I'm getting a free Igo-L, what wick do I get?

[oh u mad]

Okay, my brother has an IGO-L he wants to give me for free. I was reading up and I noticed that wicks are the most complex part of the whole rba deal.
Cotton: 100% healthy to vape, cannot dry burn, gives best flavor
Silica: unknown health issues, can dry burn, gives muted flavor
XC 116: newest wick technology, unknown health issues, gives great flavor...hard to get a hold of
so exactly which one of these should I buy? And in what thickness? I'm thinking about 2mm and fold it and wrap it 2 wicks thick. This is going on a Provari so i'm going to go 32 gauge kanthal so I can get some decent resistance.

 

[Jazzi Mike]

You forgot Ekowool. It wicks very nicely. The 2mm is a great material. For people that do not use cotton, it is one of the best.

 

[oh u mad]

You forgot Ekowool. It wicks very nicely. The 2mm is a great material. For people that do not use cotton, it is one of the best.

oh yeah, i heard that you can choke it or something? and you need to use a blowtorch or boil it so it won't taste weird?

 

[Jazzi Mike]

In all reality, it is a good practice to clean any silica based wicks, Ekowool, regular silica, etc.. I just run a lighter over them before I build, but that is it. Never noticed a funny taste.

If you go the Ekowool route, make sure the vendor is selling Russian produced Ekowool. The funny taste has been reported with the Chinese Ekowool.

 

[oh u mad]

In all reality, it is a good practice to clean any silica based wicks, Ekowool, regular silica, etc.. I just run a lighter over them before I build, but that is it. Never noticed a funny taste.

If you go the Ekowool route, make sure the vendor is selling Russian produced Ekowool. The funny taste has been reported with the Chinese Ekowool.

interesting, so how can I tell if an ekowool is made in russia when buying online? is there a brand name that is usually mentioned?

 

[CloudZ]

interesting, so how can I tell if an ekowool is made in russia when buying online? is there a brand name that is usually mentioned?

The vendor will sometimes state in the product description if it is made in Russia. Otherwise you will have to ask them. Kidney Puncher is a good vendor that sells the Russian Ekowool.

IMO you should start with cotton. Its extremely cheap and easy to get, wicks very well and is a natural organic fiber. I use cotton balls in RDAs, yarn in clearomizers, and embroidery string to insulate SS mesh wicks in my RSST. The yarn and string have been boiled to make sure they are clean and relatively sterile, while the cotton balls are already sterile. Just make sure it is nice and juiced up before firing it, and if it gets burned just pull it out and put in a fresh wick.

Silica works pretty well too, but IME it needs to be quite thick to make sure it wicks fast enough (4mm to 6mm) in an SLR setup. It simply doesn't work for me in a microcoil, but that is where the cotton balls truly shine.

If I had an IGO-L, Provari, and 32 gauge wire in my hands right now, I would build a 3 ohm microcoil with a cotton ball wick and turn up the voltage until it knocks my socks off