#500 SS Mesh

[emonty]

I'm finding When I do my dry burns and coil nudging at higher watts for longer periods the hot coil is actually oxidizing the mesh for me with great stable results, as long as I've already torched and oxidized enough to get a couple of coils glowing to begin with I'm finding I' good from there with the nudging. I can tighten my coil and oxidize my wick when I get a glow on LOL.

yes, done that also. I even wrapped a coil without oxidizing at all!! It took 30 minutes to get them all glowing, but it worked. Downside is that the wick get's too hot, the coils eat into the first layer and therefore becomes brittle and useless.
For now I lightly oxidize the unrolled wick, let it cool off, roll and oxidize and have O2 take care of the oxidation process and then on very low voltage get the coils all glowing evenly, let it cool off in between then step up the voltage when all glowing, add liquid to the tank and vape away.

 

[gdeal]

Hmmm. But viscosity should not be a problem, as some of them are using 100% VG as well..

I think when most people say they use 100% VG, they mean they are not using any PG.

Dilution of 100% pure VG with 10-20% distilled water (incl. flavoring/pga or any combination) will dramatically improve "cold" wick wicking.

 

[shooter445]

Well I tried another wick about 60mm rolled tightly and wicks great with 60% VG, havent tried the Bobas yet to see how it works with 100% VG but im gonna let the wick break in with a thinner juice then try the bobas

 

[urquidezj]

I don't mind a 90 degree tilt but drinking soda tilt is why I stopped the genis to be honest.

 

[studiovap]

I don't mind a 90 degree tilt but drinking soda tilt is why I stopped the genis to be honest.

I think you'll find any of us here who are happy enough with our setup to post details will never tilt more than 45 degrees. IMHO any less than 45' is awkward and much more than that just looks desperate especially in public LOL

 

[meatsneakers]

Thanks for the thread BJ, finally got consistent results with SS mesh using #500. I'll share my findings here for everyone frustrated as I once was. Keep in mind this was what led to success for me, everyone seems to have their own take on SS which works for them.

-I leave a small hole in the center of the wick with the outer diameter wrapped tightly. This pulls juice faster for my setup as long as you tilt the PV so juice floods the wick. It acts as a sort of straw, working very well especially when you leave the fill hole open - the juice has no vacuum to fight against and rushes up that center hole and soaks the wick. A wick with no hole had trouble keeping up on my setup.

-Leave a tiny bit of room around the wick where it travels through the body - less resistance for juice to travel against.

-On my DUD, I wrap the coil using the bottom center nut, not the top one, leaving a decent amount of room for juice to pool at the top of the wick which keeps things wet at the bottom. I know a lot of people are using 28g, spreading out the heat along the wick, but I like the TH from a compact coil so YMMV.

-I switched to Kanthal from 30 and 32 gauge Nichrome. I know people have had success with Nichrome but after a few minutes to a few days, a slightly dry hit would snap or short out the wire. Even fiddling with the coil for 20 minutes at a time would leave me with shorts as I bumped up the voltage. With Kanthal, it's a minute at most and it stays stable for the life of the coil. My Nichrome coils all had to be 2+ ohms or they didn't have a chance. I'm now using 1.5 ohm coils with Kanthal at 11 watts with no problems at all.

-Finally, don't go crazy oxidizing and quenching. Just get it dark orange, let it cool in air and repeat 2 or 3 times. Quenching and getting the wick white hot just leads to a brittle wick that likes to short. Start out at a low voltage and wiggle the coil at the shorts with a tooth pick. Bump up the voltage and repeat until it's stable at your goal wattage.

Godspeed

 

[BJ43]

I think when most people say they use 100% VG, they mean they are not using any PG.

Dilution of 100% pure VG with 10-20% distilled water (incl. flavoring/pga or any combination) will dramatically improve "cold" wick wicking.

I use 100% vg, any dilution comes from any flavor I add, I have never added water and any flavor I use is 3 to 5 %. Have never had wicking problems with 500 mesh and pure vg and I double draw, chain vape. I invented the Bonut because a standard atty or a cart in a tank could not keep up with how I vape, so dripping was my preferred vape, but a PITA. The Bonuts at least gave me 15 minutes of great consistent vaper. Now with 500 mesh on a genesis or a Vivi with Lydias I am getting that consistency.

 

[Semi Reduction]

I'm finding When I do my dry burns and coil nudging at higher watts for longer periods the hot coil is actually oxidizing the mesh for me with great stable results, as long as I've already torched and oxidized enough to get a couple of coils glowing to begin with I'm finding I' good from there with the nudging. I can tighten my coil and oxidize my wick when I get a glow on LOL.

Yea I couldn't be bothered turning my kick down so I've always dry burned and fiddled at 10w. Works for me too.

 

[shooter445]

well I removed the wick I made and cut off about 5-10mm and rerolled it but not as tight and its wicking ok. I still have to hold my device at 2-3o'clock to suit my long draws/chain vaping, im hoping that as the wick breaks in it will wick better, but I will just have to wait and see. The 500 is working great on all my other juices just kicking my .... with Bobas!

 

[gdeal]

I use 100% vg, any dilution comes from any flavor I add, I have never added water and any flavor I use is 3 to 5 %. Have never had wicking problems with 500 mesh and pure vg and I double draw, chain vape. I invented the Bonut because a standard atty or a cart in a tank could not keep up with how I vape, so dripping was my preferred vape, but a PITA. The Bonuts at least gave me 15 minutes of great consistent vaper. Now with 500 mesh on a genesis or a Vivi with Lydias I am getting that consistency.

BJ, all good. And thanks for pointing this out. Let me clarify my "cold wick" wicking statement with a bit more detail.

Here is my thinking on this:

100% VG at lower temps has very high viscosity. Viscosity drops significantly as temperature rises to the vaporization state. StudioVaps post outlined things that can hinder wicking. Viscosity is a factor for wicking. So if your wick is "cold" and viscosity is high on a relative basis it will hinder wicking. Now, since you are in the tropics, your juice is already warm, so your "cold" wick is probable starting as a "warm" wick. Here up north, my pure VG is thicker than drying paint. I use all VG too. If I dont have at least 10% of something (flavoring/water, etc. with lower viscosity), I need to warm my wick up to get to that chain vape capable state. At first I could not understand why my ss mesh wicks were so slow wicking when I first fired up. but were blazing after a couple of minutes. So I came across this research. I highlighted some of the relevant data points for me. Made sense to me. Your temperature starting point may be a bit further to the right.

Once I lowered viscosity by increasing my dilution to 15%, I have had no issues with "cold wick" wicking at all. I am not sure how that actual math plays out on this, those formulas are way too complex.

 

[BJ43]

BJ, all good. And thanks for pointing this out. Let me clarify my "cold wick" wicking statement with a bit more detail.

Here is my thinking on this:

100% VG at lower temps has very high viscosity. Viscosity drops significantly as temperature rises to the vaporization state. StudioVaps post outlined things that can hinder wicking. Viscosity is a factor for wicking. So if your wick is "cold" and viscosity is high on a relative basis it will hinder wicking. Now, since you are in the tropics, your juice is already warm, so your "cold" wick is probable starting as a "warm" wick. Here up north, my pure VG is thicker than drying paint. I use all VG too. If I dont have at least 10% of something (flavoring/water, etc. with lower viscosity), I need to warm my wick up to get to that chain vape capable state. At first I could not understand why my ss mesh wicks were so slow wicking when I first fired up. but were blazing after a couple of minutes. So I came across this research. I highlighted some of the relevant data points for me. Made sense to me. Your temperature starting point may be a bit further to the right.

Once I lowered viscosity by increasing my dilution to 15%, I have had no issues with "cold wick" wicking at all. I am not sure how that actual math plays out on this, those formulas are way too complex.

Lol got it. My recommendation is, move to the islands. My starting point is around 30 C and after a few minutes of vaping it is probably 70 C in the tank. Anyway I ordered some Bobas to try it. So many here mention it, I figured it was worth trying.

 

[asdaq]

Good point about Florida, this is certainly not my climate either. However, we probably all have a similar room temperature, and my pocket might get it near 'tropical' temps.

 

[Jimi D.]

No wonder why my 70 pg 30 vg mix is a nightmare, in the Summertime down here

 

[BJ43]

So I conclude, north of the Mason Dixon Line you need some radiator anti freeze (pg) in our juice... A little vodka works also....

 

[studiovap]

I'm thinking of a thermostatic tank breather screw, allowing more air flow when cold and gradually reducing airflow as temp of juice increases. Would be pretty basic design wise.
This viscosity issue explains a lot about my incosistancies during experimentation.
More food for thought in the search for a truly versatile setup.

 

[Semi Reduction]

Ah this is good news. I'm off to the tropics for three months next week. White beaches, cheap whiskey, beautiful women, yummy food and great capillary action. What did I do to deserve this!

 

[studiovap]

Ah this is good news. I'm off to the tropics for three months next week. White beaches, cheap whiskey, beautiful women, yummy food and great capillary action. What did I do to deserve this!

Three months Larry?!!
If you could tell us what you did do to deserve this I think that would be very helpfully for the rest of us.

 

[studiovap]

Maybe little electric atty tank warmer blankets, like they use for motor racing tyres to keep them at optimal operating temp LOL.
Seriously though. I could never work out why my plastic tanked DID was a pig compared to my SS tanked ones. I vape high VG and the ss body was obviously getting the tank up to temp quicker and holding it there through conducting heat from the top section much more efficiently.

 

[gdeal]

So I conclude, north of the Mason Dixon Line you need some radiator anti freeze (pg) in our juice... A little vodka works also....

Vodka always works, with or without a PV.

 

[Semi Reduction]

Three months Larry?!!
If you could tell us what you did do to deserve this I think that would be very helpfully for the rest of us.

Just lucky that the government allows students to get their Austudy for up to 13 weeks when travelling over the end of year break (For those out of Australia, Austudy is an allowance from the government to help support students when at Uni). I only get $200 a week, but unlike here, I can survive on that nicely in Thailand as my friends over there rent me a cheap apartment. So basically I'm going over with $500 in the bank and living off my measly fortnightly payments. I also saved an extra $1000 over the last 6 months which I've spent on flights and hotels for 4 days in Myanmar and 4 days in India too.