One thing a lot of people seem to have trouble differentiating is the concept of "oxidizing" the wick and "carbonizing" the wick.
Basically what we are trying to do is to oxidize the wick so that the surface of the wick becomes electrically non-conductive so as to prevent a short when wrapping a coil around the wick. So with that in mind here's the difference between the 2 processes :
1) Oxidizing the wick : When heating the wick at high temperatures, you get a layer of oxide on the mesh that acts as an insulator. For it to work best, use a high temp flame. And when you are doing it,
over do it for the first couple of times. The oxide layer is tougher and won't come off as easily when you try to move the coils over it.
2) Carbonizing the wick : This happens when you heat the mesh with a low temp flame like a cigarette lighter. This produces a dark black carbon deposit over the mesh that is also non-conductive. The wick will look blacker and will look good. But this layer of carbon is very soft and when you try to scratch it with a finger nail or the coil, it comes off easily and exposes the conductive mesh underneath which result in shorts when you wrap coils. Only thing this is good for is turning your juice black.
People having issues with shorts should consider a high temp flame. Also try oxidizing the mesh before rolling this into a wick. Go over the mesh with the torch for 2 minutes before rolling the wick. Go over it again with the torch for another couple of rounds and you can quench to make it a bit more stiffer.
There is no hard and fast rule as to the exact amount of time to get good oxidization as this will depend on :
- the temperature of the flame
- the composition of the mesh
- where you are at or the quantity of oxygen and moisture in the air where you live.
- How smooth and even the surface of the wick is
So please don't use any video as the absolute truth. In the Colorado air, on a good cylindrical wick made of 316 grade 400 mesh - 42 mm long and 35 mm wide and rolled for a snug fit - 6 minutes of torching (+2 minutes for oxidizing mesh before rolling) gives me a wick with no shorts every single time and I don't have to worry about shorts when I move the coil or re-coil a week later.
If you are having shorts, the one and only reason is your wick is not oxidized enough. Please stop worrying about drilling bigger holes, leaving the fill hole open and using extra nuts or spacing issues. All those could be done later(they all change various aspects of the vape) after you have a working wick. But without a proper wick, you can do all that and re-coil every five minutes for an entire day and end up being very unhappy. The DID works very well as it is without any tinkering and the spacing of the various parts is well thought out. It's built to work with 32Ga Kanthal wire and it does. Once you have a good wick, pull the coil tight enough to stay snug on the wick at the bottom loop and then ease through the rest of the loops without too much tugging.
PS : The ONLY essential component that the manufacturer has left for you to make, is the WICK. Do it right and everything will work as it should be.
PS2 : I own 4 of these and I use one bottom nut, and 2 top nuts, 32 Ga Kanthal wire. I use clear tanks on 3 and have also increased the hole size to 1/16". All the modifications were done after I learned to make a wick and slap and coil on it and have it work with no issues.
