Wire Rope for Wick?

[Statistic]

Wow thanks for the post Vault.

Kinda scary that the galvanization isn't visibly obvious! I hope the stuff I've been using isn't galvanized. I wonder if it is/was if it would add an ovious bad taste to the vape..

 

[she.ra]

Wow thanks for the post Vault.

Kinda scary that the galvanization isn't visibly obvious! I hope the stuff I've been using isn't galvanized. I wonder if it is/was if it would add an ovious bad taste to the vape.

the zinc coating will melt at temp: ~770F or lower.
galvanized and safe, hehe, no such thing im sure.

 

[vapspaz]

Ok, I've been bouncing around in the last few pages in here and I'm ready to give this SS rope a shot but I have a few (just a few) questions.

1) Is there any proven advantage of 7x19 over the 7x7?
2) For my D14 and D20 what size is recommended? 3/32" seems to be the most talked about.
3) Is 304 SS ok to use or should I just go with 316 SS?
4) For a 1.7 to 2.2 Ω set-up what size ribbon wire should I go with?
5) Is there a place in the US that sells all these goodies or at lease the ribbon wire?

Thank you for your support.

 

[rnln]

the below pic is uncoated SS from Homedepot. After cut to length, I twisted them with a plier than burned with torch, wicked for several hours, taste is still very bad, like metal. I just notice that there are spots discoloration. It look like the outer is gray metal like. Inner color is like copper/brass. Or maybe the other way around inner and outer. I can't tell. And I can't tell if twisting plier did this or burning with torch did this. No matter what did it, do you think uncoated SS could change color?

 

[bigv69er]

the below pic is uncoated SS from Homedepot. After cut to length, I twisted them with a plier than burned with torch, wicked for several hours, taste is still very bad, like metal. I just notice that there are spots discoloration. It look like the outer is gray metal like. Inner color is like copper/brass. Or maybe the other way around inner and outer. I can't tell. And I can't tell if twisting plier did this or burning with torch did this. No matter what did it, do you think uncoated SS could change color?

Which one did you get?? most are galvanized there..so be careful

 

[she.ra]

Which one did you get?? most are galvanized there..so be careful

yeah, i just looked at their site, all there rope is galvanized.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-3-16-in-x-125-ft-Stainless-Steel-Wire-Rope-13950/100338514?N=c288#.UaZt3Jxc5V8
that says ss but further down in description, GALVANIZED.

 

[rnln]

Yes, most are galvanized. There are only 3 sizes are uncoated SS. I got all three. The pic is 3 strands of the 3/32. I doubt that it is real uncoated SS now.

Which one did you get?? most are galvanized there..so be careful

she.ra, check this out
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Crown-Bo...-Steel-Wire-Rope-64620/202972282#.UaZvzV_n9aQ

 

[she.ra]

she.ra, check this out
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Crown-Bo...-Steel-Wire-Rope-64620/202972282#.UaZvzV_n9aQ

i missed that, if that is what you got you should have no worries. its a little light, only 304.
Stainless Steel WIRE ROPE 316, 7x7, 1/16", Per Foot | S0705-0001
this is a little heavyier, i use this, get amazing results, been using a single wick off that for about 45 days straight now.
http://www.bosunsupplies.com/S0705-0003.html
i have used this diameter as well but find it really makes no difference in the wicking, plus you gotta destroy your attomizers with a drill, i am tired of destroying my stuff.

 

[bigv69er]

Ink be careful cuz i has trouble finding the good one on the site..

I know I've only seen the good one at my home depot

 

[Aoi~]

Stopped by Home Depot today, and picked up some wire rope the SKU from this thread. The SKU for the 1/16 had "Galvanized" on the spool, but the SKU for the 3/32 is good it just says Stainless Steel. Also found 1/8 with the same Stainless Steel writing on it. Total came to $5.50 for 10ft of 3/32 and 5ft of 1/8.

This is what I ended up with. I gotta say it's working better than I thought it would be. This is the 3/32 w/ some 400 mesh on top.

 

[Bmays]

This is what I ended up with. I gotta say it's working better than I thought it would be. This is the 3/32 w/ some 400 mesh on top.

I'm impressed. Looks great. If I can ever slow down at work I plan on stopping by our local Home Depot and seeing if they carry it. Been meaning to ask for a while. Whats your avatar?

 

[Viluxia]

Grrr what is the secret for getting this to work, im struggling now, i seem to be hitting hotspot central, im not sure if im getting invisable hotspots or when it drys out mid vape it burns through the mesh, but this is constantly happening to me, 2 wraps of mesh for the top part, .5 ribbon on the coils aiming for 0.9ohms so usually a 4/3 or 3/2 wrap, full length wire rope due to the AC9, and it will either over wick to high heaven or it wont wick enough and goes dry mid vape despite being at 3 o'clock sometimes. If you dont get the balance right (mesh/coil/Voltage or mech battery) its a fussy piece of bleep lol.
The above is with 2mm (metric no idea 5/64?) and 2.5mm (metric 3/32 i think) both sizes i have available in 7x7 or 7x19 and 1x19.

 

[bigv69er]

Grrr what is the secret for getting this to work, im struggling now, i seem to be hitting hotspot central, im not sure if im getting invisable hotspots or when it drys out mid vape it burns through the mesh, but this is constantly happening to me, 2 wraps of mesh for the top part, .5 ribbon on the coils aiming for 0.9ohms so usually a 4/3 or 3/2 wrap, full length wire rope due to the AC9, and it will either over wick to high heaven or it wont wick enough and goes dry mid vape despite being at 3 o'clock sometimes. If you dont get the balance right (mesh/coil/Voltage or mech battery) its a fussy piece of bleep lol.
The above is with 2mm (metric no idea 5/64?) and 2.5mm (metric 3/32 i think) both sizes i have available in 7x7 or 7x19 and 1x19.

Dremmel?? maybe

 

[burnie71]

Grrr what is the secret for getting this to work, im struggling now, i seem to be hitting hotspot central, im not sure if im getting invisable hotspots or when it drys out mid vape it burns through the mesh, but this is constantly happening to me, 2 wraps of mesh for the top part, .5 ribbon on the coils aiming for 0.9ohms so usually a 4/3 or 3/2 wrap, full length wire rope due to the AC9, and it will either over wick to high heaven or it wont wick enough and goes dry mid vape despite being at 3 o'clock sometimes. If you dont get the balance right (mesh/coil/Voltage or mech battery) its a fussy piece of bleep lol.
The above is with 2mm (metric no idea 5/64?) and 2.5mm (metric 3/32 i think) both sizes i have available in 7x7 or 7x19 and 1x19.

Don't know why you have so many problems, as it is so easy just wondering if the mess wrap is too loose it must be rolled onto the rope super tight.

This is how I do it.
1 Torch burn rope until it glows almost white and quench, small amount of black crap will come off rinse and dry.
2 Cut mesh to size (top of rope to just above wick hole) I use #500, wrap four times rolling very tight with the lay of the rope strands.
3 Coil the wick tight if using ribbon and then pulse dry burn, very short pulses at first until coils start to glow adjust coils as you go until all glow evenly and make longer pulses just to make sure all is well.
And that takes around ten minuits, some people don't like to torch the wire rope as it will lose its shine for me this isn't a problem and by torching to high heat if white smoke is visible then you will know for sure it is galvanized (bin it). The black crap when quenched will be from the manufacturing process, since I started to do this my juice has remained clean.
Best of luck just take your time with prep it is well worth it.....hope this helps.

 

[rnln]

2 questions. First, taste. How is the taste? Good? Mine is terrible. After 2 tanks, still terrible. Second, why double wire? I guess more vapor, but more resistant right? How is the battery last, is it quick?Thanks.

Stopped by Home Depot today, and picked up some wire rope the SKU from this thread. The SKU for the 1/16 had "Galvanized" on the spool, but the SKU for the 3/32 is good it just says Stainless Steel. Also found 1/8 with the same Stainless Steel writing on it. Total came to $5.50 for 10ft of 3/32 and 5ft of 1/8.

This is what I ended up with. I gotta say it's working better than I thought it would be. This is the 3/32 w/ some 400 mesh on top.

 

[donneee]

I had better luck when I started (using the xc as a diaper) out because I was using darker juices and just didn't notice the darkening as much. Actually when I very first used SS rope I was using a SS mesh diaper and I had serious heatsinking, deal breaking heat sinking. Not to mention dry hits from SS mesh make me wanna lay down and cry, they are so far beyond nasty.

Twice in the last few days I have thoroughly cleaned the AGA I'm using this SS rope in, including dry burning the snot out of the top of the wick and the xc-116 diaper at the top, and started fresh. Both times my nearly clear Ginger Ale juice is dark as tar by the time I'm down to 1/4 left in the tank.

I don't know where to go with this now. Wicking is crazy good but burning my juice is not worth it. I suspect I could avoid burning juice if I vaped less at a time and put heat into wick but if I can't vape it like I want then it kind of defeats the purpose :/

Not giving up on SS rope yet as it does wick like nothing I've experienced thus far, and it looks damn cool in the tank.

have you tried using a very short piece of wire rope? that was my intention when i jumped on this boat (got the idea from when scubabatdan broke his ceramic wick and still used it, he had to tilt but it was working) and results for me have been pretty good. my juice doesn't get as dark as fast as it did with normal ss mesh. i think it's cause the wire isn't down even half of the tank and i'm using an ac9/rsst that encases my eliquid. i may still have to tilt when i get below 1/2 full, but i'm already used to that from the few months i've been on gennys. i'm thinking about cutting it even shorter in my next build so i heat up my liquid less. i'd have to guess (cause i eye-balled it) my wick is about 1.85-2.25 inches long from top to bottom? i'm gonna try for 1/4inch into the tank which will bring it down to 1.5-2 inches in total length

quick question though, how many wraps are you doing? what's the flavor on it (with fresh-ish juice)? and are you using ribbon wire? i'm still trying to find that fine medium of heat/TH/flavor. 2-1 wrap has been interesting, but heat is still a minor issue if i chain vape.

 

[dspin]

First up thanks dspin for the link. The Vape Mesh Company have just recently set-up I believe how-ever they have been in the mesh and wire industry for years so i suppose this is a logical branch out for them after the enquiries and sales of SS mesh for vaping they must have had recently (me included )

Back on topic
My first delivery of 2.5mm 7/19 rope arrived today, I ordered from Ebay from a non vape related site (basically just searched and bought a meter to test). It was listed as 316 marine grade with a polished finish.
I cut small sections using a cut-off wheel on an angle grinder and unraveled one to check for nylon thread inserts.
None were found so I made a solution of hot (but not boiling) caustic soda in a beaker and added the sections of rope along with a few lengths of 316 welding rod.
The rope immediately reacted!!! Bubbles coming up all over and you could see the galvanising fizz away!! The welding rod sections remained perfectly inert with no reaction.
With-in an hour the rope had turned black. I have left this to continue overnight and am interested to see whats left in the morning
I contacted the seller and told them of my test and they remain adamant that they sent 316 marine grade ss. I don`t think so!!! but they did fully refund my money....Hmmmm.
I have three more samples/small sections coming from three more different sellers and will test each one! My hopes are that the samples I`ve bought from the marine type suppliers will be ok.
I`ll update when I`ve tested and in the meantime just a bit of info on the resistance of 316 and 304 to caustic soda......

Article: Selection of stainless steels for handling sodium hydroxide (NaOH)

Thats a good test and great that you let people know - with something like this - not to trust e-bay seller. I know I dont. A good deal of sellers on e-bay are flim flam razzle dazzle people IMO and not just with SS wire rope.

 

[Aoi~]

2 questions. First, taste. How is the taste? Good? Mine is terrible. After 2 tanks, still terrible. Second, why double wire? I guess more vapor, but more resistant right? How is the battery last, is it quick?Thanks.

Taste for me is on par with SS Mesh, but what impressed me the most was the wicking. I tilted the coil away from the liquid to dry burn, and when the liquid touched the wick; it just went woosh and started smoking again since the rope still retained heat from the dry burning.

That coil in essence is a dual coil (parallel wire) single wick setup. That build metered out at 1.3Ω using 32AWG kanthal. Battery life is good for me (not any worse than usual). And yes, more vapor, loads of it

 

[overall]

I got my 7x 7 2mm stainless steel cable in and it wicks like crazy. When I looked at it compared to my 7x19 3/32 it looked too skinny to wick.
I set her up with a 1 x 1 cm piece of 500 mesh 30awg kanthal 7 wraps coming in at 1.4 ohm. Awesome. If you are a tipper this may not suit your style as it floods easily.
Now hopefully I can get a wick in my cobra that will wick.

 

[shortyjacobs]

Video posted by Stheno in this reddit post: Made a quick video removing the nylon core from stainless steel wire, instead of torching it away : RBA showing how to remove the nylon thread from a rope wick: