When is a RTA coil dead?

[Shaern]

I've finally dipped a tentative toe into using an RTA having bought the nautilus x survival kit on the cheap.

I've also.put an order in for a advken CP RTA 810 and some pre made coils till I get more comfortable with the idea of building my own.

My only issue is when do I know that it is time to.change the coil?

Do they stop firing or are there other signs to look out for so I know when it's time.to.change?

 

[zouzounaki]

Some people clean the coils indefinitely, personally I just whip it out and put a new one in when I feel the wick needs changed. You’ll know the wick needs changed when it looks manky and starts to taste funky.

 

[Gitchy]

As @zouzounaki says you'll soon get to know when the wick's gone as you can taste it. I usually change the wick once or twice a week on my RTAs, whether they need it or not. The coils can be dry burned and cleaned quite a bit then rewicked if you want to save on wire. I tend to change mine once a week if I'm using the tank a lot but that's more just for something to do rather then the coil being ruined.

 

[Fergmeister]

I've finally dipped a tentative toe into using an RTA having bought the nautilus x survival kit on the cheap.

I've also.put an order in for a advken CP RTA 810 and some pre made coils till I get more comfortable with the idea of building my own.

My only issue is when do I know that it is time to.change the coil?

Do they stop firing or are there other signs to look out for so I know when it's time.to.change?

The coil won’t stop firing, but is likely to be caked in black gunk which is burnt residue from it vaporising the liquid. If you’re able to to physically see the coil you’ll see that it’s blackened, and the flavour will be a bit muted and crappy. They don’t give off as much vapour either, which is another sign.

It’s really up to you when you change it - there are people that change daily, which means you’ll get the best flavour from your device, but you’ll need to be rebuilding everyday and going through much more wick and wire. I’m usually about once a week, and the flavour difference is quite noticeable, but I choose to carry on with it.

The juice you use will affect how gunky the coil gets (among other things) - sweet juices tend to contain sweetener, which is known for causing gunky build ups. If you use a menthol liquid you’ll be able to go ages between changes, as these don’t tend to burn (in my experience).

 

[deleteuser47111]

I have had a pair of Coil Master Claptons last me about 4 months. The pair of Alien Claptons I am currently using are about a month old. They seem to get too gunky after about 5 days. So I pull the wicks, dry burn the coils so the gunk goes crispy, rinse them under a warm tap and give them a little brush with an old tooth brush. Then dry burn them again until the water evaporates, then rewick and go again. You'll know when they are done as they start to taste metallic, but I bin them after a couple of months.

 

[oldhippydude]

I rewick every week and recoil a couple of times a year whether they need it or not.

 

[Cliffyboy1962]

I am with the dude on that one. Coils last for ages, if you want them to.

 

[BULLDOG1964]

I change my cotton every 2-3 days and my coils about every 2 weeks or when they get really gunky you will no when you look at em or you lose taste from your juice.........

 

[Deleted member 54254]

I'm with @oldhippydude on the coil and wick replacement frequency

 

[akira181]

I change my wick and coil on the 1st of every month regardless as I don't like overusing or dry burning my coils. The wick usually survives pretty well depending on the juice, only thing I notice is that the airflow starts to get a little tighter in the last few days of the month but flavour is generally consistent.

Plus, my setup is a 0.5ohm dual spaced coil with SS clapton wire, so pulling out the wick basically ruins the coil anyhow.