Where can I get good cotton wick?

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lilmrsyeti

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I was wondering about cotton Wicks, since it seems Silica wicks seem to be a bit high priced. What would be the purpose of people boiling the cotton wick? Also..is all cotton wick sold at Walmart the same size...or do I need to look for a certain size?

One more question..why does some people prefer cotton to silica?
 

DoogieTony

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lilmrsyeti:9308499 said:
I was wondering about cotton Wicks, since it seems Silica wicks seem to be a bit high priced. What would be the purpose of people boiling the cotton wick? Also..is all cotton wick sold at Walmart the same size...or do I need to look for a certain size?

One more question..why does some people prefer cotton to silica?



The purpose of boiling is to remove any impurities that my have gotten in during manufacturing.
#4 size yarn fits perfectly in my vivi heads.
I prefer cotton because it wicks better, gives better flavor than silica, and is much less expensive.
 

pianoguy

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I have no luck with cotton. Just take medical cotton dressings, boiled it, let it dry, coil it and all I get is an awful taste and smell. This smell can get me vomiting. I let it rest for 15 minutes then try again but nothing improved. I afraid of using silica wick but I have no choice.

Have you tried cotton balls? I tried gauze and wasn't thrilled with it, but I've been happy with cotton balls. I just tear a small chunk off and roll it tightly between my fingers, then thread it through the coil. The "new wick" taste goes away after a few vapes.
 

minimalsaint

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I just got some cotton candle wick from hobby lobby- no funky taste like gauze or cotton balls. Boiled it 3 times for about 30 minutes each with a water change, but just because that's my preference.
It's a bit more dense than yarn, but wicks and holds liquid better than silica. The tight weave also eliminates the little "hairs" that tend to stick up all crazy off cotton gauze, balls or yarn that dry out and get scorched by the coil. At least- that has been my experience.
 

Satava

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I tried all forms of Cotton in drippers, tippers, and clearos. Bottom line was my 75% VG didn't play nice, so back to silica I crawled.

As far as where to go, Wal-Mart is a one-stop-shop for all kinds of fun supplies. They have 100% cotton yarn as organic and on the cheap, they have Cotton Balls and Gauze, and some even have Cotton Cheesecloth floating around too. I also get my VG from them directly and heat it overnight in a pyrex measuring cup in water in crockpot double boiler kinda setup (Gets any residual water out). If you look hard enough, some of the Super Centers even have LorAnn flavorings!
 

pianoguy

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I just got some cotton candle wick from hobby lobby- no funky taste like gauze or cotton balls. Boiled it 3 times for about 30 minutes each with a water change, but just because that's my preference.
It's a bit more dense than yarn, but wicks and holds liquid better than silica. The tight weave also eliminates the little "hairs" that tend to stick up all crazy off cotton gauze, balls or yarn that dry out and get scorched by the coil. At least- that has been my experience.

I had pretty good luck with braided cotton candle wick as well. My only problem was that it was too hard to re-wick, so I wound up having to make a new coil every few days. So I gave the cotton balls a whirl, and now I only have to bother with a new coil about once a month, and can change out my wick every day or two in a jiffy.
 

heateris

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Have you tried cotton balls? I tried gauze and wasn't thrilled with it, but I've been happy with cotton balls. I just tear a small chunk off and roll it tightly between my fingers, then thread it through the coil. The "new wick" taste goes away after a few vapes.

I did the same with cotton balls and vapes better then before couldn't be happier

ill 3rd this. i use CareOne 100% cotton balls. Just pull some off, twist it a little, 4-5 wraps of 32g kanthal, and bam, your all set. vapes wonderfully on my Evod's.

it took me a little fine tuning to get the right thickness of the wick. i try to make them about 2mm then double up for a total of 4mm. if i go too thin, they spit. if i go too thick, they block the air flow. i've found that cotton swells up when wet.

also, ive been making hybrid wicks. one piece of 2mm silica with a bit of cotton. keeps the swelling down and the wicking up.
 

djtonyb

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What are the flavor wicks made out of on the Kanger T3's...it seems everytime I try to remove them to dryburn they fall apart on me and I would love just to be able to replace them.

Silica. It's the same stuff as in the coil, just draped over to provide more wicking.
 
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