Why are SS mesh wicks getting populars

[Gioajack]

If Clyde remembers to bring mesh to Ardmore, and doesn't come up with some legal mumbo jumbo about how transporting mesh across state lines violates the Mann Act I'm going to see if I can manage a mesh wick in a Killer.

It's going to have to be long enough to drape over the sides of the ceramic cup but thin enough to fit in the slots.

I really don't think I'm smart enough to do it.


Jack

 

[Commie]

That would be an interesting experiment. From my understanding, the wick would end up being too long and too thin to stay wet. But I've been known to be wrong on a rare occasion. Minor things, like Cold War, for example

 

[Gioajack]

I really don't know if it will work or not. The wick lays directly above the feed hole so getting it wet with a squonk shouldn't be an issue. Excess juice is collected in the metal cup directly under the ceramic cup and the ends of the wick hang down into it. It wicks great with silica, yarn, (bamboo) and cotton, I just don't know if the mesh will wick it up.

I'll probably electrocute myself trying to find out.


Jack

 

[Bob57]

Getting mesh to make that sharp of a bend to fit inside the Killer will be a trick I'm thinking?
Still use a couple Genesis type rba's so I tried 400 SS mesh in the ERA for a while with good results, just have to hit it with the juice more often.
Went back to cotton yarn because it's so dang easy to just rewick it every 3-4 days.
When the Kanthal A-1 Ribbon wire gets here in a few days I'll probably try the mesh again in the ERA.

 

[Gioajack]

I think you're right about trying to make the sharp bends over the edge of the cup. I guess you could just build a wick that just went from one side of the cup to the other but that would only be a quarter inch or so and you'd be squonking after every vape.

I don't have that much energy.


Jack

 

[Bob57]

Might try the 1/4 inch mesh wrapped around some cotton or what ever you normally use for wicking.

 

[clyde2801]

If Clyde remembers to bring mesh to Ardmore, and doesn't come up with some legal mumbo jumbo about how transporting mesh across state lines violates the Mann Act I'm going to see if I can manage a mesh wick in a Killer.

It's going to have to be long enough to drape over the sides of the ceramic cup but thin enough to fit in the slots.

I really don't think I'm smart enough to do it.


Jack

Umm...it wouldn't be transporting it over state lines, jack. Oklahoma City and Ardmore are both in Oklahoma.

The bend may be possible with some luck and skill. I'm thinking you'd bend a paperclip to the shape you want and then wrap it in a long, skinny piece of mesh...like you'd use with electrical tape.

 

[Gioajack]

Umm...it wouldn't be transporting it over state lines, jack. Oklahoma City and Ardmore are both in Oklahoma.

The bend may be possible with some luck and skill. I'm thinking you'd bend a paperclip to the shape you want and then wrap it in a long, skinny piece of mesh...like you'd use with electrical tape.

Perhaps I'll invest in a map.


Jack

 

[clyde2801]

Eh, don't bother. It's all just red flat earth in the western half of the state, and woody low hills on the other.

 

[Faylool]

You guys are crazy!
****
all you RBA guys....i mean that in a good way. Wrapping mesh around wick material is supossed to be excellent vaping i read. It certainly seems it would. Maybe even one hemp, one silica and one bamboo string wrapped in mesh then filmed over with the cotton to top off. But the a killer idea does sound well....crazy. You will post if you do that wont you?

 

[VClouds]

Hmmmm

Tri-coil RBA, one mesh + one silica + one cotton

Should produce an interesting vape, but might need a car battery to run it.

 

[supertrunker]

Paper clip is a good idea, but it depends a lot on how you roll the ss. In order to bend it - i have used it in Nova tanks for ages - you have to roll against the grain - so like folding a handkerchief corner to corner, rather than as most people will do, cut a chunk off the corner of a sheet and roll it straight back on itself. Bend that - instant crease.

I have found it to be a rather decent and durable wick material, but HRH says it is harsh and she dislikes it.

T

 

[Big Hitter]

My 2 cents .... SS mesh is the best wicking material we have available at this time.

But .... not for squonking IMHO .... It just does not keep enough juice for even two of my massive hits.

But if its soaking in juice such as a genesis and you can control the flow by tilting during a hit it can't be beat for flavor and TH.

I vape genesis stuff about 80% of the time now days .... its so hard to go back once you get it right.

 

[super_X_drifter]

My 2 cents .... SS mesh is the best wicking material we have available at this time.

But .... not for squonking IMHO .... It just does not keep enough juice for even two of my massive hits.

But if its soaking in juice such as a genesis and you can control the flow by tilting during a hit it can't be beat for flavor and TH.

I vape genesis stuff about 80% of the time now days .... its so hard to go back once you get it right.

Traitor

 

[boilednuts]

Tried using ss mesh last night and found unbelievable flavor but rather poor vapor production. Jus' gave up on my attempts to use a oxidized mesh that went around the posts towards the air hole of my RM2, the mesh became too stiff so wasn't flexible enough to try and get more juice saturation to the coils.. However, what I was able to do to greatly increase vapor production albeit a slight decrease in flavor was to fill the air hole side of the bowl with a flat layer of cotton (so as nut to obstruct the air flow to the coil) wide enough to span the two terminal posts which helps to keep it in place after squonking. Only a little bit of it is actually touching the coil to help feed the juice to it. After sitting all night with the cotton/mesh soaking which I don't know is relevant or nut, the vapor production is back. I'm sure this will help with just about any wicking material that you use, keeping the coil wet and increasing your vapes per squonk. So easy to replace too if the cotton is singed too much.

As far as what went wrong with just using the ss mesh alone, I dunno, maybe the tunnel through it collapsed . I will need to do more trials after using my set up a bit more.

 

[boilednuts]

Tried using ss mesh last night and found unbelievable flavor but rather poor vapor production. Jus' gave up on my attempts to use a oxidized mesh that went around the posts towards the air hole of my RM2, the mesh became too stiff so wasn't flexible enough to try and get more juice saturation to the coils.. However, what I was able to do to greatly increase vapor production albeit a slight decrease in flavor was to fill the air hole side of the bowl with a flat layer of cotton (so as nut to obstruct the air flow to the coil) wide enough to span the two terminal posts which helps to keep it in place after squonking. Only a little bit of it is actually touching the coil to help feed the juice to it. After sitting all night with the cotton/mesh soaking which I don't know is relevant or nut, the vapor production is back. I'm sure this will help with just about any wicking material that you use, keeping the coil wet and increasing your vapes per squonk. So easy to replace too if the cotton is singed too much.

As far as what went wrong with just using the ss mesh alone, I dunno, maybe the tunnel through it collapsed . I will need to do more trials after using my set up a bit more.

Adapted this set up as posted elsewhere but will reiterate here. I now wrap the ss mesh around the open leg of large paper clip, just twirl the mesh with your thumb and finger until its nicely layered. Trying to take the mesh around the leg is frustrating to say the least . I use about 1-1/2" of the mesh rolled to I think about 8 layers (try it you'll know what i mean about estimating the amount of layers). Don't know what mesh you using but mine holds its shape well after letting go. I leave the mesh on the leg and torch it a few times to make it stiffer. For use on a RG I wrap the coil to give me 1.0 ohm resistance, with the gaps between wraps about 1/8". Here I'm trying to get the coil as long as possible without having cold spots between wraps to get max vapor production in my case using 4 wraps of .6mm x .1mm ribbon wire. I use a fair amount of tension while wrapping so the mesh is in there pretty tight. Torch the completed coil a few more times before install. Leave the coil on the paper clip during the install it'll help with keeping the coil shape as well as the shape of the tunnel in the middle of the wicking mesh. Makes positioning the coil easier too. I like to leave the coil end near the fill hole higher than the opposite end with the mesh on the low end actually touching the ceramic floor of the RM2. Hopefully the last wrap of wire is not to the end of the wick, I'll explain later. If the mesh on the high end is sticking out too far and might contact the atty cover then trim it back. CAUTION: If the mesh is NOT fully oxidized you will most likely cause a short if its touching the atty metal wall around the ceramic floor or the atty's cover. I would keep clear of the terminal posts too to prevent fluctuating resistance. METER THE SYSTEM IF USING A FULL MECHANICAL REO TO PREVENT YOUR SPRING FROM COLLAPSING IN CASE OF A SHORT!! I hope this sinks in, its important whether you're doing my setup or somebody else's, both rba and non-rba.

Your vape is gonna hold up only as long as there's juice in the coil...no juice, no vape. And if you do this with a cotton wick its gonna singe/burn making a terrible vape. However cotton is an excellent material that absorbs and transfers fluids very well. You can roll a piece of cotton ball with your fingers into a string or what I use now is 100% cotton strands from Peaches & Cream yarn, unravel the yarn and cut 2 strands off (I believe there's 4 total), roll these 2 strands back into one strand and starting from the side where the mesh is in touch with the ceramic floor place the strand on the atty floor between the mesh and the outer metal wall of the floor, this is a precaution to prevent a short from occurring if the mesh decides to slide out of the coil. Ideally the cotton should not contact any of the coil wires to prevent it from excessive heat. Go around the outside of the post keeping the cotton in contact with the floor and follow the ceramic floor's wall all the way to the other post and wedge it between the post and outer wall. This end does not need to be in contact with the coil or the mesh. The cotton strands from the P&C hold together better than cotton ball threads which eventually become untwisted and loses its place along the outside part of the atty floor. I'll try later using 3 strands rolled together and see if it'll fit, 4 strands I believe will be too tight and difficult to fit between the post and outer wall. Using this cotton leg will enable you to store more juice in the atty and give you more vapes between squonks. Couple of pics with P&C, used about 4 hrs of heavy use





I have NOT used this setup with my VVG yet, gonna shoot for higher resistance when I try that, my next project

 

[boilednuts]

This mesh from Singapore is what I use and back in stock but takes about 2-3 wks for delivery 500 Stainless Steel Wire Mesh | eBay

Btw, 3 strands of P & C fits well too

 

[boilednuts]

Thought I would update my observations and experiences using ss mesh (#500).

Still lovin' it!!!

First, I'd like to say that oxidizing the mesh fully makes things easier with coil placement on the RM2. I use a dual flame torch lighter to do this, making the installation much quicker. Cut the wire mesh about 2-1/2 to 2-3/4" long, fold in half and you can make 2 wicks at a time. Torch thoroughly 5x on both sides dipping in water in between burns. I also put a drop or 2 of either juice, vg or pg on the last round and let it burn off. Because I leave a tail on the opposite side of the sqounk hole this allows the tail to not cause a short if it contacts any metal parts. I position the tail end slightly above floor level and positioning the squonk hole end of the coil a little higher(this is a change from prior posts).

Lemme explain why the change. This has to do with the cotton tail that I use. 3 strands of P & C works very well, 4 strands gets very tight around the post and I believe chokes the juice from doing an easy transfer to the wick. I place this leg of cotton under the ss mesh sticking out from the coil being careful not to contact any of the wire wraps. Why? Because the temp of the wire far exceeds the temp of the mesh, this will prolong the lifespan of the cotton leg. Singed or burnt cotton will degrade your vape, giving it a burnt taste. I tried to use a silica leg but its not flexible enough to fit on the ceramic floor. Justice (Darrel), gave me an idea of using bamboo threads as material for legs which may be better because they are I believe more heat resistant than cotton. I noticed that the cooton thread I use after a while begins to unravel and lose its shape so bamboo maybe the answer here. Supertrunker (Jim) places a wick core inside the mesh that his DW prefers which I believe is a good option. The idea here is to have a material that readily absorbs the juice in enough quantity to have an extended vape session with minimum squonks and to not have that material in contact with any of the wire, only the mesh. Again, METER YOUR SETUP BEFORE USING!!

I have received a shipment of 0.7mm ribbon wire an increase from the 0.6mm that I've been using. Did a 5x wrap and it metered at 0.8ohm. It has excellent vape production and flavor, more so than the .6 wire. Gonna try a 6x wrap next as I can see a possible rise in vapor by doing so. Don't know about the flavor dept but I'm hopeful. There is a caveat by using a wider wire, regarding its ability to go through the post holes. Had a square cut on one wire and a diagonal cut on the other. The diagonal cut was much easier going through the hole than the square cut end. CAREFUL!!! Don't stab yourself with it, assuming it be plenty painful. Plaz uses .8mm wire so thats another option for some of you. Ribbon wire allows for larger diameters than microcoils and still maintain coil length and wire to wick contact area which I believe is the best criteria for vapor production.

This process was done while using a REO Grand, you will need at least 1.2-1.3ohm coils for a VVGrand

Edit: forgot to mention an important finding. Most of the time a new coil will need about 1-2ml of use before getting the best vape. Dunno why this is, possibly the cotton leg/wire mesh needs this to become fully saturated.