Best place to buy Kanthal and silica wicks?

[riseabovethestorm]

It'll be a while before I need to do so, but when I finally manage to expend the 7 coils that came with my EVOD kit, I'd like to save money and gain some satisfaction by recoiling the heads. Where is everyone's best options for buying the Kanthal and wicks?

 

[E_DeCastro]

ebay and amazon

 

[State O' Flux]

For price? eBay. For quality... still eBay if you buy from a trusted source. Temco sells Kanthal on eBay... and German silica can be found there too. I'm sure someone will come along and tell you exactly who on the silica.

Be careful on eBay... there's Chinese "Kanthal" and silica out there... that you want to avoid.

 

[riseabovethestorm]

I'll check out Temco now, State. Thanks a lot!

 

[InTheShade]

Temco for kanthal and pbdragon for silica. Mr wicks on ebay sells good quality silica too.

 

[pufZeppelin]

here are a couple links

- Kanthal Wire 32 Gauge RW0098 - 250 FT 0.62oz Series A-1 Resistance AWG

- Lightning Vapes - All the RBA Materials you need! Silica Wick, Ekowool, Kanthal Wire, Stainless Steel Mesh and more!

- Lily Sugar 'n Cream | Yarn | Free Knitting Patterns | Crochet Patterns | Yarnspirations

- Products Page | Silica Wicks

vape≈Healthy

 

[riseabovethestorm]

here are a couple links

- Kanthal Wire 32 Gauge RW0098 - 250 FT 0.62oz Series A-1 Resistance AWG

- Lightning Vapes - All the RBA Materials you need! Silica Wick, Ekowool, Kanthal Wire, Stainless Steel Mesh and more!

- Lily Sugar 'n Cream | Yarn | Free Knitting Patterns | Crochet Patterns | Yarnspirations

- Products Page | Silica Wicks

Vape≈Healthy

I've heard about cotton being a superior material to silica in terms of flavor production. What's the life expectancy on cotton wick? Will it last as long as the coil? I guess the long and short of the question is: will I have to recoil sooner than the coil actually needs to be because the wick burns out?

Oh, and thank you for the thoroughness!

 

[State O' Flux]

I've heard about cotton being a superior material to silica in terms of flavor production. What's the life expectancy on cotton wick? Will it last as long as the coil? I guess the long and short of the question is: will I have to recoil sooner than the coil actually needs to be because the wick burns out?

Oh, and thank you for the thoroughness!

If you're recoiling EVODs, you can use anything from 28 to 34 gauge. I don't really use EVODs much, but I recoiled a few with vertical coils in 28ga for a friend, with cotton... and he love's em.

The coils can last for months... the wicking needs to be replaced every few days. With a vertical coil, you don't need to thread the cotton through the coil, so it's quick and easy.

 

[riseabovethestorm]

If you're recoiling EVODs, you can use anything from 28 to 34 gauge. I don't really use EVODs much, but I recoiled a few with vertical coils in 28ga for a friend, with cotton... and he love's em.

The coils can last for months... the wicking needs to be replaced every few days. With a vertical coil, you don't need to thread the cotton through the coil, so it's quick and easy.

So basically, people will just change atomizer heads when the wick becomes unusable because they see it as too much of a hassle to just rewick?

 

[State O' Flux]

So basically, people will just change atomizer heads when the wick becomes unusable because they see it as too much of a hassle to just rewick?

I guess. rewicking with silica is pretty fiddly... and evod/PT heads are cheap, so unless you want to build something better than the original... why bother.

Lots of folks rewicking with cotton... so there's that. ;-)

 

[riseabovethestorm]

I guess. rewicking with silica is pretty fiddly... and evod/PT heads are cheap, so unless you want to build something better than the original... why bother.

Lots of folks rewicking with cotton... so there's that. ;-)

They are cheap, but I figure that if I have the kanthal and wick on hand, I don't find myself in a situation where I'm out of heads and have to wait for new heads to come in the mail. Plus the cost is up front, the material will be bought and paid for.

 

[InTheShade]

I take your point SoF, an EVOD head is probably less than a buck at the moment.

But a lot of people do think it worth the time to rewick EVOD heads and other clearo heads too. I used to use vivi novas and EVODs all the time and rewicking saved me at least $20-30 over a period of a few months. That was cash I could spend on juice. Vivi nova heads still run about $3 a pop.

Add in the fact that by doing it yourself, you can control the resistance quite closely. I've found that a lot of times the stated resistance differs from the actual on some factory wrapped coils. Also, I've found some silica on bought heads has a funky taste to it.

Yes, it's fiddly, but it also is a good thing to cut your teeth on if you make the step over to RDA / silica RBAs.

Finally, you can mess with micro and mini coils which is always fun - even in a clearo.

 

[riseabovethestorm]

I take your point SoF, an EVOD head is probably less than a buck at the moment.

But a lot of people do think it worth the time to rewick EVOD heads and other clearo heads too. I used to use vivi novas and EVODs all the time and rewicking saved me at least $20-30 over a period of a few months. That was cash I could spend on juice. Vivi nova heads still run about $3 a pop.

Add in the fact that by doing it yourself, you can control the resistance quite closely. I've found that a lot of times the stated resistance differs from the actual on some factory wrapped coils. Also, I've found some silica on bought heads has a funky taste to it.

Yes, it's fiddly, but it also is a good thing to cut your teeth on if you make the step over to RDA / silica RBAs.

Finally, you can mess with micro and mini coils which is always fun - even in a clearo.

Exactly, I see doing it as just being a first step. I don't plan on stopping with the EVOD, but since it's what I have, it's an easy introduction into coil building and the customization that comes along with it. I'm just excited to mess around with stuff; I'm a obsessive tinkerer.

 

[State O' Flux]

Nothing against EVODs InTheShade... I just don't really use them anymore. If I did, and being a hands-on techno-vapista freak... I'd be applying the same materials and techniques that I use with RBA and RDA atomizers.

I'm currently working with Rene 41 wire - hemp fiber & cord, XC-116 ceramic cord and nickle foam sheet... the latter 3, all for wicking materials.

 

[pufZeppelin]

I've heard about cotton being a superior material to silica in terms of flavor production. What's the life expectancy on cotton wick? Will it last as long as the coil? I guess the long and short of the question is: will I have to recoil sooner than the coil actually needs to be because the wick burns out?

Oh, and thank you for the thoroughness!

well it's this way
if you used UNsweet juice and keep the cotton WET
it could last a very long time...
if it is Sweet juice your using, the coil will get a heavy residue build up much sooner
- - - -
then comes time for cleaning the coil --
silica you Can dry-burn; cotton you Can Not dry-burn
then there is technic--coil your Kanthal, install it in atomizer-head...
then get your wick (cotton or silica) and thread it INTO your coil winding
when cleaning a dirty coil, un thread wick, dry-burn coil, rethread new wick in

just another way to do it vs new wire/wick each time you rebuild, which is the typical way
either way you do it, it's WAY CHEAPER than buying pre-made coils...

this is how I keep the bcc's running in my vapor train...

 

[riseabovethestorm]

I love the variety of answers this question generated. Thanks Zep and everyone else. Very interesting reading!