cotton issues? back to silica for now...

[edyle]

My sense of taste tells me that if I don't take one or two priming hits before I press the button (with a cotton flavor wick), I get a dry hit and it tastes obnoxious.

With a silica flavor wick, I take a hit when I feel like it, no priming hits, and it tastes fine.

I do notice that when I have a cotton flavor wick, and I take those priming hits, the flavor is good, much clearer a taste, but it's a huge pain having to always remember those priming hits so I don't get a dry hit. It's also a pain having to change the stupid things so often so I don't get the burnt taste -- silica flavor wicks seem to stay just fine until the coil is so bad it needs dry-burning.

I have some silica wick on order, thought it would be here today but apparently FL's USPS is out taking in some rays instead of doing their jobs, so I hope it will be here tomorrow. I'll try replacing these flavor wicks with silica instead, and see if I actually do like it better.

Andria

I think you're compressing the cotton to plug holes to stop leaking; then it doesn't wick well.

 

[AndriaD]

That's going to be regular silica wick. Ekowool looks more like a weave than a braid. And, it's much more expensive than regular silica.

This is the blow-up of what it looks like, when you hover over the image:




I got this because it was the cheapest, because it was the very last thing I was able to buy from a $100 "bet you can't stay smoke-free for a month" wager from my mom; I only decided on it at the last minute, because I was starting to have my issues with the cotton wicks.

I got the 1.5mm size.

Andria

 

[AndriaD]

I think you're compressing the cotton to plug holes to stop leaking; then it doesn't wick well.

Yeah I had a lot of leaks from the T3S tanks before I started using the P&C yarn. Now I don't; I guess it's a trade, do I want the hassle of priming hits, or the hassle of mopping up leaks, wasting juice, and potentially endangering my battery. *sigh*

Andria

 

[The Ocelot]

I use dog fur.

 

[edyle]

Yeah I had a lot of leaks from the T3S tanks before I started using the P&C yarn. Now I don't; I guess it's a trade, do I want the hassle of priming hits, or the hassle of mopping up leaks, wasting juice, and potentially endangering my battery. *sigh*

Andria

After I wick a coil, I leave it in a tank standing upright (it's eGo base not 510 so it stands on its own) with liquid in the tank to soak for the next day. Serves the double purpose of ensuring wick gets primed properly, and I can see if it leaks.

 

[edyle]

I use dog fur.

you ..... like............. the...........taste............of.........................dog .............?

 

[The Ocelot]

you ..... like............. the...........taste............of.........................dog .............?

I have lots of it around and I noticed when I change my wicks there's always some in there anyway.

 

[Jimi D.]

Silica has always been my favorite. I just lightly torch it, to sterilize it. That also removes any taste. I usually change my wick and coil in a week or less. I have enough to last me for years.

 

[AndriaD]

Silica has always been my favorite. I just lightly torch it, to sterilize it. That also removes any taste. I usually change my wick and coil in a week or less. I have enough to last me for years.

I love dry-burning coils with silica in them, watching them turn from black gunky mess to pristine white... it's like magic!!! That's why I want to keep using silica *in* the coil, though I might keep playing around with cotton for the flavor wicks... maybe I just don't need a whole strand of P&C to prevent the leaks. I might play around with it, see if I can find a happy medium between leaks and dry hits.

Andria

 

[xCJack]

There should be no other taste with a cotton wick vs. silica. If you are burning any cotton, you will know about it quick, even if it's just a slight singe. If the wicks are saturated, you're vaping e-juice, nothing else.

 

[edyle]

There should be no other taste with a cotton wick vs. silica. If you are burning any cotton, you will know about it quick, even if it's just a slight singe. If the wicks are saturated, you're vaping e-juice, nothing else.

You haven't actually used cotton wicking have you?

Cotton wick does have a distinctive taste when you put fresh cotton; perhaps it is not incorrect to describe the fresh cotton as being partially burnt but the distinctive taste is not at all one of burning; perhaps "cooking" would be closer to the taste? It's a pleasant taste; of course tastes will vary.

It's more of a flavor than it is a burn taste; actually it's entirely a flavor with no burn; and over time the cotton flavor diminishes.

otoh, firing dry cotton will definitely give a distinctive burnt taste from actual burning.

 

[AndriaD]

All I taste is a clearer taste of the e-juice, when I have cotton and it's properly saturated. I can still taste the juice with a silica wick or a carto, but the cotton flavor wick really does deliver a much clearer, cleaner taste of the e-juice.

I think the next time I have to get into a coil because of bad taste, I'll unwind a strand of that yarn and just use 3 of the individual strands in it, rather than the 4 that a whole strand is comprised of, and see if it's still keeping back the leak or not.

Andria

 

[xCJack]

You haven't actually used cotton wicking have you?

Cotton wick does have a distinctive taste when you put fresh cotton; perhaps it is not incorrect to describe the fresh cotton as being partially burnt but the distinctive taste is not at all one of burning; perhaps "cooking" would be closer to the taste? It's a pleasant taste; of course tastes will vary.

It's more of a flavor than it is a burn taste; actually it's entirely a flavor with no burn; and over time the cotton flavor diminishes.

otoh, firing dry cotton will definitely give a distinctive burnt taste from actual burning.

I have used cotton wicking in a mini protank 2. It tastes bad the first few drags then tastes like e-juice. And once the juice wicks up the flavor is great. Why would I comment on the subject if I had no experience with cotton.

 

[Garemlin]

As posted in another thread I took the silica flavor wick out of my PTII tank and replaced it with a small strand of cotton. The first piece was too big because o got dry hits. Second piece no dry hits but the flavor was muted. Vapor was plentiful but the flavor was nowhere near what it was with the silica. And even though I wasn't getting dry hit, it made my throat a little scratchy. So I don't think cotton is for me.

 

[xCJack]

Oh my bad Edyle didn't mean to get snippy with you homie. I didn't even notice I was replying to you, you're the one who helped me get my protank going xD

 

[AndriaD]

I'm trying out what I said, just 3 strands from a piece of P&C yarn instead of a whole (4 strand) piece, and it seems to be working fine... so far no leaks, and I'm not getting the dry hits... *crossing fingers*

Andria

 

[kachuge]

I love dry-burning coils with silica in them, watching them turn from black gunky mess to pristine white... it's like magic!!! That's why I want to keep using silica *in* the coil, though I might keep playing around with cotton for the flavor wicks... maybe I just don't need a whole strand of P&C to prevent the leaks. I might play around with it, see if I can find a happy medium between leaks and dry hits.

Andria

Exactly what I'm doing too!
Good luck,
G

 

[kachuge]

Well, you're wrong, and all of your assumptions are wrong.


Now to prove this I have a little experiment for you. Try a 1mm silica wick. See how good the flavor is. Then, try a 2mm silica wick and see if you can explain why you get even less flavor from the 2mm wick than you do the 1mm wick.

Then, take your 1mm wick and roll it around in your fingers for a few minutes. Roll it across the palm of your hand. Then explain why the wick produces even less flavor now.

Next, go get some Ekowool. It's also made from silica, but it's braided. Use it and explain why it tastes better than the unbraided silica wicks.

And finally, go get some stainless steel mesh and make a wick using that. Explain why it tastes so much better than silica. Obviously you aren't burning the steel.



Pretty hard to explain this all based on your assumptions, isn't it?



However, there is some consistency here if you pay attention.

Silica wicks have very little air space within the wick. Thicker silica has even smaller air pockets. Rolling the wick around in your hands fills the air spaces in the wick with oils from your hand. Braided wicks have more air pockets than unbraided, and steel mech has giant air pockets. Cotton will also have a lot of air space between fibers.

In otherwords, the more air space within the wick the better the flavor, regardless of the wick material used.

Actually, you're the post I was waiting for......... can't disagree with what you're saying...

the whole reason for this thread was to give me a comfort level using cotton vs silica...... I really like cotton!

...and bringing the stainless steel mesh into it is an added bonus.....

g

"the one thing I do know, is that I don't know everything"

 

[sc12]

Grab some dark colored paper. Cut one piece of cotton and one silica, over the paper. Roll them around and work them as you would putting into a coil. Look at the paper. You decide which you would like to inhale, glass or cotton? Cotton for me.


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I get what you're saying here but I don't fiddle with silica. I cut a piece and that's it so it doesn't come apart or anything.