Ok, I'll try to explain TC, ha this could take a while!
Temp Control is NOT 'controlling' the temperature, it's more like temperature restriction. Your mod uses the fluctuations in the coil's resistance to calculate what temperature it thinks the coil is at, and when it reaches the temperature you have set, it eases off the throttle, up to the wattage you have input.
Think of it like driving a vehicle that has a built-in speed limiter, let's say it's restricted to 50mph. When you're driving along at 30mph, you won't even notice it. But if you get on a motorway, no matter if you floor it, the vehicle will get up to 50mph and stay there.
The TCR number is specific to each wire type. It tells your mod just how responsive the metal's resistance is to changes in temperature, it's the number your mod uses to work out the temperature of the coil. This is a characteristic of the wire, it's not a 'variable' as such.
The lower the resistance of the coil you use, the harder it is for your mod to accurately calculate the change in temperature from the change in resistance, especially for stainless steel as it fluctuates quite a lot compared to other temp control wires. This is why we're recommending you up the resistance of your coils.
You also need to 'lock' your resistance when the coil is at room temperature, this tells your mod the coil's 'base line' resistance.
So, how I go about setting temp control goes something like this (I don't have a smok mag so I can't tell you the exact steps but I bet you can extrapolate):
Build my coil to 0.3 ohms or higher (I like around 0.4ohms)
On the mod, usually in normal power mode, I adjust the wattage so that the VOLTS show around 4 volts when I fire it, this is usually a comfortable vape for me. I like volts because they are consistent whatever resistance coil you put in. This will tell me roughly where I want the watts to be at.
I use SS316L so most mods have this built in to their presets already. If they don't, I google the TCR for the wire I'm using, which in this case is 92 on your mod.
I make sure the coil is cold, and then switch to TC mode and choose SS316 as my wire (you can switch to TCR and input the number you got from google, it's the same thing)
I lock the resistance of my coil.
I set the power to the wattage I found above.
I then usually set the temperature to around 400 F and give it a toot. If it's a bit weedy, I'll fiddle with the temperature, usually settling for around 450 F
The best test if you are brave enough is to vape the coil dry. Instead of dry hits, your mod should throttle it down to almost nothing, and the cotton should show dry but not burnt.
You might at this point need some trouble shooting. If the coil has a hot spot, it might cut out almost instantly, which means rebuilding (space your coils to avoid this problem). If it's close but feels a bit 'off', I might tweak the locked resistance slightly up or down by 0.01ohm.
TC is FIDDLY! Lots of people can't be bothered with it because it is not a magic 'better' vape, but if it's set up well you shouldn't get a dry hit. I go through phases of using it and not using it!
Different mods are better than others at TC. The smok alien range were absolutely shockingly dreadful, but my little Smok Qbox mod is fantastic. My asmodus minikin v2 is excellent, my two asmodus colossals not so great. As already mentioned, the DNA mods are the Gold Standard for temp control, but pricey and from my understanding, quite involved to set up.
I hope that helps, not sure if it does, and I'm no
@Tubbyengineer by any means, but was lucky to benefit from his wisdom, along with the very patient hand-holding of
@Mr Numpty who is also a TC Guru!
