What wicking material do you prefer?

[Myah_June2014]

Just ordered my 1st rda & kanthal. I didn't order Silica or any wicking because I'm interested to hear what works best, or best for you? I hear of this peaches & cream cotton, 100% organic, Silica, bamboo & so on. I'm gonna be building basic single coils in an igo W & then move to dual. I imagine [I HOPE] I can buy the Silica or bamboo @ a craft store, cotton anywhere. Experiences & comments much appreciated!

 

[Hammerfyst]

I was all Organic cotton for a bit until one of my local B&M's gave me some Rayon to try. wow...just wow...

 

[Baditude]

Hmmmm. Tried the Rayon, I was not impressed at all. I still prefer organic cotton.

 

[Portertown]

Organic cotton balls from CVS are my wicking material of choice.

 

[Giraut]

Silica. It lasts a lot longer than cotton.

 

[Shootist]

Hmmmm. Tried the Rayon, I was not impressed at all. I still prefer organic cotton.

I've bought, 500', of Rayon, Tried it didn't care for it as for me, and my taste buds, it gave to much of just about everything. To much flavor in that I could taste the sugar/sweetness of the juice 10 fold, almost made me sick and it did leave me with a sticky mouth, and way to much vapor. The extra vapor and taste, sweetness, is simply because it wicks so much juice to the coil.

I'm not a cloud chaser, don't want to be a cloud chaser and don't want to look like there is a smoldering fire in my mouth or lungs.

So I am back to cotton. Organic cotton from CVS. It works fine for me and the way I like to vape.

 

[Ryedan]

Just ordered my 1st RDA & kanthal. I didn't order Silica or any wicking because I'm interested to hear what works best, or best for you? I hear of this peaches & cream cotton, 100% organic, Silica, bamboo & so on. I'm gonna be building basic single coils in an igo W & then move to dual. I imagine [I HOPE] I can buy the Silica or bamboo @ a craft store, cotton anywhere. Experiences & comments much appreciated!

I used cotton in my RDAs for the better part of a year. I got to know it well and it does work very well. I also use stainless steel mesh in Genisis attys and silica and cotton in Kayfun type attys. All of them have positives and negatives and until you master each you won't really know which is better for you in any given device.

I tried Rayon in a dripper a few weeks ago and it didn't take long for me to realize it was better than cotton for me. Here's a thread where it's being discussed.

Doesn't mean it will be better for you, but IMO it's worth considering. However in your position starting out with RDAs, I would learn how to use cotton first. That will give you a baseline to judge whatever you try next.

Good luck with it and enjoy the ride

 

[Mark Anthony]

I use and have used organic cotton for the better part of about 8 months now. Once you figure out how much to use it works extremely well. If you decide to go that route just make sure you don't use too much when making your wick or you will choke the coil and get burnt hits. It's cheap and absorbs really well. Good luck to you!!

 

[Arnie H]

I'm a silica man. Tried cotton and mesh, but always come back to silica.

 

[KY_Rob]

Hmmmm. Tried the Rayon, I was not impressed at all. I still prefer organic cotton.

I've bought, 500', of Rayon, Tried it didn't care for it as for me, and my taste buds, it gave to much of just about everything. To much flavor in that I could taste the sugar/sweetness of the juice 10 fold, almost made me sick and it did leave me with a sticky mouth, and way to much vapor. The extra vapor and taste, sweetness, is simply because it wicks so much juice to the coil.

I'm not a cloud chaser, don't want to be a cloud chaser and don't want to look like there is a smoldering fire in my mouth or lungs.

So I am back to cotton. Organic cotton from CVS. It works fine for me and the way I like to vape.

I used cotton in my RDAs for the better part of a year. I got to know it well and it does work very well. I also use stainless steel mesh in Genisis attys and silica and cotton in Kayfun type attys. All of them have positives and negatives and until you master each you won't really know which is better for you in any given device.

I tried Rayon in a dripper a few weeks ago and it didn't take long for me to realize it was better than cotton for me. Here's a thread where it's being discussed.

Doesn't mean it will be better for you, but IMO it's worth considering. However in your position starting out with RDAs, I would learn how to use cotton first. That will give you a baseline to judge whatever you try next.

Good luck with it and enjoy the ride

Just tried Rayon myself last night for the first time. Flavor boost is indeed there, along with the super-wicking. Had to re wick this morning because my atty was actually flooding. Used less this time, and I'll see how it goes.

I had to dial back the voltage .3 to knock the flavor back down to a manageable level. I'm really curious about longevity over cotton, as that was my only real gripe. I'd love to find something that performs as well and will get 7-10 days use before needing replaced.

 

[Myah_June2014]

Hmmmm. Tried the Rayon, I was not impressed at all. I still prefer organic cotton.

I don't have to boil if it's organic, or do you still boil?

 

[Ryedan]

I've bought, 500', of Rayon, Tried it didn't care for it as for me, and my taste buds, it gave to much of just about everything. To much flavor in that I could taste the sugar/sweetness of the juice 10 fold, almost made me sick and it did leave me with a sticky mouth, and way to much vapor. The extra vapor and taste, sweetness, is simply because it wicks so much juice to the coil.

I hear ya Shootist. I found the same thing with Rayon ... it wicks better and gives more flavor and TH when I use nic. The extra wicking also seems to keep my coils cleaner for longer.

That's not a good deal for everyone though. I make my own juices and I was already modifying my recipes for the devices I was going to be vaping them on. Using Rayon I can reduce my flavoring content and vape power a bit to get the vape I want.

In the end I find I get cleaner flavor than with cotton and I really appreciate the longer time between cleaning coils and changing wicks. Works for me

It is different than cotton though and takes a while and a bit of experimenting with to get the hang of.

 

[Miata GT]

I tried rayon (Graham's CelluCotton) in at least one of all my devices (I have 500 feet, gotta do something with it...) and I find that for my Kayfuns, Foggers, and other RTAs I really can't tell a difference over organic cotton balls. I DO prefer the rayon in my drippers because, unlike cotton, the rayon does a far better job of wicking the ejuice into the coil and not leaving a soggy pool at the base as cotton seems to do for me. This gives you more time before re-dripping especially at higher watts/lower resistance.

The exception is my REO which uses a tiny wick. It seemed that I had to 'squonk' more often possibly because either wicks as well for a short run but the cotton holds more?

 

[Baditude]

I don't have to boil if it's organic, or do you still boil?

I don't boil organic cotton.

 

[Myah_June2014]

Thank you all, appreciate it. Have you bought Silica other than online & if so where? I will try cotton for awhile & always order Silica to try. MVS smallest was 3mm, I'm not an expert but seems to thick for me just starting..

 

[minitater]

I've used braided cotton wicking for a year now. Much easier to work with than cotton balls.

 

[Ryedan]

I'm really curious about longevity over cotton, as that was my only real gripe. I'd love to find something that performs as well and will get 7-10 days use before needing replaced.

I used to change my cotton wicks every day or two in drippers with dual coils at around 0.5 ohms. I find with Rayon my wicks last around double that, but I've only been using Rayon for a few weeks and am still getting to know it. The devil is in the details and how much wick you put in a coil really makes a difference. The type of Rayon you use is critical too.

Hope it works out for you

 

[Ryedan]

I don't have to boil if it's organic, or do you still boil?

I don't boil organic cotton.

 

[Ryedan]

The exception is my REO which uses a tiny wick. It seemed that I had to 'squonk' more often possibly because either wicks as well for a short run but the cotton holds more?

I'm using a Cyclone with dual micro coils at 0.5 ohms on my Reo. I tried the short wicks I always used with cotton at first and found they were drying up really quickly and giving me slightly burnt hits. I then tried longer wicks and this is working well for me.

I still squonk about every two hits, but the Rayon wicks so well it basically sucks all the juice out of a wick before the coil runs dry. Cotton OTOH doesn't wick so fast so the juice in longer wicks seems to sit at the ends of the wick and degrade.

 

[WattWick]

Mesh or wire rope with mesh. Occasionally I set up a dripper with silica or cotton, only to be reminded that I prefer the mesh. Nothing wrong with either, just personal preference.