What's up with wicks?

[Vedra]

I'd like to get an idea of how people are wicking different setups, but I'd mostly like to get an idea of what's out there without scouring threads for the gold nugget of "I use ____ and it's ____." Let us know what you do and the pros and cons you've experienced!

So far, this is what I've tried:

good ol' silica:
PROS performs relatively well. doesn't burn or singe. You can dry burn it.
CONS may be bad for you, deteriorates into shards

SS mesh:
PROS does not burn, good heat transfer. Performs well. Easy to wrap coils around. You can dry burn it.
CONS conductivity causes issues for newbies

Cotton Balls/Rolled Cotton:
PROS performs exceptionally well. Great flavor. Cheap
CONS burns/singes. Replace often. No dry burns without removal of wick (prolly time for a new one, anyway

Cotton/Hemp Yarns:
PROS performs exceptionally well. Great flavor. Cheap. Pre-formed(no pulling or rolling)
CONS burns/singes. Replace often. Less freedom than rolled/balls of cotton.

Bamboo Yarn
pros: wicks well flavor matches silica
cons: hard to find "safe vape" type more likely to burn than silica

these are my opinons!

Porous Ceramic:
Pros- great flavor, no rolling
Cons- fragile, non conductive, not for inexperienced
(From vapdivvr)

Nextel XC-116 Ceramic Braid:
Pros- easy to wrap, not conductive, can be dry burned
Cons- *SS mesh tastes better
(From Flyer)

 

[REOfanatic]

bamboo yarn

pros: wicks well flavor matches silica
cons: hard to find "safe vape" type more likely to burn than silica

these are my opinons!

 

[Vedra]

So, in my experience, cotton and ss both produce better flavor than silica. Do you find bamboo to be superior to those? I'm willing to try anything that's believably safe.

 

[Flyer]

I personally prefer the flavor of bamboo over cotton. But, I rarely do either anymore since I took up RBA's. I have also had a really good experience with Nextel XC-116 on my RBA's. Actually I've used the 1/32 variety form BigTex. Easy to wrap a coil on, never have to deal with shorts. Flavor is quite nice (almost on par with SS mesh) after a 1/2 mil or so is vaped through it. Wicks very well. Can be dry burned (hell, I torch it to clean it) without any problem whatsoever. But, all said and done, I still prefer the vape from good old SS mesh wick.

 

[vapdivrr]

used ss mesh/ cotton/ silica/ and by far the best flavor is from porous ceramic. but although the flavor imo is to die for, it does have its draw backs. its fragile, especially for someone just starting out with it, but saying that, if you are an experienced ss mesh user and have been doing coils for a while and have the touch, its not that bad, i have been using the ceramic about 4 to 5 months and have only broke about 3 wicks. if its flavor your after ceramic is where its at. also a very tight coil is a must, a loose coil wont work and will have an off taste. if its an easy and fast wick you want, ceramic is not it. have heard great things about ss cable as a wick, even better then ss mesh i have heard. haven't tried it yet but it sounds pretty good.

 

[pdib]

My opinion is that the best wick is "less" wick. With a goosebox, like the REO and a good RBA (I like the RM2), all you need is enough wick to decorate the inside of your coil. You don't get a whole lot of flavor issues when there simply isn't very much involved. That said, I vape a .5-.8Ω micro-coil, and that's a pretty demanding setup. My list goes from most effective and most enjoyable down to least/least:

Sterile cotton balls
Nextel xc-132


ss-mesh




silica







*I don't include true porous ceramic for lack of experience with it; but . . . . . . .↓↓↓







. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . fishstix

 

[gotalotgoingon]

I now only use cotton. I have used Silica, Ecowool, Mesh and Ceramic. Nothing comes close to the taste of cotton. Nothing comes close to the price of cotton. Nothing comes close to the ease of cotton. Igo-L, micro coil and cotton for vaping bliss. I have no desire to try anything else at this point with the exception of a Reo and a Reomizer 2.

 

[Statistic]

lol, we are twinkies!!

Same here, exactly.. only I have given in to my desire to see what it's like on the squonk side. Ordered a REO Grand and an RM2 yesterday

Cotton.. it's the fabric of our lives, even our vaping lives! The only wick material I know of that I have not tried is rigid ceramic sticks. Cotton is just too easy to work with, too flavorful and too cheap for me to come up with reasons to use anything else.

I now only use cotton. I have used Silica, Ecowool, Mesh and Ceramic. Nothing comes close to the taste of cotton. Nothing comes close to the price of cotton. Nothing comes close to the ease of cotton. Igo-L, micro coil and cotton for vaping bliss. I have no desire to try anything else at this point with the exception of a Reo and a Reomizer 2.

 

[gotalotgoingon]

lol, we are twinkies!!

Same here, exactly.. only I have given in to my desire to see what it's like on the squonk side. Ordered a REO Grand and an RM2 yesterday

Cotton.. it's the fabric of our lives, even our vaping lives! The only wick material I know of that I have not tried is rigid ceramic sticks. Cotton is just too easy to work with, too flavorful and too cheap for me to come up with reasons to use anything else.

I have been eyeballing a Reo for the last couple weeks but haven't pulled the trigger so far. I want to stock up on some more DIY flavorings and Nic before I get another mod. I figure in the next two weeks I will be joining the Reo family.

I use to be one of those that thought the more expensive it was , the better it was. Both cotton and the Igo-L have proven me wrong.

 

[Chiku]

I have to agree, a Reo with a RM2, micro coil and cotton is by far my favourite. I got a ZAP from a trade (for my killer 705, I got so frustrated with the killer). I do really enjoy the ZAP with 325 mesh but I still prefer the Reo setup by a large margin.

 

[Vedra]

I'm a cotton fanboy myself, and I definitely agree with the less is more attitude. While you can't drip an hours worth of vape into my igo, the flavor is out of this world. The other drawback I've found to short cotton wicks is the tell is too short for big puffers. I burn more often that way, but whatever. It's so cheap and fast to replace it I don't really care!

used ss mesh/ cotton/ silica/ and by far the best flavor is from porous ceramic. but although the flavor imo is to die for, it does have its draw backs. its fragile, especially for someone just starting out with it, but saying that, if you are an experienced ss mesh user and have been doing coils for a while and have the touch, its not that bad, i have been using the ceramic about 4 to 5 months and have only broke about 3 wicks. if its flavor your after ceramic is where its at. also a very tight coil is a must, a loose coil wont work and will have an off taste. if its an easy and fast wick you want, ceramic is not it. have heard great things about ss cable as a wick, even better then ss mesh i have heard. haven't tried it yet but it sounds pretty good.

So, are you using the porous ceramic in a dripper or a genesis tank? I've only ever seen it in a genny set up, hadn't thought to try some in my drippers. Can you break it or score it so it cuts clean? I have noticed a few atomizers on the market incorporating ceramic in some form or another, and if they weren't so expensive I would love to give one a shot.

 

[Vedra]

lol, we are twinkies!!

Same here, exactly.. only I have given in to my desire to see what it's like on the squonk side. Ordered a REO Grand and an RM2 yesterday

Cotton.. it's the fabric of our lives, even our vaping lives! The only wick material I know of that I have not tried is rigid ceramic sticks. Cotton is just too easy to work with, too flavorful and too cheap for me to come up with reasons to use anything else.

I borrowed a buddy's squonker a couple years back, and was completely underwhelmed. Lots of floods and gurgly vape. I'm tempted to try it again with these new breeds of RBAs.

 

[REOfanatic]

bamboo is on par with silica just "safer" more of a genny type wick great for hybrids cotton imo works the best for drippers

 

[DSmooch]

I've been really impressed with cotton lately. The certainty that it is healthy is a great part of the experience. But I'll have to say that Nextel has changed the game for me. I think it is the ultimate wick, whatever the setup, gennys, RDAs... whatever the power, there is just no issue with it. It wicks fast and you can't destroy it. Cotton and silica have both a taste of their own; I didn't find any with the XC116 very much like the FC2000.

 

[vapdivrr]

I'm a cotton fanboy myself, and I definitely agree with the less is more attitude. While you can't drip an hours worth of vape into my igo, the flavor is out of this world. The other drawback I've found to short cotton wicks is the tell is too short for big puffers. I burn more often that way, but whatever. It's so cheap and fast to replace it I don't really care!




So, are you using the porous ceramic in a dripper or a genesis tank? I've only ever seen it in a genny set up, hadn't thought to try some in my drippers. Can you break it or score it so it cuts clean? I have noticed a few atomizers on the market incorporating ceramic in some form or another, and if they weren't so expensive I would love to give one a shot.

just been using it in a genny set-up. not sure on how it would perform in a dripper but a bottom fed device might work. it does score easy, actually you can just snip a piece off with a nail clipper or wire cutters.

 

[JD1]

Cheese cloth for me. Small diameter coil (1/16th in.), slide in a little cheese cloth, and my 804's are as good as dripping.

There might be a new kid in town though, has everyone seen this thread? http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...ystems/432716-stainless-steel-foam-wicks.html

 

[Vedra]

Cheese cloth for me. Small diameter coil (1/16th in.), slide in a little cheese cloth, and my 804's are as good as dripping.

There might be a new kid in town though, has everyone seen this thread? http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...ystems/432716-stainless-steel-foam-wicks.html

I've been recommended the cheesecloth before, just keep forgetting to pick some up. How much do you use in a 1/16 coil? Is it stuffed or loose?

I noticed a group buy for chrome foam. Looks to be the new magnificence. I'm not much of an early adopter, so I think I'll just kick back and see how people fare with the stuff. I'd feel much better if it was ss.

 

[mattblack]

quick question for cotton users..

I'm used to building SS wicks for RBA's, but I just got an IGO-W and the whole mesh wick doesn't work real well in it.. and I have no silica..

I do, however, have access to endless amounts of 100% cotton gauze.. are they safe to use? Also, given the combustability (is that a word?) of cotton.. how do you check for hotspots on a coil wrapped on cotton without burning it?

thanks!

 

[sk8mdw]

Build your coil on a small drill bit or toothpick, mount it (no wick yet), and test for hot spots. Pulsing the coil also has the benefit of stiffening the coil up. When you are happy with it pull your cotton wick through the coil, wet it and vape away.

 

[mattblack]

that makes sense.. I kinda tried that method with the silica because there was no way that I was going to be able to wrap 28awg around it in any accurate way.. but then my silica kinda disintegrated into individual strands as I pulled it through..

would the gauze be alright to use?