In my experience when the silica is fairly new both silica and cotton are close to the same.had gurgling at 32 strands but no leak! will try to add more on my next. but this was quite easy!! it was just a pain in the behind picking the strands out ... anyone have any tips for easier removal of the strands?!
Also for those who have successfully done this, in your opinion was the cheesecloth better or silica?
However, due to the fact you don't (usually) replace the silica wick during a dry burn I'm not sure just how effective the dry burn is.
But with cotton the wick is removed each time before a dry burn which allows the coil to get hot faster and more evenly. Also, I need to press the fire button for only a second or two and then only twice to get a perfect dry burn. I usually have a half dozen 15 strand x 4 inch wicks already made up so replacing the wick is a snap.
For me, the cotton wick is the best so far.
As for gurgling, when mine does that I keep the device horizontal both at rest and while vaping for a while and most times the gurgling goes away.
If it doesn't clear up after a few draws I then run a pipe cleaner down the air tube from the mouth piece end being careful not to push it in too far and jamming it into the coil and deforming it.