Just made up one of your tight 30g coils Hildicat. So far so good on the coil part. I used cotton ball with it and I think I used too much cotton but we will see. I appreciate your innovation with this and the vertical coil you shared previously.
Share your wick and coil setups for your Reo!
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Thanks so much, though I can't claim any real innovation here. I'm sure I've seen that done before, or at least something similar, plus a bunch of trial and error, but I dare say this is the best method I've found.
On a related note, I must comment on how nearly bullet-proof these coils are. I've had three working close to two months now. When the wicks get funky I simply slide the old one out, give the coil a good dry burn, then slide in a fresh wick. When things get really funky I can take the atty off and douse it with IPA, then wash the whole thing with warm water. Shake it dry, maybe blow it out, then slap it back on the VVG and give it a good hot blast. Sure there's a little hissing as the remaining water boils off, but after a couple of seconds its back to normal and glowing like a brand new coil. Add a new cotton wick and I'm of to the races. I tried that once with a 32g Kanthal coil (loosely wrapped) and it popped as soon as I hit the fire button. These tight 30g coils hold their shape and can take abuse like nobody's business.
To your point about the cotton. I've found that less is usually more when it comes to rolled cotton or cotton balls, at least where the cotton meets the coil. It swells some much that if its too tight a fit when dry it can actually choke inside the coil. That being said, I have had success with leaving the 'tail' of the wick rather thick, so long as the part going through the coil isn't too tight.
What I've been doing is tearing off a small chunk then rolling it between my fingers to form a rope. Invariably, the one end comes out sharp and pointed, while the other is thicker. The pointed end goes into the coil and I pull it through just until there is the slightest amount of resistance from the coil. I let the 'fat' end wrap around the post (ERA) to catch juice. Still, considering the space we're working in with these RBA's, its a very small amount of cotton.
So far out of all the setups I've done on my Reomizer, straight stainless and even stainless with a silica core/tail seem to work a lot better than just silica. I haven't tried cotton yet but it's on my list of things to do.
Currently I'm using a 3mm thick piece of 500 stainless with 8 wraps of some 28g kanthal.. that was a tight fit, but working pretty well!
Currently I'm using a 3mm thick piece of 500 stainless with 8 wraps of some 28g kanthal.. that was a tight fit, but working pretty well!
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Hildicat,
I tried switching to cotton last night even purchasing the CVS rolled cotton you posted previously. I followed your advice concerning rolling it into a wick pointed enough to easily pass through the coil also made according to the version you showed (Squashed with tweezers after annealing) The vape was much smoother and plentiful but the flavor was definitely muted and had a taste impressed by the cotton. So do you also notice this difference in flavor with the cotton? Could I be using too much cotton?
I rebuilt the coil-n-wick with silica after two attempts with cotton and the flavor is significantly better. I am using a REO Grand, torched ERA v1.5, 30AWG Kanthal A-1 and 2.5mm or 3mm silica typically. My coil ohmed our at about 1.4 Ohms. My juices are almost always sweet and fruit oriented. Given this is my daytime out and about device. I haven't tried the cotton with my morning coffee or after-dinner vapes. I use a VV Grand at night with Pink Spot Riptide or Rasp. Mojito and TV Cafe Mocha on a REO mini with a Joye 1.5 510 in the AM. The ERAs are just missing something on my mechanical mods and I'm trying to find any way for them to taste "then" perform better. The VV Grand just rocks at a regulated 4.25V on a 1.6 Ohm coil with silica. Any advice you might offer would be greatly appreciated. Brew
I tried switching to cotton last night even purchasing the CVS rolled cotton you posted previously. I followed your advice concerning rolling it into a wick pointed enough to easily pass through the coil also made according to the version you showed (Squashed with tweezers after annealing) The vape was much smoother and plentiful but the flavor was definitely muted and had a taste impressed by the cotton. So do you also notice this difference in flavor with the cotton? Could I be using too much cotton?
I rebuilt the coil-n-wick with silica after two attempts with cotton and the flavor is significantly better. I am using a REO Grand, torched ERA v1.5, 30AWG Kanthal A-1 and 2.5mm or 3mm silica typically. My coil ohmed our at about 1.4 Ohms. My juices are almost always sweet and fruit oriented. Given this is my daytime out and about device. I haven't tried the cotton with my morning coffee or after-dinner vapes. I use a VV Grand at night with Pink Spot Riptide or Rasp. Mojito and TV Cafe Mocha on a REO mini with a Joye 1.5 510 in the AM. The ERAs are just missing something on my mechanical mods and I'm trying to find any way for them to taste "then" perform better. The VV Grand just rocks at a regulated 4.25V on a 1.6 Ohm coil with silica. Any advice you might offer would be greatly appreciated. Brew
You may want to try lower resistance with the ERA on your mechanical mods. I usually use a 2.0~2.5Ω coil on the VV's at between 4.3~4.8V. On my Grand I use a coil at about 1.1~1.4Ω. It seems like it would be too hot, especially for the sweeter juices, but it turns out just perfect for me. I really think these things like to be run much warmer than conventional attys or cartos.
As far as flavor, I don't taste the cotton. Granted I may be used to it by now and just not sensitive to it anymore. I have found that a BRAND NEW cotton wick will taste slightly off for maybe the first two drags, but it fades so quickly that I don't really pay it much attention. The flavor for me is spot on within a couple of minutes. The last time I tried silica, probably at least three months ago, it tasted completely off to me. I gave it about a day, with the same juice, ERA and VVG I would normally use but it never felt right to me. The flavor was off, almost metallic (probably from a sloppy coil job) and the vapor production was weak and harsh.
I'm not saying cotton is for everyone, in fact I think we cotton users are definitely in the minority, but its what I like.
If you're willing to give it another shot, you should shoot for about a 1.2Ω coil on your Grand, let the cotton wick soak for a few minutes, then give it a half hour vape time before you make your final flavor judgement.
Hope this helps.
As far as flavor, I don't taste the cotton. Granted I may be used to it by now and just not sensitive to it anymore. I have found that a BRAND NEW cotton wick will taste slightly off for maybe the first two drags, but it fades so quickly that I don't really pay it much attention. The flavor for me is spot on within a couple of minutes. The last time I tried silica, probably at least three months ago, it tasted completely off to me. I gave it about a day, with the same juice, ERA and VVG I would normally use but it never felt right to me. The flavor was off, almost metallic (probably from a sloppy coil job) and the vapor production was weak and harsh.
I'm not saying cotton is for everyone, in fact I think we cotton users are definitely in the minority, but its what I like.
If you're willing to give it another shot, you should shoot for about a 1.2Ω coil on your Grand, let the cotton wick soak for a few minutes, then give it a half hour vape time before you make your final flavor judgement.
Hope this helps.
I'll give it a try. I too have noticed that the sheer mass of the coil keeps it from behaving like a standard atty so going lower wouldn't be a problem except I wanted more than 4 wraps. I think I may need to go 28AWG to get lower with a fair number of wraps. The HH.357s and Cisco LR seem to be 8-10 wraps and I'm certain there some science behind that. Thanks for the reply. Brew
I'm on the "cotton train" with you. I have a non-VV Grand and I find like you it's best with low resistance coil/wick builds. If it's not between 1.0 and 1.5ohms I build it again or slip some more through the posts and cut.
Also, you are absolutely correct about the "swelling" thing with cotton. You want to thread it through and have just a bit of resistance. If the cotton is not thick enough there will be a too much heat (cotton absorbs heat), good taste but no vapor. If the wick is too thick it will swell up and you will not get enough heat and no vapor. Like the cotton balls and rolled cotton you mention I think cotton gauze swells more than other types also.
Right now I like either the gauze or the organic cotton worsted yarn I got from knitpicks.com
The love the taste and vapor I get and it's dirt cheap and less of a hassle to do "re-builds." The only downside is the wick only lasts a few days and you can't "dry-burn" it (except if you need to to remove a spent wick.)
Thanks,
Norman
Can anyone please post some pix of a hornet wick and coil you have had success with? Thank you.
Scroll back a page or two, and you will find mine...
If you want a go at SS mesh in a hornet (ERA has the same base)
Killa', I saw those, nice work! Is that a hornet that fits on an 18490? Thanks.
Mine is an 18650 Woodvill with ERA, i dont know if the cup size is the same, or if the hornet has the same diameter, so i cant comment.
But they are constructed in the same way, and can give you an idea as to how to feed the wick... just play around with it.
But they are constructed in the same way, and can give you an idea as to how to feed the wick... just play around with it.
Really nice draw. Not as airy as A7 standard. For A7 standard I have to block one of the air holes using a point of round toothpick. But I don't like airy draw.Blind Squonks perfectly.
So after reading many posts on rebuilding ones atty, I gave it a try the other night and produced this:
It worked, but wasn't very satisfying. It ohm'd out at about 2.3, and I was getting both weak vapor and taste. I decided to try again tonight, and following what I will now be calling "The hildicat method" I made this little baby:
30 Kanthal, 4 wraps, 1.33 ohms. Not quite as tight as the master's, but acceptable as my 2nd overall attempt. This is what it looked like wicked:
Lost some of the tightness of my coil, and I still don't really know how much wick to use and in what shape to put it, but WOW what a difference! Immediately hitting better than my Cisco LR510's. I pulled 2 strands of 2.5 silica through and sorta looped the thing around the poles. Not really pretty, but it works
Thank you all so very much. This is what I've been looking for.
It worked, but wasn't very satisfying. It ohm'd out at about 2.3, and I was getting both weak vapor and taste. I decided to try again tonight, and following what I will now be calling "The hildicat method" I made this little baby:
30 Kanthal, 4 wraps, 1.33 ohms. Not quite as tight as the master's, but acceptable as my 2nd overall attempt. This is what it looked like wicked:
Lost some of the tightness of my coil, and I still don't really know how much wick to use and in what shape to put it, but WOW what a difference! Immediately hitting better than my Cisco LR510's. I pulled 2 strands of 2.5 silica through and sorta looped the thing around the poles. Not really pretty, but it works
Thank you all so very much. This is what I've been looking for.
So after reading many posts on rebuilding ones atty, I gave it a try the other night and produced this:
View attachment 174501
It worked, but wasn't very satisfying. It ohm'd out at about 2.3, and I was getting both weak vapor and taste. I decided to try again tonight, and following what I will now be calling "The hildicat method" I made this little baby:
View attachment 174502
30 Kanthal, 4 wraps, 1.33 ohms. Not quite as tight as the master's, but acceptable as my 2nd overall attempt. This is what it looked like wicked:
View attachment 174503
Lost some of the tightness of my coil, and I still don't really know how much wick to use and in what shape to put it, but WOW what a difference! Immediately hitting better than my Cisco LR510's. I pulled 2 strands of 2.5 silica through and sorta looped the thing around the poles. Not really pretty, but it works
Thank you all so very much. This is what I've been looking for.
Outstanding!
Here's a setup that works really well, 7 wraps of flat Kanthal(0.4x1mm)
Measures at 2.3 ohm, which gives a good range on the VV.
Measures at 2.3 ohm, which gives a good range on the VV.
Here's a setup that works really well, 7 wraps of flat Kanthal(0.4x1mm)
Measures at 2.3 ohm, which gives a good range on the VV.
Nice! I've read about folks using the flat wire with SS wicks. do you see any advantage over standard wire with this setup?
The flat wire is supposed to increase the vapor and flavor due to the increased surface area, but I'm too new to this to be able to tell really, and suffering from vapors tounge today surely doesn't help.
I can tell you that the hornet is better than ss 1.7 cartos in all ways. I thought the cartos were good. Now they will remain as backups. Glad I couldn't place a bulk order for em the other day or I never would have bought my hornet(s). Yes, SS one is in the Mail.
Shot thru cyberspace with my iGun
Shot thru cyberspace with my iGun
So I got my A7 today and am using the wire/wick setup that came with it. The website says it is about 2.4. The vapor production is good, but I'm not getting all the flavor I'm used to with 1.7 shorty cartos. If I want to get closer to 1.7, what do I need to change? I have no idea what gauge this wire is, but it is pretty fine. Also, do the number of wraps make a difference, or is it the gauge alone that makes the difference? I didn't order any extra wire because I wasn't sure what I would want.
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