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Specific brand/type of wick.

Sorry guys, new here and my forum searches didn't yield any results.
Basically I suck at wicking always have and always will. No matter how many tutorials I've watched, times I've tried, different types I've used, I always manage to mess up in some way shape or form.

But, whilst browsing youtube a few weeks ago I saw a video where the guy used a specific brand that had what looked the cap from of a shoelace on one side for easy threading that could be removed once you'd inserted the cotton. I did have it bookmarked but since then I've formatted and lost the info entirely. I've been googling all morning and can't seem to find what I'm looking for. Does anybody know what I'm talking about and maybe the name?

Thanks in advance.
 

midknight420

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I know exactly what you're talking about, unfortunately the name of it eludes me. I'm sorry I couldn't be more help. I'll do some Googlefu and YouTube searching though. I saw it on a vape review, if I could remember who I saw using it. I want to say Vaping with Twisted 420, but I can't be for certain.

Sent from my LGMS550 using Tapatalk
 
No problem man thanks for the reply! It's helpful to know I didn't imagine it at least :p.

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing (remembering the guy who was using it). I was googling how to wick the rba for the TFV8 specifically and it was like the 2nd video I saw. Did the same today and must have gone through like 20 different videos without seeing the same guy. Googled various combinations of words trying to include plastic cap/tip shoelace tip for easy threading etc etc and just getting nothing. My googlefu is pretty weak when it comes to stuff like this though. Really need to get building before the new EU regulations kill vaping in the UK and I think this cotton will help loads or at least I pray it will heh.
 

gbalkam

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Try wetting the end of the cotton, just like you would a shoelace with not plastic tip. You cut that part off anyway. Pull with slight pressure on the opposite end, as you pull the wick through, and you can twist the wick slightly if you have any problems.

OR...

https://www.covalvapes.com/products/quickwick-pack-of-10

You have to add aglet to your search
vape wick with aglet (also spelled aiglet)
 

Huckleberried

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Whatever wicking you have on hand, just twist one end tightly. Should thread right through.
 

Synphul

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Not sure what you're using (or have tried using) to wick with. For cotton, whether it's a piece you've torn/cut off of cotton bacon or japanese cotton pads like koh gen do or muji, the cotton is really pliable. It's usually got a grain to it, wicks should be fed through with the grain - meaning if you tug on either end of the piece of cotton it should pull snug and not flex much. If it pulls apart super easy and 'feathers' then you're not with the grain you're against it and separating the cotton from itself.

Usually if you give the cotton a gentle roll between the fingers back and forth then pinch one end and roll it tight you can compress the cotton down smaller than needed to begin feeding through the coil. As gbalkam said, you may need to gently tug backwards on the tail end of the cotton as you pull from the other side, it holds the cotton snug and reduces the chance of it fluffing up and getting snagged on the coil edges as it feeds through. If it won't pull through and begins shedding off a ton of cotton good chance it's because you're using too much.

Those quickwicks I think are the ones I saw grimmgreen messing with in one of his vids. Should work but ouch, the price of convenience. I bought a bag of pads, enough to last me a couple years of wicking even replacing the wick daily for less than a 10pk of those quickwicks. Nothing wrong with convenience but hopefully you can get the hang of more common wicking stuff and save your wallet a bit.

One thing to keep in mind if you decide to go the route of quickwick, make absolutely certain your coil(s) are cool. Generally whether installing a coil in an rta/rda or just rewicking it's customary to pulse the bare coil a bit before wicking. Checking for hot spots, burning any residue off etc. Then rolling the cotton and slipping it through. If the coil is still hot at all when you use the quickwick, the plastic will melt to the inside of the coil and you'll have to start over with a new coil. Grimmgreen made that mistake in his video review. That plastic sheath melts super easy and coils may remain hotter than you think so just be wary of it.
 

gbalkam

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That pack of 10 would last me about 3 days. Cotton bacon lasts about 2 weeks. ( I like to build and try a lot of new coils )
Wicking isn't all that hard to learn. It just takes some practice to get the amount to use right. A bit tight is better than to loose. (there is a dirty joke in there somewhere...) lol Tighter cotton doesn't burn as easily.
 
Yeah this time specifically, it was just the cotton I got with the TFV8 and the prebuilt coils that came with the deck.. I have tried other cotton before with different RTDAs though and always struggled to get the appropriate amount through. Twisting the stuff up just doesn't seem to work, as I'm trying to pull it through more often than not I'm just pulling bits of cotton off rather than pulling it through. They should have it in pre-cut strips for people like me with single digit IQs.

The issue is definitely me not the cotton at any rate.

With the new laws coming through here I really need to get building/wicking down as rdas and those 'new' things (rdtas?) with the juice held in the mod are going to be the only devices worth buying (I dunno how new they are, I'm not an enthusiast so I wouldn't know. It's literally just a nicotine delivery device for me.) Building simple coils seems slightly easier, I managed to build some very simple ones watching YouTube tutorials but it'd always take me like 10 times to get them wicked and even then the prebuilts were better so I just stopped trying.

@Synphul Yeah maybe that's what I was doing. As silly as it may sound I never even considered there being a grain to go with or against.. When I was trying to get it through the cotton was pulling apart. When I did get some through it was far too thick and ended up messing the coils up so I fixed them back up and tried again. Got some through again but I think it wasn't enough coz I ended up with burnt tasting hits.

Thanks for all the replies I've been busy all week so excuse the lateness of my own. Nothing worse than a first poster getting plenty of answers and not acknowledging them. It's a shame these silly laws are coming through here, with them not being able to sell the tanks any more I highly doubt they're going to stock the OCCs.
 

gbalkam

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Member For 4 Years
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Ok just a quick run down of the 3 main types of cotton. Balls, Pads (sheets) and cotton bacon.
Cotton balls aren't really balls, they are actually small rolls (just like a bail of hay, jelly roll or cinnamon roll), just unroll and pull or cut off a strip..
Cotton pads (sheets) just cut off the strip (you can optionally, peel off the top and bottom layers to make it fluffier)
Cotton bacon, is strips of cotton (rather like bacon... don't eat it). Peel off what you need from each stack of strips.

Once you have the desired amount, set it on your leg, and roll it with your hands.. just basically the way you did with modeling clay or play-doh as a kid. (yeah, we know you did it, and we know you made fake doggie doo doo... lol... same technique)

Then just put a twist in one end, put it through the coil and gently pull it through. If it starts to separate, you have to much cotton.. peel a little off, retwist the end and giver-a-go again.
(slightly twisting the back end may help as well if it is just starting to separate)

Also... make sure you cut the cotton WITH the grain, not across it.
 
I picked up some of the OCC last time I was in town because I'm a lazy lazy boy. I'm gonna order some quickwick AND some cotton bacon to give it all another shot. Once I have them I'll post pictures of the abortions that are my first dozen attempts. Maybe provide you all with some decent laughs. Funny thing is from what I can gather this should be the easy part or at least easier than I make it. God knows how I'm gonna manage when I get to building coils more complicated than simple wraps. I had a look at the r/coilporn and some of the stuff people can do is insane.

I'm hoping it's the grain thing. Seems extremely likely as I didn't even consider the fact cotton has a grain. :crazy:

I'm not what you'd call 'handy' and clearly lacking in the common sense department. I'll need to get some decent tools for this stuff as well I guess. I don't have ceramic tweezers or anything like that. I don't have any tools that aren't for my PC specifically now I think about it.
This generation *shakes fist*.

Side-note: At least I looked up ohms law and battery safety extensively before starting to vape AND only use a regulated mod. Might be too silly to wick but at least I'm not dumb enough to blow myself up. Every cloud (pun?) heh. :bomb:
 

4pups

Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
Dude investigate Native Wicks. It's like a 4 foot long unrolled cotton ball. It's the only time I'll ever say something is vastly better than bacon.
 

Mr.Mann

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Member For 4 Years
Member For 3 Years
Not sure what you're using (or have tried using) to wick with. For cotton, whether it's a piece you've torn/cut off of cotton bacon or japanese cotton pads like koh gen do or muji, the cotton is really pliable. It's usually got a grain to it, wicks should be fed through with the grain - meaning if you tug on either end of the piece of cotton it should pull snug and not flex much. If it pulls apart super easy and 'feathers' then you're not with the grain you're against it and separating the cotton from itself.

Usually if you give the cotton a gentle roll between the fingers back and forth then pinch one end and roll it tight you can compress the cotton down smaller than needed to begin feeding through the coil. As gbalkam said, you may need to gently tug backwards on the tail end of the cotton as you pull from the other side, it holds the cotton snug and reduces the chance of it fluffing up and getting snagged on the coil edges as it feeds through. If it won't pull through and begins shedding off a ton of cotton good chance it's because you're using too much.

Those quickwicks I think are the ones I saw grimmgreen messing with in one of his vids. Should work but ouch, the price of convenience. I bought a bag of pads, enough to last me a couple years of wicking even replacing the wick daily for less than a 10pk of those quickwicks. Nothing wrong with convenience but hopefully you can get the hang of more common wicking stuff and save your wallet a bit.

One thing to keep in mind if you decide to go the route of quickwick, make absolutely certain your coil(s) are cool. Generally whether installing a coil in an rta/rda or just rewicking it's customary to pulse the bare coil a bit before wicking. Checking for hot spots, burning any residue off etc. Then rolling the cotton and slipping it through. If the coil is still hot at all when you use the quickwick, the plastic will melt to the inside of the coil and you'll have to start over with a new coil. Grimmgreen made that mistake in his video review. That plastic sheath melts super easy and coils may remain hotter than you think so just be wary of it.

Such a quality response!
 

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