Stainless 316L resistance

Hardware Hardware - Mods etc
1

Thinking about using stainless but not sure what a good resistance is for this wire. I am currently using Kanthal 24 at .25-.30. Can anyone tell me what to use for stainless?

2

So if you like kanthal at 0.25-0.30 why not use SS at the same resistance.
I mean resistance is resistance regardless what material we talk about.

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3

I’d say to stick to what u like, as well as what your mod can handle. I think you’ll like the ss better btw :grin:

4

I have a 160w TC mod. I also have heard that you get more pronounced flavor with SS.

5

For me, there’s a noticeable metallic taste from the other wire types I’ve tried, that I don’t get from the ss

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6

Do you run TC or Wattage?

7

I moved from SS to Kanthal. Even when you run SS in TC it will get crusty and uncleanable. In case on Kanthal I just burn it out and it’s like new.

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8

I just run in wattage myself. Though I’ve never had a mod that’ll do tc well, I’m currently using an 220 alien mod. It’s tc is horrible :joy::joy:

9

I’ve noticed that my Kanthal seems to get pretty crusty. I clean under water and then use soft brass wire brush to clean. Do you think that would work for SS?

10

I do the same on my ss

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11

I’ve heard that most TC mods are pretty erratic when it comes to SS.

12

I only use SS and i have never had such issues where i couldn’t clean my wire. Of course everything comes to an end but to that point it has always worked to dry burn to get them clean.

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13

While I don’t use TC, I have no issues either dry burning or wet burning SS and it comes out nice and clean, at least as good as Kanthal.

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14

I’ve pretty much been a ss316l guy since first trying it (I get that kanthal aftertaste too), I’d probably start with 26 gauge though for it. SS takes longer to heat up and holds the heat longer, than say a ka1 or an n80. Swapping flavor for ramp time is a no brainer for me, but that’s me. Even something as simple as a ss clapton will produce good results, but have also experienced a difference with just straight wire. Your atty plays a much bigger role in your results than a wire will though.

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15

Well, you all have helped me make up my mind. I am on my way to go get SS. Will get back on later to let you all know how it works for me. Have a great day everyone.

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16

My ss coils last just as long as any kanthal coil I’ve ever made. Never had any issues w/cleaning them. And for me the taste is far better. I’ll always personally go all ss on all my coil builds

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17

I switched from kanthal to ss 316 and I’ll never go back to kanthal I use 24 ga
and build 10 wraps spaced coils at around 60 w

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18

Depends on the chip. I hear running spaced coils in tc for ss helps. The resistance can get wonky when the wires heat up and expand. When they touch each other, the resistance changes, and the mod drops tc mode for vw. I normally just run them in vw mode and the dry burn method works well for ss coils as well.

1 Like
19

Hmmm. Let’s just do a list’y’mc’list

  1. I use ss316L 99% of the time. Since I just picked up a noisey cricket, it’s the only time I’ll use kanthol…since I can build a dual coil and ohm at 0.5.

  2. Ss316L cleans up just fine for me.

  3. I really don’t like kanthol on regulated devices. That’s why when I first started building I switched to ss316L right away.

  4. The challenge with ss316L is that it is a lower resistance wire…so it’s more difficult to get a higher ohm build with dual coils. I normally stay around the 0.2.

  5. Tc mode with ss316L for me is tough. The DNA chips seem to do best with tc mode…most other devices just I don’t Handel tc ss316L the best. But I think that is in part to my builds at 0.2. I often wonder if I build at a lower ohm for tc only it would be better. Overall I do like wattage mode with tc.

  6. And most importantly. Experiment. Pick what you like. Try different wires out. Some people love Ti…some swear by nichrome80…some with say SS316L is the worst. The only thing to care about is A. Is my mix good, B how can I make it better. I love the art form of building coils (that other people are involved in), however, personally, all I care about is mix recipie…I never want to think about how my coil is performing, ramp up time, and if a dinasour staple Middleton coil needs more spacing. Lol.

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20

Resistance is not a real concern with a good regulated device as long as it is within the range the chipset will fire. Concentrating on your atty is much more important to me. For instance I prefer not to build a horizontal 9mm wide coil in front of a round 3mm air hole, but I may build a tall vertical coil in front of the same 3mm round airhole because the upward direction of the airflow will encompass most of the coil. Thinking about how to be most efficient with the available air and the direction it is moving will pay dividends. On a side note I would not give any credibility to some of the manufacturer renderings of airflow. If air was being blown through the intake holes that would be accurate. But you are drawing it up and air will immediately turn in the direction of the suction. Unless maybe you have superhuman Rip Tripper lungs :wink: