Make sure when you Frankenstein stuff together that it’s all compatible. I’ve heard of gear shorting out and breaking, but this is the first time I had a real problem, and it was due to my carelessness.
These two PIDs are very similar with identical controls and plugs. But one must be wired differently than the other, because when I plugged one from the top unit into the bottom unit I got smoke within a minute.
There was fire in two places along the cord, and melted shielding everywhere. I burned my finger unplugging the PID. And now I’ve lost a one-of-a-kind coil. Make sure you pay attention and know what you’re doing with your gear.
That is scary AF man. We were just talking fire safety last week, too.
I need to figure out all my PIDS and XLR coils. I know there are two popular wiring standards for the coils and they are NOT compatible, but I don’t know how to tell them apart.
Are there any experts in the house who can help guide us?
Oh shit. Yeah, you need to be careful with the wiring. For checking wich pinout you got, I simply measure resistance with a multimeter between either pin 1+2 or 3+4. Depending on wich pinout you have, you will read an change in resistance on your multimeter if you warm up the coil with your hand. If something other than TC +/- is on the wires, the resistance won’t change.
Personally I marked 1 or 2 coils and matching PID combination with a red sticker on PID bottom and shrinking/electrical tape on the connector. But the most of the coils I go simply with XLR for CH pinout Type 2 and GX16 5 Pin for type 1. So I can’t mix them up physically when I’m stoned But you eventually need to resolder them for it. If that’s not an option, I recommend the colour stickers and tape
With the PIDs there’s the wiring printed on most of the time. With the XMT7100 for sure and almost every other I opened up, too.
On the coils itself most of them you can tell also by colour or by the thickness of the wires inside the connector. Most coils have thicker wires for AC/AC. But I also got one coil where you couldn’t tell by wiring but only by measuring the TC+/-. But I don’t think that’s common.
I think we should start labeling device specific pids. Bummer ya burnt your finger Jerry I just burnt mine while I was docking the UB. 5 min before I read your post. Dang we gots to be careful.
Be well all
I’ve done this with a Fancier dual PID which is not wired like Crossing PIDs.
Burned out a coil similar to what you experienced Jerry.
I went and purchased an XLR adapter that was supposed to work for the type 1/2 conversion and it didn’t…the coils didn’t blow, but they stopped heating.
Ended up replacing it with another crossing dual for my 6 coil setup.
that said, if anyone wants a Fancier dual PID with a 16/20mm coils, hmu.
I really wish ball vape manufacturers would standardized pid wiring. It’s confusing and dangerous for new people who have pid and are looking for a coil and heater. It would just make everything easier for everyone.
Don’t forget to check surge strips while everyone is checking stuff. I know that my grows have been saved a few times by looking them over before flower season! If we all wanted combustion… we could have saved money. No gear fires, they combust and then the herbs taste funny.
You can unscrew the back of the XLR connector to identify the wires. Thermocouple wires should be the thinner ones, but this is not universal.
One other clue is the color of the wire insulation. It appears in your pic that there are 2 blue wires, one red, one yellow, and one green. Blue should be AC + and -, green ground, and red is TC-, yellow is TC+. These colors are not universal either, but I think they are the most common.
When you plugged it in the wrong PID, the full mains voltage was applied across the thermocouple wires which essentially created a short circuit and heated them up very quickly. I’m glad you didn’t also get shocked!
I don’t think measuring the TC +/- resistance is quite right. Thermocouples produce a small voltage, not change their resistance from temperature change. You should be able to measure about 144 ohms resistance on the AC +/- wires for a 100W 120V coil. The thermocouple pair will have a lower resistance.
One other easy thing you could do to identify at least between type 1 and type 2 is use a multimeter to check for continuity between pin 3 of the XLR and the outer metal of the thermocouple, which is grounded. Pin 3 is always in the middle, so easy to check, and if there is continuity then most likely the coil is type 1. If your multimeter doesn’t have continuity beep mode, you can use ohms mode and look for a reading less than 1 ohm.
If it were me, I would convert all my coils and PIDs to use one standard, probably type 2, to avoid this hazard. You can do this by desoldering/resoldering the wires on the XLR plug, and/or swapping positions of the wires on the PID itself. If anyone wants this done to a coil or PID they have and is willing to pay shipping, I can do it.
i just want to say thanks for putting all this information together! this is extremely important fpr those of us who love to tinker and dont love house fires! i personally really appreciate it
But you eventually need to resolder them for it. If that’s not an option, I recommend the colour stickers and tape 
If we all wanted combustion… we could have saved money. No gear fires, they combust and then the herbs taste funny.