Solid vs hollow SS wicks?

[Commie]

Kind of a two-part noob question.

What are the differences in properties of solid vs hollow SS wicks in gennys and in not-so-gennys?

By not-so-gennys, I mean that I use a very short SS wick in my A7. Barely longer than the coil, and surrounded by cotton filler to keep juice around it. Purpose of SS instead of just using the cotton wick all around is so that I don't fry my wick on accidental partially dry hit.

So far I use hollow wick in my AGA, and solid in my A7. With AGA I'm noticing that it dries out after about 4-5 toots, and I need to stop vaping and tilt it for a minute or so.

 

[Kevin King]

i never really tried to roll a completely solid and dense wick, but i do make sure there is a center hole about
the size of a paperclip, then i make the surrounding wick as dense as possible. so you kinda hit 2 birds with one stone if you get what im saying. but maybe im wrong, and completely dense and solid wicks might be much better.

 

[Rule62]

I start my wicks on a straightened paper clip, mostly because the paper clip gives something solid to roll against. I generally pull the paper clip out to finish it, especially when I'm sizing the wick for the drill bit method. So, my wicks aren't completely solid. They have a small center hole.

 

[Thrasher]

there really isnt much difference in the testing i have done (within some limits) but i roll like the other posters, semisolid, thick but just a small space up the center.

what i have found lately is the grain in the mesh is more deciding of the wicking them the type of roll. i accidentally rolled the grain side to side the other day and saw a marked difference in performance. so i have been playing with this the past few days and def see better results making the grain run top to bottom no matter how i rolled the wick.

 

[Commie]

Wait, what? You mean, turning it 90 degrees makes a difference? I assume difference in wicking speed?

Or do you mean 45 degrees? Cause that would seem to make it worse, or so I think.

 

[st0nedpenguin]

I run completely solid wicks and have zero issues.

 

[Thrasher]

Wait, what? You mean, turning it 90 degrees makes a difference? I assume difference in wicking speed?

Or do you mean 45 degrees? Cause that would seem to make it worse, or so I think.

lol
i noticed with 325 and 400 sheets its not as apparent but when you hold 500 in a bright light you can see a very noticeable grain running through it. when you roll the wick make sure this strong grain is running top to bottom.
while it will still wick the testing I did shows it does not replenish itself as quickly. where i can chain vape with no problems, i saw with the cross grain wick the vapor would still be ok but chaining seemed to result in a dryish hit once in a while.
im still playing with this but for now it looks promising that some of the wicking problems like dry hits may be related to improper grain rolling. then add in clogged pores from overoxidizing and we get posts like "why do i get dry hits" i think

another test i did was take two wicks i fresh rolled - finish them up like im going to use them and then i took a drop of juice and put it on the edge of the top tip (like when doing a first test vape after recoiling) i noticed the drop absorbed almost immediately with the grain running top to bottom. but some ran down the side of the wick with cross grain.

as with all things theres a ton of factors to consider and im not exactly doing this under scientific testing standards so YMMV!

 

[Commie]

AAh, that must be my problem. I'll try to make a new wick tomorrow. I tried to get fancy with my current one (the first one that actually worked for me), and put a small strip of 325 mesh in the middle, 400 around it, with a paper clip sized hole in the middle. Works ok, but runs dry every 4-5 hits.

I still have some 400 mesh, I'll try looking at which way the grain goes, and making a solid wick just out of that without the 325 in the middle.

 

[EDO]

lol
i noticed with 325 and 400 sheets its not as apparent but when you hold 500 in a bright light you can see a very noticeable grain running through it. when you roll the wick make sure this strong grain is running top to bottom.
while it will still wick the testing I did shows it does not replenish itself as quickly. where i can chain vape with no problems, i saw with the cross grain wick the vapor would still be ok but chaining seemed to result in a dryish hit once in a while.
im still playing with this but for now it looks promising that some of the wicking problems like dry hits may be related to improper grain rolling. then add in clogged pores from overoxidizing and we get posts like "why do i get dry hits" i think

So just to make this clear you are rolling along the grain... right?

 

[vapdivrr]

you know some months back i noticed rule62 mention about the grain, not that he noticed a difference, but that he just does it anyways. i tried it once or twice. one time i thought it made a difference, but then another maybe not. the differences if any seemed small and thought that it could of been from something else. it would be great if there was more definitve results from this.

 

[Rule62]

you know some months back i noticed rule62 mention about the grain, not that he noticed a difference, but that he just does it anyways. i tried it once or twice. one time i thought it made a difference, but then another maybe not. the differences if any seemed small and thought that it could of been from something else. it would be great if there was more definitve results from this.

Yeah, I've never actually done a side by side comparison. When I first started building RBAs, I read where somebody had mentioned the grain, so it just made sense, and I've always done it that way. Very early on, I probably made some across the grain wicks, not knowing any different at the time.

 

[bluenova]

From all the genesis reading I've been doing the last few days (got a AGA-T2 in the post) it seems most people find the capillary action is best with a solid 500 mesh.

 

[Hello World]

I just hand-roll them as tight as I can, angle cut at the bottom.

There is always at least a very narrow gap that can be seen after all has been said and done.

I've done it both ways, not sure if it makes any difference, but I roll, oxidize, roll, oxidize, roll, etc. until as tight as I can get it and drop into the coil Petar K. method.

Since I tip the RBA anyways, I have no clue if any of it makes any difference, but it vapes really well.

 

[Thrasher]

So just to make this clear you are rolling along the grain... right?

when the wick is rolled the larger grain will run from top to bottom. the two wicks i have now are rolled like this. a semitight 500 pretty solid but a tiny hole up the center, with no oxidation other then the charring from the coil and it seems i can chainvape the tank dry as fast as i can take drags off the atty with no tilting.

last night i was sitting here doing like 5 things at once , reading pm's the classies, a couple websites, playing with my new mod etc. vaping away and got this wicked dry hit and thought oh man what happened to my wick. looked at the tank and there was like 2 mm of fluid left in the bottom, i chained the thing almost dry.

like stated YMMV and I use 70/30 ish very clear ry4, i do not know the results on a thicker or darker juice.

 

[Durangler]

I think the main thing with SS mesh is to get your coil right.
That mesh will wick, but if your coil has a hot spot, Vapor, flavor & throat thump are just not the same.
Just my measly

 

[Commie]

Thank you guys! An almost-solid 400 wick, with grain going the right way, seems to be wicking much better. Yay!

I think the main thing with SS mesh is to get your coil right.
That mesh will wick, but if your coil has a hot spot, Vapor, flavor & throat thump are just not the same.
Just my measly

Thank you. My coils weren't causing problems. Just the wick couldn't keep up

 

[Randy-Dean]

I myself use the hollow wick it will wick so much better so I have been told and have found out that is the truth works great on the AGA-T

 

[Filth E Mcnasti]

I've tried both, I am terrible at building these though.

 

[Commie]

I've tried both, I am terrible at building these though.

Two tricks I found useful:

1. The coil can't be too tight on the wick. You need to be able to wiggle the wick in and out. Otherwise it's too tight

2. The resistance of the coil needs to be waaay low. Like my favorite carto resistance is 1.7-2. On a genny, I found 1.1 works best for me.

 

[vapdivrr]

Two tricks I found useful:

1. The coil can't be too tight on the wick. You need to be able to wiggle the wick in and out. Otherwise it's too tight

2. The resistance of the coil needs to be waaay low. Like my favorite carto resistance is 1.7-2. On a genny, I found 1.1 works best for me.

1.1 is a great resistance with 28g, this imo is the best the provari has to offer.