As far as the spaced or pressed coils, it’s a matter of preference. I’ve tried both, noticed slight differences, but nothing major. I think the spaced coils (you use less wraps so it will still fit obviously) seemed to gunk up a bit less, but nothing major. I use both.
As far as coil brushing and pinching. Yes, yes, and MORE yes. There are tons of videos on it. It’s easier than you think. Once you load fresh coils you want to start pulsing the power to them. Most times you’ll notice they fire like CRAP !!! This is OK, and normal. You can brush/stroke the coils with ceramic tweezers, then pinch them. Start pulsing again until you get a nice even glow starting from inside of the coil out. You’re trying to get evenly firing coils, that glow at about the same speed/intensity, also removes any hot spots which cause only parts of the coil to fire, and/or uneven firing/glowing. It’s too easy to get excited about most times. Pinch, pinch, pinch, brush, brush, brush. Obviously this mostly applies more to pressed coils, because if you pinch pinch pinch spaced coils, they won’t be very spaced afterwards.
Hehe, they’re right, when you don’t feel like messing with them anymore hehe. Basically after minor pinch/brushing, you’ll see they start to glow evenly, and that’s about it. Nothing has to be perfect, just evenly firing.
Once again, thank you very much @SessionDrummer. Very helpful information. I think I have enough to start with, but I am sure I will have questions along the way. Lol.
Hey, if you’re DIY mixing, you shouldn’t have any issues coil building. Much easier. Good luck. And definitely listen to @SessionDrummer, sounds a whole lot like he knows what he’s talking about.
I’ve always spaced my coils, they seem to fire more evenly than the coils that aren’t space.
And while I’ve never had any experience with the V2, I can tell you that with the Supreme, having spaced coils is almost mandatory because the build deck is so wide that if you don’t space the coils, they won’t reach from one side to the other .
Unless you have like 7 or 8 wraps.
@SessionDrummer The V2 finally arrived and I attempted my first build today on it and I did a single coil build on my new Vandy Vape Pulse 24 RDA. Both turned out well.
On the V2, I used a couple of premade .8ohm Claptons which ended up giving me a .41 end build. I went with horizontal coils this time. I was a little worried about the wicking, but I have yet to get a dry hit and there is no leaking so far. Good flavor and vapor production running at 40w. So far I am digging it. Thank you for the advice and all the info you shared. How often do you have to re-wick? How long do your coils typically last?
As for the RDA, good flavor and vapor with a single coil .5 build. The only problem I have seen so far is the occasional burnt tasting hit. This was probably my fault. The first couple of hits are great, but anything past 3 or 4 get sketchy. Since this is my first experience with a RDA, I am not sure if this is normal. How often do you have to drip using a RDA to avoid this? I know this is a BF for squonking, but I am using it on a regulated mod and replaced the squonk pin with the solid 510 pin.
I am quite happy that both of them worked well, given that this is my first attempt. I am thinking I may well be on my way to never having to buy a pre-built coil again…YAY! Now I am afraid I will have to find a Supreme…Lol.
If you’re not getting any dry hits, then you’re doing it right. I’m probably MORE likely to run into that with verts, and if I do (it happens sometimes), just close the air flow, draw a few times, see the bubbles, open the air flow and keep on vapin !!!
As far as RDA’s you should probably ask someone else, as I’ve only got 2, and had so-so luck with them. I actually STARTED vaping, dripping, but 8 billion years ago, on an EGO bridged atty. Worked pretty good for such old tech, but I always hated to constantly drip, and be slave to my juice bottle. RDA’s have come a LONG way since then. I have an Icon, and another one, and although they were easy as hell to build on, I never got the greatness of flavor that I continue to get from my Steam Craves, so I don’t use them much. I initially tried with some stupidly complex coils and it vaped poorly. I asked around, posted some pics, and ELR members recommended using a simple coil, spaced, and an open air channel under the coil which helped a lot. My personal experience with RDA’s has been a hotter, spittier vape, with not as good flavor than my SC’s, but I’m not an RDA expert.
@WitchWolf Let your tastebuds tell you when. The darkness and sweetener levels in your juices will most times drive the wick changes more than anything else. What you vape dictates that. As far as coils, hehe, I’m pretty lazy. Is there anything better than a FRESH set-o-coils and fresh cotton ?? Hellz Noz, but who wants to replace coils all the time. I dry burn mine every time I replace the wicks, rinse, and dry. I don’t think there is a hard and fast rule on coil replacement. After you’ve done a bunch of wick changes if they start looking bleh, toss in some new ones.
Man, I am loving the V2. It is great. Nice and smooth with great flavor. My only complaint is that the ramp up time on the coils I used is a little long. It is like I have to prime them with a weak pull if it has been sitting. I am sure it is the kanthal that was used. That said, when it warms up…it is the best tank I own now. Would SS coils solve the slow ramp issue? I have also read that SS is better for flavor than kanthal. What is your experience with this?
Luckily for me a few ELR members sent me some SS so I could try it out. It’s hard to quantify, but I did do direct A/B comparisons on two identical steam craves, and “better” might be somewhat accurate, but maybe “cleaner” would be better ? Really hard to say. I did like it, and used up all the SS wire I had (thanks guys/gals), but any differences weren’t enough for me to toss all my kanthal if that helps.
The coils in it now are 2 Clapton .8ohm…definitely not single wire. Even with that, I must say I am really liking the V2. It is just something different from what I have experienced so far. Not really that big if a deal. Just thinking that a different material might work better for me. I am actually already thinking about selling a few tanks and getting a few more Steam Craves, especially the Supreme…good stuff.
I use Kanthal and with dual 24 ga, 7 wrap coils coming in at .35 ohms, I vape low to, about 45-60 watts and it’s not instantaneous, but never left me waiting. I do have a habit of purging before vaping so maybe that disguises any wait time from me hehe.
Excellent description, one I use most often. I used SS exclusively for a long time, both TC and power because it does taste ‘cleaner’. I got tired of chasing ohms because of the low resistance of SS so I pretty much use A1 for power and leave the SS for TC. I like fewer wraps per coil and SS does not afford that luxury for me. There’s a difference between the two but not profound enough for me at least.
Also, I only use SS for TC in case I forget and switch to power mode. SS is safe for both so no harm, no foul.
I have one of these and I like it. It’s not the easiest deck to build on. It’s not the easiest deck to wick perfectly. It doesn’t have the best flow. It doesn’t have the best juice capacity. It doesn’t deliver the best flavour. It doesn’t produce the best cloud with the build. It’s not the best of any of these but it really, really good in all of these. It scores more points in all areas than any other tank I’ve tried. Overall, it’s a great tank. It’s my personal favourite.
Welcome to Steam Crave!! and if you feel the ramp up is a little slow going, try getting into the habit of pushing the fire button as you are raising it up to your lips I do that a lot actually as I am not a high wattage vaper most times.
I’m really happy you’re getting on with it and are enjoying it. I have been sort of MIA the past few weeks due to a move.
And holy cow @SessionDrummer great advice and help. You others aren’t to bad yourselves But without a doubt, SD is our expert on all things Steam Crave.
That’s awesome! I hope you love yours as much as we all do! Of course I didn’t get to bring that one with me. Got 2 of my pluses, my Ragnar and my Titan with me though
.
I do that a lot actually as I am not a high wattage vaper most times.