With the arrival of the Chids (Chinese DID clones), everyone seems to be taking the leap into Genesis-style atomizers. I thought I would offer some thoughts about stainleess steel mesh versus silica wicks.
There are various claims about the ss mesh as to flavor and vapor. I think that Genesis ss mesh flavor claims are highly overrated (over-stated?). But I guess this is pretty subjective and not everyone's tastes are the same. I have found that the taste of e-liquid using ss mesh can be much heavier, for lack of a better term. That is too say it can sometimes overpower the taste. I've used some of the same juice in my clearomizer and then in a Genesis atomizer and the two don't seem to have the same flavor.
Could this be due to the voltage that the ss G-atty is running at? Sure. But I have had circumstances where it didn't matter what voltage I ran it at - it still had that heavy, off-flavor taste.
Silica wick has its own pitfalls. The flavor can be muted by silica wicks. Some say that there is a 'old socks' taste to the wick. In my opinion, this may have been true with cartomizer filler, but I don't experience it with silica wick in itself. I do find that as the silica wick ages and the coil becomes more carbonized, there is a sickly, sort of burned taste to it. Not as bad as a hit off a dry ss mesh wick, but a more subtle burned taste that doesn't go away like it does when the ss mesh is saturated again. Only by cleaning or replacing does this taste go away.
Another area of interest in the battle of stainless vs. silica is the vapor production. In my tests, I have seen more vapor produced by silica than stainless steel. Only when the voltage is cranked up or a lower ohm coil is used, do I see a larger production of vapor in ss mesh. But then the flavor is also altered.
This tells me that stainless steel requires more wattage than silica does. Using the same ohm coil with both materials shows more vapor being produced by the silica wick. And if you've ever oxidized a piece of ss mesh, the proof is in your hands. If you hold that rolled stainless steel wick in the torch with bare fingers, you don't really feel any of that heat at the opposite end. This is because the stainless steel is absorbing that heat. And what does wattage ultimatly end up as - heat! So, you are effectively soaking up heat that should be vaporizing your e-liquid! You will need to add even more heat to compensate for the loss. Hence, lower ohm coils and higher voltage. I have also noticed that my batteries do not last as long when using stainless steel as compared to silica. This is the reason why.
I haven't by any means decided what I like best. I also don't know whether I will pick one over the other, or continue using both. Each has its own merits and I guess that further testing by me needs to be done. These are my own views and there is no scientific or certified testing to verify my claims.
There are various claims about the ss mesh as to flavor and vapor. I think that Genesis ss mesh flavor claims are highly overrated (over-stated?). But I guess this is pretty subjective and not everyone's tastes are the same. I have found that the taste of e-liquid using ss mesh can be much heavier, for lack of a better term. That is too say it can sometimes overpower the taste. I've used some of the same juice in my clearomizer and then in a Genesis atomizer and the two don't seem to have the same flavor.
Could this be due to the voltage that the ss G-atty is running at? Sure. But I have had circumstances where it didn't matter what voltage I ran it at - it still had that heavy, off-flavor taste.
Silica wick has its own pitfalls. The flavor can be muted by silica wicks. Some say that there is a 'old socks' taste to the wick. In my opinion, this may have been true with cartomizer filler, but I don't experience it with silica wick in itself. I do find that as the silica wick ages and the coil becomes more carbonized, there is a sickly, sort of burned taste to it. Not as bad as a hit off a dry ss mesh wick, but a more subtle burned taste that doesn't go away like it does when the ss mesh is saturated again. Only by cleaning or replacing does this taste go away.
Another area of interest in the battle of stainless vs. silica is the vapor production. In my tests, I have seen more vapor produced by silica than stainless steel. Only when the voltage is cranked up or a lower ohm coil is used, do I see a larger production of vapor in ss mesh. But then the flavor is also altered.
This tells me that stainless steel requires more wattage than silica does. Using the same ohm coil with both materials shows more vapor being produced by the silica wick. And if you've ever oxidized a piece of ss mesh, the proof is in your hands. If you hold that rolled stainless steel wick in the torch with bare fingers, you don't really feel any of that heat at the opposite end. This is because the stainless steel is absorbing that heat. And what does wattage ultimatly end up as - heat! So, you are effectively soaking up heat that should be vaporizing your e-liquid! You will need to add even more heat to compensate for the loss. Hence, lower ohm coils and higher voltage. I have also noticed that my batteries do not last as long when using stainless steel as compared to silica. This is the reason why.
I haven't by any means decided what I like best. I also don't know whether I will pick one over the other, or continue using both. Each has its own merits and I guess that further testing by me needs to be done. These are my own views and there is no scientific or certified testing to verify my claims.
