Wicks and Wires?..

[magikarp]

Being a starter on rba and RTAs i'm kind of lost in it all in the sense of finding the resources of kanthal(s?) and wicks or cotton, or which the best kind to use would be for rebuildables

what would be a suggested site to get these? Would my best bet be sites like ebay and amazon?

Is there any substitute for these items that are more widely available? i know i haven't seen much for kanthal wire in hardware shops; I'm not sure about smoke shops considering there isn't many around where i live and that i recently just started to opening my eyes to this type of stuff

 

[Btsmokincat]

Hands down the best place to buy Kanthal wire is from Lightning Vapes — Lightning Vapes - Great Products, Lightning Fast Shipping! Silica Wick, Kanthal Wire, Stainless Steel Mesh, Ekowool and More!. Free super fast shipping and cheap prices. He also sells on ebay. It's the only place I've been buying all my resistance wire for the past year and a half.

Some vapor shops sell Kanthal but usually by the foot. My local shop sells it for $.50 a foot where you can get 50 feet from lightningvapes for around $5.

The next question is what mods, RTA's and RDA's do you have? Are you planning to sub-ohm? I would suggest 30, 28 and 26 gauge kanthal to start out with for a RDA or RTA. Those gauges will give you a lot of build options.


Edit: I should add that I use Johnson and Johnson sterile cotton balls for wick. They are sold in a box in the first aid section, works great. I also have a small amount of Japanese cotton that is a little better but not worth the extra price to me.

Also besides Kanthal there is Nichrome wire and a few other smaller specialty wires. I've always stuck with simple and reliable Kanthal.

 

[magikarp]

so if i buy just 28 gauge wire would that be a safe bet for a starter? i'm sitting on the fence in buying a kayfunV4 or a lemo if that gives you any idea in what I'm interested in. i have a 30 watt mod so I'm not quite sure I'm ready for sub-ohming just yet but it may be an idea later down the road.

 

[facedown]

You can buy small quantities of wick and wire from Kidney Puncher. You can use 28 for either of those RTA's, though 26 might be easier to work with, and you might want to buy some Koh Gen Do cotton.

 

[Rsunderl]

Hi magikarp and welcome to ECF!

Yes, 28 gauge is a good starting gauge.

If you are going to use your RBA/RTA on a regulated mod, you'll generally be safe. If you want to use them on a mechanical mod, here's some reading I'd suggest:

For info on batteries Baditude has several excellent blog posts on the subject. His blogs on battery safety are a must read before you venture into the world of sub-ohm vaping.

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/for...ected-icr.html

Reliable sources for batteries:
Batteries-Chargers-Flashlights-Only The Best
Authentic AW Batteries - RTD Vapor
Illumn.com - Flashlights, Batteries, Carry Gear, Intelligent LED Lighting, and More!

Do not buy batteries from eBay or Amazon. Some of their third party sellers sell fakes.

... and finally, here's a link that explains things in pretty simple terms: Vaping Battery Safety & Ohms Law Illustrated and explained in very simple terms


Hope it helps and Happy Vaping!

 

[g2shuck]

I use Kanthal a1 from Lightning vapes and organic cotton balls from Walgreen that I boil

 

[Btsmokincat]

so if i buy just 28 gauge wire would that be a safe bet for a starter? i'm sitting on the fence in buying a kayfunV4 or a lemo if that gives you any idea in what I'm interested in. i have a 30 watt mod so I'm not quite sure I'm ready for sub-ohming just yet but it may be an idea later down the road.

Lemo is an awesome tank! I have two with a drop on the way. Incredibly easy to build on. I run a 26 gauge 2.4 mm 8 wrap 0.9 ohm microcoil at 19 watts. Delicious with lots of vapor!

Lemos on an Ipv Mini 2 and a Sigelei 50 watt

Lemo on a Sigelei 30 watt

 

[DingerCPA]

I ordered a spool of 30g from Lightning Vapes. Typically use that to rebuild my Kanger PT2 heads.

I like 28g for my rebuildables. I picked up a pack of Shiseido cotton pads from Macy's (165 squares for $10) I use this in my rebuildables as well and regular cotton balls in the PT2 heads.

 

[twgbonehead]

You might also want to try the Nichrome80 from LightningVapes.

(I also recommend them, by the way; very easy to deal with and excellent prices).

 

[EBates]

Welcome aboard
I get Sterile Cotton Balls from Walmart/CVS - $2
Kanthal wire from Temco. I got 100 ft rolls of 32 and 30 gauge for less than $10 and Free Shipping
Resistance Wire

 

[PeteW]

Koh Gen Do organic cotton pads are very popular for wicking. You can get it here, good price and free shipping- http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/koh-gen...tegoryid=2375500&fashionColor=&resultback=300

 

[Wissel Joe]

I just bought 100' of 26 gauge and a big bag of japanese cotton on ebay with free shipping for $6

 

[jks89]

You can check out this thread for recommended starter purchases as well:

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...ome-thoughts-startup-supplies-amazon-com.html

 

[magikarp]

okay, so thanks to all the positive replys towards the noob questionds, you guys are great. my next one would be: is there any difference vape and taste wise on using wick or cotton in a RTA like the lemo or the kayfun?

 

[jks89]

Do you mean a flavor difference in the wicking material? Like silica vs. cotton? If so, I have heard there is a flavor difference, but I've only ever used the cotton provided with my subtank mini so far. As far as vapor, I don't think the wicking material would cause much of a difference as long as it's staying wet.

 

[Alter]

Do you mean a flavor difference in the wicking material? Like silica vs. cotton? If so, I have heard there is a flavor difference, but I've only ever used the cotton provided with my subtank mini so far. As far as vapor, I don't think the wicking material would cause much of a difference as long as it's staying wet.

I beg to differ on the wicking material doesn't matter as long as its wet

Silica - is OK, comes with a lot of stock clearos and protank coils. You can dryburn it to clean but hassle to work with. Good to have 1mm onhand for solving protank gurgling and flooding issues by replacing the flavor wicks.

Ekowool - better than silica, cleaner tasting. Easier to work with since its hollow in the middle you can slide a pin through to make wrapping a coil easier. Can dryburn to clean and lasts quite a while or until you burn the coil.

Cotton - Simple to use, easy to find, wicks good but can't dryburn and lucky to get 3 days before having to rewick. Burns easily in the coil

Hemp fiber - Wicks and holds juice better than cotton, lasts longer on the coil(up to a week and more) before rewicking. Bit of hassle since you should pick out the off colored shards or you have a woodzy breakin taste. Can't dryburn. I used hemp fiber for well over a year in my PT builds and still using it.

Cellucotton(Rayon) - Great wicking in RBA, kayfuns and the sort. Lasts until the coil is cocooned with burnt juice and still looks clean in the middle. Easy to work with and very inexpensive(15 bucks for 500'). You have to overstuff the coil and trim the bulk off the tails since cellucotton contracts when juiced unlike cotton/hemp that expand when juiced or you will be prone to dryhits from lack of coil contact of the wicking thus burning the material.

My only con with cellucotton was that it doesn't work well in protank builds as well as like kayfuns. I would enjoy my vape for the first tank then I would have to pull like crazy to get a decent vape so I stopped using it in my PT builds but have has nothing short of success with using cellucotton in any other atty especially my kayfuns

This is my opinion of the 5 wicking materials that I have used over the last 2 years I have been rebuilding and just to add I get my wire from Temco.

 

[Light Seeker]

I second the cellucotton in kayfuns & lemos. Slightly better wicking & cleaner taste compared to organic.

 

[magikarp]

this is exactly the kind of information i was looking for. thank you for explaining all this. i hadn't even known there was more options other than cotton and silica.

 

[Light Seeker]

Excellent overview alterurego! Never tried hemp, but all others, and agree. For protanks, I was using butchers cotton twine with success.

 

[mudram99]

okay, so thanks to all the positive replys towards the noob questionds, you guys are great. my next one would be: is there any difference vape and taste wise on using wick or cotton in a RTA like the lemo or the kayfun?

There is and if I may, I'd like to throw rayon into your mix. I have not used anything else since I found/figured it out.

For some Rayon reading:http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...ck-better-flow-flavor-saturation-nic-hit.html

If you would like to give a little a try, PM your address and I will send you a envelope stuffed with some.