RSST with Silica

[Ebred]

Ok... I just wanted to try wicking my RSST with silica to see if it was any different that the Novas. I hate Hate hate novas.
It is much different. the taste is great, it wicks very well. It does not wick as well as SS Mesh but the taste is much better.

I've had one dry hit, but only because I was hauling like mad on it repeatedly to see if I could get a dry hit.
I'm impressed. If this goes well for a week, I will no longer use SS wicks.

What experiences have you guys and gals had with silica wicking on an rba.

 

[90quattrocoupe]

I am with you, OP. It was too much trouble to get mesh, to work in my RSST. Rolled too thin, rolled too big, too loose, too tight, Kanthal wrapped too loose, Kanthal wrapped too tight, even out the wraps, watch for hot spot, oxidize the mesh, oxidized the wire. etc. What a pain. When I finally figured I had it right, 1st hit was good, 2nd hit was burnt. After all the trouble.

I pulled out some 3mm silica, folded it over, pulled it through the wick hole with 32 Kanthal, letting the excess wick hang on the bottom. Took the same Kanthal, wrapped the wick 5 times. Check the ohms, came in at 2.5. Pulled one of the wraps, came in a 1.9ohms. I could see the wick, wicking the juice. Hit the power button, vapor 1st time. It wicked right away again. Put the top on and it was good. Not quite enough vapor though.

I have some 30 Kanthal coming, and will try that. I would like to have about 1.2-3ohms. There is a lot of headroom in an RSST. I can put a lot of wick in that top. If I have to, I can loop it up over the top of the positive screw. I want as many wraps of wire as I can get on it. If I have to, I will go to 28 Kanthal.

I am not in it for the vapor, just want enough to get good flavor. Right now I get more vapor out of my own punched carto tanks.

Greg W.

 

[Ebred]

I am with you, OP. It was too much trouble to get mesh, to work in my RSST. Rolled too thin, rolled too big, too loose, too tight, Kanthal wrapped too loose, Kanthal wrapped too tight, even out the wraps, watch for hot spot, oxidize the mesh, oxidized the wire. etc. What a pain. When I finally figured I had it right, 1st hit was good, 2nd hit was burnt. After all the trouble.

I pulled out some 3mm silica, folded it over, pulled it through the wick hole with 32 Kanthal, letting the excess wick hang on the bottom. Took the same Kanthal, wrapped the wick 5 times. Check the ohms, came in at 2.5. Pulled one of the wraps, came in a 1.9ohms. I could see the wick, wicking the juice. Hit the power button, vapor 1st time. It wicked right away again. Put the top on and it was good. Not quite enough vapor though.

I have some 30 Kanthal coming, and will try that. I would like to have about 1.2-3ohms. There is a lot of headroom in an RSST. I can put a lot of wick in that top. If I have to, I can loop it up over the top of the positive screw. I want as many wraps of wire as I can get on it. If I have to, I will go to 28 Kanthal.

I am not in it for the vapor, just want enough to get good flavor. Right now I get more vapor out of my own punched carto tanks.

Greg W.

We are definately on the same page. Besides my rsst the only thing I use are cartos and carto tanks. They offer the best taste. I've never been certain why people want "plumes" or epic vapes. I mean when you smoked, did you smoke 6 butts at a time so that the room you are in becomes a haze?

I like my coils from 1.5 to 2.5 ohms. I'm going to try what you did and leave a little excess on the top. I used 2mm wick, folded it over and stuffed it in. I left the looped end outside of the tank. Did you put your loop inside or outside?

I've recently started making my own juices. I've used flavour art flavors and so far they all are good. I started them on the weak side, 2%. I definately need to bring them to 4 or 5 percent. The flavor is there but faintly.
The carto tanks give me the best flavor with the juices I made. The ss mesh had a very very faint taste.
The silica wick is close to the carto taste, but not quite.

 

[SilverZero]

I am with you, OP. It was too much trouble to get mesh, to work in my RSST. Rolled too thin, rolled too big, too loose, too tight, Kanthal wrapped too loose, Kanthal wrapped too tight, even out the wraps, watch for hot spot, oxidize the mesh, oxidized the wire. etc. What a pain. When I finally figured I had it right, 1st hit was good, 2nd hit was burnt. After all the trouble.

I pulled out some 3mm silica, folded it over, pulled it through the wick hole with 32 Kanthal, letting the excess wick hang on the bottom. Took the same Kanthal, wrapped the wick 5 times. Check the ohms, came in at 2.5. Pulled one of the wraps, came in a 1.9ohms. I could see the wick, wicking the juice. Hit the power button, vapor 1st time. It wicked right away again. Put the top on and it was good. Not quite enough vapor though.

I have some 30 Kanthal coming, and will try that. I would like to have about 1.2-3ohms. There is a lot of headroom in an RSST. I can put a lot of wick in that top. If I have to, I can loop it up over the top of the positive screw. I want as many wraps of wire as I can get on it. If I have to, I will go to 28 Kanthal.

I am not in it for the vapor, just want enough to get good flavor. Right now I get more vapor out of my own punched carto tanks.

Greg W.

When you used the 3mm silica and folded it over did you cut it after wrapping your coil so that you essentially had two separate wicks, or did you leave it folded over so it remained as one single piece of silica? Just curious if it would wick differently.

 

[90quattrocoupe]

We are definately on the same page. Besides my rsst the only thing I use are cartos and carto tanks. They offer the best taste. I've never been certain why people want "plumes" or epic vapes. I mean when you smoked, did you smoke 6 butts at a time so that the room you are in becomes a haze?

I like my coils from 1.5 to 2.5 ohms. I'm going to try what you did and leave a little excess on the top. I used 2mm wick, folded it over and stuffed it in. I left the looped end outside of the tank. Did you put your loop inside or outside?

I've recently started making my own juices. I've used flavour art flavors and so far they all are good. I started them on the weak side, 2%. I definately need to bring them to 4 or 5 percent. The flavor is there but faintly.
The carto tanks give me the best flavor with the juices I made. The ss mesh had a very very faint taste.
The silica wick is close to the carto taste, but not quite.

Yea, keep it easy, my motto. I leave the loop above. It is a little higher than the center screw. At 4 wraps, I am getting 1.9ohms. It is not giving off quite enough vapor. But I don't think 3 wraps with 32 would help. It would lower the ohms, but not produce any more vapor. So the reason for trying 30. If not, 28.

After I wicked it, I test fired it. You could see the wick drying out. Let off the power button, a boom, the wick was wet again. It just drew it up, like it was supposed to. I never saw that with mesh. Folded over 3mm or 6mm total, does not even fill the hole. I used enough to let is lay on the bottom of the tank. You can't see it anyway, with the frosted glass. I may try Ekowool, but I won't try cotton, because it won't last long enough. Silica should be good for a week at least. In 5 minutes, I can have a new wick. I leave out the center screw when wrapping the wick. Easier than trying to do the wrapping with it in.

I don't care if someone can get months out of a mesh wick, I won't go through that hassle again.

I just got some DIY stuff in today. I am going to look for a couple of recipes, do some 3mm bottles, and see how ugly they turn out. I won't buy juice online, just because taste is personal. I only go to B&Ms for juice, because I don't want to buy what I may not like. So far, I have only found 3 juices I buy. All the others have been too muted. But at B&Ms, it is over a $1 a ml. So I figure, even if I make mistakes I will be ahead. And if I find I can make something I like, bingo $.10 a ml.

Sounds like you are on the right track for the juices you are making. One thing to remember, you get about twice the nic out of a RBA, than you do with a carto. I found myself a little light headed, when using my standard 12mg nic in the RSST. You may want to drop the nic a little in it. At least with DIY, you can add flavor if it is muted. You can't do that with store bought. You may need a little more wick. Remember, there is lot less wicking in a RBA, than in a carto. One of the neat things about this whole vaping thing. You get to chose what you want. You make mistakes, learn, make more mistakes, and learn more. If you don't try something, you can never get it the way you want it. Some day we will both be "know it alls".

Greg W.

 

[90quattrocoupe]

When you used the 3mm silica and folded it over did you cut it after wrapping your coil so that you essentially had two separate wicks, or did you leave it folded over so it remained as one single piece of silica? Just curious if it would wick differently.

I did not cut it. Left the loop in. When I test fired it, the wick went partially dry. I let off the power button, and it was almost instantly wet again. I have not gotten a burnt hit in almost 5 days with this wick. In fact, today, when I finished my 3rd tank full, I undid the wire from the posts, pulled the wick, rinsed it off under the tap, and dried it with a paper towel. I twisted the two strands back together, and crammed it back through the wick hole with a pair of tweezers. Hooked back up the wires, 1.8ohms. It wicked right away when I added juice. A couple of mute hits got rid of the water, and it was back to normal.

So I figured, the loop worked, so I was not going to try cutting it. Maybe that would give me more vapor. I am using a 50/50 juice.

Greg W.

 

[vapdivrr]

at the moment I use micro coils and cotton wicks but when I used genesis devices I had tried both ss mesh, ceramic, cable, silica, xc-116, and cotton. imo the porous ceramic produced the best flavor. next I would have to say was ss mesh followed by cotton. if set-up correctly ss mesh produces a great flavor and imo better then silica. its all subjective, some people just taste things differently then others, I just never liked the flavor of silica, imo it is last on the list.

 

[90quattrocoupe]

at the moment I use micro coils and cotton wicks but when I used genesis devices I had tried both ss mesh, ceramic, cable, silica, xc-116, and cotton. imo the porous ceramic produced the best flavor. next I would have to say was ss mesh followed by cotton. if set-up correctly ss mesh produces a great flavor and imo better then silica. its all subjective, some people just taste things differently then others, I just never liked the flavor of silica, imo it is last on the list.

You are a better man than me, and I mean that. I could not for the life of me, get the mesh right. I spent hours playing with it. Maybe it is these old fingers, than just don't seem to work right anymore. I don't know. I mean, I watched all the videos, read a s**t load of posts. Just was not coming out right, and I am a not give up kind of guy. Just wasn't there.

The silica makes it easy for me and it doesn't have to be a perfect wrap. If it is off a little, it doesn't make a difference.

Taste, I don't know. 45 years of smoking, probably muted my taste buds. Silica tastes ok to me. Some people can taste the ployfill in cartos. I can't or maybe it is part of the taste, and I don't know it.

The silica was simple for me to wrap, and I could use the same materials when I do my BCC coils. Now, those are going to take a little more work. Damn those things are small.

I may have to give one of those micro coil jobs a chance. Do you feel you get more vapor(I don't want clouds) out of them vs plain wrap? I feel I need more vapor from my RSST.

Greg W.

 

[Ebred]

Yea, keep it easy, my motto. I leave the loop above. It is a little higher than the center screw. At 4 wraps, I am getting 1.9ohms. It is not giving off quite enough vapor. But I don't think 3 wraps with 32 would help. It would lower the ohms, but not produce any more vapor. So the reason for trying 30. If not, 28.

After I wicked it, I test fired it. You could see the wick drying out. Let off the power button, a boom, the wick was wet again. It just drew it up, like it was supposed to. I never saw that with mesh. Folded over 3mm or 6mm total, does not even fill the hole. I used enough to let is lay on the bottom of the tank. You can't see it anyway, with the frosted glass. I may try Ekowool, but I won't try cotton, because it won't last long enough. Silica should be good for a week at least. In 5 minutes, I can have a new wick. I leave out the center screw when wrapping the wick. Easier than trying to do the wrapping with it in.

I don't care if someone can get months out of a mesh wick, I won't go through that hassle again.

I just got some DIY stuff in today. I am going to look for a couple of recipes, do some 3mm bottles, and see how ugly they turn out. I won't buy juice online, just because taste is personal. I only go to B&Ms for juice, because I don't want to buy what I may not like. So far, I have only found 3 juices I buy. All the others have been too muted. But at B&Ms, it is over a $1 a ml. So I figure, even if I make mistakes I will be ahead. And if I find I can make something I like, bingo $.10 a ml.

Sounds like you are on the right track for the juices you are making. One thing to remember, you get about twice the nic out of a RBA, than you do with a carto. I found myself a little light headed, when using my standard 12mg nic in the RSST. You may want to drop the nic a little in it. At least with DIY, you can add flavor if it is muted. You can't do that with store bought. You may need a little more wick. Remember, there is lot less wicking in a RBA, than in a carto. One of the neat things about this whole vaping thing. You get to chose what you want. You make mistakes, learn, make more mistakes, and learn more. If you don't try something, you can never get it the way you want it. Some day we will both be "know it alls".

Greg W.

what flavors did you get?
some people like collecting tanks and mods. Me, I collect flavors lol. I've got about 50

 

[donnah]

I've tried hand wrapping silica and using it in my RSST and it worked great. But right now, I've got a micro coil with cotton in it and it works better. I still think SS mesh gives a tad better flavor and I do keep one genesis set up with it but it's micros and cotton for everything else!

 

[vapdivrr]

You are a better man than me, and I mean that. I could not for the life of me, get the mesh right. I spent hours playing with it. Maybe it is these old fingers, than just don't seem to work right anymore. I don't know. I mean, I watched all the videos, read a s**t load of posts. Just was not coming out right, and I am a not give up kind of guy. Just wasn't there.

The silica makes it easy for me and it doesn't have to be a perfect wrap. If it is off a little, it doesn't make a difference.

Taste, I don't know. 45 years of smoking, probably muted my taste buds. Silica tastes ok to me. Some people can taste the ployfill in cartos. I can't or maybe it is part of the taste, and I don't know it.

The silica was simple for me to wrap, and I could use the same materials when I do my BCC coils. Now, those are going to take a little more work. Damn those things are small.

I may have to give one of those micro coil jobs a chance. Do you feel you get more vapor(I don't want clouds) out of them vs plain wrap? I feel I need more vapor from my RSST.

Greg W.

when I started doing rebuildables I felt like there was nothing but ss mesh. not that there wasn't any silica around it just wasn't really used in genesis devices. this made me master the ss mesh build because I had no other option except to go back to carto's or regular dripping attys. anyways there are so many more options now including using silica or even better, cotton in the genesis devices but imo ceramic and ss mesh still have a better flavor. no doubt the silica build is a lot easier and does produce a great flavor, just not as good a ss mesh imo. the micro coils are awesome, but they really shine in rebuildable drippers and in devices like the kayfun, which is a bottom feed coil, in these atomizers they are unbeatable then your standard coils. you can use the micro coils in genesis devices as well, but like anything else there is a knack to it. all in all it comes down to trying out all these builds for yourself, that's what rebuildables are all about. good luck. btw, micros coils with cotton wicks do produce more vapor and have a better flavor imo.

 

[Ebred]

I've tried hand wrapping silica and using it in my RSST and it worked great. But right now, I've got a micro coil with cotton in it and it works better. I still think SS mesh gives a tad better flavor and I do keep one genesis set up with it but it's micros and cotton for everything else!

That's nice looking. How long will that wick last for you?