Become a Patron!

Melo eleaf coils rebuilding

gabrielpanoussi

gabrielpanoussi

Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
I have seen a few videos on YouTube about rebuilding eleaf coils. I know they have an ecr coil head that is rebuildable but I have not heard good things about them. In any case that is not what I'm talking about here.
I know the coils are cheap. Hell I got 5 coils for 4 bucks shipped. I did it anyway and tried a rebuild using the same coil. I just cleaned up the coil and replaced the cotton.
Since then I've purchased some 28 gauge nichrome wire and want to replace the coil next time around.
My concern is the legs of the replacement coil heating up around the small rubber separator where the legs make contact with the center pin and the outside case.
If I understand correctly from the factory these coils have not non resistance wire legs micro soldered to the coil. Is this true? Also are these legs important or can I just get away with using the nichrome the full length of the coil. I mean coils heat up center outward anyway right?
And if I do need legs soldered on what material do I use? Same gauge Stainless Steel? Plain old copper wire?
Thanks in advance you guys have helped so much.

Sent from my N817 using Tapatalk
 
Everpresentnewb

Everpresentnewb

Bronze Contributor
Member For 4 Years
Member For 3 Years
ECF Refugee
Well, we used to rebuild the subtank coils all the time a few years ago. wont be an issue with the legs. when you make a coil and fire it ti work out hot spots, where does it get redhot ? yup, center out. if your legs are getting red you got issues and need to rework the coil. simple heat transfer will happen regardless, even if there are non-resistance wires attached for legs. the only reason they do that is so that they can mass produce coils with the same resistance values. these are all machine made. Machine wrapps x.x mm of Y wire and knows it is .15ohms. now they add a non restance leg and they can use that .15ohm coil in multiple heads with differing leength of legs and not have variances. I think I still have my old Melo and Im pretty sure I rebuilt heads for it. when I get home Ill check.

But short answer, dont worry about it. build away.
 
gabrielpanoussi

gabrielpanoussi

Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
Everpresentnewb said:
Well, we used to rebuild the subtank coils all the time a few years ago. wont be an issue with the legs. when you make a coil and fire it ti work out hot spots, where does it get redhot ? yup, center out. if your legs are getting red you got issues and need to rework the coil. simple heat transfer will happen regardless, even if there are non-resistance wires attached for legs. the only reason they do that is so that they can mass produce coils with the same resistance values. these are all machine made. Machine wrapps x.x mm of Y wire and knows it is .15ohms. now they add a non restance leg and they can use that .15ohm coil in multiple heads with differing leength of legs and not have variances. I think I still have my old Melo and Im pretty sure I rebuilt heads for it. when I get home Ill check.

But short answer, dont worry about it. build away.
Click to expand...
Cool so far the melo is my favorite tank and it is good to know I can rebuild the coils if needed. They are cheap but so is wire and cotton, plus it gives me something to tinker with.
 
gabrielpanoussi

gabrielpanoussi

Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
So what to do with 34 g kanthal. I can tell you what not to do. try building a coil with 4 strands of the stuff cause you get 1.9 ohms which does not work well at all on the eleaf pico. Can I do anything with this 34G Kanthal?
 
wally

wally

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
ECF Refugee
Emberwilde said:
nah, they work pretty good, another one that ***should*** fit in it is the triton rba head given the melo does not need threads on the top of the head to assemble the tank
Click to expand...
No the newer melo tanks do not have the treads. I also used the triton it was not as good as the eleaf .
 
232323

232323

Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
wally said:
If you herd anything bad about the melo one then you have been misled because it works great I have three of them and have been using them since they came out.
Click to expand...

do you hav any tips for wicking these? should the cotton stick out the air holes? or frayed edges and leave them inside the rba? or how tight i should make it? i like the rba but haven't perfected wicking it, i sometimes get dry hits and find i can't really vape too hard on it.

so far i find the rba for my unwell crown much more reliable since i sussed the right way to wick it, i think the eleaf can be good too and that it's some mistake i'm making.
 
gabrielpanoussi

gabrielpanoussi

Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
232323 said:
do you hav any tips for wicking these? should the cotton stick out the air holes? or frayed edges and leave them inside the rba? or how tight i should make it? i like the rba but haven't perfected wicking it, i sometimes get dry hits and find i can't really vape too hard on it.

so far i find the rba for my unwell crown much more reliable since i sussed the right way to wick it, i think the eleaf can be good too and that it's some mistake i'm making.
Click to expand...
I just use the one out of the box. It was premade and it leaks pretty bad. The way they had it was with a horizontal coil and the cotton was just outside of the coil wick opening a little fluffed and mushroomed out if that makes sense.
I think a vertical coil with cotton wrapped on the outside of the coil might work better for my leaking issue. I do use 50/50 juice so that might be why.
 
wheelie

wheelie

VU Donator
Bronze Contributor
Member For 4 Years
Legs do not heat up or burn the rubber. I use 26G SS316L 5mm , 5 1/2 wrap Vertical parallel coil (two wires wrapped side by side). Comes out to .35 better than the stock coils. Very same system for all Atlantis style and Cleito coils. Except Cleito goes in the bottom of the coil instead of the top. CHEERS!
 
Last edited:
gabrielpanoussi

gabrielpanoussi

Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
wheelie said:
Legs do not heat up or burn the rubber. I use 26G SS316L 5mm , 5 1/2 wrap Vertical parallel coil (two wires wrapped side by side). Comes out to .35 better than the stock coils. Very same system for all Atlantis style and Cleito coils. Except Cleito goes in the bottom of the coil instead of the top. CHEERS!
Click to expand...
Thanks I am going try a vertical build in the next few days to see if it helps. With the way it is juice just seems to go past the wick and leak out the air holes.
 
wheelie

wheelie

VU Donator
Bronze Contributor
Member For 4 Years
gabrielpanoussi said:
Thanks I am going try a vertical build in the next few days to see if it helps. With the way it is juice just seems to go past the wick and leak out the air holes.
Click to expand...
None of mine leak. I find vertical coils a lot easier to build than horizontal. Just be sure to have cotton under the leg that goes down over the coil. That is always the negative wire. The one that goes strait down off bottom is positive. Wrap cotton pad as tight as you can and it will expand when you let it go inside coil. I leave the cotton that is trapped between metal. Soak coil in denture cleaner and hot water for 1/2 hour. Then rinse and let it soak in clean water for 1/2 hour. Then I let coils dry over night. That piece trapped between comes out pure white again. I have a 1/2 (or there abouts) bolt that goes in the top of coil and catchs the metal lip inside to knock the coil in two pieces for when I have to change that piece trapped between metal sleeve. CHEERS
 
Last edited:
gabrielpanoussi

gabrielpanoussi

Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
I am having some issue with the vertical build. I made my coil a little small so it is restricting air flow. I will check it for leaks tomorrow. I think I jammed a bit too much cotton in there as well.. I am going to have to play with it a bit to get it right. I think my leaking issue was because the wick was a bit smaller than the hole it came out of. So naturally juice would just drip past and on down into the air vents.
 
232323

232323

Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
the last couple of wicks i've done, i've tried to make them the same way as some people think you should wick the crown, so with the cotton in a kind of S shape and bunched up inside the housing, rather than coming out the holes.

it's a bit better than it was when i thread it through the holes, less dry hits than before but still some. but it's harder to do as there is a lot less space inside this. i'm going to keep trying with it, i think it has the potential to be pretty good.

my problem hasn't been leaking, but dry hits. but the above way of wicking might help with leaks too, the idea is that having more cotton arranged inside the holes stops liquid being able to leak through.
 
gabrielpanoussi

gabrielpanoussi

Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
So I rebuilt it yet again and I think it is better, I used 28g nichrome wrapped about 8 or wraps as many as I could fit. This is a horizontal build. I wicked it and then I pushed in some of the cotton from outside. I left some cotton out of the hole too and spread it like a mushroom cap. It came out to 1 ohm. So far no visible leaks or dry hits. we will see. I think once I get the hang of it this thing will produce.
I should also add that i used my cotton not the supplied japan stuff, I used peroxide bleached organic cotton balls.
 
232323

232323

Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
good luck, fingers crossed it works.

i rewicked one of mine today. i have 2, one in a melo 3 and one in an ijust 2. this one is in the melo. i wicked it in a similar way to you, pushed some back inside the head and leaving some sticking out which i frayed and spread about a bit. i also used organic cotton from boots rather than the japanese stuff. this is a bit more loose and fluffy. i think maybe it's important to have quite a lot of wick inside, both to stop leaks by and it seems to help with the dry hits. i wond r if the fluffier cotton might make a difference as well. this one has been good so far and the flavour from the melo is as good as it's been since i got it...
 
gabrielpanoussi

gabrielpanoussi

Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
So far so good. No leaks, good vape, not dry. Looks like it just takes messing with to get it right but they do work well.
 
232323

232323

Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
the same here, both are working pretty good. but for some reason it's my crown leaking liquid today...!
 
wally

wally

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
ECF Refugee
ON the melo rta I usually cut the fluffed cotton right at the openings so not to let it overhang to prevent the outer casing to catch the cotton witch can cause it to leak, I usually use 28ga ss 4to five wrap. Has great flavor no leaking can be used as dl or mouth to lung.
 
232323

232323

Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
i've not had any leaking with mine, but suspected that cotton hanging out the holes too far was contributing to the dry hits. both are working pretty well with a lot of cotton, frayed out at the ends then after the top goes on i've kinda pulled the cotton back inside and bunched it up with just a tiny bit showing. so far so good.

i think these little guys are pretty good despite having read some poor reviews.
 
232323

232323

Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
try wicking it again, use a bit thicker cotton, leave about 5-7mm or so of cotton sticking out the holes when you trim it, carefully put the top on with no cotton in the seal, juice the cotton to wet it then with little tweezers or a similar tool, pull most of the cotton back inside, so it's bunched up inside at the sides of the coil and basically covering the holes with just a tiny bit coming out the side. this is similar to how i have been wicking my crown as well. seems to be working for me.
 
wally

wally

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
ECF Refugee
232323 said:
i've not had any leaking with mine, but suspected that cotton hanging out the holes too far was contributing to the dry hits. both are working pretty well with a lot of cotton, frayed out at the ends then after the top goes on i've kinda pulled the cotton back inside and bunched it up with just a tiny bit showing. so far so good.

i think these little guys are pretty good despite having read some poor reviews.
Click to expand...
The only time I had a dry hit is when the cotton was too tight by using too much cotten
 
232323

232323

Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
the extra cotton is mostly about the sides of the coil rather than wedged inside it.
 
gabrielpanoussi

gabrielpanoussi

Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
Finally got it after doing some strange builds I think I figured it out. I even did a dual series coil with one coil on top of another coil with 2 wicks. I finally settled on a more conventional build... A single horizontal coil. The secret is to add enough wick material in the holes to make a snug fit without adding too much to prevent good air flow and to make sure there is no cotton coming out of the holes. This has worked great for me now. Also I find the higher up I can position the coil the more flavor I get. Just make sure those long legs don.t short out.
This was difficult to get right but easy to reproduce. All in all a fun experience.
 
gabrielpanoussi

gabrielpanoussi

Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
232323 said:
try wicking it again, use a bit thicker cotton, leave about 5-7mm or so of cotton sticking out the holes when you trim it, carefully put the top on with no cotton in the seal, juice the cotton to wet it then with little tweezers or a similar tool, pull most of the cotton back inside, so it's bunched up inside at the sides of the coil and basically covering the holes with just a tiny bit coming out the side. this is similar to how i have been wicking my crown as well. seems to be working for me.
Click to expand...
ya basically this... it works.
 
232323

232323

Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
mine are both still going well. has anybody tried to put a vertical coil in it? i think this might work pretty well, going to try it soon.

or using clapton wire? might be a little tight, but could be feasible...
 
232323

232323

Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
i thought about this after putting a clapton coil on my crown rba, which is also pretty small. it works very well, better than the plain kanthal or ss.

i think the vertical cool might wick better and get even better flavour.

if i try either of these, i'll post the results.
 
gabrielpanoussi

gabrielpanoussi

Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
232323 said:
mine are both still going well. has anybody tried to put a vertical coil in it? i think this might work pretty well, going to try it soon.

or using clapton wire? might be a little tight, but could be feasible...
Click to expand...
I did a vertical once. It did not do too well because my coil diameter was small which restricted airflow that also caused me to pack more cotton than I would have with a larger coil so I ended up gettting dry hits with bad vape production. Now factory made melo coils are awesome so next time I will use them as a guide. I would love to know what gauge wire they use. It is thicker than my 28G nichrome.
 
232323

232323

Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
ok, interesting. maybe this would work better using an old stock coil and rebuilding it, which would mean more wicking/airflow holes? they're easy to take apart, the only thing is it's best to try and leave the thin layer of cotton around the outside. this is what caused me problems trying to rebuild them before i got the ecr's. otherwise you need to use too much cotton and it's a bit tight.

and maybe using parallel wire could work this way. i might do some experimenting over the weekend.

i like the stock coils too especially the ss notch ones, my only problem with them was for some reason they would always burn out pretty quickly.
 
wally

wally

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
ECF Refugee
Just use the coil I showed above and just cut the cotton at the hole make sure the holes are filled with cotton and you will have a great flavor coil?
 
232323

232323

Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
aye i have 2 of those and they are working quite well wicked the way i described above, no dry hits or leaks or anything. they are pretty good for the cheap price.

but it's interesting to try different coils and ways of wicking, the difference in my crown rba between a standard ss coil and the clapton coil i put in it is very noticable, flavour is much much much better with the clapton and others report better flavour and vapour with vertical.
 
232323

232323

Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
so i twisted some kanthal wire and made a coil from it in the melo. it's really good, the flavour has improved quite a lot. i'd recommend trying it.

tried clapton wire. the cool fit inside the chamber ok but was too bulky to get the bottom part to fit on.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

VU Sponsors

Top