TCR and Temp Sensing MODS and the Benefits of Heat Sensing

Published by Paul Larter on 26th May 2016

Heat sensing mods with TCR

What Is Temperature Control?

Many Mods are now coming with temperature control. This technology simply allows the user to pre-define a maximum temperature of their atomizer or coil, in-turn this will affect the flavour profile and how much vapour is produced.

Another positive application of this technology is to help with ‘dry-hits’. Limiting the maximum temperature can help prevent the wicking material from drying out too fast and also from burning if e-liquid levels fall too low for the atomizer or tank.

How Does Temperature Control Work?

Temperature Control works by simply monitoring the changes of resistance in a given coil and using these changes in resistance to estimate temperature changes.

What Is TCR?

As wire heats up, the resistance of the wire increases. The amount of the increase varies greatly depending on the wire that is used. This is called Temperature Coefficient of Resistance or TCR.

Kanthal wire is popular because the resistance is fixed no matter the temperature at which it is used. However, this stable wire does not measurably change in resistance as it heats up. It has a very, very low temperature Coefficient of Resistance. Therefore, it cannot be used for temperature sensing.

Temperature Control in vaping requires a wire that has a high Temperature Coefficient of Resistance. This Coefficient has a mathematical value that specifies how much resistance will rise for any given temperature increase,

Most commonly used wires for temperature sensing & limitation in vaping are:

  • Nickel - Ni200
  • Titanium - Ti01
  • Stainless Steel - 316L or 304
  • Ni200

    Nickel, or Ni200 (pure nickel) was chosen by the company Evolv (famous for its DNA chip boards as used in Vapor Shark products) as the first Temperature Control wire because it has one of the highest coefficients among the more common metals.

    Ni200 is the most commonly used wire for temperature sensing mods. For correct operation, the wires must be ‘spaced’ similar to a spring for the correct resistance changes to be read by a temperature sensing Mod.

    Ti01

    Titanium or Ti01 is also very popular. It is easier to work with as it is less ‘springy’ than Nickel Ni200 wire. Also, the coils do not have to be individually spaced for correct functionality (as required with Ni200).

    Stainless Steel

    There are several different types of stainless steel wire available. All of which are ideal to be used with temperature sensing, however they can be used with non-temperature sensing devices too.

    How to configure your mod for the correct wire?

    Most mods will have a couple of pre-set wire types to choose from, most commonly Ni200 for Nickel and Ti01 for Titanium. The latest devices may offer Stainless Steel 316 or 304.

    Manual TCR

    This is a setting that is proving more and more popular with more advanced mods. It will allow the user to exactly enter the correct TCR value for any wire type to enable the temp sensing function.

    List of TCR Values:

    We have provided a list of all the TCR values available for currently available wire types.

    *Please note: Vapetime recommends ONLY using Nickel Ni200 and Stainless Steel (all types) for temperature sensing wire. At this time, we believe there is not enough information and conclusive testing documentation to recommend Titanium Ti01 or any other wire type on the list provided.

    Ni200: 0.00620

    Ti01: 0.00350

    SS316L: 0.00092

    SS316: 0.000915

    SS317L: 0.00088

    SS317: 0.000875

    SS304: 0.00105

    SS430: 0.00155

    SS410: 0.00155

    NiFe30: 0.00320

    Tungsten: 0.00450

    Platinum: 0.00392

    Nichrome: 0.00040

    Gold: 0.00340

    Iron: 0.00500

    Any questions on any of the above please feel free to contact us any time on enquiries@vapetime.co.uk