Wick Density and the Orchid

[FAUXPUFF]

Ok, my brain hurts. Here's what I've seen everywhere:

Very loose wick = flooding
Loose wick = what most people have working properly
Tight wick = dry hits
Very tight wick = BURN

The looser I make my wick in the Orchid, the more dry/ burnt hits I get.
I just wicked it ten times, with ten different graduations of wick density.
The only one that is sort of right was at about 90% tight. Damn near choking that .... off.
I am using 70/30 right now, but this seems to happen with all my juices.
Is there something going on with the vacuum system in the Orchid, or what?
Please help me get this right, fellow vapers. 7 years of vaping, still learning!

Oh, I am running a 7 wrap (3/32 bit) 28 gauge Kanthal coil (.68 ohm) at 19 watts.

 

[State O' Flux]

The looser I make my wick in the Orchid, the more dry/ burnt hits I get.
This can be an indication that you're vaporizing juice at a rate faster than the wick-in-coil can replenish from capillary action, or to put it another way... insufficient wicking capability for the resistance used.
Causes for this can be anything from a cotton type (assuming cotton) with poor capillary action... to excess wick length "packed in" and restricting juice flow in the channels. This may be one of those situations where seeing photos of your build may be beneficial.

Is there something going on with the vacuum system in the Orchid, or what?
It may be that too much of your available draw vacuum is being distributed to bring in outside air, and not enough used to offset the tank vacuum - which is what shifts the juice channel boundary layer... in effect, feeding the wick.
A test would be to reduce inlet air flow... this would direct more draw vacuum to the job of moving juice into the vaporization chamber.

You might want to read this... it may provide a bit of clarity as to how PD atomizers work.

Oh, I am running a 7 wrap (3/32 bit) 28 gauge Kanthal coil (.68 ohm) at 19 watts.

Based on your numbers... I'll assume a dual parallel build. There's nothing here that is off or wrong... seems a decent balance.
In closing, there are quite a few "Orchids" on the market... from the original to a variety of clones. They tend to vary in the juice channel dimensions and air flow distribution capabilities. In other words... some work as intended, and some don't work very well at all.

 

[FAUXPUFF]

State, your answer was just what I needed. I'm going to try some of what you mentioned, I'm sure I'll stumble upon a solution. I have started to make the wick tails much thinner, and shorter as well. It's helping. I'm almost there. Replies like yours are the reason I use this forum. THANKS!

 

[DoubleEwe]

I have found that with thicker liquids the air bubbles can have a hard time escaping from the channels.

With 70%VG I have to wait for them to escape before I take another hit or dry hits will happen (probably due to the un-escaped air bubble being sucked back into the build chamber rather than sucking in liquid).

 

[State O' Flux]

State, your answer was just what I needed. I'm going to try some of what you mentioned, I'm sure I'll stumble upon a solution. I have started to make the wick tails much thinner, and shorter as well. It's helping. I'm almost there. Replies like yours are the reason I use this forum. THANKS!

Odd that it went to a 404. Let's try the link without the imbedding... or if that doesn't work, click on my blog count and look for the title.

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...type-atomizers-new-vapists-how-they-work.html

Have fun! ;-)

 

[FAUXPUFF]

I also run Kayfuns, and I have them set up with clear M Tanks, and clear chimney assemblies. I miss this, because I could diagnose wicking problems by simply looking at the wick to see if it is flooded or dry. It would be a cool aftermarket product for the Orchid, a clear chimney. I'm getting closer to a good wick. I found that opening the "juice control" (unscrewing the chimney a few turns) was causing it's own set of problems. After I would take a hit, instead of one or two large bubbles rising from the channels, I would get 7 or 8 much smaller ones, taking a lot longer to displace the juice. Not good. Any input is welcome, share with me your working wick methods. Thanks!

 

[FAUXPUFF]

So, what's the deal with RAYON anyway? I had some laying around, but never got around to using it because I didn't feel awesome about it's risks. Well, I did 12 wickings with CVS cotton, and all 12 failed. So, driven by despair, I pulled out the Rayon and proceeded to build a wick. Middle of the road density, very thin tails extending about halfway down the juice channels. BAM! All the flavor I remembered this juice to have. NO burning, even at 21.1 watts, where I'm running it. Chain vapes don't even faze it, it keeps up with some seriously thirsty behavior from my coils. I'm running a 3mm diameter coil now too, in an effort to increase surface area for wicking. I gotta say, if I can make sure to stay away from dry burns, I am considering allowing Rayon to be my number one wick. Very impressed.

 

[Nicole Glenn]

I fill my orchid from the top and put top back on loosely flip upside down then tighten keeps mine from leaking hope that makes sense


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[hippesthippo]

I use KGD. 5/64 id coils. Cut the wick tails off at the edge of the build deck. I don't stuff anything down the channels, I just lay the ends of my wick on top of them. Works a charm.

 

[weenerdog3443]

I use rayon on mine. 2.4mil coils. I'd say demse. To the point where u get a squeak threading it. The biggest thing is say bout my orchid is and wickibg make sure to leave just a tad to go down into the channels and mot to cover the air holes at all

 

[ZeRo2o9]

I use KGD. 5/64 id coils. Cut the wick tails off at the edge of the build deck. I don't stuff anything down the channels, I just lay the ends of my wick on top of them. Works a charm.

Think I need to try this, as I have tried everything and I still get dry hits, have gotten it to the point where only my first hit will be ok but any thing after will dry hit. Going to try cutting it at the edge of the deck later

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[Heespharm]

Do this... No dry hits and no leaking as long as I use the bottom fill screw

http://youtu.be/siuHCFRDW-4

 

[captmarc]

I've found the density isn't quite as important as length. The orchid likes very short wicks. I cut mine even with the juice channel walls, don't let any wick go down into the juice channels, they should just touch the deck and sit on top of the juice channel. No dry hits for me, but I am rewicking about every 3-4 days since there is so little wick there (dual coil build). Curious to try Rayon myself. Right now I'm using the fancy japanese organic cotton pads, I found these wicked better than regular organic cotton balls.