I got a 100ft spool of 338 gauge nichrome wire and 6ft of wicking. I am going to rewire my own smoke units. Has anyone ever tried this and how were the results. I can see were someone could save alot of money by doing this....
Marty
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Tom Barker's repair clinic video shows how he does it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaT4osktxOg
I think the smoke rebuild segment starts at about 8:37.
The only issue I see is the connection to the nichrome wire, you can't solder the wire. In the old PW smoke units, repairs usually just involved wrapping the wire around a few times for the connection.
I guess that once you thread the wire thru the eyelet you are suppose to fill in the hole with solder. This will hold the wire and prevent any smoke from leaking out where it shouldn't...
Marty
My point is that you can't solder to nichrome wire, the original smoke units have crimped connections to connect to the wire.
You are correct that solder does not stick to nichrome wire, but there is a workaround to that problem. I make sure I have a few inches of wire coming through the holes from the wick chamber below (don't pull so tight you draw the heating element coil into contact with the top cover). Then I wrap the nichrome wire around each lug several times. The solder will readily adhere to the top cover lugs (in fact, they will probably still be tinned from the factory). You can apply enough solder to the lugs to encase the nichrome wire in solder and achieve very good electrical contact. As others have mentioned, make sure you swipe the tip of your soldering iron over the lug eyelet to cover the hole with a thin layer of solder. This will seal your unit so smoke doesn't leak out of these holes.
It is important to not use a soldering iron with to many watts of heat or it will melt the nichrome wire. 40 watts is ok 100 watts isn't. This is clearly written on the kits Doug Peck sells. I had to learn the hard way so I know this is fact.
I'm a bit confused about this. I don't know of any way to melt nichrome wire with a standard soldering iron. It has a melting point of about 1,400°C or around 2550°F! That's not coming from any soldering iron I have!
Well, the wire is very thin so that may be a factor. Anyway, the wire breaks and the smoke element is not usable. And Doug's directions are specific about the low watt iron.
It's easy to break nichrome wire, but I don't see you doing any melting, at least without something more substantial than a soldering iron. 
You can solder Nichrome wire with a product called Sta-Brite solder.
Originally Posted by Carl Tuveson:
You can solder Nichrome wire with a product called Sta-Brite solder.
Carl,
I looked at Amazon at this product, as you have it pictured, and it is mentioned in the description not to be used in electronic applications. I am wondering, does this use an acid flux, and if so might it damage the components, though not electronic, in the Gilbert smoke units?
Ray
I think one of the issues is the flux is acid based. If you buy this, I'd like to hear some feedback on how well it soldered the nichrome. 
