Need advice on where to buy rewicking stuff

[Newbz]

Hey folks,

I'm looking to purchase some goods to rewick my EVOD 1.8 ohm clearomizers.

From what I can tell, here's the stuff I need:

1. Ohm meter with a 510 to Ego thread adapter

2. 2 mm and 1 mm silica wick material

3. 32 GA kanthal A1 wire

First question, am I missing anything on the list?

Second question, what vendors have you had good luck with? I don't require the cheapest vendor, but I do require a legitimate vendor who ships when they say they are going to and has a reasonably good track record with putting the right goods in the box. Bonus points for those that are ECF approved.


I am open to suggestions. Thanks!

 

[Thrasher]

Lightning vapes! good guy has more choice then one person could need.
i use his silica - good stuff, clean and pretty neutral

 

[MikeZ28]

I've been getting kanthal from Lightning Vapes. They have a wide selection of silica wick too.

 

[Newbz]

Cool. I've been looking at Lighting Vapes, but wasn't sure if others had good experiences with them. Do you guys think the 32 GA A1 wire is what I'm really after for a 1.8 vape?

 

[pufZeppelin]

32g around 2mm about 4-6 wraps

should get ya 2.0Ω (1.8Ω to 2.2Ω)

 

[MikeZ28]

With a 8/7 wrap I get around 2.2Ω - 2.4Ω with 32ga. For the price of it it's not a bad idea to have a spool of 28, 30 & 32ga to maximize your coiling options.

 

[Newbz]

Yeah, for like $8 p/ spool or something like that, it's not an expensive experiment by any means. Thanks for the advice, guys. Appreciate it.

 

[InTheShade]

About $6 for a spool of 100 feet from Temco. Free shipping. As suggested, get 28, 30 and 32 and you'll be set.

Silica, I don't use it much now, but I used to get mine from pbdragon. You can buy it by the foot and it has no weird tastes or smells.

For an ohm meter, I use an APV for rebuilding heads or a multimeter for my rebuildables.

As for missing something - well instead (or as well maybe) as the silica, you might want to try cotton. 100% natural organic works awesome for me. Of course you'll need an assortment of needlenose, wire cutters, maybe a nail clipper for getting those wires nice and short when trimming them and a good desk light. You probably already have all that already - if so, sounds like you are set.

 

[Newbz]

About $6 for a spool of 100 feet from Temco. Free shipping. As suggested, get 28, 30 and 32 and you'll be set.

Silica, I don't use it much now, but I used to get mine from pbdragon. You can buy it by the foot and it has no weird tastes or smells.

For an ohm meter, I use an APV for rebuilding heads or a multimeter for my rebuildables.

As for missing something - well instead (or as well maybe) as the silica, you might want to try cotton. 100% natural organic works awesome for me. Of course you'll need an assortment of needlenose, wire cutters, maybe a nail clipper for getting those wires nice and short when trimming them and a good desk light. You probably already have all that already - if so, sounds like you are set.

Well, as I was just discussing in another thread, I grow my own cotton for ornamental purposes. Since here in the north, we don't have a pest issue, it's all legal and I don't spray the plants with anything. Just plant them on the south side of the house and let them do their thing. Typically I harvest the bolls in the fall and stick them in a bag until spring when I separate the seeds out and toss the cotton fiber.

My concern with cotton is that it burns, and silica wick has a much high burn point. What has been your experience with using cotton? Does it scortch out pretty fast?

 

[K_Tech]

I placed a pretty big wire order with Temco, and I like Temco a lot because they seem to stock the "oddball" gauges (27, 29, 31) that Lightning Vapes does not, and they carry a wider selection of ribbon wire, but I have to give the nod to Lightning Vapes because they're almost a one-stop-shop for rebuilding supplies, and their prices are very competitive.

 

[Jarbs]

Kanthal A1 Wire 32 Gauge 0 25oz Resistance Kanthal 32 AWG A 1 Resistor 100ft | eBay

got it from that auction. came pretty quickly.

 

[Newbz]

got it from that auction. came pretty quickly.

At 100', I'd be rewicking until I was 100.
Amazing price point. Does it work as advertised?

 

[InTheShade]

My concern with cotton is that it burns, and silica wick has a much high burn point. What has been your experience with using cotton? Does it scortch out pretty fast?

Not at all. That was my concern too and part of the reason why I resisted even trying cotton. The truth is, I've only burnt my cotton wicks when I forget to feed juice into my RDAs. If they are wet with juice, they are fine. You might just want to try it - I like the cleaner taste and it wicks very well.
Using cotton also means you could try a micro or nano coil - these are easy to wick with cotton, just roll it up in moistened fingers, cut the end off, and feed it through your coil. You can also make a bed of cotton under and around the coil - it's easy to work with and easy to replace the wicks.

Main 'drawback' is I change my wicks much more frequently than I did with silica - but I do that by choice and not because I have to. After repeated use I find the cotton stops wicking as well so I change it out. Usually once every two days or so. It's no big deal, takes me less than a minute now I am used to it.

 

[Newbz]

Not at all. That was my concern too and part of the reason why I resisted even trying cotton. The truth is, I've only burnt my cotton wicks when I forget to feed juice into my RDAs. If they are wet with juice, they are fine. You might just want to try it - I like the cleaner taste and it wicks very well.
Using cotton also means you could try a micro or nano coil - these are easy to wick with cotton, just roll it up in moistened fingers, cut the end off, and feed it through your coil. You can also make a bed of cotton under and around the coil - it's easy to work with and easy to replace the wicks.

Main 'drawback' is I change my wicks much more frequently than I did with silica - but I do that by choice and not because I have to. After repeated use I find the cotton stops wicking as well so I change it out. Usually once every two days or so. It's no big deal, takes me less than a minute now I am used to it.

What is a micro coil?

As far as cleaning equipment goes, my gear gets changed out and cleaned daily. I get kind of skeeved out by having a dirty EVOD. So, IOW, it does not bother me to do daily maintenance.

 

[InTheShade]

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/reos-mods/446263-micro-coils-ohms-description.html this is a link to a huge thread all about micro-coils.

It's basically a coil where all the wraps touch. It's a micro coil because the inside diameter of the coil is below a certain measurement. (i can't remember the cut-off point to be honest)

Some people find them easier to wrap than a regular coil as all the wraps touch each other and they are usually wrapped around a solid object like a paperclip or drill bit (or similar) The wick is inserted after wrapping.

I posted a video about how to wrap and wick one in a thread earlier http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/general-e-smoking-discussion/516491-micro-coils-really-much-better.html#post11933775

 

[MikeZ28]

Some people find them easier to wrap than a regular coil as all the wraps touch each other and they are usually wrapped around a solid object like a paperclip or drill bit (or similar) The wick is inserted after wrapping.

I agree with this. Wrapping on a bit also makes coils easier to install (in a protank head for instance) by leaving the bit in place until after installation using it as a handle so to speak. It also make getting a consistent diameter much easier.

As for using cotton for wicks... My opinion is that it's much better than silica with flavor and vapor. One thing I would definitely suggest is to make sure your hands are clean when you handle it. Any oils, sweat, dirt, etc on you fingers will translate to the cotton and you may taste it.

 

[crxess]

+1 for Lightening Vapes on wire
For the rest I go with Fasttech. Huge savings on decent Silica, several different meter choices at 1/2 US prices, and yes they are the same meters. Patience Required - shipping from China takes time.

 

[bosun]

A happy customer of Temco for wire. Best price and very fast shipping. I use micro coils, using a 1/16th inch drill bit as a mandrel. Cotton as a wick. A short learning curve quickly learned. A magnifying glass (assuming you no longer have the "eyes of a hawk" (G), sharp pointed tweezers, and a small pair of scissors in addition to items noted and you'll be good to go..

 

[tj99959]

For slica wick, bottom of page

https://www.pbdragon.com/lair/best-sales?p=12

 

[Wickeddeuce]

i second, third, and fourth using cotton as a wick, wrap your kanthal around a small drill bit, get it nice and tight, and that is pretty much a micro coil, all coils touching... nice and tight... the cotton should fit fairly loosely, in the protank it wicks great... i did the bsd vertical coil... or chimney coil, or whatever it was called in my kanger heads, and it was outstanding... someone should link it, sorry im lazy... also why i prefer cotton, just easier to work with...

i have burnt cotton from not having it wicked well... it is unpleasant, it is awful, never burnt from kanger... burnt on rbas of various sorts for various reasons... but i still use cotton...

anytime i replace the cotton in my rm2, it takes less than 2 minutes, pull old cotton out, pull small tuft of cotton, wet thumb and forefinger roll nice and tight... thread through coil... pull, cut very close to the coil... make sure the tiny tails can touch the deck... and consider it good...

really quick really easy... maybe take a couple to dry burn the coil while the cotton is out...

oh and cotton... 3 dollars for a bag that will probably get lost before i use it all... considering its so freaking huge...