Burning Silica Wick Prior To Use

[LVnative]

I am just getting started into using rba's and rda's. My question is when wrapping a silica wick, is it necessary to treat or burn the silica wick prior to use? Any advice from some rba vets would be great.

 

[Kent C]

Not necessary. True silica wicking doesn't burn at our temps. It has a temperature resistance of @ 1600°C.

eta: Overruled go with the others' advice... when WillyB speaks, Kent listens...

 

[tmcase]

It's not necessary but some people do it just to burn off any manufacturing chemicals that may or may not be present. I've never done it myself.

 

[Jerms]

If you do flame your wick use a refillable butane lighter with a torch flame, they can be found pretty cheap. I always torch my silica about 10 seconds before wrapping a coil. The German silica I use now it isn't as necessary, but the silica I used before would taste bad for a couple hours if I didn't torch it first. What your doing is cleaning off anything that might be on the silica during the manufactoring process. Many vendors suggest torching for 10-15 seconds prior to use for that reason. Also it helps to wash your hands prior to making the coil because oils in your skin can add to an odd taste.

I also use my torch lighter if my wick starts tasting funky. I just rinse it off well and torch it until the wick is white again, and then dry burn any crud that's on the coil. You can also use a flame on the wire before wrapping to take out the springiness, but a regular flame works as well as a torch flame for that.

Sent from my LGL55C using Tapatalk 2

 

[WillyB]

s it necessary to treat or burn the silica wick prior to use?

Yes, do it.