- Status
Oh IDK if it was all that bad. It worked and is virtually indestructable.
Point was that for most of us it did not wick well/fast enough for any chain vaping, cloud blowing or anything beyond toodle puffing.
g.
Feeding silica into any Ø suitable to its cross-section was like trying to thread a worm through the eye of a camel. Getting preschoolers to keep still a snap over trying to teach green vapers to build for it. Why cotton became the generally universal alternative for it even as not wholly suitable (charring).
Agree with @GeorgeS as to durability unspectacular wicking. I like many found flavors overwhelmed by the wick's taste. In retrospect the stale effect of silica was probably not inherent. More likely this was the result of absorption like other fine capilary wicking, i.e. Nextel (braided ceramic), ecowool, etc.
Silica's loose braiding tended to shred in clearo's with top-wicks (from the mechanical volatility, upward heat convection of the bottom main wick). Didn't take much time or power and you were leaking. With poor saturation from the t-w's breakdown the main wick would char early and there went the coil.
Just a few of the nuances that I ran across testing and working with new vapers as I developed the strain tensioned micro coil in '13-'14 (introduced in superXdrifter's legacy microcoil thread.
Silica has great potential for those who like it. Look to the braided varieties of it which share the structural stability of ceramic and ecowool. 3M has a braid similar to its 'Nextel' ceramic alumina fiber version. Allthough not near as heat resistant at under 2000F its more than suitable for our use.
Good luck all.
p.s. 30 seconds to vape perfection, the story here…
Tensioned Micro Coils. The next step.
Protank MicroCoil Discussion!!
Agree with @GeorgeS as to durability unspectacular wicking. I like many found flavors overwhelmed by the wick's taste. In retrospect the stale effect of silica was probably not inherent. More likely this was the result of absorption like other fine capilary wicking, i.e. Nextel (braided ceramic), ecowool, etc.
Silica's loose braiding tended to shred in clearo's with top-wicks (from the mechanical volatility, upward heat convection of the bottom main wick). Didn't take much time or power and you were leaking. With poor saturation from the t-w's breakdown the main wick would char early and there went the coil.
Just a few of the nuances that I ran across testing and working with new vapers as I developed the strain tensioned micro coil in '13-'14 (introduced in superXdrifter's legacy microcoil thread.
Silica has great potential for those who like it. Look to the braided varieties of it which share the structural stability of ceramic and ecowool. 3M has a braid similar to its 'Nextel' ceramic alumina fiber version. Allthough not near as heat resistant at under 2000F its more than suitable for our use.
Good luck all.
p.s. 30 seconds to vape perfection, the story here…
Tensioned Micro Coils. The next step.
Protank MicroCoil Discussion!!
Last edited:
How was that thing called that was looking like silica wick meaning like a rope and was a material that u could use and when it was getting black and gunky u could use a torch and burn it to make it like new???
I forgot how its called and never used it but i think someone mention it here and i have seen a video on youtube also
I forgot how its called and never used it but i think someone mention it here and i have seen a video on youtube also
How was that thing called that was looking like silica wick meaning like a rope and was a material that u could use and when it was getting black and gunky u could use a torch and burn it to make it like new???
I forgot how its called and never used it but i think someone mention it here and i have seen a video on youtube also
Jeremy's ReadXwick®, Nextel® by 3M electrical insulation.
Have a hoard of it but sadly only enough to support my own local evangelizing for rebuilding here in S FL. I've been unable to reach or access Jeremy's store for some time. But I think he's still out there.
Lemme know if you need help and want to try this.
Good luck.
p.s. Minute please, I'll look.
p.s.s. @Superuser187, the page is still up, but domain cert exp'd. Safe to go to I'd assume as a famously viable vendor. Heads up.
https://readyxwick.com/readyxwick.html
30 seconds to vape perfection, the story here…
Tensioned Micro Coils. The next step.
Protank MicroCoil Discussion!!
Last edited:
I'm eager to know or hear from anyone using any braided silica variant. I've had better taste experience with such than the standard or eco wool. Post your story.
Good luck all.
Good luck all.
When I was using the mech mods from Greece (VapourArt and byLeo) I only used braided silica wick which I got from those vendors.
Not sure if it was a "variant" or a "standard".
I always thought that the flavor was better than either cotton or rayon.
But, as I replied to the liquor store owner who asked if I preferred Famous Grouse over the other whiskey he sold me, unless I have them both in front of me in the exact same condition (ice etc) I can only think I'm right.
In other words, never had the same mod, with the same juice, with the same coil but with diff wicks in front of me to really compare.
BTW, I do prefer the Famous Grouse. And, I stopped using silica when the Greek vendors quit the business and I ran out of the silica.
Not sure if it was a "variant" or a "standard".
I always thought that the flavor was better than either cotton or rayon.
But, as I replied to the liquor store owner who asked if I preferred Famous Grouse over the other whiskey he sold me, unless I have them both in front of me in the exact same condition (ice etc) I can only think I'm right.
In other words, never had the same mod, with the same juice, with the same coil but with diff wicks in front of me to really compare.
BTW, I do prefer the Famous Grouse. And, I stopped using silica when the Greek vendors quit the business and I ran out of the silica.
I have some 14mm drippers using micro coils that silica works great in, and are still the best flavor atties.
Silica wicks with a 2/3 PG mix have served me well for many years and continue to be my ADV. They work well with my mint/menthol mixes.
I still wrap around 3mm Ekowool (silica) wicks with 32ga Ni-chro wire.
5 wraps = 1.8 ohm coil. With my setup it doesn't have to be perfect, anything from 1.6 to 2.0 works fine.
(and I hate the taste of burned cotton)
5 wraps = 1.8 ohm coil. With my setup it doesn't have to be perfect, anything from 1.6 to 2.0 works fine.
(and I hate the taste of burned cotton)
I think silica wick worked fine on the CEx top coil clearomizers TBH. Nice warm vape even at <8W.
I'm right with ya there. That's why I wick it so it wicks, not burns
I'm right with ya there. That's why I wick it so it wicks, not burns
I think silica wick worked fine on the CEx top coil clearomizers TBH. Nice warm vape even at <8W.
I'm right with ya there. That's why I wick it so it wicks, not burns
CE4 days was when I started wrapping my own coils, but then I found the magical A7's. Still the flavor king of all MTL RDA's.
Didn't take long to learn how to wrap the coil AROUND the silica wick, instead of trying to insert the wick into an existing coil. And, I chain vape quite often.
And, .... cotton burns when ya forget to drip!!!
All that happens with a silica wick is ya just cleaned your coil. ROFL
I used to re-build Protanks using silica & 32g Kanthal. Had a method of using a sliced open length of hollow plasic q-tip with the silica inside then wrap the coil round that then slide the plastic out of the coil. It used work for the best part since wrapping silica was impossible. Back then the thought of using cotton was absurd to me ! lol. I've still got a few metres of silica sitting around somewhere along with all the other junk such as 400 mesh for Genesis... etc. Genesis eh, what a joke, but that's a whole other story. I'll keep that. I might need to replace the mesh on my coffee press at some point.
I went from silica to Boden's BD13 (Al2O3) wicks.
Are these still available for purchase anywhere?
The dont wrap thigh or snap wicks, I have a block, you can just chop it up with the dremal. I honestly liked the grey ones better..
Sent from my SM-A526U using Tapatalk
- Status
Similar threads
