Cotton vs silica wick

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yooperdad

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I tried rebuilding a few heads for the T3S and used cotton for wicking. Initially I was very pleased with the results, a thick vape and good flavor. But it didn't last very long and the cloud was not adequate, even with a clean juice like menthol. Replaced my rebuild with a new factory head with silica and good to go again. Is this a cotton vs silica issue or something else? I bought plenty of wire but didn't buy silica wicking. Maybe I should?


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Completely Average

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Cotton generally tastes better, but as you've found, the wicks don't last as long and they generally don't wick quite as well. You've got to take more time between puffs to allow the wick to resaturate with liquid, otherwise you get dry hits which burns up the wick.

Silica tends to wick a lot better which helps it last longer, but silica mutes the taste of the liquid a little.


Which works best for you is entirely up to you. Is the slight improvement in taste worth the increased hassle of replacing wicks more frequently, or is the taste difference not enough to bother with the extra hassle. That's entirely your choice.

Personally, I do both. I use silica wicks in my Triton which I carry anytime I am away from home, and I use cotton on the mods I use at home. That way I get the easy and hassle free vaping away from home and I get get the better flavor when I'm at home and can rewick more frequently and with less hassle.

Nothing is ever perfect is it?
 

sunnata

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a question: can you please define what do you meant by "didn't last very long" and also "cloud was not adequate". I think it might help troubleshoot the issue. posting a couple pics of the build would also be extremely helpful.

I find silica easier to use, but I prefer the performance/flavor with cotton. It's possible to use either of them successfully on the T3S, but getting great results with cotton might take a few extra attempts.

My suggestion is to try to be as aware as possible of changes made from one wick/build to the next. Try to be as consistent as you can, then do small adjustments, add or remove small amounts of cotton, always paying close attention to how much you used, so that you can keep track of how the last tweak affected your results. Notice how much resistance you get when you try to move it thru the coil, the length of the wick, if flavor wicks were used, etc etc.. With a few attempts you should be able to find your sweet spot and you'll probably get awesome results.

Another alternative, is to use cotton yarn, which makes things a lot more consistent. Personally I'm using organic cotton balls. If you decide to use cotton yarn, make sure to boil it first. (Boil it twice for about 20 minutes with some distilled water, and let it dry overnight)

hope this helps some, good luck!
 
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1wildman

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why need to boil cotton? use sterile cotton no need to boil ..

i think

your gonna cause a big debate... the idea is to remove the impurities and the bad taste. I cant taste the difference.. after the first 5 vapes it is good to go so i dont waste my time. The other is that people tell you to buy organic cotton - but organic means that it was grown from non-GMO seed stock and not treated with pesticides, etc. Both Organic and Regular cotton are "bleached" with hydrogen peroxide to make it white and sterile. If i cant taste a difference i am not going through the extra crap.
 

Tugg n chase

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Agree with the less is more idea. I use cotton exclusively in all my attys and never boil. The difference between silica and cotton is the temp at which it burns and cotton will definitely wear out quicker but IMO the taste is better. I don't mind re wicking every couple of days, but I'm careful not to damage the coil in the process so I don't have to do a full rebuild.
 

revco

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From my experience, cotton takes a good deal of practice to get the right amount. It's easy to overload/underload the amount in the Kanger coils. I generally would recommend starting with silica or ekowool first (maybe even cotton twine as mentioned above) for the consistency aspects. Once you're familiar with what works, how it works and the amounts you need...it's a lot easier to transition into cotton. For the record, I still use ekowool (mostly) on my Kanger builds. It's just easier, less fussy and 10x more accurate...every time. To me, it tastes nearly as good as cotton and for the time/consistency it saves me, it's worth it.

My opinion on the cotton debate is this. Organic means no pesticides were used in the growth of the product, sterile means absent of "baddies" (like viruses, bacteria, etc). Neither of these terms mean "free of chemicals." Even as a former smoker, I'm conscious of what I put in my body. I don't want to vape hydrogen peroxide if I can help it, and that's a very common chemical used to whiten cotton. Boiling the cotton removes the bulk of any chemicals. You'll be a fan of boiling once you see that first pour come off yellowish from the hydrogen peroxide, whether you use organic or sterile. I usually boil for ten minutes and drain...a total of 3-4 times. I then let it dry on a cookie rack in an semi-enclosed space for 2-3 days until it's ready to be packaged up.
 
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Cotton does take time to get the hang of, big thing is you want to make sure that the cotton is loose in the coil, you dont want to choke the juice wicking thru the coils, also keep in mind that the cotton will expand some when it gets wet. Make sure you have a good cotton cloud cloud in the juice too. As far a boiling cotton prior to use, its a good idea, a lot of people say cotton comes sterile, but urine is sterile too.
 
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