Snow Wolf TC

[agent75]

I'm wanting to try temp control on my V1 wolf, but I'm not sure which wire to get. Does anyone know if it will work in temp mode with NiFe, or nickel only?

 

[danb]

I'm wanting to try temp control on my V1 wolf, but I'm not sure which wire to get. Does anyone know if it will work in temp mode with NiFe, or nickel only?

So long as you use the appropriate temperature offset, you can use Ti, NiFe30 (Strealthvape or Dicodes type) or NiFe48 in Ni mode. You can look up temperature offsets in the equivalents tab in Steam Engine's Wire Wizard calculator. SS won't work in Ni mode.

The simplest wire to use in Ni mode (other than Ni200) is Stealthvape's NiFe30 - it has a similar TCR to Ni200, meaning that only a small temperature offset is required.

 

[agent75]

By temp offset, do you mean changing the desired temp of the vape? Snow wolf doesn't have nickel mode, it autodetects the coil and decides if it is in temp mode or power mode.

 

[danb]

Each TC mode is calibrated for a different wire type, if there is only one (which is usually the case for the early TC mods) it is calibrated for Ni200.

Each wire material has a different temperature-resistance relationship determined by its temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR). The mod calculates temp based on whatever TCR it is programmed to use. The difference between Ni and Ti modes is the TCR used for temp calculation. The TCR of Ni200 is higher than other wires, this means that if you use a wire other than Ni200 in Ni mode, the mod will underestimate the temp of the coil (i.e. the coil will get hotter than the set temp). You can compensate for this by setting the temp lower (offsetting the temp). This can be done by trial and error, or you can calculate the offset to get a ball park setting to work from, and the easiest way to do this is on Steam Engine.

NiFe30 (stealthvape type) is good for Ni mode because the TCR is similar to Ni200, meaning only a small offset is required, but Ti or other NiFe wires can be used in Ni mode with a larger temp offset. For SS the required offset in Ni mode is so large that a nice vaping temp would be off the scale, so to use SS in TC, you need a mod with an SS or user-defined TC mode.

 

[agent75]

Each TC mode is calibrated for a different wire type, if there is only one (which is usually the case for the early TC mods) it is calibrated for Ni200.

Each wire material has a different temperature-resistance relationship determined by its temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR). The mod calculates temp based on whatever TCR it is programmed to use. The difference between Ni and Ti modes is the TCR used for temp calculation. The TCR of Ni200 is higher than other wires, this means that if you use a wire other than Ni200 in Ni mode, the mod will underestimate the temp of the coil (i.e. the coil will get hotter than the set temp). You can compensate for this by setting the temp lower (offsetting the temp). This can be done by trial and error, or you can calculate the offset to get a ball park setting to work from, and the easiest way to do this is on Steam Engine.

NiFe30 (stealthvape type) is good for Ni mode because the TCR is similar to Ni200, meaning only a small offset is required, but Ti or other NiFe wires can be used in Ni mode with a larger temp offset. For SS the required offset in Ni mode is so large that a nice vaping temp would be off the scale, so to use SS in TC, you need a mod with an SS or user-defined TC mode.

Thanks for that. I've read people have had problems with the snow wolf not going into temp mode with Ti, so I'm wary of getting NiFe in case the snow wolf thinks it's more like kanthal.

 

[danb]

Thanks for that. I've read people have had problems with the snow wolf not going into temp mode with Ti, so I'm wary of getting NiFe in case the snow wolf thinks it's more like kanthal.

I don't know how it decides whether you are using a TC wire or not. Presumably it assumes anything under a certain resistance is Ni200, and anything above is kanthal, maybe the manual will tell you - then as long as you build below that value, TC should work.

Stealthvape NiFe30 has lower resistivity than Ti, so it would presumably be easier to use with the Snow Wolf. With NiFe30, 0.15-0.20 Ohm is a good target resistance, and I'm sure this would be recognised as a TC wire (but I'm guessing here as I don't have the manual/specs).

 

[agent75]

"ADJUSTING THE TEMPERATURE:
NOTE: Only when using pure nickel wires in your atomizer build will the temperature control function work. Ordinary wires can only make use of the watt adjustment function." This is my concern, that NiFe won't work.

 

[danb]

"ADJUSTING THE TEMPERATURE:
NOTE: Only when using pure nickel wires in your atomizer build will the temperature control function work. Ordinary wires can only make use of the watt adjustment function." This is my concern, that NiFe won't work.

Only with Ni200 will the actual temperature be what it says on the mod. With other wires you need to lower the temp setting (how much you need to lower it by depends on the wire material and can be calculated). The reason they claim it won't work with anything but Ni200 is that if you tried to use Ti without making the appropriate temp adjustment, you'd probably get a horrible dry hit. Remember the manuals for a lot of these Ni-only mods were written before NiFe wires or even Ti were being widely used.

It will work with NiFe wires. There may be a maximum resistance you can use if it has an auto-detect feature. If this is the case, your best bet is Stealthvape NiFe30 because out of the NiFe wires I am aware of, it has the lowest resistivity. I can't see any reason why a 0.15 ohm NiFe30 coil would not happily run in TC mode on a Snow Wolf (or any other TC mod). I use NiFe30 on my rDNA40 (which is Ni-only) all the time, set to about 195C. I occasionally use NiFe48 on it as well, set around 170C.

 

[agent75]

Only with Ni200 will the actual temperature be what it says on the mod. With other wires you need to lower the temp setting (how much you need to lower it by depends on the wire material and can be calculated). The reason they claim it won't work with anything but Ni200 is that if you tried to use Ti without making the appropriate temp adjustment, you'd probably get a horrible dry hit. Remember the manuals for a lot of these Ni-only mods were written before NiFe wires or even Ti were being widely used.

It will work with NiFe wires. There may be a maximum resistance you can use if it has an auto-detect feature. If this is the case, your best bet is Stealthvape NiFe30 because out of the NiFe wires I am aware of, it has the lowest resistivity. I can't see any reason why a 0.15 ohm NiFe30 coil would not happily run in TC mode on a Snow Wolf (or any other TC mod). I use NiFe30 on my rDNA40 (which is Ni-only) all the time, set to about 195C. I occasionally use NiFe48 on it as well, set around 170C.

Sod it, I'll try with some niffy then. Many thanks for your advice!

 

[agent75]

Niffy working great. At first I didn't tighten the post screws enough and the vape was all over the place. Tightened them up, cleaned the 510 screw and now I'm getting a consistent cool vape with loads of clouds, which is exactly what I was after. Temp set at 400F, wattage at 40W but it hasn't gone above 27W to get those coils up to temp. Loving it!