Black oxidization from ss mesh?

[Shiryo]

I just built a 2.4ohm 30awg Kanthal A-1 vertical coil on my Phoenix rebuildable atomizer and used 325 SS Mesh for the first time with a 3mm cotton wick going down the center.

My question is… Looking at the cotton wick, it has turned black. I don’t know, but is that normal? it’s definitely not burnt as the vape doesn’t taste burnt whatsoever.

The method I used for oxidizing the SS mesh was a butane lighter to get the mesh glowing red and then water dipped, did it this about 4 times. Then wrapped it tightly around a 3/32 drill bit and then dripped some pg/vg juice that I never used onto it and lit it on fire letting it burn off, did that 3 times.

Closeup pic of the setup.



Video:

 

[silversx]

it's the same reason juice in a genesis tank turns black.. the oxidized mesh leaches off and makes everything black...

 

[Shiryo]

Alright, I was just making sure, I have never seen anyone post pics of their Genesis tanks or anything with the black kicking in. Just wanted to make sure I was safe.

 

[silversx]

if you vape a genesis with a light colored juice.. then you let it sit over night.. the next day the bottom 1/3 of the tank is darker than the rest of the tank.. at least for me it's always like that.. my all day vape juice is almost clear

 

[Shiryo]

Is that even okay to vape? or does it filter out...?

 

[zoiDman]

Not sure what the Long Term Effects are from Inhaling Iron Oxides.

But the Acute thresholds seem to be quit high compared to how much could be Leached into an e-Liquid.

Iron poisoning - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Rule62]

Not sure what the Long Term Effects are from Inhaling Iron Oxides.

But the Acute thresholds seem to be quit high compared to how much could be Leached into an e-Liquid.

Iron poisoning - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dunno. I've been a welder for 45+ years, and I'm still kickin'.

 

[zoiDman]

Dunno. I've been a welder for 45+ years, and I'm still kickin'.

I know a few Welders and they do worry about Weld/Flux fumes. But most worry more about their Eyes than their Lungs.

I think you would have to Ingest a lot of Iron Oxides before something Bad happened. And the amount of Iron Oxides from a Tourched Wick/Coil have to be Extremely Small.

Also, e-Liquids turn Dark from things like Un-Vaped Sweeteners and Nicotine Oxidation. So it is all Iron Oxides that is doing it.

 

[Rule62]

The reason stainless steel turns dark when it's heated with a torch isn't because of a deposit that's being left on it. It's because of a metalurgical change occurring in the stainless steel itself. It doesn't break free. The darkening of the juice in the tank is due to the juice itself being heated.

 

[Shiryo]

So then why does my wick turn black when it is soaked while wrapped in ss mesh? How come when I was handling the oxidized ss mesh, my fingers would turn black?

Maybe it's the cooked pg/vg?

Just wondering as there's definitely something tuning it black... I know juice does get darker as it is heated as proven in carto tanks, but never black.

 

[Turbo]

The reason stainless steel turns dark when it's heated with a torch isn't because of a deposit that's being left on it. It's because of a metalurgical change occurring in the stainless steel itself. It doesn't break free. The darkening of the juice in the tank is due to the juice itself being heated.

Bingo. I posed the question on another forum on why our juice turns dark so we delved into it. We found heat is the culprit. If I don't chain vape I find my juice stays relatively clear.

 

[zoiDman]

So then why does my wick turn black when it is soaked while wrapped in ss mesh? How come when I was handling the oxidized ss mesh, my fingers would turn black?

Maybe it's the cooked pg/vg?

Just wondering as there's definitely something tuning it black... I know juice does get darker as it is heated as proven in carto tanks, but never black.

Sometimes people look for only One Reason that is causing All the Conditions that they Observe. When actually, there may be More that one thing occurring.

Also, sometimes a Word is used by someone to describe something which May or May Not be correct. Or may or May Not be the Cause. Take a Wick turning Black that is in contact with an "Oxidized" SS.

You mentioned that the some of the Black on the SS Rubs Off on your Fingers and makes them Black. This indicates to me that perhaps Oxidation isn't the Only thing making the SS Black. Perhaps the SS has something on it when you receive it that turns Black when Heated? Perhaps a very thin Film of Oil? Another thing that might be happening is that Soot from the Heat Source might be being deposited on the SS during the Heating Process.

Either one, or Both, would cause a piece of SS to be Black but would Rub Off when Handled. And either one, or Both, could cause a Wick to turn Black when put in contact with the "Oxidized" SS.

Then there is the Vaping process itself. I use CE2's which have a Silica Wick. The Silica turn Black from normal use. Burnt VG / PG, Sweeteners, Flavorings and Colorants all play a part in the wick turning Black. And the Inevitable ball of Gunk that builds up on the Coil / Wick. There is no Oxidized SS Mesh in a CE2. Hence the Wick turning Black isn't from Oxidation. Sounds like it is from the Act of Vaping.

So in this case, there may be Many things that are Contributing to an "Oxidized" piece of SS making a Wick turn Black. And it may not have Anything to do with Iron Oxides at the Surface Boundary of the SS.

It may be more a Combination of Creating the Iron Oxides and Normal Vaping that is the cause.

 

[zoiDman]

Bingo. I posed the question on another forum on why our juice turns dark so we delved into it. We found heat is the culprit. If I don't chain vape I find my juice stays relatively clear.

How you doing Turbo?

I haven't seen you around in awhile. Hope your doing well.

 

[BJ43]

So then why does my wick turn black when it is soaked while wrapped in ss mesh? How come when I was handling the oxidized ss mesh, my fingers would turn black?

Maybe it's the cooked pg/vg?

Just wondering as there's definitely something tuning it black... I know juice does get darker as it is heated as proven in carto tanks, but never black.

All juice even pure PG or VG forms black crud on the coils, there is always a backwash from the coils thru the wick back to the juice. If you get black on your fingers after oxidizing, that is just soot and you can wash it off before wrapping your coil. Juice in tanks get dark but not black just because of the large volume. If you take apart a cart after it pops you will find something like in the pic of a DC and can see that that would darken any juice.

 

[Turbo]

How you doing Turbo?

I haven't seen you around in awhile. Hope your doing well.

Doing well 'zoi', thanks for asking. I mostly hide out in the modders forum, or ones that deal w/ rebuildables. BTW, I agree on your above statement that various things contribute to the darkening, and see 'bj43's point below. I do see a little stream of backwash coming off the wick, but the overall darkening is contributed by heat mostly from what we found. Maybe time for some experiments 'b'

 

[zoiDman]

Doing well 'zoi', thanks for asking. I mostly hide out in the modders forum, or ones that deal w/ rebuildables. BTW, I agree on your above statement that various things contribute to the darkening, and see 'bj43's point below. I do see a little stream of backwash coming off the wick, but the overall darkening is contributed by heat mostly from what we found. Maybe time for some experiments 'b'

Good to hear your doing Good.

By the time I got my post written up, I type kinda Slow and you know I spell like a 3rd Grader, most of the points had been mad.

The main thing I wanted to Point Out is that sometimes people want to find One Reason that something does something. One clear Reason that we can put a Box Around and say... "That is what is Causing it!".

But Many Times there are Multiple things going on.

Remember all the work everyone did back in day figuring out why a E2 / CE2 would Taste Bad? Everything from Bat Piss on the Wicks to Cup Slots not being Wide Enough. It turned out that Many Factors that can Contributed to the problem.

From what Shiryo said, it sounded to me like there was more than one thing Happening.

 

[BJ43]

Doing well 'zoi', thanks for asking. I mostly hide out in the modders forum, or ones that deal w/ rebuildables. BTW, I agree on your above statement that various things contribute to the darkening, and see 'bj43's point below. I do see a little stream of backwash coming off the wick, but the overall darkening is contributed by heat mostly from what we found. Maybe time for some experiments 'b'

No doubt that it is from heat as is the crud formed on the coils.