Cotton Vivi Nova

[DrewGrimey]

So I did my first rebuild using cotton yesterday, did the coil pretty tight. Took the coil apart after about 12 hours of vaping and noticed the cotton had dark burn marks on it, didn't taste bad though. I figured I wrapped the coil too tight.

Today I tried wrapping the coil a little looser and it was way worse, less vapor and it tasted really burnt after about 20 minutes, I figure this way is even worse.

I know it's cotton and it's not going to last as long as silica but should it cause burn marks on the wick after only 12 hours? So what is the best way to wrap the coil? Do I want it nice and tight on the wick? any tips?

 

[IMWylde]

Likely culprit is your wick is too wide and being choked off at the slots. Not quite enough juice causes burning. I use cotton ball wicks and I have been using the same 2 for well over a month and they aren't even slightly burnt.

Also, if you are using a sweet or darker juice what you may be seeing is residue from burnt sugars this imply's your voltage is a tad high.

So. I suggest you roll a tighter thinner wick or widen the holes in the vivi head. And think about backing off the voltage just a touch.

 

[DrewGrimey]

so tighter coil is better, just use a thinner wick? My wick was pretty thick

 

[Scott_Simpson]

Are you using raw cotton (balls, batting, threads, etc.)? I've taken to re-wicking my Vivi Novas with cotton cheesecloth. I roll a 35-thread piece of CC around a straightened-out paper clip (regular size, not the jumbos); I slightly dampen the CC with one squirt of distilled water from a mister before rolling, which seems to make the wick roll nice and tight and straight.

I wrap a 3/2 coil of 36 gauge Kanthal A-1 pretty tightly around the middle of the wick; this is easy with the rigidity of the paper clip inside. The wicking will actually slightly "pillow up" around the coils, which actually helps keep them separated and evenly spaced. I then double each of the legs and twist them; if you have a crochet hook handy, you can just loop the leg up over itself and pinch the loose end on the wick at the end of the coil and then used the crochet hook to "twirl" the loop into a nice, tight leg. Trim off any excess wire where the leg meets the coil (nail clippers are great for this). Repeat on the other leg. This makes the legs lower in resistance than the coil, and the coil will get most of the heat; also, the legs stay cooler and are less likely to burn the rubber grommet where they are trapped by the positive pin in the base.

The whole wick-and-coil assembly (paper clip still in place) should slip very nicely in the slots of the Vivi Nova head. I leave the paper clip in place while I assemble the base and trap the coil legs in the bottom grommet. Then, holding the wick on one side, I slide out the paper slip. Trim the wicks so they just brush the bottom of the tank.

This setup works very well for me, and as long as I don't let the wick get dry it won't burn. Darker juices may discolor it, and it will gunk up eventually, but it won't burn and it will survive for several tankfuls, especially if I give the whole VN a quick rinse-out after the second tankful.

 

[DrewGrimey]

I'll try some of those ideas out... I'm using 100% cotton yarn, I may also try some cheese cloth in the near future to see how it works.

I just made a very nice looking coil by using the smooth side of a small drill bit to shape my coil then I pulled the wick through it. Looks very nicely done, and this seems like a great method to making a perfect coil everytime since the drill bit gives a consistent coil size. I'll update my results after a day or two of using it

 

[IMWylde]

Another thing to try is a slender bolt. Using the threads you end up with perfectly even coils.

 

[DrewGrimey]

Another thing to try is a slender bolt. Using the threads you end up with perfectly even coils.

ohh, I like that idea as well, thanks