I wrapped a new tighter wick from the 400 that came with the Cobra, adding a few steps.
- I torched the mesh once when it was still flat without quenching. (Some say it rolls better for them when tempered once.)
- I boiled the mesh. (Probably extraneous when it's already been torched.)
- I folded a little bit of the end over on both ends to try to avoid little wires that might short.
- I rolled from one side for a bit, then unrolled and rolled from the opposite end so when I completed it, the outside of the wick had already been rolled in the direction it lies on the outside of the coil.
It probably took over an hour just rolling it, stopping, making it tighter, continue rolling, tighten, etc. Torched it without quenching. Then juiced it and torched it. I didn't measure the overall length. I can put a lighter to it and it will continue to burn, so it must be wicking OK.
I've been using the Peter K method to wrap the coil. Use something the same size as your wick hole, like the end of a drill bit, drop it in where the wick will sit and wrap the coil around it, connect it to the screw and center post, remove the drill bit. (The benefit to using the drill bit is that it gives you a solid surface to wrap the coil, without worrying about disturbing the oxidation on the wick.) Check the ohms. Fire up the coil alone a couple of times. juice the coil and fire it up a couple of times. Drop the wick in, adjust coils. juice wick and coils and flame it.
The first coil I wrapped was about 2.5 Ohms. I was bringing it up slowly in voltage. It seemed to be doing well, but developed a hot spot near the top of the wick and popped. Aha.
When you roll the wick and tighten it, the top and bottom can become uneven and raggedy. This creates an environment for pokies or stray wires which can short. Not good for your coils.
If when you torch your completed wick, you see little flare ups in spots, it's probably a trouble area. So, I decided I needed to pull the wick up and make sure I avoid coiling near the top of the wick. I only want to coil on the comparatively smooth part of the wick.
Using the same wick, I made a new coil. After inserting the wick, I didn't just adjust the coils, I tightened the coil from both ends onto the wick. I wanted to be sure that I have really good contact of all coils on flat wicking surface. This new coil is measuring about 1 Ohm.
As you can imagine, even at the lowest setting on the Provari it's producing loads of vapor. I'd have to reduce my nic level to vape this full time. Unfortunately, I'm still not getting the great flavor that others describe.
If the flavor doesn't develop with this set up, I do have 500 mesh and 30 and 28 Kanthal on order to experiment with.
- I torched the mesh once when it was still flat without quenching. (Some say it rolls better for them when tempered once.)
- I boiled the mesh. (Probably extraneous when it's already been torched.)
- I folded a little bit of the end over on both ends to try to avoid little wires that might short.
- I rolled from one side for a bit, then unrolled and rolled from the opposite end so when I completed it, the outside of the wick had already been rolled in the direction it lies on the outside of the coil.
It probably took over an hour just rolling it, stopping, making it tighter, continue rolling, tighten, etc. Torched it without quenching. Then juiced it and torched it. I didn't measure the overall length. I can put a lighter to it and it will continue to burn, so it must be wicking OK.
I've been using the Peter K method to wrap the coil. Use something the same size as your wick hole, like the end of a drill bit, drop it in where the wick will sit and wrap the coil around it, connect it to the screw and center post, remove the drill bit. (The benefit to using the drill bit is that it gives you a solid surface to wrap the coil, without worrying about disturbing the oxidation on the wick.) Check the ohms. Fire up the coil alone a couple of times. juice the coil and fire it up a couple of times. Drop the wick in, adjust coils. juice wick and coils and flame it.
The first coil I wrapped was about 2.5 Ohms. I was bringing it up slowly in voltage. It seemed to be doing well, but developed a hot spot near the top of the wick and popped. Aha.
When you roll the wick and tighten it, the top and bottom can become uneven and raggedy. This creates an environment for pokies or stray wires which can short. Not good for your coils.
If when you torch your completed wick, you see little flare ups in spots, it's probably a trouble area. So, I decided I needed to pull the wick up and make sure I avoid coiling near the top of the wick. I only want to coil on the comparatively smooth part of the wick.
Using the same wick, I made a new coil. After inserting the wick, I didn't just adjust the coils, I tightened the coil from both ends onto the wick. I wanted to be sure that I have really good contact of all coils on flat wicking surface. This new coil is measuring about 1 Ohm.
As you can imagine, even at the lowest setting on the Provari it's producing loads of vapor. I'd have to reduce my nic level to vape this full time. Unfortunately, I'm still not getting the great flavor that others describe.
If the flavor doesn't develop with this set up, I do have 500 mesh and 30 and 28 Kanthal on order to experiment with.
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Next I tried the Petar K method and failed so miserably I'm not even going to describe it 
Finally, I did the paper trick like I usually do and wrapped my coils before putting them in the tank, 6/5 wrap on solid 400 wicks for a total resistance of about 1 ohm and it's working great 
