How E-Nail Coil Size Affects Temperature and Heating

Why Coil Size Changes Your E-Nail Temperature

There are many enail coil sizes and two styles to choose from, aside their obvious visual differences they also produce different levels of heat transfer and retention. For example a 20mm barrel coil will not produce the same level of heating as a 20 axial enail coil, this is something that seems like common sense because of their design. With that said, what about a 25mm axial coil compared to a 30mm axial coil? What are the temperature adjustments needed for these two coils to heat up to the same temperature?

We will get into all the details within this blog, but first it's important to note that the temperature reading on your PID controller might not always match the exact temperature of your enail coil for a number of reasons. If you'd like to read more about enail coil temperature and controller temperature you can click here!

How Does an E-Nail Coil Heat a Quartz Banger or Titanium Dab Nail?

Now we'll just run through some of the basics, first you start by setting your enail controller to your desired temperature. The controller sends power to the enail coil to heat your quartz banger or dab nail, this is done by heat transfer through contact. Your enail coil needs to make direct contact with your dab nail to get it to heat up properly. This is why coil connection and contact are super important when it comes to using your enail efficiently!

Set Temperature and Actual Surface Temperature

Since a quartz banger or dab nail relies on heat transfer your dabbing surface temperature might be different from your controller temperature. This can be influenced by the way your enail coil fits, the banger thickness, your dabbing material whether its quartz or titanium, airflow and more.

Why Does Enail Coil Size Affect Temperature

Larger Coils Have More Contact with Your Dabbing Surface

A larger enail coil with more wraps will have more contact with your dab nail, which in turn heats your dabbing surface to temperature quickly and efficiently. This is the reason why a barrel coil will not heat your banger to the same temperature an axial enail coil would. The axial has a bottom wrapping that scales up higher on your banger or dab nail than a barrel coil would.

Coil Mass and Heat Retention

The size of your enail coil also should be considered, a 25mm enail coil compared to a 35mm enail coil will heat differently because of the sizing. A larger coil will be made with more metal, which is more metal that is heated up to temperature. This will add to its heat retention and temperature recovery.

Heat Loss Changes with Coil Size

The more your dab nail is exposed to the surrounding room temperature the faster it'll lose heat. Your current room temperature will almost always affect your enail coil heating temperature, for example if you're in a very cold room, this will change the temperature of your dab nail/enail coil.

20mm vs 25mm vs 30mm Enail Coils

20mm Enail Coils

This sizing is pretty common, well it used to be the standard sizing for almost all enail coils. A 20mm enail coil is used for smaller quartz bangers and dab nails, since this is a smaller surface to heat it will heat up to temperature quickly and retain heat for a longer period of time. The entire banger or dab nail is more compact so the heat stays in one place without the interference of airflow and other elements.

25mm Enail Coils

This is now the most standard sizing found on almost all enails. Enail brands/manufacturers found that 25mm coils provide the best balance for heated surface area and heat retention. Depending on how many wraps the coil has, a 25mm enail coil can cover close to 50% of your quartz banger giving you best possible heat distribution while remaining compact enough to mitigate heat loss.

30mm Enail Coils

Now a 30mm enail coil is much wider than a 20mm or 25mm, which makes the surface area less compact. However the sizing difference you get and the greater amount of metal should be able lessen the heat loss caused by a more spread out surface, but this depends on the amount of wraps.

You might have to adjust your wait time with a 30-35mm setup to make up for the larger coil size. A bigger coil will have more resistance to an electrical current because the metal is thicker and larger. With a smaller coil, there is less resistance allowing electrical current to flow freely, a larger coil will cause the electrical current to flow slower.

The wait time we are referring to is the one to five minute wait AFTER the controller reads your set temperature. A 20mm coil will transfer heat to a quartz banger within a minute or two, a 30mm coil will need some additional minutes to allow for the heat transfer to heat your quartz banger up to your desired temperature.

Coil Size Isn't the Only Thing That Changes Your Temperature

Quartz Banger Thickness

• A thinner quartz banger heats up to temperature a lot faster than a thicker banger. On the other hand a thicker quartz banger will retain heat for a lot longer than a thinner one would. You might have to adjust your temperature slightly higher with a thicker banger because there is a bulkier layer of quartz at the bottom allowing for less heat to pass through.

Enail Coil Fit

• If your coil does not have a proper fit on your banger or you dab nail it will not provide even heating or suitable heat transfer. A snug properly fitting coil is essential for efficient heat transfer, for perfect dabbing temperatures. A small gap between your coil and banger is totally fine, your banger does not need to be hard to fit into your coil. Quartz and Metal both expand and contract when heating and cooling, so the small gap difference allows for expansion without the risk of your banger cracking and breaking.

Banger or Nail Material

• Quartz, Titanium, SIC, Ceramic all heat up differently, they are all distinct materials with different thermal conductivity which affects how quickly they get up to temperature and how they retain heat.

If you would like to read on the differences between dabbing materials you can click here.

Enail Coil Styles

• Barrel enail coils have an open bottom, this is exceptionally useful for beginners since they are more forgiving with temperature experimentation.
• Axial enail coils are shaped like a bucket and cover most of the entire bottom surface of a banger or dab nail, these types of coils heat quickly and heat evenly.
• Flat enail coils are completely flat, there are no wire wraps that scale upwards on your banger or dab nail. These coils aren't very efficient unless you are consistently dropping your dab at the bottom of your banger. They can be useful when experimenting with lower temperature dabs as long as you have an understanding of which side of the banger you'd like to place your dab.

Why You Shouldn't Use the Same Temperature for Every Enail Setup

Each enail setup has its own configuration whether its the dab nail style, dab nail material, dab nail size, enail coil style, and enail coil size. Besides those immediate differences, you might need to adjust your temperature because of your surrounding room temp, or the dab inserts and carb caps you might be using. As a general rule, we always recommend starting at 500-550 until you get accustomed to using your set up and then you can adjust your temperature up or down depending on your preference.

Our dabbing temperature guides provide some guidance on where to start based on the experience you are looking for. However, these are just recommendations, you are free to experiment as you please! There is one small concern when using an enail or dabbing in general, dabbing at temperatures over 700 degrees might expose you to harmful compounds, so it's best to keep it below 660.

How to Find the Best Temperature for Your Enail Coil

This is where it's best to start with a standard temperature range and then work your way up or down. Before you decide that the temperature is too low or too high allow your banger or dab nail to get up to temperature first. This is the little waiting time your banger or dab nail needs for the heat to transfer from your coil to your dabbing surface.

After you take your first dab, pay attention to the vapor production, leftover residue, flavor, smoothness, and then adjust from there.

• Too much vapor production, lower your temperature. Too little vapor, up the temperature a bit and then try again.
• Too much residue burnt onto the banger or dab nail, lower your temperature. Too much left over unvaporized dab still left inside your banger, up your temperature and try again.
• If the flavor of your dab tastes burnt, then you would need to lower your temperature. If the flavor is spot on just the way you like it then you can keep it the same or lower your temp if you want better flavor.
• If your dabs are incredibly harsh and you're bursting out into a coughing fit, then you should probably lower your temperature. If you feel like your dabs aren't hitting the way that they should then you should probably raise your temperature and try again.

Does a Bigger Enail Coil Need a Higher or Lower Temperature?

A bigger coil does not automatically mean you need to set your enail controller to a higher temperature. You should assess your enail setup as a whole and experiment with your temperatures accordingly.