SS wire gauge advice

[schlinky]

Hey all,

Well I've gotten through 25m of Stainless steel wire! Time to order some more.

The gauge of the wire rubbed off a long time ago, I think it was 0.37...

I've got a reel of 0.4 and a reel of 0.3. The 0.3 seems so fine and doesn't hold it's shape too well. I haven't tried the 0.4 for years but remember there was some issue with it, probably heat up time.

What's the perfect gauge for SS? I'm thinking in terms of resistance, strength etc.

I want a relatively solid coil that ends up around 0.7 - 0.9 ohms with about 6 wraps, which doesn't take too long to heat up or use crazy amounts of battery.

Is there some maths? Your personal experience would be great too.

 

[schlinky]

to be honest, not sure if I got all the parameters correct...

 

[Crispycritters]

I suspect the info you've input is way off the mark - the coil leg measurement is measured from the clamp post to the coil, generally I guestimate at 5mm leg length, if this is a mm or two off I wouldn't worry too much as it would have little affect on the end result.

I'm guessing here - as you're looking for a resistance of 0.7 to 0.9 with SS wire I'm assuming you're building for an MTL atomiser - so are you sure you'll be using a coil with a 4mm internal diameter - 2.5mm i.d. is probably more likely.

Also - are you really using SS304 wire. I know it exists, but have never actually seen anywhere selling it that I can think of. As you've lost the label - are you certain it isn't SS316.

In the AWG size you have entered 26.78 - the common round wire sizes are 28 for 0.3ish wire, 26 for 0.4ish and 24 for 0.5ish, although I doubt anyone would use 24 for MTL. Personally I just type in 28, 26, 24 or whatever and not worry about it, if the true diameter of the wire I'm using is actually a thousandth of a mm out of spec as it will make little difference.

Although I could be way off the mark I'm guessing you have SS316 wire in 26 and 28ga sizes, If you're aiming for a a 0.7 to 0.9 ohm coil - an 8 wrap 2.5mm i.d. 28 gauge SS316L will be somewhere in the middle. But 28 gauge is really thin wire, so it may not be much of a 'solid' coil and could easily get pulled around when wicking..

If you don't like the results from the 28 gauge, try the 26 but go for 5 or 6 wraps - the thicker diameter of the wire means you don't need as many wraps to cover the same area of cotton so the vapour production will be similar, but if you do try the 26 gauge accept that ts is lower resistance wire and if it works out below 0.70 ohms don't worry about it unless you are using a mech mod. Don't be tempted to add extra wraps to a 26ga coil to raise the resistance as you can easily end up with a coil that has too much mass - when using a regulated mod don't worry too much about the resistance of the coil, the physical size and mass of the coil is more important than the resistance as long as it is in the parameters of the mod..

Edit - a 5 or 6 wrap 26 gauge 2.5mm i.d. SS316L will be Way under 0.70, 0.35 to 0.40 is likely, but if you are using a regulated mod don't worry about it. If you aren't using Kanthal don't fixate on typical Kanthal coil resistance. You may not like the end result but the world won't end.

 

[Rickster]

27g 7 wraps 3.0mm id is what I tend to use will get you 0.65ish, close enough..... 2.5mm id will be slightly lower ohms but it really doesn't matter.

 

[schlinky]

I suspect the info you've input is way off the mark - the coil leg measurement is measured from the clamp post to the coil, generally I guestimate at 5mm leg length, if this is a mm or two off I wouldn't worry too much as it would have little affect on the end result.

I'm guessing here - as you're looking for a resistance of 0.7 to 0.9 with SS wire I'm assuming you're building for an MTL atomiser - so are you sure you'll be using a coil with a 4mm internal diameter - 2.5mm i.d. is probably more likely.

Also - are you really using SS304 wire. I know it exists, but have never actually seen anywhere selling it that I can think of. As you've lost the label - are you certain it isn't SS316.

In the AWG size you have entered 26.78 - the common round wire sizes are 28 for 0.3ish wire, 26 for 0.4ish and 24 for 0.5ish, although I doubt anyone would use 24 for MTL. Personally I just type in 28, 26, 24 or whatever and not worry about it, if the true diameter of the wire I'm using is actually a thousandth of a mm out of spec as it will make little difference.

Although I could be way off the mark I'm guessing you have SS316 wire in 26 and 28ga sizes, If you're aiming for a a 0.7 to 0.9 ohm coil - an 8 wrap 2.5mm i.d. 28 gauge SS316L will be somewhere in the middle. But 28 gauge is really thin wire, so it may not be much of a 'solid' coil and could easily get pulled around when wicking..

If you don't like the results from the 28 gauge, try the 26 but go for 5 or 6 wraps - the thicker diameter of the wire means you don't need as many wraps to cover the same area of cotton so the vapour production will be similar, but if you do try the 26 gauge accept that ts is lower resistance wire and if it works out below 0.70 ohms don't worry about it unless you are using a mech mod. Don't be tempted to add extra wraps to a 26ga coil to raise the resistance as you can easily end up with a coil that has too much mass - when using a regulated mod don't worry too much about the resistance of the coil, the physical size and mass of the coil is more important than the resistance as long as it is in the parameters of the mod..

Edit - a 5 or 6 wrap 26 gauge 2.5mm i.d. SS316L will be Way under 0.70, 0.35 to 0.40 is likely, but if you are using a regulated mod don't worry about it. If you aren't using Kanthal don't fixate on typical Kanthal coil resistance. You may not like the end result but the world won't end.

Thanks for your thoughts.

I did some research when temp control first came out and decided 304 was the better option. Here's the product:

0.36mm (27AWG) Wire SS304 Grade Stainless Steel | The Crazy Wire Company

Buy high quality wire ss304 grade online today by The Crazy Wire Company! View our selection of wires and meshes available today. Rapid dispatch!

wireandstuff.co.uk

I do tend to use 4mm id as there's more cotton and consequently more reserve of liquid which seems to help.

the 0.3 is obviously higher resistance but I thought it would heat quicker being thinner.

I'll try the 0.4 next but there's obviously a reason I never used that reel, I'm sure I'll remember when I use it

Leg length is 6mm, I have one of those trim assistant things.

Seems like I was on the best option so thanks for confirming. It's an evolve dna 100 board so like you said, it'll sort things out.