scrumpox
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- Jul 11, 2014
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These are some personal notes I've made on the wicking materials I've used over the past few weeks. I'm not a seasoned vaper, have zero experience with mesh for example but this might help other noobs ... this is neither comprehensive nor authoritative, feel free to chime in and enhance this for the benefit of all apes. Apologies for the formatting, I've just cut and paste from my spreadsheet ...
I should start out with a safety message; what is common to all wicking materials is that you should pick up the clues of an impending dry hit early - dry hitting ANY wick is bad news as your subsequent cough or even wheezing fit will tell you. With no juice present the coil is heating up beyond safe vaping limits. Some materials might be worse for you than others but for safety's sake AVOID the dry hit wherever possible.
The second common aspect is using the right amount of wick for your application; whether rewicking a microcoil in your Kanger tank or setting up your RTA/RDA. There are countless videos on youtube showing you how to wick, then it's trial and error to get it right for your atomiser, the juice you're using and the power setting. You need enough wick but not so much that you strangle it in the coil which impedes performance. Some wicking materials expand when saturated in juice, others don't. Clearly some absorb far more juice than others.
The third common factor is that all these wicking materials are cheap! No comparison to the prices you're paying for atties yet the wick forms a partnership with your coil and that's the heart of your set up - it's so easy to spoil the ship for a ha'pence of tar.
Whatever wicking material you choose to use, pay attention to its performance and it'll repay you in your vaping experience. Resist the temptation to blame your kit when your wick doesn't perform or you get dry hits. It's more than likely that you haven't set up your wick correctly. Don't be afraid to learn from your mistakes, we all make them, I still make them, you won't learn if you refuse to recognise the problem.
I should start out with a safety message; what is common to all wicking materials is that you should pick up the clues of an impending dry hit early - dry hitting ANY wick is bad news as your subsequent cough or even wheezing fit will tell you. With no juice present the coil is heating up beyond safe vaping limits. Some materials might be worse for you than others but for safety's sake AVOID the dry hit wherever possible.
The second common aspect is using the right amount of wick for your application; whether rewicking a microcoil in your Kanger tank or setting up your RTA/RDA. There are countless videos on youtube showing you how to wick, then it's trial and error to get it right for your atomiser, the juice you're using and the power setting. You need enough wick but not so much that you strangle it in the coil which impedes performance. Some wicking materials expand when saturated in juice, others don't. Clearly some absorb far more juice than others.
The third common factor is that all these wicking materials are cheap! No comparison to the prices you're paying for atties yet the wick forms a partnership with your coil and that's the heart of your set up - it's so easy to spoil the ship for a ha'pence of tar.
Whatever wicking material you choose to use, pay attention to its performance and it'll repay you in your vaping experience. Resist the temptation to blame your kit when your wick doesn't perform or you get dry hits. It's more than likely that you haven't set up your wick correctly. Don't be afraid to learn from your mistakes, we all make them, I still make them, you won't learn if you refuse to recognise the problem.
| Silica | Braided silica | Cotton wool | Japanese organic cotton | China Grass | Rayon / Cellucotton | Mesh | |
| Description | The default or industry standard wicking material commonly found in OEM coils and with rebuildables. Available in various lengths in 1mm-5mm diameter. | A superior version of silica wick made in Russia, sometimes branded as Ekowool or Voodoo wool. It is braided rather than twisted which makes it more resistant to fraying at the ends when cut. Available in various lengths in 1mm-5mm diameter. | Usually obtained as cotton wool balls, may be organically sourced. | Prepared organic cotton pads or sheets from the beauty industry where the fibres lie in the same direction. Branded as Muji, Koh Gen Do or Shisheido. Some pads contain dark flecks which are seeds. | Very long, strong and hair-like fibres from nettles. | A man made fibre, aka viscose, extruded from natural cellulose - bamboo or wood pulp. | |
| Supplier(s) | Stealthvape.co.uk Cloud9vaping.co.uk other vaping supply companies | Stealthvape.co.uk Cloud9vaping.co.uk other vaping supply companies | High street chemists, Amazon, Ebay etc | muji.co.uk Stealthvape.co.uk | Plumeblu.co.uk | Cloud9vaping.co.uk | |
| Price guide | 2 meters of 1mm for £2.25 | C9V Ekowool - 5 meters of 1mm for £9.95 SV Voodoowool - 2 meters of 1mm for £2.99 | Huge bags for £1-£2 | 120 60x50mm pads for £1.95 from Mujionline 3 pads free from SV | £1 for a 20 gramme bag | C9V - £1 for 1 meter | |
| Preparation | Cut to length. Usually preheated with a blowtorch to condition for use and remove impurities. | Cut to length. Usually preheated with a blowtorch to condition for use and remove impurities. | Unroll the cotton ball, tear off enough to form your wick keeping fibres as straight as possible. Optionally preboil and dry to remove impurities. | None required, simply trim to size with scissors. | Must be soaked, boiled and dried before use to remove taste. Select strands of required thickness then cut to length required for forming wick. | Tear off enough to form your wick keeping the fibres as straight as possible to avoid clumping. | |
| Coiling | Gather one or more strands and wrap wire around to form a coil. Use a pin or paperclip when coiling to prevent strangling. Can also be rolled and pinched to thread through a microcoil. Trim with nail clippers or scissors to length. | Gather one or more strands and wrap wire around to form a coil. Use a pin or paperclip when coiling to prevent strangling. Can also be rolled and pinched to thread through a microcoil. Trim with nail clippers or scissors to length. | Prepare close formed or microcoil, form one end of the cotton into a point and feed through the coil, trim. | Prepare close formed or microcoil, form one end of the cotton into a point and feed through the coil, trim. | Prepare close formed or microcoil, form one end of the grass fibres into a point and feed through the coil, trim. | Prepare close formed or microcoil, form one end of the rayon into a point and feed through the coil, trim. | |
| Dry burning | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | |
| Wicking speed | Adequate in most circumstances | Faster than standard silica | Adequate in most circumstances | Faster than normal cotton | Very fast | Very fast | |
| Pros | Ubiquitous at vaping suppliers; withstands very high temperatures, does not melt; strong, robust and reusable after rinse and dry burn; easy to work with | Withstands very high temperatures, does not melt; strong robust and reusable after rinse and dry burn; easy to work with | Commonly available everywhere; very cheap; clean tasting; very easy to rewick a microcoil | Very clean tasting; fast wicking; clean tasting; easier to work with than cotton balls; organically grown and processed | Very clean tasting through whole range of flavour notes; very durable - coil and wick can be rinsed and reused though not dry burned | Very clean tasting through whole range of flavour notes; easy to work with, super fast at wicking | |
| Cons | Can be tasted by sensitive vapers; not super fast at wicking; frays with use; more difficult to use with microcoils | Can be tasted by sensitive vapers; not super fast at wicking; frays with use; more difficult to use with microcoils | Can mute high notes in some flavours; some kinds require boiling to remove impurities; not durable or as long lasting as silica; flaccid when soaked | Can mute high notes in some flavours; not durable or as long lasting as silica; flaccid when soaked | Tricky to work with; requires thorough preparation to remove taste though some vapers may even then still be sensitive to its taste | Can be an irritant to some vapers; not durable; flaccid when soaked | |
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