Benefits of vertical wick?

[Lessifer]

I just ordered my first rba yesterday(a phoenix v3) and I've been doing research and learning what I can about building coils and wicks. I apologize if this has been covered before, but I didn't find anything in the searches I did.

So here's my question: What are the benefits of using a vertical wick as opposed to a horizontal one?

 

[grindle]

The only reasons I can think of vertical wicks for the Phoenix are that having it horizontal could lead to scraping off the side (troublesome short), and that because of having to have the wick cut shorter for that reason, less juice can be held in the wick. Vertical increases capacity.

Having said that, I had dual-coil SS builds in my Phoenix and never had an issue with wicking.
I used cotton pad-fluff on the ends of the mesh to feed from the base to the wicks, wicked plenty fast.
Juice capacity of the wick itself will depend on how tightly you can roll your wick... Go for "As tight as possible". Mine were the width from post to post (7mm or something?) x 60mm.
Easier to roll something 30mmx60mm (or whateverx60mm) and snip your wicks to size afterwards, sizing it up to the poles.

 

[Lessifer]

You're referring mainly to SS wicks right? I was thinking more along the lines of silica or cotton. I've seen posts about rebuilding a phoenix with a vertical cheesecloth wick and I just can't wrap my head around the why part.

Edit: I understand the why part as far as the cotton goes, just not the vertical.

 

[pdib]

I don't know why it worked, but I had a vertical cheesecloth wick in my phoenix, with a lot of wick above, and I liked it. I think its like wicking+gravity when you hit it a few times? I know alot of folks like it because they can drip more juice, less often.

 

[grindle]

Yeah, SS.

Cheesecloth? If there was an extra length at the top with no coil around it it could hold extra juice for high-watt vaping (wicking down is much easier than wicking up) but if there's no extra length there's zero reason to do such a thing.

Silica doesn't wick vertically that well at all, so write that off. Cotton is next best to SS if you're staying with fibre-y goodness.

There's a minuscule chance that that person might prefer fat, juiced wicks, and a fat horizontal cotton wick can over-saturate the coil (REALLY over-saturate it, as in almost no vapour as I learnt with my A7) unless your wattage is quite high, so maybe vertical helps to keep some of the liquid down for them.
Crazy speculation. Overthinking on a scale only supposed "advanced vapers" might acknowledge.

 

[Lessifer]

Yeah, I'll probably stick to standard horizontal for awhile, and maybe just experiment with others later. I was just curious because of some of the rebuilds I've seen. I like cotton ball wicks in my Kanger T3s but part of the reason for getting a "dripping" atty is to be able to change flavors easily, and I don't think cotton would do that well.

 

[grindle]

...part of the reason for getting a "dripping" atty is to be able to change flavors easily, and I don't think cotton would do that well.

SS is best because you can just vape until it's dry and add a new flavour. Dry-burning then brushing the ashen gunk off the coil is a minor weekly chore, but...
Cotton make-up pads/balls are the easiest to rewick by a large-ish margin. You can leave the coil in place pulling the wick apart from both sides, dry-burn, then very easily thread the new wick in within a minute or two. Not an exaggeration like many claims.
Rewicking cotton fluff into a coil set in place is as fast as opening the plastic on a Boge carto, filling the condom with juice, placing the Boge into the cond... Oh wait, you're re-wicked.

 

[scrappy]

Another reason for the extra wick coming off the top is to catch the juice that's condensed on the top of the cap. After you've vaped for a few minutes, take the cover off and look at how much juice is up there.