Shinyitis Support Group

[Katya]

It's is almost impossible to find Tidi rayon balls in low quantity. I found 1000 balls per bag. Per Rossum you want "Tidi Rayon Balls Large 969162".

Here is where I bought mine last year... Rayon Balls Large Non-Sterile

Yeah, it was @Rossum 's posts that made me look, too.

The hardest part of working with the Tidi balls is finding where the starting point is to unroll them. Once found they unroll very easily.

Rayon really isn't hard to work with. The rule of thumb is you are using ~1/3 more in thickness than you would for a cotton wick. Not every RBA requires trimming the crap out of your tails either. If an atty has larger juice wells I don't trim at all (Tripod). OTOH on my modern kayfun's I do trim a fair amount before tucking the tails into the juice wells. It all depends on the atty.

I just hated jamming that thick wick into the coil--it felt like I was going to distort the coil every single time I tried.

If you want to try Tidi rayon balls PM me and I'll send some out. Lemme know.

Very decent of you but it will leave me in the same place I'm now--having to buy 2000 rayon balls in case I like it. Unless... let's go to PM.

 

[Rossum]

Very decent of you but it will leave me in the same place I'm now--having to buy 2000 rayon balls in case I like it.

I bought 1000 large Tidi balls just about six years ago. I think I've still got roughly half of them left and that's despite having sent samples to a fair number of people. So I'm set for a good long time.

But I gather you're philosophically opposed to being stocked up on anything.

 

[Katya]

I bought 1000 large Tidi balls just about six years ago. I think I've still got roughly half of them left and that's despite having sent samples to a fair number of people. So I'm set for a good long time.

But I gather you're philosophically opposed to being stocked up on anything.

I'm just interested in trying out that famous Tidi rayon.

But, yes, OK, touché. I am getting nervous, too.

In my defense, I've always said that even though I don't stockpile, I'm not an idiot.

 

[Redbird11]

Guess what? From your mouth to God's ears! It arrived today.

It needs a bath and I'll throw a build on it later tonight.

Awesome! Curious, do you always wash a new tank before you use it?

 

[Katya]

Awesome! Curious, do you always wash a new tank before you use it?

Affirmative. Nice relaxing bath in warm water and a few drops of Dawn. Rinse, air dry and build.

 

[ShowMeTwice]

I just hated jamming that thick wick into the coil--it felt like I was going to distort the coil every single time I tried.

What kind of wire and size do you use? 28g kanthal or ss316L? Or something else?

With rayon I use 26g ss316L round and 26g claptons. I also use 26g kanthal from time-to-time. My coil never distorts.

If you are using thinner wire (28g) simply using your fingernail to hold the coil in-place will prevent the coil from moving around/distorting.

Using rayon is no different than learning how to wick a coil for the first time. With practice you get better. Once you have it, you have it. Just like with cotton it's a total "feel" thing.

 

[Katya]

What kind of wire and size do you use? 28g kanthal or ss316L? Or something else?

When I first tried rayon, I was using 29g kanthal. Now I'm using 28g--both kanthal and ss. But I have 26g wire, also.

Using rayon is no different than learning how to wick a coil for the first time. With practice you get better. Once you have it, you have it. Just like with cotton it's a total "feel" thing.

Thanks!

 

[Rossum]

With practice you get better. Once you have it, you have it. Just like with cotton it's a total "feel" thing.

Yup, although for me it's gotten better and better, and more consistently so. Mind you, it's always been good, but when it's really right, in addition to being good, a wick lasts a really long time -- like months, without gunking up the coil. OK, I use very little flavoring, which obviously helps, but still..

 

[ShowMeTwice]

When I first tried rayon, I was using 29g kanthal. Now I'm using 28g--both kanthal and ss. But I have 26g wire, also.

That explains why you had problems and were frustrated with rayon. I think 29g is just too thin. Doable but a PIA.

If you want to use 28g kanthal with rayon I would suggest a 2mm ID. 2.5mm will work but you just need to hold the coil in-place. 28g ss316L IMO is too flimsy. Again doable but the experience might be frustrating.

IMO you will find a more pleasing experience with rayon using 26g kanthal or 316L simple round. I use it with 2mm, 2.5mm even 3mm ID's and 26g.

 

[ShowMeTwice]

Yup, although for me it's gotten better and better, and more consistently so. Mind you, it's always been good, but when it's really right, in addition to being good, a wick lasts a really long time -- like months, without gunking up the coil. OK, I use very little flavoring, which obviously helps, but still..

Totally agree. Flavorless I go about a month. DIY flavored depending on the specifics less. I get less gunk with claptons vs round wire.

 

[Redbird11]

Affirmative. Nice relaxing bath in warm water and a few drops of Dawn. Rinse, air dry and build.

I guess I just assumed they were clean when they came out of the packaging.

 

[ShowMeTwice]

Curious, do you always wash a new tank before you use it?

Always. You just never know and it is better to be safe than sorry.

I clean RBA's the same as Katya. Warm/hot water and some Dawn. Take the atty apart. Swish the parts around so the soapy water gets in all the nooks and crannies. Rinse, air dry, assemble and build.

I guess I just assumed they were clean when they came out of the packaging.

No. Never assume anything. Clean it yourself. Best practice.

Even RBA's I've gotten from Atmizoo where they give them an ultrasound cleaning before packaging I clean thoroughly before use. They also recommend the end user clean the atty first.

 

[Opinionated]

Totally agree. Flavorless I go about a month. DIY flavored depending on the specifics less. I get less gunk with claptons vs round wire.

Wow... you all must see me as ocd... lol

 

[Redbird11]

Always. You just never know and it is better to be safe than sorry.

I clean RBA's the same as Katya. Warm/hot water and some Dawn. Take the atty apart. Swish the parts around so the soapy water gets in all the nooks and crannies. Rinse, air dry, assemble and build.


No. Never assume anything. Clean it yourself. Best practice.

Even RBA's I've gotten from Atmizoo where they give them an ultrasound cleaning before packaging I clean thoroughly before use. They also recommend the end user clean the atty first.

Even taking out the o-rings? Because I hate that. I always have such a hassle getting them back in right.

 

[ShowMeTwice]

Wow... you all must see me as ocd... lol

Why is that? Did I miss something?

 

[ShowMeTwice]

Even taking out the o-rings? Because I hate that. I always have such a hassle getting them back in right.

No you don't need to take those out unless you want to. Some folks do though. When I do a deep clean of an atty I will disassemble every part. I deep clean about every two months. Just because! Plus I was married to a total clean freak and her ways rubbed off on me. Nearly 40 years together will do that.

 

[Redbird11]

No you don't need to take those out unless you want to. Some folks do though. When I do a deep clean of an atty I will disassemble every part. I deep clean about every two months. Just because! Plus I was married to a total clean freak and her ways rubbed off on me. Nearly 40 years together will do that.

I hear you. I am quite the clean freak myself generally. I blame my parents.

 

[ShowMeTwice]

It's not rocket science.

Now you tell me.

All that branding looks even more annoying in person.

I hate tanks with a lot of branding. Or even ones with one giant brand logo. Give me the minimalist.

 

[AngeNZ]

That explains why you had problems and were frustrated with rayon. I think 29g is just too thin. Doable but a PIA.

If you want to use 28g kanthal with rayon I would suggest a 2mm ID. 2.5mm will work but you just need to hold the coil in-place. 28g ss316L IMO is too flimsy. Again doable but the experience might be frustrating.

IMO you will find a more pleasing experience with rayon using 26g kanthal or 316L simple round. I use it with 2mm, 2.5mm even 3mm ID's and 26g.

Before I found my baby flat wire, I used 28ga 316L purely because of its fast ramp/fast cooldown. I'd tried 26g but it was too slow to ramp and took too long to cool at the 18 watts I used. It really comes down to how you vape, but I preferred 28g over 26g.

Building wise, 26g is MUCH easier to coil and wick. So there's a trade-off there.

When I tried rayon I was using 28ga 2.5mm id coils. I just twisted an end, and twisted the wick through the coil, then straightened it out by pulling it back and forwards through the coil. When rewicking and pulling the wick - you just hold onto the coil with a fingernail.

That said, I'm still a proud Cottonati

 

[Redbird11]

Building wise, 26g is MUCH easier to coil and wick. So there's a trade-off there.

I wonder why that is. I wouldn't difference in width between 26 and 28 to be all that much.