Nickel Foam?!?

[Sniffle]

Ok, so Todd of Todd's reviews made a video a while back on nickel foam for wicking material. It got a few of us interested in trying to get some and test it out. We have begun receiving out foam and are beginning some testing. For those just poking your heads in in curiosity or waiting in the wings you can expect BJ43 to chime in with the scientific tests as well.

Metal Foam as a Wicking Material - YouTube


Now, for my own personal tinkering I am using an AGA-T2 with a wick hole drilled to 3mm and washers on the center post. For my wick I followed the video Todd made. I used 28 gauge nichrome, 3/4 wrap .8 ohms. It's what i wrap on my SS rope. For this particular juice(40/60 PG/VG) it couldn't keep up with the wicking, but i have had wicking trouble with this juice before i believe due to the flavoring.

I have since tried moving to 30 gauge and wrapping the top in SS mesh so far i've popped ever wick i have made after it has shorted out under the SS mesh.

I am beginning to get frustrated so i am about to take a break as i dont think i have had this much trouble out of anything since i started rebuildables, but i could just be doing it wrong.


Edit:

I should also add, there is a good chance in making the wick that i compressed it too much while rolling it and made the wick too dense thus killing the wicking performance. I was doing my best too make a solid wick and may have made it too solid with too much material.

 

[tiburonfirst]

thanks, sniffle! we'll see where this experiment will get us! bj thought it was worth checking out but there was no guarantee it would lead to bigger and better things!

fingers crossed!

 

[MikeE3]

Here's a picture of the foam we're working with. It's basically 1mm thick nickel foam mesh.

 

[ZeroDisorder]

Seems like something I'd try! Though, I'd have to find out what's in the alloy before giving it a go.

 

[tmcase]

I couldn't wait. I had to give it a try. I first tried 32ga Kanthal directly to the foam but got a hot spot on top and bottom wire. I had a 5/6 wrap on a pretty tightly rolled foam wick. I didn't want to mess with hot spots so I put it inside a short piece of 3mm ecowool (on the business end) and wrapped 32ga Kanthal about 4 wraps and got 2.7 ohms. No hot spots and it wicks like crazy. Vapor is good but flavor isn't quite there yet. I'm hoping it just needs to break in. I'm using an RSST tank with plug out of the juice fill hole. (can't find that).

It might only appear to be wicking good because ecowool holds so much juice but so far no dry hits.

 

[Section1]

Subscribing. Hope to get some time tonight to try it out.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[NamVet68]

Ok ..First shot with this stuff in an RSST. First observations - you need VERY little for a 1/8 inch wick (about 15mm wide or less - the piece in the photo I originally cut was enough for three 1/8 wicks - I destroyed two while experimenting with it). Its easy to roll it tight, but try not to squeeze it too much. It gets crumbly if you try to compress it like a Stainless steel wick, so don't try it... just falls apart (also does this if you try the oxidation process and try to roll it). The thicker stuff may not have these issues.

I set it up just like a non-oxidized Stainless wick, 1/8 inch with .5 X.1 MM Ribbon Kanthal using the Petar-K/Drillbit method. started with a 6 wrap, but popped the negative leg & had to remove one wrap. I've been pulsing the hell out of it to eliminate hot spots, but so far - no joy. Just when I start thinking its starting to work, I get a hot spot either at the positive or negative points. As I mentioned, I already popped the wire at the negative post once.

I will say that it's wicking better than ANYTHING Ive ever tried...and producing HUGE vapor, but I can only hold the fire button down for about a second before one of the non-wick legs start glowing brightly....so I may have to approach this one from a different angle.
I'll post an addendum if I come up with anything, but probably not tonight...

This definitely has some potential (wicks like crazy!), but I think we will need to come up with a few more techniques for this stuff. I've already run though most of my foam, so I'll have to think it out further, or get some more.

If anyone has any more luck with this, please post. Thanks.....

 

[tiburonfirst]

now that sounds promising!

there might be an order from mti in our future after all!

 

[gdeal]

Namvet...thanks for kicking this off with some solid posting.

BTW What do you mean "non-wick legs" in "but I can only hold the fire button down for about a second before one of the non-wick legs start glowing brightly...." is that different than just a hot leg. Wire between coil and post?

 

[NamVet68]

Namvet...thanks for kicking this off with some solid posting.

BTW What do you mean "non-wick legs" in "but I can only hold the fire button down for about a second before one of the non-wick legs start glowing brightly...." is that different than just a hot leg. Wire between coil and post?

Yeah....just the wire from the positive & negative screws going to the wick (they seem to alternate). Thats why I was trying to pulse it like a non-oxidized stainless wick to build up a layer under the coils. I might have to try the cheesecloth method next - I've had luck with that on stainless wicks in the past.

 

[Sniffle]

i should say that it IS possible to get this firing without hotspots i did it but i think i had compressed the wick too much for it to wick worth a damn... Namvet i fired mine after i rolled it up not before and it didnt crumble at all

 

[tmcase]

Namvet i fired mine after i rolled it up not before and it didnt crumble at all

Me too and no crumble.

 

[Shekinahsgroom]

This definitely has some potential (wicks like crazy!), but I think we will need to come up with a few more techniques for this stuff. I've already run though most of my foam, so I'll have to think it out further, or get some more.

I'll sacrifice mine if you pay for the shipping....in the interest of science.

 

[tiburonfirst]

it's just a stamp, shek! or were you sending it priority?

 

[gdeal]

ugh....0 for 2 on wicks. I am crumbling.

I did try to roll it to size it to a smaller atty wick hole. I cut 10mm for a 2.5mm cobra hole. It rolled about .25 too large. Compressing it beyond a very minimal amount breaks the foam structure. Here I was thinking I would put the material through a stress test with a smaller diameter wick hole. Looks like the material is putting me through the stress test....

 

[NamVet68]

I'll sacrifice mine if you pay for the shipping....in the interest of science.

Thanks Shek, I may take you up on that later, but I've got enough right now for a few more wicks... I think it's obvious that flaming them before rolling is what caused the crumbling. I just want to get at least one setup to run right in a Genny to compare it to my favorite wicking material (the Great White Wick), and then move on to experiment with the thicker foam material if we can find it.

I plan on going with a single strand of cheesecloth pre-wind under the ribbon wire tomorrow to try to eliminate the hot-spotting problem I ran into. It also might work better with round wire - the ribbon really digs into the foam, which might also be leading to the shorting issues.

I've been spending more time experimenting with my Oddys & Ithakas lately, so some of the Genny stuff has been put on the back-burner for a while.... only so much spare time.

 

[Shekinahsgroom]

it's just a stamp, shek! or were you sending it priority?

Geeeez, now I feel REALLY stupid!

I'm so used to sending stuff in bubble-mailers, a stamp never occurred to me!

DUH....

Send me your address in a PM Nam and I'll mail it to ya.

 

[gdeal]

Hey Nam, Just as an FYI. I went with 28 round, same technique as you, Petar K...no hot legs..

Sorta blurry pics, I just dont have a steady hand tonight....

Thanks Shek, I may take you up on that later, but I've got enough right now for a few more wicks... I think it's obvious that flaming them before rolling is what caused the crumbling. I just want to get at least one setup to run right in a Genny to compare it to my favorite wicking material (the Great White Wick), and then move on to experiment with the thicker foam material if we can find it.

I plan on going with a single strand of cheesecloth pre-wind under the ribbon wire tomorrow to try to eliminate the hot-spotting problem I ran into. It also might work better with round wire - the ribbon really digs into the foam, which might also be leading to the shorting issues.

I've been spending more time experimenting with my Oddys & Ithakas lately, so some of the Genny stuff has been put on the back-burner for a while.... only so much spare time.

 

[tmcase]

Hey Nam, Just as an FYI. I went with 28 round, same technique as you, Petar K...no hot legs..

Sorta blurry pics, I just dont have a steady hand tonight....

View attachment 238940 View attachment 238939

What ohms did you get with that setup?

 

[MikeE3]

Hey Nam, Just as an FYI. I went with 28 round, same technique as you, Petar K...no hot legs..

Sorta blurry pics, I just dont have a steady hand tonight....

View attachment 238940 View attachment 238939

Well you 'hand' worked well enough to do that setup - nice job. We'v got guests coming tomorrow for a week and I've had no play time w/ the nickel mesh. But the wife is happy that every things ship shape.