Wick materials. Safe vs dangerous.

[Ezkill]

Cool, have you tried the cheese cloth to compare?...reason why I'm asking is if it's as good and it's as simple as reeling off a chunk and you're done, it may be worth getting some of this candle wick...

Yes, the cheesecloth wicks about the same but I find it to be more of a pain. Rolling it, cutting it, trimming the frayed pieces. Then it really puffs up so when you assemble one of the GG's it will fray the cotton a bit more as you tighten it all up. I could certainly use the cloth long term but the candle wick is so much easier.

Once you boil the entire 10 yards of the cotton candle wick and let it dry it's even easier to work with then the silica. No rolling or messing around you just cut and go. I would say it's actually easier to work with then the silica because it doesn't splinter when you cut it and doesn't shred when you assemble the GG's.

 

[Quigsworth]

Good to know...I don't mind messing with the cheese cloth so I'll just stick with it, just making sure I wasn't missing something spectacular

 

[Ezkill]

The difference I've found is the candle wick has no break in while I think the cheesecloth has a little bit. That could be in my head but I thought I got a little tiny bit of a burned taste from the cloth at first. Not so with the candle wick.

The other difference, and it's minor, is that because the cheesecloth is more frayed I get the odd shot of a droplet of juice in my mouth. It's not a big deal but it doesn't happen at all with the candle wick. That could probably all be fixed by using a better technique and not having as messy of wick in the cup.

 

[Quigsworth]

Been doing it this way http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...erials-safe-vs-dangerous-407.html#post6811270 works pretty good with no frays

 

[Ezkill]

Oh I'm not saying I'm done with the cheesecloth or anything. I'll probably be go back to it at some point and give it a few more trials. I just found after a small test that they both worked very well but the wick was easier to use so when I rebuilt 6 Penelope's/Odysseus's this morning I went with the easier option.

 

[BJ43]

Just curious....What's the purpose of doing this? I thought the whole idea was to get rid of the silica. Flavor on cotton wicks, imo, is superior to silica so why wouldn't you just pull the silica and replace it? I just got 2 new vivis and the first thing I did was pull the silica wicks out and thread a cotton wick into the coil.

Just lazy, the cotton gives me better vaper and easy to remove to clean and dry burn. No threading.

Side by side with a threaded cotton wick, I taste no difference and the batten wicks are not that easy to thread.

 

[MikeE3]

Been doing it this way http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...erials-safe-vs-dangerous-407.html#post6811270 works pretty good with no frays

Quigs, FYI, seems your link is 'linking' back to 'this' page, not to some post about doing the cheese cloth wick.

 

[bluegrasslover]

the batten wicks are not that easy to thread.

To me, the batten wicks are a ton easier to thread. Make about an inch of one of the ends super small, then clip to get rid of any strays, spit on it, run it through, pull, snip, snip, done.

 

[ratpack7]

Yes, the cheesecloth wicks about the same but I find it to be more of a pain. Rolling it, cutting it, trimming the frayed pieces. Then it really puffs up so when you assemble one of the GG's it will fray the cotton a bit more as you tighten it all up. I could certainly use the cloth long term but the candle wick is so much easier.

Once you boil the entire 10 yards of the cotton candle wick and let it dry it's even easier to work with then the silica. No rolling or messing around you just cut and go. I would say it's actually easier to work with then the silica because it doesn't splinter when you cut it and doesn't shred when you assemble the GG's.

This is the same thing I have been doing with cotton yarn. Just snip off a piece and go no muss no fuss. I havent tried cotton wick yet since I'm getting awesome results with the yarn.

 

[Ezkill]

Im not actually sure the wick is any different then cotton yarn but I thought i'd try it as liquid wax is more or less the same viscosity as e-liquid. I don't know if the square braid or any of the other factors make any difference or have any advantage over yarn. The square braid wick is very tight and stays together really well which I appreciate for the GG pieces.

I'll know more about the longevity and general performance in a few weeks. For now though it's perfect. Truthfully the silica doesn't last that long anyway so anything over a week on the wick and it will be another win over the silica.

 

[ratpack7]

Im not actually sure the wick is any different then cotton yarn but I thought i'd try it as liquid wax is more or less the same viscosity as e-liquid. I don't know if the square braid or any of the other factors make any difference or have any advantage over yarn. The square braid wick is very tight and stays together really well which I appreciate for the GG pieces.

I'll know more about the longevity and general performance in a few weeks. For now though it's perfect. Truthfully the silica doesn't last that long anyway so anything over a week on the wick and it will be another win over the silica.

One advantage to yarn is it is $1.77 for 120 yards

 

[Cool_Breeze]

My square braided cotton candle wick didn't arrive today as I had expected. ...perhaps tomorrow.

Im not actually sure the wick is any different then cotton yarn but I thought i'd try it as liquid wax is more or less the same viscosity as e-liquid. I don't know if the square braid or any of the other factors make any difference or have any advantage over yarn. The square braid wick is very tight and stays together really well which I appreciate for the GG pieces.

I'll know more about the longevity and general performance in a few weeks. For now though it's perfect. Truthfully the silica doesn't last that long anyway so anything over a week on the wick and it will be another win over the silica.

 

[roadrash]

Ya know with diy joose and cotton wicks and nichrome/kanthal wire being as cheap as it is, I think all the modders should give themselves a big hand/high5 for getting to this point. We took something that was only supplied by vendors. atties/cartos and kept at it until we could make our own for next to nothing.

 

[blackwater]

Ya know with diy joose and cotton wicks and nichrome/kanthal wire being as cheap as it is, I think all the modders should give themselves a big hand/high5 for getting to this point. We took something that was only supplied by vendors. atties/cartos and kept at it until we could make our own for next to nothing.

I so love this post. I never minded paying a lot for a great mod. Ever. The only thing that ever killed me and made me angry was $6-$11 Attys. It always ...... me off. Yes you guys eventually made them better but damn, I make them so much better here at my house for $ 0.15

Cheers to all who have gone this route.

Chris

 

[ED-209]

Anyway, I figured I'd see if anyone had any feedback regarding the weird taste from the cotton wick I experience...did I maybe not boil it enough, too much, etc. (I did the entire wicking for 20 minutes on a rapid high boil)? I didn't wrap the coil THAT tight and when I removed the wick there were no burn marks as well as when I did this the rubber wire insulator wasn't scorched at all.

I just found the product for the cotton wicking I got and it was the same one in the YT video I watched:

Amazon.com: Cotton Square Braid Candle Wick - #1/0: Arts, Crafts & Sewing

Thanks for any and all info\help\feedback, I truly appreesh

Can anyone confirm if the candle wick (with no chemicals) that everyone is recently posting pics of and discussing is the same wick in the above link and if not if this one is ok to use since the description states no chemicals and lead free?

Also, does anyone know what might cause that hint of weird taste I got when I tried it that I mentioned from my previous post from above? I didn't see any replies so just figured I'd try again.

Thanks for any and all help\info..

 

[roadrash]

Ok Ed, I'll give it a shot.
From what I could see the wick you got should be alright. I can't say if anybody else has used it.
The weird taste could be from a dirty coil wire, joose or the cotton wick or some flavor transference from your fingers while handling the wick.I put joose on my wick before I even touch it.
After that the best help I can give you is to make sure your wick is saturated with joose and start out with the lowest voltage you possibly can.

Are you getting the carpet/rug taste? Does it go away after a while?

 

[Ezkill]

I'm not sure ED, that's the one I'm using. I'm not getting weird taste or anything strange happening with it. I found no break in time at all in this wick and the flavor was spot on from the first time I fired the coil. I caught a hint of a burned taste when I drained my tank for the first time. I didn't realize it had used everything to the last drop lol. Pulled it apart, no burn marks on wick, refilled with juice and no burned taste.

I boiled mine for roughly 30 minutes to start and expected to see a bunch of stuff on top of the water. I did not see anything of note on top of the water after a 30 minute boil but I flushed the pot with cold water instead of pulling the wick out to make sure.

 

[Ezkill]

One advantage to yarn is it is $1.77 for 120 yards

Yep, that certainly would be an advantage to yarn. But 80 cents for a yard (36 inches)of the wick it won't break the bank either lol.

With the "expensive" stuff it's like 12-15 cents to rebuild one of these including the cost of the wire. Truthfully I'd spend 10 dollars to rebuild these if it was healthier. It's just a benefit that the natural fibre is much cheaper and is also probably better for you.

Personally I'm just much more comfortable using a fibre my lungs can expel as opposed to something that would stay in them for ever.

 

[MickeyRat]

I boiled mine for roughly 30 minutes to start and expected to see a bunch of stuff on top of the water. I did not see anything of note on top of the water after a 30 minute boil but I flushed the pot with cold water instead of pulling the wick out to make sure.

When I boiled the cotton yarn I'm using now, I didn't really see anything in the pot but, I happened to have some water standing in the sink when I poured the water in. I could see it in the sink. It's colorless and it looks like starch.

 

[rondasherrill]

I am having great luck using this: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Pacon-Corporation-Natural-Cotton-Warp-Yarn-4p-800yds/17618873