opinions on wick

[_sidekick_]

I would attribute that difference to the fact that cotton is an organic fiber and silica is not. I mean doesn't silica withstand temperatures above 1,000°F? Also, my cotton is not burnt when I change it. I normally change the cotton due to gunk building up on the coils and the cotton. It is not because the cotton has burned or broken down. People dry burn silica, instead of rewicking, so that's why it lasts longer. You cannot dry burn cotton, therefore it will not last as long. The "gunk" will build up in a few days regardless of wick material, the speed at which it builds up is very dependent on the juice as well.

 

[happydave]

I would attribute that difference to the fact that cotton is an organic fiber and silica is not. I mean doesn't silica withstand temperatures above 1,000°F? Also, my cotton is not burnt when I change it. I normally change the cotton due to gunk building up on the coils and the cotton. It is not because the cotton has burned or broken down. People dry burn silica, instead of rewicking, so that's why it lasts longer. You cannot dry burn cotton, therefore it will not last as long. The "gunk" will build up in a few days regardless of wick material, the speed at which it builds up is very dependent on the juice as well.

1,000°F? oh yeah no problem. some types Amorphous silica can handle temps of 1,600°C (2912°F). what we use for wick can handle temps of 1,000°C or more (1,832°F)

 

[happydave]

Also, my cotton is not burnt when I change it..

how can you be sure?

the "gunk" could in some part be from thermal composition of the cotton.

there is a difference between burning and thermal composition.

 

[happydave]

i never dry burn silica to "clean it". its cheap enough to just toss on another wick.

the two stands of 2mm silica wick on my sub ohm (0.7 ohm) dripper (main device) can handle about 30 mL of flavored e-liquid before it starts to taste funky

 

[_sidekick_]

If the gunk is from decomposing cotton, why do silica builds also end up with gunk built up on the coils? The common factor here is juice.

 

[happydave]

If the gunk is from decomposing cotton, why do silica builds also end up with gunk built up on the coils? The common factor here is juice.

exactly, but the silica lasts way longer than cotton.. so that raises some questions. like How? and Why?
if you put enough e-liquid through any wick and coil, it will gunk up. but why does cotton have a such a short life span?
one reason COULD be that the most of the gunk on a cotton wick and coil setup is from the thermal decay of the cotton.

 

[_sidekick_]

I think you're crazy if you think that the flavor with silica does not begin to degrade after a couple days as well. Maybe I have extremely sensitive taste buds, but I noticed silica/ekowool beginning to taste "off" after only a day or two of use as well. I'm going on about 10-15ml/2 days on my current cotton wick and I will be changing it later today. That really doesn't seem like any more time than I would've gone before dry burning or re-wicking with silica.

You seem to speak in a lot of theoreticals that ASSUME cotton is bad, but you really haven't shown any proof yet. Other than taking to your "scientist buddy". This is the internet, where anyone can say anything they want. Give us proof, or quit making claims you can't prove.

 

[happydave]

I think you're crazy if you think that the flavor with silica does not begin to degrade after a couple days as well. Maybe I have extremely sensitive taste buds, but I noticed silica/ekowool beginning to taste "off" after only a day or two of use as well. I'm going on about 10-15ml/2 days on my current cotton wick and I will be changing it later today. That really doesn't seem like any more time than I would've gone before dry burning or re-wicking with silica.

You seem to speak in a lot of theoreticals that ASSUME cotton is bad, but you really haven't shown any proof yet. Other than taking to your "scientist buddy". This is the internet, where anyone can say anything they want. Give us proof, or quit making claims you can't prove.

Amorphous Silica can not "degrade" at the temps our e-cigs hit.
proof of what exactly?

 

[happydave]

Amorphous Silica can not "degrade" at the temps our e-cigs hit.
proof of what exactly?

you cant prove your cotton isn't thermally decomposing... yet you tell us otherwise.

 

[happydave]

even if i prove that vaping with cotton wick is not the healthiest option, would you stop vaping with cotton wicks?

 

[happydave]

Cotton Fiber Chemistry and Technology - Phillip J. Wakelyn, Noelie R. Bertoniere, Alfred D. French, Devron P. Thibodeaux, Barbara A. Triplett, Marie-Alice Rousselle, Wilton R. Goynes, Jr., J. Vincent Edwards, Lawrance Hunter, David D. McAlister, Gary

Yep. so that about sums it up.

 

[Lessifer]

perhaps I'm just dense, but the page you linked to says dry cotton cellulose begins to degrade at 200C, after a few hours, but degradation is ......ed by the presence of moisture. In our wicks, under normal working conditions, moisture is not only present, the wicks are saturated.

 

[happydave]

perhaps I'm just dense, but the page you linked to says dry cotton cellulose begins to degrade at 200C, after a few hours, but degradation is ......ed by the presence of moisture. In our wicks, under normal working conditions, moisture is not only present, the wicks are saturated.

because moisture or liquids provide more material for the thermal energy to disperse into. it says "......ed" not Halted or Stopped completely, only slowed down.
think about clothing that has been treated with fire ......ant. it will still burn, just not as well.
so it also says that that they saw a distinct scorching "yellowing" at 140°C
i did notice this effect on my own tests. mainly on the surface of the wick.

 

[_sidekick_]

Here is the 2+ day old wick that has had at least 10ML of juice run through it:
wick in coil

wick

Click for larger pictures. This time I was using a much lighter juice that is basically clear with a slight yellow color from the 6MG of nicotine. Even the center of the wick that was in the coil is pretty much the same color as the juice. Only slightly darker. I would not stop using cotton unless it was proven IN THE APPLICATION OF ECIGARETTES that it will cause problems. I quit smoking cigarettes to reduce the amount of horrible .... I'm inhaling. Until someone proves that using cotton as a wick is dangerous to my health, I will continue to use what is working for me. You keep posting articles about dry cotton. The cotton is not dry when used as wick. Someone else posted a link to an article about cotton in a wet or saturated environment and you ignored it and said your "scientist friend" agreed that cotton degrades. While no one has proven it is absolutely safe, you have no proven the opposite either. There a LOT of vapers using cotton as a wick on a daily basis for well over a year, with no ill effects to speak of. That is more proof than what you've given so far.

 

[happydave]

wick

if it doesn't decompose, the center of the wick (under the coil) would look exactly like the rest of the wick.
it looks like it has turned yellow (scorching).

i have seen this time and time again with unflavored e-liquid.
i have pure USP food grade VG and PG and i have done tests using each and a combo of both, every time with out fail you get that yellow section of cotton wick under the coil.

 

[happydave]

everyone can do what they like. i dont care if you use cotton. your a grown adult and you can make your own choices.

 

[_sidekick_]

You don't think that the vaporized eliquid will leave a "stain" on the cotton? Most things change color as they burn/vaporize. The eliquid "condensation" on my top caps generally has a slightly darker color than the juice itself as well.

 

[happydave]

You don't think that the vaporized eliquid will leave a "stain" on the cotton? Most things change color as they burn/vaporize. The eliquid "condensation" on my top caps generally has a slightly darker color than the juice itself as well.

"The eliquid "condensation" on my top caps generally has a slightly darker color than the juice itself as well"

i find that to be rather odd, any condensation i get is always clear, no matter what e-liquid i use. this is with Silica wick IDK about cotton that might have something to do with it.

VG slowly turns Pink with heat and light.
nicotine will slowly turn pink with heat and light.
as far i can tell PG will not turn any color with heat and light.

i never noticed my silica wicks ever move through a yellow / light tan phase. over time they just turn dark brown and eventually black. if it does go light tan / yellow its not for long.
sure some amount of the flavoring is not being vaporized and carried fast enough an thus, it burns.