Different Cottons for different wicks

[xMackx]

This is the cotton wick thread, that's right ladies and gentlemen. So pull up a chair and share your experience with the different types of cotton out there. Since after trying all the different wicks and having my preference land on cotton cheese cloth as my favorite.

What kinds have you used? (Cotton twine, butchers twine, yarn, cheese cloth, gauze, cotton balls)

What were your findings with the properties of different types of cotton?

And Finally which is your favorite and why?


Apart from the initial thread

Now Today i was at the dollar store and found this (the pic), says 100% cotton twine. Wrapped a coil and tasted funny, so I did a burn test and the burn test was more consistent with a cotton/synthetic blend which was scary. When you burn test cotton, it's supposed to burn easy then smell like burnt paper and the char left over should be soft. Well after the burn test the charred part felt crispy. Anyone else ever have a problem like this?

 

[gdeal]

Great thread idea xMackX.

Cotton is numero uno for taste IMHO. I have used #1/0 Wick, cheesecloth and cotton batton//balls. I think you will agree all forms provide a different experience. I prefer cheesecloth. It has a more balanced consistency. I find it it fairly easy to work with, has repeatable consistency and maintains form when wet. ie swelling is predictable. Batton explodes when wet, but is great. Cotton wick can be tight and limiting but is consistent in wicking if you set it up right.

I think most important is to make sure the quality of you cotton is good. 100% pure, sterile (or food grade) and no additives.

What is also cool about cotton, is that the vape changes as you use it. The more seasoned it gets the different the vape. It starts out, cottony, then the cotton taste goes away, then it peaks in taste/vape quality, then start to to give out/gunked up. But all in a good way... sorta wanting you to do it again and again.

 

[xMackx]

Took apart a Q-tip and shaped it into a long wick for my did clone since it's the same type of cotton as batton and cotton balls. I have to say I'm rather impressed it's so absorbent, it can handle having the coil wraps spaced farther apart than cheese cloth. The vapor also feels really fluffy.

I definitely will experiment with all the different cotton types. How they are woven makes them all very different in how they vape.

 

[JD1]

I've also used a Q-tip to make a wick for a redux. It performed well and I liked it, but I've since moved on to cheese cloth. I picked up the cheese cloth from Walmarts and I now have it in four reduxes. I'm using .32 gauge kanthal with a 4/5 wrap that measures around 2.4 ohms. I usually run around 3.7 volts for decent vapor and great taste. I'm a pretty happy camper with this set up.

 

[xMackx]

Yeah it's kind of neat using cotton, how it's weaved, braided, bleached or natural makes all the different kinds preform differently. Right now I'm happy with cheese cloth for my nova's and batton for the did. Cheese cloth works so well I had been using it exclusively, but now I'm having fun experimenting.

 

[donnah]

I've used cheesecloth, bamboo yarn and cotton balls. My favorite is the cotton ball wick. It's cheaper than dirt. I can probably get a dozen wicks out of one cotton ball! I figure it might cost me $1 per year in wicks lol. It's easy to wrap and wicks great. No more "tilt and swirl". You can't dry burn it but I never was a dry burner anyway. It does better if I don't make it so thick.

I just ordered a Vulcan (did clone) and am anxious about oxidizing, rolling and wrapping SS mesh. you mean I don't "have" to use SS mesh in a genesis style RBA?

 

[xMackx]

I've used cheesecloth, bamboo yarn and cotton balls. My favorite is the cotton ball wick. It's cheaper than dirt. I can probably get a dozen wicks out of one cotton ball! I figure it might cost me $1 per year in wicks lol. It's easy to wrap and wicks great. No more "tilt and swirl". You can't dry burn it but I never was a dry burner anyway. It does better if I don't make it so thick.

I just ordered a Vulcan (did clone) and am anxious about oxidizing, rolling and wrapping SS mesh. you mean I don't "have" to use SS mesh in a genesis style RBA?

You can use any type of wick you want. There are purist that will say using anything else other than ss mesh isn't a genesis, but it really comes down to personal preference. You should check out my other thread, and you're welcome to contribute. http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/rebuildable-atomizer-systems/350390-did-clone-tutorial-genesis-style.html

 

[toothboy]

I used cheesecloth and HATED it. Awful taste.

100% cotton yarn was better but flavor just wasn't there.

Sterile gauze is a winner for me. Easy to use, great flavor, and cheap.

 

[xMackx]

I used cheesecloth and HATED it. Awful taste.

100% cotton yarn was better but flavor just wasn't there.

Sterile gauze is a winner for me. Easy to use, great flavor, and cheap.

Yeah cheese cloth has to have the coil wrapped right with the wraps close together and has to soak in juice for at least 1-2 hours before using so it has time to absorb/expand to wick properly otherwise it will burn. Gauze/batting is more forgiving to how you use it and is much quicker being absorbent/expansion.

 

[bob1960]

I wound my 1st coil around 100% cotton yarn last friday, (4 days ago) and really like it. I am using a ViVi Nova tank. I get some 'popping' so perhaps my coil could be tighter or spaced closer. Not sure which.
But I am new to this and expect to learn as I go.

 

[xMackx]

I wound my 1st coil around 100% cotton yarn last friday, (4 days ago) and really like it. I am using a ViVi Nova tank. I get some 'popping' so perhaps my coil could be tighter or spaced closer. Not sure which.
But I am new to this and expect to learn as I go.

As long as it taste good with no singed cotton taste you're ahead of the curve. I'm really enjoying cotton batting at the moment.

 

[larktdl]

I use 100% unbleached cotton yarn. It is okay, I use it as the wick in my Novas. I cut two lengths of yarn and use the needle from a syringe for support and wrap 4/5 wraps using 36 awg nichrome 60. The problem I encounter: If you have to much cotton yarn exposed within the Nova tank you get oversaturation which leads to all sorts of problems. The trick is to cut back the yarn enough so oversaturation does not occur. This requires a lot of experimenting.

 

[xMackx]

Now I have had a few different perspectives with different cottons here are my results.

1. Cotton Wool (balls/catting/Q-tip)- The most absorbent, quickest soak time, lots of fluffy vapor, flavor slightly muted
2 Cotton twine- Least absorbent, 12-24 soak to wick, decent vapr production, flavor was slightly muted
3. Cotton Cheese Cloth- Very absorent, medium soak time 24 hrs. for full expansion, large vapor production, best flavor off any wick I've tried

So I like cheese cloth best overall, but still like cotton wool depending on the attie.

 

[JD1]

.......... It does better if I don't make it so thick.......

I just ordered a Vulcan (did clone) and am anxious about oxidizing, rolling and wrapping SS mesh. you mean I don't "have" to use SS mesh in a genesis style RBA?

I made a fat cheesecloth wick for my redux and it didn't work well so I had to learn that the hard way lol. The slits on the redux head are so narrow that they choke the wick if it's too big. I'm now making two small wicks and wrapping them using a paper clip to help hold them. The small wicks sort of stack in the slots and work really well. My coils are coming in at ~ 2.2 ohms and work great at ~3.4 volts. These things are as close to dripping in my joye 510 atty as any thing I've ever tried. (Dripping in the joye atty is my standard that I judge everything else against.)

ps. How are you and the Vulcan getting along?

 

[donnah]

I made a fat cheesecloth wick for my redux and it didn't work well so I had to learn that the hard way lol. The slits on the redux head are so narrow that they choke the wick if it's too big. I'm now making two small wicks and wrapping them using a paper clip to help hold them. The small wicks sort of stack in the slots and work really well. My coils are coming in at ~ 2.2 ohms and work great at ~3.4 volts. These things are as close to dripping in my joye 510 atty as any thing I've ever tried. (Dripping in the joye atty is my standard that I judge everything else against.)

ps. How are you and the Vulcan getting along?

It's working. It took me awhile to get the mesh rolled tight enough to fit through the hole. I like it, nice addition to my vaping stuff. I'm not sure I'm getting the best vape possible with it, put some juice in it that I didn't really care for and now trying to run some unflavored juice through it to get the taste out. All in all, I'm glad I bought it. I kinda like my rewicked (with cotton ball) vivi nova a bit better but it was worth the $20 I paid. The clear replacement tank that I bought with it has been a life saver. I need to see the wick inside it and be able to tell how much juice there is (or isn't) inside of it. It's pretty and shiney LOL

 

[JD1]

Yep, that does look good on your Provari. Glad you like it.

 

[xMackx]

Anyone having trouble with cheese cloth I have a couple tips:

1. Let your new cheese cloth wick soak for at least 2 hours before using, it takes 24 hours to soak/expand completely for top performance.

2. Make sure nothing is choking the wick leading to the coil, modifying slots bigger if you have to (depends on the atty). Cotton can swell 6 times its size when wet, so always account for that by making enough room for the expansion. So make your wick 4 times thinner when dry.

3. Make coil wraps tight and wrapped side by side touching, it will not short unless you overlap the wraps. I delve more into this phenomena on another thread.

Cheese cloth is more tricky to learn than cotton wool, but the flavor is the best from my experience. Cotton wool is the easiest type of cotton to learn, but less flavor. As with everything, there is always a trade off.

 

[mrelwood]

I really like cotton as a wick. I've used (if I'm correct on the terminology) gauze pad, individual strands from gauze pad, batting, and bamboo yarn. The bamboo was a slight disappointment.

Batting wicks marvellously, but it's very tricky to make it constantly the same. Squeeze it too hard and it won't wick properly, leave it too fluffy and it'll break. And the thickness is practically impossible to measure. The gauze pad strands were the easiest to make the same every time, but it just doesn't wick like batting.

I hope I can find cheese cloth easily in my country.

 

[JD1]

..........I hope I can find cheese cloth easily in my country.

It's used for a lot of things, so I would think you'll be able to find it. Let us know how it goes if you do find some.

 

[xMackx]

I really like cotton as a wick. I've used (if I'm correct on the terminology) gauze pad, individual strands from gauze pad, batting, and bamboo yarn. The bamboo was a slight disappointment.

Batting wicks marvellously, but it's very tricky to make it constantly the same. Squeeze it too hard and it won't wick properly, leave it too fluffy and it'll break. And the thickness is practically impossible to measure. The gauze pad strands were the easiest to make the same every time, but it just doesn't wick like batting.

I hope I can find cheese cloth easily in my country.

If they make cheese in your country you should be able to find it. Cheese cloth has been around for straining curds and weigh for a very long time.