What's the longest lasting Wick

platinums

Now that a few new methods for wicking have started to mature I wondered what the longest lasting wick method would be.

I was getting around 5 days with my Vivi (stv) Nova wick last week now I have ordered some more and they only seem to last half that time before the burnt taste begins. (They are apparently Vision Branded from ESI)
I have 3 clearo's on the go so my wick stamina should in theory be tripled. Alas not and this is getting expensive changing 6 per week.

So looking for a longer lasting ( and possibly) cheaper method.
Been looking longingly at the rebuild-able arena but wondered if they were any better.
I'd say I've a fair aptitude to learning the process of these more advanced atomizers so im not swayed by the learning curve.

So how long does you preferred wicking method work for you, and how much of a battery will you get through as this will probably be a general gauge to how much you've used the wick.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

you can just buy some wick/wire and rebuild the vivi novas yourself i think

grindle

SS lasts longest. Rinse and dry-burn the coil weekly. I've had wicks in my RDA last months with no flavour loss until the end, when the juice really clogged up the wick - I use leaf-steeped tobaccos for the most part which batter the wicks.
I go through about 2.5ml a day, so the amount of juice run through my last build was probably around the 200ml mark before desperately needing a change.

As for of they're any better - for the time being they are. I [we] wouldn't waste my [our] time doing it if there wasn't a reward of better taste. I had enough hobbies, didn't really want another time-suck.
With the price you can get some atties at nowadays, you'd be insane to pass up something as simple to build as an iGO-L. The difference will be stark.

awatch

Apparently a mesh wick can last months! I just started on the rebuildable road when i got an AGA-T2 along with mesh and Kanthal from eSmokeIreland. Making the wick was easy enough. There are loads of vids on YouTube to show you how. Making the perfect coil took a few goes to get it right, but I'm sitting here puffing on a perfect one. the taste and vapour is extraordinary. The juice I have in it at the moment is one that was just OK in my Carto Tank. In this little baby it tastes so much better! Like a different liquid altogether.

Well worth giving it a try and with an AGA-T2 for €23 and a lifetime supply of mesh and wire for €11.50, you'd be mad not to!

Green Hornet

Yep - as Grindle says, SS is the longest lasting wick. They last almost forever if you can resist messing around and trying to make it even better.....

They are easy enough-ish to set up in any of the RDA's but more difficult in some rebuildables like the Bulli etc.

'ANY' RDA will perform a million times better than those clearo types like Kangers and Vivi Nova's.

platinums

That's a great response good tips there. Thank You.

I think I was already going the mesh route and you have all confirmed it now. Just made a shopping list with a (Lavatube made) Transformer Mod and an AGA T2+, Some mesh wire and 2 batteries and charger. Man its €120, from ivapour-elixir.co.uk.

Anyone know where I might be able to get that lots cheaper? Cant seem to find any Irish sites with mods in stock.

grindle

Not with that specific mod anyway. The Vamo, Zmax and older Lavatubes are all anybody seems to have before you make the leap up to the ProVari division.

If you need to buy it now, looks like ivapour-elixir is the best bet. Ireland is still a pretty small market to be hedging bets on all the glam devices that stream out on a monthly basis. Even the UK is slow compared to America (which has the v. pretty Sigelie Telescopic Zmax dribbling into people's hands at the moment).

csi vegas

I hate to ask what's probably a very obvious question but when you guys say SS mesh do you mean that this is a replacement for say silica wick?

Also, can you oxidise with a lighter (as opposed to a mini blow torch)?

grindle

Yeah, a replacement for silica. You can use a lighter, it just takes ages to oxidise that way. Seconds versus a minute or two.
Try to only use on a mod with good protection as a short could destroy a battery or mod.

platinums

Bought a mini blow torch off ebay to quicken the oxidation process, there a Draper one there for about €10 delivered.

csi vegas

grindle wrote: »

Yeah, a replacement for silica. You can use a lighter, it just takes ages to oxidise that way. Seconds versus a minute or two.
Try to only use on a mod with good protection as a short could destroy a battery or mod.

So I should not oxidise SS mesh (or even Kanthal btw?) unless I am using it in an AGA (or similar)?

A lowly T3 would not be suitable for using oxidised SS in, no?

grindle

csi vegas wrote: »

So I should not oxidise SS mesh (or even Kanthal btw?) unless I am using it in an AGA (or similar)?

A lowly T3 would not be suitable for using oxidised SS in, no?

Oxidise ALL mesh unless you like to live quasi-dangerously or have the knack of pulsing coils with a mechanical mod.

I'm not sure how well a T3 would take to Mesh just because of the wick's round shape, juice will seep past the cracks of open air all around it. Better for a top-coil mod.

Kanthal should be given a quick flame with a lighter (annealing) before coiling, and that'll get rid of that particular metallic twang-y taste.

csi vegas

grindle wrote: »

Oxidise ALL mesh unless you like to live quasi-dangerously or have the knack of pulsing coils with a mechanical mod.

I'm not sure how well a T3 would take to Mesh just because of the wick's round shape, juice will seep past the cracks of open air all around it. Better for a top-coil mod.

Kanthal should be given a quick flame with a lighter (annealing) before coiling, and that'll get rid of that particular metallic twang-y taste.

Once again - Thank you SO much! It is right to give him thanks and praise! *applause applause*

platinums

Green Hornet wrote: »

...SS is the longest lasting wick. They last almost forever if you can resist messing around and trying to make it even better.....

Explain please, before I inadvertently commit some heinous wick improvement acts...

csi vegas wrote: »

So I should not oxidise SS mesh (or even Kanthal btw?) unless I am using it in an AGA (or similar)?

A lowly T3 would not be suitable for using oxidised SS in, no?

Amazing what you can do in your shed. Kanger T3 SS Method.. thanks and praise to "The Internet"

StickyIcky

I can't watch that Todd fellas videos because he says "aahh , eerr, uuhhh" every ten words. If you could and paste all the parts of his video where him hums and hahs and stiched them together it would probably be 2 minutes of err aah umm.

However his videos are pretty good if you mute them and fast forward to the bits where he actually zooms in and does the tutorial parts.

Mr. Chrome

I keep thinkin my phone has frozen cause he pauses so much!

Mr. Chrome

Anybody see flexible ceramic wick, it looks like silica but its hollow, saw a guy on utube putting it over ss mesh, then wraping the coil around it. Wonder could it be used on its own as a wick.

was.deevey

Anybody see flexible ceramic wick, it looks like silica but its hollow, saw a guy on utube putting it over ss mesh, then wraping the coil around it. Wonder could it be used on its own as a wick.

I Saw it a while back, basically looks the same as the heatproof sheathing they put on cables, however its still made of "strands" so cant imagine it being and better/safer than silica.

However the actual porous ceramic some people are toying with for genesis style atty's look like they will be the future if they can temper them to not crack as easily and perhaps make them in other shapes (high failure rate currently).