vivi nova modders

[PoppaVic60]

The "overwick" didn't work for me - just screwed up the airflow for a very hard draw.

Hey, now! If I had the funky organic-cotton-wicking on hand, I'd have tried it! Meanwhile, my twine is paid for and proven to "work", although I prefer SS. I assuredly ain't going back to that silica and whatever crapdoodle - yuck!

I've also tried the cotton-ball wick - pass. Everything sticks to my hands, rather than where I want it.

The cheesecloth schtick is on the agenda when my packages arrive, because I already know the atty's will be silica - or said to be silica. I plan to give the new clearo's a wash and dryburn and test as-is, but they will become cheesecloth or SS thereafter.

If and when I order or find some decent cotton wick, that too will get a trial. It might even be I can live with the cotton as a core to a short length of SS, but that burn-thru episode irked me.

 

[BJ43]

I think the ECF has issues - "Just Stainless Steel..." is an example: as far as I can tell, due to the age, all the photo's are gone - so at least 50% of it can't be "followed".

Before we had places like photobucket we downloaded all pics directly to ECF and were limited so to put new pics old were erased, If you need pics many of us now have most, even the old ones that were erased, on off ECF sites so just ask the OP of the thread and you can probably see them.

 

[Berylanna]

The "overwick" didn't work for me - just screwed up the airflow for a very hard draw.

Hey, now! If I had the funky organic-cotton-wicking on hand, I'd have tried it! Meanwhile, my twine is paid for and proven to "work", although I prefer SS. I assuredly ain't going back to that silica and whatever crapdoodle - yuck!

I've also tried the cotton-ball wick - pass. Everything sticks to my hands, rather than where I want it.

The cheesecloth schtick is on the agenda when my packages arrive, because I already know the atty's will be silica - or said to be silica. I plan to give the new clearo's a wash and dryburn and test as-is, but they will become cheesecloth or SS thereafter.

If and when I order or find some decent cotton wick, that too will get a trial. It might even be I can live with the cotton as a core to a short length of SS, but that burn-thru episode irked me.

Thanks for the info. Looks like I have a LOT of reading to do. (Hmmm, my last hobby was textiles, and I've spun some wool using a drop spindle. I wonder what would happen if I spun up some cotton batting from the first aid section of the store....)

I guess I'd better read the whole thread and find out what are all the ins and outs of cotton. And maybe buy some candle wicking in the meantime.

 

[Bourbonman]

Has anybody tried food grade Butcher's Twine? (The 100% cotton stuff you get from the grocery store to tie up roasts or stitch up turkeys?) I just wondered why I never see it mentioned.....

Honestly, the butchers twine that I tried was not good. (YMMV) 100% cotton, boiled the heck out of it, and it never worked well. Didn't wick well, I would burn through it if I chain vaped, got nasty flavor from it. It put me off cotton altogether (for a while), that's when I did a SS mesh wick (which I love, but it's a PITA to get set up right). Since then, I tried the cheesecloth (three bucks at almost any grocery store) and can't believe how much better it is than the twine. Not quite as good as SS mesh for flavor, but very acceptable. Great vapor. Wicks like a champ. Haven't burned it yet, and I hit it hard.

Going to try hard to get my .... out of bed early tomorrow and go get some bamboo. (I work 2nd shift..."early" is a relative term)

 

[greyv]

what size piece of ss mesh rolls up best to fit the vivi?

 

[gdeal]

what size piece of ss mesh rolls up best to fit the vivi?

If you are using the stock head, the slot width is 1.5 MM. I used 30mm of #400 SS. No hole in the center of the mesh wick, just rolled it as tight as I could.

 

[PoppaVic60]

I just hacked a chunk about the tank diameter and rolled.

And rolled... And rolled more.. And....

 

[MikeE3]

If you are using the stock head, the slot width is 1.5 MM. I used 30mm of #400 SS. No hole in the center of the mesh wick, just rolled it as tight as I could.

Yea me too. I start with a 30mm wide piece of 400 SS and roll it real tight. I wind a coil around a 1-72 machine screw. The SS wick can be slid into it. And the SS wick/coil fits in the stock Vivi head slots.

 

[Endor]

Yea me too. I start with a 30mm wide piece of 400 SS and roll it real tight. I wind a coil around a 1-72 machine screw. The SS wick can be slid into it. And the SS wick/coil fits in the stock Vivi head slots.

MikeE3, a fantastic picture... may I ask how those wicks that hang down are set up? Looks like a long and short strand of cotton? Are the wicks just sitting on top of the SS mesh wick?

And lastly, does it vape well?

Thanks...

 

[MikeE3]

MikeE3, a fantastic picture... may I ask how those wicks that hang down are set up? Looks like a long and short strand of cotton? Are the wicks just sitting on top of the SS mesh wick?

And lastly, does it vape well?

Thanks...

It vapes real well - it's now my favorite setup for the Vivi Nova. A bonus is you can remove the yarn and cotton, do a dry burn, re-wick it and start vaping.

Over here, I've got a tutorial on building this wick/coil setup.

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/rebuildable-atomizer-systems/295410-vivi-nova-rebuild-tutorial-29.html#post7221464

And if you go forward from that post - I've got some pictures of the coil after a couple-few tanks. Then go forward some more, and there's a neat mod of it adding a narrow strip of mesh to make the coil area fatter.

 

[Endor]

Thanks for pointing me to that MikeE3.... I didn't go far enough down that thread to catch it.

 

[Chris474]

I use standard #1 cotton candlewick, I push 3 pins through the wick to make it sturdy for coiling but also to accommodate for swelling. After I put the wick into the head and pull the pins out I use a pin to fray the ends. Just start at the end and work my way toward the middle. Takes an extra minute but it REALLY helps the standard wick to suck up the juice. I've been using my current Vivi mini on my Leo for a week straight, still awesome and a really decent fog machine...IMPORTANT...not a fog machine on the 3rd or 4th chain draw, a fog machine on the FIRST FROM COLD DRAW.
Here's my Vivi Nova rant though. I can't get past just how cheap feeling and ugly the Vivi is - IT'S A GREAT DEVICE for functionality, aesthetically, it's a DISASTER. I'd gladly pay double for a nicely finished edge on the top and bottom. Triple for better metal, quadruple or more for a metal tank with a glass port or two for viewing. The Vivi folks could command the money for a 'Provari Edition'-probably couldn't use the name though. Make it match nicely, I'd buy one as I'm sure a LOT of other folks would.

 

[Chris474]

I attempted to explain in my previous post, here is the best I've come up with for the Vivi wick. Now, if the manufacturers will take a moment and make this awesome PERFORMING device look and feel good, it'll be the last device I ever use.
See here:

I love the Vivi Nova performance, no doubt. I've been through tanks systems, cartos, clearos, drip systems, rebuildables...head spinning...trying and spending so much, in so many different directions. This works great...Flavor, check. Vapor, check. Throat Hit, check...It just feels so CHEAP. Don't get me wrong, it's 10 bucks. The tank threads are off center, the cap doesn't fit flush...doesn't leak, just ugly. The bottom threads are off so the whole thing looks crooked. Please, please take the design to the next step. Charge double, triple even...make it NICE. Enter the mid-market from this current low end position. The Vivi Mini is built so much better than the full size...just transfer those lessons even...

 

[Commie]

Silly question -- how do you guys prevent burning the rubber grommet on the bottom end?

The last two I rebuilt had the nichrome heat up just enough to produce atrocious burning tire taste. The taste does not come out of any parts even after soaking it overnight in vodka. It was bad enough to where I could taste it in my toothpaste next morning. Had to throw both vivis away, casing, head and all

 

[MikeE3]

I twist the coil ends. It lowers the resistance of the 'legs' to minimize burning the gasket.

 

[Chris474]

I haven't seen or tasted any burning at the or from the grommet. I've only ever vaped at 3.7 (because my Provari is bouncing around USPS in Michigan for days now - seriously, 3 days processing through sort facility in Michigan WITH activity?!? - I digress). Maybe I'm not getting hot enough to burn there.

 

[PONKAW]

I twist the coil ends. It lowers the resistance of the 'legs' to minimize burning the gasket.

I get the design...but what does this do to resistance?
Don

 

[Commie]

I get the design...but what does this do to resistance?
Don

Should only be doing good things. Resistance of the legs reduced (so they shouldn't heat up), only the coil will be heating. Overall resistance might go down a bit, but that just means that resistance of the head is closer to resistance of just the coil itself.

I'll have to try it when I get my new novas

 

[MISTer E]

A little while back, I placed a 2 inch twisted piece of 32 A1 kanthal, originally rated @ approximately 1.2 ohms per inch, into a griffin & loaded onto an ohm meter.

Twisting seems to half the resistance, for here is an inch twist.

* I added about 1/16 to the 1 & 2 inch lengths to guesstimate how much would be clamped in the griffin connections. Nothing was precisely done & that is seemingly why it is a tad bit off my "exactly half" expectations in the experiment.

 

[Errol]

Silly question -- how do you guys prevent burning the rubber grommet on the bottom end?

The last two I rebuilt had the nichrome heat up just enough to produce atrocious burning tire taste. The taste does not come out of any parts even after soaking it overnight in vodka. It was bad enough to where I could taste it in my toothpaste next morning. Had to throw both vivis away, casing, head and all

Make me an offer, if it's reasonable I'll buy them from you.

Errol