Cotton wick taste

[SirLoki]

wasn't sure which sub-forum to post this in so I thought here was best. I have been rebuilding my kanger heads lately. Been doing very well with the silica wick after a few mis-steps at first. But I have heard that cotton makes for a better wick both flavor and wicking wise. My problem has been the taste. Every cotton wick I make gives the taste of wet Tshirt along with the flavor of the juice being used.

Here's some of the details for my vape to help diagnose. I ususlly vape between 1.8 and 2.2 ohms, 1.8 on my VV batt set at 3.2V or 2.2 on my static batt at 3.5-3.7V. Those values are for my single coil PT2s for my PT3 DCs I use the 1.5 ohm on the VV set to 3.2 only. Yes I run low cuz I like a bit of a cooler vape to let the flavor shine through. For me the warmer vapes degrade the flavor.

So is the wet tshirt taste a byproduct of cotton in a cooler vape or is it just the cotton itself and won't go away no matter what I do, or am I doing something wrong. Also I am using organic cotton balls 100% cotton, boiled for 15 min in distilled water, then rinsed 3 times in distilled water and dryed thoroughly.

To me Vanilla custard has a very strong flavor and the wet tshirt is even over powering that.

Any help from some experienced builders would be greatly appreciated. I have a whole bag of cotton and would like to use this as a wick over silica but can't handle the taste right now. And I really don't want to dump it for something like Tencel before I gave it an honest go.

 

[bm2112]

I never boil my cotton because I buy CVS Sterile Cotton Balls and they don't have any taste to begin with. Have you tried your cotton unboiled?

A cooler vape could also be the reason you feel that taste. Try turning the voltage up a tad.

Edit: Does the juice you're using have distilled water as one of its ingredients? I've noticed when I've used a bit of distilled water in my juices it makes for a wet vape but doesn't affect the flavor much.

 

[VapoJoe86]

Hi, first of all- congrats on rebuilding the kanger heads. I keep a couple kanger pieces in my rotation and rebuild the heads. I used cotton for a long time, the key is using just the right amount. It should be snug in the coil but not TIGHT. Try using less cotton. If that doesn't work (or even if it does) you should look into cellucotton. They sell it at beauty supply shops for cheap and it wicks/tastes great. It also lasts longer than cotton and is more forgiving in terms of how much you use.

 

[Sthur]

I have been rebuilding for a while now and usually the funky taste goes away after 10 pulls or so. I usually run 1.8 at 3.8-4.0v no problem. Make sure it wicks for a few. I find if I wick for 5 min, take a pull no fire, take a pull with fire, wait couple min, repeat another cycle and usually gets better after every cycle.

Also like above check amount of cotton, I boil my cheap cvs cotton as well. Japan cotton is great and break in is non existent in my drippers.

 

[minitater]

I rebuilt my Kanger coils for a year with cotton. A few weeks ago I went to rayon and gave away all my left over cotton and silica.

 

[readmylips]

wasn't sure which sub-forum to post this in so I thought here was best. I have been rebuilding my kanger heads lately. Been doing very well with the silica wick after a few mis-steps at first. But I have heard that cotton makes for a better wick both flavor and wicking wise. My problem has been the taste. Every cotton wick I make gives the taste of wet Tshirt along with the flavor of the juice being used.

Here's some of the details for my vape to help diagnose. I ususlly vape between 1.8 and 2.2 ohms, 1.8 on my VV batt set at 3.2V or 2.2 on my static batt at 3.5-3.7V. Those values are for my single coil PT2s for my PT3 DCs I use the 1.5 ohm on the VV set to 3.2 only. Yes I run low cuz I like a bit of a cooler vape to let the flavor shine through. For me the warmer vapes degrade the flavor.

So is the wet tshirt taste a byproduct of cotton in a cooler vape or is it just the cotton itself and won't go away no matter what I do, or am I doing something wrong. Also I am using organic cotton balls 100% cotton, boiled for 15 min in distilled water, then rinsed 3 times in distilled water and dryed thoroughly.

To me Vanilla custard has a very strong flavor and the wet tshirt is even over powering that.

Any help from some experienced builders would be greatly appreciated. I have a whole bag of cotton and would like to use this as a wick over silica but can't handle the taste right now. And I really don't want to dump it for something like Tencel before I gave it an honest go.

Boil it multiple times, not just boil once and then rinse 3 times. I never notice a wet t shirt taste to speak of. I boil in an organic pan as well so there are no impurities from the pan. Boil, squeeze it out while wearing a latex glove(non powdered) rinse pan, add new water and repeat the method 3 to 5 times.

also, try turning up the power as the other gentlemen suggested. Good luck.

RML

 

[State O' Flux]

Japan cotton is great and break in is non existent in my drippers.

For those that don't read entire posts... re-read this ^ particular sentence folks. Muji and Koh Gen Do cotton is far superior to any bag of drug store cotton. Rayon does have it's place, but for those who are leary... Japanese cotton is as good as cotton gets.

 

[Despraci]

Regular cotton balls for me always had an "off" taste, even after boiling. Organic they had an off taste for about 10 pulls. I then when to Rayon / Cellulose and haven't been using anything else. I do have some Japanese cotton laying around that was given to me, but for me I've been happy with Cellulose.

 

[smacksy]

I use CVA organic cotton balls in my RDA's..When I pull my rolled cotton wick thru the coil I wet it it with juice, cut tag ends to size and gently push them onto the deck and under the coils..Then I drip more juice on the new wicks, and with the cap still off pulse the switch while blowing cool air on the coils..I do this a few times to make sure that "cotton" taste is gone and happy with the vapor produced..Then I re-drip again, put the cap and drip tip back on and take my first hit...this works for me every time with excellent flavor, dense clouds, and best of all, no new cotton taste..Cheers

 

[Gqballa]

Never noticed any wet t shirt taste. Maybe my palate isn't as great as yours. I've boiled organic cotton balls from target just once and air dried. Just
Switched to shiseido cotton pads no boil. Great flavour

 

[dopamine1]

I get it with those cotton pads and with cotton balls. Usually goes away after 10-20 puffs for me. I guessed it was the peroxide used to bleach it boiling off and just avoid inhaling until it wears off.

 

[Rat2chat2]

Both Koh Gen Do and the cellucotton have superior saturation but the cellucotton is definitely more economical. I prefer both of these over sterile cotton due solely to the ease of wicking and fresh taste. Good luck to you and happy vaping.

 

[Nightshard]

Haven't been using kanger for a while now, but back when i used to, iv'e noticed that the longer i made the wick the worst the cotton taste was.
So my advice is to use a small amount of cotton as possible without leaking and cut the extra wick from the sides as close to the base as possible.

 

[zahzoo]

Boil it multiple times, not just boil once and then rinse 3 times. I never notice a wet t shirt taste to speak of. I boil in an organic pan as well so there are no impurities from the pan. Boil, squeeze it out while wearing a latex glove(non powdered) rinse pan, add new water and repeat the method 3 to 5 times.

This whole practice of boiling cotton balls just baffles me...

A google search turned up nothing... I'm real curious to understand what exactly is an "organic pan"?

Organic refers to plants grown without chemical pesticides and fertilizers.

If you are using tap water to boil your cotton... you are now introducing chlorine, chloromides, fluoride, etc from water treatment, plus any heavy metals leeched from your plumbing and/or naturally occurring in your water supply... possibly a host of other unregulated chemicals found in your local water supply. Using distilled water may help avoid some of this but not all depending on it's water source.

So all that aside... you boil your balls 3-5 times, squeeze them out and then set them out to air dry. Most likely all this occurs in your kitchen... the central hub of food preparation/storage, household cleaning, temporary trash storage, dog bathing, beer brewing and whatever else you do in there. Out sits a plate of nice warm, moist, freshly boiled cotton balls ready to collect any/all the airborne bacteria, molds, yeasts, fungi and indoor pollutants that live happily in all our kitchens...

I honestly believe boiling cotton balls isn't worth the time, energy and cost nor does it mitigate any measurable health risk than it does fresh outta the bag it came in.

 

[CabinetGuyScott]

I rebuilt my Kanger coils for a year with cotton. A few weeks ago I went to rayon and gave away all my left over cotton and silica.

Yup, me too!

Long live rayon!

 

[Nytebreed]

I hated rayon when I first started playing with it.
I rewicked a couple of attys a few times each and I was getting silica like burny arseyness.
Went right back to sterile surgical cotton pads.
Tried again a week later, worked good, and have been using rayon exclusively since.

 

[AntnyMikal]

I was using boiled organic cotton with good results, cheap, clean crisp flavor after a few pulls and wicked well. The main thing was it worked better and tasted better than silica to me.

Then I heard about rayon/cellulose[emoji106][emoji108] a couple weeks ago, decided to buy a box for 10$ of 500ft. I haven't looked back. The stuff is amazing. Great flavor, excellent wicking and it's cheaper.

Setting up the coil is a little different, but I got it about the 2nd or 3rd try. It also stays cleaner and my coils don't gunk as much, I have a Plume Veil with Bobas wicked with rayon, crazy flavor and I've been using the same wick going on 5-6 days.

 

[DaveP]

Kanger heads always had that T-shirt taste when I'd install a new one and vape. After break in it goes away. I don't get that from organic cotton, although the flavor gets better after a couple of hours. I vape cotton on a Kayfun with a 3mm coil. If it's tasting funny at first, give it a day. Make sure the wick is completely saturated before you hit the fire button after wick replacement. You are wetting the wick down with juice before the first vape, aren't you?

Less is more with cotton as long as it swells enough to provide good contact with the coil. The wick should slide easily back and forth using fingers to pull back and forth. If it's tight, you might end up with weak juice saturation from the wick being choked.

 

[jaxgator]

For me, rayon is the best wicking material and there is no off taste. The stuff wicks like no body's business!

Just take a look at these 2 images. You tell me which one looks like it will wick better.

Rayon...

Channels the juice flows on

Cotton...

From wikipedia

 

[Weizenheimer]

Sterile cotton I get weird taste for a bit. Organic cotton I don't.