xc-116 ceramic wick question!

[ktazz]

So I've been researching wick materials and came across the ceramic wick xc116 and it seems to have great reviews but very expensive.

I have a question for those that have used this wick material, is this the best wick material to buy for consistent flavor and vapor without the fear of getting dry and burnt hits? Can you guys also comment on the longevity of this wick? how long do these wicks last?

 

[pdib]

With the waste involved in making a wick, say for a Genny, you're looking at about 1 1/2"; so, about $1/build. I find that they last as long as you want; however, I think they do suffer a bit from intensive torching. So, in practice, on my everyday atomizers, I'd say it lasts 2 weeks to 1 month. (i.e. longer than the 3-5 cigarettes you could buy for $1)

Personally, I find this stuff to be the best wicking material out there. To me it is flavorless, wicks very well in all setups, and has a very small footprint as a heat sink. I tend to vape Genisis and drippers (vert&horiz wicking) @ .6-.8Ω.

Most of the other wicking materials are quite good, and I have used many of them; but, for me $2-3/month is worth it for a superior vape. (oh, wait, I guess the other materials aren't free. So, 50 cents? $1? per month difference)

I didn't mention ease of use because I love tinkering. If anything, I find it disappointing in that it is very easy to build with, and in that it is super low maintenance.

 

[ktazz]

With the waste involved in making a wick, say for a Genny, you're looking at about 1 1/2"; so, about $1/build. I find that they last as long as you want; however, I think they do suffer a bit from intensive torching. So, in practice, on my everyday atomizers, I'd say it lasts 2 weeks to 1 month. (i.e. longer than the 3-5 cigarettes you could buy for $1)

Personally, I find this stuff to be the best wicking material out there. To me it is flavorless, wicks very well in all setups, and has a very small footprint as a heat sink. I tend to vape Genisis and drippers (vert&horiz wicking) @ .6-.8Ω.

Most of the other wicking materials are quite good, and I have used many of them; but, for me $2-3/month is worth it for a superior vape. (oh, wait, I guess the other materials aren't free. So, 50 cents? $1? per month difference)

I didn't mention ease of use because I love tinkering. If anything, I find it disappointing in that it is very easy to build with, and in that it is super low maintenance.

Thanks for that, I don't really mind the price if it is as good as I've read from the forum and your post. I read that when you cut the wick it frays, is there a way to prevent that?

Also, I've seen people usually buy the xc-116 from SnG, but they are out of stock. Big Tex Vapors have it in stock but minimum of 2 ft at 14 bucks before shipping, are they any good?

I usually use a cheese cloth strands to rebuild mines, but they don't last very long, and regular silica wicks don't last that long too and I often get dry hits and burnt hits, especially after I dry burn it clean. The burnt taste stays for a REALLY long time. Does the xc-116 have the same problem after a dry burn?

Thanks, Sorry for asking soooo many questions!

 

[pdib]

I have purchased (and received) from SnG. The only problem there is, if you order two ft., you get 2 pieces @ 1 ft (= 4 frayed ends @ ~1/2" per). I just ordered from Big Tex, but haven't received. I'm hoping that its a continuous 2' piece; but who knows. Yes, you can work around the fraying. It tends to fray ~1/2" when cut, but no more. some of my most recent builds have required a short length that is "all tube". I've taken to sewing off the ends. This would be a bit much for frugality's sake, but it can be done. For handling until it is set in the atty, you can just whip a little ss mesh off-fall on there, and slide it off to let the ends spread in your tank (or what have you). Lookie . . ..



You can dry burn the peas out of this stuff. Like I said, you can even severely torch it. I found that if you really go to town with a propane torch, it will become more brittle. But dry burn, all day long. No flavor change! (unless you bake some juice residue onto it) I actually get more concerned for my wire when I torch this stuff.

what setup do you plan to use this in? I've come up with some wick and coil setups that I'm real happy with. Wouldn't mind sharing.

sorry for all the answers.

 

[Datalux]

You folks do know you can purchase directly from Omega at $22 for 10 ft. right?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[ktazz]

I have purchased (and received) from SnG. The only problem there is, if you order two ft., you get 2 pieces @ 1 ft (= 4 frayed ends @ ~1/2" per). I just ordered from Big Tex, but haven't received. I'm hoping that its a continuous 2' piece; but who knows. Yes, you can work around the fraying. It tends to fray ~1/2" when cut, but no more. some of my most recent builds have required a short length that is "all tube". I've taken to sewing off the ends. This would be a bit much for frugality's sake, but it can be done. For handling until it is set in the atty, you can just whip a little ss mesh off-fall on there, and slide it off to let the ends spread in your tank (or what have you). Lookie . . ..

View attachment 209010View attachment 209011

You can dry burn the peas out of this stuff. Like I said, you can even severely torch it. I found that if you really go to town with a propane torch, it will become more brittle. But dry burn, all day long. No flavor change! (unless you bake some juice residue onto it) I actually get more concerned for my wire when I torch this stuff.

what setup do you plan to use this in? I've come up with some wick and coil setups that I'm real happy with. Wouldn't mind sharing.

sorry for all the answers.

I'm most likely gonna rebuild some Kanger t3s and viva novas, the t3 is a short wick so i'm sure 1-2 feet of the wick stuff will last me a while, havent gotten into the more advance atties yet(started 3 months ago) but i've bought some kanthal and nichrome 32g wires, just need a multimeter or maybe Ill just purchase a vamo since its so cheap at vaporbreak!

 

[ktazz]

You folks do know you can purchase directly from Omega at $22 for 10 ft. right?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

from what i've read Omega is untreated and I've read some post that said Omega called them to see what they were going to use it for and they were shot down and got the order cancelled when they told them it was for e-cigarettes and said its only for industrial usage only. -_-

 

[pdib]

I imagine you are going to have to sew the ends then. Those T3 wicks are mighty short. Unsewn, it'll all stay in place, but won't stay braided. This stuff has an outside diameter of ~3mm (just under 1/8"), and you can crush it to 2mm (<3/32"). BigTex is also selling a smaller diameter. I gotta admit, tho, I love the stuff, but T3 short is pushing the limits of it's "stays braidedness". And, as long as we're on a bright note, I never found anything I could do to a vivi that got the flavor right. (I loved them when I was starting out, but grew frustrated with their limitations and flavor issues over time.)

 

[pdib]

You folks do know you can purchase directly from Omega at $22 for 10 ft. right?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

I'm in the middle of a "comparison" conversation and learning curve right now. and from what I can tell, there's a difference between "kiln treated" stuff and "back porch torch".

Here's what I know. A friend bought UN-treated and torched the "organic material" off, and found the nextel to be like "confetti" (his words). I bought the kiln treated, and have found it to be resillient and to hold together nicely. Yesterday, I torched clean a wick (out of the coil), thinking I would re-use it. I torched the living daylights out of it. It became brittle and pulled/broke apart easily.

Here's what I think. When we are specifically instructed to heat the stuff to 500 or 700 degrees Celsius for 4 minutes (minimum and continuous) in order to make it acceptable for human "consumption" (in order to make it not be a serious health hazard). How much torching will you think is enough? (BTW, if you read the manufacturer's heat-cleaning instructions; they are very explicit about ventilation.)

edit: you can read that here . . . http://bigtexvapor.com/products/xc-116-ceramic-wick-kiln-treated

 

[ktazz]

I imagine you are going to have to sew the ends then. Those T3 wicks are mighty short. Unsewn, it'll all stay in place, but won't stay braided. This stuff has an outside diameter of ~3mm (just under 1/8"), and you can crush it to 2mm (<3/32"). BigTex is also selling a smaller diameter. I gotta admit, tho, I love the stuff, but T3 short is pushing the limits of it's "stays braidedness". And, as long as we're on a bright note, I never found anything I could do to a vivi that got the flavor right. (I loved them when I was starting out, but grew frustrated with their limitations and flavor issues over time.)

yeah maybe I'll just tie the ends where I'll make the cut with some kanthal wires or something. I saw this post on another forum where he used nail clippers, heres the link Rewicking Kanger T3's with XC-116 braided ceramic wick doesnt look too bad from the looks of it using a nail clipper! (not sure if I'm allowed to post a link to another forum)

 

[pdib]

Yeah, so between the coil and the "slots" they're holding together. Well, great! Yep, I have a nice pair of flush cutting angle nippers. Scissors just push the stuff away, messy. That's another thing you'll want: ONE decisive, clean cut. not nippy, snippy, dusty repeated dull cuts. Cool! Go for it! It's great stuff!

 

[ktazz]

Thanks for all the help you've given me! Gonna order it from Big Tex Vapors and will report back my findings! Cheers!!

 

[ktazz]

Yeah, so between the coil and the "slots" they're holding together. Well, great! Yep, I have a nice pair of flush cutting angle nippers. Scissors just push the stuff away, messy. That's another thing you'll want: ONE decisive, clean cut. not nippy, snippy, dusty repeated dull cuts. Cool! Go for it! It's great stuff!

So, I finally got around to rebuilding a t3 with the xc116... it tastes burnt... did you ever have this problem? i bought it from bigtexvapors

 

[pdib]

I've had that problem with T3s and vivi nova minis; but never with xc-116. Honestly, rebuildable clearos were long gone for me by the time I got to nextel. Sorry. Honestly, those clearos are notorious for burnt flavor issues because the wire legs are so long in relation to the coil size. Don't throw out the nextel, tho. Trust me when you get into rebuildable RBAs, you'll love it!

 

[pdib]

P.S. I don't know if you ever got that VAMO; but if you're not too deep into the cycle of tube mods and tanks, consider bottom feeding (like the REO). I finally got turned on to it, and (2 twists, 3 vivis, 4 kanger T-2&3, 2 mods, 3 gennys, 5 rbas later) I finally found a consistently great vape with no headaches, surprises, or compromises.

 

[ktazz]

I've had that problem with T3s and vivi nova minis; but never with xc-116. Honestly, rebuildable clearos were long gone for me by the time I got to nextel. Sorry. Honestly, those clearos are notorious for burnt flavor issues because the wire legs are so long in relation to the coil size. Don't throw out the nextel, tho. Trust me when you get into rebuildable RBAs, you'll love it!

any RBA you would recommend? kinda tired of burnt tastes all the time with clearos..only thing that hardly gives me burnt tastes is cartos but too little capacity

 

[pdib]

See, now, when dealing with tube mods, I would ask you a series of questions, like; "what are you looking for? portability? vape quality? ease of build? trouble free vaping? flexibility of use?" and then, based on your answers, I'd recommend something.

Over in the REOS MODS sub-forum, I wouldn't have to ask you to prioritize which good qualities to skip and which bad ones to accept. I would just say .. .

Get a REO and an RM2 atomizer, and you'll be set up with the best tasting, most trouble free, most portable/pocket friendly vape there is.

. . . . . . .Sooooooooooo, what are you looking for in a vape device/ atomizer?

 

[martydmb]

So the ceramic from bigtexas is pretreated in a kiln? So safe for vaping? More I read the more I get confused on a lot on wicks. Only thing I read that's consistant is ss mesh wicks..

 

[pdib]

bigtex and SnG ceramic rope are both heat-treated (in a kiln) and ready to vape

 

[Commie]

See, now, when dealing with tube mods, I would ask you a series of questions, like; "what are you looking for? portability? vape quality? ease of build? trouble free vaping? flexibility of use?" and then, based on your answers, I'd recommend something.

Over in the REOS MODS sub-forum, I wouldn't have to ask you to prioritize which good qualities to skip and which bad ones to accept. I would just say .. .

Get a REO and an RM2 atomizer, and you'll be set up with the best tasting, most trouble free, most portable/pocket friendly vape there is.

. . . . . . .Sooooooooooo, what are you looking for in a vape device/ atomizer?

Meh, the correct answer is -- Reo mech with RM2