Who recommends the ceramic wicks vs SS mesh?

[ProvariGuy]

I currently have 2 ZAPs sitting on 2 ProVari Minis. Once of my ZAPs is the new v2.1 w/ceramic wick, the other is 400 mesh SS wick. Using the same e-liquid, I cannot taste much, if any, difference between the 2 wick types. The major difference for me right now is that the ceramics are so fragile. The extra wick that I received from ProVape with the ZAP 2.1 arrived broken. ProVape, as usual, immediately sent me off a replacement. Thanks Jennifer. So do you guys see much difference in vape quality with the new ceramics? Thank for any input you may have.

 

[Satava]

In my opinion they're both very similar.

The SS shorts out easier but is much more resilient
The Ceramic is very fragile but once it's coiled and not knocked around too much it's never gonna short.


I'm hoping to get my hands on some SS Rope sometime just to give it a try. Maybe throw some nextel sleeving or ekowool over the coil end.

 

[ProvariGuy]

I agree that they are both quite similar. The biggest Pro, as you mentioned, is that the ceramic is never going to short out. And the biggest Con being that they are so delicate. But as you said, once setup and left untouched, they work well. The jury is still out for me on this.

 

[Kevin Brown]

ceramics alone make my throat itch

ss protecting ceramic
win win
cotton so far for the ultimate wick
was just given heads up on butchers twine
i use gauze as a chef' per se i know twine will be the answer
using cotton your setup has to be right

imo

 

[Rule62]

Minimally oxidized ss mesh for me.

 

[Nomoreash]

I'll never go back to SS, to me the flavor is as good or better than SS with less hassle. Set it up and I'm done, no rolling, no oxidizing and no shorts or changing ohms to figure out. When it gets gunked up dry burn or boil and instant new wick.

They are more fragile but if that's kept in mind I don't think it will be a huge issue and the benefits certainly outweigh that for me.

 

[Kevin Brown]

ceramics alone make my throat itch

ss protecting ceramic
win win
cotton so far for the ultimate wick
was just given heads up on butchers twine
i use gauze as a chef' per se i know twine will be the answer
using cotton your setup has to be right

imo

Had no idea you were referring to actual ceramic wicks
silica is also defined as ceramic wick

btw airstones are horrible at wicking
I have huge experience with them in fishtanks and hydroponics
cannot believe it would be better than silica or ss
but ya never know what tech is involved in porosity and they dont tell it either


Ceramic Wicks: How Justified Is the Hype? | Vape Squad

 

[Ctor]

I'm not ready to recommend one over the other yet. I got my first FC-2000 wicks this weekend, and currently I'm running 4 of my gennies with the ceramic.

So far I'm impressed. Very clean taste, fairly easy to coil, and no shorts or coil adjustments once it's right. Flavor so far seems to be better/stronger than with SS. I had to dilute one juice with unflavored because the flavor came thru too strong. Also, while the wicks are a bit fragile, they're not as fragile as I thought they'd be. I snapped one of the 7/16 wicks just to see how easy it was (and I wanted to try a shorter wick on one of the Vulcans), and it did take quite a bit of force.

I'm running the 1/8" dia. wicks in 2 ATA-T2's, with wick holes drilled out to 9/64". I have the 7/16" dia. wicks in Satin Vulcans drilled out to a 1/8" wick hole.

I'm going to give it a few weeks before I make any final decisions or recommendations.

 

[vapdivrr]

Had no idea you were referring to actual ceramic wicks
silica is also defined as ceramic wick

btw airstones are horrible at wicking
I have huge experience with them in fishtanks and hydroponics
cannot believe it would be better than silica or ss
but ya never know what tech is involved in porosity and they dont tell it either


Ceramic Wicks: How Justified Is the Hype? | Vape Squad

the fish stones dont wick as well as the fc-2000 wicks. the fc are made specifically for vaping and have been tweeked. you do need a slight tilt on these wicks unlike ss mesh, but who vapes vertical? initially i tried the ceramic wick out of curiousity and liked it alot. i vaped them for a couple of weeks and said to myself,is there that much of a difference? so i went back to mesh and thats when you really notice the difference, i never went back. the mention in that artical above about the make up of the ceramic wick possibly containing things that are unknown, well the fc wicks are alumina, aluminum oxide, they do not contain any lead.

 

[SteveW]

Chalk and cheese for me. Ceramic flavor wins hands down and if you look after them, they last forever. Some learning is required to get them coiled properly, you need to get them TIGHT for the best results. As the previous poster vapdivrr says, when I try a mesh wick now it tastes horrible. No backsies for me either. If you are getting burning sensations, your wick needs to be coiled tighter. When done properly you cannot move the coil on the wick and I can guarantee you will be able to tell the difference. See the FC2000 thread to see coiling techniques: Hot wrap, Electrical Hot Wrap and Electrically Annealed methods. The last one is the simplest and for me works very well.

Just a note on Zen style atty's. My first experience with ceramic wicks was with a ZAP and I found the lid design to be a poor match for ceramic wicks. There is too much side movement possible and you can easily break a wick just by taking off the lid or having one come off by accident (which has happened to me). The AC9 and the DID are very good alternatives where you have a lot more control of the cap. The ZAP cost me three wicks and it has never seen a ceramic wick since. Using other attys I have never broken a single wick.

 

[Horselady154]

Personally, I want to minimize the amount of aluminum in my vaping materials. You guys may want to google aluminum and Alzheimers or aluminum and senile dementia.

 

[SteveW]

Personally, I want to minimize the amount of aluminum in my vaping materials. You guys may want to google aluminum and Alzheimers or aluminum and senile dementia.

Nope. No thanks, not concerned in the slightest. We cook in it everyday, drink out of cans made from it etc etc. Safe enough for me. Everything has its risks and there are lies, damn lies and statistics that you can make say anything you want. Aluminium is not a significantly dangerous material. From what I have also read, nicotine protects from alzheimers but that could be a crock as well but if true, one cancels out the other .

 

[Hello World]

As far as I'm concerned, to not realize the vast improvement of taste ceramic has over SS mesh is because of:

1. Your wick/coil setup is improper.
3. Wick too tightly installed in wickhole, not enough airflow.
3. Not using the post-February 2013 ceramic wicks.
4. Inadequate power supply/deficient battery setup.
4. Your taste buds went by the boards long ago.

Ceramic wicks being fragile is currently a myth carried over from the earlier days (Fishsticks are pretty much passe` except for specialized applications). Yes, they need more careful handling, but they don't break all that easy. I've knocked my mechs over on the table at least a dozen times, yet to see a ceramic wick break.

They wick better, they taste better, they vape better. The key is reading up on how to set them up properly, and you'll never look back.

 

[Rule62]

As far as I'm concerned, to not realize the vast improvement of taste ceramic has over SS mesh is because of:

1. Your wick/coil setup is improper.
3. Wick too tightly installed in wickhole, not enough airflow.
3. Not using the post-February 2013 ceramic wicks.
4. Inadequate power supply/deficient battery setup.
4. Your taste buds went by the boards long ago.

Ceramic wicks being fragile is currently a myth carried over from the earlier days (Fishsticks are pretty much passe` except for specialized applications). Yes, they need more careful handling, but they don't break all that easy. I've knocked my mechs over on the table at least a dozen times, yet to see a ceramic wick break.

They wick better, they taste better, they vape better. The key is reading up on how to set them up properly, and you'll never look back.

I may be either of the #4 variety; or...I've just gotten real good at ss builds. I've tried other people's ceramic builds at local meet ups, and don't see the huge advantage to ceramics. I can't say that ss is better. But I can't say that it's worse either.

 

[Hello World]

I may be either of the #4 variety; or...I've just gotten real good at ss builds. I've tried other people's ceramic builds at local meet ups, and don't see the huge advantage to ceramics. I can't say that ss is better. But I can't say that it's worse either.

Hey Rule ...

I still have the best SS setup I ever cobbled together in my ZAP. Solid, full 1/8 diameter, wicks perfect when tipped, no complaints ... she was my pride and joy of vaping ... nothing I ever set up before was this sweet ... but that was before dipping my toes into ceramics a couple of months ago.

I vape that baby today ... I can tolerate it for about 4 - 5 vapes, then yuck, can't handle it anymore. I've promised I would rip it down, and one of these days I will, but wanted to keep a reference point for now. Like everyone here says, once you go the ceramic route you can't really turn back ... for some, one does need these rear-view mirrors at some point ahead to see the difference and compare. Good/bad setups will MAKE or BREAK the vape, and it is a bit of work, and in my view, every second of it worth it.

Local meets ... if it wasn't someone who has lived and breathed the ECF ceramic threads, I'd seriously question their concept what they think a good setup is ...

 

[Rule62]

Hey Rule ...

I still have the best SS setup I ever cobbled together in my ZAP. Solid, full 1/8 diameter, wicks perfect when tipped, no complaints ... she was my pride and joy of vaping ... nothing I ever set up before was this sweet ... but that was before dipping my toes into ceramics a couple of months ago.

I vape that baby today ... I can tolerate it for about 4 - 5 vapes, then yuck, can't handle it anymore. I've promised I would rip it down, and one of these days I will, but wanted to keep a reference point for now. Like everyone here says, once you go the ceramic route you can't really turn back ... for some, one does need these rear-view mirrors at some point ahead to see the difference and compare. Good/bad setups will MAKE or BREAK the vape, and it is a bit of work, and in my view, every second of it worth it.

Local meets ... if it wasn't someone who has lived and breathed the ECF ceramic threads, I'd seriously question their concept what they think a good setup is ...

Oh, I don't dispute the idea that ceramic set ups are great. I've tried other people's. They work very well. But are they way, way, better? For me, they're not. I've tried the same juice in both (mine) and see no appreciable difference between a well built, minimally oxidized ss wick, and ceramic.

 

[MikeA5]

SS wick for me. I'm experienced enough now that when when setting up that shorts are a non issue. Twiddle a little after wrapping the Kanthal and I'm good to go. I also don't oxidize my SS wicks.

 

[Horselady154]

Nope. No thanks, not concerned in the slightest. We cook in it everyday, drink out of cans made from it etc etc. Safe enough for me. Everything has its risks and there are lies, damn lies and statistics that you can make say anything you want. Aluminium is not a significantly dangerous material. From what I have also read, nicotine protects from alzheimers but that could be a crock as well but if true, one cancels out the other .

Correction, YOU cook in it every day. Many people do not.

These aren't crock studies I'm talking about. Aluminum and brain cells do not mix well. But, by all means, choose your own path.

 

[SteveW]

Correction, YOU cook in it every day. Many people do not.

These aren't crock studies I'm talking about. Aluminum and brain cells do not mix well. But, by all means, choose your own path.

Ever eat at a restaurant? Did you check what they cook in? We are all exposed I am afraid. You will never convince me that such studies are accurate.

 

[Soundhunter]

Ever eat at a restaurant? Did you check what they cook in? We are all exposed I am afraid. You will never convince me that such studies are accurate.

Exactly - ever see a chemical analysis of what's in drinking water?..and I mean all drinking water..bottled or not..