Wicks and RBAs... where to begin?

[daveyp]

I must have read dozens of threads on RBAs, but I have no idea about the different kinds of wicks and coiling procedures. Oxidized vs unoxidized, mesh, ceramic, silica, some kind of cotton, etc. It's a bit overwhelming. I was originally going to buy a Z-Atty Pro but found they went from including tons of wicks to include only two wicks of the ceramic nature which apparently break easy and cost $6-7??Why do people use them? Are there any kits like the older ZAP that are cheaper and work as well?

I want to get out of my routine purchasing of tank cartos and move on to better vaping. Is there somewhere I can learn about all the different types? And how to make my own?

 

[notawoman]

The best way to jump into it is with a cheap dripping rebuildable. genesis style atomizers can be very difficult to setup properly.

I had problems with them and I had been accustomed to rebuilding my drippers.

So, my advice is to buy an igo l, silica or ekowool, wire and a multimeter.

 

[State O' Flux]

The best way to jump into it is with a cheap dripping rebuildable. genesis style atomizers can be very difficult to setup properly. I had problems with them and I had been accustomed to rebuilding my drippers.
So, my advice is to buy an igo l, silica or ekowool, wire and a multimeter.

Pretty good advice actually... in particular, the last bit about buying a DMM.

Dave...
People use them (gennies that is) because, like RDAs, they can easily be built to run at or below 1.0Ω. Whether you're a "cloud chaser" or just looking for a major jump in flavor, lower resistance can be a big revelation.

Like notawoman, I wouldn't recommend genesis atomizers as a really good place to start for a novice either. Start with a RDA or two, play with those until you have a good understanding of sub ohm, building coils (and using a DMM). When you get that down... then re-visit the genesis atty idea.

Not saying it will take months... perhaps only weeks, but you need to be knowledgeable and safe with building coils, low resistance and some of the more common failures that can occur. Adding in the complication of genesis wicking may just make things more confusing than they need to be.

My 4 gennies sit mostly... I prefer the speed and (relative) simplicity of Kayfuns and RDAs. (Although, I did just order a Kracken, so I'm not completely disinterested ;-))

 

[daveyp]

I really do appreciate the suggestions, but I am not into dripping. I am the type to fill up a tank and vape until it runs out, rinse and repeat. This is why I went with tank setups and all-day VV devices thus far. I don't mind fiddling when necessary, and have taken classes in circuitry design. If I can enjoy the experience more without changing my general vaping routine then that is what I wish to accomplish.

Sorry for seeming stubborn here. I've watched many videos on various mech mods and genesis atomizers, and am determined to have a working set-up as soon as I can, and have the patience to do it right. I just need a place to become educated on the various kinds of wicks.

 

[State O' Flux]

I don't mind fiddling when necessary, and have taken classes in circuitry design.

Then you're ahead of about 98% of the rest of the folks that want to take up coil winding. ;-)

Sorry for seeming stubborn here.

Stubborn? Hell son... Stubborn is what we are.

There is no place to learn it all in one easy thread, video or post... so keep reading, and give it a shot.

 

[Discord]

after spending a while in RBAs building with mesh and SS cable I eventually tried cotton (just sterile cotton from CVS or wherever) and have never gone back. It's 1000x easier to work with (cotton doesn't short), is easily replaced and is very cheap. It also wicks better. No need for tilting, never get dry hits, and don't get any leaks if it's built right.

 

[State O' Flux]

after spending a while in RBAs building with mesh and SS cable I eventually tried cotton (just sterile cotton from CVS or wherever) and have never gone back. It's 1000x easier to work with (cotton doesn't short), is easily replaced and is very cheap. It also wicks better. No need for tilting, never get dry hits, and don't get any leaks if it's built right.

Yep... right there with ya'. I've been using Koh Gen Do Japanese make-up pads. Just cut off the thickness you need, shove it in... and you're good to go.

Come to think of it, I've been using them on darn near everything. I've gotten so lazy I can't even roll up a piece of cotton ball.

 

[quatro]

The best way to jump into it is with a cheap dripping rebuildable. genesis style atomizers can be very difficult to setup properly.

I had problems with them and I had been accustomed to rebuilding my drippers.

So, my advice is to buy an igo l, silica or ekowool, wire and a multimeter.

Hmm, I set up a genny right the first time with zero issues!

 

[daveyp]

Thanks everyone. For some reason I thought the choice in wick was important. I worry though about how flame-......ant some choices might be (e.g. cotton). I'm guessing a spare shoelace might also work fine? lol

 

[Discord]

when the cotton is wet, it won't burn, even on really low Ω builds. if you run out of juice you'll get a terrible dry hit. if you're using realllllly low Ω and dry hit, you may scorch the wick, which will then need to be replaced. Up side is, it's super easy to re-wick and one bag of cotton balls will give you hundreds or thousands of wicks

 

[Krizzell]

Get cotton or mesh and wire and go for it. Ceramic may be good but it cost too much to find out and if I break it ......Get use it wrapping coils first without that nothing else matters.

 

[boathook]

Cotton is great since it's so cheap. I hit up CVS for some of these:
CVS Cotton Balls

I can probably get about 10 "wicks" out of each cotton ball. There are 130 in there. That's 1300 wicks. For $3.00

Or you can pick up some stainless mesh. McMaster-Carr is the cheapest I've found if you want a bit of it. I picked up a couple of 12"x24" sheets from them. People around here usually recommend #400 mesh or #500 mesh. Personally, I picked up some #325 and I've been happy with it.

 

[Jazzi Mike]

I have yet to use a ceramic wick. I will pipe in here though. For genesis style atomizers, they were originally built for SS Mesh. SS mesh is a great wick... When you get it up and working. Unfortunately, it also conducts electricity, so it is a total B---- to set up. It is incredibly flavorful. The hard ceramic wicks that come with the ZAP are supposedly very flavorful as well, but do not conduct electricity, making them much easier to set up, if they don't break on you.

As far as the suggestion to use cotton, it is one of many wick types that you can use. That is one of the perks of RBAs: you have options for doing stuff many different ways.

My recommendation would be this: buy a cheap dripper and work on coil wrapping. Even if you don't like dripping, RDAs are the most simple build. After you get more skilled, get an RSST. They are the most beginner friendly RBA. That way, if it winds up a paperweight, it won't be one that costs $100+. If you absolutely won't get a dripper

We can all say what we think is the best wicking material. It may not be what is the best for you. I think silica is the best when first starting. It is very forgiving to newcomers.

 

[Rictic]

I have to agree with everyone about starting off with a cheap dripping atomizer. The first RBA I tried was a genesis (Cobra), and it made me hate the idea of RBAs for a few months cause it was so fiddly and grew tired of rebuilding over and over.

Finally I got a $10 dripper. Like you, I was definitely not into dripping as my main way of vaping, but it was so easy to rebuild and so forgiving during the trial phase that I eventually got the confidence to try other styles of RBAs. On the drippers I would start with a coil wrapped around one strand of 2mm ekowool, and when I wanted to change flavor I would just remove the ekowool, rinse the whole thing, dry burn the coils, and rewick it with cotton (sterilized cotton balls from CVS, no need to boil in my humble opinion). Takes 1 minute; super convenient when trying out new flavors as you get the full flavor experience with dripping.

I've since retried genesis attys (with SS mesh and various other wicking materials) and silica tank attys. Still not crazy about genesis attys, but my Kayfun lite is the best purchase I've made since vaping (I use 2mm ekowool in those builds).

Hope you find your thang

Edit: Last thing, don't get turned off immediately by the initial flavor sometimes. I dry burn my silica/ekowool coils to test for hot spots, and that sometimes creates and weird silica-y taste at first. Without hot spots, that goes away in a few minutes or a couple of hits. Don't inhale the first couple of drags if you get that taste initially if it bothers you too much.

With cotton you can't dry burn. But you can test for hot spots by building the coil around a drill bit or any small cylindrical metal item, install and test burn, then wick the cotton through the coil. Cotton also has a cotton-y initial flavor sometimes, but that goes away even faster than the burnt silica-y taste.