Newbie needing help!

[retrorusty]

Hi guys,
I'm pretty used to standard coil builds on kanthal, and I understand resistance and ohms etc, but I can't get my head around temp control?

So I'm on a smok alien 220tc, using a moonshot rtc.

The build is dual coils with 5 wraps each, coming out at 0.01ohms . I've used flatwire uk's nichrome80. When I put it into tc mode I put in 100w as the maximum (that's what I've been using it at on power mode) but then it comes up with a choice ni 0.00400 to 0.00800.

When I try it on any of these, it's just way too hot.

I'm confused. Please send help.

 

[speedfreek67]

You want Nickel Ni200 wire for TC, not nichrome N80.

 

[Simon G]

Yup, you are very confused ..... go and read a lot more about TC before you try anything else. (there's a sub-forum here)

you need a compatible wire, spaced coils Ideally...in fact a single coil ideally

0.01 ohms? there's no need to build that low either with TC.

 

[speedfreek67]

Ni200 wire, build around 0.15 ohms, TCR setting 0.00600.

Never fire it in wattage mode.

As simong said above, you need a spaced coil, and you must never dry burn Ni200 wire.

Or for something a little more flexible, try some SS316L wire, which can be used in both Wattage and TC mode. But do some research first!

Good luck.

 

[Tubbyengineer]

Hi guys,
I'm pretty used to standard coil builds on kanthal, and I understand resistance and ohms etc, but I can't get my head around temp control?

So I'm on a smok alien 220tc, using a moonshot rtc.

The build is dual coils with 5 wraps each, coming out at 0.01ohms . I've used flatwire uk's nichrome80. When I put it into tc mode I put in 100w as the maximum (that's what I've been using it at on power mode) but then it comes up with a choice ni 0.00400 to 0.00800.

When I try it on any of these, it's just way too hot.

I'm confused. Please send help.

You've got something seriously wrong somewhere, Go have a look at the temp control subforum for some suggestions on builds etc. In the meantime suitable wires for TC are NI200, Titanium, SS316L, and NiFe30. The Smok Alien is also not the best choice for TC but does a mostly OK job. You need to get your build above about 0.15 Ohms - which will require a large number of wraps if you try a dual coil build with NI200. The easiest TC wire to work with is NiFe30, it handles much like Kanthal, has quite a high resistance for a TC wire and exhibits a wide change in resitance as it heats - making it quite sensitive to changes in temperature. You will need to manually enter it's TCR value on the Alien though, the TCR value is available on Steam Engine's Wire Wizard page.

You'll also need to ensure you've read the Aliens manual carefully, it's not terribly well written so take extra care to get the settings right. Power settings for TC are different to the settings for power mode - you need enough to ensure you reach the selected temperature just be careful to not include too much preheat as that can setup a feedback loop where it preheats too much then tries to cool, then starts to heat again then tries to cool - leading to a "Fluttery" or "Pulsing" effect...

 

[retrorusty]

Thanks for all the help guys!
Because it was Nichrome wire, I mistakenly though it would work better with tc, I'm happy just chooching away on power mode though until I do purposefully attempt a tc build!

Definitely feels like a bit of a dark art...

 

[Tubbyengineer]

Thanks for all the help guys!
Because it was Nichrome wire, I mistakenly though it would work better with tc, I'm happy just chooching away on power mode though until I do purposefully attempt a tc build!

Definitely feels like a bit of a dark art...

Nah, not really, it's just a bit of a different philosophy to normal power mode builds, Spaced coils with lots of wraps and less wick are the main points. Build with as many wraps as you can fit into the deck for the lower resistance wires - for NiFe and SS316L aim for builds coming in at 0.3 to 0.5 ohms for better sensitivity.

 

[retrorusty]

Nah, not really, it's just a bit of a different philosophy to normal power mode builds, Spaced coils with lots of wraps and less wick are the main points. Build with as many wraps as you can fit into the deck for the lower resistance wires - for NiFe and SS316L aim for builds coming in at 0.3 to 0.5 ohms for better sensitivity.

Thanks, I'll stock up on suitable wire and have a go!