Coil/SS wick gunks up fast

[Commie]

I wonder -- how often do you usually clean your wick and dryburn your coil in something like an AGA? I'm using my DIY 50/50 fruity juice, and it seems to gunk up the wick to the point where it won't soak up juice any more, about once per tank or two. Is that normal? Or did I do something wrong?

I think I may have oxidized the wick too much, would that contribute to the problem?

Thank you!
Commie

 

[cghildreth]

By mentioning oxidization, I am assuming that you are using stainless mesh for your wick. Gunking up a wick and coils in one tank is ridiculously quick. I go through about a tank per day in my AGA. I usually go about two weeks before I need to dry burn coils. Wicks last at least a month.

Let us know what kind of mesh you're using. Also, let us know what juice you're using. Tell us about your oxidation process (though I doubt this is to blame).

 

[fooey]

I think it's the vg that gunks up the coil. I use unoxidized wicks and after 2 tanks the gunk is so thick i have to do some dry burns to rid most of it. I remember when i used 80/20 pg/vg and my coils never gunks up this bad and barely had to maintain the coil.

 

[Commie]

Using a solid wick, 400 count stainless steel. I oxidized it by getting it red hot with a plumbing torch and quenching under tap water, three times.

The juice is 15% LA cheesecake, 5% FA strawberry, 50/50 PG/VG, 12mg nicotine

 

[cghildreth]

More than likely your problem is not an over-oxidation problem. For example, when I oxidize, I oxidize the mesh before rolling, and then oxidize again (6 cycles of heat and quench) after its rolled.

Are you using a solid wick, a tube, or something in between?

I am tempted to guess that fooey is right about the VG being the culprit. However, I've used Boba's and other pure VG juices in my AGA, and while the coil gets gunked up and needs a dry burn more often than with higher PG content juices, the wick continues to function just fine through many, many tanks. Are you using a known high quality source for your DIY liquids?

Another guess - I've had experiences with very high content VG juices not wanting to wick when cold (VG gets too viscous/solid to wick at anything much less than room temperature). However, I have not had this problem with 50/50 liquids.

Let us know if you figure out the issue.

 

[Thrasher]

low temp coil. high amount of oxidation, sugary thick flavorings and lots of VG, a recipe for build up in no time. when i used to use nova's i had coils gunk up almost overnight with thick sugary juices.

most likely its just a bit of all of it adding together to make a caramelized mess. i would try a less solid wick or tube ttyle wick and re wrapping for a lower ohm - hotter coil. wont fix it but may give you more time between cleanings.

 

[MJBinNM]

What Thrasher said...I think it's more than likely sugary juice. My main vape is Gourmet Vapor's Keoke Coffee and I remove and soak the wick and clean the coil after every tankful.

I have other juices that don't gunk it up near as quickly.

 

[Horselady154]

What do you soak SS mesh in to clean it? Thanks.

 

[fooey]

Just rinse with water, no need to soak ss mesh.