IGO-L wicking options

[BrokenLung]

Hey everyone,

I set up my IGO-L when it first came in with the little piece of silicone wick that came with it. It is starting to reach the end of its life. Now I have a dilemma, I don't have any more silica wick and I need to rewick this beauty of an atomizer. I don't really want to use silica again either as getting away from silica was my entire reason for venturing into rba's. My concerns

1. My SS wick skills aren't the greatest. I can get my genesis styles to wick okay with a hollow wick & giving it my natural vaping tilt but I don't think I could make a SS wick good enough for the IGO since tilting really wouldn't be an option.

2. I have used 100% cotton cheesecloth before. Rinsed it thoroughly, soaked it in water, boiled it, rinsed it again, and soaked it in water again. It always has given me a funny taste that I really don't care for

So what options do I have for a decent wick set up in my IGO? Does cotton yarn give off the same flavor that cheese cloth gives off? If not, where can I buy good, safe, cotton yarn from?

I have some 100% cotton gauze that I thought about giving a shot but I thought it might produce the same funky taste as cheese cloth. Maybe my cheesecloth issues are because I am missing a step in processing the cheesecloth or because I am using standard walmart bought cheese cloth?

Any help will be greatly appreciated!

 

[MikeA5]

I use braided cotton (100% cotton) that I purchased on ebay or amazon can't remember but it was very cheap when compared to silica wick. I boiled it before using it and it stayes together very well, wicks good and no funny taste whatsoever. When using it in the IGO-L I make it long enough so the ends are laying on the base so it will absorbe the liquid and wick it to the coil. I'll put about 10-12 drops at a time in the atty and vape away. After awhile, before the taste begins to change, I'll lift the top off to see if it will need more liquid and repeat to fill it with ejuice again.

 

[thecatanddog]

im having no problems with silica and a .9-1.4ohm coil and i can put up to 30 drops or so in my IGO L. i want to try cotton and when my new genny comes in will give it a whirl with some SS mesh

3mm silica or 2 strands of 1.5 or even sometimes 2 strands of 2.5mm will do the trick

 

[Extraunordinary]

Hey BL, I've tried all the cotton variants, and I find them all lacking. I have a couple hemp strands I got off Ebay that I like better, but still find silica superior. I'll send ya a couple pieces in your next care package.

 

[Section1]

Or maybe a cotton ball, pull off some and roll it into a wick. I've done that in a Phoenix clone and had good results anyway. I'm sure you know with cotton, less is more. It really does swell up after soaking in juice and to much seems to result in poor wicking from my experience.

 

[BrokenLung]

Extraunordinary, as always, you are extra ordinary . *Points at Extraunordinary & says that right there is a great dood*.


I might try a SS wick in the mean time. I will try to roll it darn near solid. Thinking about maybe trying some 325 instead of 500 and seeing where that gets me.

Wicking wasn't really my issue with the cheesecloth & I don't mind giving a wick a few seconds before I vape again but cheese cloth tasted down right weird.

Hemp fiber sounds exciting to try, might give cotton yarn a shot. Guess since I bought this gauze I might as well try it out. Anyone ever used gauze?

Seems ideal, 100% cotton, sterile, absorbent, and non shedding.

 

[45root]

Extraunordinary, as always, you are extra ordinary . *Points at Extraunordinary & says that right there is a great dood*.


I might try a SS wick in the mean time. I will try to roll it darn near solid. Thinking about maybe trying some 325 instead of 500 and seeing where that gets me.

Wicking wasn't really my issue with the cheesecloth & I don't mind giving a wick a few seconds before I vape again but cheese cloth tasted down right weird.

Hemp fiber sounds exciting to try, might give cotton yarn a shot. Guess since I bought this gauze I might as well try it out. Anyone ever used gauze?

Seems ideal, 100% cotton, sterile, absorbent, and non shedding.

in my experience with mesh it doesnt matter how its rolled. it really doesnt have to wick up in an igo. its gonna be sitting in juice. i use my old wicks from when i was learning and experimenting. i probably have some mistery wicks in there too. my next thing is to start unrolling them and addind some silica. as long as you there are no shorts it should do great though.

 

[darthkir]

U can use 3mm silica and at the coil are u wrap around it with mesh before coiling on it with wire

 

[BrokenLung]

I am trying to get away from fiber glass wicks. Really that was the driving force to get into RBAs for me. I am hoping to find some sort of alternative to them. They certainly do provide great wicking & heat tolerance but I just really hate the idea of inhaling fiber glass.

 

[Cjax]

Any cotton will have a certain amount of "flavor" to it. The key is to either let it soak overnight,as some do, or to just vape through it to season the wick. Usually takes about an hour or so, then no more cotton taste, just gotta stick with it. Another key is to make sure your hands are really clean before twisting a wick. May seem silly to mention, but anything transfered from your hands to the wick will prolong the funky taste. Trust me, learned that the hard way. I use the cheap walmart cheesecloth too and it's better than the other types of cotton I've tried.

Edit: I'm vaping my Igo with a cheap walmart cheesecloth wick right now

 

[BrokenLung]

I will throw my cheese cloth in to soak overnight. Pretty sure I soaked it overnight before but I will give it another shot. Maybe I just need to soldier through the funky taste this time.

Anyone else got any prep tips for cotton?

 

[eHuman]

As SS wicks in an IGO-L are amazing (flavor, dry burn capable, super fast rinse and clean to change flavors), but very very time consuming to get set up properly (read as hours of fiddling), I am going to jump into this also.

From my research so far, I believe I will start with cheese cloth as it should be something I can get locally and start using today.

 

[huysus]

+1 to what Cjax said about washing your hands before working with cotton. Even then I rinse it under running water and blot it dry with a paper towel after its installed in the coil, avoiding any contact with my hands. In my experience, that earthy aftertaste is not the cotton breaking in, it's the oil from your hands. The oil also inhibits initial wicking.

 

[45root]

As SS wicks in an IGO-L are amazing (flavor, dry burn capable, super fast rinse and clean to change flavors), but very very time consuming to get set up properly (read as hours of fiddling), I am going to jump into this also.

From my research so far, I believe I will start with cheese cloth as it should be something I can get locally and start using today.

Not sure how long it would take with a freshly rolled wick but I was up in less that 5 minutes using an old wick from an aga-t.

 

[eHuman]

Not sure how long it would take with a freshly rolled wick but I was up in less that 5 minutes using an old wick from an aga-t.

Maybe it is what I envisioned as necessary. I curved my wick along the drip well and up to the coil. Can you throw up a pic of your set up? Maybe I am over thinking it.

 

[45root]

Maybe it is what I envisioned as necessary. I curved my wick along the drip well and up to the coil. Can you throw up a pic of your set up? Maybe I am over thinking it.

i just cut one in half. .

On the next one, I am going to unroll it and add some silica. someone told me silica inside would not affect the taste.

 

[eHuman]

On the next one, I am going to unroll it and add some silica. someone told me silica inside would not affect the taste.

I can vouch for a version of that. I don't have silica on hand but when I first got my IGO-L this is how I set it up. Straight SS wick that will fit end to end but not touch the cap, silica tied in a single overhand knot (half of a square knot like tying your shoes before the bows) and draped into the well:

 

[BrokenLung]

It isn't that silica bothers me for taste reasons, its that silica wick = silica fibers = sand fibers = glass fibers = fiber glass. I would really really like to avoid it at all costs.

Cotton gauze soaking overnight as we speak, I will also be trying out hemp & cotton lamp wicking.

Very likely I will order some kevlar wicking to try as well, still looking into that though.

 

[WinchellNomNom]

Here's what I found works the best on my igol so far.

2.5mm silica doubled, covered with 3 in strip of 500ss with 30awg kanthal at 1ohm.

Next build will be double strand 3.0mm silica and 28awg kanthal 500 ss. Aiming for . 7ohm



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[WinchellNomNom]

Set up another igo-l this time with twisted 30 awg at .8 ohms. The clouds of vapor are impairing my vision while driving

Sorry for the grainy pic. My phone doesn't like macro.

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