RBA and Cotton?

[Nathan Hartwell]

So I just ordered a iGO-L and some wire to start on my long and hopefully fulfilling journey of rebuildable atomizers!

I've heard a lot about cotton wicks in the last few weeks and I started to wonder... "Hm, I should try that stuff!"

What should I keep in mind when using cotton as my wick?

 

[mooshi]

Don't thread it too thick (it'll "choke" and not wick juice properly) as it'll give you a dry hit.

Boil cotton if need be. I've PERSONALLY found a lot of cotton to have a weird perfumey taste to it. I've since switched to organic and haven't had that weird taste (no boiling, either!).

And make sure the thing is properly saturated. Dry hit and it's done for. Well, depends on how dry you let it go. But you'll know. It's not hard to tell.

 

[Vagabondnurse]

Never dry burn a cotton wick! It will go up in flames. I just started building micro coils with cotton wicks myself and found out the hard way if you put too much wick in the coil it chokes the juice flow and ....... also burns. I do however really like the flavor on my successful coils.

 

[Nathan Hartwell]

I found out the hard way once when I tried to rebuild a T3s that cotton goes up in smoke when dry burning! hahaha, so basically make sure its wet all the time? haha


Also is it best to use cotton threads or cotton balls?

 

[AlB53]

sterile 100% cotton balls is what I use, no need to boil, I don't and no funny taste. use 1/2 of what you think you need for a wick, that will be the right amount..lol

 

[mooshi]

I found out the hard way once when I tried to rebuild a T3s that cotton goes up in smoke when dry burning! hahaha, so basically make sure its wet all the time? haha


Also is it best to use cotton threads or cotton balls?

The organic stuff that I got from Whole Foods looks like little hay bales. So they unroll into a long strip. I cut off a section about 1" long to work with and pull off what's needed from there.

One cotton ball lasted me over a month with a gazillion wick changes! (I only did so many re-wicks because I can. And since it's so quick and simple, I swap it out even when I just want to do juice tastings so that I get the full flavor.)

 

[savagemann]

OP, I would use organic cotton and or sterile cotton.
CVS sells sterile cotton and Whole Foods has organic cotton.
Both great options.

Don't dry burn, as has been stated.
You'll know when the wick is getting close to dry as the flavor will get a little weak, and I even can taste the cotton heating up.

This is what I use. About 3 bux.


Mini coil on my IGOL for a little stoke.......


Fresh cotton wick in my IGOW on a month old coil........= )

The organic stuff that I got from Whole Foods looks like little hay bales. So they unroll into a long strip. I cut off a section about 1" long to work with and pull off what's needed from there.

One cotton ball lasted me over a month with a gazillion wick changes! (I only did so many re-wicks because I can. And since it's so quick and simple, I swap it out even when I just want to do juice tastings so that I get the full flavor.)

Mooshi, Im using the same stuff from Whole Paycheck Foods.
It's great. What I do is unroll a "bale" and cut both ends square.
Yes, a little wasteful, but it makes it MUCH easier to start an even thickness wick.
I found trying to get a perfectly even wick without doing so was a little harder.

I am reading that even the organic cotton needs to be boiled since it is treated with hydrogen peroxide.

 

[Nathan Hartwell]

OP, I would use organic cotton and or sterile cotton.
CVS sells sterile cotton and Whole Foods has organic cotton.
Both great options.

Don't dry burn, as has been stated.
You'll know when the wick is getting close to dry as the flavor will get a little weak, and I even can taste the cotton heating up.

This is what I use. About 3 bux.


Mini coil on my IGOL for a little stoke.......


Fresh cotton wick in my IGOW on a month old coil........= )





Mooshi, Im using the same stuff from Whole Paycheck Foods.
It's great. What I do is unroll a "bale" and cut both ends square.
Yes, a little wasteful, but it makes it MUCH easier to start an even thickness wick.
I found trying to get a perfectly even wick without doing so was a little harder.

I am reading that even the organic cotton needs to be boiled since it is treated with hydrogen peroxide.

This is great!


Thanks everyone who have put in their suggestions! This will help a whole lot when I start my building!
Also this is the wire I ended up buying.

Kanthal A-1 28 awg Resistance Heating Wire - 10 Meter roll

Comments?

 

[mooshi]

Mooshi, Im using the same stuff from Whole Paycheck Foods.
It's great. What I do is unroll a "bale" and cut both ends square.
Yes, a little wasteful, but it makes it MUCH easier to start an even thickness wick.
I found trying to get a perfectly even wick without doing so was a little harder.

I am reading that even the organic cotton needs to be boiled since it is treated with hydrogen peroxide.

Cool beans! haha To be painfully honest, the only reason I boiled my cotton before was 'cause it had a nasty perfume taste. Since I don't have that problem with these organic ones, I just don't boil 'em.

 

[savagemann]

Wispers>Mooshi, don't tell anyone.....I don't either.

 

[savagemann]

This is great!


Thanks everyone who have put in their suggestions! This will help a whole lot when I start my building!
Also this is the wire I ended up buying.

Kanthal A-1 28 awg Resistance Heating Wire - 10 Meter roll

Comments?

Good stuff.
I use the 28ga a1 a lot!!!
You will have to do quite a few wraps to get above 1.2ohm for the vamo though.

I do a 5/4 wrap around a 5/64th drill bit and it comes out to .8ohms every time.

Id maybe wrap around something a hair bigger, and shoot for 1.3-1.5 ohms for vamo use.

Not a bad idea for your next vape order to get some 29 and 30ga as well.
I get mine from temco direct on ebay.
Super cheap and usually free shipping.

I find for my vamo and Itaste svd I use a lot of 30ga and shoot for 1.3ohm.

I forsee you ordering a mech device and several rdas in the near future......

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2

 

[jefsview]

Rebuildable Atomizer Systems

 

[johnnymaestro]

moving to rebuildables sub forum.

 

[genevieve]

OP, I would use organic cotton and or sterile cotton.
CVS sells sterile cotton and Whole Foods has organic cotton.
Both great options.

Don't dry burn, as has been stated.
You'll know when the wick is getting close to dry as the flavor will get a little weak, and I even can taste the cotton heating up.

This is what I use. About 3 bux.


Mini coil on my IGOL for a little stoke.......


Fresh cotton wick in my IGOW on a month old coil........= )





Mooshi, Im using the same stuff from Whole Paycheck Foods.
It's great. What I do is unroll a "bale" and cut both ends square.
Yes, a little wasteful, but it makes it MUCH easier to start an even thickness wick.
I found trying to get a perfectly even wick without doing so was a little harder.

I am reading that even the organic cotton needs to be boiled since it is treated with hydrogen peroxide.

Can you tell me what size wire are in the pics? Also, how many coils are in the micro coil? Lastly, how many ohms did each setup measure?

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 4

 

[genevieve]

OP, I would use organic cotton and or sterile cotton.
CVS sells sterile cotton and Whole Foods has organic cotton.
Both great options.

Don't dry burn, as has been stated.
You'll know when the wick is getting close to dry as the flavor will get a little weak, and I even can taste the cotton heating up.

This is what I use. About 3 bux.


Mini coil on my IGOL for a little stoke.......


Fresh cotton wick in my IGOW on a month old coil........= )





Mooshi, Im using the same stuff from Whole Paycheck Foods.
It's great. What I do is unroll a "bale" and cut both ends square.
Yes, a little wasteful, but it makes it MUCH easier to start an even thickness wick.
I found trying to get a perfectly even wick without doing so was a little harder.

I am reading that even the organic cotton needs to be boiled since it is treated with hydrogen peroxide.

Do you know what diameter those 2 coils were?

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 4

 

[sawtoothscream]

I use peaches and creme yarn for my igo l. boiled it for 10 minutes then dryed it out. taste great

 

[speshiok46]

Hmmm...

Never dry burn
Use organic whenever possible
Cotton yarn and cotton balls are both very useful for different applications

I use these steps:
Wrap coils on drill bit (I like using 5/64)
Connect to atomizer, test resistance, and dry fire for even glowing (this will help make coils more rigid)
Thread cotton through

I find that building the coil and then threading the cotton will give you the perfect snugness. I like to use the maximum force to thread the cotton through that will NOT alter you coil materially. Keep in mind I build mostly micro coils, so the coils do have a lot more rigidity than compared to "standard" coils.

 

[savagemann]

Can you tell me what size wire are in the pics? Also, how many coils are in the micro coil? Lastly, how many ohms did each setup measure?

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 4

I was using 28ga. The pic of the micro coil was my first one, I don't remember exactly how many wraps and what ohms. I believe 12 wraps at 1.2ohm? But I could be wrong. Wrapped around a 14ga blunt tip needle.

The other picture is my go to setup, so I know what that is.
28ga 5/4 wrap around a 5/64" drill bit. Comes out at .8ohm

 

[sawtoothscream]

im agreeing with less is more. My first two wicks were double over cotton, just rewicked it with a single strand of yarn and wow, more flavor and more vapor. just made the already awesome experience even better

 

[speshiok46]

im agreeing with less is more. My first two wicks were double over cotton, just rewicked it with a single strand of yarn and wow, more flavor and more vapor. just made the already awesome experience even better

I've always heard that, but it just doesn't seem to work as well for me. I use 100% VG most of the time too. I always get poor wick/coil contact. I think less cotton gets more efficient wicking, but it's not as consistent though. I just haven't found that sweet spot I guess.