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Coils: spaced or tight?

Adam Paseman

Bronze Contributor
Member For 4 Years
I was under the impression that tight coils provided better flavor due to surface area but i see a lot of people using spaced coils? Any advantage to spacing them?


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Chainvapor

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Tightly spaced coils are considered "micro" coils and were the norm for a long time. However, since we are now using a lot of clapton coils spacing them out can sometimes give you a better vaping experience. It all comes down to personal preference and what you can fit in a given space on your build deck. Sometimes you are limited by space and cannot fit spaced coils so they must be pushed tightly together. Hope that helps you.

Sincerely,
Mr. Chainvapor
 

Foggz

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
Tightly spaced coils are considered "micro" coils and were the norm for a long time

I think that 'Micro' vs 'Macro' vs 'Nano' etc .. actually refers to the relative diameter of the coil, not so much the spacing of the wraps - micro coils being around 2mm maybe up to 2.5 mm

you can also factor in TC, spaced coils tend to be more accurate and stable in my personal experience

this is I think more a factor.. have seen spaced coils prior to TC, but they seem to be more popular since TC came onto the scene, what with the different wire types and such.
 

MattyTny

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Deck size and airlow can also influence the coil spacing.

If you have a two post design in which the coil has the potential to span a longer distance you have the option to use higher wrap count contact coil or a lower wrap count spaced coil, this difference is more significant when using a single strand wire coil.

You can potentially run that single strand spaced coil at a higher wattage (assuming the resistance of the spaced and contact is the same) since it spans a longer distance, thus having more wick inside the coil per wrap. This also means that same atomizer probably has a wide airflow setting that can accommodate that longer coil.

I run a Phenotype L with dual 24 gauge spaced coils. I tried contact wraps at the same resistance and the vape wasn't as satisfying, nor could it go nearly as high in wattage. I'm basing all the information above on that one experience though.
 

cloudking666

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i use spaced coils on my RTA (Limitless RDTA, Supertank 25mm RTA, Griffin) as they do not wick as quickly and have less change of dry hits.
however i use micro (tight) coils almost exclusively on RDA's. i never really used spaced coils on drippers
 

Vape7od

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i use spaced coils on my RTA (Limitless RDTA, Supertank 25mm RTA, Griffin) as they do not wick as quickly and have less change of dry hits.
however i use micro (tight) coils almost exclusively on RDA's. i never really used spaced coils on drippers
Do u still feel the performance of spaced coils in rta's is on par with a tight coil? And do i have to change anything when calculating resistance for spaced coil?

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cloudking666

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Do u still feel the performance of spaced coils in rta's is on par with a tight coil? And do i have to change anything when calculating resistance for spaced coil?

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i have always did spaced, as my buddies who also build have done tight and ran into wicking issues. i do 5-7 coil spaced 24 guage all my my RTAs, running 45-60 watts, and they perform great
 

martnargh

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i wrap em tight, dry fire and tighten up more with ceramoc tweezers, bangs out the hot spots faster that way imo.
i tried spaced claptons, fused claptons, staples, aliens, twisted, even round nichrome90, its never worked out well for me. but try both, pick the one ya like.
i notice spaced used more in the comp scenerio, where dudes only wrap 3 or 4 wraps but space em to cover more terf and in tc, but i dont like tc so i cant gather the relevance to its application there.

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MattyTny

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Do u still feel the performance of spaced coils in rta's is on par with a tight coil? And do i have to change anything when calculating resistance for spaced coil?

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You don't have to adjust any coil properties for spaced or contact coils for same resistance since the amount of wire is the same. The only thing that might effect resistance is leg length, which is very small.

Most people tend to use contact wraps in RTAS to accommodate for deck size , but this is depends on what you are putting in the deck. I mainly use contact wraps in my RTAS.
 

NGAHaze

Gold Contributor
Member For 5 Years
One other difference that I've noticed is that spaced coils tend to not gunk up as fast as contact coils. If I'm going to be vaping a juice that I know has coil killing properties, I'll go with a spaced coil for that reason.
 

falcor

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I know this is an old thread, but it pops up highly on Google so I figured I'd add to it.

Up until now I always made tight coils (I use the Coilmaster v3 kit, and its jig). Mainly because I didn't know how to space them out. But after reading this thread I saw some good tips, like spacing it with your fingernails, while still on the jig, to keep things straight. This worked, and I have two beautiful spaced clapton coils.

I replaced the tight coils (they were 4 wraps each, equaling 0.33ohms) with the same wire, but this time spaced. I mainly use my Crown tank, my Griffin 25 Plus, and I have a TFV4 and TFV12 which I don't use very much.

I put the spaced coils into the Griffin 25 Plus, and instantly noticed that the spaced coils perfectly cover the air holes... The tight ones, previously, sat in the middle of the air holes but did not reach all the way across. I got a decent vape with the tight coils, but now I'm getting a stellar vape from the spaced ones. The flavor seems like it's gone up 50%, and I'm having way less spitback. I'm sure there could be other variables at play, but the only thing that changed was the spacing. So, I'm sticking with spaced coils from now on.
 
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brandon555

Member For 3 Years
I never liked spaced coils, until I started making them with heavy gauge wire, 20g or larger. Tons of surface area, good flavor, and no pulsing the shit out of the coil to get it heating evenly.
 

KingPin!

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Spaced coils are better for temp control due to heating and cooling down quicker making it more reliable

I generally prefer non spaced coils though as I like to keep the temp in the coil for longer in power mode ...save having to ramp up so much with the chunkier coils I run
 

strigamort

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Old thread, but didn't want to start a new one. I made my first coils (two single strand coils, 24g kanthal, 5 wraps) yesterday and I'm pretty sure I'm already hooked. I've only been vaping for about a month, but I'm enjoying the hobby side, diy juice and all that. Anyway, today I decided to try simple twisted coils (just used a pen, my hand drill is not with me) and also try the coils spaced. I have tried a few different tank designs as I'm, decidedly, a flavor chaser. Absolutely nothing I've bought or tried has made an impact on flavor like these spaced coils. Instead of trying to get the atty to spit (I was desperate for flavor) I'm getting a dense fog that just coats your mouth. Not just that, I'm getting fewer dry hits because I can sense the cotton drying more quickly. The fast ramp is really appreciated too. It seems like I may be using less fluid? The clouds are not as obnoxiously huge (I have that goofy tfv12 if I want to be silly) so I don't blind myself for a couple of seconds while driving.

I'm really not seeing why I would go back to contact coils, but then it seems like I make another change daily. For today I'm stoked with these coils. They aren't the prettiest, but they are my second set and I'm new to all of this. :)

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Edit- Oh and my Hohm Wrecker G2 will be here tomorrow and I can't wait to try decent tc out!
 

strigamort

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Yup! I absolutely love the feel and looks. Actually I could take or leave the sex symbols, but I'll definitely keep the rest of the asthetic. Something about the box I just really dig. If it had a centered atty like a hex ohm or revenger I'd buy a couple more. First thing I did, well, after playing for a couple of hours, was update the software. I really like the screen and how simple the thing is to use. Only two things I wish were different. One, the fire button rattles when you shake the mod, and I wish you could set a longer screen time-out. Otherwise it's a brilliant looking and feeling machine.

I'm tc'ing kanthal with no problem so far, but I now have 4 tanks, 3 are rda/rta so I have a lot of room to fiddle. Best $60 I've spent on hardware yet. Hell I bought a $40 bottle of juice the other day used 5ml and dropped it from my lap while sitting (about a foot or so off the ground) and the thing broke. I had to shit-can the whole thing. I could have bought that other HT mod and a flavor for my vg/6mg base to play with. Live and learn. :)
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MWorthington

Silver Contributor
Member For 4 Years
ECF Refugee
Yup! I absolutely love the feel and looks. Actually I could take or leave the sex symbols, but I'll definitely keep the rest of the asthetic. Something about the box I just really dig. If it had a centered atty like a hex ohm or revenger I'd buy a couple more. First thing I did, well, after playing for a couple of hours, was update the software. I really like the screen and how simple the thing is to use. Only two things I wish were different. One, the fire button rattles when you shake the mod, and I wish you could set a longer screen time-out. Otherwise it's a brilliant looking and feeling machine.

I'm tc'ing kanthal with no problem so far, but I now have 4 tanks, 3 are rda/rta so I have a lot of room to fiddle. Best $60 I've spent on hardware yet. Hell I bought a $40 bottle of juice the other day used 5ml and dropped it from my lap while sitting (about a foot or so off the ground) and the thing broke. I had to shit-can the whole thing. I could have bought that other HT mod and a flavor for my vg/6mg base to play with. Live and learn. :)
552886fe984b51ce8c7f85a069b090c2.jpg


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Fantastic! I figured you'd love it once you got it. I may have gotten lucky. Mine doesn't have any button rattle at all and the battery cover fits so tight I had to take a minute to see how to open it up. I haven't really messed with tc yet because the little tank I'm using requires such low power, I've just been vaping in dw mode at 19-20 watts and enjoying all day battery life. :)

Sucks about the spilled juice. :( I know that hurt. If it helps any, I was watching a Ryan Hall video a few days ago, and one of his vape shop employees spilled a $500 bottle juice all over the counter. I don't know how much truth there was to it, but he claimed to have bought 3 bottles - 2 to give away, and one to vape in the shop. I can't bring myself to spend $30 on a bottle of juice anymore, much less 500! I vape my own DIY juice regardless of whether it's good or if it sucks.

I'm supposed to have a Kindbright Reload clone rta coming. Once it gets here I hope to be able to try out tc on my G2. I've got some nice Raymo2u coils I want to put in there. I'm hoping it'll be a nice vape. :)
 

strigamort

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Awesome stuff man. Yeah, I remember you saying that about the battery cover. :) Mine is nice and tight too. I had a mod a long time ago ( want to say it was an Aspire) that had a magnetic battery cover. I hated it because metallic items (mostly lint that had metal in it, I make knives so it's common enough) would stick to the mod. I haven't had any problems with the HW. The magnets are strong, but the aluminum is thick enough to isolate the magnetism.

Yeah, I've been making Coca-Cola flavored juice and it's pretty decent. I'll be trying my hand at more serious recipes soon. My gf and I have similar likes in juice. I saw that video a while back. I don't know that I believe them, but it was entertaining regardless. Speaking of spilled juice... I was filling a 30ml unicorn a while back out of a 120ml bottle and the whole top came off dumping almost all of the contents on the floor. Still, not as bad as my roommate. He had a new bottle of that grape jam monster the other day and was dripping into his goon. The whole top came off on his too, and he just looked at it in horror as it dumped ALL of it over his new predator. Like he couldn't believe it was happening and couldn't react. I was dieing laughing because I'm an asshole.

Enjoy that Reload! Tell me what you think about it. It's supposed to be good.

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Alter

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Member For 4 Years
Member For 3 Years
I always burnt the center out of the contact coils I made, do that a couple times and not bother with making them any more. Spaced coils, no matter how small the spaces are much superior along with the other reasons have been said already.
Spilling juice....I knocked over a 100ml jar of juice and it was a tsunami flowing across my desk engulfing everything in its path, by the time I could pick up the jar I managed to save about 30mls of it but gezzzz what a mess. Spilling juice doesn't hurt as much when its DIY but still juice is juice.
 
I use single fused claptons in my RDA(vandvape mesh) and i experienced much less dry hits and burned wicks with spaced coils, given by the fact that it can store more wick and juice, so i have to drip relevantly less.
 

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