Remove old cotton from your microcoil?

[Waddle]

I am extremely careful that I don't stuff too much cotton in my microcoil, less is more I know. When I thread my coil I make sure that it can move back and forth in the coil with just enough pressure. The problem comes when I try to change out the cotton. Usually my coil is quite gunked up at that time and of course the cotton has swelled. I try to trim the ends before I pull but it seems that when I start to pull the cotton through it bends my coils. Subsequently a new coil has to be made too. I generally use twisted 30g Kanthal so my coils are pretty tough.

Any good tricks for getting your cotton out?

 

[tayone415]

I am extremely careful that I don't stuff too much cotton in my microcoil, less is more I know. When I thread my coil I make sure that it can move back and forth in the coil with just enough pressure. The problem comes when I try to change out the cotton. Usually my coil is quite gunked up at that time and of course the cotton has swelled. I try to trim the ends before I pull but it seems that when I start to pull the cotton through it bends my coils. Subsequently new coil has to be made too.

Any good tricks for getting your cotton out?

Pulse the firing button until the wick is at least damp, then twist the cotton tight and carefully pull the cotton through.

 

[Waddle]

I'm not talking about adding cotton, I'm talking about removing gunked old cotton. Or is this what you mean?

 

[Seanchai]

Twist and pull should work to remove an old wick. If you try twisting it before removing it, and it's still bending your coils way out of shape upon removal, you're probably still using a little too much cotton.

 

[tayone415]

I'm not talking about adding cotton, I'm talking about removing gunked old cotton. Or is this what you mean?

Yeah, that's why I was saying to pulse it to dry out the cotton.

 

[Dom NY]

Twisting the ends of the cotton should squeeze out the remaining liquid, and cause the cotton to become thinner, allowing you to pull it out with ease. If however, your cotton is sticking to the coils as a result of thick, sticky eliquid that tends to gunk up coils, you should take an additional step prior to twisting the ends of the cotton. Rinse it with hot water first. You'll notice that the cotton will become whiter in color as the water washes it. The water will also disolve some of the gunk that's causing the cotton to stick. After a thorough rinse, simply twist the ends tightly, and then gently remove the old wick.

If this doesn't resolve the issue, you're more than likely using too much cotton. You'll have to go a bit thinner. Also keep in mind that using a lower gauge wire will result in a sturdier coil that can withstand more force before bending.

 

[nynvolt]

I squeeze the which in a napkin, clip one side close to the coil. Twist the other side out.

 

[Ryedan]

Usually my coil is quite gunked up at that time and of course the cotton has swelled.

I think twisting the cotton will help. You might also try replacing the cotton more often so there's not so much gunk on it.

 

[Shootist]

Are you rinsing it out with water first? If not try that. Rinse the wick out with hot tap water then gently pull it out. If some gets stuck just Dry Fire it until the left over cotton burns away and then rinse again under the tap, slow small stream of water.

 

[Bunnykiller]

When I get the sticky cotton, I clip off what I can with small scissors and dry burn it till all the cotton in the coil is ash ( which doesnt take long... 5-10 seconds)

 

[el Jexican]

I just rip it out with tweezers then dry burn the coil.

 

[wallacecarey]

I am extremely careful that I don't stuff too much cotton in my microcoil, less is more I know. When I thread my coil I make sure that it can move back and forth in the coil with just enough pressure. The problem comes when I try to change out the cotton. Usually my coil is quite gunked up at that time and of course the cotton has swelled. I try to trim the ends before I pull but it seems that when I start to pull the cotton through it bends my coils. Subsequently a new coil has to be made too. I generally use twisted 30g Kanthal so my coils are pretty tough.

Any good tricks for getting your cotton out?

I have been making very tight coils using a needle tip 10-12 wraps 28g Kanthal ,dual coils on my drippers lately. Using no wick or cotton inside the coil. Seems to work just well as any other coil setup and makes changing cotton dirt simple.

 

[Mancomb]

I usually hold one end with my fingers and the other with some tweezers then pull both ends outward gently while sliding the cotton through the coil. It seems to stretch the cotton a little and gives a little extra leeway to get it out.

If you bend the coils (I always do too), pinch them back together and straighten them up while you're dry burning the gunk off.

 

[RCHagy74]

I just rip it out with tweezers then dry burn the coil.

Same here. Only once has the coil gotten so bent as to be beyond use.
Am going to use the twist method now though...
Well, some of the time.


RC Hagy

 

[bosun]

I trim the thicker side with scissors then pull out the wick. If the wick won't come out, I'll just dry burn it until it is gone then blow the ashes out..

 

[Waddle]

I think the trick is to use less cotton. Another thing I noticed is that I tend to have a hot leg after I remove the cotton. My new coils are great, firing from the centre out, but after I remove the cotton (even without disturbing the coil) it appears I have the outer most coil light up first. Not like a new coil. By the way using a Russian 91%.

 

[EuroChris]

Easy. Just cut off what sticks out on one side, and pull it out through the other side.