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New to TC and think I've been doing it wrong. help

ive had my Reuleaux 2/3 for a little over a year. i was tired of scorching cotton and just decided to try TC a month ago on my SS316l coils i built. its been a very cold vape even at 520* but i attributed that to the tank (Griffin 25). last night i changed the batteries and accidentally hit "new coil" which brought my resistance up. when i fired it i saw the resistance rise and fall... uh oh. messing around in the menus i saw i could lock the resistance and it made a world of difference, those warm draws i missed from VW mode were back. mainly im just concerned i f&#@ed up my lungs vaping SS with the resistance unlocked.


TLDR; vaped SS with the resistance unlocked for a month in TC. how bad did i Fu#k up?
 

Synphul

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
Doubtful you injured yourself, though I'm no doctor. And yes, you corrected an issue with tc by locking resistance. There's different settings depending on the mod and its actual operation but tc needs a few things. First you need tc capable wire (ss like you have, nickel/ni200, titanium). Pulse a bit in wattage mode to make sure the hotspots are worked out and it's glowing even. In tc mode there's almost always a way to set power in either wattage or joules, that's the power the mod will use to heat the coils. Then there's the temp limit you've set that will cap the power. Think of it like a car, if you set the cruise control at 65mph but the engine's only pushing 5hp it's going to be a long day getting up to that 65mph limit you set. And vice versa, if you're only trying to go 5mph, applying 500hp is going to be awkward as well. So there's finding balance with the two.

The other is locking resistance. You need to figure out how it's done for your particular mod/chipset and it needs to be done when the coil is cool, room temp. So even though stainless is either wattage or tc, don't try locking resistance after taking a couple rips off it in wattage mode. Let it get to room temp, then lock the resistance. Otherwise as stainless heats the resistance fluctuates wildly and the mod has no chance of applying the appropriate power. Also if possible, make sure to choose the proper coil type or set the tcr. Some mods will simply say temp mode, 'ss, ni or ti'. So you choose 'ss' because it's stainless steel. Which stainless though? Some mods may have the preset stainless for ss304 or ss316 and you're using ss316L maybe. They're not the same and have different tcr's. Setting tcr manually if you have the option is a good idea just in case, unless you're using ss316L and the mod specifies SS mode is for ss316L.

A handy tcr resource here.
https://www.djlsbvapes.com/different-wires/

I think now you realize you need to lock resistance you'll have a better more consistent experience.

Another thing that might be of interest and may improve the tc experience, arctic fox custom firmware. Gives your mod new options if you don't have it installed.
https://nfeteam.org/
 

PoppaVic

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
You don't lock the resistance - I've never seen any sane device/review/user lock his ohms in TC. The board is supposedly tracking ohms by sensing the current-flow and calculating against the material.

I've had TC-capable mods - including Evolv and Yihi - for years now, and I've not once had a "good experience". Ever.
Meanwhile, you can adjust watts or even voltage, (provided you used a calculator of some sort or at least started low and adjusted "to taste"), and you are gold. I can easily get a month out of a lousy wick, and several months from simple coils, (provided the latter is performing as I planned).

Frankly, I look forward to finishing the PWM install to an older mod this weekend: these simple PWM boards, VV and VW do all you care about - warm up the ejuice, vaporize/steam it. Everything else is a luxury (cutouts, displays, idiotic puff-counters, etc)
 

Synphul

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
You don't lock the resistance - I've never seen any sane device/review/user lock his ohms in TC. The board is supposedly tracking ohms by sensing the current-flow and calculating against the material.

I've had TC-capable mods - including Evolv and Yihi - for years now, and I've not once had a "good experience". Ever.
Meanwhile, you can adjust watts or even voltage, (provided you used a calculator of some sort or at least started low and adjusted "to taste"), and you are gold. I can easily get a month out of a lousy wick, and several months from simple coils, (provided the latter is performing as I planned).

Frankly, I look forward to finishing the PWM install to an older mod this weekend: these simple PWM boards, VV and VW do all you care about - warm up the ejuice, vaporize/steam it. Everything else is a luxury (cutouts, displays, idiotic puff-counters, etc)
Yep, supposed to lock the resistance. It doesn't matter in wattage mode, in temp control it absolutely does. Otherwise it's always reading a 'new coil' as the resistance fluctuates. It fluctuates because they're non resistance wire types vs resistance wire like kanthal (which doesn't work in tc). Maybe that's why tc has sucked for you.

When I've failed to lock resistance or forgotten, the vape is either super weak or super hot. It's just all over the place because resistance jumps from .12 to .22 ohms depending how hot the coil is. Different strokes for different folks, not all like tc. Some mistakenly think tc is all about saving the cotton. That's a side effect but really it's about a consistent vape. Wattage mode on a regulated mod starts of warm and gets hotter and hotter and hotter. A 5sec puff at 80w is hotter than a 2sec puff at 80w. On a mech it's inverse, the vape/power start off higher and fade slightly. The same effect can be achieved using wattage curves if the mod supports it. With tc operating correctly on a chip that handles it well, it's smooth. It starts at whatever temp you've got set and whether it's a 2sec puff, 5 or 7 second puff.. the very next puff, 8 puffs back to back to back - all consistent warmth.
 
Thank you for the great info and l
Doubtful you injured yourself, though I'm no doctor. And yes, you corrected an issue with tc by locking resistance. There's different settings depending on the mod and its actual operation but tc needs a few things. First you need tc capable wire (ss like you have, nickel/ni200, titanium). Pulse a bit in wattage mode to make sure the hotspots are worked out and it's glowing even. In tc mode there's almost always a way to set power in either wattage or joules, that's the power the mod will use to heat the coils. Then there's the temp limit you've set that will cap the power. Think of it like a car, if you set the cruise control at 65mph but the engine's only pushing 5hp it's going to be a long day getting up to that 65mph limit you set. And vice versa, if you're only trying to go 5mph, applying 500hp is going to be awkward as well. So there's finding balance with the two.

The other is locking resistance. You need to figure out how it's done for your particular mod/chipset and it needs to be done when the coil is cool, room temp. So even though stainless is either wattage or tc, don't try locking resistance after taking a couple rips off it in wattage mode. Let it get to room temp, then lock the resistance. Otherwise as stainless heats the resistance fluctuates wildly and the mod has no chance of applying the appropriate power. Also if possible, make sure to choose the proper coil type or set the tcr. Some mods will simply say temp mode, 'ss, ni or ti'. So you choose 'ss' because it's stainless steel. Which stainless though? Some mods may have the preset stainless for ss304 or ss316 and you're using ss316L maybe. They're not the same and have different tcr's. Setting tcr manually if you have the option is a good idea just in case, unless you're using ss316L and the mod specifies SS mode is for ss316L.

A handy tcr resource here.
https://www.djlsbvapes.com/different-wires/

I think now you realize you need to lock resistance you'll have a better more consistent experience.

Another thing that might be of interest and may improve the tc experience, arctic fox custom firmware. Gives your mod new options if you don't have it installed.
https://nfeteam.org/

Thank you for the great info and links.
 

Egree

Member For 2 Years
If your getting large fluctuations in your resistance its usually a loose connection with your tank or even some tanks have a hard time with tc id check your atomizer connections if your 510 on the bottom of your tank has a slotted screw make sure its tight or if the deck unscrews from the base make sure its tight and everthing is clean. You shoulnt have to lock your resistance unless the tank has an issue.

Sent from my SM-J337A using Tapatalk
 

Synphul

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
Kind of surprised, everyone saying resistance doesn't need locked. Just about every tc guide out there talks about it. Here's from the istick tc100w manual -

"Lock/Unlock resistance: In TC-Ni/TC-Ti/TC-SS/TCR(M1,M2,M3) mode, keep pressing the fire button and up button simultaneously for two seconds to lock or unlock atomizer “base resistance”. The lock sign will appear when resistance is locked and “Ω” symbol will come back when unlocked. Note: 1.Please lock the resistance when the coil is at room temperature so that the device can display the correct “base resistance”."

Some mods like the aspire archon will do it automatically (as stated in their manual), when you put a tank or coil on and it asks 'new coil?' in tc mode and you select 'yes' it not only obtains the new reading it also auto locks it. The eclipse is similar except I've found with the yihi sx420 chip, the first time placing it in tc mode it won't fire at all. It reads resistance as 0 (threw me off the first couple times). You have to hold the center button until a new window pops up and reads the current resistance. Once you accept it that resistance then becomes locked. The vast majority of tc capable mods have a 'lock resistance' feature and this is why. It's not needed in wattage mode because regardless of resistance you're pushing a specified wattage to the coil. If it's too little or too much you adjust it up/down.

Resistance fluctuations don't always indicate a loose connection unless they're jumping from like .12 ohms to 1.3 ohms or something crazy. Stainless steel is notorious for resistance fluctuation. I took one puff off my stainless coils and they went from .12 to .14 ohms. Letting them cool a little, now .13 ohms. And now back to .12 ohms. With the yihi's approach to it, you basically can't vape in tc until you set/lock the resistance by telling the mod to read it, then it auto locks. Different chips will have a different approach but whether the user does it manually or the mod has some sort of auto lock feature, resistance ends up locked. Or you fail to lock it on a manual input mod and when resistance fluctuates there's no baseline and tc performance is all over the place.
 

Vape Fan

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ive had my Reuleaux 2/3 for a little over a year. i was tired of scorching cotton and just decided to try TC a month ago on my SS316l coils i built. its been a very cold vape even at 520* but i attributed that to the tank (Griffin 25). last night i changed the batteries and accidentally hit "new coil" which brought my resistance up. when i fired it i saw the resistance rise and fall... uh oh. messing around in the menus i saw i could lock the resistance and it made a world of difference, those warm draws i missed from VW mode were back. mainly im just concerned i f&#@ed up my lungs vaping SS with the resistance unlocked.
TLDR; vaped SS with the resistance unlocked for a month in TC. how bad did i Fu#k up?
I run TC. I don't lock resistance. While the mod monitors, it does not keep asking me to verify "new coil". Resistance might move as much as .02 but that's from room temp. Mod should maintain the temp setting regardless of that .02 difference.
Since TC is going to throttle the wattage to achieve and maintain temp:
If you like wattage mode at say 40, and for TC you set it at 55-60, then it will use the 55-60 to get the coil up to the temp setting - then throttle it to maintain that temp. Like boost mode.
 
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Egree

Member For 2 Years
I only use dna mods now I used to run yihi mods it your really like TC invest in a dna

Sent from my SM-J337A using Tapatalk
 

Letitia9

Citrus Junkie
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Member For 4 Years
VU Challenge Team
With some of the older gear it is recommended to lock resistance, they just function better with the lock. More were running ni200 and titanium when tc became a thing.
 

SteveS45

Diamond Contributor
ECF Refugee
Member For 5 Years
I use TC Mode with SS316L and I never lock the resistance either. Only time it asks "New Coil?" Yes/No is when I change batteries or remove the Atomizer.
 

Synphul

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
I run TC. I don't lock resistance. While the mod monitors, it does not keep asking me to verify "new coil". Resistance might move as much as .02 but that's from room temp. Mod should maintain the temp setting regardless of that .02 difference.
Since TC is going to throttle the wattage to achieve and maintain temp:
If you like wattage mode at say 40, and for TC you set it at 55-60, then it will use the 55-60 to get the coil up to the temp setting - then throttle it to maintain that temp. Like boost mode.
I agree with the last bit. I do set my wattage in tc a bit higher than I normally do and allow the tc to throttle it at the set temp. Temp control mimics true temp control but in reality it isn't. It has no real way to know what the physical temp of the coil is so it does some fudging using the tcr of the wire's metal type, making calculations based on initial resistance etc. Without a baseline it can't really figure that. It's like trying to use straight ohm's law on a regulated mod with the chip being an unknown variable. It just doesn't pan out.

Different mods operate differently, some autolock resistance, some update resistance on the fly, others ask new coil. I have mods that detect a resistance change when attaching a new atomizer or coil and specifically asks, 'new coil?'. Telling it yes allows it to reset. Others like the eclipse mod, it auto updates. It never asks me if it's a new coil, the chip works different. It's still taking the new resistance into account. So it's possible to have a tc mod you don't have to manually lock the resistance.

What I'm saying is on a mod that does require the user to do it, if it's not set it will fluctuate and give poor tc performance. Like trying to weigh out various added weights on a scale without hitting the tare feature. Or if you hit tare midway through, remove an object and add a new one, you'll get a faulty reading because it has no baseline from which to measure. Of course it's also possible to have a mod like the alien where the tc just sucks ass and doesn't perform for shit. It's either way too hot or way too cold, simply having the feature and having the feature work properly are two different things.

Which is why people who do use tc are more picky about their chipsets. If someone's just using straight wattage, it really doesn't matter. So long as a mod's not faulty, autofires or something drastic any mod will do wattage. Even if it's inaccurate and pushes 80w when set to 75w or give 72w when set to 75w. It can be compensated by simply raising/lowering power to taste. There are a good number of mods who threw in tc functions like an afterthought and so they suck, then people use them and think tc sucks. No, just that mod sucks at tc. And it's still personal preference. There's no set way to set up tc for all mods since they vary. You have to follow the procedure for that particular mod. Like some you can manually set tcr, others you can't. Some in tcr knock off some zeroes so .00092 for ss316L becomes .092 on the mod or 92 on the mod or if it's like the omni chip on the vaporesso's, 100 for some reason is their code for .00092/ss316L. It's not a one size fits all. In the end though, whether it's manual resistance locking, auto locking or whatever the setting of a baseline resistance will improve tc functionality. A mod doing it automatically isn't the same as resistance doesn't need to be set. It does, it's just being done for the user.
 

Coval51

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Member For 3 Years
Unless you got a scorching hot vape while you were using temp control without locking the resistance...you did no harm to yourself. Depending on the chipset used, some mods need to be locked to work properly in TC and some don't. You said yours was giving a cool vape so don't worry about it. Too hot is when e-liquids start going funky.
 

gsmit1

Platinum Contributor
Member For 4 Years
A vape that's too cool in tc can also mean that the tcr is inaccurate. The tcr for 316L is 94. On some of my mods bringing that up to between 100 and 115 fixes the cool vape thing.
 

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