Yep, it isn’t Nichrome you need to worry about, it is Ni200, which is Nickle, aka Tin.
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If both Nickel and Tin are on the periodic table, no way they are the same
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We call a lot of things tin here in the UK that are not tin. SS, Aluminium, Nickle, I forget sometimes we make “tin cans” out of anything but tin 
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Same same 
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I never knew people thought this. I thought dry burning was just heating the coils without wick or liquid. I suppose the word “burn” gives it away. Even when I clean my coils they don’t get red hot. It’s just how I prefer to do it. I dunno… I try to be gentle with coils even N80.
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I build spaced coils with Kanthal and always heat new coils (I never reuse coils) till they glow red hot.
I’ve been doing this for nearly ten years because that’s what the ‘experts’ back then said was necessary to burn off any residue from manufacturing. Sure enough, when I apply initial power to the new coils, there’s always some smelly smoke that rises up from the coils for a few seconds.
Based on what I’ve been reading here, it not only appears that I’ve been doing things wrong all this time, but might have potentially been harming myself.
I do notice that after ‘prepping’ the coils with heat for a few minutes (with sporadic bursts of power) that they look dull darkish grey - rather than shiny. I’m assuming that’s oxidation from heat.
What would be best practice in my case? Should I just heat at low power for a few seconds just to burn off any manufacturing residue - and avoid making the coil glow red hot?
Thank you in advance for any and all guidance and knowledge. Even at age 68, it’s never too late to do things correctly and safely.
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From my understanding, someone correct me if I’m wrong, Kanthol (Ka-1), is good for non-spaced coils because it forms a insulation layer when heated to glow and cooled a few times. Then you can touch it together when glowing and bond the insulation layers of whatever it is(Oxidation?) as you continue to hold it together while it cools. All the other metals we use do not have this property and should be spaced, at least ever so slightly. I don’t know if Kanthol gives of dangerous fumes when heated very high. I would imagine they all do if heated enough. Kanthol has a higher melting point so it may be that we don’t get it hot enough to release fumes or bad by-products of combustion? Maybe the insulation layer that form helps to raise the critical point higher than without it? All that said, I don’t like the taste of Kanthol so I don’t use it. I mostly use SS-316L. Occasionally I prefer N80 for quick firing of high mass builds that would otherwise heat slow for SS316.
Work in well ventilated area and don’t put your face over the coils when you’re pre-heating them.
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