Bamboo, Cotton and Silica Wick Questions

[pAth77]

After a long stint of exclusively using gen-style RBAs, I've finally ventured outside of my norm and picked up a silica based rba...a Penelope. I'll start by saying that it's a decent vape, but it has also reminded me of why I've shied away from silica for so long. The vapor production is great, but the flavor isn't living up to what I want/need and it has that "silica" taste that I really don't like. I know that it will break in over time, but I'm just not an extremely patient person. After reading a bunch of threads, I decided to pick up some bamboo wicks and some cotton wicks, and they'll be here in a couple of days. In the meantime, I was hoping to get some advice on how to properly prepare/set-up the Penny with both bamboo and cotton. I've read that the cotton wicks should be boiled first. Does the bamboo need to be boiled as well? From what I understand, the flavor should be better with either versus silica, but which do you think is best....bamboo or cotton? Any other advice/tips?

Thanks in advance for everyone's input. It's gonna be fun getting to experiment again!

 

[overall]

If you pre-torch the silica it tends to eliminate the new silica funk. I personally do not like bamboo or cotton fibers, both have a weird taste for me. I have a cotton ball wick in a vivi nova which is doing really well. I did not pre-treat it at all. Just give the cotton some time 12-24hrs to swell up. A small amount goes a long way.

 

[anavidfan]

I feel the same as Overall does. WHen I first started silica I kept reading about all the "cons" about it, tried cotton, bamboo etc. I kept doing reasearch on good silica. I read you had to torch it, but didnt have the proper way to torch it. I used a lighter and all it did was scorch it.

I finally got a small torch and wow, what a difference. Good silica can take temps to 1200 C and stay white even heated to a glowing orange. When its torched properly, its the most clean, neutral taste Ive found. Bad silica cant take the heat and will get crispy and break apart easily. Another plus on good silica is you can reuse it. After you use it, it may get real dirty or even blackish/ brown. If you remove it rinse it, you torch it again and its bright white again and ready for use.

 

[Jerms]

I've found the taste of silica to be pretty neutral after it breaks in. I don't have a torch or butane lighter yet but plan on one soon, as without torching it takes a good couple hours to lose the funky silica taste. I also hear it's a good idea to wash your hands or wear gloves, as oil in the skin can add to the initial funkiness.

My only problem has been it seems to break apart pretty easily after a couple rinses or dry burns, so I'm hoping some better quality silica will last a little longer. Where do you get your silica Avid?

Sent from my LGL55C using Tapatalk 2

 

[anavidfan]

I get mine from ebay, the vendor get it from germany and he is also a member of ECF. Many people buy it and like it a lot.It is Vaporbase. I will get the links.
Silica Rope 3 mm Silica Wick High Quality Temperature Resistance 1000°C | eBay
the thread on ECF:
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-wick-3-mm-temperature-resistance-1000-c.html

Prices are very reasonable for such a durable and great quality silica

anavidfan

 

[Jerms]

Cool, thanks man!

Sent from my LGL55C using Tapatalk 2

 

[LongDraw]

Ana,

How does it compare to the silica from clouds of vapor? Wondering if there would be reason to try out the vaporbase, someone else had suggested this as well.

To the OP,

I had went from using novas for a few weeks to a genesis which I used solely for about 3 months. I then wanted something more travel friendly and picked up my odys and peny. Even with torching the wicks and such, I think it took me a week to adjust from using mesh to silica. Now I think that either gives as good of flavor. May just of been my taste buds adjusting or (very likely as well) just in my head haha. I had seen someone before suggest boiling the silica and then once dry torching, tried that but don't think I noticed a difference so I just torch and get excellent flavor from the start.

I get mine from ebay, the vendor get it from germany and he is also a member of ECF. Many people buy it and like it a lot.It is Vaporbase. I will get the links.
Silica Rope 3 mm Silica Wick High Quality Temperature Resistance 1000°C | eBay
the thread on ECF:
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-wick-3-mm-temperature-resistance-1000-c.html

Prices are very reasonable for such a durable and great quality silica

anavidfan

 

[anavidfan]

Honestly I have not had the chance to be able to get the COV one, because when I need some, it was out. I tried out a few and this one became my favourite. I order about 10 meters at a time, and when I get low, I check out COV and again , I miss out. E-smoke Guru is sending me some of their GG silica, I think its the same as COV. I ended up placing 2 orders from E-smoke guru so to make up for the doulble shipping charge they are sending me 9.00 euros worth of the silica.

I will see how it compares to the Vaporbase silica

THe boiling treatment was probably me, I read that somewhere a long time ago, and got into the habit. Im glad to hear that it doesnt make a difference whether to boil it or not. Will save me time and electricity.

 

[didureboot]

Ive started using cotton wicks. I found that if you boil the cotton before hand for about half an hour with one water change and rinse in the middle, it eliminates the weird taste. Also, you can buy rolls of cotton yarn (sugar&cream white) for $1.99 at hobby stores.

 

[t8kiteasy]

I have been using cotton,bamboo,and silica but have recently switched to this McMaster-Carr .I order a 5 foot section of 3/8 and it lasts forever and works well.Just unravel the strands and clip off about a 3/4-1 inch piece.Running a DC setup on this the taste and performance is better than silica,or the other two.I mainly use it on my Terminator-C and Hornet and RDA.

 

[didureboot]

I have been using cotton,bamboo,and silica but have recently switched to this McMaster-Carr .I order a 5 foot section of 3/8 and it lasts forever and works well.Just unravel the strands and clip off about a 3/4-1 inch piece.Running a DC setup on this the taste and performance is better than silica,or the other two.I mainly use it on my Terminator-C and Hornet and RDA.

They resist grease, oil, alcohol, and solvents. How do they wick?

 

[t8kiteasy]

They resist grease, oil, alcohol, and solvents. How do they wick?

Wicks just fine and when you have a DC wrap it snaps and crackles just like a carto but hits 100 times better.