LOL, I am being dense. I should have got that. Thank you for straightening me out.
you weren't being dense, you were thinking about a problem, and I was being . . . . . . . . . silly.
LOL, I am being dense. I should have got that. Thank you for straightening me out.
I guess this is where I step in and finally announce to the world my all reaching, grand business plan. I am in the process of starting a company manufacturing hydrophilic composite wicks. The ceramic slurry idea isn't far off from what I am in the process of making. I still don't have the prototype in my hands, but I have contacted a molecular and chemical engineer in academia that created a coating for exactly this purpose for nasa. I have sent him 3 different material types to coat: 500 SS mesh, 7x7 wire rope, and a plain SS rod. I didn't even think about the screw which I find genius. The material that will be coating all 3 samples has the following properties:
1) Non Conductive!
2) Highly durable - Will not crack, peel, or wear. It's flexible. It can withstand temperatures up to 1000C without degrading.
3) Non Toxic - Will not release any harmful chemicals, was actively used to block hexachromium.
4) Tasteless - will not impart a taste to your juice
5) Has the potential to wick faster than SS rope - coating is naturally super hydrophilic with a contact angle of less than 5 degrees. This is what needs to be tested, and what I'm waiting on the sample for.
It has a very very high potential to be the next big thing for RBAs. I also have some ideas on how to incorporate it into dripping attys by pre bending the SS rods/screws.
Now if you go back and view all my posts in this thread you will see that I was a complete and utter beginner. However, thanks to all the contributors to this thread and doing a whole lot of research I think this will be huge. The process is not easy and the equipment to do it is not cheap. The wicks that I will be manufacturing will not be cheap (cost to end user of about an Aga). I will not be selling the product directly to individuals, only to retailers. I have a day job that I won't be ignoring and I have absolutely no sales experience. Once I get rolling I will be sending samples to retailers and reviewers (the hill giant, phil busardo, Scott Bonner, and others).
I have been using a wire rope wick in one my aga-t's for a couple of weeks now. It wicks well and is low maintenance. I currently have several types of wicks setup in various genny's: mesh, ceramic and mesh hybrid. I find myself using the wire rope wick the most.
Anyone tried the SS rope on an RSST yet?
Seems to me it would be the simplest setup possible... no need to oxidize, or even wrap the rope in SS mesh... due to the insulated wick hole.
Yes, I used 3/32nd rope with a few wraps of mesh. Tried 1/8" rope first, it fit but I didnt like the heatsink effect of it.
The insulated hole in the deck only solves one possible source of shorting, you still need some oxidation on the surface of the wick or the coils themselves short out to each other through the wick.
Are you talking about a process along these lines?
Received some SS 316 7x19 3mm OD today from china.
Info didn't say anything about galvanized or not, was so cheap so figured eh why not.
Didn't see any reaction when heated it up, nor with salt water.
And it in my eyes it shines like SS should.
And anyways, if it would be galvanized wouldn't it be sold as "galvanized steel wire rope" and not "stainless steel wire rope"
I'll take it with me to the hardware store tomorrow (gonna buy cutter) and ask them if they could tellOr I'll just buy a meter of ungalvanized from there.
Try sticking a magnet on it. If it holds strongly, then it is galvanized. SS should be very weakly attracted to a magnet.