scrumpox
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Wicking test – organic cotton vs China Grass in NatureVape microcoils
Jump to the summary at the bottom if you don’t have the time or the inclination to read it all.
The China Grass came from Plumeblu, a small bag costs just £1. I decided to do side by side tests against cotton to see which was better. Obviously, I’m more used to cotton wicking and its taste would appear “normal” to me; I have hardly used silica since getting NatureVape heads.
Wicking with the China Grass is slightly different. The fibres are longer and stronger and require a little juice to make manipulation into the coil easier. A learning curve would seem inevitable, to work out exactly how much of the Grass fibre to use, just as it had been with cotton after ditching the Kanger silica builds. Don’t strangle the coil was a consistent theme however.
The China Grass was prepared as per the instructions on Plumeblu’s site. It was soaked for 15 minutes in a solution of sodium carbonate, boiled for 15 minutes and then dried in an oven at 180 degrees until dry to the touch. Actually, I turned the oven down to 150 degrees half way through. Not much effort considering there was enough material here to last me months!
For consistency in the testing I’ve used only one mod, the Vaporshark DNA30. This has been set to 10.5 watts. I have the same NatureVape 1.4 ohm coils in an Aerotank v2 and a Protank 3 fitted with the aircontrol valve. With airflow on both set to maximum they perform more or less identically. So, testing the same juice side by side will isolate the variable of the wicking material.
Prior to the side by side tests, I tried using the China Grass in both tanks just to get used to handling it and vaping it. Seeing how light and thin it was in the first coil, I added a thin flavour wick to the second coil – this didn’t work well at all, so I rewicked with some more China Grass this time, almost as much as I could get in there but still allow some movement inside the coil. It was an easy draw on the first coil, the second one gave me some dry hits – which taste disgusting by the way. So, as with cotton, you need to resist the temptation to overwick and choke the coil. Less is more sometimes. Same same, eh.
I vaped some of Colonel Boom’s new Pearl Harbor, wow! The flavours were crisp and the China Grass wicked fast. I mean really fast. Sometimes cotton fails to keep up with my longer toots and I sense the wick about to deliver a dry hit – not with this stuff though. I also tried Key West but the strong zesty lime flavour was definitely not one for me.
Test 1 – Flavourart’s Dark Rolled, 24mg. This test started out pretty even, both wicks delivering a strong flavour and plenty of vapour with masses of throat hit. Unfortunately after about a dozen hits on each tank I had to stop due to near nausea! I vape much lower nic levels these days. Have to call this one a draw. Note to self about diluting the Dark Rolled …
Test 2 – Manabush’s Mojave Dessert, 6mg. I chose a lower nic and much lighter flavour this time, thinking any taste from the wicks would be more evident. Both started out well, there was a slight taste difference at the outset, though not substantial. My preference was the taste from the China Grass – cleaner and fresher, the top notes a little less muted. Halfway through the first tank, the China Grass flooded, gurgled badly and I had to set the clearomiser to one side for a while, upside down so the juice wouldn’t sit on the wick. After 5 minutes I was able to start using it again and the flooding had cleared. I went through 2 tanks of juice in each tank without dry hits. The taste had become increasingly similar, maybe my tongue was tiring, but the cotton wick eventually began to tighten up on the draw whereas the China Grass continued to wick strongly and cleanly. No substantial difference in vapour production until the end, but I would definitely give this round to the China Grass, despite the early flooding and gurgling.
After test two I checked out the wicks – a little discolouring on both but the cotton had a much darker ring where it sat in the coil. I also checked the airflow sections – both contained a spot of juice but the cotton had leaked less. At this stage I strongly suspect the China Grass has more legs in it, would last longer than a cotton wick, and would probably rinse and perform well again.
Test 3 – flavours I really like as ADV’s are tobacco, coffee and vanilla, so I went for a blend of juices on this test. A 50/50 mix of FlavourArt’s Espresso Nutzilla (80VG) and Espresso (50PG/40VG/10H20) with a very small amount of Swiss Dark Chocolate (60PG/40VG) from Feel Life. I wanted to see which wick would best pick up the coffee and chocolate flavours. I filled the tanks, assembled and left the flavours to steep for 15 minutes.
Both cotton and China Grass picked out the coffee and chocolate just about instantly but it was the cotton wicking that got into its stride fastest. The vape was less good from the Grass until almost half the tank was done ... however then it started to outperform the cotton in the ease of draw and vapour. As before the cotton was slightly tightening up. The taste was near identical, the Grass just slightly crisper with delivery of the dark and bitter coffee/choc mix.
A slight edge to the cotton for consistency but with the hint of longer performance I decided to just rinse the tanks and dab dry the wicks before starting the next test. Let’s see if China Grass could save me a lot of time rewicking and whether cotton can keep up.
Test 4 – Chiricahua Sun (6mg) is my favourite vape at the moment so this test was going to be important. With wicks just dried with paper tissue as gently and as best I could, they were switched over to the rinsed and dried out tanks. I was expecting a slight flavour overhang as the previous coffee and choc flavours were very strong.
The flavour hangover was minimal, only the first puff or two. The Grass worked brilliantly, vapour production and taste excellent. The cotton hit dry a few times and I had to primer puff to compensate. The Grass was blowing it away, so much so that I had to change the cotton wick – I couldn’t waste this juice on a dodgy wick. Once changed the cotton was straight back on it.
Full vapour and full flavour from both tanks, nothing to separate them on either aspect. China Grass gets the win though as this test was as much about longevity.
Summary
China Grass is definitely worth considering as an alternative to organic cotton. I would give it the edge on wicking speed, flavour is totally subjective so your mileage will probably vary, but the clincher for me is the durability – you can definitely spend more time vaping and less time rewicking.
There is a learning curve with it; it’s neither easier nor more difficult than cotton but it is different. I don’t boil my cotton balls, I know some prefer to, so the preparation is little different for those that do but not optional unless you like the taste of grass.
I look forward to testing it in an RBA and RDA soon.
Jump to the summary at the bottom if you don’t have the time or the inclination to read it all.
The China Grass came from Plumeblu, a small bag costs just £1. I decided to do side by side tests against cotton to see which was better. Obviously, I’m more used to cotton wicking and its taste would appear “normal” to me; I have hardly used silica since getting NatureVape heads.
Wicking with the China Grass is slightly different. The fibres are longer and stronger and require a little juice to make manipulation into the coil easier. A learning curve would seem inevitable, to work out exactly how much of the Grass fibre to use, just as it had been with cotton after ditching the Kanger silica builds. Don’t strangle the coil was a consistent theme however.
The China Grass was prepared as per the instructions on Plumeblu’s site. It was soaked for 15 minutes in a solution of sodium carbonate, boiled for 15 minutes and then dried in an oven at 180 degrees until dry to the touch. Actually, I turned the oven down to 150 degrees half way through. Not much effort considering there was enough material here to last me months!
For consistency in the testing I’ve used only one mod, the Vaporshark DNA30. This has been set to 10.5 watts. I have the same NatureVape 1.4 ohm coils in an Aerotank v2 and a Protank 3 fitted with the aircontrol valve. With airflow on both set to maximum they perform more or less identically. So, testing the same juice side by side will isolate the variable of the wicking material.
Prior to the side by side tests, I tried using the China Grass in both tanks just to get used to handling it and vaping it. Seeing how light and thin it was in the first coil, I added a thin flavour wick to the second coil – this didn’t work well at all, so I rewicked with some more China Grass this time, almost as much as I could get in there but still allow some movement inside the coil. It was an easy draw on the first coil, the second one gave me some dry hits – which taste disgusting by the way. So, as with cotton, you need to resist the temptation to overwick and choke the coil. Less is more sometimes. Same same, eh.
I vaped some of Colonel Boom’s new Pearl Harbor, wow! The flavours were crisp and the China Grass wicked fast. I mean really fast. Sometimes cotton fails to keep up with my longer toots and I sense the wick about to deliver a dry hit – not with this stuff though. I also tried Key West but the strong zesty lime flavour was definitely not one for me.
Test 1 – Flavourart’s Dark Rolled, 24mg. This test started out pretty even, both wicks delivering a strong flavour and plenty of vapour with masses of throat hit. Unfortunately after about a dozen hits on each tank I had to stop due to near nausea! I vape much lower nic levels these days. Have to call this one a draw. Note to self about diluting the Dark Rolled …
Test 2 – Manabush’s Mojave Dessert, 6mg. I chose a lower nic and much lighter flavour this time, thinking any taste from the wicks would be more evident. Both started out well, there was a slight taste difference at the outset, though not substantial. My preference was the taste from the China Grass – cleaner and fresher, the top notes a little less muted. Halfway through the first tank, the China Grass flooded, gurgled badly and I had to set the clearomiser to one side for a while, upside down so the juice wouldn’t sit on the wick. After 5 minutes I was able to start using it again and the flooding had cleared. I went through 2 tanks of juice in each tank without dry hits. The taste had become increasingly similar, maybe my tongue was tiring, but the cotton wick eventually began to tighten up on the draw whereas the China Grass continued to wick strongly and cleanly. No substantial difference in vapour production until the end, but I would definitely give this round to the China Grass, despite the early flooding and gurgling.
After test two I checked out the wicks – a little discolouring on both but the cotton had a much darker ring where it sat in the coil. I also checked the airflow sections – both contained a spot of juice but the cotton had leaked less. At this stage I strongly suspect the China Grass has more legs in it, would last longer than a cotton wick, and would probably rinse and perform well again.
Test 3 – flavours I really like as ADV’s are tobacco, coffee and vanilla, so I went for a blend of juices on this test. A 50/50 mix of FlavourArt’s Espresso Nutzilla (80VG) and Espresso (50PG/40VG/10H20) with a very small amount of Swiss Dark Chocolate (60PG/40VG) from Feel Life. I wanted to see which wick would best pick up the coffee and chocolate flavours. I filled the tanks, assembled and left the flavours to steep for 15 minutes.
Both cotton and China Grass picked out the coffee and chocolate just about instantly but it was the cotton wicking that got into its stride fastest. The vape was less good from the Grass until almost half the tank was done ... however then it started to outperform the cotton in the ease of draw and vapour. As before the cotton was slightly tightening up. The taste was near identical, the Grass just slightly crisper with delivery of the dark and bitter coffee/choc mix.
A slight edge to the cotton for consistency but with the hint of longer performance I decided to just rinse the tanks and dab dry the wicks before starting the next test. Let’s see if China Grass could save me a lot of time rewicking and whether cotton can keep up.
Test 4 – Chiricahua Sun (6mg) is my favourite vape at the moment so this test was going to be important. With wicks just dried with paper tissue as gently and as best I could, they were switched over to the rinsed and dried out tanks. I was expecting a slight flavour overhang as the previous coffee and choc flavours were very strong.
The flavour hangover was minimal, only the first puff or two. The Grass worked brilliantly, vapour production and taste excellent. The cotton hit dry a few times and I had to primer puff to compensate. The Grass was blowing it away, so much so that I had to change the cotton wick – I couldn’t waste this juice on a dodgy wick. Once changed the cotton was straight back on it.
Full vapour and full flavour from both tanks, nothing to separate them on either aspect. China Grass gets the win though as this test was as much about longevity.
Summary
China Grass is definitely worth considering as an alternative to organic cotton. I would give it the edge on wicking speed, flavour is totally subjective so your mileage will probably vary, but the clincher for me is the durability – you can definitely spend more time vaping and less time rewicking.
There is a learning curve with it; it’s neither easier nor more difficult than cotton but it is different. I don’t boil my cotton balls, I know some prefer to, so the preparation is little different for those that do but not optional unless you like the taste of grass.
I look forward to testing it in an RBA and RDA soon.
