Flavor with Clapton/Wattage vs Stainless/Temp

Hardware Atomizers and Tanks
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Yesterday I stuck a brand new Stainless coil into my TFV4, setup my Lavabox DNA200 for temp mode, and filled it with Time Bomb TNT Clone juice.

And I grabbed by other TFV4, with a 4-day-old Clapton Quad coil, stuck it onto my Sigelei 213 in wattage mode, and filled it with the same exact juice.

After fiddling and tweaking, both are set to what I found to be the best settings for me.

The difference in flavor is quite significant. That Clapton Quad coil provides a significant increase in flavor, to the point where I wondered if I was actually using the same juice. Of course I was, since I filled them both from the same bottle, at the same time. But there was quite a difference.

Is the Clapton that much more flavorful?
Or is this something to do with temp mode and/or stainless steel?

I really do enjoy the whole temp mode experience over wattage mode, but the flavor loss is certainly a concern. I guess that I could boost the flavorings in the juice, or rebuild with twisted stainless, or…?

Anyone have any comments or suggestions?
Does anyone know if I can buy spools of some Clapton wire that will do temp mode? - Edit: Found some. It helps to google. :slight_smile:

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You could wait a little for the new coil to be broken in. New cotton needs a little time to blossom :grinning:
I’m not the wire specialist, but I’m sure the ones that are will chime in at some point.

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In my short time in vaping, I’ve learned that flavor is always “more powerful” (read as: more pure, or full) just after installing fresh coils and cotton.

For your comparison to be on even ground though, both decks would have to have fresh coils and fresh cotton.

Cotton itself (with very few exceptions) generally has a flavor that had to be “worked through” (usually after 2-4mls running through it, the taste of the cotton subsides). Once that’s happened you then have your “premium window of opportunity” to be able to discern the full aspects of a given flavor (or in this case, the coil material and/or types).

IMO, that’s the only fair point in time for a “head to head” comparison for things when you’re trying to achieve a “technically critical” result. Bearing in mind however that it’s all subjective (flavor, mod performance, tank/rta/dripper performance, coil types/sizes, etc. etc…). But in trying to keep it to the things you can control, the coil and cotton come right near the top! :wink:

Personally, I lean to the scientific side, and logic dictates that since there’s more surface area for a given liquid to interact with, and subsequently be vaporized (whether that be by shear volume amount, or if it’s that the liquid actually gets “fried off” into smaller particles… I don’t yet know) there should be a sense of more flavor - all other aspects being “constant”.

There’s plenty of folks here though with far more experience than I though, and some great technical minds as well, but had to mention the initial perceived flaw (as mentioned) where using fresh cotton in one, but not the other could definitely hamper trying pull any kind of “worthy assessment data” or decisions from. As the older cotton results could be skewed by anything from Ethyl Maltol to sucralose to who knows what (depending on the liquid that was cumulatively run through it). In that sense, wicking definitely has a “memory effect”, and it’s one that can’t be overlooked or forgotten about when it comes to testing!

All the best,
Sprks

Edit: PS- there are ss clapton coils available as well if you really want to go head to head for flavor comparison! (assuming above you were referring to Kanthal when you mentioned clapton)

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I usually toss those TFV4 coils after 5 days because of flavor reduction, so I was very surprised to find 1 4-day-old coil to taste stronger than a brand new one.

I’ve also never noticed the “premium window of opportunity” in a coil because I never vape the same juice for more than ~1 day at a time.

But you have good points. This was not a fair comparison.And I did order some SS Clapton coils and wire. It already shipped, too.

I’ll have to give this a good head-to-head-to-head trial. Kanthal Clapton vs SS vs SS Clapton.

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I would say its partly about the build for the atty specifications.

I am not expert and have lots to learn.

In my uwell Rafeal X rda. All that is needed is a simple dual coil ss316L 24g 5-6 wrap coil. Flavor for days. Anytime I am question my juice flavor in it goes.

Now if I put that same build in my aromamizer supreme it doesn’t perform as well. Sad yes. I like simplicity. I’ve tried fancy ss316L claptons and the ramp up time just isn’t right at the ohm level I’m building at. So it’s either a very simple ss316 Clapton or a fused Kanthol Clapton.

The cool part is once you dial it in your set. Keeping mind some juices like a lower temp and others a higher. You gotta build for the too…to get all the flavor notes you want.

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in my experience chasing best flavor builds - and i did a lot of those until i settled on my now go-to builds - SS tastes different than other wires for the same juice. i almost exclusively use SS for that reason - with very few Nichrom80 - no Kanthal. no Ti, no NI.

i don’t know a scientific explanation, and when i researched this, i read someone says “SS brings brighter flavor notes in the juice” - and that’s exactly what it feels to me. so the other wire types i have are for experiments only and rarely for actual rotation and use.

so that’s one factor. a coil will then take time to “break-in” - usually 1/4 to 1/2 a tank for me, but that depends. then if you rotate juice on the same coil, the coil will retain some of those “sticky” flavors

another factor, clapton is very different from single strand coil - the surface area and the amount of juice vaporized in a single pull is much more than the single coil for the the same ID and number of wraps - even if both are SS or Kanthal
then 2 claptons vs 1 - in your case 4 claptons.that’s like concentrating flavor more and more. i can’t say this is good or bad, some flavors are not necessary nicer when they’re vaped in a “denser” or hotter set up.

also a fused clapton is more dense flavor than a single-core. the coil itself will carry more juice within its core - personally, i find 2-twisted strands very close to single-core clapton flavor-wise … so i use these 2 - but the fused, in my own opinion, is over-hyped. more ramp-up, more juice consumption, more battery consumption, little flavor gain if any, and more time to make the wire… so cost vs benefit, not a winner to me.

given all the difference, it would have been surprising if you taste the 2 tanks and get the same flavor with. but shouldn’t be like completely different - maybe one of the wicks is bad/burnt/loose?

with all this, the most important things at the end is to find your “sweet spot” , then you can “recreate it” and get the consistent, enjoyable experience and the flavor profile “you expect” - which someone else with the same juice and same coil set up may not like :). it’s an amazing thing. hope this helps,
TVS

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Well I just got home, removed the SS coil and popped in a new CLP2 coil. My mistake, this is the dual Clapton coil.

And the taste is where I like it. So now I’m comparing yesterday’s new SS coil with today’s dual Clapton and this is imply no comparison to the strength of the flavor. The Clapton is significantly stronger. It is noticeably stronger than the 4-day old dual Clapton - which is no surprise.

I’m bummed, because I really liked the TC experience, but not at the price of this much flavor.

I’ll have some Clapton SS coils here in 4 or 5 days so I’ll have to see how they do in the rebuildable version of this TFV4.

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@Scottes777, the journey to find your best flavor setup (coil, tank, wick, temp/TC) is so much fun.
once i got into rebuildables and gained some confidence in building my own coils, i found it hard to go back to stock coils - even after watching the quads, 6 and 8-coil heads. they’re definitely good for producing huge clouds, but i found that’s not what i’m after in my personal preference.

i did many side-by-side comparison - even for building, i noticed i don’t enjoy bulky coils - and had the temptation few times to build some fancy dual x dual core fused clapton 26x32 or 34 - 3mm ID - it’s fun, they look nice, installing them is a thrill, then you start vaping them and you get this “nahhh!, not what i want… too hot and too much fumes in the room” feeling :slight_smile:

if you’re after a good flavor experience, and like the TFV4, and you’re exploring the difference rebuildables can give, i suggest you try the TF-RDTA with dual SS clapton - especially 28 x34 (or finer outer) gauge (not the ones that come with the tank - they’re good for theatricals :)) - with smaller ID (2.5mm or less)
i think due to the fast ramp up of the smaller-mass coils, the “clapton” effect, and the concentrated heat on a small wick area, these IMHO bring the best flavor notes out of a good juice. the tank’s juice flow design does a great job wicking juice even for heavy VG - this is a set up i currently have running TC (460-500F) on a WISMEC 200
good luck,
TVS

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Very good info as I just ordered both kenthal and ss wire to start making my own. I’m looking forward to reading more tomorrow.