Wick materials. Safe vs dangerous.

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Quigsworth

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I miss you quigs ;)

That's a key point here, how heavy do you want to have at it? I tend to machine gun vape and rest, and that's about the worst way to handle a "less than perfect" wicking system.

Maybe joining the quigs train soon and selling everything off and going 100% feeder :facepalm:

Great post bluegrass thank you. My DID coils tend to look a lot like that, I'm wondering if that's why the baton worked so well vs the Zen where the coils are all angled spread out

Still crunching the hemp Zen and it still tastes off. Only thing more stubborn than hemp is a horse who vapes

Miss you all too...new job is a bit of a killer, here's your portfolio, a BB and a laptop, we're re-negotiating a 40K sq ft lease on Wed., we need you up to speed, oh by the way, welcome aboard :facepalm:

another reason I haven't been saying a whole lot lately, is well, I haven't got a whole lot to add (though I've been lurking :p), I've got 10 bf's now, 7 ERA's and 3 A7's, all on 28 oval coils with Lydia's (haven't had too much time to experiment lately), thing is, they all just work, every time...about the biggest thing I did was install shut-off switches in my VV Boggers, they use cheap regs with zero safety and if you forget to pull the batts the stand-by will suck the batts down to scary levels after 3-4 days of sitting, mind you, so do my Reo VVW and VVG but they're daily users so I catch it.
 

Quigsworth

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Does he roll the wicks tight or leave it a little fluffy? Sounds like it's too tight. I can chain and chain and chain and it still hits good.

He does a pretty good job, it's nice and fluffy, he does this thing where he washes the sh-- out of his hands, then again with some straight PG then he rolls up 2-3 ft of wick at a time, thing is, it's just what I become used to, I don't think you can really expect anything to beat a bottom fed device that you can pound 15 watts through an on-demand force-saturated wick...I use the Cyrus method of squonk till the juice is coming out of the airhole
 

L7D4N

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Miss you all too...new job is a bit of a killer, here's your portfolio, a BB and a laptop, we're re-negotiating a 40K sq ft lease on Wed., we need you up to speed, oh by the way, welcome aboard :facepalm:

another reason I haven't been saying a whole lot lately, is well, I haven't got a whole lot to add (though I've been lurking :p), I've got 10 bf's now, 7 ERA's and 3 A7's, all on 28 oval coils with Lydia's (haven't had too much time to experiment lately), thing is, they all just work, every time...about the biggest thing I did was install shut-off switches in my VV Boggers, they use cheap regs with zero safety and if you forget to pull the batts the stand-by will suck the batts down to scary levels after 3-4 days of sitting, mind you, so do my Reo VVW and VVG but they're daily users so I catch it.

Now there's a "Long time no see" post :D

Don't worry, I've been absent in here too. I acquired a Terminator but just can't get it to work consistently, and believe it or not, my carto tanks and Smoktech single-coil 3ohm cartos have been doing me very well lately.

I just got the 2MM lovepedal hemp wick, some flat kanthal wire, and more cotton today though, so I'll be experimenting this weekend.
 

Quigsworth

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Now there's a "Long time no see" post :D

Don't worry, I've been absent in here too. I acquired a Terminator but just can't get it to work consistently, and believe it or not, my carto tanks and Smoktech single-coil 3ohm cartos have been doing me very well lately.

I just got the 2MM lovepedal hemp wick, some flat kanthal wire, and more cotton today though, so I'll be experimenting this weekend.

The Ody isn't any less finicky...it took a while before I could get it to either not DH or flood...though I have to say, of all the gear I've bought and sold,, I miss my Ody the most...sometimes I get an itchy finger for one of those terminators when ever they pop up on the classy's (I still have the box mod I made for it)...hang in there, you'll nail it...

flat Kanthal?...did I miss something?
 

L7D4N

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Yeah, here's the ribbon/flat kanthal wire that's all the rave right now:

Kanthal D Ribbon Resistance Heating Flat Wire 0 8 0 1mm 031 004" | eBay

You can get the nichrome ribbon/flat wire here in the states on eBay as well, but I prefer kanthal due to the better taste. Everyone has been going on and on about how awesome this wire is because of its inherent ability to reduce hot spots on SS coils given its a flat surface against the wick. I haven't tried it myself and I just received some today, but I've heard nothing but good things about it.
 

Cyrus Vap

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I sold my Penelope for a few reasons. I found the use of NR wire to be incredibly annoying. I also found the constant screwing around with my juice flow control to be cumbersome. As much as I have complained in the past about various set ups not being able to keep up with my vape pace, I have found nothing as aggravating as 1) top tanks 2) flow control. I also didn't really enjoy the draw as much as I wanted to, probably because it seems like I prefer side air.

I figured, I can get identical performance, or better performance from a feeder set up, or even dripping (much less annoying for me, even outside the house) so why do I need to carry around a big flashlight for this headache when I can just use a box and have a fresh vape everytime?

With a genesis I feel its justified because I'm getting a totally different vape than I would with a feeder/atty.

I do regret selling it once in a while and also find myself stalking for terminators, especially in light of the possible genny swan song that's cooking in the modding forum. Then I remember all of the above. Meh. We all have those things that frustrate us, rational or not.
 

kscoggins

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I'm playing with 'organics' in gennies now

My first attempt was batton rolled up and slid through an existing DID coil. I have to say it performed stellar for about 7 mls, then I got excited about trying an 'unoxidized' set up with mesh and pulled it out

I tried the same thing on my ZAP, and for some reason kept getting mild scorching at the top coil. Coils are more widely spiced on the ZAP and the juice has a bit further to travel vs. the DID, so that maybe the issue.

Keeping the existing coils on the ZAP I pulled the tank off and ran 3 7-strand bamboo threads through the coil. The coil was built on a 7/64th drill bit. The bamboo taste is taking its time going away, but about 2 mls in now and its steadily improving. We'll see where this goes.

BJ, bluegrass, and anyone else doing this, I'd be interested to see your results and techniques.

What I've been doing is using a small bit of ss mesh around the bottom, just enough to keep the cotton "constrained" to fit the wick hole and keep it nice inside the tank. The mesh ends just above the wick hole, then the cotton puffs out to maybe twice the size of the wick hole. So far it works pretty well, but I'm using 500 mesh (unoxidized) in the tank but I suspect a bigger mesh would work better.
 

Cyrus Vap

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What I've been doing is using a small bit of ss mesh around the bottom, just enough to keep the cotton "constrained" to fit the wick hole and keep it nice inside the tank. The mesh ends just above the wick hole, then the cotton puffs out to maybe twice the size of the wick hole. So far it works pretty well, but I'm using 500 mesh (unoxidized) in the tank but I suspect a bigger mesh would work better.

good stuff ks, thank you :) what's your coil to wick area look like with that double puff?
 

seneca mike

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I'm using the Walmart #4 Peaches & Cream natural cotton, well boiled, threaded through a Kanthal A1 coil made with 4 wraps around a 1/8th machine screw to give 2.3 ohms. If I change juice, I pull the wet cotton out of the coil (on a ViVi), and use a Kanthal threader loop to pull a new double length back through the coil. It only takes a couple minutes although the new juice takes a half hour to fully expand and wet the cotton wick. Fully expanded and wetted, it fills the coil diameter perfectly. I change the cotton only if I'm changing flavors. If I'm not changing flavors I just quickly rinse it each day and pad it dry on a towel: it never burns or gets so dirty I cant clean it quickly under a faucet. I hardly ever change coil.... just wash it and shake dryish maybe once a week. I chain vape 100%VG with flavorings, but no nicotine... I get big clouds of warm vapor with fantastic crisp flavor and zero cotton aftertaste provided I've let a new wick soak 30 mins after filling. Right now I'm sucking caramel mocha. I love it.... I smoked cigs 50 years. Crazy! You think 'throat hit' means something good? It doesn't! You think you still need nic? No you don't... try this stuff I'm sucking down!
This cotton does its job real well and seems to be the safest alternative from what I've read above. And in a ViVi style clearo its all so easy to deal with, and cheap, using a threader. My question is.... why would anyone continue to mess around with SS, Hemp, Ceramic, Silica or anything else? Yeh, I've done the SS thing (etc) and yeh it wicks better than cotton, but who cares... cotton wicks real good, more than good enough, and doesn't conduct electricity or give off chrome oxide particles, glass shards, ceramic dusts etc! Duuh... cotton is king!
TIP: be gentle with your cotton wick material and don't snag it in prep/assembly. If you dont stress it getting it into its position.... it won't shed even a miniscule hair. I've checked under 30X mag.... everything I start with is still there after a weeks power vaping. My second check was to install a foam air filter in my drip tip and examine it under 30X after a week. Guess what? You got it... no cotton fibers, just juice residue. Try it yourself.
I admit I havent read all 442 prior pages.... hope I didnt miss anything interesting......
 

kscoggins

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good stuff ks, thank you :) what's your coil to wick area look like with that double puff?

Here's a quick pic of it. It's a few weeks old, so it's kinda dirty.
7esuqevu.jpg


... measurements are very rough...
 

roadrash

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I admit I havent read all 442 prior pages.... hope I didnt miss anything interesting......

Yes you did. Aunt Lydias #10 Bamboo. 10 months ago when this thread started I just loved the cotton wick. It was a game changer for me. Then slowly a little at a time I started using bamboo more and more in my CE-5 until it completely overtook my love of cotton.The bamboo is so easy to use, Wicks as good if not better than cotton. Dry hits are unheard of for me. Will take higher heat than cotton. It does have a different starting taste which I prefer with unflavored joose. Try it, You may like it.:)
 

Bmays

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Yes you did. Aunt Lydias #10 Bamboo. 10 months ago when this thread started I just loved the cotton wick. It was a game changer for me. Then slowly a little at a time I started using bamboo more and more in my CE-5 until it completely overtook my love of cotton.The bamboo is so easy to use, Wicks as good if not better than cotton. Dry hits are unheard of for me. Will take higher heat than cotton. It does have a different starting taste which I prefer with unflavored joose. Try it, You may like it.:)

Where did you get yours? I see some on ebay etc but kinda pricy if I don't like it. Cant stand the cotton taste.
 

Cyrus Vap

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Bmays I get mine from Michael's, its like 2.95 or something silly like that for a lifetime supply :)

EDIT: And keep in mind these 'natural' wicks should all eventually be more or less 'tasteless.' Cotton is particularly obnoxious when it gets and gunk on it, seems to soak up the girlfriend flavor more efficiently than bamboo or hemp for some reason. Nitrile gloves ...!
 
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seneca mike

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OK, thanks....I will try it :)

next stop Michael's for bamboo yarn.
After a while, I'll check for particles and let you know if I see any shedding at all.

.....but Bmays I gotta tell ya if you double boil your cotton yarn 20 minutes, clean water each time, then dry it real good and keep it in a ziploc, and let it soak up the juice for a half hour before firing up.... there is no cotton taste! I suspect most people don't boil it long enough nor let it soak juice long enough.
 
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Stadanko

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Yeah, here's the ribbon/flat kanthal wire that's all the rave right now:

Kanthal D Ribbon Resistance Heating Flat Wire 0 8 0 1mm 031 004" | eBay

You can get the nichrome ribbon/flat wire here in the states on eBay as well, but I prefer kanthal due to the better taste. Everyone has been going on and on about how awesome this wire is because of its inherent ability to reduce hot spots on SS coils given its a flat surface against the wick. I haven't tried it myself and I just received some today, but I've heard nothing but good things about it.

Thanks for the link. Ordered.
 
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