Wofoto Serpent Mini - Long wick or short wick?

[Squidward]

I'm new to rebuildables and am working on getting my new Serpent Mini dialed in. I vape MTL and the flavor with this atty is outstanding, but it's definitely a juice guzzler and at times, seems very harsh on the lungs. I'm wondering what effect different wicking styles would have on my vape.

This guy says to wick it just to the top of the juice channels:



While this overexcited fellow says to wick it all the way to the bottom of the juice channels:



I don't imagine there's actually a right or wrong way to wick an RTA, but am I correct in assuming that wicking to the bottom of the juice channels will increase flavor and juice consumption, while wicking it to the top of the channels will decrease flavor and juice usage?

Any other considerations regarding the amount of wicking to use?

 

[LarryPer]

I'm new to rebuildables and am working on getting my new Serpent Mini dialed in. I vape MTL and the flavor with this atty is outstanding, but it's definitely a juice guzzler and at times, seems very harsh on the lungs. I'm wondering what effect different wicking styles would have on my vape.

This guy says to wick it just to the top of the juice channels:

View attachment 553873 View attachment 553875

While this overexcited fellow says to wick it all the way to the bottom of the juice channels:

View attachment 553877 View attachment 553879

I don't imagine there's actually a right or wrong way to wick an RTA, but am I correct in assuming that wicking to the bottom of the juice channels will increase flavor and juice consumption, while wicking it to the top of the channels will decrease flavor and juice usage?

Any other considerations regarding the amount of wicking to use?

I have one ordered
I went to u tube
There are many vids there

 

[Squidward]

Thanks LarryPer. YouTube is where I found the two examples in my original post, and I'm hoping someone can offer a bit of theoretical perspective on wicking and save me some experimentation.

Cheers!

 

[rice721]

IMHO assuming you're comparing the same material, wicking correctly mostly helps with no dry burn and no leaking. If you're looking for a different throat hit then try different types of juices with different PG/VG blends, different nic content, etc.

 

[Shawn Hoefer]

I wicked to the deck, only a little in the channel after combing out the tips. I'm on tank 4 (just arrived yesterday) with no dry hits (but I'm running SS TC), no leaking, no flooding. Just a perfect vape. The coil is 3.5 mm, 26 GA SS316L, 6 Wrap, spaced.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

 

[darknecrotic]

If anything more cotton closer to the deck would reduce the chamber size and give you more flavor.. Perhaps not enough to matter though.

Here's a video explaining what I do:

 

[Squidward]

I wicked to the deck, only a little in the channel after combing out the tips. I'm on tank 4 (just arrived yesterday) with no dry hits (but I'm running SS TC), no leaking, no flooding. Just a perfect vape. The coil is 3.5 mm, 26 GA SS316L, 6 Wrap, spaced.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

I'm really enjoying the mini. Killer flavor but way more hit than I was prepared for, so I'm having to hit it very lightly, but that's actually fine. I still get tons of flavor and it doesn't rip my throat out. Tried the pre-built coil first then moved back to the more familar .28 1.7ohm Kanthal coil I was used to.

I have it wicked to the bottom of the channels now, but I'm going to re-wick it to the top of the juice channels as you and darknecrotic have suggested, and see how that affects the vape.

After hitting the mini, I can sure understand now why people are drilling out their Kayfuns to get more airflow!

 

[zoiDman]

I'm new to rebuildables and am working on getting my new Serpent Mini dialed in. I vape MTL and the flavor with this atty is outstanding, but it's definitely a juice guzzler and at times, seems very harsh on the lungs. I'm wondering what effect different wicking styles would have on my vape.

This guy says to wick it just to the top of the juice channels:

View attachment 553873 View attachment 553875

While this overexcited fellow says to wick it all the way to the bottom of the juice channels:

View attachment 553877 View attachment 553879

I don't imagine there's actually a right or wrong way to wick an RTA, but am I correct in assuming that wicking to the bottom of the juice channels will increase flavor and juice consumption, while wicking it to the top of the channels will decrease flavor and juice usage?

Any other considerations regarding the amount of wicking to use?

I tend to Cut the Wick on an Angle so they kinda have a Point on the end. And a Length so that the Points are just a Tad Below the Deck Level. I use High VG e-Liquids. And this Tech works well for Me.

But for a Friend of Mine, who uses 50|50, She has better Results by having More Wick below the Deck/In the Slots.

 

[collinsmcrae]

I've had the mini for a week and it is now, hands down, my favorite single coil rta. As soon as I got the thing I threw in a Clapton coil and wicked it in a matter of minutes. 20 minutes after removing it from the package I was vaping on it. Absolutely zero leaking, flawless performance and I'm still on the first build a week later. It is the least finicky thing I've ever dealt with.

At any rate, I wicked mine fairly tight and I let the wick ends just barely rest on the bottom of the channel. I did trim some fat off the wick as to not overstuff the channels though (60/40 vg/pg juice). It tends to hit a little hotter than my other single coil RTA's, and I do get some mild spit back here and there, but that's likely because of the compact size. With the mini you are inhaling like .25" off the coil.

You seem like a smart guy who has been at this for a while, so I doubt I could give you any suggestions that wouldn't seem patronizing. For instance, coil type, coil size, coil material, spaced or contact, wick type, wick size, wick material, can all factor in as you well know I'm sure. When I want a smoother, cooler vape on a single coil I just go with a basic stainless steel 6-8 wrap, spaced 3mm coil in tc mode. I prefer claptons, but they are harsher in my opinion. And no matter what, the mini will tend to be a bit rowdier than a full size rta I think.

 

[TheMike21]

I wicked it to the bottom and it works great!

 

[Squidward]

Appreciate it, guys. I most recently wicked it to the top of the juice channels, and I feel like I was getting a much more flavorful vape wicking to the bottom of the channels. Hard to say, though, because after a couple weeks, the Serpent just became too harsh on my throat and I cleaned it and put it back in its box a few days ago

It tends to hit a little hotter than my other single coil RTA's, and I do get some mild spit back here and there, but that's likely because of the compact size. With the mini you are inhaling like .25" off the coil.

I hadn't considered how the shorter chimney would affect the vape, but that does make sense. I actually only moved up from clearos a couple months ago and am in the process of getting an education with rebuildables. I've tried four different RTA's, and the only one that's working well for me so far is a Kayfun Lite+2 clone. I liked the idea of a more compact tank and I loved the Serpent Mini... for about a week.

I do plan to try the Serpent Mini on TC as soon as I can get some SS wire ordered.

 

[collinsmcrae]

Appreciate it, guys. I most recently wicked it to the top of the juice channels, and I feel like I was getting a much more flavorful vape wicking to the bottom of the channels. Hard to say, though, because after a couple weeks, the Serpent just became too harsh on my throat and I cleaned it and put it back in its box a few days ago



I hadn't considered how the shorter chimney would affect the vape, but that does make sense. I actually only moved up from clearos a couple months ago and am in the process of getting an education with rebuildables. I've tried four different RTA's, and the only one that's working well for me so far is a Kayfun Lite+2 clone. I liked the idea of a more compact tank and I loved the Serpent Mini... for about a week.

I do plan to try the Serpent Mini on TC as soon as I can get some SS wire ordered.

I can imagine that a lot of these RTA's would be a bit much coming to them directly from clero's so recently. Considering you're digging the Kayfun, it would seem that you're at a more "mouth to lung" to "restricted lung hit" type speed at the moment. You may stay content at that speed indefinitely, and you may feel a need to ratchet things up over time.

I sort of evolved with the tech because there were no RTA's or high powered regulated mods when I started. When I started it was cigalikes, then ego batteries and cleromizers. You had mechs and RDAs but they were all wildly expensive. Anyway, there was no big leap from clero's to RTA's and high power mods for me, because I was upgrading incrementally as the affordable technology evolved. So, I've often wondered what it was like for newer vapers, or people who are just now getting into the latest technology. I don't know what I would have done with all of these choices all at once lol.