Fast wicking

[Justadude]

Hi guys, I recently got avocado 24mm, any tips on fast wicking it? Here's what I'm running and what I'm after...
Coil - fused clapton 2x28 gauge kanthal wrapped in nichrome 80 36 gauge, parallel with 26 gauge kanthal. Coil is set low to minimize the distance the juice has to travel from wells to the coil. 4 and a half wraps sitting at .33 ohms on a wismec presa firing at 55-70 watts.

I've tried Scottish wicking several times to no avail. Finally set on regular wicking as it seems to wick faster. Currently the wicks are barely touching the juice holes so I definitely don't have them all the way down to the bottom of the tank. I tilt it and vape it.

It works BUT.... I'm after super fast wicking so that you can actually hear the juice popping as it's being vaporized. Any thoughts? The coil lights up pretty fast so I don't think that it's the coil. The wicking method I'm running right now "works" but I know for a fact it could be better. Sorry but I'm definitely flavor chasing. Figured I'd give you guys all the details up front. Thoughts?

 

[tpedwards]

I would suggest a higher resistance build and less wattage. I think you will struggle to get any wick to keep up with your current setup.

 

[Justadude]

I had a weird feeling that that might have been the case. I think I'll try a 2x30 fused parallel with 28 to get it higher. I love this tank and last thing I want to be putting in there is a standard or a simple coil. Last week I did some coil pron and did a fused clapton 30g with 36 in a core paralleled with 2x30 gauge twisted on each side hand wrapped in 36 and that wasn't working either.

So you think it's just not heating up fast enough then?

 

[Daddy]

It isn't your build. I run mine with a .2 build at 130 watts with no dry hits.

Make sure the cotton is not jammed in the holes. You MUST leave a gap in the holes for the tank to wick properly. What I do is only put enough cotton in the tank to fill 1/2 the hole.

 

[snow blind]

Fuzed, stapled, capped, tucked, staggered or other "show" builds wont perform as well as a regular, single strand, dual 24 gauge, 0.3 ohm, 3mm build in there. The heat capacity of all these multi wire builds just leads to smoldering juice being cooked on the coil and dry wicks inside the build.

 

[Justadude]

Fuzed, stapled, capped, tucked, staggered or other "show" builds wont perform as well as a regular, single strand, dual 24 gauge, 0.3 ohm, 3mm build in there. The heat capacity of all these multi wire builds just leads to smoldering juice being cooked on the coil and dry wicks inside the build.

Damn, you really think so? I honestly thought the juice will have a lot more grooves to sit in with a coil like that and give out more surface. But you're right, for some reason it's just cooking the juice, not vaporizing it right away like I wanted.

It isn't your build. I run mine with a .2 build at 130 watts with no dry hits.

Make sure the cotton is not jammed in the holes. You MUST leave a gap in the holes for the tank to wick properly. What I do is only put enough cotton in the tank to fill 1/2 the hole.

My cotton is covering the holes but it's not jammed in there. It's just enough to cover it. It'll leak like crazy when I flip it upside down so I know there is enough room. But in the same time I didn't leave it halfway open.

 

[Petabread]

Fuzed, stapled, capped, tucked, staggered or other "show" builds wont perform as well as a regular, single strand, dual 24 gauge, 0.3 ohm, 3mm build in there. The heat capacity of all these multi wire builds just leads to smoldering juice being cooked on the coil and dry wicks inside the build.

You know, I agree. And I'm glad to see I'm not the only one. I've tried a few of those fancy coils and I just don't get it. Sure, they're pretty - but if I were to show those off at a Starbucks or my group of friends, people wouldn't care at all. Maybe if I went into a vape shop or something (which I don't go in) they would be impressed, but even now, those fancy coils are standard, hipsterish and probably "douche baggy" status (no offense, guys, but these coils are literally in every instagram photo, every vape website and every hand check photo on Reddit lol.)

The only coil I will say that is pretty nice, is the standard Clapton. Those are okay. I won't use them anymore, as they're not worth the effort to me, but I can see the appeal. Once you start fusing them and making chapped baby nipple coils, you're just wasting your time, wire, juice and battery life, IMO.

The exact standard Kanthal build you mentioned has been my go-to build forever. And it's just lovely. Although nowadays, I'm much preferring 26g 316L ~0.35 ohm 3mm. At around 480 degrees. It's just fantastic.

 

[Justadude]

I believe you as I've had great success with regular coils but a part of me just doesn't want to put something simple in there. This isn't for showing off, it's more for personal satisfaction knowing I have a bad ... coil in this sweet tank and yet can get amazing flavor out of it.

In my kanger sub tank mini I currently have a vertical Clapton twisted with a regular kanthal, it looks amazing and tastes simply ridiculous so I know it's definitely possible. I'm gonna try a fused 2x30 gauge parallel with a 28 later on today and let you guys know how that performs.

 

[Petabread]

I believe you as I've had great success with regular coils but a part of me just doesn't want to put something simple in there. This isn't for showing off, it's more for personal satisfaction knowing I have a bad ... coil in this sweet tank and yet can get amazing flavor out of it.

In my kanger sub tank mini I currently have a vertical Clapton twisted with a regular kanthal, it looks amazing and tastes simply ridiculous so I know it's definitely possible. I'm gonna try a fused 2x30 gauge parallel with a 28 later on today and let you guys know how that performs.

Sounds good, pal, let us know.

And just for what it's worth, I'm not calling you (or anyone here) a hipster or a douche bag for using those coils. If they work for you, they work for you, as long as you're having fun with your hobby and not smoking.

It was more aimed at those (possibly new) vapers who feel like "if I'm not using the cool coils that Rip Trippers is using, then I'm not getting a good vape" - and that's just nonsense!

 

[Justadude]

Sounds good, pal, let us know.

And just for what it's worth, I'm not calling you (or anyone here) a hipster or a douche bag for using those coils. If they work for you, they work for you, as long as you're having fun with your hobby and not smoking.

It was more aimed at those (possibly new) vapers who feel like "if I'm not using the cool coils that Rip Trippers is using, then I'm not getting a good vape" - and that's just nonsense!

Completely agree dude. And no offense taken. I got into vaping to get away from cigs. And almost 2 years later I'm still off of cigs.

I was talking to some dude at Walmart when I was getting swivels 2 weeks ago and he's like yeah I used to vape cause it was cool. Then I'm like so no nicotine for you? He's like no way that's like death in my mouth. And I'm thinking to myself "really??? Cause its "cool"??? Virgin lung hipster shut the f. up and sit the f. down." I didn't say that but that's what went through my head. I hate when people do something "cause it's cool". Be yourself. Stop following a trend like a sheep and be YOU and live your life.

 

[Daddy]

I run 26x2/36g n80 fused claptons in mine with no issues.

You must leave a gap in the holes in order for it to wick properly. If you don't leave a gap you will get dry hits regardless of your build.

Yes with the gaps in the holes it will leak if you tip it upseide down or lay it on it's side.

 

[Justadude]

I run 26x2/36g n80 fused claptons in mine with no issues.

You must leave a gap in the holes in order for it to wick properly. If you don't leave a gap you will get dry hits regardless of your build.

Yes with the gaps in the holes it will leak if you tip it upseide down or lay it on it's side.

Gap in the grooves of wire that's wrapped around the core or are we talking about spaced coils?

I had a gap in that super coil in the fused clapton and it still didn't wick properly. But maybe cause I had 2 twisted ones on each side. But still if anything it should wick better instead of just cooking the juice.

 

[Daddy]

Gap in the holes that feed the cotton to your tank. Make sure those cotton holes are only half full. The cotton in your coil should be slightly snug, as usual.

Install your build.

Install your cotton in your build as usual.

Trim off roughly 2/3 of the cotton sticking outside (the thickness) of your build on both sides.

Stuff the remaining 1/3 cotton in to your tank. For example if the holes in the top of the tank are 4mm in diameter only put 2mm in diameter cotton in the tank section.

Take a small screw driving or tooth pick and make sure the cotton stuffed in the tank is not completely covering the holes in the top of the tank.

Vape.

There must be gaps in the tank wicking holes where the cotton wicks in order for it to wick properly. If the tank wicking holes are full the wicking process does not happen efficiently leading to dry hits.

 

[Daddy]

 

[Daddy]

Nevermind the build, it's just something I threw in real fast to take the pictures for you. That hole you put your wick in going to the tank can not be clogged full of cotton, if it is you will experience wicking problems and dry hits.

 

[markcfh]

I have 26x2/32 nichrome fused claptons in mine. I don't have wicking issues, my top cap gets quite warm though. I also trim my wicks a bit before I shove them in the holes, and poke an air gap between each wick tail.

 

[Justadude]

Nevermind the build, it's just something I threw in real fast to take the pictures for you. That hole you put your wick in going to the tank can not be clogged full of cotton, if it is you will experience wicking problems and dry hits.

Understood. And thanks for the pic. Could you maybe upload a picture of how much cotton you're cutting off, where, what's left, and the length that's going into in the tank?

I'm asking cause by looking at that picture it looks like you got a ton of cotton on the sides. So I'm asking cause I want to be on the same page.

 

[Justadude]

Do you cut it to make a pointy shape kind of like a tip of an arrow? Also does your build vaporize the juice fast enough hence creating that popping noise?

 

[Daddy]

Understood. And thanks for the pic. Could you maybe upload a picture of how much cotton you're cutting off, where, what's left, and the length that's going into in the tank?

I'm asking cause by looking at that picture it looks like you got a ton of cotton on the sides. So I'm asking cause I want to be on the same page.

The length doesn't really matter. It is the diameter that is important. Sorry I took the build out and boxed the tank after the pictures. Just make sure there is a gap in the wick hole to allow proper wicking. I usually cut my wick so it is barely touching the bottom of the tank. The amount of cotton that goes in to the tank is similar in diameter to the lead in a #2 pencil. It doesn't take much cotton to wick - less is more.

I've found that spit back (the cracking noise you hear) comes from not enough power. If you turn the power up you should loose that. I believe it is the result of your wick wicking faster then coils is vaporizing the juice OR your power is not sufficient enough to vaporize all of the juice - increasing power resolves both of these issues.

 

[Justadude]

No worries about the pictures. Actually I'm after the popping noise. That means the juice is being vaporized. Spit back is something different. The only way I got juice in my mouth is when I flipped the thing upside down to vape it. Other than that it's flavorful but not flavorful enough because it's cooking the juice instead of vaporizing it. I barely have any cotton in there at the moment. Its constantly wicked but I'll definitely try your method today. But yeah, I'm definitely after the popping noise.