My First Attempts at Rebuilding Vivi Nova Mini Heads (need advice/conformation)

[Mezzum]

What I used:

Kenthal Type D - 32 gauge
Silica Wick

Heres what happened.

I looked around for a site that sold and had in stock both the wire and the wick. Hence the Type D wire and silica because I really wanted to use cotton, but I figured this will get me started, I re-wired 20 heads, that was a mistake and not my first.

I noticed the following on all of these heads:

The taste was horrible, I got nauseous after trying each one. (Even after pre-burning them)
Each head seemed to get very warm, a lot warmer than the stock heads

I am going to track down some Kanthal Type A and some Nichrome wire as well as some chemical free cotton and high quality Silica. I pre-burned these wires/wicks and yet they still made me ill. I'm not sure which made me ill.

The problem I have is finding a single place that has all the materials I need without having to purchase 100 yards at a time. I did find one place, but it's in Canada.

Has anyone else felt sick using either type of wire?

What type of wire is used in the stock Vivi Nova Heads?

Are there different quality of Silica Wick?

I seen every video on rebuilding these, are they suppose to get warmer than the stock heads? I know the stock heads seem to have a small insert to them, can I use something to replace that?

I have read this thread, there are a lot of good comments and information. I would love to see a veteran, who has this down to an art, explain to someone as clueless as I am, how to do this right, exactly what and where to get materials to duplicate as best we can to the stock heads, adding whatever options people find useful.

Its been a frustrating learning experience, but hopefully it will get easier.

 

[egicn]

my mini's don't even have a wire. I would love to know where to just buy the wick. My wicks just sit there unattached. great vape! go figure.

 

[Kemosabe]

ive been told stock nova heads use nichrome.
ive had off/metallicy taste from non-A-1 kanthal. not sick, but it tasted way off. im not sure what grade it was as it was not included in the description.
you can get cotton at walmart, craft stores, or ebay, etc.
wire can be gotton for very cheap on ebay as well. search for TemCo Indusrtial Power. i just got 100' of kanthal A-1 for ten bucks shipped. get A-1 kanthal, not just A, IMO.
dont worry about replacing that fabric sleeve. all that thing does is burn up. as long as your legs arent shorting against the walls of the head body, youre good.
im not sure if there are different grades of silica, there probably are. ive gotten silica from OKC Vapes and i can tell you that it was good quality. i dont use silica anymore but while i did i noticed the OKC silica lasted longer then the stock silica before starting to see it splinter and break down.