F E AT U R E
Picture 9 – wicked and complete
• If you are doing a dual coil build then repeat the previous
steps, so that you end up with 2 completed coils.
• Next comes wicking your coil. The amount of cotton you need
to use will vary according to which device you are using, but
it shouldn’t be packed too tight or it will not be able to soak up
the juice properly.
• Using your forefinger & thumb gently roll the cotton, which
will make it easier to post through the coil. Wetting the end
slightly can also help.
• Now gently post this through the coil, making sure not
to bend it. As you slide it through the coil it should have
some resistance, but not too much. If you struggle to pull it
through the coil then you have used too much cotton. Then
trim the ends of the cotton down, so you should just have
enough poki ng out each side of the coil to tuck it into the
deck, making a horseshoe shape. Don’t make the mistake
of completely packing the deck with cotton – it needs just
enough so that any excess juice can be soaked up from the
deck. (picture 9 – wicked and complete)
• The next step is to prime the cotton, exactly the same as you
would with a stock coil – make sure you get plenty of liquid
soaked in there, nobody wants a dry hit!
• Install the deck back in your sub-ohm tank, or put the top
on your dripper – and away you go! I would suggest starting
fairly low at 20 watts, and building up from there until you find
the sweet spot for the juice that you are using. In a sub-ohm
tank this is usually between 20 – 30 watts. With a dual coil
build in a dripper you can push this a bit further, but it’s all
about personal preference. The higher the watts, the warmer
the vape will be.
You have now completed your first micro coil build!
Enjoy the fruits of your labour.
If you want to move on from micro coils, there are plenty of
options for you! A quick search for coils on Google will provide
you with a huge amount of inspiration – however it can be a little
daunting.
A great coil to move onto would be either a twisted coil or a
Clapton coil. There is the option to buy pre-built twisted and
Clapton wire, again the Youde stuff is great to work with.
However if you wanted to build your own twisted wire it is a fairly
simple process, as long as you have a drill handy. Simply place
the shorter end of an Allen key in the drill chuck & tighten. Cut 1
length of wire (1 metre will give you enough for a few coils).
Fold the wire in half, and grip the 2 cut ends in a pair of pliers.
Hook the looped end of the wire around the Allen key and
stretch your arm out so that the wire is taut. Then run the drill
at a steady speed, keeping the wire tight (but not too tight, or it
might end up snapping too early). You need to run the drill until
the wire snaps at the Allen key end. The key to this is to get
nice tight twists in the wire.
You would coil twisted and Clapton wire in a similar way to the
steps above for the micro coil. Although I would recommend
a 3mm diameter for a Clapton as it allows you to have more
wicking, which means more juice getting into it, but a 2.5mm
will also work if you have a smaller build deck although I would
suggest running it at a lower wattage.
When it comes to glowing & compressing a twisted or Clapton
coil, this will take a bit longer than for a micro coil. You have to
gently wiggle the coil slightly, at the same time as compressing
it, to work out any hot spots to ensure it glows efficiently from the
middle to the outer wraps.
I hope this tutorial has helped! You can send pictures of your
builds (either micro coils or more advanced builds) to me either
through Facebook (nuclearvapours) or Twitter
@TheCoilMonkey. I’m always available to answer questions &
I regularly post pictures of my own crazy builds – and I’m always
intrigued to see what builds people come up with. Quite a few of
my followers tweet me pictures of their advanced builds, which I
retweet. And of course, chat about all things vape!
Remember – nobody is an expert when it comes to vaping.
There is always something new to learn.
VAPOUROUND MAGAZINE USA 57