The Kayfun conspiracy

[tchavei]

Hi

Glad you made the switch and thank you for your "cotton taste" report. I suppose all and every single type of wick will have some taste to it. A curiosity question though... did you pre-burn the silica you tried? And what about the Kanthal? I've noticed subtle differences between pre-burning silica wicks or using them right out of the bag. Personally I prefer to pre-burn them as they are easier to work upon that way.

I can't comment too much about taste as my ADV is strong menthol... that kills any other taste there might be out there

Regards
Tony

 

[retic1959]

Great thread! I've been using the "Maxim" brand organic cotton and like it. I've been interested in trying Japanese organic cotton, but had some concerns regarding the possibily of it being contaminated from radiation, due to what happened in Japan. Has there been any information about this? I would like to try the rayon. Are there different kinds of rayon? Can someone please let me know where I can get it from? Overall, how does Japanese organic cotton compare to rayon?

Radioactive cotton ? You must be worried about Godzilla breath ! Sally's beauty supply has the rayon .

 

[fullyBoricua]

By time I was on silica I knew the problem was in the wick material so I didn't give much attention to it.
No I didn't burn it, but I "pulsed" it with the battery for about 1.5 seconds 5 or 6 times.
I also washed my hands before touching silica.

 

[tchavei]

If you want to try it again some day, burn it with a torch for the entire length you will be using in your build. It might "taste" better and certainly is much easier to work with (it gets harder and doesn't fray so easily).

Good luck.

Regards
Tony

 

[fullyBoricua]

Thanks Tony, I'll try it for sure until the Koh Gen Do and the Rayon arrives... Also, in the meantime, I'll try to figure out what will I do with 500ft of Rayon!

 

[VSMiller]

I started with cotton but than switched to rayon, I will admit it was a good wick but I found it had a taste at first and it was more forgiving in the coil than cotton and lasted longer too but I had to go back to cotton because my throat got so sore it made me cough, it was like I just started vaping

 

[tchavei]

Thats usually a sign you're burning more than just the e-liquid...

 

[VSMiller]

Nope nothing was burning flavor and vapor was great it was my body telling me the rayon was not for me when I switched back to cotton all was good

 

[Matacucarachas]

Cotton Bacon is working great for me.

 

[Ryedan]

I know I'm new at this but still I find it confusing that I haven't found many mentions of "cotton taste" on the ton of material I have read and videos I watched...

It came as a surprise that everyone commenting here is very clear in that cotton does has a taste, so I obviously haven't discovered anything new... but it seems that this particular topic (cotton having a taste) is not a very widespread information.

Having knowing this before hand would have saved a lot of frustration.

IMO every juice delivery device makes the same juice taste different. Different wicks can also do that but I don't always attribute that to the taste of the wick material itself, though it can be that.

With cotton and rayon the amount you put in the coil makes a big difference in how long it takes for the wick taste to go away. I find cotton more forgiving than rayon for this. With both, if I get it right, in 20 drags the wick flavor is completely gone. That's with using a small RDA at 0.4-0.5 ohms on a mechanical mod. If I get it wrong, that flavor can hang in for 100 drags or longer with rayon. You need significantly more rayon in a coil than cotton.

Rayon comes in different types. I have some rayon 'top' that has been combed to align the fibers much more than Cellucotton rayon. The fibers also seem slightly thicker, but I've not measured them. Rayon top likes more rayon in the coil. I find Cellucotton easier to work with in my drippers so I use that. My juices taste different using Rayon compared to cotton, but I don't attribute that to the taste the material.

I've used silica in my Kayfun and liked it. There is no break-in time with silica for me. People say silica mutes flavor, but I have not found this to be the case.

Stainless steel mesh wicks give really clean flavor. If you wrap your wire on them properly, not too loose, there is hardly any break in time. If it was not for the conductivity of SS mesh causing shorts, I think a lot more people would use it.

 

[fullyBoricua]

Thanks for the comments Ryedan, looks like there a more tricks to be learned other than simply changing the wicking material... glad to be here and to know there are a lot of knowledgeable people willing to help.
I already ordered Koh Gen Do and Rayon, so I'll wait for it and give it a try.
Thanks.-

 

[The Ocelot]

Thank you! Everyone thought I was crazy. I tried rayon & couldn't stand the taste. I don't get much flavor at all off from cotton. Not sure about the rayon after it broke in, I honestly couldn't get that far with it.

We were just being polite. We think you're crazy for other reasons.

 

[tchavei]

hahahahaaha... sorry... its 5 am here and I'm wasted... need to shop err... sleep!

Regards
Tony

 

[The Ocelot]

IMO every juice delivery device makes the same juice taste different. Different wicks can also do that but I don't always attribute that to the taste of the wick material itself, though it can be that.

I completely agree with you. There is only one juice I really like and I have it in a variety of devices. Each one changes the flavor just enough to taste like a different, albeit similar, juice.

 

[AndriaD]

Yep rayon has no discernible taste. Actually I found that *organic* cotton doesn't either, but it's a huge PITA to get the right amount; rayon is a bit more forgiving.

Andria

 

[Ozwald]

We were just being polite. We think you're crazy for other reasons.

Pickles !

 

[fullyBoricua]

Burned the Silica as Tony suggested but I didn't get the difference... When I have 2 Kayfuns I'll try it side by side.

 

[sKo713]

Seems someone has some good taste buds

Try a genesis style and try stainless cable and mesh.

I usually can't taste cotton unless I burn it. 6 months or so of not smoking after 16 years probably has destroyed my taste though. If you can get a stainless setup without hot spots it is worth it. Once setup they last a long time, easy to clean and seem to just put off the best flavor. ....but they also put off the worst flavor if you get dry hits and hot spots. I have not used my kayfuns Russians foggers much at all since. No need to fiddle with wicks every few tanks. I am still waiting for my one stainless setup to die it has been over a month and a half of daily all day vaping and it still won't die.

 

[tchavei]

Usually pre burning should remove any chemicals or impurities trapped in the wick during production however, if your taste is so sensitive to taste the wicking material, there isn't much more than can be done with silica.

Regards
Tony

 

[Rediculous]

The Nautilus Mini's use some kind of ceramic threading in them, and they have some kind of metal mesh to stop the "wick" material from coming out when you pull on it. My biggest problem is that I took one apart and this stuff is like powder, it doesn't stay together at all, and ceramic is basically glass, so the possibility of breathing in glass crossed my mind. For the most part I use RDA's with cotton, I haven't yet decided on rayon or japanese cotton. I can taste a difference, slightly in all of these as well as the minis, I don't think trying one beside the other tells you much about the "clarity" of the flavor, it tells you which one taste better to you.