Different Cottons for different wicks

Status
Not open for further replies.

Porksmuggler

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Aug 31, 2012
326
209
USA
I WISH I could find a local cotton grower/spinner.

I kind of feel like I'd have a different experience with fresh, hand-spun yarn. If I could find an ORGANIC grower/spinner, I'd be in heaven!! No pesticides, less processing, and you can be absolutely certain it's 100% cotton and nothing... NOTHING else.

I'm really jealous of you right now!

Going off your sig location, these may be worth contacting:

Carolina Country - Homegrown Clothing
 

TroyHoot

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Dec 14, 2012
911
993
Greenville MS
Been using cheese cloth for about a month or so. I change wick about every 5 days or so. It would last longer if my juice didnt gunk it up. rootbeer,caramel, sweet cream, wintergreen mixed with a redhot cinnamon mix. Only complaint would be I cant dry burn to clean it. but its soo easy to pull it out and slide a new one in, its not a big deal. If i put both end of the wick down in the well it doesnt gunk up as fast. With one side real short and other in the well it would gunk up alot faster on the short end.

I have changed my coil though. Using twisted 32g. It holds up alot better to abuse when I change wicks. Really liking the twisted wire coil.

I still need to try some real cotton straight from the plant. Need to go look if we have anything left from last years harvest.
 

StaircaseWit

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Jan 18, 2013
995
462
The Pit of Despair
I set up my IGO-L with the standard silica wick, but made it just long enough to sit on the deck and filled the rest of the space with cotton from boiled cotton balls that I failed at making wicks with (I figured I might as well get some use out of them). It gives me a bit of that "full cotton flavor" that I don't get with raw silica, and as an added bonus any loose silica fibers would have a pretty hard time getting past the cotton. It's like a big, fat cartomizer. Works very well.
 

xMackx

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Oct 3, 2012
628
734
40
Michigan
I set up my IGO-L with the standard silica wick, but made it just long enough to sit on the deck and filled the rest of the space with cotton from boiled cotton balls that I failed at making wicks with (I figured I might as well get some use out of them). It gives me a bit of that "full cotton flavor" that I don't get with raw silica, and as an added bonus any loose silica fibers would have a pretty hard time getting past the cotton. It's like a big, fat cartomizer. Works very well.

That full cotton taste you mention is from singeing or burning. It takes a bit of practice to learn how to set up organic wicks so they taste completely clean. Something I found important with using cotton is the type of atomizer, some are just a pain and others a piece of cake to figure out. Another thing I found helps is thinner gauge wire doesn't burn as easy, I don't use any kanthal below 33 awg with cotton and how close the wraps are can make a huge difference (closer the better for me). Stick with the cotton balls until you figure things out because they are the most forgiving (other tightly weeved cottons are much more sensitive to coil pressure). Make sure you let the cotton soak in juice for at minimum an hour before vaping or it will burn even if it looks wet.
 

StaircaseWit

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Jan 18, 2013
995
462
The Pit of Despair
That full cotton taste you mention is from singeing or burning. It takes a bit of practice to learn how to set up organic wicks so they taste completely clean. Something I found important with using cotton is the type of atomizer, some are just a pain and others a piece of cake to figure out. Another thing I found helps is thinner gauge wire doesn't burn as easy, I don't use any kanthal below 33 awg with cotton and how close the wraps are can make a huge difference (closer the better for me). Stick with the cotton balls until you figure things out because they are the most forgiving (other tightly weeved cottons are much more sensitive to coil pressure). Make sure you let the cotton soak in juice for at minimum an hour before vaping or it will burn even if it looks wet.

The wick isn't actually cotton; it's silica. The cotton is above/around it, with no contact with the coil. The closest it comes is probably 3mm from the coil, and when I open it up none of the cotton is singed or burnt. I just mean that "breathing through cotton" taste, almost cartomizer-like without the polyfill note. The cotton just holds a ton of juice and feeds the silica that sits in the bottom of the IGO-L. Basically it creates a huge cartomizer.

I guess it was a bad post for a cotton wick thread. I just wanted to note another use I found for the cotton balls I boiled. And it soaked probably two hours before I took the first vape. Holds a *lot* of juice. I'm going to refine this method because it turns a dripping atty into more of a "vape for an hour" device.
 

Gummy Bare

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Nov 2, 2012
2,244
1,867
46
San Diego, California
I had a kanger T3 I did a SS mesh recoil of about a month ago... it didn't come out so good because it had a short in it. Last night I pulled the SS out, boiled the whole thing, and then feed some cotton wick threw it (the cotton wick was given to me by a friend, he got it at a vape shop), and respaced the coils a bit. The cotton I boiled as well and let it dry fully over night. I'm gonna fill it up with juice when I get home today and let it sit over night again and give it a shot tomorrow night or the next day.

Not sure if I should place another price of cotton on top on the coil to mimic the kangers "flavor wick" that's usually on there, or just leave it how it is. Some people remove the flavor wicks when they get them, but it usually leads to flooding. Not sure if the cotton will swell up enough to keep it from flooding, or if I'll need the extra flavor wick sitting on top.

:: sent from android with tapatalk ::
 
Last edited:

JD1

Vaping Master
ECF Veteran
Nov 20, 2010
4,180
2,644
KY
.......Not sure if I should place another price of cotton on top on the coil to mimic the kangers "flavor wick" that's usually on there, or just leave it how it is. .......

Imo, two small wicks will outperform one big one in the vvn type designs. Those slots are narrow, and a bigger wick gets choked more as it goes through the slots. I first got the idea from the vvn thread and also from this thread. I use smaller and shorter wicks than shown in this picture: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...ivi-nova-rebuild-tutorial-18.html#post7074093

Mack cuts the helper wick in the middle and brings each end up to the edge of the coil. Use this method if you're not getting good air flow with the wick across the top. http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...t-cottons-different-wicks-10.html#post8342057

Edit: I should add that I don't enlarge the slots and I don't think Mack does anymore either. With small wicks, it isn't necessary.
 
Last edited:

Gummy Bare

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Nov 2, 2012
2,244
1,867
46
San Diego, California
Imo, two small wicks will outperform one big one in the vvn type designs. Those slots are narrow, and a bigger wick gets choked more as it goes through the slots. I first got the idea from the vvn thread and also from this thread. I use smaller and shorter wicks than shown in this picture: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...ivi-nova-rebuild-tutorial-18.html#post7074093

Mack cuts the helper wick in the middle and brings each end up to the edge of the coil. Use this method if you're not getting good air flow with the wick across the top. http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...t-cottons-different-wicks-10.html#post8342057

Edit: I should add that I don't enlarge the slots and I don't think Mack does anymore either. With small wicks, it isn't necessary.

Nice, thanks for the links. I'm hoping to bring these T3' s back to life as I bought a bunch but didn't like them much. Supposedly boiling the body and wick will help with the bad taste they had... So I boiled some, and did a cotton rebuild of another. I'm gonna see how they work.

:: sent from android with tapatalk ::
 

xMackx

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Oct 3, 2012
628
734
40
Michigan
Imo, two small wicks will outperform one big one in the vvn type designs. Those slots are narrow, and a bigger wick gets choked more as it goes through the slots. I first got the idea from the vvn thread and also from this thread. I use smaller and shorter wicks than shown in this picture: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...ivi-nova-rebuild-tutorial-18.html#post7074093

Mack cuts the helper wick in the middle and brings each end up to the edge of the coil. Use this method if you're not getting good air flow with the wick across the top. http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...t-cottons-different-wicks-10.html#post8342057

Edit: I should add that I don't enlarge the slots and I don't think Mack does anymore either. With small wicks, it isn't necessary.
You're correct, I don't enlarge the wick slots anymore. I haven't been posting much this week because I just had my tetanus booster and have been feeling a bit under the weather from it. The vvn mini's are still some of my favorite atties, I have rebuilt the same 2 heads countless times over the last several months and grommets still holding up. To be honest if I were to recommend someone new to cotton, I woould say get a vivi mini nova, some cotton wool and some 33-34awg kanthal.
 

Gummy Bare

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Nov 2, 2012
2,244
1,867
46
San Diego, California
So... I let my kanger T3 cotton recoil sit in juice for 24 hours, than tested it out today. Blam! One of the best vapes I've ever had. Amazing taste and vapor production.... but, after about 15mins it started to flood. I think I might have to lay another piece of cotton on top of the coil (which is how the T3 comes made) to keep it from flooding. The cotton swelled up really nice so I figured it wouldn't food, but I guess I was wrong.

I'm gonna throw a second piece of cotton on tonight and let it soak over night. If that doesn't work in gonna recoil it again. The coil I made came out to 3.0ohms, which is a little higher than I wanted, but with a twist it was working great at around 4.3 volts.

I was super excited for about 15 mins there, never seen a clearo work so good before... guess it was to good to be true. But I'm not giving up!

:: sent from android with tapatalk ::
 

Jeremy Evans

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Feb 19, 2013
1,012
1,143
Columbus, Georgia, United States
So... I let my kanger T3 cotton recoil sit in juice for 24 hours, than tested it out today. Blam! One of the best vapes I've ever had. Amazing taste and vapor production.... but, after about 15mins it started to flood. I think I might have to lay another piece of cotton on top of the coil (which is how the T3 comes made) to keep it from flooding. The cotton swelled up really nice so I figured it wouldn't food, but I guess I was wrong.

I'm gonna throw a second piece of cotton on tonight and let it soak over night. If that doesn't work in gonna recoil it again. The coil I made came out to 3.0ohms, which is a little higher than I wanted, but with a twist it was working great at around 4.3 volts.

I was super excited for about 15 mins there, never seen a clearo work so good before... guess it was to good to be true. But I'm not giving up!

:: sent from android with tapatalk ::

Had the same problem with my Evod when I tried cotton, it worked freaking great and then became a straw
 

paddymx

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Jun 2, 2012
917
905
Asheboro,NC
Had the same problem with my Evod when I tried cotton, it worked freaking great and then became a straw

Did you find out a fix for it?

:: sent from android with tapatalk ::
(1.9 Ω - 2.2 Ω)
CottonRebuild003.png


I'm having pretty good luck with cotton from Tractor Supply. I use 1 strand(12 threads) plus an additional 5 threads. I also did a PDF step x step here. See below.

UPDATES TO ORGINIAL PDF.

In my original PDF I said I was using one thread of twine (5 threads) plus 3 additional threads to stop the gurgling. Wouldn't ya know that after making that PDF the gurgling returned. Sooo, after several attempts I found that it really took 1 thread, which really had 12 threads plus an additional 5 threads. Now after 5 tanks, no gurgling! Its a little harder to work with the additional threads but well worth the effort. I now have T3's that don't gurgle. Additionally there is only a small amount of moisture on the battery post, after a full tank, which must be condensation which will probably always appear no matter what.

I boil my twine in the microwave using a 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup filled up to 3 cups for 20 minutes. Usually about 4 foot at a time. Then I run cold water into the cup so the hot water rolls over the top. This keeps the twine from picking up some of the residue released into the water from the boiling.

When I got the twine from Tractor Supply I first found it on the web site and my local store had to get it from another store using the SKU #.

NOTE: I am using Volt(SI) cartomizer battery post grommets because they are a little bigger than other grommets. Phoenix XL grommets work okay but are harder to work with.

The cotton threads are pretty lose so it takes some time to learn how to thread them into the grommets. Kinda like wetting the end of a thread before threading a needle.

When inserting the finished coil into the base, keep the exposed needle showing( facing up ). This makes it easier to fine tune the coils with a jewelers screwdriver .

I am now using 6 wraps on the coils and coming in at 2.5 - 2.8 Ω's.

When first using the rebuilt head, take several dry puffs first. Then little short puffs until you get a strong vapor. Cotton wicks burn easily.

a/o 3/14

What I'm seeing now is that not all T3's are the same. I have started to separate the ones that gurgle( only on the last .4ml as shown on the tank tough ) in hopes of finding out why.

laptop-animated-busy-_zps48d4de60.gif
 

Light Seeker

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Jan 31, 2013
1,052
1,322
Houston TX
Got a spool of kamthal in, but haven't made it to Walmart for peaches n cream yarn. Had some cotton butchers string, gave it the burn test and seemed perfect. Rolled a coil around it for a viva nova head, put a drop of juice on the coil to quickly test it, everything good so filled the tank with juice. No soak time, starting vaping right away .... No cotton burn, excellent taste, no dried wick, no flooding...... Life is good! Vaped about 2ml now, everything is great. Not sure if this butchers string is bleached (it's an ecru color) or has any starch or sizing, but boiling some and let dry to rewick later.

Not sure if this butchers string has different properties than cotton yarn, but it seems no soaking is needed ..... Or quite possible I just got very lucky today :)
 

paddymx

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Jun 2, 2012
917
905
Asheboro,NC
...
Not sure if this butchers string has different properties than cotton yarn, but it seems no soaking is needed ..... Or quite possible I just got very lucky today :)

From Butchers Twine web page:
"Koch Industries Cotton Butcher's Twine is made of 100% cotton for use in cooking.

Product Length: 370 ft.
Product Material: Cotton
Natural "
 

Gummy Bare

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Nov 2, 2012
2,244
1,867
46
San Diego, California
(1.9 Ω - 2.2 Ω)
CottonRebuild003.png


I'm having pretty good luck with cotton from Tractor Supply. I use 1 strand(12 threads) plus an additional 5 threads. I also did a PDF step x step here. See below.

UPDATES TO ORGINIAL PDF.

In my original PDF I said I was using one thread of twine (5 threads) plus 3 additional threads to stop the gurgling. Wouldn't ya know that after making that PDF the gurgling returned. Sooo, after several attempts I found that it really took 1 thread, which really had 12 threads plus an additional 5 threads. Now after 5 tanks, no gurgling! Its a little harder to work with the additional threads but well worth the effort. I now have T3's that don't gurgle. Additionally there is only a small amount of moisture on the battery post, after a full tank, which must be condensation which will probably always appear no matter what.

I boil my twine in the microwave using a 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup filled up to 3 cups for 20 minutes. Usually about 4 foot at a time. Then I run cold water into the cup so the hot water rolls over the top. This keeps the twine from picking up some of the residue released into the water from the boiling.

When I got the twine from Tractor Supply I first found it on the web site and my local store had to get it from another store using the SKU #.

NOTE: I am using Volt(SI) cartomizer battery post grommets because they are a little bigger than other grommets. Phoenix XL grommets work okay but are harder to work with.

The cotton threads are pretty lose so it takes some time to learn how to thread them into the grommets. Kinda like wetting the end of a thread before threading a needle.

When inserting the finished coil into the base, keep the exposed needle showing( facing up ). This makes it easier to fine tune the coils with a jewelers screwdriver .

I am now using 6 wraps on the coils and coming in at 2.5 - 2.8 Ω's.

When first using the rebuilt head, take several dry puffs first. Then little short puffs until you get a strong vapor. Cotton wicks burn easily.

a/o 3/14

What I'm seeing now is that not all T3's are the same. I have started to separate the ones that gurgle( only on the last .4ml as shown on the tank tough ) in hopes of finding out why.

laptop-animated-busy-_zps48d4de60.gif

Dang, looks like it's a little harder than throwing an extra wick on top. Thanks for the info and picture. I'll have to try that out.

:: sent from android with tapatalk ::
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Users who are viewing this thread