Why have I not done the cotton sooner???

[AR15Keith]

So I noticed my wife had some cotton balls so I asked for one to rebuild a PT2 head. I made a nice coil on a machine screw that was 5/4 wrapped and is 2.0 ohms. Twisted up some of the cotton and stuck it in there. WOW!! The flavor is way better than the silica I am used to. At first I thought it tasted funny but then I realized I was so used to the silica I wasn't getting the full flavor. I do have a couple questions. The first is how long should I expect the coil to last with moderate to heavy vaping? The second question is how much power can a cotton wick take compared to silica considering it wicks better? I am running it at 6.5 watts. Thanks!!

 

[angstless]

You folk who build their own stuff and create their own juice and purchase batteries and cartos that need to be repaired with parts...are way beyond my ability...

I feel lucky that I discovered I could refill my ciagalike carto...I threw my first one away...and.. I prefer to purchase new...but the price is not working with me.

 

[Scarey]

as long as you keep your coil clean, it can last a good long while. You should replace the wick every week at least. As for power, as long as you keep your wick wet, it can handle pretty much anything you throw at it. I'm running cotton wick at over 30 watts on a sub-ohm build.

 

[xtwosm0kesx]

So I noticed my wife had some cotton balls so I asked for one to rebuild a PT2 head. I made a nice coil on a machine screw that was 5/4 wrapped and is 2.0 ohms. Twisted up some of the cotton and stuck it in there. WOW!! The flavor is way better than the silica I am used to. At first I thought it tasted funny but then I realized I was so used to the silica I wasn't getting the full flavor. I do have a couple questions. The first is how long should I expect the coil to last with moderate to heavy vaping? The second question is how much power can a cotton wick take compared to silica considering it wicks better? I am running it at 6.5 watts. Thanks!!

As long as the cotton is wet/has great wicking you should be able to crank it up as high as silica without a burnt taste.

Coil life will likely be dependent on thickness of juice and amount of flavorings used in the juice.

Youre gonna wanna periodically replace the cotton but a well built coil should last you many rewickings.

If youve got a 2.0ohm coil and its wicking well, crank up your wattage to around 8.5 and see what results you get.

 

[trouble1000]

The thing I find with cotton is I go through a lot more juice. So it's amazing for the extra flavour, but if you're on a juice budget, not very good. It surprised me how much better juices taste with a cotton wick. The only juice that doesn't taste better, for me, is GVC (still use silica or ekowool for this).

As long as your set-up is right, you can use a cotton wick for almost as long as silica - I've had a superb cotton micro coil in my Kayfun for almost a month now, but the same wick in a Nova only lasts a few days. Must be down to the juice delivery in the Kayfun, or my amazing coil building skills

 

[dspin]

You folk who build their own stuff and create their own juice and purchase batteries and cartos that need to be repaired with parts...are way beyond my ability...

I feel lucky that I discovered I could refill my ciagalike carto...I threw my first one away...and.. I prefer to purchase new...but the price is not working with me.

No worries, you will soon join us. Most of us started just like you, went on to try newer and better things. It can be scary at first for a new user and trying to read and learn everything as soon as you can.

 

[AR15Keith]

How tight should the cotton be when I pull it through the coil? I'm still trying to figure out the right amount. It's a little tricky when pulling a wad off of a cotton ball.

 

[Steam Turbine]

The second question is how much power can a cotton wick take compared to silica considering it wicks better? I am running it at 6.5 watts. Thanks!!

I am pumping 22.86 watts through my cotton wicks without any problem whatsoever. They last me about a week. But what is great is that I dont have to redo my coil... I keep the same coil, pull the cotton out, dry burn, put some cotton back in et voila!

 

[xtwosm0kesx]

How tight should the cotton be when I pull it through the coil? I'm still trying to figure out the right amount. It's a little tricky when pulling a wad off of a cotton ball.

Less is more, should slide thru the coil pretty easily when dry, it will expand.

Easiest way is to find the 'grain' of the cotton ball, ie how it was wrapped then unroll it and pull long whispy sections off the edge, then kinda roll it (not twist) to create a wick.

 

[supertrunker]

Cotton will swell slightly as it is wetted. You'll have plenty of practice because i never had a cotton wick last more than a day before tasting grim. The coil will last ages if you look after it.

Rinse it without a wick in it if you can - and dry burn it till it glows red. That will burn a load of crap off the coil and it's good to go. Rewick it. You'll soon find that a pinch of cotton is enough.

you pinch it at the edge and pull and that's your new wick.

T

 

[Myrany]

as long as you keep your coil clean, it can last a good long while. You should replace the wick every week at least. As for power, as long as you keep your wick wet, it can handle pretty much anything you throw at it. I'm running cotton wick at over 30 watts on a sub-ohm build.

I am finding with my juices. On my micro coil 10 wraps 28 gauge on a 14 gauge needle, I need to replace the cotton every 1-2 days (dry burn while the cotton is out) and the coil about every 2 weeks. But my juices gunk things up pretty good.

 

[Myrany]

How tight should the cotton be when I pull it through the coil? I'm still trying to figure out the right amount. It's a little tricky when pulling a wad off of a cotton ball.

I know this is for the RM 2 but the principal is the same

How To Make A Perfect Micro Coil With The Darkzero Coil Jig - YouTube

 

[Scarey]

I am finding with my juices. On my micro coil 10 wraps 28 gauge on a 14 gauge needle, I need to replace the cotton every 1-2 days (dry burn while the cotton is out) and the coil about every 2 weeks. But my juices gunk things up pretty good.

That could be the case I only micro coils in my protanks, which don't see as much use as my RDA. I tend to run 0.8Ω on my RDA, for most liquids, but this MBV Amaretto is so smooth I could play with 0.4Ω. On my sub ohms, I have to rewick pretty frequently. I've been running the same protank wicks for a long time. lol

 

[Myrany]

That could be the case I only micro coils in my protanks, which don't see as much use as my RDA. I tend to run 0.8Ω on my RDA, for most liquids, but this MBV Amaretto is so smooth I could play with 0.4Ω. On my sub ohms, I have to rewick pretty frequently. I've been running the same protank wicks for a long time. lol

My coils typically run 1.2-1.5 ohms and I have them on a RM2 + REO Grand.

 

[Scarey]

How tight should the cotton be when I pull it through the coil? I'm still trying to figure out the right amount. It's a little tricky when pulling a wad off of a cotton ball.

That is why I use 100% cotton yarn. A strand is made up of 4 smaller strands twisted together. Depending on the drill bit I use to coil, I know how much to use. Just thread it through the coil, and separate the mini strands for more surface, on an RDA.