SS Mesh vs. Silica Wick

[aruga]

Hello all.
I am a bit confused and having problems getting a solid answer on 2 things so I wanted to ask the pro's. I bought my first rba today the DID clone to practice with untill the 3ml Cobra is back in stock. I have been watching all the videos and reading all about wicking ect..
1. I have heard great things about the SS 500 mesh so I ordered some of that along with 2.5 and 3 mm Silica Wick. My question is what is the difference between the SS Mesh and the Silica Wick?

2. My goal is to try and create an atty around 2.5 ohms so if I have been reading correctly the 36 AWG Kanthal Wire would be the best to achieve this correct? I also ordered 28 and 32 gauge Kanthal wire. I figured it would be best to order a little of everything to play around with so I can see what is best for me and only pat for shipping once.

Any help in these 2 areas would be greatly appreciated. I am very excited to be getting in the world of rba's.

Thanks to all who read and post.

Aruga

 

[Cool_Breeze]

Greetings -

I've been making my own wick and wire combos. While I've done a little with mesh, most of mine have been cotton or bamboo thread.

Stainless steel can be fine, but takes more fiddling. Those I have made have been iffy and routinely need attention. I'm sure others are better at building SS wicks and insulating (via carbon deposits) than I am. I'm awaiting some 500 mesh to do some more along the lines of SS Mesh. SS wicks CAN be dry-burned.

Silica is nice...however there are quite a few folks that think it may be a health hazard...glass fibers that can possibly be inhaled. Some cartomizers I purchased recently had silica or similar wicks that were falling apart more or less. Better/heaving wicks may be in better shape, but may come apart under heat and long-term use. Silica wicks CAN be dry-burned.

Square cotton candle wicks work pretty well. As well, many are fond of multiple bamboo crochet threads (Aunt Lydia's #10 as found at Michaels). Most users of natural material wick select white/neutral color per less chemicals AND boil the material prior to making wicks. Natural fiber wicks CANNOT be dry-burned and must be replaced more frequently than SS Mesh or Silica.

Here's a link to a thread on Cotton/Bamboo vs. Silica. I'm not suggesting your read it all, but there is some good information there and the thread is still active.
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/modding-forum/284030-wick-materials-safe-vs-dangerous.html

As far as Kanthal is concerned, I've been using 34 ga. I think I have some 28 gauge coming. With the 34 ga., about 5 turns around a #2/0 square cotton wick gives me about 3.6 Ohms resistance. I may drop back to 4 turns and experiment with that a while. 36 ga. is probably very thin. 32 ga. seems to meet the general requirements of many.

Good fortune with your own wicks!

 

[Byten]

Mesh is more likely to be safer, but much harder to setup and work with. Some report better flavor, I'd say maybe?
Silica is very easy to setup, dry burning could create fragments would could be inhaled. Tends to hold onto previous flavors more so than mesh.

Your bigger wires seem to be easier to use on the mesh, they short out less in my experience. They all perform very differently, especially at the same ohms. 36 doesn't last very long and I haven't really like the way it works, 28 is pretty good but takes a bit for it to heat up even at shorter lengths. Try them all and see what you like.

It's really hard to answer questions, it's mostly personal preference.

 

[junkman]

Mesh is not that hard to work with. I feel it is safer and tastes better. A wick mesh wick lasts a long long time.

 

[aruga]

Great info everyone. Thank you.

One last question for you pro's. From the post I read and all the other research I have done the Silica Wick still needs to be Oxodozed just like the SS Mesh wick correct?

And the larger the gauge of wire the higher ohm rating you will receive correct?

I am very excited to try this out. Back to stalking the mailman...

Thanks again everyone for reading and posting.
Aruga

 

[junkman]

Thicker wire will have less resistance, and therefore lower ohms per linear measure. Think of the wire as a water pipe and resistance like water pressure, a bigger pipe allows more water through at lower pressure (lower resistance).

The higher gauge number is thinner, so 34 gauge is thinner and has more resistance than say 28 gauge.

Silica does not require oxidation.