Info for new RBA users. You don't NEED to oxidize your wick, or your coil. (Video)

[WillMcK]

I couldn't get a straight answer for the most part (a lot of people do recommend oxidizing it, but it's not necessary), so here is video proof by me that you don't have to oxidize it. Keep in mind, I did soak it in fluid and lit it with a regular lighter 4 times after rolling the wick, but I did not take a torch to it. It hits well, tastes just as good, and you don't have to use up any lighter fluid (I ran out of fluid for my torch ). I would make an instructional video on how to build your rba, but there are already tons on the internet.



As for how to do it...

1. Roll the wick as you usually would.

2. When you light it up to adjust the wick, do not hold down the power. Use small pulses at first (until you see it light, then let go) or you will cause it to short and pop the coil. Once it lights about a full loop, you can hold down longer.

3. Once you are confident that it will not pop (should have a full loop and a half or two), adjust the coil as you normally would.

4. Put a few drops on the top of the wick, fill your tank, and vape away.

 

[Sewage]

Or you can just simply oxidize it lol..

 

[VictorViper]

Oxidizing the wire before wrapping makes it substantially easier to work with. I just use a regular Bic lighter.

 

[Ryedan]

I've been using a AGA-T for a few months now. I don't oxidize anything before I put it together anymore. I am though using 27 awg Kanthal using the Petar K method. I found it almost impossible to do this with thinner wire. It takes me about 3 minutes to get rid of shorts and then once or twice more in the next few days. This setup also makes it easy to remove the wick for cleaning. I really like doing it this way, but YMMV as always.

 

[Thrasher]

I have been pressing the unoxidized method for a while now, once you get real good at it you dont even need the juice burns.
im to the point i do it with my 32g (i like fast response time) and a drillbit coil, use a half dead battery on a mech to pulse with and easy peasy

Or you can just simply oxidize it lol.

It takes more work yes, but in the end the juice stays cleaner, the vape tastes better, the wick wicks faster and there is no break in period. and with the right gauge mesh no more geni tilt! (unless you want to)

 

[crxess]

Sounds like a lot of Shades of Grey to me.

I lightly burn my wire to temper. This helps keep the loops in place and not trying to expand.
I lightly Oxidize my Mesh. No guaranties it is pure and clean, so this step is a must for me. I have not seen boiling water completely clean Machine oil from anything in 35 years of mechanical work. Solvents, yes - burning, yes - Boiling, no.

Now, as soon as you start pulsing a coil, you ARE oxidizing. Maybe not the whole Wick, but definitely the Coil and the contact portion of the wick. No getting around the facts - Heat/oxygen causes oxidation.
Proper SS Wick choice will normally produce a good capillary action regardless of oxidizing and actually better with the additional roughness created by oxidizing.

Happy Vaping!

 

[Thrasher]

Now, as soon as you start pulsing a coil, you ARE oxidizing. Maybe not the whole Wick, but definitely the Coil and the contact portion of the wick. No getting around the facts

correct, the oxidation occurs directly under the coil area, there is absolutely no reason to oxidize the whole piece of mesh. the inside of the rolled wick touches nothing and the 20-30 mm inside the tank only touch juice so this is just a waste of time and makes the juice dirtier then it needs be. also yes the oxy layer adds surface area but the heavier the oxidation/juice burns the more you clog the pores so its +1 -1 kind of thing, damping the wicking action and then youhave to deal with burnt taste or break in period..

i lightly torch it, not even enough to discolor it, then rinse in alcohol

 

[Ryedan]

Sounds like a lot of Shades of Grey to me.

Happy Vaping!

IMO, everything in this game is Shades of Grey. Some people love device xyz, some hate em. Same for all the processes we use. The great part is there is something good for almost everyone.

Happy vaping back at ya

 

[gokusnimbus]

I agree. Oxidation of the entire mesh wick is unnecessary. pulsing saves sooooo much time! I enjoy rebuilding but when it starts taking too long I get incredibly impatient and frustrated.

 

[Plumes.91]

I was under the impression that oxidization is what keeps the coil from snapping in half? So if your oxidizing the surface the coil touches by using the coil heat, then arent you putting yourself at risk of snapping your coil just as soon as you've got it on the wick and in the genny?

 

[WillMcK]

Ya, I didn't mean for this to turn into a debate about what is better or easier, I just made it for clarification.

Everyone who works at my local smoke shop uses rba's and they all recommend you do it. Every setup video I've watched had an oxidizing (with a torch) step in it.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[docp1620]

I've just got done reading the WHOLE thread on ss mesh and the possible health problems. seems at the end the consensuses was that there is no need to oxidize the entire wick. That you should not torch it. I've tried the pulse method without much luck yet, when i torch no problem. At this point it's just the learning curve.

 

[gokusnimbus]

I was under the impression that oxidization is what keeps the coil from snapping in half? So if your oxidizing the surface the coil touches by using the coil heat, then arent you putting yourself at risk of snapping your coil just as soon as you've got it on the wick and in the genny?

what gauge kathal are you using? 30g snaps so easily for me. 28g is THICK and shouldn't snap at all.

i used to think the same way like "how does it make any sense?!" tried it and it works. it has to be when the ss mesh is dry. once you start pulsing, you'll create a carbon layer between the coil and ss mesh. current travels the path of least resistance so once you pulse through a hotspot/short, the current will pass through the rest of the coils like normal. i pulse it dry for a couple minutes. between each pulse fire i blow at it to cool it off and pulse it again. once the coils glow evenly thats when i know im done and everything is ready for juice.

make sure the coil maintains complete contact with the wick.

 

[Ryedan]

I was under the impression that oxidization is what keeps the coil from snapping in half? So if your oxidizing the surface the coil touches by using the coil heat, then arent you putting yourself at risk of snapping your coil just as soon as you've got it on the wick and in the genny?

Yes, oxidation will help to reduce shorts Plumes. Yes, a short will 'pop' (or more accurately melt) the coil, if you leave the power on long enough for the heat to build up to the melting point. That's why I pulse power on and off at first until I have the shorts worked out.

There really is no correct way to do this. Changing one part of a process will almost always have implications that will have to be dealt with elsewhere. It's all about whatever works best for someone is right for them. Vape happy

 

[Ryedan]

Ya, I didn't mean for this to turn into a debate about what is better or easier, I just made it for clarification.

Everyone who works at my local smoke shop uses rba's and they all recommend you do it. Every setup video I've watched had an oxidizing (with a torch) step in it.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

I hear ya. We did get a bit off topic here. Not oxidizing mesh has been around for a while now. Here's another video on the results. A lot of people do it this way, but probably not the majority on ECF. I would think that for most vapers out there using RBAs this would be strange.

 

[WillMcK]

If the link is working correctly, that's the same video

I mean I don't mind if people share their input or ideas, I hope it doesn't turn into a big argument haha.

 

[Plumes.91]

I've tried not oxidizing 2-3 times and each time, the coil snapped within the first pulse. Thats why I was wondering how anyone could do this. But I am using very very thin wire. The wire that I got with my chinese rebuildables. I cant wait to try thicker wire.

 

[Blix]

28 awg is where it's at plumes, never snapped one with 28.

 

[Ryedan]

If the link is working correctly, that's the same video

I mean I don't mind if people share their input or ideas, I hope it doesn't turn into a big argument haha.

You are absolutely correct, my bad

Here is another one. This guy's process is really neat.

 

[Ryedan]

28 awg is where it's at plumes, never snapped one with 28.

Yup. This also works for me. It's thick and feels really stiff, specially after getting used to 34. I got over that and love it now. It is also way lower in resistance. My 3/4 wrap coils come in around 0.7 ohms with the 27 awg I use. If that's not your thing Plumes, you can use more wraps or go with slightly thinner wire.