Aspire BVC with ceramic wicks, remember?

[ciggy79]

I only recently discovered that Aspire released BVCs using ceramic wicks up to a certain point.

Customers then asked to switch to cotton and Aspire did follow the advice. Reading posts and threads I could not find any final discovery on what that stuff really was. Aspire claimed it was bio ceramic (which does exist and is safe) but never produced documentation for that.

Now I happen to have access to a fully featured laboratory that can tell me if the ceramic was or not actually "bio".

That would, at least retrospectively, throw some light on the matter which, considering the big number of customers who were exposed to BVCs (nautilus, nautilus Mini, etc.), IT IS a matter of a certain importance.

Unfortunately these days it is hard to find that stuff in a shop (it is all cotton these days) so I was wondering if any one of you still have some BVC atomizers which he or she chucked in a drawer and never got it out again when you discovered the wicking material was not absolutely safe stuff.

If you send it to me I can get the lab to run a couple of tests on it and let you know how it goes. I can pay for the shipping, it's not an issue.

Cheers

 

[classwife]

Moved this to Clearomizers from Atomizers and Cartridges

Atomizers and Cartridges
A forum for general discussion of atties and carts (atomizers and cartridges).

 

[David Wolf]

I only recently discovered that Aspire released BVCs using ceramic wicks up to a certain point.

Customers then asked to switch to cotton and Aspire did follow the advice. Reading posts and threads I could not find any final discovery on what that stuff really was. Aspire claimed it was bio ceramic (which does exist and is safe) but never produced documentation for that.

Now I happen to have access to a fully featured laboratory that can tell me if the ceramic was or not actually "bio".

That would, at least retrospectively, throw some light on the matter which, considering the big number of customers who were exposed to BVCs (Nautilus, Nautilus Mini, etc.), IT IS a matter of a certain importance.

Unfortunately these days it is hard to find that stuff in a shop (it is all cotton these days) so I was wondering if any one of you still havel some BVC atomizers which he or she chucked in a drawer and never got it out again when you discovered the wicking material was not absolutely safe stuff.

If you send it to me I can get the lab to run a couple of tests on it and let you know how it goes. I can pay for the shipping, it's not an issue.

Cheers

I hope someone sends you one. It would be interesting to know. After seeing videos of folks tearing one down and seeing that fibrous material (I always wondered if that's why they had the screens at the top) I waited until they changed to cotton before buying my nautilus mini's. I like the new coils and the screens are still there, a good idea since they can stop any spitting from reaching your mouth.

 

[ciggy79]

So far no replies from anyone. There must be someone who still have it. I am asking shops as well but nothing

 

[dsheik]

I dont have any myself. You could check with http://clonecores.com/product/10-pack-of-aspire-nautilus-nautilus-mini-cores-16ohm-low
They say old style. I dont know if that includes the ceramic mesh or not.

 

[ciggy79]

Thanks. Ohbut it is BDC. I am looking for BVC

Thanks anyway

 

[Mommay]

I bet I have some old ones in a drawer. Does it matter if they've been used? I know that sounds gross, but I clean everything before I drop it into my coil drawer to be rebuilt. There may be a chance that I can find an unused pack - I'll check.

 

[jwbnyc]

I'd send you some if I hadn't sent mine to someone who prefers them to the newer version.

Interested to see your findings.

 

[ciggy79]

Please have a look @Mommay. It's team effort

Even if they are used it's not a problem. The guys at the lab don't mind.

 

[ciggy79]

I'd send you some if I hadn't sent mine to someone who prefers them to the newer version.

Interested to see your findings.

It won't be any good news I am afraid. Given the way they managed the issue at the time (comedy answers on the forum mentioning supposedly developed in house "safe" special ceramic fibers etc. etc.) I am ready for the worst.

 

[Mommay]

@ciggy79 I found a few. I pulled the post on one to make sure these were the older ones with the ceramic interior sleeves. If you'll message me your address, I'll get them out to you.

I believe that vaping is (most likely) safer than the smoking that I did for years. But the industry is in its infancy and with that, there are unknowns and inherent risks. I am more curious regarding the content & safety of our current products than I am of discontinued ones. That being said, more information = more choices and I am happy to be able to send you the requested goodies.

 

[ciggy79]

@ciggy79 I found a few. I pulled the post on one to make sure these were the older ones with the ceramic interior sleeves. If you'll message me your address, I'll get them out to you.

I believe that vaping is (most likely) safer than the smoking that I did for years. But the industry is in its infancy and with that, there are unknowns and inherent risks. I am more curious regarding the content & safety of our current products than I am of discontinued ones. That being said, more information = more choices and I am happy to be able to send you the requested goodies.

Sure. But regardless of the stage the industry is at, it does not take a genius to avoid bio persistent ceramic fibers. Only an idiot or a criminal would use that. It takes one google search to find out that:

1. Ceramic fibers are small enough to reach the deep lung
2. They are fairly biopersistent
3. It has been proves it causes cancer in animals

Anyway let's talk in private for the address.

Cheers

 

[curiousJan]

Do the inserts look like this? This is from an older BDC that had cotton wicks, but this insert is stiff and doesn't feel like cotton. I have a few more of these (unused and not deconstructed) if they are what you want.

 

[curiousJan]

For clarity, there is no screen anywhere in these, and they are not Nautilus or Atlantis specific. I used them in my clearomizers.

 

[David Wolf]

Do the inserts look like this? This is from an older BDC that had cotton wicks, but this insert is stiff and doesn't feel like cotton. I have a few more of these (unused and not deconstructed) if they are what you want.

That looks like silica wick to me. What clearomizer did it come from?

 

[curiousJan]

CE5, I believe. I used them in my glassomizers too.

ETA: they are marked Aspire_rpl18_CE5VIV

 

[ciggy79]

Do the inserts look like this? This is from an older BDC that had cotton wicks, but this insert is stiff and doesn't feel like cotton. I have a few more of these (unused and not deconstructed) if they are what you want.

This is the fiberglass lining of the bdc. It's fiberglass and it does not get in direct contact with the coils. And even if it did, broke down in smalled pieces and get inhaled, it's never going to be a problem as continuous glass filaments are produced in non respirable sizes (diameter > 6um) and break down in a manner that preserve the diameter of the fiber.

These are "safe" stuff and are not what is contained in the first version of the BVC. Thank you very much for your help anyway.

 

[sisu]

They are crystalline silica. Search for posts approx. 9 months ago by Katya. She is the resident authority on Aspire coils with silica.

 

[ciggy79]

They are crystalline silica. Search for posts approx. 9 months ago by Katya. She is the resident authority on Aspire coils with silica.

There is a lot of confusion in this forum about silica. Silica is contained in ALL the man made vitreous fibers (e-glass, refractory ceramic fibers etc. etc.). Vapers think that silica can magically exit the fibers where it resides and go airbourne. That can indeed happen but it is not the issue because:

a - the silica in MMVFs is amorphous (not dangerous) and not crystalline.
b - Even if it was crystalline it would be a nonproblem as people suffering from sylicosis (caused by crystalline silica) have worked all their lives in a f******g mine breathing in tons of silica. Not milligrams a year.

Ther REAL PROBLEM are airbourne fibers that can easily leave the wicks and enter your lungs. They are just fibers. Not silica. They are made of silica but that's not the point.

The REAL point is that MMVFs can harm your lungs and cause cancer.

The criteria to label as NON carcinogenic a MMVF product are the following:

1 - the fibers have a diameter bigger than 6um (micrometers) and cannot enter the deep lung because it has been proven only fibers smaller than that can.
2 - the fibres contain an amount of alkaline and alkali earth oxides (Na2O+K2O+CaO+ MgO+BaO) greater than 18% by weight and are therefore bio soluble and can be destroyed by the body in a matter of a few days.

Anything that falls outsude those 2 rules is potentially carcinogenic. The normal wicks (you guys call 'silica wicks') is flipping e-glass. It's basically as bad as asbestos. Used to build boats, surfboards and stuff like that. Only it is too big to be inhaled. Glass filaments have the physical property of ALWAYS breaking down along their short axis. Which means the diameter of the generated fibers won't change. They are just shorter fibers. The burning coils might break the "silica wicks" into shorter bits which remain of the same diameter: NOT RESPIRABLE. Safe, Sorted! (They should still be avoided though, just in case)

Ceramic fibers, on the other hand, are produced in sizes that are well respirable 1-4 um. Also they happen to have little to none alkaline and alkali earth oxides which makes them bio persistent. Fiberglass glass (or silica wicks as you call it) too has zero alkaline and alkali earth oxides too but it's basically "big stuff" as explained above.

Bottom line: forget about silica and the likes. The only person who can tell you if some e cig material is dangerous or not is some lab dude who makes sure that either the fibers composing the wiking material are big enough (> 6um) or their alkaline and alkali earth oxides content is > 18%. Anything else is potentially deadly. Full stop.

 

[Katya]

They are crystalline silica. Search for posts approx. 9 months ago by Katya. She is the resident authority on Aspire coils with silica.

Most likely. We never got a definitive response from Aspire...

*le sigh*