Shhh Secret URL to Buying Small Qty of Nextel XS and XC Braided Ceramic Wick from Omega

[niczgreat]

I'd like to pre-face this post by saying it's better to buy from SNG, they are professionals and treating the product properly.

On the other hand since they are always out I've been forced to go direct and take the risk. My method of treating is to put this through a blow torch for 5-10 minutes and then boil in water for another 5 minutes. Danger Will Robinson-That doesn't mean I'm doing it right.

I found this URl by accident. How I don't know!
Every time I've gone to the Omega Website I've only seen Qty of 10 feet at time plus, with this URL you can buy in 1 Foot Qty

Find by partnumber

To find any of the other Nextel products just substitute them into the url

for example

Copy and paste this into browser and if you are looking for XC-116 replase the XS-18 with XC-116
Find by partnumber

Danger Will Robinson [Again]: You have to flame this product with a blow torch for at least 5 - 15 minutes to get rid of the sizing [Bad Chemicals] and I'm not sure if you can trust what I'm saying. Maybe wiser heads will put in there 2 cents.

Companies like the one that begin with K are selling this to end users without proper instructions.

Companies like SNG are selling this responsibly by treating it the proper way.

This wick is pre-treated by SnG Vapor with heat to remove contaminants. We recommend a small dry-burn after wrapping to remove any latent skin oils present from processing, but we have heated this wick to over 750deg Celcius to remove contaminants. 3M tech sheets state that the minimum safe temperature for removing sizing is 700deg C, and we go a hare over that to ensure full cleaning.

 

[st0nedpenguin]

A torch isn't anywhere near enough to treat this stuff properly.

 

[ScottP]

A torch isn't anywhere near enough to treat this stuff properly.

Umm propane torches do get to about 1kC. Which is more than the 750C that SnG is using. Propane tourches can reach over 2kC with an added O2 tank. Now a cigarette lighter is not going to work.

 

[niczgreat]

Umm propane torches do get to about 1kC. Which is more than the 750C that SnG is using. Propane tourches can reach over 2kC with an added O2 tank. Now a cigarette lighter is not going to work.

This URl says that my Butane Torch is hot enough

Butane torch - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Consumer air butane torches are often claimed to develop flame temperatures up to approximately 1,700 K (1,430 °C; 2,600 °F). This temperature is high enough to melt many common metals, such as aluminum and copper, and hot enough to vaporize many organic compounds as well.


There may be more to this than just heat of flame so I'm not going to say that the process I use is safe.

 

[Technonut]

I have been using treated XC-116 for awhile, and would NEVER attempt to treat it myself without a kiln.

This vendor heats it at 1,850 degrees for over 12 hours:

XC-116

http://www.3m.com/market/industrial/ceramics/pdfs/heat_clean_treat_instructions.pdf

EDIT: 3M states that SMALL samples should be heat-treated at 1,652 degrees for 4 hours... Large rolls for 12..

 

[niczgreat]

For Heat Cleaning, which is what we need, I'm looking at the link you sent and it says 5 Minutes for Small Samples.



The longer time is for Heat Treating which is to change the nature of the product and not to eliminate sizing.

 

[Technonut]

For Heat Cleaning, which is what we need, I'm looking at the link you sent and it says 5 Minutes for Small Samples.

View attachment 252351

The longer time is for Heat Treating which is to change the nature of the product and not to eliminate sizing.

XC-116 is 312.. If I'm not mistaken the heat treating guidelines are below what you read... Not a safe practice using anything other than a kiln IMO.. Go ahead and poison yourself if you want.. I just hope no one else is crazy enough to follow your lead..

EDIT: You're correct about the sizing time.. Still, I wouldn't use anything other than kiln-treated...

 

[Technonut]

3M also states there should be very good ventilation.. I wouldn't want to be inhaling the fumes using a torch..

I LOVE using the XC-116.. Best wicking I've come across in 3 years. A small amount lasts a LONG time. Just buy the stuff kiln-treated..


I also posted in this thread http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/rebuildable-atomizer-systems/455177-xc-116-ekowool.html with more info about XC-116..

 

[BardicDruid]

That stuff isn't even wick material, it's used for chemical environment wire insulation. When a website says this:

This material is intended for industrial applications only. In addition, Omega does not recommend this material for food, cosmetic, medical, or pharmaceutical use.

That means it's not safe for vaping, it's not just Silica, it's a Alumina-Borica-Silica mix. I've used this stuff in chemical mix tanks for internal sensors, you want to use it, do so at your own risk.

 

[Technonut]

From my post in another thread:

Yeah, and here is 3M's own tech document stating that Nextel ceramic fibers exceeds 7 microns, and poses no inhalation dangers.

http://www.3m.com/market/industrial/ceramics/pdfs/health_safety.pdf



A control group
similarly exposed to quartz (silica) dust developed lung
granulomas and fibrosis. From this study it was
concluded that the potential for Nextel 312 Ceramic Fiber
dust to cause pulmonary fibrosis or other significant lung
injury is minimal.



Although Nextel fibers are classified as ceramic fibers,
they are manufactured in continuous lengths and have
diameters (approximately 7 to 13 microns) which are not
considered to be respirable by humans. Since they are
not considered to be respirable, inhalation exposure to
Nextel 312, 440, 550, 610, or 720 fibers is not expected
to pose a carcinogenic risk to humans. They may,
however, cause mechanical irritation of the nose and throat.

I'd be more worried about silica of unknown fiber diameter than XC-116...


I get no more nose or throat irritation with the XC-116 than German silica.. (which is no irritation at all )

EDIT: I've been using the same 2 small pieces in a dual-coil Hercules @ 1.0 ohm for going into 6 weeks now without rebuilding. I dry-burn every 3rd tank, and the wicks are still in fine shape. No loss of flavor or vapor production.

 

[ScottP]

That means it's not safe for vaping, it's not just Silica, it's a Alumina-Borica-Silica mix.

I don't know anything about Borica but if it is at all related to Boric Acid then yeah, you want no part of inhaling it.

 

[Technonut]

I don't know anything about Borica but if it is at all related to Boric Acid then yeah, you want no part of inhaling it.

Good thing 3M says the fiber diameter poses no inhalation hazard... If you vape silica, do you know what the fiber diameter is? I know German silica is safe @ 6 microns.. I also don't make a habit of vaping dry wicks.. I keep mine wet at all times. The only thing coming off is vaporized e-liquid..

To my knowledge, there's not ANY wicking material proven 100% safe for vaping. Using any of it, one must take precautions.. I still think it's better than the 4000+ chemicals I inhaled on a daily basis for almost 30 years of tobacco smoking..

 

[ScottP]

To my knowledge, there's not ANY wicking material proven 100% safe for vaping. Using any of it, one must take precautions.. I still think it's better than the 4000+ chemicals I inhaled on a daily basis for almost 30 years of tobacco smoking..

My best guess for safest would be cotton. With SS Rope being second if it is handled properly so as not to create Cr(VI) oxidation.

 

[pdib]

I used Nextel ceramic rope for months, and loved it as a wicking material. Having worked with it, gotten to know it, I would have to agree with Technonut and the Penguin. Buy and vape only kiln treated xc-116 / xc-132. The heating requirements can't be met properly with a torch in hand. Furthermore, this stuff CAN be overtorched and become brittle and disintegrate into finer particles. The lower and upper limits of proper torching are hard to distinguish/execute.

 

[niczgreat]

I finally received the XS-116 and it was a disaster.
I torched it then boiled it. Torching not much of a smell.

After boiling when I put in my RBA Horrible Smell. My wife also said that the whole house stunk.

I threw it in the trash. Guess I'm going to have to pay the extra for the Kiln Treated stuff.

No I didn't vape it either.

 

[classwife]

closed per OP' Request