... great price on stainless mesh for wicks?

[jackson32503]

The best price I've found is through Grainger. Any better/more economical sources out there? (12"x12" sheets would be ideal.)

Related questions:
1. 304 stainless seems to be the standard. What would be the pros & cons of using 316 stainless, instead? Will 316 stainless torch-oxidize adequately to NOT short a coil?
2. What are the pros & cons of 325 mesh, 400 mesh, and 500 mesh (compared to each other and compared to Ekowool wicks)?
3. Does anyone know if powder coated stainless mesh would work safely? If so, wouldn't the powder coat serve as an insulator, hence eliminating the need to oxidize the mesh, entirely?

Thanks! Y'all are great!

 

[Shamus9]

I'd like to know this also. My wife just bought me an Aga-t2 and I had to run a micro coil and cotton u wick in it. Works great, but would like to try mesh and don't want to mess with the little piece that comes with it.

 

[Mr.Bungle]

There are many discussions about different grades of mesh here on the forums. Search and ye shall find.

I always hate giving this next bit of advise... Look on eBay. There are many sellers with reasonable prices. EBay, however, hates us and should not be supported by this community in any way.

 

[RudeBoy007]

I haven't found what I would call an even 'fair' price anywhere for this stuff, and by fair I mean less than $10 a sguare foot. I don't think it should be so expensive but once it becomes an e-cig related item, it seems that the price suddenly goes sky high. As for the powder coat I would imagine that the coating might come off when you torch it, but I don't know. This guy on here called quigsworth (Quigsworth1 on you tube I think) showed a great setup with SS meah wick that has threads wrapped around the top of the mesh to act like an insulator. Here is a link to his video tutorial showing his setup:
SS Mesh/Cotton hybrid wick - YouTube
I've been doing this since, it's a whole lot better than straight SS mesh in my opinion. This way, you no longer have to worry so much about the oxidizing (maybe you no longer have to even oxidize it at all). I once torched some SS mesh (maybe it was of poorer quality) until it flaked into pieces and was over-torched. I hope someone replies with a link to a great deal on the SS mesh...

 

[jackson32503]

I haven't found what I would call an even 'fair' price anywhere for this stuff, and by fair I mean less than $10 a sguare foot. I don't think it should be so expensive but once it becomes an e-cig related item, it seems that the price suddenly goes sky high. As for the powder coat I would imagine that the coating might come off when you torch it, but I don't know. This guy on here called quigsworth (Quigsworth1 on you tube I think) showed a great setup with SS meah wick that has threads wrapped around the top of the mesh to act like an insulator. Here is a link to his video tutorial showing his setup:
SS Mesh/Cotton hybrid wick - YouTube
I've been doing this since, it's a whole lot better than straight SS mesh in my opinion. This way, you no longer have to worry so much about the oxidizing (maybe you no longer have to even oxidize it at all). I once torched some SS mesh (maybe it was of poorer quality) until it flaked into pieces and was over-torched. I hope someone replies with a link to a great deal on the SS mesh...

I'll check out this video, THANKS.

I was recently GIVEN a fairly large (for a freebie...roughly 8"x8") sheet of 400 304 grade mesh by the Tracy, the proprietress of VaporLabz, and have been experimenting with it! (THANK YOU, Tracy!)

As for what you refer to as a 'fair' price, Grainger is the CLOSEST I've found. (If my memory is correct...flip a coin as to whether it is...they're getting $13 & change for an 8"x10" sheet of 304 grade.)

The manufacturers I have contacted directly, are generally pricing their 304 mesh at well-over double that price per sq ft. Even when calculating the difference per sq in, I have found the manufacturer prices 150% (or worse) of Grainger's price.

Bulk rolls seem to get a bit cheaper than Grainger's per-volume cost, but I don't need a $1,200 roll, no matter how good the price is per sq ft or per sq in. I mean...a roll like that is way outside the funds I can presently lay out...and would probably prove a 20 year supply for me AND a few equally 'tinker-ish' vaping friends. LOL

The GREAT news is that even smaller quantities are a long-term purchase, as these wicks lend themselves very well to dry burning them clean and to removing & replacing coils, as needed, many times, before actually needing to be replaced (hence, arguably, worth the cost...in the long-run, at least).

 

[RudeBoy007]

After searching, I guess this stuff must cost a bit to make, the prices do seem to be about ~$12 a square foot... And it seems that the finer mesh is more expensive, which would follow logic. Maybe prices would go down after it gets cheaper to produce, and/or the market gets a higher supply/weaker demand...

 

[Fishtec]

There are many discussions about different grades of mesh here on the forums. Search and ye shall find.

I always hate giving this next bit of advise... Look on eBay. There are many sellers with reasonable prices. EBay, however, hates us and should not be supported by this community in any way.

I love this post proves you can ban the sale of vaping equipment but you can't ban vaping equipment effectively enough I think rocky times are ahead and this makes me feel better about it

 

[Mr.Bungle]

There's a difference between banning and controlling something. Ebay wants control. They will take our money, just on their terms.

 

[jackson32503]

There's a difference between banning and controlling something. Ebay wants control. They will take our money, just on their terms.

I don't think this has anything to do with trying to control e-cig use. EBay is all about capitalism. The bottom line is this: When the e-cig community finds use for a specialty item, we create a 'demand' for that item...usually in fairly small quantities. Many of these items have previously only had 'demand' in larger quantites. In the particular case of the stainless mesh we use, that demand was almost exclusively for industrial and/or laboratory use. (Hence, it is made to such exacting specifications and subject to such strict quality control, further increasing production costs.)
We create a new 'demand'. EBay meets that demand with 'supply'. Since there are so few places to buy these items in the quantities we are wanting them, the EBay sellers buy in bulk, mark up the per-unit cost, and sell in smaller quantities.

I'm not a fan of EBay, personally (and actually try to avoid shopping there...for any items), but I see no maliciousness towards e-cig users there...just plain old capitalism...'suppply' and 'demand'.