- Status
Yes, I think there is some indication that there may be Cr6 on a wick that Boden heated to who know how high, for how long. But that indication is based on a home test that really can be considered any way definitive.
It convinced me to quit blasting my wicks with a torch. But there is a difference between saying that if you blast a wick to bright red for 30 seconds that it could form Cr6 and saying stainless is not safe.
On the wick, but are we ingesting it? And to what extent? I do not oxidize with a windproof lighter, but a standard bic, so would that technically create less toxic chemicals on my wick?
Well, if you take the evidence we already have from his [admittedly controversial] lab tests, and combine that with the inhalation toxicity of CR4,5 and 6, seems like plenty enough reason to have this discussion, at least. Not time to sound the alarm, so to speak, but time to consider weighing options.
Actually, possibly more- regular lighters burn "dirty", that is they do not burn the butane completely and leave behind a crapload of nasty residuals. That's why most of the pro's recommend a torch-tip lighter or NG stove for oxidizing.
The problem I have with this is we have threads on different wick materials already. We aren't going to suddenly find a new one while we wait for boden's test or someone talks to a metallurgist that could probably tell us how hot it has to be to form bad oxides.
I and many others do appreciate Boden bringing up the issue. There is no reason for us to be blasting these wicks, and doing so could be dangerous. But the assumption must be that the wicks can be safe if not heated above some temperature, likely 1300F and above
I wasn't aware we had evidence of any danger from anything other than Cr6?
At this point id be curious to know if those residuals would be less potentially dangerous than a high temp oxidization. Ill use my NG to oxidize though since that makes sense it would be cleaner.
Thanks for the input and junkman, youve helped clear up some of my questions regarding this dilemma. I hope to see that SS is ok for vaping. I do really feel we would see more cases of chromium exposure symptoms if it was bad, but i dont think thats reason enough to say its ok. Looking forward to results of studies.
This was the point I was trying to make wayy back a few pages ago. It is not a natural reaction for americans, in general, to avoid something that has a possibility of being dangerous to use... it is culturally engrained in us to give everything the benefit of the doubt; Innocence until proven guilty.
Of course, AFK, that isn't the way life works. These wicks may indeed be worse than I think they are, worse than the tests are showing...I mean, think about every time we dry-burn on them, or what they look like after a month of use (even if they started as unoxidized). But for most people, life goes on, SS wicks will still be used. There's nothing that will change most peoples minds.
Even if test results dropped today that proved that SS was horrible, a good portion of our community would not listen to the facts; That's just the way things go, and there's nothing that could be done to change the opinions of that segment of the population.
Edited for correct tenses
Last edited:
Good point. This could be correct. An existing oxidation layer could actually protect you while vaping. We don't know for sure.
Regarding symptoms - what you are describing are acute symptoms - if you get a lot over a short period. That doesn't preclude low dose chronic inhalation causing problems.
However, given my age and the studies I have seen, it looks like my risk of dying from lung cancer caused by Cr6 alone is low. However, exposure to Cr6 may combine with my 35 years of smoking and all bets are off I guess.
In any case, the Cr6 studies I saw indicated long term exposure over decades led to increased cancer risks. Short term acute exposure caused the acute symptoms.
I've read the same things, and I understand it the same way you do, where it's the long-term exposure that may be at issue here.
On the same subject, pretty much everyone on the site is willing to wager that vaping, in general, is safer over the long term than smoking is. Is this a 100% certainty? No. But the numbers, in this case where we're talking about vaping in general VS. smoking, point to vaping as being a better option...
That's why I'm a vaper. It's all about the numbers, really. When I see very, very small numbers associated with risk, and when those numbers pertain to something in my e-cigarette, that's when the hair on the back of my neck starts to stand on end.
Possibly something like boiling the mesh to remove the machining residue, then wrapping unoxidized...but I'm cautious to recommend any SS wicks at this point.
Avoiding dry-burning would be a great idea too, but then you'll be dealing with hotspots, especially on unoxidized mesh.
Ninja, I appreciate having the discussion. I obviously am investing a lot of time into trying to figure out what is going on with this. That is for the good. I personally will definitely let my decision be based on what the evidence shows. But we really don't have any evidence so far. What a wick looks like though has nothing to do with whether Cr6 is present or not, and stainless by definition includes chromium, I thought only chromium 6 was an inhalation risk?
Chromium VI may be the only carcinogenic risk, but here's some more info:
http://www.hpa.org.uk/webc/HPAwebFile/HPAweb_C/1194947362170
"Chronic exposure to chromium (III) resulted in weight loss, anaemia, liver dysfunction and
renal failure"
Last edited:
I usually use 3/32 bit to wrap the coil and it fits the hole well without going metric
Didn't someone already do a study on this with videos of each material wicking
- Status
Similar threads
