Hand-Wound Coil – What is it in Vaping?

Definition

A Hand-Wound Coil is a heating element for rebuildable atomisers that you wrap yourself from spools of resistancewire instead of buying pre-made. By spinning kanthal, stainless steel, nichrome or titanium around a drill bit, screwdriver or coil jig, you create the tight spiral that vapourises High VGe-liquid when power is applied. The purpose is to give Australian vapers complete control over resistance, ramp-up time, flavour density and cloud size while keeping the cost of vaping low.

Technical Details

Hand-winding starts with wire diameter (24–28 AWG is common) and inner diameter (2.5 mm, 3 mm or 3.5 mm). Each wrap adds roughly 0.15–0.25 Ω to the final resistance, so a 5-wrap 3 mm 26 AWG kanthal coil usually meters 0.4 Ω. Variations include single, parallel, twisted, Clapton, fused Clapton and alien builds; the more surface area, the thicker the vapour. After mounting, you pulse the mod at 15–20 W, pinch and strum the coil to eliminate Hot Spots, then wick with Cotton“>organic cotton. Stainless-steel and titanium coils can be used in temperature-control mode, while kanthal and nichrome are strictly wattage-only.

Usage & Tips

• Always check resistance on an Ohm Reader”>ohm reader before firing; stay within your battery’s amp limit.
• Space wraps evenly—overlapping turns create Hot Spots that burn cotton and mute flavour.
• Thin the wick tails slightly for High VGjuice so they feed faster and prevent dry Hits.
• Use ceramic tweezers to squeeze coils while pulsing; metal pliers can short the circuit.
• Install the coil as close to the airflow as possible without touching the deck for best flavour and cooling.

If the mod feels unusually warm, the atomiser may be acting as a Heatsink; lower the wattage or widen the airflow. Never build on a Hybrid Connection mech unless the 510 pin protrudes past the threads.

History & Context

When rebuildables first reached Australia around 2012, vapers imported $1 bags of kanthal and wrapped micro-coils on sewing needles. The practice evolved from 1 Ω “flavour coils” to sub-ohmcloud chasing, spawning Instagram-worthy artisan builds and local Facebook groups where Aussies trade wire and share ramp-up tips.