TC - a first disappointment

[scrumpox]

Hot wraps? Possibly, but I would point out those coils were ripped out and photographed AFTER I had rinsed, brushed and scraped for a good while before giving up on them. They were entirely black when I started and the underside is worse because it was completely inaccessible on the deck.

I come back to the starting premise. The number one reason for TC is to avoid burning juice and releasing nasties, yet the technology seems to be moving towards simply avoiding the dry hit. What's running through my mind now is that we're tinkering away with Joules and Temperature settings with a key piece of missing data - the recommended vaporising temperature of the juice. It's like cart before the horse though I'm sure that eventually this loop will close when TC has matured and the focus inevitably turns towards the juice and concentrate manufacturers.

As a consequence of not burning the juice, coils and wicks should last longer. Forget the number crunching and physics, that's a real world benefit for vapers. But the real world evidence at the minute suggests the contrary. How can sceptical vapers take TC seriously if builds are fragile and less robust than kanthal? Those that see it as a fad are not going to be persuaded otherwise.

It could be that whilst we're limiting temperature on these mods, we're limiting it at too high a temperature probably because we're trying to replicate the warmth of our kanthal vapes. Perhaps an effective TC vape is a cool vape?

Well, I want TC to work for me, I still believe it in and will persist. So today it's the Ni200 build in the Goblin Mini - 2.4mm, 9 wraps of 0.35 giving 0.065ohms. The vape is so different to my favourite dual twisted .25 kanthal which is a warm, cloudy and tasty experience but let's see how this vapes and how long it lasts.

 

[jsixtysix]

It could be that whilst we're limiting temperature on these mods, we're limiting it at too high a temperature probably because we're trying to replicate the warmth of our kanthal vapes. Perhaps an effective TC vape is a cool vape?

That right there. Sometimes we kid ourselves we've achieved something just because we've had to work hard for it, and sometimes we frame our observations to aid our theories. The sheer hassle involved in keeping a nickel coil clean and the current intangibility of the advantages is off-putting. Hopefully a year from now things will be different, and I suspect it'll be steel wire. [Until someone uncovers the hidden dangers of that too]

 

[Mr Numpty]

It's still early days for me on the TC learning curve.
One of my hopes and expectations was that it would extend the life of coils and wicks ... that would be a bonus for any vaper.
Now I'm used to kanthal coils lasting for weeks ... I replace coils out of boredom actually and way before they're past useful life.

I vaped these titanium coils for 2 days and not exclusively. The taste wasn't quite there so I thought it must be time to check the wicks ... the gunk on the coils came as a surprise. I rinsed them thoroughly and brushed them with a toothbrush ... then I started to try to scrape off the residue. Not a chance, these coils are done!

As I'm still trialling TC, the temp and power settings have been all over the place, but generally I've been vaping at around 40J 425F for two days. The juice was my standard ... RY59 with vanilla and a little sweetener, just as an additive. These coils are gunked way beyond the level that my kanthal builds get to. With kanthal you can dry burn and brush off the ash and get a nearly fresh coil. No such dry burn option with Titanium.

So is this the first major disappointment with TC? Coils last days instead of weeks?

I had exactly the same experience with the first set of Ti coils I removed from an atty. I even scrubbed them with a toothbrush too and the gunk was going nowhere. So when I saw this thread I was keen to check out my current set when I got a chance. I've been so busy that I've just been praying that the coils would hold up until I could attend to re-coiling. By tonight they've been in constant use for 5 days and this is how they looked.



I was pleasantly surprised. They didn't really have any gunk on them as such and the colour was still quite good. I've stretched and compressed them quite a bit for inspection purposes but they were originally lightly spaced coils as opposed to the gunky set which were microcoils. I wonder if that might have been what made the difference as the juice is unchanged and the settings similar? Mind you, the gunky ones were using .4 wire and these are .5 so that's another variable.

 

[Tubbyengineer]

scrumpox, Keep trying, I've just gone to rewick my Heron after putting 4 fills of Shade through it, here's what the coil looks like...



I was pleasantly surprised, at this point I'd normally be looking to dry burn the Nickel coil I was using in my SX Mini M class, but this Titanium one on the DNA200 looks pristine...

 

[scrumpox]

I had exactly the same experience with the first set of Ti coils I removed from an atty. I even scrubbed them with a toothbrush too and the gunk was going nowhere. So when I saw this thread I was keen to check out my current set when I got a chance. I've been so busy that I've just been praying that the coils would hold up until I could attend to re-coiling. By tonight they've been in constant use for 5 days and this is how they looked. I was pleasantly surprised. They didn't really have any gunk on them as such and the colour was still quite good. I've stretched and compressed them quite a bit for inspection purposes but they were originally lightly spaced coils as opposed to the gunky set which were microcoils. I wonder if that might have been what made the difference as the juice is unchanged and the settings similar? Mind you, the gunky ones were using .4 wire and these are .5 so that's another variable.

@scrumpox, Keep trying, I've just gone to rewick my Heron after putting 4 fills of Shade through it, here's what the coil looks like... I was pleasantly surprised, at this point I'd normally be looking to dry burn the Nickel coil I was using in my SX Mini M class, but this Titanium one on the DNA200 looks pristine...

Thanks both. I've had two 3ml tanks through the GM, the spaced Ni200 coil is absolutely clean, as were the wicks. I had even changed the juice to one which contained more Stevia solution in the recipe ...
There must be something about microcoils and TC ...
The vape off the Ni200 doesn't compare to the vape I was enjoying from dual Kanthal, but maybe that's where expectations also have to change.

 

[skinku]

The vape off the Ni200 doesn't compare to the vape I was enjoying from dual Kanthal, but maybe that's where expectations also have to change.

This is what I fear myself.
Going to give TC another chance with some Subtank and Zephyrus Ni200 coils.
Do you think this will give me a fair reflection on TC or should I just start building?
I just really can't be that arsed, I tried TC before and gave up quickly as I didn't get the Kanthal satisfaction.

 

[scrumpox]

This is what I fear myself.
Going to give TC another chance with some Subtank and Zephyrus Ni200 coils.
Do you think this will give me a fair reflection on TC or should I just start building?
I just really can't be that arsed, I tried TC before and gave up quickly as I didn't get the Kanthal satisfaction.

Well, I'm only using rebuildables, I don't use premade coils, other than the claptons that cloudcuckoo makes.

I can't possibly comment on premade clearomiser heads as I've not used them, not since my Aerotank and Protank days. I guess a lot of vapers will try TC and quickly revert to kanthal for the reason you state. I have complete sympathy for the "it ain't broke, nothing to fix" camp, also for those who don't have time on their hands for tinkering away.

I will persist with both side by side for a while yet, having some excellent kanthal set ups helps. Bit like trialling juices, you can be patient when you've one or two nailed on to fall back on. I will give it a good crack and be open-minded about the potential outcomes:
1. switch from non-TC to TC completely
2. abandon TC and stick to non-TC
3. continue with both TC and non-TC

 

[skinku]

Keep me posted, I like the fact you are open minded about the outcome.

 

[Tubbyengineer]

Well, I'm only using rebuildables, I don't use premade coils, other than the claptons that @cloudcuckoo makes.

I can't possibly comment on premade clearomiser heads as I've not used them, not since my Aerotank and Protank days. I guess a lot of vapers will try TC and quickly revert to kanthal for the reason you state. I have complete sympathy for the "it ain't broke, nothing to fix" camp, also for those who don't have time on their hands for tinkering away.

I will persist with both side by side for a while yet, having some excellent kanthal set ups helps. Bit like trialling juices, you can be patient when you've one or two nailed on to fall back on. I will give it a good crack and be open-minded about the potential outcomes:
1. switch from non-TC to TC completely
2. abandon TC and stick to non-TC
3. continue with both TC and non-TC

Personally I wouldn't switch back to non TC, I still use Kanthal a little, mostly premade coil heads, Once i get the hang of Titanium fully I doubt anything but the NiFe wire from stealthvape will displace it (NiFe is a Nickel Iron alloy, It has a steeper response than Ti01 and should be more durable than Nickel which in theory means it will be Kanthal like to work with) ...

 

[gabianovape87]

I have switched nearly all devices to tc now. That being two lemos, derringer and goblin mini. The goliath v2 i can get a satisfactory vape so far but I will persist. Got 24 gauge kanthal now.

I have found my fave is spaced titanium. Nickel in second place.