Vaping coils

[Beatsy]

After the positive reaction to my coil shot on another thread (thanks all), I thought I'd post a few more vaping coils. I got out of the 'diatom habit' recently (work and other priorities) but will be returning to it very soon. In the meantime, learning the fiddly and exacting skill of fancy coil building has been a welcome outlet that suits my particular proclivities.

Most of the coils pictured are roughly 2.5mm to 3mm inside diameter, except the 8-coil glowing build, those are 1.5mm each.







This was an experiment to see if etching the wire (HCl) would make any difference to the vaping performance. It didn't - but looks pretty cool.




Finally, a 'constructed wire' prior to coiling. Note that the two wires running down the centre are themselves made of multiple strands wrapped in even thinner wire.

[benjamind2014]

Reminds me...I need to clean my atomizer out and put new cotton wick in.

...the only thing is, I've decided to quit vaping - because intermittent claudication. I go on a walk and 10-20 minutes into the walk and I get this vague cramp-like pain in my calf, and sometimes I feel tightness in my hamstring as well...only in one leg, which is strange.

I looked into it, and read about several causes - atherosclerosis, blood clots, narrowed arteries, and electrolyte imbalances and of course dehydration.

In the end I just got too scared to continue vaping. I thought to myself "this is killing me...(sigh)" and figured it was not worth it. I was not smoking before I started vaping...so that just makes my case for quitting even stronger...

[ChrisR]

What magnifications are these?
Why do you build your own coils? I suppose there's not much room for a "dimmer" but it could be done.

(Benjamin - add spinal stenosis if worse going downhill, & neuropathy, to your list. Try magnesium. But hey, this is off topic, lets not go on.)

[Chris S.]

Fascinating images of a surprisingly beautiful set of objects. Nicely done.

Am also wondering about the advantages of winding one's own, though I could see the craftsmanship being its own reward.

Cheers,

--Chris S.

[Beatsy]

All images were taken using 100mm macro lens at close to 1:1 on a crop sensor camera (24mm). But they are all cropped differently so I can't give exact magnifications. As I said, coil inside diameters range from 2.5 to 3mm, except the glowing ones which are 1.5mm.

Why build? Performance. It's all about maximising surface area for best flavour (and clouds) while trading off against metal mass (affects ramp-up time) and resistance (too low blows up batteries - too high and you can't get enough current through). But yes, the craft is the main motivator - plus you can't realistically find coils like these to buy. They are available but tend toward simpler designs and are expensive, often the same cost as several small spools of wire! Might as well 'have a go'.

[BugEZ]

This is superb technical illustration. The images are buth informative and beautiful. Well done!

Keith