The "dangers" of silica wicks

[Kurt]

anyone know where to buy Amorphous silica wicks from?

All silica used in wicks (fiber-glass thread) is amorphous. These silica fibers are not risk-free, but they do not cause silicosis, and they are very resilient to heat fracturing.

My bottom-coil Kanger Protank causes me NONE of the irritations that new cartomizers cause. Fantastic technology, and well worth the small investment. And can be recoiled and rewicked indefinitely.

That all said, I have more concerns about the coil material than any wick (save for oxidized SS, there I agree with Boden entirely). It is probable that the risk from Ni or Cr or Al (kanthal) is small, but when one finds out about ANY risks, the brain tends to obsess on it, making the vape less pleasurable, at least to me. Currently exploring the possibility of titanium coils, but while Ti is very safe indeed, it might be a metal that is hard to coil easily. Can't find enough info however. Seems a year ago it was the hot topic, then it died without a trace that I can find. This is a bit OT, but anyone able to point me in the right direction?

 

[peterforpats]

I got a new atty with silica wick in it. I didn't realize it was, but only vaped on it for a few hits. Went to remove the wick to replace with cotton and the thing was already falling apart. I guess they just disintegrate when wet and handled.

I gave up smoking to try to get the crap outta my lungs, you know, harm reduction? The way I see it, there are other easily obtained materials for wicks that don't break into shards. Sure, it might not be a concern. Sure, I will most likely die of something else.

That said, I would like to hear what the OP comes up with as to what the wicks being used are made of. After all, they may just be the safe kind. But until this controversy has been settled, and even if it takes a long time, I would really rather not have silicosis later in life.

Also, OP, can you tell me if silicosis resembles mesothelioma? I would think it would be similar?

well I hope it's like mesothelioma because the guy in the commercial for lawyers named Doug has been around for years and seems to be doing well making commercials.

 

[JUDGMENT AFFIRMED]

Currently exploring the possibility of titanium coils, but while Ti is very safe indeed, it might be a metal that is hard to coil easily. Can't find enough info however. Seems a year ago it was the hot topic, then it died without a trace that I can find. This is a bit OT, but anyone able to point me in the right direction?

HI Kurt,
MIT CE4 TITANIUM STARDUST TITANIUM [CE4CLV1TITA] - $1.61 :

 

[Kurt]

Thanks, Judge! Good to know!

 

[xEtherized]

If anyone uses rebuildables here, after about a few days using the silica wicks, you could actually see little shards on the walls of the atomizer.

 

[martinc]

I use ekowool and nope,nothing floating in there at all...ever.

Even after great use,I can remove the crud and the coil and look at it,intact.

Me think the ones that do are wound too tight.

 

[Litcube]

Also, OP, can you tell me if silicosis resembles mesothelioma? I would think it would be similar?

Mesothelioma is a cancer commonly caused by exposure to asbestos. Silicosis is a lung condition caused by scarring of the lungs caused by exposure to crystalline silica. One is a cancer, the other is not.

I'm convinced that silica wicks used for this purpose are made of amorphous silica. Amorphous silica cannot cause silicosis. Amorphous silica is expelled from the lungs readily, crystalline silica is not.

 

[Vaptor]

In that case silica wicks made of fiber glass are safer than inhaling bits of silica from rocks. Didn't know there were two types of Silica.

 

[Koman]

HI Kurt,
MIT CE4 TITANIUM STARDUST TITANIUM [CE4CLV1TITA] - $1.61 :

Thanks for the link. Good stuff!

 

[Wheezy]

This is good information; thanks for sharing!

 

[DubbyaH]

Id like to add a point here that I hope is not lost in translation. Most anything taken to extreme can be harmful or even deadly. Too much oxygen and even water ingested, inhaled, or metabolized can kill you. Moderation in all things is the best way to be. What I'm trying to say is that if you are chain vaping all day every day then that is bad. Just by the definition of going to an extreme. I feel comfortable vaping most anything at a moderate level. That was intimated in the OP. It requires large amounts of even the harmful silica to create enough scarring to be of concern. I think that as a society we have cultivated a culture of fear and we are all programmed to react/overreact with the most negative reation possible to information. We are negatively reactionary as a group that then becomes a self sufficient cycle that leads to further unnecessary paranoia. I realize I'm approaching gibberish status, just wanted to state that in reality nothing is worth overreacting to, but I am glad that thorough analysis of these things are taking place.

 

[glycerol]

we have cultivated a culture of fear and we are all programmed to react/overreact with the most negative reation possible to information

Yes, and that is exactly why the average life expectancy during the Neolithic era was 20 years and now it's 70 - because people started reacting to information.

I'm trying to say is that if you are chain vaping all day every day then that is bad.

Well, that's what I do - all day, every day for three months now, perhaps I will continue vaping 'till the day I die so I want to know all aspects of it and all risks associated.

The scientific researches and worthy forum posts I read in similar threads made me switch from VG to PG, from silica flavor wicks to cotton, etc. Nothing bad about a hint of paranoia here and there. Cheers.

 

[DubbyaH]

Yes, and that is exactly why the average life expectancy during the Neolithic era was 20 years and now it's 70 - because people started reacting to information.

Well that is partially true, but does not speak to the nature of the reaction which is my point. An overreaction. An overconcentration on the negative. A reactionary response rather than deliberate and logical thinking. I was taking to task the paranoia and scare tactics that are everywhere and finally stated at the end that I do appreciate the informative posts in this thread.

Well, that's what I do - all day, every day for three months now, perhaps I will continue vaping 'till the day I die so I want to know all aspects of it and all risks associated.

The scientific researches and worthy forum posts I read in similar threads made me switch from VG to PG, from silica flavor wicks to cotton, etc. Nothing bad about a hint of paranoia here and there. Cheers.

Well firstly, I was unaware of any concerns for VG. But if there are then I would not "freak" out and get rid of all of the VG juice I owned. Some/most might. Those are the ones that I am talking about. The OP had a great point and it was hashed out well in this thread. I just wanted to add the notion that to take anything to an extreme in life is usually harmful, and to be mindful of your reactions.

 

[glycerol]

I was unaware of any concerns for VG

You see - it's never too late to learn something from a paranoid thread lol. Well, it's just that VG immediately goes formaldehyde (highly toxic, cancerous thingy) after a certain temperature, I think it was around 260 degrees Celsius. I guess a regular atty can't reach these temps since it's 'liquid cooled' most of the time, but who knows what temp you can get while dry-hitting or on a sub-ohm atty attached to a powerful mod.. Anyway, I know I might never ever reach 260°C with my eGo battery, but that made me think twice about going below 1.8 ohms, for example - all I know is my coil's kanthal wire GLOWS RED when I dry burn it and that means TIMES more than 260°C. Anyway, I guess I'm a bit of a paranoid, but I'm just a noob and I'm still looking for the SAFEST combo that gives maximum vapour, th and taste without pushing things too far. I'm also concerned about the flavourings (stopped vaping vanilla, cinnamon and oil-based flavours), the batteries, FeCrAl, etc. and question everything since I still know way too less. Threads like this one are a great read, I enjoy them and I learn a lot. Once again: Cheers from Germany and excuse my poor English

 

[HDVaper]

Well if it takes 20 or 30 years for it to get to the point it hurts you then I'm in business! At my age I'll be worm dirt before it gets me so...I'm just gonna just VAPE ON!

 

[m204prgmr]

Well if it takes 20 or 30 years for it to get to the point it hurts you then I'm in business! At my age I'll be worm dirt before it gets me so...I'm just gonna just VAPE ON!

I would be VERY interested in reading more about Silica, Ekowool, Bastos used for wicking and have held a closet concern ever since I started vaping. But, let's look at the whole picture and I know we can never compare apples to oranges, but, compare what we are doing to analogs and this HAS to by far be at the very least, A LITTLE safer? Being recently unemployed, there are a ton of ideas going through my head about which next door to attempt to open. Maybe I should go after govt. money for research and see just what is the temp of the wick, juice, coil, and vapor when we press that button. What is in the vapor as it travels through the tip? Just what is left on the tip each time we pull it back after taking a pull on our mod? Back wash. Is there any that floats down to the juice? How does that effect the TH? You can see my numbers below of when I quit the analogs and thank God you guys were here and there was an alternative to help me stop. The alternative to help me stop as we all know, turned into a life-style and booming industry. I welcome the educational discussions and applaud anyone that brings forth statistics with information. Regarding the P100 filter mentioned when this thread started, if you haven't seen it, it's a particle filter. Recently I saw GrimmGreen tear apart 4 carto's and there was what looked like a fire ......ant sock over the coil. Could this be something we need to add to our arsenal? Could this be a particle filter?

Happy Vaping

 

[tenshi]

Well if it takes 20 or 30 years for it to get to the point it hurts you then I'm in business! At my age I'll be worm dirt before it gets me so...I'm just gonna just VAPE ON!

hehe Thank goodness you don't have to wait that long to find out.

I hear all the time "well they didn't find out smoking was dangerous till 20 years later. How are we to know now?". I've been a scientist for a very long time. While it's hard to explain things in layman's terms... Basically, our technology is so much more advance now than it was 30 years ago. Everyone was pleasantly surprised that the most recent study showed ecigs to not be harmful. I wasn't surprised at all, I've looked at many of the previous tests/methods and saw the concentration levels being so far below everyday air... One person (or media) can take one chemical, for example, formaldehyde and blow it up to cause such a stir due to either ignorance or malice for financial gain or whatever the reason.

The point is... We don't have to wait 20 or 30 years to find out whether it's hazardous or not. We can identify the chemicals quickly now from Gas Chromatography, Mass spectrometry... A variety of analytical methods/insruments... etc. We already know the cancer causing chemicals, the safe chemicals, the safe in moderation chemicals, and how our bodies react to the liquid, the solid, the gases of these chemicals (MSDS). It'll take widespread education to get everyone to realize how much safer ecigs are to analogs. That's why I'm so thankful to CASAA and all their hardwork fighting for our right to vape.

 

[Steve803]

I'd like to thank all the real scientists that brought real data and pics to backup the facts being presented. I saw no fear-mongering in the original post which i found while googling silica wicks for research purposes. I was concerned that the silica wicks were potentially a health risk from other threads i read. I just started making my coils with cotton and enjoy the intense flavor but am finding the cotton makes my juice taste burnt. It is unfortunate that some consider threats like this as gibberish and not informative as was intended in the first place. Thank you again to all the smart knowledgable scientists that shared their facts for us to learn for our own edification on our products of choice.


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[Fenix-T]

I don't think there's any danger from using silica wicks, but I sure wouldn't give any credit to a person on an ecig forum claiming to be a 'scientist'. The word 'scientist' is such an ambiguous term for a profession much like 'technician'. But, I digress, since 'science' is the 2013 buzzword that makes people feel smart, anyone with an internet connection and Google can be one.

 

[Criticalmass]

Recently some branch of the united nations listed 'air' as cancer causing. They have determined that last year 244000 people died of lung cancer caused by pollution in the air. We inhale lots of crap every day. Is there any evidence that using cotton or hemp socks are any safer?

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