now and I can feel the vapor production is fading, so I guess it's time to do something about it. I suppose I don't need to replace the coil at this point but only re-wick, but I was wondering when and how the coil will tell me it's about to die...? How many times can I rewick without also having to make a new coil?

I'm using organic cotton and the coil came with my subtank as well. It looks like it's pretty oxidized already, though - hence the question.

Thanks!

 

[SirLoki]

A lot of the how often for each is going to depend on a number of things, like the gauge of your wire, the wattage you vape at and the kind of juice you run. Also a big one on how often to rewick is what you wick with. I have a v1 subtank mini and rba I run it with 26 gauge SS at about 0.65 ohm at 25w and 380F. I really wick about once a week and recoil every 3 weeks to a month. But I run a very clear menthol diy juice and use rayon to wick so it stays very clean. ... organic cotton I was reworking every few days and the flavor wasn't as crisp, also the coils seem to gunk up faster with it.

Hope that helps a little. I am guessing you have the newer subtank with dual air holes and the newer rba with side juice holes instead of bottom channels, if so yours should be easier to rewick so redoing cotton every few days won't be as bad.

 

[Mant1k0re]

Yeah that's exactly what I have, and you're right, it's pretty easy to work with for a newbie like me. It's been only a couple of days really, but I vape NETs so it gunks up super fast. Do you do any sort of maintenance on your coils when you-rewick (wipe them, heat them, etc.?) It looks really dark at the moment, but maybe it's only because of the oxidization of the juice.

 

[DoomiteAsh]

When you're re-wicking, you need to dry burn your coil to get the burnt-on stuff off. Take the old wick out of the coil, screw the deck into your mod, and pulse the fire button a few times until the residue gets burnt off and the coil glows. You can then run the coil under a trickle of water, but that step is optional. Then just put another wick in, fill your tank, and vape on!

Sent from Doomite Central!

 

[Mant1k0re]

Thanks guys! I'll be doing this

 

[dsheik]

I vape NETs too. Rayon for wicking. I highly recommend rayon over anything else to wick with. I rewick every couple days, maybe sooner if im getting weak/off flavor. A coil lasts close to a month before I feel its time to rebuild, but this seems to vary depending on the person.

I dont do any maintenance. I dry burn the coil before I rewick to burn off any gunk.

Also when it comes time to rewick I like to run the coil with the old wick still inside under the faucet to soak it. I find the old wick comes out easier and Im less likely to do any damage to the coil when removing the old wick. If the rayon is soaked it tends to be easier to get out of the coil.

 

[Wingsfan0310]

One other thing to look out for as a sign of when to recoil is when you notice the resistance changes more than a few hundredths of an ohm (room temperature coils), Example if you see it go from .3-.4 or .5 there is a problem (getting old, grub screws loosening, could even be a dirt 510 contact though). As coils age the resistance will change a little, but anything more major I would recoil.

The thing is your taste buds will tell you when it's time. When you notice a drop-off in vapor or flavor, it's time. Juices, wire gauges, wattage, coil type, wicking material, and even atomizer play a roll in how long your wicks and coils will last.

Cheers,
Steve

 

[OhTheAgony]

Another noob (to RBA) here. My Toptank mini should come in next week so I'm soaking up as much info as I can right now.

Very informative thread, thanks & subbed

 

[Mant1k0re]

Yeah guys honestly, this is a great community. Every time I asked a question I got tons of helpful answers from experienced people, we really have something special here at ECF. Regarding rayon, yep, actually my first post ever was in the part 2 megathread, I'm very interested in it, just mildly worried at the chemicals I might inhale if I use it over organic cotton, but it looks like those concerns are vastly unfounded. It's not very easy to come by a supplier in Europe unless you are in Germany or around, but someone pointed me to fiber freaks and it looks like they sell something very similar, that will do until I can source the real deal.

It looks like it's a bit more difficult to work with than cotton, but I'll learn - all it took for cotton was a couple of youtube videos and I got it about right the first time, and honestly there's no coming back to pre-built after this (I can hardly vape a tank of NET with a prebuilt before I taste burnt goo at each puff). Plus, it's so much fun to be tinkering, I'm loving it.

Back on topic, I did everything you recommended and it worked beautifully - dry-burning the coil for a few pulls and it was good as new Looking forward to making my own coils when Kanthal A1 arrives though, those pre-wrapped coils look a bit cheap and thin compared to the work of art I'm seeing on this board.

Peace out and thanks to everyone, keep it real.

R.

 

[Stinkytofus]

when it starts to taste harsh

 

[DP2Raja]

Yeah that's exactly what I have, and you're right, it's pretty easy to work with for a newbie like me. It's been only a couple of days really, but I vape NETs so it gunks up super fast. Do you do any sort of maintenance on your coils when you-rewick (wipe them, heat them, etc.?) It looks really dark at the moment, but maybe it's only because of the oxidization of the juice.

If you vape NET juice you are going to need to rewick every 2 days (for most NET juices). That's my experience anyway. I have to rewick ever other day with NET DIY juice. It gunks up the coil AND the wick. Especially with that very small deck on the SubT Mini, that is a very small chamber. Definitely dry burn with each rewick. I have a little nylon "pipe cleaner" type brush that works to brush the coil after a dry burn. Sounds like a lot of work, but the flavor is amazing. Worth it to me. I'm talking 5 minutes every other day once you get it down.

 

[Mant1k0re]

Yeah I don't mind the manual work, I'm a DIYer myself and I spend a lot of time making juices and my own NETs, I don't mind spending 15 minutes every couple of days working on my atty. 2 days sounds about right only it's more like one day in this case because I've vaped so much (tastes so much better than with pre-built heads somehow!)