Rayon wick, better flow, flavor, saturation and Nic Hit!

[cindycated]

oops, too late again...

 

[mnealtx]

I'm a bit behind on my reading, forgive if you've gotten it solved. I had a similar issue initially until I got the wick density figured out. If you're not stretching the wick like JeremyR shows in his video, its pretty easy to use way too much wick than necessary. Just use a lot less. Basically keep reducing until you get a weird metallic taste after initially starting out with everything being good. You've now found the point where the density of the wick after the last of the air between the rayon strands works out (half hour or so after you first wet the wick) is too low and the top of your coil ends up dry which is what produces the metallic or burnt taste. Wick with a bit more than that and you should be seeing all the good things folks are talking about in this thread.

If you use way too much you end up never really wicking any juice to the center of the coil. But rayon wicks so well that just what's in the edge, at the shoulders, is able to provide more than enough juice to keep the entire wick moist enough to prevent really dry hits. But the dryness at the center is what's causing the gunk buildup so quickly. At least it was the case for me.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Xparent Purple Tapatalk 2

I don't think it's sorted, yet....let me go through how I do it.

I cut off a piece of CC, separate out a section and then lightly smooth it with my fingertips, like we used to smooth out a slightly crunched/crooked cig - too much 'pull' at this point pulls the fibers apart in the middle of the strand length.

I add or remove fibers until I have a smoothed length about 2.5-3x the coil diameter. Then I twist one end into a point and feed it into the coil, slightly stretching it. Then, I reverse the initial twist on the side that was fed into the coil, trim to length and then further trim to thin out the legs to the juice channels in the Erlkonigin.

Observations: Dry, the wick puffs out larger than the OD of the coil, but there's no hard 'shoulder' right at the coil end - looks pretty close to the bow-tie "good wick" photo in JeremyR's post. It's also tight enough feeding through the coil that I have to hold the Provari to keep it from being pulled over (no 'foot' on the Provari, just regular 18650 cap) - is that too much wick?

In use, I try to have air control dialed in to where I get a bubble of some sort every couple-three drags (the Erlkonigin has a juice ring and smaller bubble tend to congregate under that). I try to make sure I have enough juice flow to get the popping-hissing when the coil heats, similar to a carto.

 

[Blind Owl]

oh snap! found that you can get a free sample of this stuff here CelluCotton - 12 inches - FREE - Vices Electronic Cigarettes

Rayon evangelists, bless their hearts…I guess. As someone else pointed out on this thread, the first hit is always free.

After a number of hits, near-misses, and obvious screwups—serious gunking & crud buildup inside the coil, clean elsewhere—I'm wondering if spiral coils would better suit rayon wicks, at least for the thumb-fingered. Like me.

I've only ever made, or tried to make, the sort of close-scrunched microcoils you see proudly displayed in YouTube how-to videos. Whatever else Rip Trippers is or isn't, you gotta admire those steady hands. The guy could be a dentist or a watchmaker, or even a rabbi (supposing rabbis still perfrom circumcisions ). The beard would suit.

Digressing. Thoughts on spiral coils + rayon wicks, anyone? Save me having to rediscover the original stone wheel, except with whitewalls?

 

[bsoplinger]

I don't think it's sorted, yet....let me go through how I do it.

I'd say more than double the amount necessary. I wick my Kayfuns with about 1.5x the coil diameter. And I still trim the wick at an angle. The comment another poster made which got me on the right track to quantity was along the lines of still being able to see the juice channel when you look down into it. This is after wetting the wick, pasting it to the side of the deck, screwing on the chamber and doing the final check to make sure that the chamber didn't grab the wick and twist it out of place when it was screwed on. Perhaps this will help.

Another suggestion I've seen and seems like a good idea is to use less and less wick after each test half tank until it starts to leak because there isn't enough wick. Then go back, add a bit and you're now at the lower end of the correct amount of rayon. Sounds like it'd work but seems like a lot of trouble to go through all that effort. OTOH, you'd only have to go through it once.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Xparent Purple Tapatalk 2

 

[Rossum]

Thoughts on spiral coils + rayon wicks, anyone?

Spiral coil made out of titanium wire, wicked with rayon.

It's just OK. It spits and pops more than I'd like. And it's not really broken in yet.

 

[brookj1986]

I've pretty much come to a solid method for myself with the cc style rayon:

Take just over 1/3 to 2/5th the width of the snake. Pull maybe 3". Straighten between my thumbs and index finger.

Twist the tips and insert into coil. If coil starts moving, I stretch the rayon a little at a time until it fits thru without pulling the coil, but just squeaking thru.

Has produced perfection repeatedly for me.

Sent from my Galaxy Note 3 via Tapatalk.

 

[Tbev]

What ga. Is that titanium? What's it comparable to In kanthal?

 

[Rossum]

It's 30 gauge. Resistance wise, it's probably close to 25 gauge Kanthal. However, there are definite issues with using it. See my blog entry, which I will be updating (or maybe making a second one).

 

[Tbev]

Pretty cool, I'm assuming it lasts forever!

 

[mnealtx]

I'd say more than double the amount necessary.

Thanks - I'll give the 'step down' wicking density a try.

 

[JeremyR]

I've pretty much come to a solid method for myself with the cc style rayon:

Take just over 1/3 to 2/5th the width of the snake. Pull maybe 3". Straighten between my thumbs and index finger.

Twist the tips and insert into coil. If coil starts moving, I stretch the rayon a little at a time until it fits thru without pulling the coil, but just squeaking thru.

Has produced perfection repeatedly for me.

Sent from my Galaxy Note 3 via Tapatalk.

Spot on post Brooke!

Good explanation of how I wick with it... Perfect results nearly every time

 

[atroph]

Rayon evangelists, bless their hearts…I guess. As someone else pointed out on this thread, the first hit is always free.

After a number of hits, near-misses, and obvious screwups—serious gunking & crud buildup inside the coil, clean elsewhere—I'm wondering if spiral coils would better suit rayon wicks, at least for the thumb-fingered. Like me.

I've only ever made, or tried to make, the sort of close-scrunched microcoils you see proudly displayed in YouTube how-to videos. Whatever else Rip Trippers is or isn't, you gotta admire those steady hands. The guy could be a dentist or a watchmaker, or even a rabbi (supposing rabbis still perfrom circumcisions ). The beard would suit.

Digressing. Thoughts on spiral coils + rayon wicks, anyone? Save me having to rediscover the original stone wheel, except with whitewalls?

Spiral coils are ideal for higher power and limited airflow. I use spiral coils in my EVOD clearos at around 8W. I used to get "off hits" when I used tightly scrunched coils as they seemed too hot and would foul the wick. Once I opened up the coils it was perfect for me. Spreading out the coils allows better heat control for limited airflow devices IMO. It also exposes more wick to the heat source vice consolidating it in one place.

I was vaping on an Aerotank for a while and decided to open up my EVOD holes to match the aero. Now I can bump up the power and get a superb vape out of the same build. I don't think I will try a tight coil because I believe the heat is too concentrated at the coil area and a simple clearo just doesn't have enough airflow with a mouth inhale. I'd assume that a lengthy and strong lung hit would be ok, but I personally can't do that especially like riptrippers does. I vape more like pbusardo with a simple first pull, exhale out the nose with another simultaneous mouth pull.

Of course that is just me. I don't think anything will go wrong with opening up the coils a tad.

Now on my dripper I have tight coils because of the larger air holes and lengthy lung hits. I only do this on occasion when I need a quick nic buzz. I also use tight coils because I have a limited power device so I need as much heat in one spot as possible.

 

[Blind Owl]

Spiral coils are ideal for higher power and limited airflow. I use spiral coils in my EVOD clearos at around 8W. I used to get "off hits" when I used tightly scrunched coils as they seemed too hot and would foul the wick. Once I opened up the coils it was perfect for me. Spreading out the coils allows better heat control for limited airflow devices IMO. It also exposes more wick to the heat source vice consolidating it in one place.

Thanks! You may have given me the clue I need (fingers x-ed). I'm not into dripping, sub-ohming, cloud-chasing, lung hits etc. etc. I still prefer a tightish draw, about like the average not-labelled-light cigarette. Between spiral coils and JeremyR's comment re: shutting off the power a moment or 2 before you finish a pull—like, who knew? No one told me—this looks like a promising avenue for further investigation. Then maybe I'll be able to brag about the state of my wick after I've run x ml through it.

 

[asvaldr]

Have anyone tried to use rayons taken from a Zippo? I collected Zippo and i thought why the hell waste all those rayon and let them sit inside those unused Zippo.
Is it safe?

 

[f1vefour]

I wouldn't vape zippo rayon, no telling how it was handled.

 

[Marc411]

Thanks for the links!

 

[Tbev]

Same stuff basically if it's never filled and not filled from factory.

 

[HolmanGT]

Thanks! You may have given me the clue I need (fingers x-ed). I'm not into dripping, sub-ohming, cloud-chasing, lung hits etc. etc. I still prefer a tightish draw, about like the average not-labelled-light cigarette. Between spiral coils and JeremyR's comment re: shutting off the power a moment or 2 before you finish a pull—like, who knew? No one told me—this looks like a promising avenue for further investigation. Then maybe I'll be able to brag about the state of my wick after I've run x ml through it.

Thanks Owl,

After all the "Well you mean you didn't know that" comments from last night I was afraid to even mention it again. Thank you for not leaving me out on this tiny limb all alone.

I have been using the spiral coil as they call it. I use it in most everything that I re-wick with Rayon. I run at modest power levels and air flow. I just got it in my head that it was less damaging to the wick if the coil had a little space to prevent too much heat in a small concentrated spot. This little experiment seems to be doing as predicted.

On last comment on Jeremy's power off while still maintaining air flow... "Easier said than done". It is hard as He11 to break old habits. It is driving me crazy because I keep forgetting to do it that way and I know it is the right way to do it. Ugh!

 

[HolmanGT]

I wouldn't vape zippo rayon, no telling how it was handled.

I agree completely !!!

I haven't used a zippo or even seen one in years but I seem to remember an off color to the padding, who knows what that might be.

 

[Tbev]

It's rayon, I know it is.