I have spent equivalent to at least 3 weeks work of e-juice on materials that I made one cut and found out it was not going to work (Its worse when you think of how much e-juice you could have had.)
One of the first deal breakers on material is "crumbs." If I make a cut in it and there is any small pieces falling off of it, thats it, NEXT! There is no way I want to expose myself to tiny burning little pieces of whatever it is. (unless its menthol crystals)
Of course I also consider the original intent for the material. Yes blue foam is meant to filter water for a fish tank but it was not meant to be exposed to temperatures too high for your house hold pet fish, I could be wrong it may be ok but thats not what it was made for. PTB is meant to be exposed to boiling hot water that is being prepared for the consumption of humans. If i remember correctly the temperature of boiling water is the same as the steam that is coming out of it.
An other thing would be, "How easy is it to fold roll and keep its shape?" it would have to be flexible enough that I can fold and roll it but I need to be able to kinda stand on its own.
If it passes those I would move to wicking. Now here is where it gets tricky. When I first started vaping I thought that the material I needed was one that was like the wick of a liquid candle. I found a material that when I dipped one end of it into a small glass of grape juice, the juice would suck upward through the material. In my experience that did not equate to a good vape experience. Long story short, I need a material that will hold the liquid but not travel the way a wick does. In the experiment that I am referring to, the liquid was easily sucked up but it did not give it up.
So far PTB, especially the Lipton brand is the only one that does all that for me. Is it fireproof? No, but Im not setting it on file. I am placing it very close to a heating eliment but I am also protecting it with the juice that I will be vaping.
Am I done looking for material? No, every store I go to I'm looking for something for my ecigs: cases, filler material, juice, whatever. But I will also stock up on Lipton PTB any chance I get because I know it works. I think the reason PTB is different materials in the UK than the US is complaints that the plastic is not biodegradable and does not go well in a compost pile like traditional teabag material. (I wonder if people that compost teabags remove the staples) I think the US is getting all the plastic ones that they dont want in the UK... until it runs out. I dont know if Lipton has stopped making them nor do I know if they plan on it. But for me, if I start stocking up in preparation for an e-cig ban, I will have plenty of PTB first.
thoughts?
rho
