Changing cotton Rta

[DaveP]

I was surprised to see people in some threads say that they get 3 weeks from a factory coil. Wicking in my 10W DIY coils seldom lasts more than a week with mostly unflavored juices I mix myself. I like fresh, clean flavor, so maybe I change wicking sooner than most. That said, I do get longer wick and coil life from several tanks that I rotate lightly. My main Kayfun 2 is ready for a change in less than a week, but it runs through 9ml to 12ml a day, mostly unflavored with a squirt of flavored juice added for a hint of whatever I want to vape that day.

Most of my DIY juices are clear with a pale tint of flavoring.

 

[stols001]

I'm going to agree that if you are getting dry hits, it's probably a wicking issue. Think of it as capillary action. Just like plants, well, they all have mechanisms to bring water up through the plant. If you reduce your wick some (particularly in the tails) you will get nice smooth capillary action into the coil, which then vaporizes your juice. You don't want it to be like chomping on, oh a mouthful of celery, where the wick (or capillary tube) is so gosh darned thick you can feel the fibers as you eat them. etc.

I am still going to suggest rayon as a) it's a more forgiving wick (IMHO) and b) it withstands gunkier juices higher wattage, and all sorts of stuff like that before dying off. Etc. You can still overwick with rayon, BTW and that usually means dry hits and a shorter lifespan and (for me anyway) the wick breaks in two inside the coil.

Rayon shrinks when wet, by the way while cotton expands. So, rayon played to my strengths (stuffing as much wick in there as I could) while cotton was just a disaster really. I did not get my first non-leaky RTA until I switched to rayon. I still overwick once in a blue moon but you start to get a sense for these things.

Here is the rayon thread if you are interested. You don't have to read the whole thing, just jump in with questions.

(Hmm, edit, unable to add link, but you should be able to find it.)


Granted. I have a lot of setups going but if I have wicked my coil right, I can get two weeks although to be fair I am a low wattage vaper, etc.

Anna

 

[DP2Raja]

I remember picking up a tank I hadn't rewicked in a while and was sitting around untouched for about a week. Took a draw and got a point burn on my tongue like a spitty tank. Except the liquid spit heat usually goes away after a second. Spit back is also usually not hard. This was. It was essentially crusty stuff off the dirty coil I launched into my mouth. Truly a disgusting moment in my history of vaping and one totally self inflicted by laziness.

When you pick up an tank that has not been used in a few days...always blow, don't suck, for the first fire. I learned that the hard way Eskie.

 

[Eskie]

When you pick up an tank that has not been used in a few days...always blow, don't suck, for the first fire. I learned that the hard way Eskie.

Yeah, I learned it the same way as you. That was seriously nasty.

 

[DaveP]

FWIW, with Rayon my coil usually gunks up and gets rough feeling before the wick goes South. I dry burn lightly and change the wick. If the coil isn't smooth after the dry burn, both get changed.