I am going to have to experiment again, now I am thinking maybe I didnt have enough wick when I tried it the way you done it. I just had 1 2mm strand of ekowool.
I am currently using 2mm inside diameter coil, with 2 strands of 1mm silica draped down to the deck and then folded back up even with the coil on both sides. Sounds like we might have about the same amount of total wick, just in a different configuration?
**edit**
I also use 20/80 pg/vg
The 2-strand pull through (yielding four strands) is tight. Got to hang a fingernail over the exiting side of the coil and pull hard to get it through. When I first did it, I thought it was way too tight and had no chance of working. But it worked perfectly fine. The other thing is the wick gets better with age as it frazzles. The first couple of mls has that wick taste but it subsides. And because the silica is durable you don't have to change but every couple/few months. Good for the lazy person.
And in the end, you found a build that works for your 20/80. If it aint broke, don't fix it.