New to Vaping and ECF ... Wicking?

[Jim V]

Hello All,

I've been a reader of this forum for the past couple weeks (on my 4th week smoke-free). Some great information here and I look forward to getting more familiar with what's available.

In the last 4 weeks I've gone from an Aspire VV battery with nautilus Mini to an MVP 3.0 with KangerTech Subtank Mini... But I just a Stillare rda.

My coils are coming out well (ranging from .7 -.12 ohm, depending on what I'm twisting), but my wicking doesn't seem to be holding up for more than a couple hours. I'm using organic cotton as my material and everything work great on a new coil, but flavor and Vape production goes down after a few hours.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[Dougiestyle]

Rayon is superior IMO.

 

[Jim V]

Thanks! Most of what I heard at my local shop and read on forums recommended cotton. After a couple quick searches, rayon seems to be a good thing to try.

Any suggestions on how to wrap it as opposed to cotton?

 

[cinetrope]

I don't drip as much as I used to but when I did I would dry burn and rewick at least once a day, especially when using NETs or sticky juices.

 

[classwife]

Moved you to New Members from Simple Solutions

 

[BlueSnake]

Maybe try a little less cotton. You want your coil full but not so tight that it chokes off the juice flow.

 

[Shadav]

you say after a few hours? it may not be your wick or coil at all....it could actually just be your battery needs recharged the lower your battery gets and esp if almost dead the less it's able to properly heat the coil.....

as for materials, it really is just personal taste....what works for some doesn't for others....me i'm just fine with my silica wicks others have to have cotton, some rayon...experiment til you find what you like
but as said, if it's great at first then after a few hours of vaping it's not, i say it's your battery drain and not the coil.

 

[Wolfenstark]

For the subtank mini rba section - I Found what works for me for wicking is,,,
Put cotton through the coils I like it snug in the coil then put the chimney/chamber on with the top part off. Have the cotton coming out the top then cut each length about half an inch above the top of the chimney/chamber. Then I fold the cotton over the edge of the chamber and then try to keep that bend and push the end down into the chamber. Do that for the other end then put some juice on the coil and the wick then give it a test fire then put some more juice on the wick then get a small screwdriver and go between the wick and the chamber to the bottom and gently move the bottom of the wick away from the side of the chamber.

This has been good for me , tried several times before wicking it like the lemo and it was good for 5 minutes then went bad.
For me it seems to like more cotton coming out straight from the end of the coil and then bending down to the deck but also the wick ends away from the juice holes.

 

[KeggsNA]

For the subtank mini, I wick "chunky" as someone in the Subtank Mini megathread recommended. My wicks went from only being able to handle 7-10ml to 50+. Also, I recommend a twisted coil setup in it, I used 28g Kanthal, 5 wraps came out to .5 ohms. My sweet spot is 26W but I love it!

 

[Jim V]

Thanks Blue,

I've been trying various wick thickness/length (down to barely enough to hold liquid). I'll keep experimenting, but will also give rayon a try.

Thanks all

 

[Jim V]

Wolf and Kegg,

Good thing to try with my RBA.

Also, I just started trying to twist my 28 GA kanthal. The drill/Allen wrench work well, but I just tried a hooked knitting needle (darning?) and a lot less slipping compared to the wrench.

 

[Jim V]

you say after a few hours? it may not be your wick or coil at all....it could actually just be your battery needs recharged the lower your battery gets and esp if almost dead the less it's able to properly heat the coil.....

as for materials, it really is just personal taste....what works for some doesn't for others....me i'm just fine with my silica wicks others have to have cotton, some rayon...experiment til you find what you like
but as said, if it's great at first then after a few hours of vaping it's not, i say it's your battery drain and not the coil.

I knew I'd be getting a box mod with some quality batteries eventually, but maybe sooner than later. It looked like the MVP 3.0 had some good specs to support an RDA, but I can understand how it might not be designed for this kind of use with the chain-vaping I've been doing.

Any thoughts on a 95:5 VG/PG vs lower VG content?

 

[DCBD]

Organic Japanese cotton has always worked for me in a Subtank mini. I tried rayon and didn't like the taste. Another cotton option is organic Egyptian cotton, call Drago. It comes in a roll instead of pads and it a little more difficult to work with, but it very absorbent, making the juice flow better.

 

[Captain Anarchist]

I have found personally for myself rayon is great to mold and work with but I find my Vape loses its flavor within a few hours.
I have tried organic cotton and Shesheido which is Japanese cotton, IMO the Japanese cotton is far superior for wicking and keeping/maintaining flavor. I do Vape a lot and like to change my wicks out every 2 or 3 days. Everyone finds what works best for them. my best advice is try everything and see what works best for you.

 

[Jim V]

Thanks everyone,

It looks like I'll be experimenting more diversely in the coming weeks. As all of you know, there are a lot of combinations to fit everyone's taste, but thank you for letting me know pro and cons of some of the options.

Tonight's build is a dual coil, 28 ga with 6 wraps. It's metering at .6 ohms and drawing well at 22 watts. I'll play with the cotton until I pick up some rayon.


Thanks again everyone!

 

[hardadi]

If you use liquid with much additive like citric acid, better to use rayon. If your liquid smells like espresso machine descaling tablet, great chance they put citric acid in your liquid to enhance fruit flavour. For few first draw, vapour from rayon wick taste like paper though. So, take some priming draw, hold the vapour in your mouth and blow it away..

 

[Bunnykiller]

Natural Sea Sponge collected by mermaids from the west coast of the Hawiian islands works well but finding the mermaids is difficult...

 

[evan le'garde]

That's what annoys me about Provari. Why they don't make a low ohm device is weird. Their P3 only goes down to 0.8ohm.

Anyway, could be they battery getting flat, as it drains the vapour suffers. Turn the watts up as it drains.

I can't see it being the wick for one basic reason and that is because you never said in your post that you're getting dry hits.

So i'm basing my diagnosis on the contents of your post and nothing else.

I know the Provari is a popular device but don't you all think that the P3 should have been able to handle much lower ohm's ?. I'd have bought one and so would a lot more people. As it is, what's the point ?.

 

[AndrewH]

That's what annoys me about Provari. Why they don't make a low ohm device is weird. Their P3 only goes down to 0.8ohm.

Anyway, could be they battery getting flat, as it drains the vapour suffers. Turn the watts up as it drains.

I can't see it being the wick for one basic reason and that is because you never said in your post that you're getting dry hits.

So i'm basing my diagnosis on the contents of your post and nothing else.

I know the Provari is a popular device but don't you all think that the P3 should have been able to handle much lower ohm's ?. I'd have bought one and so would a lot more people. As it is, what's the point ?.

The reality is, Provape isn't focusing on the latest trend of sub ohm vaping, they may in the future but at the moment they are committed to delivering a solid and stable device that just works every single time you press the button. I would imagine that there are far more people who use 1.0+ ohm coils than there are that use <.6 ohm coils. Also, the P3 will accept down to .7 not .8 as you listed.

I suspect that if Provape feels that they can go further down the sub ohm trail without sacrificing safety, quality and the reliability that the brand is known for then we will see a device from them in the future that can go even lower.

 

[Baditude]

Not a fan of plain organic cotton. Unfortunately I get that "new cotton" taste with a new wick.

My preferences are for Ko Gen Do (Japanese cotton) or Cotton Bacon. No new cotton taste with these, and seems to last reasonably long. Rayon (cellucotton) is my second choice.