vivi nova modders

[Ralikar]

Okay, you modders are insane geniuses and know everything. I've been having a weird problem with my cotton 2 strand yarn wick. It vapes fine for hours and hours... until I let it sit with juice in it... I've been mini steeping some juice for 3-4 hours in the Vivi and when I pick it up it's like a train wreck: the cotton tastes funny a bit, sometimes the wick looks frazzled all over, the draw is tight and awful, sometimes the Nova heats up with no problems with the seals or air holes... And I have to fight and hassle with it for 15-20 min and then it's fine. A lot of my juices are fruit based. The only things I can think of is my juice is reacting with the cotton or sitting so long is causing the cotton to over-swell and tighten down the draw too much. I've been cleaning my wicks a ton which have all worked great and am having a lot of draw problems on the 2.5 and on the mini (2 each) which seem independent of cleaning/wick use. When I just leave the Nova filled with the last drops of my previous vape, pick it up and toss in some new stuff it doesn't seem to happen. So any special treatment of cotton wicks? (pls God don't link that 456 page wick safe vs dangerous thread). Am I not supposed to be letting juice sit in it? wtf? Thanks for the help!

 

[ratpack7]

Okay, you modders are insane geniuses and know everything. I've been having a weird problem with my cotton 2 strand yarn wick. It vapes fine for hours and hours... until I let it sit with juice in it... I've been mini steeping some juice for 3-4 hours in the Vivi and when I pick it up it's like a train wreck: the cotton tastes funny a bit, sometimes the wick looks frazzled all over, the draw is tight and awful, sometimes the Nova heats up with no problems with the seals or air holes... And I have to fight and hassle with it for 15-20 min and then it's fine. A lot of my juices are fruit based. The only things I can think of is my juice is reacting with the cotton or sitting so long is causing the cotton to over-swell and tighten down the draw too much. I've been cleaning my wicks a ton which have all worked great and am having a lot of draw problems on the 2.5 and on the mini (2 each) which seem independent of cleaning/wick use. When I just leave the Nova filled with the last drops of my previous vape, pick it up and toss in some new stuff it doesn't seem to happen. So any special treatment of cotton wicks? (pls God don't link that 456 page wick safe vs dangerous thread). Am I not supposed to be letting juice sit in it? wtf? Thanks for the help!

Try using less cotton... The cotton swells with all juices in time and chokes the wick. I have noticed that fruit flavors tend to burn easier then others but if you notch your top cap or use less wick they work.

 

[Gummy Bear]

I would try to answer this problem but I have no experience with this because I never put mine down for more than a few seconds.

 

[NancyR]

I leave juice in mine all the time and not had that issue, but also what type of cotton are you using? I use 4 strands of cotton crochet thread, and when I am wrapping the wire, I use a straightened out paperclip instead of a needle.

 

[Ralikar]

I'm using 2 strands of yarn. Was an easy fix--I just untwisted the yarn so they sit next to each other horizontally in the slot, not in a vertical twisty jumble. 1 strand way too small of a wick.

 

[Kahuna]

Ralikar, I had the same problem with yarn. I even used crochet yarn, which was thinner but didn't have the wicking power. But then i found out about 100% raw cotton 1/0 wick (square braided). It doesn't swell as much as yarn, and didn't "bake" away as fast either. I vape at 5+ volts with a 3 ohm coil (8-9 wraps of a 32g kanthal), so a cotton wick will eventially bake away unlike a silica wick. I have since modded my VVN heads by opening up the bottom of the slot to accommodate the wick so as not to choke it but have it fill up the gap when wet so the tank doesn't leak. My VVN is now perfect for what it is, easily repair/rebuild-able tank.

Oh as a tip, I use the air tube of a CE2 to wrap the coil and then thread in the wick. I found using a pin to make the wick rigid then wrapping the coil made it way too tight. Wrapping the coil first then letting the wet wick expand into it means better liquid flow and ultimately a more satisfying vape. cheer.

 

[Ralikar]

1) Can I get that cotton locally? I'm tired of ordering from all over...

2) Open what slot? How? Tank leak? ???

3) How do you make an 8-9 wrap coil and fit it in the Vivi without the coils touching the sides or each other? I tried a 6 and it seemed tight...

 

[BJ43]

1/0 square cotton candle wick at 3 ohms.
Meter has .4 internal resistance so the coil is actually 3 ohms.
My setup has a small 3/4 inch batten cotton wick over the candle wick/coil.
32g A1 7wraps double legs vaping at 5.5 volts. This is a monster setup.

 

[gdeal]

On a late night whim, I put this coil in this vivi with 1/0 cotton wick.
I got 2.7 ohms. Just wanted to see if I could double my fun. Yup.. its a big mess, but somehow it worked with great vapor production (I am just a noob here, I probably got lucky) I have no idea whats going on inside, but will do an autopsy when it gives out.

Nothing like "Coil Master" BJ43's perfected techniques. Follow his lead....

 

[Ralikar]

Just made a nice 3.1 ohm 7 wrap coil---waiting to fire it up!

 

[Ralikar]

I fired it up... Wasn't that great of a thrill on an ego 4.8v max. Was kinda cool to be max volts though...

 

[BJ43]

I fired it up... Wasn't that great of a thrill on an ego 4.8v max. Was kinda cool to be max volts though...

For 3 ohm my sweet spot is 5.5v

 

[artemis]

thank you i`ll try

 

[Kahuna]

about doubling the legs of the coil... I don't do it. I have 3 VVNs in rotation and not one has a burned or scorched gasket. Yes it raises the ohms but it also doesn't give you a true reading. 7-9 wraps gives me 3.0 ohms, which is ideal for 5.0volts+ vaping. I tried lower ohms coils but I didn't like the hot but thin vapor. I also find that adding a "floating" wick when using silica gives a fuller flavor, which i find is usually duller with silica. I guess having liquid vaporize at 2 slightly different temps does the trick. I simply place a small wick right on top of the coil. I don't need to do it with cotton wicks because they deliver plenty of liquid.

 

[MikeE3]

Question - are you folks putting the 'fiber sleeve' back in when you rebuild you VN's?

 

[Cyrus Vap]

I threw that piece of crap in the garbage

 

[Bourbonman]

Yeah, throw it away. One less thing to worry about.

 

[Cyrus Vap]

Can anyone think of a low tech way to bore out the wick slots? I'm in CA away from home and my dremel, etc. I'm thinking even my T handle reamer would work but I don't have that either

 

[Sicarius]

I just used a simple needle file. Took less than two mintes.

 

[Kahuna]

yeh needle file works great. Just don't go too crazy. Try to file a perfect circular hole. I just did a small expansion, put in a wet wick (with plain VG) and checked to see if it was choking (basically seeing if it slid freely yet still sealed at the edges). once you get that perfect size STOP! measure it and make the other slots the same size. I was a bit too enthusiastic on my first one and it leaked like crazy.

As for the fiber sleeve, I toss em out with every new head. They are the reason I get that horrible plastic taste. I helped out so many people who were initially disappointed in their VVNs because of that stupid sleeve. I wish they would make em without it so people's initial reaction wasn't a wrong one.