What's up with silica wicks?

[jonathanxx]

The other day I was on YouTube watching videos about different rda's and I noticed that almost every video older than a year people were all using silica as wicks, and now all that you see is cotton.
To be honest I used silica on my first rda the I go L and it worked out fine but now I always use cotton.
I'm not sure if I use cotton because in every video that I see ( rip tripper and all that) people use cotton.
I mean is anybody still using silica?
Or is it totally out.

 

[classwife]

Moved to Rebuildable Atomizer Systems from Experiments with Equipment

 

[Maurice Pudlo]

Sheep do some silly things...

Cotton has the edge on juice holding ability, and tends to be easier to use. I'll be the first to admit that I never quite got the hang of using silica, maybe because it isn't particularly available here in a variety of sizes I was interested in trying out. Though I may look into it for use with helping friends recoil and wick their protank coils.

Maurice

 

[Nomoreash]

I still use it for certain things like trying new diy recipes when I want something that can be rinsed and dry burned and a few other instances. Otherwise it's usually cotton for me.

Nothing wrong with silica imo it's just easier to do a micro coil then change the cotton when needed rather than doing a complete rebuild, not to mention cotton is much cheaper and I use less kanthal as I can make a coil last months that way.

 

[supertrunker]

i use it all the time - cotton lasts me a day or two and that's useless.

I choose between silica, ceramic readywicks. I appreciate that you can thread cotton in a pinhole, but i build my coils to a size that suits my wicks rather then the other way round. And it's robust and can be dry burned.

Am i sacrificing some flavour for a wick that lasts ages? maybe, but in day to day and week to week use, i don't see it. Weekends are when i rebuild or mess with my gear, so if it doesn't last a week - i don't care for it unless it's a stay at home vape.

T

 

[b.m.]

I still use it for certain things like trying new diy recipes when I want something that can be rinsed and dry burned

I do the same,i have 1 rda that i keep silica in,for the sole purpose of testing out my new mixes.It's alot easier to rinse and dry burn 10 times than it is to replace cotton or rayon after every flavor.But for all my other stuff they all get rayon now.

 

[MrPlink]

For me silica was just a PITA. There are a lot build styles now that would make silica nigh impossible to use.
Even just getting silica into a simple micro coil is a PITA. Free hand wrapping coils over silica is a pain too!
Id rather replace my wick daily than have to deal with silica any day.

 

[Dampmaskin]

I have found silica to work better than cotton in some of my Kayfun style bottom coil RTAs. It allows me to use more wick without obstructing the juice flow, which gives me less leaking and more concistent performance.

When I use 2mm silica in a 2mm coil, the wick is actually a little smaller than the coil, so I separate the silica strands after I've threaded it through the coil. This makes the wick a little bit fluffier, fills out the coil and gives me better coil to wick contact.

 

[Maurice Pudlo]

For me silica was just a PITA. There are a lot build styles now that would make silica nigh impossible to use.
Even just getting silica into a simple micro coil is a PITA. Free hand wrapping coils over silica is a pain too!
Id rather replace my wick daily than have to deal with silica any day.

I think silica requires a stiff backer to coil nicely, such as a large syringe or thin drill bit.

Maurice

 

[WharfRat1976]

Silica is to cotton as cotton is to rayon as a stone wheel is to a Formula1 tire.

 

[eratikmind]

With the exception of my GG Ithakas, I have been using cotton wicks for the past 17 months on all my RTAs and RBAs.

Personally, the micro coil and cotton wick combo works the best for me.

LOL . . . I have a container filled with silica, German silica, ekowool, SS mesh, pieces of SS wire rope, which has not seen day light for a very long time.

 

[DaveP]

I used silica to recoil Protanks for a long time. Cotton or Japanese cotton or Rayon are better than silica for juice delivery and you can replace a cotton wick in the same coil without winding a new coil.

I replace the cotton wick in my Kayfun 3.1 every 2 or 3 days. It's just a matter of unscrewing the tank and removing the chimney. Then, I can pull the old wick, dry burn, replace the wick, and refill. It's not much more than a 5 minute job once you get good at it. Wick and coil maintenance is key to maintaining flavor and vapor production.

 

[Mike Literus]

Koh gen doh Japanese organic cotton best flavor best juice capacity IMO if you want something to try different flavors something you can dry burn clean without having it fray use readyxwick also you'll get some of the best flavor from readyxwick pretty killer once you get it right

 

[Flt Simulation]

I stopped using cotton because it just don't last long enough for me, and it can't be dry-burned.

I now use 2mm braided / hollow Ekowool silica.

When making the coil, I wrap the wire around a 2.8mm (7/64") rod which gives the coil enough room for the double piece of braided silica to be pulled through it.


The photos below are showing cotton yarn which has been pulled through the coil .... but using braided Ekowool silica is exactly the same procedure.

 

[nasca]

some people follow trends and sometimes these trends are improvements.

I wont go back to silica. cotton is where it's at, particularly japanese pad cotton. rewicking every 2-3 days takes me no more than 5-10 minutes at a time.

 

[Mike Literus]

And cotton is cheap eko wool gives off a funny taste when you first start using it and it doesn't mold like cotton it's more stiff just like silica

 

[AzPlumber]

Everyone has there preferences, mine is silica or mesh. I like to vape so constantly changing my wick is time away from vaping. With silica or mesh I can rinse do a quick dry burn and reload with juice.

 

[Flt Simulation]

I have never noticed a 'funny taste' from Ekowool silica.

 

[Mike Literus]

I know it's not just me eko wool and silica both have break in times if you've used cotton or a wick that gives you better flavor than ekowool or silica then go back to it your gonna see exactly what I'm talking about

 

[Flt Simulation]

Mike ... 'Ekowool' and silica are the same thing.

'Ekowool' is just a brand name for braided silica rope.