Old vaper, noob to TC...

[trouserferret]

Hi all, not posted in a while but lurked regardless.

I've been vaping for years, and my go to device is a SMPL and a Derringer, .4mm Kanthal, dual coil @ 2.5mm ID / .4ohm.

I have well over 20 RDAs and RTAs, as well as traditional mechs, parallel/series box mods, VV/VW devices and the like. I just keep coming back to 'Ol Faithful. Trouble is, my new career path (Arborist) is making it tricky to drip while dangling on the end of a rope 40ft up a tree. I was never really satisfied with the taste from the RTAs, even with intricate "flavour chaser" builds on a VW setup so I've decided to bite the bullet and step into the TC world.

I've ordered the new Joyetech eVic 75w, a SMOK TVF4 mini and a reel of 24 gauge 316l to try my hand at this new fangled malarkey (never really fancied trying with Ni/Ti as it seemed a LOT of trouble, and after my questions about Ti were answered). The form factor of the setup seems like it'll be perfect for my needs, and I'm hoping that TC will glean the most from my battery and juices.

Questions to the Apes are:

1: How steep a learning curve is it switching over to TC?
2: I chose SS because you can have contact coils (and can pulse it), are there any drawbacks I should have considered?
3: Are there any first-timer errors I should be aware of when switching to TC and how do I stop them happening?
4: Should I just stick to what I know, suck it up and master dripping whilst gadding about at the end of a branch?


I appreciate any and all input. I've read through the six pages on here, and trawled 'tinterwebs for info. Just thought I'd throw this out to the far more experienced bunch, as it may save me any more legwork (and potential embarrassment when something goes badly awry).

Cheers folks!

EDIT: My finger slipped, and I've got a Steam Crave winging it's way (albeit slowly) to me. 6ml should be enough to see me through a workday...

 

[danb]

I've ordered the new Joyetech eVic 75w

Didn't fancy the Treebox huh?

1: How steep a learning curve is it switching over to TC?
2: I chose SS because you can have contact coils (and can pulse it), are there any drawbacks I should have considered?
3: Are there any first-timer errors I should be aware of when switching to TC and how do I stop them happening?
4: Should I just stick to what I know, suck it up and master dripping whilst gadding about at the end of a branch?

My thoughts:

1. Not bad, but you have to be a bit patient and accept that it's not exactly the same as kanthal and will take a bit of experimentation to get it right. I think it's also a good idea to read about how it works - this is useful for troubleshooting. You'll get a lot of help from the community here, so I wouldn't worry too much about the learning curve.

2. SS has low temp sensing accuracy, which means you need more wraps to get a stable TC vape than Ti, for example. This is not necessarily a problem provided you build at high enough resistance - I'd recommend >0.5 Ohm for SS in TC, so with 24g SS I think you will struggle to get a stable TC vape. If you're set on thick wire and don't want to use Ti, then I think NiFe48 is the best option. More detailed info on wires here

3. The biggest one is probably using too much wick. For reasons that remain unclear to me, TC seems to work best with very minimal wicking. Too much wick and any choking really spoils a TC vape. It can be tricky to re-learn/adapt wicking for TC builds.

4. I think TC is well worth a go, and since you've ordered a TC mod already why not? I love TC and use it 90% of the time. Really it depends on what you want/expect from it. From a flavour point of view, I'd say there doesn't seem to be a clear consensus on whether TC helps, personally I think it's more build a question of build quality.

 

[Mr Numpty]

Great reply by @danb. One thing I'd add is that I think most people here found that contact coils are less effective than spaced coils with TC. For my part, I think they are unsuitable for TC.

 

[trouserferret]

Didn't fancy the Treebox huh?

Cheers, @danb . Had a gander at the Treebox funnily enough, just fancied the eVic for firmware reasons. Looks like it could be relatively future-proof.

I've read a ton on TC, did so before I ordered the mod. There were still a few things niggling at me, just wanted to get a jump on it straight out the gate. It may well have been 26 gauge I ordered, it's still on the slow boat. I'll have a play with it and see if I can't come up with something that works.

I did pick up that wicking should be looser in TC builds. In tanks it should almost be gurgling? I'll YouTube some build videos to see exactly how this is implemented as it sounds a bit counter intuitive.

Thanks for the input, cleared a couple of things up. I'll probably get some Niffy and may dabble with Ti at some point. Just need to see how I get on with it and muddle about 'til I find something that works. It's almost like starting rebuildables all over again!

 

[danb]

Cheers, @danb . Had a gander at the Treebox funnily enough, just fancied the eVic for firmware reasons. Looks like it could be relatively future-proof.

Ha, I was just messing about given you're an Arborist. The evic (VTC mini right?) looks great, I have 2 in the post.

 

[trouserferret]

Ha, I was just messing about given you're an Arborist. The evic (VTC mini right?) looks great, I have 2 in the post.

Us Arbos like to "live the life" as it were, everything from corny t-shirts to bumper stickers. The Treebox was a serious contender!

Yeah, it's the VTC Mini. Quite excited to get into another realm of vaping, and the size/function of the eVic ticked all the boxes for me. Hell, who doesn't like getting new toys anyway?

 

[spikey1]

I agree the VTC mini is an excellent choice, I have 2 and 2 more on the way. With the latest firmware update any wire can be used and as long as you don't get one of the apparent problem units (resistance drop and weak vape) they're operation isn't too far off SX Minis now although the build quality, whilst good, isn't the same!

 

[scrumpox]

From your first post it sounds like your objectives are:-

• longer battery life
• to get more from your juices

I don't have the Evic Mini but the general consensus seems to be that battery life is not extended by using TC rather than power mode, in fact the reverse. However, you'll probably find the Aromamizer / Evic Mini combo gets you more vape time than a dripper on a mech mod.

Getting more from your juice is a subjective one ... I assume you mean flavour? From my dabblings so far I know it's perfectly possibly to burn or at least caramelise your juice using TC ... you can set it up to 300C after all. Undoubtedly you'll have far more control with your TC set up than a dripper on a mech. Hard to beat the flavour from a dripper but the Aromamizer gives it a run for its money.

 

[trouserferret]

Got my eVic Mini today (which is just smashing!), along with the Smok and wire.

Trouble is, it's Kanthal Clapton they've sent me! Bugger! Got some Ti, tempered and annealed Ni200 and some SS ordered (from a UK supplier this time), so should be up and running soon. Hopefully.

Also stuck in an order for some more Pow-wow sauce, as I quite fancy firing up the Magma with some fancy TC coils in it. Been sat on the shelf far too long, and I've yet to find a dripper with better flavour.

In reply to @scrumpox - I realise after doing a bit of reading that the mod will be working harder to keep the temperature constant, pulsing and cooling/processing in reaction to the resistance. Not too worried now, as I'm used to carrying a raft of 18650s about with me anyways. This wee mod is great, you can swap 'em out in a second.

On the juice side of things, I've found many different builds that work with different juices on the mechs. Bit easier with VV/VW mods, but I'm hoping I can create quite a simple build and just find the right temperature for the juice(s) in question. As you know, some need just about boiled and some require a gentle heat. They all have their own peculiar properties. I hope TC works for me, as it seems to tick all the right boxes for a lot of people.

 

[trouserferret]

So my Pow-wow sauce and my strange and wonderful wires came through, fantastic service from @manabush once again. Cheers!

Built my first Ni200 (soft finish) coils. 3mm double coiled, 12 wraps spaced, 30AWG. Came out at 0.13ohms. Set the resistance and started buggering about with the temperature. I'm sitting at 245°c, may lower it as it kinda toasts the flavour a touch. Sits quite nice at around 220°c in my Magma. Just wanted a little feedback on how the coils look and if I should be doing anything differently. I ordered 12mg juice (usually on 6mg for the 80/20 stuff on wide airflow), but I'm looking to get a bit more flavour from my builds without draining juice by the bottle. I gather the wattage is redundant, owing to the TC on the mod? I might add that I have a slight nic rush from playing about with it for the past hour or so...

Anyways, couple of piccies. Wicked loose and tried to keep the coils tight without contact, seems alright, but not quite what I'm used to. I guess years with NiCr and Kanthal has me in a different mindset. Struggling to find the same vape despite clicking all the buttons...