Question about Cotton wicks

[wizardelite]

I've been watching on YouTube several videos where people were having great success with cotton yarn for wicks.


So I bought some cotton yarn from Wal-Mart the other day.


http://www.walmart.com/ip/Peaches-and-Creme-Yarn-4-70.9g/17422880


I boiled it for about 10 minutes and installed it on my IGO-L.


I have to say I wasn't impressed at all. It was very challenging to get it to wick and the flavor was not good at all.


Is there something I'm doing wrong?

 

[Sicarius]

Do you know if it is mercerised cotton ?

I personally favour hemp cord. Kills the flavour a bit, but wicks well and holds up to the coil temp reasonably.

One last thought is that you have the coil wound too tight. Cotton swells like no ones business and can choke the wicking process.

 

[MDV39]

I believe you have to let cotton sit overnight to saturate. I would also boil it for at least a half hour.

 

[skoot]

I used organic, undyed cotton yarn and it worked great. I didn't boil it at all.

 

[Euphonious Nonsense]

I only use organic and undyed/unbleached cotton, i have never boiled this type of cotton. (hobby lobby, michael's, etc...) Normal cottonball type cotton tastes like shiot. As for setting it up, you do not wanna pulse your coils while the cotton is dry or you will singe it and it will taste like poop as well. Also, I wrap my coils first (usually around a small nail) then pulse to test then stick the cotton inside the coil with a small push pin or safety pin, this way the cotton will not be singed and also coils not too tight and choke the wick which also can results in a singe. Try those three things and let us know what you think.

 

[CloudZ]

I have to say I wasn't impressed at all. It was very challenging to get it to wick and the flavor was not good at all.


Is there something I'm doing wrong?

You have the same exact yarn I do. I would boil it a bit longer, maybe 20-30 minutes agitating occasionally, then pour off the water with the yarn still at the bottom of the pot. This will get rid of all the crap floating on the surface and allow you to remove the yarn without recontaminating it. Squeeze out the majority of the water, then press dry with paper towels, then hang it up to finish air drying for a few hours.

For cotton yarn to wick properly, it needs to fit in the coil just so. It will expand and get choked if it is too tight, and will not fully deliver juice if it is too loose. Also make sure it is not kinked or pinched along the lengths that reach down to the juice well. You only need a small amount of wick for a good dripper, just enough so it makes a smooth transition and part of it lays down in the juice well.

I am assuming you know how to wrap a good coil, but that is definitely something else to consider.


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[wizardelite]

Do you know if it is mercerised cotton ?

I personally favour hemp cord. Kills the flavour a bit, but wicks well and holds up to the coil temp reasonably.

One last thought is that you have the coil wound too tight. Cotton swells like no ones business and can choke the wicking process.

All it said was 100% cotton. Hemp cord sounds really interesting. I'd like to hear more about that.

I did roll the coil a little tight. I'm sure that had something to do with it.

 

[wizardelite]

I believe you have to let cotton sit overnight to saturate. I would also boil it for at least a half hour.

I did let it sit overnight but I only boiled it for about 10 minutes. So that could be the issue.

 

[wizardelite]

I used organic, undyed cotton yarn and it worked great. I didn't boil it at all.

Where do you get your yarn?

 

[wizardelite]

I only use organic and undyed/unbleached cotton, i have never boiled this type of cotton. (hobby lobby, michael's, etc...) Normal cottonball type cotton tastes like shiot. As for setting it up, you do not wanna pulse your coils while the cotton is dry or you will singe it and it will taste like poop as well. Also, I wrap my coils first (usually around a small nail) then pulse to test then stick the cotton inside the coil with a small push pin or safety pin, this way the cotton will not be singed and also coils not too tight and choke the wick which also can results in a singe. Try those three things and let us know what you think.

Great suggestions! I know I'll be heading off to Michael's after work today and I'm definitely going to use the nail method.

Thanks!

 

[wizardelite]

You have the same exact yarn I do. I would boil it a bit longer, maybe 20-30 minutes agitating occasionally, then pour off the water with the yarn still at the bottom of the pot. This will get rid of all the crap floating on the surface and allow you to remove the yarn without recontaminating it. Squeeze out the majority of the water, then press dry with paper towels, then hang it up to finish air drying for a few hours.

For cotton yarn to wick properly, it needs to fit in the coil just so. It will expand and get choked if it is too tight, and will not fully deliver juice if it is too loose. Also make sure it is not kinked or pinched along the lengths that reach down to the juice well. You only need a small amount of wick for a good dripper, just enough so it makes a smooth transition and part of it lays down in the juice well.

I am assuming you know how to wrap a good coil, but that is definitely something else to consider.


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From what I'm reading I realize I probably didn't boil it long enough.

I know how to wrap a good coil on silica wick but I'm learning now that method doesn't work on cotton wicks. I was definitely wrapping my coils to tight.

Greatly appreciate the suggestions.

 

[skoot]

Where do you get your yarn?

I don't remember- just google organic undyed yarn, you'll find it.

 

[MDV39]

From what I'm reading I realize I probably didn't boil it long enough.

I know how to wrap a good coil on silica wick but I'm learning now that method doesn't work on cotton wicks. I was definitely wrapping my coils to tight.

Greatly appreciate the suggestions.

remember cotton expands as it saturates so a tightly wrapped coil is going to get tighter once the juice starts flowing

 

[CloudZ]

From what I'm reading I realize I probably didn't boil it long enough.

I know how to wrap a good coil on silica wick but I'm learning now that method doesn't work on cotton wicks. I was definitely wrapping my coils to tight.

Greatly appreciate the suggestions.

If you can find a 2mm diameter cylinder of some kind to use as a template (drill bit, mini screwdriver, etc), one strand of the Wal-Mart yarn will fit perfect. 2.5mm diameter will work with 2 strands. Just compress it into a point and slide it through.


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[spider362]

I wrap my coils on a 2.5mm machine screw. Nice close and evenly spaced coils. Should be just the right ID for a 2mm wick.

 

[scalewiz]

The screw method is what I use also; works great. I use a 3 mm screw and wrap my coil around it, then unscrew the coil from the screw. I double my yarn (that would be 8 small strands if you took both of them apart, 2 x 4 ply), wet the end and roll it tightly between my fingers. Thread the yarn through the coil like threading a needle and gently pull the coil to the location you want it. Makes a very nice coil/wick that can easily hold up to 12 watts or so. The cotton IMO is the best wicking material I have used yet. When loaded with juice it will swell to almost twice its dry size. Fantastic flavor and vapor.

 

[spider362]

I use 16 strands 4 inches long of cheesecloth doubled for 32 strands.
I use a beading needle and put the 16 strands through it's loop and slide it half way along the strands and then double it over. Then I push the needle through the coil and gently pull the 32 strands through the coil so about 1/2 inch sticks out. Then I double the 'tail' of the wick back over and into the slot leaving enough on each side to trim both the coil wick and flavor wick to its proper length.

 

[Thraizer]

I'm using the same cotton yarn from walmart and it's been doing great. I use it on my vivi nova and phoenix v4 clone build. Boiled for 30mins with bottled water and air dried. What I find that works well for me is to use a drill bit to make my coils for the cotton wick. I found that using a 5/64 drill bit to make a coil is good for using a single strand of cotton yarn. A 3/32 drill bit wound coil is good for a double strand of cotton yarn. Just wet the ends a bit with water and twirl it with your fingers and guide it in the coil. Seems to be working good for me, the cotton wick doesn't get choked up when it gets saturated with juice and expands. And also noticed less build up on the coil.

 

[JD1]

I've used both 1/8 and 5/64 inch coils with good results but I think I slightly prefer the smaller 5/64 and close wrapped coil. I mostly cut my wicks from the makeup pads but I've also had good results with cheese cloth. I just discovered some good pictures today. It's for a bottom fed atty but the basic things apply for any recoil. http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-reomizer-2-rebuild-tutorial.html#post9421980

There's also a lot of good info on cotton in the 'different cottons' thread.

 

[xxbodkinxx]

I've used both 1/8 and 5/64 inch coils with good results but I think I slightly prefer the smaller 5/64 and close wrapped coil. I mostly cut my wicks from the makeup pads but I've also had good results with cheese cloth. I just discovered some good pictures today. It's for a bottom fed atty but the basic things apply for any recoil. http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-reomizer-2-rebuild-tutorial.html#post9421980

There's also a lot of good info on cotton in the 'different cottons' thread.

That's my exact method and it works great. I even use the same 14 Guage needle he does. Easy as pie.

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