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hmmm... i have been loving cotton wicks made from cotton balls. i guess q-tip cotton would work as well.
for a protank/evod head, i wrap my 32g kanthal, after annealing the wire, around the threads of a 4/40 threaded rod being careful not to miss a thread. i've been doing around an 8/7 or 9/8 wrap.
i take the coil and spin it off the threaded rod, and heat the coil with a torch/lighter til it glows, let it cool to the touch and squeeze together to bring the coils a little closer. i do this 3 or 4 times until the coil is nice and tight. i suppose i could harden the wire by heating to glow again and quenching in water, but i don't think it's entirely necessary.
i take a rounded toothpick and put it thru the center of the coil - it fits very well but leaves a tiny bit of space so it goes in and out easily without snags. i feed the legs of the coil thru the headpiece, letting the toothpick sit in the slots on either side of the head. this holds the coil in place while i assemble the grommet and pin and get the +/- legs in the best spot. it keeps the coil from being uneven in the head, and can help the coil from tightening itself down on the ends, as i've had happen with hand wrapped silica wicks when assembling the head.
once its all assembled, i can remove the toothpick and at this point i could probably test the ohms and make sure it's not shorting out.
i then take a small bit of the cotton ball, sort of unravelling a bit using the natural 'roll' of the cotton on the ball, and pull off about an inch and a half length, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch width, and leaving it nice and fluffy. after pulling your piece off, you'll see how it tends to stay larger and fluffier towards the middle. leave it this way.
taking one end of the cotton wick, roll one end tightly between your fingers. if there's a stray fiber or two on that tightly twisted end, just fold it over onto itself and roll it down with your fingers. take this tightly rolled end and feed it thru the slot of the head and into the coil until it comes out the other side.
note - sometimes the spring in the coil will cause the coil to twist slightly in the head. not cause for too much alarm. if it's not twisted too far, you can still thread the cotton wick thru with little problem. if it has twisted too far, use the toothpick to CAREFULLY move the coil back around to line up with the slot.
once the cotton is thru to the other side, gently pull it thru the coils and slots, adjusting the coils as needed. pull the thicker part of the cotton to the center of the coil. if you've made the cotton too thick, it will begin to distort the coils. keep an eye on the coils and cotton as it's going thru. if the coils start to distort or move too much, pull the cotton back thru from the other side and remove some.
once you're cotton's all the way thru, use nail clippers or a sharp scissors to remove the excess. replace the top tube cap and silicone cap and install. let it soak for a good 5-10 minutes, or you could also pre-soak the wick prior to putting the tube cap and silicone cap.
for a protank/evod head, i wrap my 32g kanthal, after annealing the wire, around the threads of a 4/40 threaded rod being careful not to miss a thread. i've been doing around an 8/7 or 9/8 wrap.
i take the coil and spin it off the threaded rod, and heat the coil with a torch/lighter til it glows, let it cool to the touch and squeeze together to bring the coils a little closer. i do this 3 or 4 times until the coil is nice and tight. i suppose i could harden the wire by heating to glow again and quenching in water, but i don't think it's entirely necessary.
i take a rounded toothpick and put it thru the center of the coil - it fits very well but leaves a tiny bit of space so it goes in and out easily without snags. i feed the legs of the coil thru the headpiece, letting the toothpick sit in the slots on either side of the head. this holds the coil in place while i assemble the grommet and pin and get the +/- legs in the best spot. it keeps the coil from being uneven in the head, and can help the coil from tightening itself down on the ends, as i've had happen with hand wrapped silica wicks when assembling the head.
once its all assembled, i can remove the toothpick and at this point i could probably test the ohms and make sure it's not shorting out.
i then take a small bit of the cotton ball, sort of unravelling a bit using the natural 'roll' of the cotton on the ball, and pull off about an inch and a half length, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch width, and leaving it nice and fluffy. after pulling your piece off, you'll see how it tends to stay larger and fluffier towards the middle. leave it this way.
taking one end of the cotton wick, roll one end tightly between your fingers. if there's a stray fiber or two on that tightly twisted end, just fold it over onto itself and roll it down with your fingers. take this tightly rolled end and feed it thru the slot of the head and into the coil until it comes out the other side.
note - sometimes the spring in the coil will cause the coil to twist slightly in the head. not cause for too much alarm. if it's not twisted too far, you can still thread the cotton wick thru with little problem. if it has twisted too far, use the toothpick to CAREFULLY move the coil back around to line up with the slot.
once the cotton is thru to the other side, gently pull it thru the coils and slots, adjusting the coils as needed. pull the thicker part of the cotton to the center of the coil. if you've made the cotton too thick, it will begin to distort the coils. keep an eye on the coils and cotton as it's going thru. if the coils start to distort or move too much, pull the cotton back thru from the other side and remove some.
once you're cotton's all the way thru, use nail clippers or a sharp scissors to remove the excess. replace the top tube cap and silicone cap and install. let it soak for a good 5-10 minutes, or you could also pre-soak the wick prior to putting the tube cap and silicone cap.
Hey Atty, are you boiling your cotton? My first try with cotton, in a protank, was not good. The cotton taste was very strong using a cotton ball straight from the pack. I later tried gauze, without the chunks of cotton inside, and it tasted much better to me, but still took several hits to clear up. This was on an RDA. I then boiled some of the gauze, and the taste was good from practically the first hit.
Just sharing my experience in hopes that it might help....
Just sharing my experience in hopes that it might help....
So I did a quick search for Q-tips specifically, didn't happen to see it written anywhere besides a brief mention here and there. I've seen a few people saying you can use Q-Tip cotton in a quick pinch if you dont have anything else available. Does it also need to be boiled or is it safe enough to vape on straight off the stick?
I'm picky about taste and what I vape so, I use either cheesecloth (unbleached, food safe) that I have rinsed in hot water (not boiled) or flour sack towels that I have washed and boiled before making wicks of them. Cheesecloth is a bit easier that flour sack but both work well for me and, since I make homemade wine and pickles, I always have those around.
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