Organic Cotton - horrible experience, help!

[belsenj]

I think it's not a great idea to use un-boiled cotton in any way. Even if it is sterile, who really knows what they did to it to make it sterile?
Untreated cotton yarn, in it's most natural state, then boiled for at least 15 minutes is best. JMHO

 

[ScottM]

I travel for the oil industry, and am on the road a great deal of time. WHile needing supplies for my wicks, I have used CVS Organic and Sterile cotton balls, Q-Tip cotton, and WalMart generic cotton balls. They all taste the same, once fully saturated. I have not boiled any before using. The two major pitfalls to watch for are:

1) Putting the cotton in too tight

2) Not letting the cotton have time to become saturated

The cotton being too tight prevents that portion from becoming saturated, and doesn't wick well and burns easily. When I have not let the juice soak into the wick, it tastes really, really terrible. The longest it has taken for some of the cotton (Q-Tip and WalMart) to settle into a better taste was about three or four draws.

With the rba I use with the microcoils and cotton, some flavors I like more, and some I don't like as much anymore- the flavor is stronger and more intense. The subtle tones of the flavor were not detectable until I switched to the rba/cotton, and it affected my thoughts on the flavors.

 

[ScottM]

I should have mentioned the soak times...

With non-sweet flavors like tobacco, that are clear and flow well, about fifteen minutes. With sweet, thick liquids, half an hour to one hour.

 

[Laythor]

getting the right amount is the hardest part.


What i've found that works for me is to take more then I know i'll need and then roll it very tight at the tip using less pressure as i go along, so i end up with a long cone shaped piece. I'll then pull it through the coil until I feel it snug up to the point where i cant pull anymore. I then back it off a tiny bit (64th of an inch) and give it a twist counter to the way I wrapped it which has the effect of opening up the twist. I'll then use my wire cutters or nail clippers to cut it to size. It wastes very little cotton and I end up with a great performing wick every time now.


The very best thing with using cotton in a micro coil (for the newbie) is that if the wick get's borked somehow you simply pull it out and grab a new piece. Each bad wick is probably .5 to 1 cent worth of material

I'm very new to vaping and I started right at the time cotton seems to have exploded as the "must use" material so I can't really comment about how it tastes compared to silica, SS, cheese cloth, etc etc.. i just know how good it tastes to me.

 

[damthisisfun]

I could try boiling a few balls... Wouldn't hurt right?

Boil em bunny balls is what i did- work like a charm - takes few draws to kinda get the full flavor..........

 

[AlB53]

I use 100% sterile cotton balls, never boil them, never a bad taste. take what you think you will need for a wick then take 1/2 that, that should work..
I soak the wick and start vapin, never a problem with burnt taste..

 

[makkesk8]

Ok, I tried it again today and I went through about 3 coils and 5 cotton balls trying to get this stuff working.

Same thing... BUT I had a break through. For a few hits it actually worked really good! But then after that it wouldn't work at all again... The thing is if I smell the vapor before I inhale it, it smells really metallic-ish but it tastes nothing like it... maybe a slight hint... Again no hot spots or hot legs and the cotton is making contact.

This time when I made my coils I could pull the cotton in and out without any issues and as I was going from snug to loose the taste was really bad at snug, better towards middle and bad again towards the loose part.

There's just no way this is working at all for me... There's something I'm missing and I dunno what!

 

[danny4x4]

1) Try another brand of cotton. Although I've only tried 2 different types, I find that there's a big difference.

2) Drip some juice on the cotton before assembling your Atty. It helps to get it started on wicking. It also gives you a chance to check if the cotton is too loose, or tight. There shouldn't be any bulges where the cotton exits the coil.

3) Start at a low voltage first. Break in period.

Finally, and most importantly, what works for one may not work for another. Keep an open mind. If cotton still doesn't work for you, take a break from it. Experiment with cotton in a couple of weeks. You might get drastically different results.

Hope it helps.

 

[MrStik]

When I used cotton wicks with my micro coils, I would drip on the wick and let it sit for about 20-30 mins before I take the first hit. That fully saturates the wick, and I drip a little more on before I take a hit.

To me there is a difference in taste between cotton and silica. cannot describe it.. But it is different. Not good nor bad, but different. And like danny said above, it is all about preference and it may or may not be your thing. Good luck

 

[makkesk8]

1) Try another brand of cotton. Although I've only tried 2 different types, I find that there's a big difference.

2) Drip some juice on the cotton before assembling your Atty. It helps to get it started on wicking. It also gives you a chance to check if the cotton is too loose, or tight. There shouldn't be any bulges where the cotton exits the coil.

3) Start at a low voltage first. Break in period.

Finally, and most importantly, what works for one may not work for another. Keep an open mind. If cotton still doesn't work for you, take a break from it. Experiment with cotton in a couple of weeks. You might get drastically different results.

Hope it helps.

I did all that... except other brands of cotton. I do not currently have the option to get another brand since I have not yet found any organic in any local shop that sell's cotton in my city.

I will take a break from cotton because this drives me nuts!
Oh well.. lets buy 50 feet of silica and when that's done lets get back to it

Thanks for the help!

 

[Beckyjc]

Regarding cotton, I've had some real good experience using medical gauze (at least one good thing to come from falling off my motorbike) twist it up and braid it.

Swabs: Non Woven Sterile 5 x 5cm 4 Ply per 25 packs of 5

Says right there in the description
Manufactured to comply with the Drug Tariff Technical Specification 28, these swabs have high levels of absorption fast wicking and are extremely low linting.

Sounds like it was made for vaping, it's sterile and used for packing wounds so holds together well.

 

[bacardee]

The bad taste could also be from your hands because cotton requires a lot more touching and rolling which causes the hidden dirt and oil on your fingers to soak into the cotton. It makes it taste horrible so maybe try building it with gloves on or wash your hands very well before squeezing and rolling up the wick.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4