Ekowool coil rebuild tastes bad :(

[Vaslovik]

I got some 3mm Ekowool braided silica wick from KidneyPuncher.com, along with some 32 ga. kanthal and proceeded to wind coils with these. I had thought that the braided wick would hold together better than the twisted wick during coil winding, but in this I was mistaken, silica fiber is some pretty slippery stuff and will unravel quickly if you do not tape the ends of it before you put the pin through it for the coil winding.

At first look the 3mm Ekowool wick is thicker than the 3mm twisted wick I'd gotten from another supplier, and really looks more like 4mm or more. I wound my coil on it, trimmed the wick as usual, tested it to 2.2 ohms, primed the wick, filled my Protank, screwed the head in, and set my Vision spinner to 3.5 volts.

The wick provided thick rich clouds of vapor, which tasted something like burnt popcorn mixed with burning dog hair resulting in acute post-vape cognitive dissonance. A distinctly sub-optimal result. I tried vaping on it for a while thinking perhaps the flavor would change, but it did not.

I made a second coil with this wick material with identical results, and concluded that the Ekowool wick has some yuckies in it that taste bad. I then made up coils with the twisted silica wick I got locally and they work fine, no bad taste and my juice flavor comes through unpolluted.

I've read some very good reviews of Ekowool wick material, and I'm not sure what's up with what I got from KidneyPuncher, but further forays into Ekowool wicked coils are on hold until I find out how to deal with that unsavory taste.

 

[speedemon]

When I've experienced nasty taste it sometimes was from coil or silica or eko. What I do now with all of mine once I build my coil wick combo for what it's going on I hold with needle nose pliers in my gas stove flames, this cleans off coil and wick before I ever use it the stuff don't burn just gets any contaminates out of coil and wick.

 

[Schnarph]

I boil my Ekowool for 15 to 20 minutes. Since it's not flammable, I torch it before use. I also got my first few batches of Ekowool from Kidney Puncher, the instructions on their Ekowool page say to boil it for 15 minutes in distilled water. Torching it is not necessary, but it does need to dry somehow. Give that a try next time.

 

[Vaslovik]

When I've experienced nasty taste it sometimes was from coil or silica or eko. What I do now with all of mine once I build my coil wick combo for what it's going on I hold with needle nose pliers in my gas stove flames, this cleans off coil and wick before I ever use it the stuff don't burn just gets any contaminates out of coil and wick.

I've tried using a Bic lighter to roast the wick before winding the coil on it, but that has not seemed to help at all. Next I'll try soaking it in hot water and drying it before building a coil on it. I don't have a gas stove, ours is electric.

 

[Vaslovik]

I boil my Ekowool for 15 to 20 minutes. Since it's not flammable, I torch it before use. I also got my first few batches of Ekowool from Kidney Puncher, the instructions on their Ekowool page say to boil it for 15 minutes in distilled water. Torching it is not necessary, but it does need to dry somehow. Give that a try next time.

Ah, thank you, that was my very next thought on how to proceed, I'll tie the ends with thread before boiling it.

 

[crxess]

Sometimes the simplest things slip past us. Everyone always says clean your equipment before use, myself included. Then we miss a step and start scratching our heads.
For me it was trying to figure out why an e-liquid was so rancid. Got so excited about the new flavor, I forgot to wash out the new Carto tank. Completely ruined 3.5ml RY4

Sounds like your Ekowool may be a china wool. Everyone seems to believe it Russian is much better. Don't know.

Hope your next coils work out for you!

 

[Vaslovik]

Sounds like your Ekowool may be a china wool. Everyone seems to believe it Russian is much better. Don't know.

Hope your next coils work out for you!

Chinese? Oh lord, yes, they copy everything that sells at all, and you could well be right. I wonder if there's a way to be sure of getting the Russian product. I'm so very tired of getting Chinese knock-offs when I buy vaping goods! I have a Chinese counterfeit Mini Nova atty that I cannot get coils for still, and will be tossing that when the last coil is done.

 

[speedemon]

I got all my ekowool from a co-op came from Russia it has been very good and I've not experienced bad taste. Like I said I do burn my stuff 1st though I don't think a lighter gets hot enough. You could soak it in some everclear or vodka for a few minutes then light it up that might burn out the junk taste. You could get a small torch like others use if you don't have a gas stove.

 

[BWhare]

I don't have any ekowool so I'm just wondering aloud..... If you're going to boil the stuff, couldn't you just staple the tips to prevent the fraying problem? Just nip off the staples when you're ready to use it.

 

[samuraijill]

I have ekowool on the way from ebay - it was listed specifically as Russian origin so I hope it's the real deal

 

[kkanix]

Hello Vaslovik and everyone,

Sorry to reply to an old post but I have the same problem with my Ekowool, can you please inform me if you tested boiling it and if it worked?
Also finally does it need torching after boiling or it is not necessary?

I boiled the Ekowool for 2-3 minutes but it was before I read this post so I guess I have to boil it for 20 minutes.
Not sure if I have to torch it after it is dry or not.

In the begging I thought that it has to do with the way I am building the resistance, I thought I was doing something wrong there, too tight or too loose, etc but I tested all possible combinations with no luck.

Today I took one wick apart and burned it, wherever the wick is solid twisted in a good thread it does not smell bad but if there are any piles (as small as a hair size) around the resistance, they burn and it smells really bad.

 

[Ben B Brown]

i boiled mine 3 times and still had the bad taste i had to burn it real good with a torch to get that taste out

 

[kkanix]

Thanks a lot Ben for the quick reply.

One more question, do you burn it before you build the resistor or after, with the wire on?
After you burn it, you just place it in the atomizer and that's it, it does not taste bad?

 

[Finder]

At first look the 3mm Ekowool wick is thicker than the 3mm twisted wick I'd gotten from another supplier, and really looks more like 4mm or more.

Ekowool is marked according to its inner dimension. 3mm is diametar of the hole.

 

[Oomee]

I flame it before putting the coil on .
Flaming helps stop the ends fraying too .

 

[crxess]

I've tried using a Bic lighter to roast the wick before winding the coil on it, but that has not seemed to help at all. Next I'll try soaking it in hot water and drying it before building a coil on it. I don't have a gas stove, ours is electric.

Pick up A Butane torch like used for cooking. Gets plenty hot enough to clean the wick.

Amazon.com: butane torch

Good for cleaning SS wicks also. Wire should also be torched to red once before winding. Cleans and reduced spring action.

 

[kkanix]

Well as an update I testet burning some cm of a 3mm Ekowool wick using a "camping style" gas

Wick got harder and stiffer but it makes it easier to handle and build a head.
Was not expecting too much, so I built a quick one without using a pin or anything to support that came out at 2 ohms (wish it was slightly lower) but at 3.8 V max I can taste the juice and no burning taste.
Or i thing I do, after so much burning taste I had inhaled during the last hours.
Vapor is better compared to the default 1.8Ω, throat hit not as good.
Noticed that chain vapping works better now, did not reached the point (for me after 4th or 5th inhale) to get the burned taste on the default one and can go down to 3.5 V while chain vapping.
I have never felt the protank mini so hot in my hand!
Thanks all for your help!

As a newbie this was my first try, so any comments and suggestions are welcome!