The Serpent Mini 22 and 25 Build Thread

[Lord Vetinari]

Good to know cuz I am all about the flavor

Then I can highly recommend a spool. You don't need many wraps 5 usually does it just fine. It pulses out in seconds too and heats up very evenly so it is also smoooooooth even when clouding it out. Most versatile wire, low wattage is oodles of flavour, high wattage oodles of flavour AND huge thick clouds.

 

[Lord Vetinari]

I have been VERY STRONGLY opposed to rebuilding since I started vaping MANY years ago. Put it this way, when I started vaping, the only vape kits available were the small pen, with replaceable cartridges. We're talking around 2007/08!

I just always said that I don't have the time, and don't want to be bothered. So much easier to just buy and insert coils!

For MOST of my vaping journey, I have been on MTL setup, and only a few months ago, finally saw the light, and switched to DTL and subohm.

I have been in love with some GOOD ceramic coil based tanks, and have several now.

Yesterday, after just chatting with oom @Rob Fisher for like 5 minutes, out comes the wallet, and order and a whole bunch of stuff, including the SM25, wire, etc, etc, etc.

Thanks to oom @Rob Fisher damn meddling , I spent my whole Saturday morning, reading this whole thread from start to finish, yes, all 19 pages of it!

My SM25 will be delivered early next week, and I am ready to give this a major shot!

I am pretty sure I now know enough to at least get started!

ONE question though, for which I have not seen any answer .... How often to you replace the actual wire?!

Really looking forward to getting and trying this tank!

As the building bug bites... you will be finding excises to wrap new coils just for fun or experience. Don't try and save on cotton and wire, go for it, have fun and find your preference. No matter how often you build you will be saving massively on stock coils. Enjoy the journey, we all have done immensely!

 

[Dietz]

Spot on silver. It depends on the quality of wire used. I usually recoil and wick at the end of the week, maybe 2 weeks. That's only because I use one tank exclusively. My obs engine is my all day every day tank. Only use my dripper at night when I'm home. I got myself a baby beast in the week so now I can rotate between it and the obs for all day and on the go. But you will find your sweet spot after some time of use.

Sent from my E2333 using Tapatalk

The Baby Beast is a kick@ss tank both on flavor and clouds!! But depending on wich coil you are using (like the T8) the juice can go quite rapidly

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

[Silver]

Edit

Sorry but I made a mistake in the following post further up in this thread.
http://www.ecigssa.co.za/the-serpent-mini-22-and-25-build-thread.t31068/page-19#post-488985

so sorry, i just realised i made a mistake about the atty for the coil photos, it was not the SM25 but the dual coil in the Crius! Dont know what I was thinking. I did take a photo of the SM25 single coil when i changed it but i may have deleted it. Anyhow the same message applies

Have added the edit into the post

 

[kev mac]

The Baby Beast is a kick@ss tank both on flavor and clouds!! But depending on wich coil you are using (like the T8) the juice can go quite rapidly

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

I know what you're saying.Some of my favorite tanks i.e. Petri,Sm,moonshot just suck juice no matter the build.

 

[Waine]

How often do you replace the wire? Wow, how long is a piece of string? A subjective topic indeed.

Forced for an answer: dry fire the coil until orange hot, not exceeding 30W, by pulsing. Rinse under warm water, and repeat about 3 times. If the coil looks clean, or almost as clean as the day you first built it, no need to change. If the coil looks anywhere near suspect, i.e. A rusty, scratched, or very dark appearance, change it.

What often happens is the building bug bites you, so you keep changing the builds, always on the hunt for that elusive perfect vape.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[AlphaDog]

Hi all!
I bought a Serpent Mini 25 yesterday and am a bit underwhelmed.
I threw in a "SS316 Caterpillar Track" clapton coil (5 wraps, 2.5mm ID) and ensured that the coil is raised about 2mm or so above the airflow hole...

The wicking is working fine (lots of tiny bubbles after a puff), but the airflow is a little on the tight side and the flavour is muted. I did make a mistake winding the coil though, which meant I had to install the coil upside down - but it's centered perfectly and I don't see anything wrong with the overall positioning of the coil.

I'm running the build at 45 watts, at 240 degrees Celsius.

Any suggestions? (Sorry, I didn't take any pics)

 

[Daniel]

Hi all!
I bought a Serpent Mini 25 yesterday and am a bit underwhelmed.
I threw in a "SS316 Caterpillar Track" clapton coil (5 wraps, 2.5mm ID) and ensured that the coil is raised about 2mm or so above the airflow hole...

The wicking is working fine (lots of tiny bubbles after a puff), but the airflow is a little on the tight side and the flavour is muted. I did make a mistake winding the coil though, which meant I had to install the coil upside down - but it's centered perfectly and I don't see anything wrong with the overall positioning of the coil.

I'm running the build at 45 watts, at 240 degrees Celsius.

Any suggestions? (Sorry, I didn't take any pics)

As uncle @Rob Fisher mentioned , fancy coils don't work so well in the SM me thinks.

Try a simple 6 wrap 26G SS316 3mm ID (remember to wind coil anti clockwise )

 

[AlphaDog]

As uncle @Rob Fisher mentioned , fancy coils don't work so well in the SM me thinks.

Try a simple 6 wrap 26G SS316 3mm ID (remember to wind coil anti clockwise )

Thanks, I'll try that.

 

[Stosta]

Hi all!
I bought a Serpent Mini 25 yesterday and am a bit underwhelmed.
I threw in a "SS316 Caterpillar Track" clapton coil (5 wraps, 2.5mm ID) and ensured that the coil is raised about 2mm or so above the airflow hole...

The wicking is working fine (lots of tiny bubbles after a puff), but the airflow is a little on the tight side and the flavour is muted. I did make a mistake winding the coil though, which meant I had to install the coil upside down - but it's centered perfectly and I don't see anything wrong with the overall positioning of the coil.

I'm running the build at 45 watts, at 240 degrees Celsius.

Any suggestions? (Sorry, I didn't take any pics)

I threw in a fancy alien something or other when I got my SM25 and it performs great! It's probably upside down and wicked with the skills of a horse with no legs.

An interesting idea that @Schnappie once mentioned to me, was that certain juices belong in certain tanks. And since I have heard this I have found it to be true on many occasions. Like for example fruits in the Subtank for me is unbeatable, but creams don't do as well in there, but I like my creams in the Crius, but not fruits. I haven't found this statement to be true with the SM25 as so far everything I have put in there just works, but maybe you using your favourite juice and it's not giving you some subtle flavour that you're used to?

 

[AlphaDog]

I threw in a fancy alien something or other when I got my SM25 and it performs great! It's probably upside down and wicked with the skills of a horse with no legs.

An interesting idea that @Schnappie once mentioned to me, was that certain juices belong in certain tanks. And since I have heard this I have found it to be true on many occasions. Like for example fruits in the Subtank for me is unbeatable, but creams don't do as well in there, but I like my creams in the Crius, but not fruits. I haven't found this statement to be true with the SM25 as so far everything I have put in there just works, but maybe you using your favourite juice and it's not giving you some subtle flavour that you're used to?

I'm a dual coil high wattage, big airflow vaper.

I have a single 18650 Evic Mini lying at home unused so I figured I'll get the much hyped single coil SM25.
I put in a Caterpillar Track coil, which usually makes eliquid taste like syrup in my other tanks.

With the SM25, this is what I experienced:

• Airflow is tight-ish
• Cool vape (I'm used to warm vapes)
• Flavour is meh
• Throat hit is non-existent (granted, I vape 1.5mg nic which gives me a satisfying vape in my dual coil setups)
• Vapour production is meh
• The wicking doesn't keep up - after a few successive hits I have to give it a chance to recover
• The vapour is not dense - (I think this is the main cause of the muted flavour)

I must be doing something wrong. I will try the suggested 3mm ID (perhaps 3.5mm ID?) standard coil and see how it goes

 

[Stosta]

I'm a dual coil high wattage, big airflow vaper.

I have a single 18650 Evic Mini lying at home unused so I figured I'll get the much hyped single coil SM25.
I put in a Caterpillar Track coil, which usually makes eliquid taste like syrup in my other tanks.

With the SM25, this is what I experienced:

• Airflow is tight-ish
• Cool vape (I'm used to warm vapes)
• Flavour is meh
• Throat hit is non-existent (granted, I vape 1.5mg nic which gives me a satisfying vape in my dual coil setups)
• Vapour production is meh
• The wicking doesn't keep up - after a few successive hits I have to give it a chance to recover
• The vapour is not dense - (I think this is the main cause of the muted flavour)

I must be doing something wrong. I will try the suggested 3mm ID (perhaps 3.5mm ID?) standard coil and see how it goes

Yeah give it another go with a bigger ID coil. I haven't experienced any of those with my SM25. With the combo of the wicking not keeping up, the "meh" vapour production, poor flavour etc. It might be the way way it's been wicked, maybe too much cotton?

 

[Stosta]

I'm a dual coil high wattage, big airflow vaper.

I have a single 18650 Evic Mini lying at home unused so I figured I'll get the much hyped single coil SM25.
I put in a Caterpillar Track coil, which usually makes eliquid taste like syrup in my other tanks.

With the SM25, this is what I experienced:

• Airflow is tight-ish
• Cool vape (I'm used to warm vapes)
• Flavour is meh
• Throat hit is non-existent (granted, I vape 1.5mg nic which gives me a satisfying vape in my dual coil setups)
• Vapour production is meh
• The wicking doesn't keep up - after a few successive hits I have to give it a chance to recover
• The vapour is not dense - (I think this is the main cause of the muted flavour)

I must be doing something wrong. I will try the suggested 3mm ID (perhaps 3.5mm ID?) standard coil and see how it goes

I also see some guys have had some success improving their airflow with firstly raising the coil up a bit, so maybe that might help with that problem.

 

[AlphaDog]

I also see some guys have had some success improving their airflow with firstly raising the coil up a bit, so maybe that might help with that problem.

Yeah, the coil is raised up - I remembered this from my Subtank Mini days LOL
I think that Caterpillar Track coil is perhaps a little too wide at 5 wraps, and even though it's ID is 2.5mm - the actual wire is thick and flat.
PS: It ohms out at 0.18 - as a SINGLE coil

 

[Stosta]

Yeah, the coil is raised up - I remembered this from my Subtank Mini days LOL
I think that Caterpillar Track coil is perhaps a little too wide at 5 wraps, even though it's ID is 2.5mm - the actual wire is thick and flat.
PS: It ohms out at 0.18 - as a SINGLE coil

Oh wow! That is low for a single coil!

Def try a simpler build, and if you still have no luck we can take it from there. Let us know either way!

 

[haruspex]

@AlphaDog I found that a twisted 26ga SS316L, 3 - 3.5mm ID, 5 wraps works best for me. It comes to around 0.34ohms and vaped at 480F (250'ish C) it produces great flavour and vapor production. Also when wicking, I cut the wicks so that they just rest on top of the juice holes. Makes sure it covers the juice wells. (Made and earlier post in this thread with pics (page 17) )

The above works on both my Serpent Mini and Mini 25.

 

[Daniel]

@AlphaDog I found that a twisted 26ga SS316L, 3 - 3.5mm ID, 5 wraps works best for me. It comes to around 0.34ohms and vaped at 480F (250'ish C) it produces great flavour and vapor production. Also when wicking, I cut the wicks so that they just rest on top of the juice holes. Makes sure it covers the juice wells. (Made and earlier post in this thread with pics (page 17) )

The above works on both my Serpent Mini and Mini 25.

Ah yes , must still try this , was too lazy to get the drill out the garage .... think this weekend it's time

 

[AlphaDog]

@AlphaDog I found that a twisted 26ga SS316L, 3 - 3.5mm ID, 5 wraps works best for me. It comes to around 0.34ohms and vaped at 480F (250'ish C) it produces great flavour and vapor production. Also when wicking, I cut the wicks so that they just rest on top of the juice holes. Makes sure it covers the juice wells. (Made and earlier post in this thread with pics (page 17) )

The above works on both my Serpent Mini and Mini 25.

Ah, I see you don't let your wick touch the bottom of your juice holes - mine looks a lot like @Silver's build, where the wick ends gently lay at the bottom of the juice holes. Wonder if it wicks more rapidly using your style...

Also, I see the bubbles which rise up in my SM25 while its wicking are tiny and come up rapidly, whereas my Aromamizer Supreme and V1 have large bubbles that rise up more slowly... Just an interesting observation...

 

[Anneries]

From what I have experienced, on my wife's SM 22, a standard wire build or a twisted wire build is the way to go. Until now she did not have a TC mod, so have not tried anything else than Kanthal or Nicrhome. And on both, 26gauge twisted gives the best results.
Twisted 5 wraps 3mm ID or normal wire 5 wrap parallel 3mm ID.

 

[haruspex]

@AlphaDog I think a 3 - 3.5mm ID will solve the muted flavour issue. Seeing that you do get the bubbles (indicating that the juice is flowing into the wick) it might be that the juice does not feed well to the center of the coil. The 2.5mm ID might be the 'bottleneck'. In the end one needs to play around with all the different 'variables' in order to get to what works for you. Once you hit that sweet spot, you will love the Serpent Mini forever! Just ask @Rob Fisher

 

[Waine]

The SM 25 is by no means the "greatest" tank out there. My two give me an average to good performance. And the performance varies from build to build. It is a great tank, but there are a few cons.

What I have experienced is that different juices definitely perform differently in different tanks. Mr Rob Fisher uses almost exclusively XXX e-liquid in his SM25's. Perhaps this juice just works well for him in this tank, hence his praises for the SM25. Respect!

Also the way you construct a build can differ each time, even though you are building according to what others say works for them. Hence the performance variations.

For example, I fluff my cotton and pull the wicks right through the the little ring and air flow holes. In fact I fluff the cotton out until it sticks out about 2mm through the holes. This works great for me. Why? I cannot say. Perhaps because I use the Scottish roll method with organic cotton from Dischem. This cotton may have a slightly different capillary action to Cotton Bacon for example.

On some builds your wire may be rolled tighter than on other builds, the cotton density, or thickness of cotton may differ from your previous build with the same ID and number of wraps.

My point is simply this. Good, consistent coil building and wicking is not only a skill, but an art. The fun lies in the challenge of finding the best coil build and wicking that works for YOU!

I have used tanks that others have told me are crap. E.g. The iJoy Tornado which was gifted to me. But, by researching on You Tube, trying out different builds, and after much trial and error, I found the build that works best for me. I now get a fantastic vape out of this tank, much better than the SM25! Having said that, sometimes I use the exact same build, and it will just start leaking! Weird, but that is the nature of the beast! The beauty of the vaping hobby. If it was so easy, it would not be worth it.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Daniel]

I'm of a different opinion , maybe I'm full of k@k or maybe I'm just getting old .....

I don't like to 'sukkel' , I want to bang a simple build in , no fiddling no 'try this try that' wicking method.
Things must just work .... period ....

Honestly I've had a love/hate relationship with the SM since day one (5 minutes first tank glass broken .... lol). But once I got through the trial and error (mostly error on my part ) the Serpent started working out for me. It's still in occasional rotation with the Merlin Mini taking top spot tank wise and the Reos my go to ....

Must still try the 22G Kantral builds .....

 

[Yagya]

I fitted these 2 coils in the serpent over the weekend. My 1st try with twisted clapton nichrome coils and was seriously impressed. I found my sweetspot at 60W and these coils came in at 0.43ohms.

 

[Waine]

@Daniel I also like keeping it simple. I only use plain 20, 22 or 24 ga wire. No Alien, triple fused, cross threaded, demonic killing Claptons with dynamite fibers that slay dragons. I have tried them. To me there is no notable difference in the vape. And I don't mean to steal anyone's thunder — what ever makes people happy, they must use and enjoy. "Variety is the spice of life."

But as you said, you had a "trial and error" phase with the SM 25. I am suggesting to new comers that this is the fun / discovery part of vaping. And the SM 25 is no different.





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[AlphaDog]

To me, the SM25 is a lot like the Subtank Mini at the moment. I'll try a different build in it later today. I hope I get it right!