Different Cottons for different wicks

[IxJxOxHxNx]

I used the Cotton Yarn from Walmart. Its really easy to work with and all. I boil it in a pot and let it dry then coil it up and go. The only issue i have with it is the initial taste when its new in my rba. Its so disgusting to me, but i found a work around for it. I just drip some juice on it and give it 10-20 burns and usually its gone from when i hit on it. BTW the Yarn im talking about is the Peaches N Cream brand, i hear you can get it at Michaels too.

 

[JD1]

......... The only issue i have with it is the initial taste when its new in my rba. Its so disgusting to me, but i found a work around for it. ........

Congrats for persisting on to find something that works for you. As lot's of folks quote here on the forums, whatever keeps you off the ciggies is what's best.

But I'm reminded again how different all our taste buds can be. I remember my first impression of cotton was 'wow, I've never tasted my juice this fresh before'. I didn't think I was tasting the cotton at all. That 'fresh' taste went away after several vapes and taste went to normal. It was only after reading some posts on the forum here that I realized that what I was calling a fresh taste was actually a cotton taste lol.

 

[Butters78]

Yeal, that looks like it would be a good 'bang for the buck' device, and with a 4 amp limit, I'm guessing you can make a serious fog with your DCTs lol.

As far as the RBAs, I'm not sure if it's the 'holy grail' or not, but I'm diggin' this: COV Gen 1 (If you decide to try one, use code bigbuyer)

I've been using Joye 510 attys for dripping, Smok reduxes for everything else, but now that I have my dud, I think it's going to see the most use. I've been dripping in it all evening and I'm thinking of getting another one just for dripping. It'll have that big juice well at the bottom for nothing, but I already know I'm going to like the draw.

Using cotton, wick and coil building is dead easy and very inexpensive, so I say jump right in, the water's fine lol.

Since you like duel coils, you might want to take a look at the triangle as it's set up to make duel coils easier.
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-systems/353761-empire-mods-triangle-rba.html

Wow using the DUD for a dripper I never thought of that. A friend on here sent me a dude to try but I haven't gotten a torch yet to try ss mesh. That's a neat idea to use it as a dripper as well. How many drops does it hold aprox?

Oh and update guys, I worked a 10 hour today and another tommorow so I won't play with the rounds till weekend when i'm not beat.

 

[Butters78]

What's funny is I made this to test out the DUD. Make sure the positive and negative were working good when I first got it. I should of dripped a little ha..

http://i1237.photobucket.com/albums/ff464/Erichill210/IMAG0121.jpg

 

[xMackx]

I do recommend 2 things I think are important for anyone rebuilding with cotton.

One is boiling the cotton

None of the cottons we buy were made with vaping in mind so will have residual chemicals from the bleaching process and others that make the material more pliant. I have tried vaping off of non boiled cotton and boiled and boiling does give it a much more absolute clean vape that is noticeable. Also usp means an acceptable purity of a product and is approved for its intended use, for instance some cotton gauze usp may contain antibacterial chemicals we might not want to vape. So I highly recommend boiling any cotton you are going to use.

Here is a site that goes into detail about the different chemicals in cotton products by another member. MyWikkaSite: Cotton Wick Wiki

Two would be always preform a burn test:

This is especially important with cotton twines, yarns, and rope because some companies use a polyester or nylon blend to make it easier to hold the cotton fibers together. I have bought twines that claim 100% cotton on the label to find a burn test confirms synthetic fibers.

How to preform a burn test:

Take a small 3 inch piece of the cotton in question and slowly approach the flame (lighter/candle). As the cotton approaches the flame it shouldn't melt or recoil from the flame. Pure cotton should burn easily with a yellow flame. One of the biggest tell tale signs of its purity is when you blow the flame out the smoke should smell like burnt paper (synthetic fibers will smell plastic like) and the black burnt part should feel soft if pure cotton, if it feels hard and crispy it's an indication of synthetic fibers.

 

[JD1]

What's funny is I made this to test out the DUD. Make sure the positive and negative were working good when I first got it. I should of dripped a little ha..

Yep! Tuck that wick in, put the cap on and go to foggin' lol. I'm just guessing, but I'd say the amount of wick you had there would (after the initial soak) deliver ~ 12 drops easy enough, maybe more.

Back when I was using bonuts in my 510 atty, I learned that I didn't want too many drops in my atty. Part of the charm of dripping imo is keeping your juice fresh. I found that by adding one bonut to my 510, I could go from 3 to 6 or 7 drops, and it worked fine. If I stuffed in another bonut, I could go to 10 or 11 drops, but it didn't seem like my juice was staying fresh. (Unless it just my imagination lol).

Anyways, to each his own. Just a while back I read a thread where they were tickled to be able to get upward of thirty drops in their IGO-L. I'd just as soon have my redux at that point.

 

[JD1]

Ok, I've now tried something new for me and I'm really liking it, and since I'm still using cotton, I'll share it here.

I've used a few strands of cotton to insulate the top of an ss wick for my dud, as shown in this video. Mesh/Cotton hybrid wick Bluegrasslover's method - YouTube Start it at about 1:20 to see what he's doing. He's calling it the Bluegrasslover's method since that's who first came up with it.

I used the inner shaft from an old ce2 to wind my coil on, but I'm sure a drill bit or nail would work just as well. Just make sure that it fits in the wick hole with a little play.

4oo mesh, rolled very tight but still with a very small center hole.

I used a que-tip for cotton, and I used less than he did. Just a turn and smoothed it with my finger and thumb. I then fit it into the coil snug but not tight.

Also, I put a very small dab of cotton draped over the top of the wire going to the top of the center post, and tucked behind the coil, reaching down to the bottom and the wire to the ground screw. I'm not even sure it was needed, but my thinking was to eliminate potential hot spots.

A 5/6 wrap of 32 kanthal came out at 2.2 ohms. My Vector is set at 3.6 volts which gives me 6 watts.

Even at just 6 watts, vapor is about the same as a drag on a ciggy, and warm enough to suit me. Flavor and th is great. I think I got a little nic buzz from thing early on lol. I'm using 70/30 pg to vg @ ~ 12mg. I am holding it vertical, and it's been wicking great.

I do believe this 400 mesh wicks the flavors and nic through better than anything else I've tried so far. This is just initial impressions tho, I haven't put a full tank through yet, but so far so good, and I'm really hoping this holds up. For those that like a hot vape, I'm not sure how far this could be pushed, but for anyone that is satisfied with a warm vape, I recommend giving this a try.

 

[xMackx]

JD1 this is the spin-E coil invented by Mister-E, it's one of the best setups for vapor production and flavor I have tried in my DID. It is modified with the wick hole bored to about 3mm and the fill skrew hole bored the same. Basically the wick goes down one wick hole wraps around the positive post and back down the other wick hole. There is no wick inside the coil (in the pic it hadn't swelled all the way against the coil yet). It's like having a dripping atty except just plug the air intake with your thumb and suck and it primes the wick. I still use ss mesh but this setup I think has been over looked, even by me before I tried it. You can also change the wick without messing with the coil. Just thought you may find it interesting.

 

[JD1]

Wow. I'd never seen that before. Thanks for posting. I'll be trying that eventually. I need to recoup after the holidays but I'm probably going to pick up a couple more of these units in the future.

Since I don't like for my dripper to hold much liquid, looks like I could put just a wedge of cotton behind the coil and use it that way. That would really be fast for changing flavors.

Is that a real did in the pic or a clone like mine? Also, you mentioned you use ss some, what kind of luck are you having as far as hot spots and all that?

 

[xMackx]

Wow. I'd never seen that before. Thanks for posting. I'll be trying that eventually. I need to recoup after the holidays but I'm probably going to pick up a couple more of these units in the future.

Since I don't like for my dripper to hold much liquid, looks like I could put just a wedge of cotton behind the coil and use it that way. That would really be fast for changing flavors.

Is that a real did in the pic or a clone like mine? Also, you mentioned you use ss some, what kind of luck are you having as far as hot spots and all that?

It is the did clone, same as yours. SS mesh is thee absolute most finicky wick I've used, took me about a month to learn what gauge I prefer and how to make it taste decent. I get best results by oxidizing the wick AND the coil. One method is to mount the coil and juice burn or slide a piece of cotton round in the coil, drip and vape for a few minutes until it looks discolored. But recently I have had best performance by wrapping the coil with the wick already installed, pin down the negative and wrap upward. Also keeping the coil wraps side by side so it looks like they're touching (as long as the wraps don't overlap it wont short). Also when connecting the positive and negative legs wrap them around in the direction that makes the legs as short as possible (leg hot spots are notorious without doing so). I'll take a pic of what i mean later.

 

[xMackx]

Here is a pic of my setup I was referring to. I go back and forth between the ss mesh and cotton in my did clone. I guess I am one of the people with a sensitive palette because I do think cotton brings out flavors a lot better personally. I use 33 awg kanthal, I have used 30 and thicker gauge wires and I like using thinner gauge wires because reaction time is better (heats up quicker) and seems to taste best to be at lower volts and lower ohms (3.2 volts with 1.8ohm coil).

 

[JD1]

.............I guess I am one of the people with a sensitive palette because I do think cotton brings out flavors a lot better personally. I use 33 awg kanthal, I have used 30 and thicker gauge wires and I like using thinner gauge wires because reaction time is better (heats up quicker) and seems to taste best to be at lower volts and lower ohms (3.2 volts with 1.8ohm coil).

Very neat looking setup, Mack. Also interesting to see that you're using less than six watts. It looks to me like you've hit on an efficient way to set up the ss wick. I'm definitely going to try close wrapping my coil when I replace the one in there now.

Today I've been going back and forth between a redux and the dud, both with the same juice. Both are performing great and there's not much difference between them. The good news is, I'm liking both, so I think I'm pretty well set, for a while at least lol.

 

[xMackx]

Very neat looking setup, Mack. Also interesting to see that you're using less than six watts. It looks to me like you've hit on an efficient way to set up the ss wick. I'm definitely going to try close wrapping my coil when I replace the one in there now.

Today I've been going back and forth between a redux and the dud, both with the same juice. Both are performing great and there's not much difference between them. The good news is, I'm liking both, so I think I'm pretty well set, for a while at least lol.

I have found that coil wraps being close together no matter the wick type performs better. I actually wrap the coil wraps side by side touching, it's a phenomena it doesn't short I delved into on other threads before. Glad you're enjoying your did clone, there are alot of things you can do with it which is fun.

 

[JD1]

.......... Glad you're enjoying your did clone, there are alot of things you can do with it which is fun.

Yep. I've just ordered another one from COV. The first wick I'm going to try in it is the spin-E coil from Mister-E that you showed.

 

[JD1]

My second Gen 1 from COV came in today and I'm trying the spin-E coil similar to the setup Mack showed on page 7. I didn't drill and I'm just dripping to keep it wet. I used a needle to wrap a very tight coil with 11/12 wraps that's giving me 2.9 ohms. At 3.9 volts and ~ 5.2 watts, it's performing great. At 4.5 volts and ~8 watts, it's a fog machine, but too much for me. Not harsh though--just strong, others may like it.

All I know is, I will not be replacing my 510 dripping attys. In fact, I might as well clean the three I have out and store them away.

 

[xMackx]

My second Gen 1 from COV came in today and I'm trying the spin-E coil similar to the setup Mack showed on page 7. I didn't drill and I'm just dripping to keep it wet. I used a needle to wrap a very tight coil with 11/12 wraps that's giving me 2.9 ohms. At 3.9 volts and ~ 5.2 watts, it's performing great. At 4.5 volts and ~8 watts, it's a fog machine, but too much for me. Not harsh though--just strong, others may like it.

All I know is, I will not be replacing my 510 dripping attys. In fact, I might as well clean the three I have out and store them away.

It is a fog machine lol. I don't use it all of the time, every rebuild I alternate from ss mesh to the spin-e just to change things up.

 

[mrelwood]

Do you guys use the Spin-E only for dripping, or is there a eay to make it wick?

 

[xMackx]

Do you guys use the Spin-E only for dripping, or is there a eay to make it wick?

I bored the wick hole and fill screw hole each to 3mm so it's big enough for cotton and my ss mesh seems to like a little extra room as well.

 

[JD1]

I'm just dripping because I'm not willing to drill my gen 1 yet. I set my yj to 6 volts for a couple of puffs (2.9 ohm coil, ~12 watts). Plumes of vapor without a bit of popping or burning. I prefer it at 3.9 volts though.

Edit: Mack, thanks again for posting this thread. Thinks to some tips in this thread, I now have my reduxes set up with cotton, one gen 1 set up with ss, and one with spin-E. All three are performing great. There's slight differences in all three, but I'd be hard put to explain them lol. The good part is, I like all three. I'll have to start trying to figure out which juice goes best with which device lol.

Happy vaping everyone.

 

[donnah]

A picture of my vulcan wicked with a sliver of cotton makeup remover round. I rolled my coil, installed and tested it before I threaded the cotton through it. I've been working with ss mesh for awhile with not much luck.. always a metallic taste. Finally I'm getting intense flavor and rich vapor from this thing As for how long this setup will last I don't know.. my hopes are I can replace the wick without having to replace the coil each time. Time will tell.