This all depends on what type of vape device you?re using and your experience level.
Most of the time, you?ll use Kanthal wire. This is the standard wire type that works well in just about all vape devices. After some time, you may want to try different wire types. The top three (Kanthal, Nichrome, SS) you?ll use for about any device. The last two (Nickel and Titanium) are used more often in high-end and competition mods.
1. KANTHAL WIRE
Most common wire used for vaping. Kanthal A-1. Kanthal A-1 is a ferritic iron-chromium-aluminium alloy (FeCrAl alloy) for use at temperatures up to 1400C (2550F). The alloy is characterized by high resistivity and very good oxidation resistance.
2. NICHROME WIRE
More advanced wire compared to Kanthal. Nichrome Wire and Ribbon (80% Ni/20%Cr). Nichrome is a non-magnetic alloy of nickel and chromium. Nichrome is widely used in heating elements. It is wound in wire coils to a certain electrical resistance, and current passed through to produce heat.
3. STAINLESS STEEL WIRE
Stainless steel wire is the perfect wire for temperature control vaping. Composed of Chromium-Nickel-Carbon and is a highly functional metal as it can be used for both wattage mode and temperature control. Stainless Steel is readily available and is also cheaper than Titanium.
4. NICKEL WIRE
Nickel wire heats up the fastest of all vaping wires. Composed of Chromium-Nickel-Carbon and is a highly functional metal as it can be used for both wattage mode and tc mods.
5. TITANIUM WIRE
Titanium wire for vaping heats up very quickly and cools down very quickly as well. Used in many sub-ohm tank coil heads. It is considerably stronger than Ni200. The resistance of Titanium is about double that of Ni200.
Building Your Own Coils:
Once you get into building your own coils, any number of builds can be accomplished with enough practice. Don?t be discouraged if your first few builds don?t turn out exactly how you?d wished. Although building coils can be challenging at first, it?s not overly complicated and you can get the hang of it pretty quickly.
You can easily find how to videos on just about any build you can imagine. Also you may seek advice from a local shop owner who builds coils.
Coil Jigs:
There are some handy jigs on the market, which can be helpful to someone just starting off building. Basically, these jigs give you a smoother tool than, say a screwdriver, and with coil wrap thickness changes along the length of the jig stick.
Mostly, these help to give a beginner an idea on getting tight wraps and consistency in coil builds. After some time you may find something else which works as good or better than a standard coil jig, or you may decide to skip a jig altogether.
Pre-Built Coils:
These are pre-made by someone at the company probably with a jig and a spinner. These can be good for beginning builders or others who?d rather not take the time to build their own. Pre-built coils will be a cheaper way to go than buying separate coil heads but more expensive than buying spooled wire and wrapping coils yourself.
Some general build types:
Nano Coil Build ? Smallest coils build with smallest gages.
Micro Coil Build ? Medium coil wraps with either small or medium gage wire.
Macro Coil Build ? Large coil wraps with either small, medium or larger gage wire.
Clapton ? Round wire wrapped with a higher gauge to resemble a guitar string.
Fused Clapton ? a Clapton with more than one core.
Arched Clapton ? a Clapton build with the top of the wraps layed over in an arching fashion.
Parallel Coil Build ? Two coils built in single coil head.
Tidal Wire Coil ? Two or more mixed wraps in a wavy fashion.
Nichrome Chain Coil ? Wire wrapped in a fashion resembling a linked chain.
Many other build variations are available around the web, instructions and demonstrations.
Building your own coils can be a fun and money saving as well depending on wire and equipment used. In the long run, a spool of coil wire will get you more atomizer builds for far less money than if buying replacement coil-heads.
Building your own coils can also be done for the pure enjoyment of know you built the device you?re using.
Lastly, dependent on your skill and type of build and materials used, you can build coils which tend to put out far better flavor than standard factory made coil heads.
Find the best vendors for ALL types of coil vaping wire for ALL ranges of vaping devices on our site and compare prices across multiple vendors simultaneously with our Dynamic Vendor Catalog.
