Quartz as wick?

[SintheticKarma]

No specific specialty wires were out afaik except kanthal, ribbon, and maybe nichrome. I do think the nichrome is softer but don't remember if it made any difference. Just as micro coils were coming out I was trying them in genesis attys and to some success was screwing the ceramic rods into the coils, this worked fairly well but not as good as the hot wrap method. Literally under magnification if there were any gaps between the wire and wick it didn't work to its capabilities. sometimes you just couldn't get a perfect tight coil so you just needed to vape at lower voltages for maybe a half tank then you were good to go. It seemed after this break in period, whatever gaps were present before had closed up from a slight oxidation of juice. So maybe the new wires can help, like you said maybe because they are softer, they can mold better.

Thank you for the detailed reply! I can certainly see why ceramic didn't go mainstream.

Quartz is very clean, uses up 100% of the liquid and can be rinsed clean. The vapour production is not great and it is probably limited to drippers with vertical or slanted coils. It is also not too easy to find and probably not the easiest to coil.

My guess would be that it is an interesting wick to try, but maybe not one for every day. It does, however, have all the right characteristics for a liquid-tasting rig.

I like that idea a lot. I create my own ejuice and while I do have a 30 second rewick method on my atomic, this sounds like it could be superior in several ways.

I've heard some chatter on the web about it. Stirring rods have been played with..

Those wicks look crazy. Jewels for your coil - coil jewels.

Well have to see how it works, may be limited in attys it works on but the thought of glass wicks is seen as the ultimate in neutral wicking if works well day in day out.

I Always like to see experiments in the innovation of vaping.

I've seen other posts on glass wicks around the vaping community.

Jewel coils... that minds me of Toddsreviews! I can see the adverts now. Get some bling for your spring!

 

[GMayberry]

If nothing else, this has created a bit of conversation around my office! I have converted several of the smokers here, and in turn added time to their lives. This is yet another idea that has kept them interested and intrigued.

As a side note, some of the replies in this thread have bordered on sarcastic. If you don't like this idea, simply don't do it. I'm not on here trying to "pioneer the next big thing in wicking", it has been done before. I heard about it from someone else, couldn't get much as far as reviews or feedback online, so I took it upon myself to experiment. Several of you have been interested, and I am glad to share feedback. This has been fun, it is simply an experiment for something a bit outside of the box. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

[twgbonehead]

I got my quartz rods from ABR Imagery. So far, I've only had a little time to play with them, but here goes:

I ordered 1,2,3, and 4 mm rods. They didn't have the 1mm rod, so I just received the other 3 sizes.

First, I tried to melt them. Held the smallest one over the gas-stove for several minutes. Didn't melt, didn't become brittle.
Next I held a butane torch to the end of it for about a minute. When it was as hot as I thought it would get, I plunged it into cold water.
Apart from a couple sizzle-pops, there was no noticeable effect. The glass didn't crack or shatter. Looking at it under a microscope, it looked no different (except for a couple spots of soot - probably should have washed it!)

These rods are optical-glass smooth, unlike the stirring rods I've seen. So I tried a couple of things to add texture. What I was hoping for was to create longitudinal channels along the surface of the rod.

First, I took a diamond-wheel cutter (one of these:
https://www.fasttech.com/p/1781609 )

I had other diamond-cutter wheels (from HarborFreight) but these (the ones from FT) were coarser in texture.

I hand-scribed the end of one of the 2mm rods (put the disc on the table, and dragged the rod across it). This produced long channels down the tube, but took a lot of time (and the net result was a pretty shallow texture).

I took a 4mm rod, and put the diamond disk on the dremel, and buffed up the end. Although I tried to stay on the outer edge of the disc, this produced a coarse, irregular texture (which still might work, but wasn't the longitudinal grooves I was looking for).

On the other end of that rod I used a cylindrical sandpaper attachment. This did produce longitudinal scratches (at least as a texture), but it embedded bits of abrasive in the glass and wore out the sandpaper pretty quickly.

I've created an album, "Quartz wicks" with pictures of the 3. (I will try to attach them here if I can). Hover and look at the picture name to see which is which.

Somewhere I have a cylindrical diamond dremel bit, which might be the best. When (if) I find it I will try it out.

Very short on time, both last week and the coming one, but I will update as I make progress.


2mm, hand-scribed



4mm ground with dremel-diamond disc


4mm Ground with cylindrical sandpaper

 

[jaxgator]

oops....................

 

[Verb]

Wow, looking good. How'd they vape?

 

[twgbonehead]

Wow, looking good. How'd they vape?

Really short of time this week, just got back into town last night, and have to leave again tomorrow morning, so I won't have a chance to coil these until late next week.

I have come up with another option, which is to use the diamond wheel to cut channels along the rod, and then roughen-up just the part of the rod where the coil will sit. I figure the grooves might do well as capillaries, and the roughened area would disperse the e-liquid underneath the coil. Don't have the time to try this right now, though... I will let you guys know as soon as I do.

 

[vapdivrr]

Again because I have no experience with quartz, I am taking my ceramic experience and posting what may be helpful. When the porous ceramic wicks came out they were fairly smooth, the next batch that came out were a little more coarse, then finally they had come out with ones that had long grooves cut in them. I think the channel ones worked the best. There were maybe 4 channels that recessed slightly, these seem to aid in the wicking. Anyways not sure if any of this can help with the quartz wick but Just incase the info can't hurt.

 

[GMayberry]

Just an update... I am still using the same quartz point in the original coil, and everything is still working very well! I have not rinsed it a single time, coil is not gunked up at all, and switching flavors is without any issues. Overall, still very impressed, and getting more impressed with the longevity.

 

[Zurd]

Someone need to start selling some that are ready to use, I'd love to try it.

 

[rurwin]

No cleavage planes, so just smack it with a hammer. It will always break irregularly.

Too irregularly to be useful, IMO.

Maybe a diamond wheel on a Dremmel? I think I'll keep my eye out for some 2mm points.