help with silica wicks?

[tommyboy66]

Hello vape nation. Hoping to get some insight on using silica for wicking.
I'll be getting my first rebuildable in a couple days (in transit now) and I already have organic cotton coming with it to build wicks. I'd like to also try silica and make a determination of what my preference is. What I'd like to find out is...
1- What diameter silica rope I should get (is diameter relative to resistance ?)
2- Which is most commonly used, hollow or with a core thread ?
I hope you experienced vapers could shed some light on this perplexing issue, as silica rope is not so cheap.
Also, where is the best place you've found to order your silica rope from?
Any and all feedback is appreciated.
Thanks !

 

[Bunnykiller]

silica is ok... to me it has a weird taste, its a pain to use and doesnt wick as well as Rayon
if you really want to use it, get the 3mm rope, the eckowool can be difficult to thread into a coil

 

[Katya]

Hi Tommy!

The size (diameter) of the wick depends on the size of your coils, to some degree. I usually rewick with cotton and rayon so I don't have much experience with silica wicks, but you could start at RTD Vapor. Kidney Puncher is another good vendor for RBA supplies.

Accessories - Wick and Wire - RTD vapor

The resistance is determined by the length of the wire used in the coil--not by the diameter.

 

[Maiar]

Tried rewicking my protank coils with silica, never got it to work because it frays up so easily and isn't easy to handle. Organic cotton is way easier to manipulate.

 

[JRA191]

I thought about silica out of curiosity too a week back. To me the organic cotton kinda tasted weird. I thought maybe I might like the silica if I tried it. I would like to make a suggestion. while your trying the silica if you hadn't tried the japanese cotton I suggest it. I got some today and I'm not even gonna try the silica now. It's so much better then the organic cotton balls. I know I just got it today, but I've been vaping on it for about 6 hours now and I think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. It's the taste...there isn't any and it threaded so easy into the coil. I just cut a thin strip and BAM in it went

 

[Adonlude]

I've got 3mm braided silica wick from Fasttech.com. 1 meter for $1.19. It's wonderful through some fat coils in my Magma. Silica is great in the dripper since I can drip small amounts and cook it off til the wick is dry without worrying about burning. Silica has a neutral flavor to me and I prefer it. I still use cotton in my Orchid though and it tastes good, just have to change it more often.

 

[TFL!]

When I feed silica through a coil, I cut about a 10" length and dip one in candle wax and roll it to a point, Then feed it through the coil. leave 2" sticking out on the non pointed end then torch the 2" end of the wick to burn of mfg. junk. Then pull the rest of the way into the coil and cut off. this works for me.

 

[Thrasher]

Silica is all I use for soft wicks I use 3mm rope from lightning vapes. Takes a bit to figure it out for some people. But a good clean silica working correctly is pretty neutral in flavor

I use doubled 3mm with ribbon wire in my dripper and doubled 3mm with 30g kanthol in my kayfun
the biggest advantage is it does not burn and will last for weeks. You dont even need to change it just dryburn the coil/ wick, rinse in water and keep going.

Very low maintenance. And many times I dont have the time to play with a wick that needs to be changed. I have a dripper here with a coil and wick around 3 weeks old already, still works fine.

Several people still use it and fyi it is whats in every clearo ever made

Its not for everyone but who knows you may like it or maybe not.
Good luck experimenting

 

[tj99959]

Silica is all I use as well.
In my drippers I use three strands of 0.8mm silica string, and a wick lasts me about three months.
I use hollow core 2.5mm Ekowool in my Kayfun, and that wick and coil, which has been used every day, is now a year old.
Do not use sold core Ekowool, that core material will eventually end up in your vape!

Remember tho' the juice you use will have a lot to do with how long a wick will last, and that won't change because you use silica.

 

[Treeburner1983]

The resistance is determined by the length of the wire used in the coil--not by the diameter.

Bigger diameter coils use greater length of wire - a 4/5 wrap at 2mm id will have lower resistance than a 4/5 wrap at 3mm. But in the end it's only because higher diameter results in higher length.

-Treeburner

 

[tommyboy66]

Bigger diameter coils use greater length of wire - a 4/5 wrap at 2mm id will have lower resistance than a 4/5 wrap at 3mm. But in the end it's only because higher diameter results in higher length.

-Treeburner

Thanks for the explanation in silica diameter in relation to the coil wrap and resistance

 

[Rsunderl]

The diameter of the silica you want will be determined by the inside diameter of the coils you build.

Hope that helps and Happy Vaping!