Tank Atty Wick

[Dougiestyle]

I have had issues, as most of the posts I've read regarding this issue, with the tank atty(s) on my Inferno-T. There's the "Push the wick down" trick, but I tried that method unsuccessfully. I pushed it down below the base of the tank spike. Good news! I was able to remove the tank spike. It's just pressed into the sleeve that houses the element/insulation/threaded end. I was amazed at how easily it came out! I was able to recover the "lost" wick and re-thread it itno the spike. I noticed, as has been noted in a recent vid regarding the "Push the wick down" method, that the little metal mesh "cap" that goes over the strands of the wick material could be some restriction to the juice getting to the atomizer. I removed the "cap" from one of the wicks and painstakingly re-threaded the wick to the proper, advised height in the spike, and the results were great. Significantly more vapor was produced as well as flavors coming alive!

Now the issue... The metal mesh "cap" retains the tiny fibers for threading into the spike tube. With the success of my guinea pig atty, I went on to my other 2 atties. I have succesfully improved 2 of my 3 tank atties, but have lost some of the fibers from the 3rd wick. There is not enough material to hold firmly inside the spike tube. I am sure this material is available on a spool somewhere, but I want suggestions, with some fundamental basis, of what kind of fiber to use. Polyester yarn will most likely melt on the end where the juice is carried to the hot element, so heat resistance is neccessary. I already tried fiberglass strands (I know!! WTF??), but they are too smooth to hold each other from sliding out. I will be attempting some sewing thread that has been treated with fire ......ant spray later today, but I am eager to gleen this info to be able to produce a sure-fire method of improvement to the community with video. I just need to know what kind of material to use for a replacement wick.

Thanks for your attention and I look forward to your replies!

 

[mwa102464]

Silica is what is used, you can buy it or if you only want a little bit take apart a CE2 carto and use the wicking material they have in them, should be fine. Box Elder also sells Silica I believe too or Harbor freight might carry it, but its out there if you need more, the CE2 carto would have enough to probably do all 3 of your Atty's though

 

[Dougiestyle]

Thanks! I don't have a CE2 atomizer, as I am brand-new, and this is my first equipment. I will check out a craft store, too, for the silica. I recently found BE when looking for nicotine base for DIY mixing, so I'll click over there after this post. I never even considered silica lol! Is it a thread or fiber? What form is it sold in? I ask because if this works, I believe there is an improvement to the tank atties readily available. I just hafta put a vid together. It's hard to explain lol.

 

[Scottbee]

I got my silica rope (3/8" braided strands) from McMaster Carr.

 

[Dougiestyle]

After 7 pages of Google on keyword "silica" I have yet to find a product name/description including silica. It is a crystalline mineral, and often found in a pack of beef jerky or new shoebox to keep out moisture.

Scottbee, can I find silica rope in a store, somewhere other than online? BTW, diggin the House avatar lol!

 

[Dougiestyle]

Double-post after another search lol. Seems this thread ( http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-joye-ego-tank-atomizer-wick-replacement.html ) comes up on Google's 2nd page when "silica rope" is searched. If anyone wants to part with a section of their wick stash, LMK. Thanks!

 

[Scottbee]

Scottbee, can I find silica rope in a store, somewhere other than online? BTW, diggin the House avatar lol!

It is quite often used as a face seal on boilers, fireplaces, wood burning stoves, and stuff like that. Sooooo.... you may be able to find local sources.

 

[antb757]

Doug, thanks for taking the time to discover a solution... Can't wait to see the video

 

[DaveP]

Dougiestyle said: I will be attempting some sewing thread that has been treated with fire ......ant spray later today, but I am eager to gleen this info to be able to produce a sure-fire method of improvement to the community with video. I just need to know what kind of material to use for a replacement wick.

I wouldn't inhale fire ......ant treated anything in ecigs! There are campaigns currently fighting flame ......ants in consumer products ( in California where they are required in bedding).

Public Campaign on Toxic Flame ......ants - Toxic Flame ......ants

 

[Uncle Screwtape]

I purchased a tiki-torch wick to see what it was made of. It was just a few bucks at the hardware store.

There is some stiff outer material that is braided that holds the thing together. But the strands inside appear to be the same stuff atty wicks are made of. I have made one coil with it so far for an experimental unit I'm working on and it is holding up well. No weird tastes or anything.

There was a powdery substance on it when I took it apart. I cleaned it well in hot water, then after it dried I held it in a flame until it was red hot. It behaved exactly like a CE2 wick in the flame. I plan to try it in an egoT tank atty as a wick replacement, I have one T that isn't wicking well so it's worth a shot.

 

[Uncle Screwtape]

I tried replacing a wick with the tiki-torch wick. Rethreading the the wick was easy, I took what I figured was about half the amount of fibers needed, doubled it over, then put a length of sewing thread through the loop. Stuck the sewing thread through the needle and pulled the wick through. I then cut off the wick to the right lengths. Re-inserted the plate and gave it a try.

It worked great for the first 10-15 hits, better than ever. Then I started getting those dry atty type of hits. Played with it some more, primer puffs etc. It kept happening where it just wasn't wicking right.... then I noticed that when I would pull the tank out I would see bubbles of air going in to the tank, never saw that before. Played some more to verify everything....

My conclusion..... the little mesh wrap on there is needed, not for wicking purposes, but to allow air to get back into the tank. If you look closely into the needle, you will see tiny slots along the inside of the tube. These let the air past the wick into the tank. Putting a wick in without a wrap will block the air from going back up causing a vacuum.

My next attempt will include something wrapped around the wick. I don't have a source for that tiny mesh so I'm thinking of other things to try. I may try tinfoil, theoretically, it should work. Perhaps just wrapping some tiny wire around the wick? Suggestions welcome!

I'll report my findings.

 

[Dougiestyle]

Uncle Screwtape, that's a very useful observation about the mesh cap! It's amazing how much physics is involved with this dang-nabbit little apparatus! I'll try putting the mesh cap on what I've got so far and see if that helps. Thanks!

Edit: Found the silicone rope. Threaded that through with no real good results without the wire-mesh cap.

I found a pipe screen for a smoking pipe (don't ask). I was able to cut a mesh cap from the tiny woven screen, and alas, I have a working spike tube for my atty! Yay!

 

[killpies]

How do you remove the body of the atty from the cone to get the wick back in? I cant work it out as it seems pretty well stuck in the cone. I have got the spike off with some long nose pliars but cant see how you would be able to get the wick back in the spike with removing the cone housing. Am i attempting the impossible with a standard ego T atty?

Edit: I have now destroyed my ego T atty trying to remove the cone. So my question is now which vendors tank atty;s are easy to disassemble? ;-)

 

[Sassyonemeis]

Interesting. The wicks in my ce2's look like they are already braided and they look about the right size to just trim to size. I'd try this on my own atty, but I have yet to find a way to get the needle plate out without damaging it. I got one out with no problem, when I went on the 2nd one, I broke the needle off. I am awaiting on a delivery of a dental pick set I think will allow me to get under the flat side and pull up on without damaging the needle. Some of these needle plates are really jammed in there tight and do no easily come out just by grabbing onto the needle with needlenose pliers.

I think the eGo-t is a wonderful idea, however the wicking problems and the wicks themselves need more development. I'd also like to see replacement parts available, specifically the needle plates that can be replaced. Or better yet, the needle plates made out of something other than plastic.

 

[Uncle Screwtape]

I tried the aluminum foil wrap. So far, after a tank and a half or so, it is working very well. I was a bit of a PITA to put it together for these fat fingers. I used three thicknesses of CE2 wick to do this one, seemed to be about the right amount of wicking material. I like the idea of the tiny screen, it may be easier to work with than the foil. But, alas, I haven't had any of those pipe screens around for many years now . I'll have to look next time I'm in the hardware store, some faucet heads have stainless steel screens in there as aerators. Maybe they sell replacements.

Vape on!

 

[Pur3Rush]

Very good thread, this is a great explanation of the many problems I've had. I will be ordering some rope from a link to McMaster Carr, I haven't verified, but if I am able to get 3.71 ft. for $4 I will be stoked.

It is a total PITA to get the cap off. Here's my experience. Getting the cap off works best by attempting to use leverage on the sides of the spike plate. (not the actual spike sticking up). There are two flat sides of the spike (base plate) for lack of a better word. What has worked so far was (1) A dental pic. Not the crappy plastic kind , but the Long curved metal kind. Thin enough to get under the side of the base plate and strong enough to pull the plate up. (2) The blue handled student scizzors with the pointed ends. Ok, this is the same as popping a beer cap off with a lighter. (Ghetto example) but you get the idea. I basically put the pointed edge of one side and push it down with about 1/4 inch below the plate and sort of pop it out. Had to do that today at work to adjust the wick. Inner Macguyver had to come out.

 

[ledouxmike]

Anyone have atty's without the hat? I have 4 atty's. 2 from 2 different vendors. I did a dry burn on one because i was doing a good cleaning and when I was done, I noticed inside the spike was something white. It looks like the actual wick. Not sure. I picked at it and it appears to be the wick itself. Now that is has juice in it, the wick looks just like my other atty's. I didn't get the chance and would prefer not to dry burn the others at this time, but was wondering if anyone else noticed this. I think I remember somebody saying they had a few atty's without the hat.

 

[antb757]

Edit: I have now destroyed my ego T atty trying to remove the cone. So my question is now which vendors tank atty;s are easy to disassemble? ;-)

Zombienerd posted this

eGo-T Atomizer Needle Plate Removal « Zombienerd's PV Blog

 

[Atari]

This is freaking amazing, I have wasted 2 atty as they were not producing much vapor or flavor, so I pushed the wicking material down a little too far. I took one of the old ones I had retired as it was an emergency back up on its last leg, and pulled the spike plate and repositioned the wicking fiber
, no luck. I tried it again but this time i did a dry burn and once it got cherry red i dropped 2 drops of clear pg on it. I could see the crud coming off the wick. I repeated the process a couple times then put 2 drops of flavor directly on the wick. I put everything back together, gave it one or two short primer puffs and WOW thats freaking amazing, its like a brand new atty, It was giving me a head rush lol and the flavor was incredible.

I swore off tinkering as its in my nature to tinker too much and ruin things but I think I may have bought my last atty,

Thank you guys SOOOOOO much everyone that has a tank should know about this

 

[ledouxmike]

Great info guys. I've taken two of mine apart numerous times and got them back together successfully. I'll be getting some wicking material so I'll be able to change the wicks when the time comes. The hardest part for me is getting the needle plate to seat when putting it back in the atty. I'm using tweezers that don't work very well. What are you guys using?