Silica Particles - Concerns??!!?

[SmokinAces]

Hi All,
Just been playing around rebuilding a CE4 with a reasonable amount of success. I tried a cotton wool wick that worked okay. Lght on taste but I didn't give it much time to bed in.
I then stripped it down again to try a silica wick. Just for practice and experimentation.

I've only got a supply of 3.5mm silica which was far too thick to fit down the "slot".
I unbraided it and used a few strands.

My concern is the amount of silica "particles" that were floating around. I'm willing to bet that this isn't good stuff to be inhaling!!!

So is unbraiding wick a no no? would it be wise to rinse the assembled atty head once built? Once gunked with juice does this cease to be a worry?

I will be getting some smaller wick, but this has raised some concerns that I hope you can help me with.

EDIT - Please don't flame me. I know this is a very contentious, and unfounded, topic within the community, so I'll stick to the question of unbraiding!!!!

Thanks muchly.

 

[MrKraken]

One man that has done wonders in sourcing good quality wick is stealthvape and it is a very real concern. As poor quality wick contains more "bits" of "things". As I'm not a major rebuilder I shall leave it for those who have delved deeper to give you a full answer!

 

[Firadar]

I can also testify to the quality of the stuff at stealthvapes, as for the whole particles thing... could try holding your breath. But nah i have also been slightly concerned with that stuff, but once its wet with liquid I dont worry at all.

At the end of the day, when working with silica (ekowool included) there will be dust when its dry, just try not to suck it up.

 

[clint]

I believe that the issue is prolonged exposure to the dust particles when working with the stuff over a long period of time. I'm pretty sure that the particles that you see pose no risk. Time will tell.

 

[Fleabag]

I've read advice that you can use PG or VG to dampen it before use to prevent particles flying around

 

[Gonloopy]

There's a large thread on it over on ECF which I have copied.
hope I'm not breaking any rules...

"To put it simply the aerodynamic diameter of a the (wet or dry) silica fiber we use is too large to reach deep enough into the lungs to do damage. If It does get into the upper airways it will be broken into smaller bits by the movement of the cilia and ejected from the body through the digestive tract."

hope it it helps put your mind at rest

Edit: not sure why it says digestive, reads like a typo to me, would've thought you would cough it out....

 

[Dan Dan the vaping man]

I don't think its a big risk at all but wouldn't go snorting the stuff lol
And rob ( Stealthvape ) handles loads of the stuff on a daily basis and has done for a while so I'm sure if there was any side effects he would of been sure to give the masses a heads up if there where any major safety issues by now

And yes the quality dose make a difference when it comes to it breaking up, just like the stuff you sometimes get with pre built drippers, you only have to look at some of it and bits fall off lol


Sent from my Nexus 7 using Planet of the Vapes mobile app

 

[Matt Gluggles]

Gonloopy has it right.

Silica particles need to be very small (microns) to be harmfull. The microscopic particles become a risk when they penetrate very deep into the lungs.

The particles that you can see are too big to cause damage as (even if inhaled, which is unlikely that they will pass through a coil) they will get trapped in the upper airways, just like dust does all day every day, and become gradually expelled.

So, don't worry.

Still looks a bit bad and off-putting, though, when floating around in your tank - so for that reason get some quality stuff from places like stealthvape - as others have suggested.

.