A cheap alternative to PTB - Page 3 - e-cigarette-forum.com • The place for electronic cigarette reviews, news and chat

Pumaman · 09-08-2009, 03:28 AM

Update: Went Organza shopping today. No luck at Wal Mart or Micheal's finding Organza brand ribbon, but I DID find Offray ribbon so I finally went with that. Upon returning home and checking the internet, I apparently was looking for Offray Organza the whole time. Offray being the brand, Organza being the style...oh well.

Anyway, came away with 1 1/2" Offray Arabesque white, wired, polyester. The material between the wires is very similar to a PTB, but slightly finer. I cut through the wires off for this run and used the material in the same fashion you would the PTB in the rho mod.
For 4 vapes it behaved exactly the same as a PTB, then I got nothing. I spent 5 minutes scratching my head, as it was so similar I could not figure out why it would behave so differently. After pulling the fill out, examing, refolding, cursing, I realized the atty had come partially unscrewed from the battery...

So, after getting back on track it is my now informed opinion that Offray Arabesque 1 1/2" wired polyester behaves exactly the same as a PTB when used in the manner I outlined, just as Hellen A. Handbasket said. Good news for anyone who wants to save money and not waste tea, or try different methods with the material. Sadly for me, it also tastes exactly the same as well. This is confounding me since I read in another thread that the Polyfil that comes in the cartridge is PET as well, yet I don't get the same taste. I even ran a double blind test with 2 510's, same liquid, one PTB and one Polyfil, both newly topped off to make sure I wasn't imagining the whole thing. Could be that this method puts so much more of the material closer to the atty it gets more heat and transfers the taste? Anyway, I'm going back to playing with the nylon tulle until my #80 stainless steel mesh arrives. I fully expect it to leak like a sieve, melt the cartridge, and maybe even throw sparks, but we will see.

isande · 09-08-2009, 03:37 AM

About the tulle & possible melting...

My husband's 901 passthrough got stuck on today and we didn't notice until it scorched the desk. The atomizer survived and surprisingly so did the nylon tulle filler in his cart, which was deliberately cut to protrude a bit beyond the cartridge.. no sign of melting or other damage to the tulle whatsoever and it tasted just fine.

I am now confident that under normal conditions the tulle will not melt.

--K

Hellen A. Handbasket · 09-08-2009, 04:10 AM

Puma, glad to hear you had good luck at the craft store. Odd about the taste though. There shouldn't be any. Have you cleared out your atty (and cartridges/mouthpieces) lately? A nice Everclear soak might help to remove any odd tastes. A friend of mine complained of odd tastes, and after he did the soak and refilled all his carts, wah lah... vapin bliss. Turned out a few dry vapes scortching his atty and his sampling of 5 different juices had mucked things up for his atty and his taste buds.

BTW, just to clarify - the PET plastic is the Lipton gossamer teabags not the polyester fiber filling normally found in the carts or in bags at the craft store. So your comparison with ribbon vs. polyfill fiber was polyester in both. Shouldn't be any taste difference, as they both have the same heat resistance properties.

Let us know about the wire mesh.

chris2650 · 09-10-2009, 12:16 AM

Hey thanks Y'all!!!!!

I bought some $3 Tulle at Michaels today, cut off a 6in by 2in pce, rolled it up, folded it, jammed it into the (801) cartridge, dripped about 20 drops of liquid on it and I'm happily vaping for a few hours now. Looks fine, works fine and so far... and that's been my big ARGHHH with cartridges...it is CONSISTENT

Only time will tell but it's looking good! And easy enough to do for lazy people (me)

Chris

Archer · 09-11-2009, 10:08 AM

Guess I'll be visiting the craft store today. This sounds like a great mod, thanks for sharing.

ournature · 09-11-2009, 01:52 PM

how does this nylon-mesh tulle compare to PET piramyd tea bags?
is it softer or about the same consistence?

isande · 09-11-2009, 01:59 PM

It is softer, which seems to make it wick a little better but also makes it a bit harder to work with.

--K

talmadgemonroe · 09-11-2009, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by buttercrunch

nope, it doesn't melt! the best part is that it stays pliable and "sproingy" in the cart (PTB seems to get brittle after sitting in a cart for a few days, has anyone noticed that? maybe it's just me). I'm loving it!

I have noticed too that the PTB gets brittle after a while and dark colored no matter what juice I use.

cmdrmaxwell · 09-15-2009, 04:48 AM

after 6 tries in my 510 i gave up. i found a roll of organza ribbon and was anxious to try so i cut some and started vaping away only to find that i could only get a couple of puffs till the burned taste kicked in and in addition was the taste of what had to be the ribbon! i never got it with any other filler. i even washed it and could not get past it. i went back to PTB even with the same atty and again after a couple of puffs the taste of the ribbon was gone. if it works for you hooray, i will have to keep searchin!

Flitzanu · 09-15-2009, 05:10 AM

hmm.

at first discussion, Tulle was found to have a fairly low melting point and not recommended to use?

update on tea bag filler.

09-08-2009, 04:10 AM	#23
Hellen A. Handbasket ECF Veteran Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Surprise, Arizona Posts: 888	Puma, glad to hear you had good luck at the craft store. Odd about the taste though. There shouldn't be any. Have you cleared out your atty (and cartridges/mouthpieces) lately? A nice Everclear soak might help to remove any odd tastes. A friend of mine complained of odd tastes, and after he did the soak and refilled all his carts, wah lah... vapin bliss. Turned out a few dry vapes scortching his atty and his sampling of 5 different juices had mucked things up for his atty and his taste buds. BTW, just to clarify - the PET plastic is the Lipton gossamer teabags not the polyester fiber filling normally found in the carts or in bags at the craft store. So your comparison with ribbon vs. polyfill fiber was polyester in both. Shouldn't be any taste difference, as they both have the same heat resistance properties. Let us know about the wire mesh. __________________

09-15-2009, 04:48 AM	#29
cmdrmaxwell Super Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: central iowa Posts: 376 Tweet this post!	it didnt work for me! after 6 tries in my 510 i gave up. i found a roll of organza ribbon and was anxious to try so i cut some and started vaping away only to find that i could only get a couple of puffs till the burned taste kicked in and in addition was the taste of what had to be the ribbon! i never got it with any other filler. i even washed it and could not get past it. i went back to PTB even with the same atty and again after a couple of puffs the taste of the ribbon was gone. if it works for you hooray, i will have to keep searchin! __________________ rectum...damn near killed 'em!

09-15-2009, 05:10 AM	#30
Flitzanu Debonair Elitist Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Tulsa, OK, U.S.A. Posts: 1,041 Tweet this post!	hmm. at first discussion, Tulle was found to have a fairly low melting point and not recommended to use? update on tea bag filler. __________________ www.myspace.com/flitzanu

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09-08-2009, 03:28 AM	#21
Pumaman Full Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 105	Update: Went Organza shopping today. No luck at Wal Mart or Micheal's finding Organza brand ribbon, but I DID find Offray ribbon so I finally went with that. Upon returning home and checking the internet, I apparently was looking for Offray Organza the whole time. Offray being the brand, Organza being the style...oh well. Anyway, came away with 1 1/2" Offray Arabesque white, wired, polyester. The material between the wires is very similar to a PTB, but slightly finer. I cut through the wires off for this run and used the material in the same fashion you would the PTB in the rho mod. For 4 vapes it behaved exactly the same as a PTB, then I got nothing. I spent 5 minutes scratching my head, as it was so similar I could not figure out why it would behave so differently. After pulling the fill out, examing, refolding, cursing, I realized the atty had come partially unscrewed from the battery... So, after getting back on track it is my now informed opinion that Offray Arabesque 1 1/2" wired polyester behaves exactly the same as a PTB when used in the manner I outlined, just as Hellen A. Handbasket said. Good news for anyone who wants to save money and not waste tea, or try different methods with the material. Sadly for me, it also tastes exactly the same as well. This is confounding me since I read in another thread that the Polyfil that comes in the cartridge is PET as well, yet I don't get the same taste. I even ran a double blind test with 2 510's, same liquid, one PTB and one Polyfil, both newly topped off to make sure I wasn't imagining the whole thing. Could be that this method puts so much more of the material closer to the atty it gets more heat and transfers the taste? Anyway, I'm going back to playing with the nylon tulle until my #80 stainless steel mesh arrives. I fully expect it to leak like a sieve, melt the cartridge, and maybe even throw sparks, but we will see.

09-08-2009, 03:37 AM	#22
isande Full Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 101	About the tulle & possible melting... My husband's 901 passthrough got stuck on today and we didn't notice until it scorched the desk. The atomizer survived and surprisingly so did the nylon tulle filler in his cart, which was deliberately cut to protrude a bit beyond the cartridge.. no sign of melting or other damage to the tulle whatsoever and it tasted just fine. I am now confident that under normal conditions the tulle will not melt. --K

09-10-2009, 12:16 AM	#24
chris2650 Full Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: North Carolina Posts: 91	Hey thanks Y'all!!!!! I bought some $3 Tulle at Michaels today, cut off a 6in by 2in pce, rolled it up, folded it, jammed it into the (801) cartridge, dripped about 20 drops of liquid on it and I'm happily vaping for a few hours now. Looks fine, works fine and so far... and that's been my big ARGHHH with cartridges...it is CONSISTENT Only time will tell but it's looking good! And easy enough to do for lazy people (me) Chris

09-11-2009, 10:08 AM	#25
Archer Full Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: The Bay State Posts: 59	Guess I'll be visiting the craft store today. This sounds like a great mod, thanks for sharing.

09-11-2009, 01:52 PM	#26
ournature Full Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: bologna, ITALY Posts: 89	how does this nylon-mesh tulle compare to PET piramyd tea bags? is it softer or about the same consistence?

09-11-2009, 01:59 PM	#27
isande Full Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 101	It is softer, which seems to make it wick a little better but also makes it a bit harder to work with. --K