A subscriber asked me to show how to make a replacement coil for electronic cigarette atomizer.
A coil consists of nichrome or kantal wire and a wick, normally silica fiber. You will need a screw with a handle. I use the one that holds the side plates together in higher-end computer cases. You may also use a screw from an old monitor cable connector. Hold the screw firmly and fix the end of the wire on one of the grooves on the handle. Now start to wind the wire around the screw – make sure you’re following the threading and not going against it. Experiment with coil length, for my 0.2mm wire and my vaping device four rotations seem to make the sweet resistance, performance and taste. After you finished coiling, gently unscrew the bolt. You get a perfect coil with ideal spacings. If you are vaping a genesis-type atomizer, you may install this coil right away. Other types of atomizers usually require some kind of wick. I use silica cord as an example. Silica cord makes a better wick then silica threads, so normally you need four threads or two piece of cords for similar wicking ability. Unwind a paper clip, make a tiny hook on one end, drive it through the coil, attach a folded silica cord, retract the paper clip, and unhook the wick. If the coil got smashed, gently restore it with tweezers. Once again, if you have thread and not cord, attach two folded pieces to the hook, so you will end up with 4 threads inside the coil. Cut the excess wire and wick, leaving ends long enough to fit your device. It is a good idea to keep the silica and wire on fire for a minute or so – this evaporates many of the unwanted odors from the material. Now you can install the coil, cutting excess wire and wick. At least you have to cut the folded wick end in two. When screwing in the coil, wind it up a bit so that the wire gets closer to the wick. Do not worry about gaps between the threads and the coil – when the e-liquid damps the wick, it will get thicker and will reach the coil. Instead of silica you may use natural fibers like cotton or bamboo threads. I use medical cotton bandage, and some people achieve great results with cotton balls. Natural fiber have superior wicking ability and do not pose any, even theoretical, health risks, but keep in mind they burn when dry! So never use open fire on them. Instead, burn the coil without the wick on fire or directly on you device, and only then insert the wick. Burned wire loses much of its springy behavior and will more readily collapse when you pull the fiber through, so make sure you restore the coil spacing with tweezers afterwards. In fact, I’m sick and tired of this bullshit. I payid about 10 bucks or maybe more for this set of silica and nichrome wire, and I still have to make those fucking coils. Recently I saw Fasttech offerings of 50 pre-made wick and wires for 2 to 5 bucks a pack, shipping included. There are just coils and coils with installed wicks, which is the trickiest part! An active vaper has to change a coil in a week or two to restore taste and performance, so a 50 pack will last your for at least a year, or even two years. So when I coil up the remains of these two packs, and then I’ll only purchase pre-made coils. Hopefully, Fasttech will start to offer natural fiber wicks by then, and not only silica as they offer at the moment.