wattage devices and bad connections...

[Slurp812]

I've seen others mention this issue. Maybe phrased differently, but the symptoms are resistance readings readings jumping around, and then of course it fires at higher voltages. This ends up frying the cotton sometimes. My Smok Xpro M50 was doing this badly yesterday and it turned out to be a loose screw on the coil. I am going to take my sub tank mini apart, and put a new coil on it tonight. I've had other setups do this as well, and it always turns out to be something loose. So far I've always been able to fix the issue. I believe others have not always been able to pinpoint the source of the problem. Thoughts?

 

[Dan DePippo]

I agree most of the problems have been bad connection from 510 or coil screws. I haven't heard of any other mod related faults but I'm sure there's a few out there.

 

[rdsok]

Poor connections aren't really the fault of the mod... they are just things the user either causes or overlooked at some point. Anytime I've had a loose screw, it was my own fault for not tightening it correctly to start with. Overtightening an atomizer can cause the pin in the 510 to get pushed in... again a user caused issue. Connections should be cleaned often so corrosion and other gunk doesn't affect them and remember that even a battery cap is another connection, so the threads etc on them should also be cleaned regularly.

 

[UncleRJ]

Anytime I need to fill up a tank, the connections on both the tank and the mod get cleaned.

Just takes like 10 seconds but worth it.

 

[Cloudy Peak Vapes]

Anytime I need to fill up a tank, the connections on both the tank and the mod get cleaned.

Just takes like 10 seconds but worth it.

I have an excessive amount of Q-Tips, rolls of paper towels, and isopropyl alcohol in my room.

 

[BoomStick]

Because our gear needs such solid and consistent connections I hate Phillips post screws. Much prefer Allen key set screws. I've noticed that anytime I glow my coils (initial installation or dry burning) I have to check the coil screws. I think when you get them that hot the coil metal gets soft and causes the screws to be not as tight. Being able to use an Allen wrench that locks into the screw lets me really tighten them down. Phillips screwdrivers slip and don't let me torque them as much.

 

[Dan DePippo]

I agree 100% BoomStick

 

[f1r3b1rd]

I'm another fan of the grub screws. I keep all the spare parts from attys and subdivide the screws and orings . I also swap out the Phillips screws when possible or try to wrap my coil legs around the screw.
Since I started using the TC builds as often as I can the good connection is even more important than with a normal vw mod- Yet another reason to check the stability of the build every so often.

What I'm curious about is how often do people have these issues on mechanicals but don't notice without a real time read out.

 

[BoomStick]

What I'm curious about is how often do people have these issues on mechanicals but don't notice without a real time read out.

I think that happens more than some realize. Last time I dry burned the coils in my Derringer (on a smpl) I checked the grub screws. I was able to turn the Allen wrench on each screw just a little. I mean very little, but I was still able to tighten them some. I had been noticing the vape didn't seem quite as warm even after a dry burn and using a fresh battery. After getting the screws to tighten ever so slightly the warmth was back. The screws weren't loose, but obviously they weren't as tight as they could be. I'll be checking my screws every time I rewick from now on instead of after every couple of rewicks. I need to get a more accurate ohm reader also. That would certainly be helpful with keeping track of exactly what's going on with my gear.

 

[rdsok]

Hot and cold does expand and contract metal ( and everything ) ... so checking the connections is certainly needed

 

[BoomStick]

Hot and cold does expand and contract metal ( and everything ) ... so checking the connections is certainly needed

Definately, but I think in the case of coil connections it goes beyond that when you make them glow. I would guess that when a coil leg that has a screw applying pressure on it gets really hot and softer than normal the wire actually deforms which permanently relieves some of the pressure from the screw requiring additional tightening. The normal heating and cooling that happens while vaping probably has an effect on the post screw/coil connection, but I'd bet heating the coil to the point of glowing has an additional effect. Hot metal certainly expands, but glowing red metal also gets really soft.