Cotton wick problems

[rdeezy74]

Hi all. First post. I've been lurking a lot and decided to register so I could try to get some advice and hopefully share some advice if I learn anything helpful from this.

Been vaping for about 5 months on an iTaste vv & Kanger protank mini 2. Got some Space Jam Omega 18 mg a couple months ago and it's become my e-liquid of choice. Haven't been able to find any PG/VG info on it. Anyways, recently decided to try my hand at rebuilding. Did a lot of research on the subject and ordered an A7 rba and some Kanthal a few days ago. Kanthal came yesterday afternoon so I decided to try and build a micro coil in a Kanger protank mini head while I waited for the A7 to arrive. Went and got some Walgreens organic cotton balls (whitened with hydrogen peroxide), built a little micro coil, came out to about 1.7 ohms, just what I was going for, threaded some cotton into it, took a couple rips on it, worked very nicely.

After about 10 minutes (I'd taken probably 5-6 rips) I started to feel really lightheaded and strange. Had a hard time focusing on stuff, started getting cold etc. Very uncomfortable feeling. Kinda felt high but not at all in a good way. Immediately stopped vaping, went and took a nap for a few hours, started to feel better. Was craving nic so I went and bought some cigars and felt alright the rest of the night.

Woke up today, switched back to a stock protank head (silica wick), cautiously started vaping again. No problems. Initially I thought maybe I'd suddenly developed an allergy to PG or something, but everything was fine today. I entertained the idea that maybe the new coil was pushing out more nic than the stock coils, but again, its 18 mg juice and I took probably 5-6 rips off of it, about 1 every couple minutes, and there wasn't that big of a difference in the vapor production.

So, I've narrowed it down to two possibilities: Cotton or Kanthal. I don't know if the protank mini heads use Nichrome or Kanthal. If they use Kanthal, then I can eliminate that possibility. Plus, I've found nothing about people having adverse reactions to Kanthal. The likelihood of that being the cause seems slim.

I did however stumble on a few threads discussing adverse reactions to cotton wicks. No one seems to have had a reaction like I had, but people have definitely had some reactions. So, I'm guessing I must have some sort of sensitivity to inhaling cotton, or possibly the hydrogen peroxide was having some sort of effect?? I should emphasize that I did not boil the cotton, as many people seem to do with no ill effects. Not sure if that would help and I'm obviously hesitant to try any form of cotton wicks again. If anyone has experienced anything like this I'd love to know about it.

Regardless, I'd really like to build some micro coils for my soon-to-arrive A7 and the few protank heads I have lying around. Cotton seems like the way to go, but because of the reaction that I had, I'm pretty hesitant to try it again in any form--sterile, boiled, other brands--I'd rather not feel like that again. It was no fun.

So, I'm wondering what wick material I should buy. Silica works, but it seems less than ideal for micro coils. I like the consistency of the cotton wicks--easy to make different diameters, spread it out, wrap it around coils, thread it through the coils--over the cord-like silica stuff. Don't know much about SS mesh. I've looked into hemp and bamboo, but they're both similar to silica cord.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Nightshard]

Deciding that you're allergic to cotton, just because you tried it once and you felt sick once, is bit drastic.
You should experiment more.
Try lower nic, a new build and other cotton.

 

[BigCatDaddy]

I would boil that cotton and then get a lower nic. What you're describing sounds like being nic sick. When I started rebuilding Kangers with cotton, I went thru the same thing w/18mg. Take a few hits and have to go sit for a bit. Dropped to 6, much better. When you get a dripper, you will probably want to drop to 3 even. I can't even do 6 in a Kanger anymore, buzzes me right up and I have to go lay down till it passes. I'm 3 in everything now.

 

[rdeezy74]

Thanks for the responses. Is there really that much of a difference between stock Kanger coils and micro coils with cotton? I mean, I can chain vape on a regular Kanger head indefinitely without ever even coming close to feeling bad.

Also, I managed to thread a little silica wick into the micro coil last night and it's not giving me any problems at all.

 

[twgbonehead]

Thanks for the responses. Is there really that much of a difference between stock Kanger coils and micro coils with cotton? I mean, I can chain vape on a regular Kanger head indefinitely without ever even coming close to feeling bad.

Also, I managed to thread a little silica wick into the micro coil last night and it's not giving me any problems at all.

Yes, there is. A cotton-wicked head can make a tremendous difference compared to the stock silica wicks. I have also found that even early hits that don't seem to produce much vapor can still pack a major nic punch. (Not really sure why, though).

 

[nasca]

it's the nicotine. sometimes you get a strong blast.
maybe you were also dehydrated.
I mean, you dont look so well in your photo, bro.

 

[rdeezy74]

I mean, you dont look so well in your photo, bro.

Oh, that's not me in the picture, thats barnacle jim. He has a long face.

 

[kinggirl]

It would help to boil your cotton first but I'm going to agree with the nic strength that everyone mentions. When I started making my own coils, I had to immediately drop down. The stock heads on kanger don't wick up like straight cotton. The cotton soaks it in. So, they pack more punch and give you bigger hits which might be something now you need to step down from. Everyone I know stepped down on nic when they started rebuilding. If you boil your cotton, you need to do so in distilled water not tap. If you boil in tap, it defeats the purpose of boiling since there are so many impurities in tap water.

 

[rdeezy74]

Thanks everyone. Very helpful. I'm gonna go to my local shop and get some 6 mg, rewick with cotton, and report back with my findings.

 

[nasca]

Oh, that's not me in the picture, thats barnacle jim. He has a long face.

haha. yeah, I'm just messing around.

btw, I wouldnt bother boiling cotton -- that's a good way to introduce contaminates. just use organic cotton instead.

 

[rdeezy74]

Alright, so I've rewicked using the same unboiled organic cotton, this time with 6 ml juice, and I'm having no adverse effects. Looking back, the first time I built the coil and wick, I built it on a head that I had used minutes before, so it still had some juice on it. I get juice on my hands every now and then, and I know you're supposed to wash your hands, but I've always just wiped them off and I've had no issues. I probably got more juice on my hands this time, and that combined with a significantly stronger vape must have been too much nicotine for me to handle. Thanks for helping me figure this out everyone.

 

[BigCatDaddy]

haha. yeah, I'm just messing around.

btw, I wouldnt bother boiling cotton -- that's a good way to introduce contaminates. just use organic cotton instead.

I would still boil it. Organic just means that it was grown without the use of non-organic pesticides, says nothing for how it was processed. Raw cotton is not all white and fluffy like that. It takes bleaching agents of some kind to get it all pretty, white and fluffy.

 

[realsis]

Hi there you might consider trying 100% organic UNBLEACHED cotton. It's fabulous! It's Tanish color because it's not bleached and it's NEVER had any pesticides or chemicals put on it. It wicks very nicely. The type I buy is from cloud chasers and it looks like a yarn. It gives a great flavor plus you can be certain your not getting any pesticides or bleaching chemicals when you fire it. You can find it online. You can even get it off amazon.Com for a reasonable price. It vapes very clean. You get a big bag and it lasts quite a long time. It is 100% organic cotton although it looks like a tan yarn. I've had great success with it and it quickly turned into my favorite wicking material. YOU Might consider Giving it a try because sounds like your sensitive to something in the bleached cotton. Hope this helps you out.

 

[PtrG]

similar recent experience but not quite the reaction you had.
occasionally, get a cotton ball wick "just right" and it produces a bunch of vapor which am enjoying.
after enjoying it too much, can feel results of my usual 12 mg nic in usual 50/50 or 60/40 pg/vg mix.
way more productive and flavorful than stock silica.
doubt if it has anything to do with cotton, kanthal . . .

 

[rdeezy74]

So after using the second cotton wick (with 6 mg liquid) for about a day and a half, I started to get a strange feeling in my hands, like they were extremely dry and sensitive. I switched back to a stock head and the feeling went away within about 20 minutes.

Last night, I went and bought distilled water and a 100% cotton sterile bandage roll from Walgreens. I boiled some cotton balls and while they were drying, rolled up a wick from the bandage roll (its like gauze or cheesecloth). This gave me no problems last night or this morning while i used it.

Around noon today I received my A7 RDA. It came with a large silica wick. I immediately wound up a new coil and wicked it with the boiled cotton. The first hit (of 6 mg juice) gave me a strange head feeling that I didn't like. I don't know if it was psychological or if something was really happening but after two strange experiences with this cotton I wasn't about to stick around to find out. I rewicked it with the silica and everything has been great. I even tried some of the 18 mg stuff I have left and chain vaped it for a few minutes. I had NO problem whatsoever.

I really think I got a bad batch of cotton. I noticed that the bag has small perforations in it and it was on the beauty aisle. I plan on rewicking with the cotton bandage stuff once I get some replacement silica in.

 

[Zipslack]

Try the Peaches & Creme yarn from Walmart. It's 3mm, 100% cotton, sort of off-white tan-ish color. I boiled mine one time for 5 minutes and I don't get the "off" flavor that I get from cotton balls - that flavor bothered me with cotton balls, but no problems with the yarn. Besides, $3 for a roll of 120 yards...no wick shortage here. It's also dead-simple to use...wet it with PG or VG, twist it, insert, vape. For my Ego/Protank heads, I take two of the strands and run them back over for flavor wicks. For my dripper, I just run it it, leave a tail, soak it, vape.

Helpful hint....go to Dollar Tree (or similar store) and look for an old-fashioned Tea Ball for boiling tea with unbagged leaves. Works great for a couple of cotton balls or a foot or so of yarn without it unraveling all over the place.

 

[epicdoom]

been using Graham Cellucotton for the past 2 weeks and its fantastic I had no issues with organic cotton, but this stuff is much better in flavor, wicking and ease of use IMO. I don't trust much of anything that's processed, so I boil everything in distilled water.

 

[skoony]

organic means squat.it means they used natural insectisides,like nicotine.once the cotten has been prosessed there is little if any contaminants in the cotten.boil it all you want,it wont help.
regards
mike