Wick materials. Safe vs dangerous.

[Cool_Breeze]

...never boils. However, a forgotten pot of Bamboo Yarn and #2/0 Cotton Candle Wick, set to boil and forgotten can burn up leaving only ashes.

Well, that afforded me the opportunity to step up to #1/0 Cotton Candle Wick.

Supervape...still got my address?


PS A good time was had this afternoon at the Lexington vape Meet...kudos to Matt/Fazed.

 

[supervape]

HA HA you let the bamboo boil dry huh REAL dry LOL you need more?

On Tapatalk via my Mobile

 

[Cool_Breeze]

HA HA you let the bamboo boil dry huh REAL dry LOL you need more?

On Tapatalk via my Mobile

Yes, please. So far it's in the top two if not the very top material.

 

[rotohammer]

I've been vaping for 5 months and noticed that both fiberglass and silica wicks seriously deteriorate under the coil which greatly concerned me. I've worked in several industrial plants that make glass wool and fiberglass insulation. Unfortunately I had to witness the deaths of 5 employees, hence my deep concerns.

Fiberglass is made from molten silica or sand. Pure silica thread is typically made of Sodium Silicate. Asbestos is a silica based naturally formed crystaline rock.

The process of dry burning heats the threads to a point where they can snap into small fragments due to thermal expansion and contraction.

The manufactured thread used in wicks is safe as manufactured (long threads) but during use in an atomizer its structure may become altered. Do you ever see broken threads under your coil when rewicking? I do.

I dont have the means of inspecting for micron sized fragments on my atomizers, so I have no way to personally know whether or not I am inhaling such fragments.

I've switched to using cotton wicks. I haven't found any data to prove that silica in any form is safe to heat and inhale.

I wish everyone a long lifetime of safe vaping!

 

[jsaveker]

Having just spent an hour trawling through this thread, reading some of the linked articles I am quite concerned. I have often heard people talk about concerns with the liquid or even the carto filler material... I had not prior to today seen any concern surrounding the coil wick itself. I do hope a materials scientist looks in to this, surely there must be a safe substitute.

Reading the thread did remind me of the following bbc news story of a Vaper dying of a lung disease - severe lipoid pneumonia. His doctor did question if his use of e-cigs was a contributory factor.

Whilst this is nothing more than unsubstantiated conjecture it warrants some research in to more appropriate materials for the coil wick itself.

Just my $0.02

 

[rotohammer]

Reading the thread did remind me of the following bbc news story of a Vaper dying of a lung disease - severe lipoid pneumonia. His doctor did question if his use of e-cigs was a contributory factor.

A quick Google search reveals lipoid pneumonia is commonly caused by the ingestion of oil, namely mineral oil for the relief of constipation. If I ever start with fits of coughing I'd stop chain vaping immediatly.

 

[Ezkill]

Much like you rotohammer I've always questioned the silica but was assured by many long time users that it was indeed safe and lab tested and that everyone uses it. Like a lot of people I largely ignored the alarm bells going off in the back of my head because frankly I wasn't smoking anymore and that was enough for the time being. I've always exercised extra caution with new wicks including a thorough rinse and blowing them off with compressed air to dislodge any large lose strands. I found the silica for lack of a better word shatters when clipped.

Then last week it happend. A larger piece of silica broke off and hit the back of my throat. It took me a long time to hack it up and it was an extremely unpleasant experience. It was literally like having a piece of glass stuck in the back of my throat. I have a full understanding that a strand this large would never make it to to the lungs but it made me reconsider my options. Especially because I found that on new wicks I would get a lot of extra throat harshness. I can only assume that the extra throat harshness was coming from small pieces of silica as the wick was breaking in.

Cotton may not be without it's problems but the risks seem extremely small since it is a natural fibre and the lungs have the capability of cleansing it. I just can't get past the fact that silica can sit in your lungs forever. Is it making it into the lungs? I just don't know. I just know if it does it will be there for a lifetime.

 

[jsaveker]

Yes indeed. The doctor in question was referring to the use of oil based food flavorings in the DIY juice the chap was using.

Surely there must be be safer ways to relieve such constipation such as eating an orange or such

 

[jsaveker]

Then last week it happend. A larger piece of silica broke off and hit the back of my throat. It took me a long time to hack it up and it was an extremely unpleasant experience. It was literally like having a piece of glass stuck in the back of my throat. I have a full understanding that a strand this large would never make it to to the lungs but it made me reconsider my options. Especially because I found that on new wicks I would get a lot of extra throat harshness. I can only assume that the extra throat harshness was coming from small pieces of silica as the wick was breaking in.

Gosh was this on a factory atty or a repairable type one?

 

[rotohammer]

Then last week it happend. A larger piece of silica broke off and hit the back of my throat.

Wow! Just Wow! I can't even think of something to say!

 

[Ezkill]

Gosh was this on a factory atty or a repairable type one?

Repairable. I know why it happened and I know how to avoid it but it's not something I want to risk happening again. Basically when you rebuild an Odysseus with a triple wick design you end up snipping 2 pieces of silica at the top closest to the mouthpiece. Since it tends to shatter on snipping I was blowing it off with compressed air and then doing a thorough rinse. Guess I missed a piece. The new coil was doing it's regular snapping(especially since the wick had some water from being rinsed) and a piece of silica hit the back of my throat.

I should add that I expect this snapping from a new wet wick and thus I take draws and don't actually inhale anything until the snapping stops and the wick is only wicking juice. This is why the silica only hit the back of my throat.

I'm not blaming it on the Odysseus or the wick. Using a single wick design the cuts are only at the bottom of the cup and you would never have this situation. However, this is my preferred method of wicking so I'm exposing myself to this happening again with silica wick. With the cotton it's not a problem. The cotton doesn't shatter and cuts cleanly. I'm also not worried about the odd cotton fibre though I do use compressed air and a rinse.

Edit: I'd also like to add that on day 4 the 100 percent cotton, unleaded and unprimed #1/0 candle wick is working like it's brand new. Generally a silica wick by this point would be starting to go a bit off. I rinsed the wick to see what it looks like and it's not burned and looks brand new after a rinse. This is a surprise because the silica looks burned and gunked up by this point.

 

[Cool_Breeze]

Edit: I'd also like to add that on day 4 the 100 percent cotton, unleaded and unprimed #1/0 candle wick is working like it's brand new. Generally a silica wick by this point would be starting to go a bit off. I rinsed the wick to see what it looks like and it's not burned and looks brand new after a rinse. This is a surprise because the silica looks burned and gunked up by this point.

What type of juice are you using..? light/dark..? organic content/tobacco absolute..?

 

[rotohammer]

I'd also like to add that on day 4 the 100 percent cotton, unleaded and unprimed #1/0 candle wick is working like it's brand new. Generally a silica wick by this point would be starting to go a bit off. I rinsed the wick to see what it looks like and it's not burned and looks brand new after a rinse. This is a surprise because the silica looks burned and gunked up by this point.

Considering all the fanfare that silica wick is getting lately, I'm surprised more folks haven't figured out that its not all that much better than fiberglass.

I too would destroy wicks in 4 days whereas cotton just keeps performing. I was expecting one day at most out of cotton.

 

[Ezkill]

What type of juice are you using..? light/dark..? organic content/tobacco absolute..?

Boba's bounty in one Odysseus which is dark and 100% VG.

Heaven's Nectar in a second Odysseus which is I believe a 60/40 and it's a medium dark fruit juice.

I've been vaping like a lab money for the last 4 days, for test purposes of course(yea right). My regular juice consumption tends to be around 3-4ml a day and it's been more around 8 the last few days. I've been splitting pretty evenly between the two Ody's. Both Odysseus wicks look brand new.

 

[MikeE3]

Is that the yarn i sent? also how is everyone enjoying the bamboo yarn i sent? i have more

Hi Supervape - I'm using the bamboo yarn you graciously sent today. I wraped a hybred SS mesh and yarn wick for the GTUS we're calling the Quigstick. I had been using strands from cheesecloth. The yarn is easier to work with, and I believe after a couple yarn 'testing' it, it's producing better vapor. I like it, and will continue to use it in place of the cheesecloth.

I cut a six inch piece of the yarn, then selected three stands. Wrap the 3 strands flat (that is keep each strand next to each other when wrapping) around the base of the wick to basically get 1 layer of the cotton strand around the base of the wick. Then thread the remaining yarn up through the wick and out the top (thread a pin w/ the yarn and push it through). This not only locks in the bottom wraps but provides for a length of yarn up the center of the wick to help improve wicking.

This is the final setup after putting on the top section of the atty chamber.

 

[rotohammer]

My regular juice consumption tends to be around 3-4ml a day and it's been more around 8 the last few days.

That's what happens when you get a good vape. I blew through 12ml yesterday because I was sitting at the computer. I'm heading for 6ml today if I can control myself.

 

[roadrash]

That's what happens when you get a good vape. I blew through 12ml yesterday because I was sitting at the computer. I'm heading for 6ml today if I can control myself.

LOL I was at 12 mil before I started the cotton. I can't even keep track anymore. Gotta start dIY before I go broke. :>)

 

[*~Peace~*]

Thanks for the heads up.

I've been vaping for 5 months and noticed that both fiberglass and silica wicks seriously deteriorate under the coil which greatly concerned me. I've worked in several industrial plants that make glass wool and fiberglass insulation. Unfortunately I had to witness the deaths of 5 employees, hence my deep concerns.

Fiberglass is made from molten silica or sand. Pure silica thread is typically made of Sodium Silicate. Asbestos is a silica based naturally formed crystaline rock.

The process of dry burning heats the threads to a point where they can snap into small fragments due to thermal expansion and contraction.

The manufactured thread used in wicks is safe as manufactured (long threads) but during use in an atomizer its structure may become altered. Do you ever see broken threads under your coil when rewicking? I do.

I dont have the means of inspecting for micron sized fragments on my atomizers, so I have no way to personally know whether or not I am inhaling such fragments.

I've switched to using cotton wicks. I haven't found any data to prove that silica in any form is safe to heat and inhale.

I wish everyone a long lifetime of safe vaping!

 

[oplholik]

I've been wondering about this. I have a ViVi Nova I received sitting here, and originally wanted to use it right out of the box till I got around to trying the re-wicking. Now I don't want to use it till I get some cotton, and re-wick with that. I don't want to take any chances with it.

 

[blackwater]

Hi,

Is there a reason the cheese cloth is so white? Has it been bleached?

Curious as a lot of the natural cotton isn't bright white. This is why I boil my favorite #2 box wick.

Thanks,

Chris