un-oxidized wicks?

[gdeal]

thats pretty cool/ 2 meshes. so is this the first time you have tried the un-ox method? if so do you notice any real differences besides the time saved by not ox. or is it to soon to tell.

I now always use the "un-ox method", but its the first time ever that I used #200. If you are taking about taste differences with un-ox, it is slight, but you can tell the difference. With vapor production, it more difficult because every wick wicks differently.

If you want to talk about subtleties, I would say that it provides a cleaner vape. Not the torching the mesh part. (That just accelerates weakening of the mesh) If you burn VG/PG on your mesh to increase the insulation properties you are gonna taste burnt VG/PG right? So while it may not matter in most cases, if you do a side by side comparison of "lighter" ejuices, you can taste the difference, or at least I can.

That said, some people think that the extra carbon layer from the VG/PG on the mesh increases wicking by closing down the pore size, so YMMV and its a trade-off.

 

[vapdivrr]

I now always use the "un-ox method", but its the first time ever that I used #200. If you are taking about taste differences with un-ox, it is slight, but you can tell the difference. With vapor production, it more difficult because every wick wicks differently.

If you want to talk about subtleties, I would say that it provides a cleaner vape. Not the torching the mesh part. (That just accelerates weakening of the mesh) If you burn VG/PG on your mesh to increase the insulation properties you are gonna taste burnt VG/PG right? So while it may not matter in most cases, if you do a side by side comparison of "lighter" ejuices, you can taste the difference, or at least I can.

That said, some people think that the extra carbon layer from the VG/PG on the mesh increases wicking by closing down the pore size, so YMMV and its a trade-off.

what sounded interesting to me was the heat sink thing. i personally roll my meshes really tightly, so i use alot of mesh. like over 4 inches of 500. that means that alot of the power is actually maybe wasted on heating up that amount of metal. i have tried less mesh and to me just dont wick enough. now with the un-ox method it is possible to use less mesh, because un-ox wicks, wick better, because there is no oxidation build up on them. that kind of interests me, using less mesh. with that said my builds work flawlessly. so just not sure if i want to change it all.

 

[gdeal]

what sounded interesting to me was the heat sink thing. i personally roll my meshes really tightly, so i use alot of mesh. like over 4 inches of 500. that means that alot of the power is actually maybe wasted on heating up that amount of metal. i have tried less mesh and to me just dont wick enough. now with the un-ox method it is possible to use less mesh, because un-ox wicks, wick better, because there is no oxidation build up on them. that kind of interests me, using less mesh. with that said my builds work flawlessly. so just not sure if i want to change it all.

I can not say for certain that un-ox wicks wick better. I think there are a few more variable in play here. Yes, more mesh = more heat sink, but more true wicking, so if you care about battery life, that is the trade off.

The other thought is that if you are getting flawless oxidized wick results. Refer to Rule #1 of Gennies. "If it is working don't mess it"

If you have time and the desire, un-ox is an interesting approach. Sorta like how you needed to learn proper oxidation techniques right?

If you have perfected both techniques there may be no difference in the vape (maybe) So, if you have the time, I would try both to compare to see for yourself.

 

[Thrasher]

im just amused that without researching better i started out with the unox method without knowing it, took me forever to make it work after i finally did i was vaping one day and i ran across an article on oxidizing and thought wow i dont do any of that, maybe thats why i had all these problems at first, went through all the hassle and went umm nope dont like the flavor now and the wicking isnt the same.

 

[EDO]

mr edo, if i do try this again, one question. when i coiled my drill bit, very compactly, i noticed that the distance from the deck upwards was alot less than my usual set-up. so my top coil attachment was lower than my top nut( where i usaully attach the top coil) in my recent attempt, i then spaced out the coil slightly to make up the difference. is this where it may of failed? or should i configure my center post nuts so i can attach at a lower level?

If I understood your question correctly...On DID clone for example....you end up taking out the top nut and just use the middle and the bottom nut. You don't have to make the coils as compact as he does...but I would try it out and see if you like it.

On a previous post I might have miss communicated with you.....you can roll as much mesh as before. SO if you want to roll 4 inches of mesh...go ahead. You will find that it will be much harder to roll 4 inches of mesh without oxidizing the mesh though....so you might end up using less...but if you have fingers like the hulk...go for it.

You most likely failed to make the fit of the wick loose enough......you probably made your wick so thick that it was hugging the wick hole walls. I haven't used 500 mesh but I heard it is prone to shorts. Some of these can be solved with a very light oxidation. Using a torch glow the top half of your wick red for 15-20 seconds....once. IF you decide to try it again before completely oxidizing your wick....read one of my posts (#48 in this thread) I give a more detailed explanation of setting up a solid unoxidized wick.

 

[vapdivrr]

If I understood your question correctly...On DID clone for example....you end up taking out the top nut and just use the middle and the bottom nut. You don't have to make the coils as compact as he does...but I would try it out and see if you like it.

On a previous post I might have miss communicated with you.....you can roll as much mesh as before. SO if you want to roll 4 inches of mesh...go ahead. You will find that it will be much harder to roll 4 inches of mesh without oxidizing the mesh though....so you might end up using less...but if you have fingers like the hulk...go for it.

You most likely failed to make the fit of the wick loose enough......you probably made your wick so thick that it was hugging the wick hole walls. I haven't used 500 mesh but I heard it is prone to shorts. Some of these can be solved with a very light oxidation. Using a torch glow the top half of your wick red for 15-20 seconds....once. IF you decide to try it again before completely oxidizing your wick....read one of my posts (#48 in this thread) I give a more detailed explanation of setting up a solid unoxidized wick.

no did clone, a real one. i dont have the original nuts, have 2 elongated ones that probably equal to the four original ones and a small one on top. so i either take one completey off making the connection to low or attach to the top, which is where i normally attach. but anyways i could just make one more wrap, it would just be a little higher resistance than normal. or just find the original nuts. when i tried it i didnt attempt to use my usual amount of mesh, thinking that this was way to much. so i used a peice considerably less. but like i said before i had the coils really nice, but when they were to low to attach i spreaded them out. so maybe they were just not as perfect as they should of been. the wick if anything was probably to loose, one vape would be kind of good, then the next it was shorting out. i pulled wick out to make a snugger fit, same thing was happening, one hit was good, next it was shorting. might give it another try when i get some time, i have had more time to think about what i may have been doing wrong. thanks for all the info.

 

[vapdivrr]

I can not say for certain that un-ox wicks wick better. I think there are a few more variable in play here. Yes, more mesh = more heat sink, but more true wicking, so if you care about battery life, that is the trade off.

The other thought is that if you are getting flawless oxidized wick results. Refer to Rule #1 of Gennies. "If it is working don't mess it"

If you have time and the desire, un-ox is an interesting approach. Sorta like how you needed to learn proper oxidation techniques right?

If you have perfected both techniques there may be no difference in the vape (maybe) So, if you have the time, I would try both to compare to see for yourself.

i may give it another go, just because i like messing around with these devices. it would be soley for the curiousity rather than trying to find another method, because of problems with what i am doing now. i think if someone is just getting started, or is having problems with the oxidized way, this is definatly worth doing. but like you said, if its not broken, dont fix it

 

[gdeal]

i may give it another go, just because i like messing around with these devices. it would be soley for the curiousity rather than trying to find another method, because of problems with what i am doing now. i think if someone is just getting started, or is having problems with the oxidized way, this is definatly worth doing. but like you said, if its not broken, dont fix it

Thats how I started. I had two "go-to" regular oxidized ss mesh wicks set-ups that were working great. (I dont really switch juices that often) I was very satisfied. Then all these <$20 chinese clone gennys started showing up in my mail....At about the same time I found out about Petar K and then purely for the challenge started to see if could really push the un-oxidized technique. If I did not have the "go-to" regular oxidized mesh gennys, I probably would have gave up in frustration. So maybe rule #2 of Gennys is, "Always have a back-up"

 

[Thrasher]

just made a 325-500 hybrid solid wick, un oxy just goofin around and wow .glad this thread started.

 

[LongHaul]

I use 28ga kanthal and 500 mesh and do not oxidize

Let the 12 step program start.....

On my zen standard 28ga 3/4 wrap is 1.2ohm and she hits like a ...... off pimp

 

[Thrasher]

and she hits like a ...... off pimp

scuse me while clean up all this soda that came out my nose, i always unoxy'd but never thought about a hybrid wrap b4 its kicking me down----zing!

 

[LongHaul]

I really don't get the whole oxidize thing personaly you do it then spend 4 days to a week trying to vape that nasty crap off the wick......makes no sense when I have full clean flavor from vape 1

 

[LongHaul]

I tried a zen wick that comes with them and omg was it nasty and tiny....didn't work worth a crap

 

[EDO]

I use 28ga kanthal and 500 mesh and do not oxidize

Let the 12 step program start.....

On my zen standard 28ga 3/4 wrap is 1.2ohm and she hits like a ...... off pimp

When you don't oxidize the mesh, then you are forced to make the coil make minimal contact with the wick...the coil gets way hotter that way compared to having the wire tightly/snugly wrapped around an oxidized wick.

 

[LongHaul]

Mine make loose contact as in if its too tight I start popping coils and when I do I cut a little off the wick re roll and bamo perfect vape.....

My ihy I just traded off with one of my wicks

 

[vapdivrr]

When you don't oxidize the mesh, then you are forced to make the coil make minimal contact with the wick...the coil gets way hotter that way compared to having the wire tightly/snugly wrapped around an oxidized wick.

well my coil is loose and oxidized, will it be not as hot as yours? or is it just because of the oxidation that makes mine not as hot?

 

[LongHaul]

Dunno the coil gets to the same temp regaurdless....

I just think its not needed to oxidize....totaly unneeded step that makes my juice taste bad

 

[vapdivrr]

I really don't get the whole oxidize thing personaly you do it then spend 4 days to a week trying to vape that nasty crap off the wick......makes no sense when I have full clean flavor from vape 1

you must have tried to oxidize your wick at one time, unless you wouldnt know the difference. oxidize is one thing, a burnt wick is another

 

[LongHaul]

I did oxidize the first few till I saw how pointless it is

 

[pAth77]

I've been following this thread pretty closely for the past few days. RBAs have been frustrating me ever since I started fiddling with them last summer. I could never get the setup right so I just tossed all my RBAs in a drawer and let them sit for a few months. When I finally decided to revisit them, I was able to get some great performance, but I would still get hot spots and shorts every time I would have to rewick/recoil.

This method worked for me on my first try! I built a 4/3 coil with 32awg, and I pretty much followed the Petar K video step by step. The only difference is that I used a screw instead of a drill bit, and I quickly torched the kanthal while it was still on the screw in order for it to keep its shape. I attached it to the post and let the coil glow a few times. As for the wick, I quickly torched a 30x75mm piece of 500mesh prior to rolling it solid. I had to use a torch since I threw out all my lighters 3 years ago when I quit smoking, but I only went over each area for no more than a second or two. I didn't do any of the usual quenching or juice burns that I would normally do after rolling. The wick went in quite easily. I did get a hot spot on the top coil, but that was only because it was a tad too far from the positive pole. A slight nudge towards the positive pole, and it's running like a champ!