case of the vanishing wick

[Emberwilde]

I am wondering if this happens to anyone else, or is it a flaw in my wicking style.. I have noticed on multiple occasions my vape suddenly getting harsh, this has happened with every type of cotton I have used so already ruled out brand. When I check my deck the cotton inside the coil itself is gone, just tips left at each end.. I toss the partial remains, clean and re-wick and sometimes it happens again, other times it does not.. given its lack of consistency I am a bit befuddled

 

[Lost]

What are you vaping off of? Atty, wire type, ohms, watts.

 

[AmandaD]

Incinerating the cotton !


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Zamazam]

I am wondering if this happens to anyone else, or is it a flaw in my wicking style.. I have noticed on multiple occasions my vape suddenly getting harsh, this has happened with every type of cotton I have used so already ruled out brand. When I check my deck the cotton inside the coil itself is gone, just tips left at each end.. I toss the partial remains, clean and re-wick and sometimes it happens again, other times it does not.. given its lack of consistency I am a bit befuddled

Not enough cotton in the build.you are burning it off which is bad.....

 

[Neunerball]

Not enough cotton in the build.you are burning it off which is bad.....

Could also be too much cotton in the coil, thus choking off the wicks.

 

[Scratch88683]

Lol never had this issue that's crazy..that's got to taste horrible

 

[inspects]

I would have to suggest using Rayon, you will eliminate this problem.

 

[Emberwilde]

What are you vaping off of? Atty, wire type, ohms, watts.

wire: kanthal a1, 316L SS, and Ni200 has happened with all three types (*note always use spaced coils)
and yes has happened in TC mode
Mods: IPV4S, Sigelei 75W, iJoy Asolo, invader mini
Tanks: TFV4 Mini RCA deck, Subtank Mini, OBS Crius, Aromamizer, Epoch D1, Goliath, Bellius

I would have to suggest using Rayon, you will eliminate this problem.

have used rayon, cotton bacon, organic cotton balls, Japanese organic cotton pads

Not enough cotton in the build.you are burning it off which is bad.....

Could also be too much cotton in the coil, thus choking off the wicks.

okay what I do is get it loosely full, if that makes sense.. not floppy and not overly snug..
slight resistance but not enough to pull Ni200 coils out of shape

I was hoping this is not some spacial anomaly that is only occurring in my little place in the universe.. but it seems to be..
I have been able to avoid it by swapping cotton every other tank full...

is it possible it is my juice?

 

[Rabbit Slayer]

that is a problem using NI200, I aim for snug but not overly tight and the only dry hits I ever get is my stupidity(not checking the watts when I put on a different atty or forgetting to open the juice flow)

 

[JERUS]

I actually use the Scottish Roll method of wicking for even RTAs and haven't looked back. I have encountered this phenomenon when I didn't, but not since I started packing the wick tight. Initially it made sense to me that you don't want to pack too tight or it won't wick well, but... that's wrong. If you have your fibers lined up and pack it tight it wicks just fine, if not better. Look into the capillary effect, you'll see the smaller horizontal space the better it will wick, that's the idea here I think. The problem occurs when you have cotton particles eating up space that aren't strands but simply little puffs. Those don't wick up, they just soak up and hold things in limbo at least as far as my theory goes. Anyways, I do the Scottish Roll in my Griffin, Boreas, all my RDAs, and basically everything but my Diablo. The only reason I don't on my Diablo is because it wicks perfectly fine doing a basic wicking and I see no reason to mess with it, no leaks, no dry hits, just perfection, don't fix what ain't broke.

Anyways, cotton will burn up, and it will degrade, and where do you think that will happen most? well in the center of your coil, a little burning a little degradation, suddenly there's not much in there. That explains it simply enough.

 

[inspects]

have used rayon, cotton bacon, organic cotton balls, Japanese organic cotton pads

You're saying you burn through Rayon with a wet wick?...I would really have to see it to believe it.

 

[nightshard]

The only way for cotton to vanish is to burn away and the only way for this to happen is for it dry completely.
It's hard to believe that anyone will be able to not notice and keep vaping while this is happening, but if this is the case with you, you should seriously consider switching to TC

 

[Scratch88683]

wire: kanthal a1, 316L SS, and Ni200 has happened with all three types (*note always use spaced coils)
and yes has happened in TC mode
Mods: IPV4S, Sigelei 75W, iJoy Asolo, invader mini
Tanks: TFV4 Mini RCA deck, Subtank Mini, OBS Crius, Aromamizer, Epoch D1, Goliath, Bellius


have used rayon, cotton bacon, organic cotton balls, Japanese organic cotton pads





okay what I do is get it loosely full, if that makes sense.. not floppy and not overly snug..
slight resistance but not enough to pull Ni200 coils out of shape

I was hoping this is not some spacial anomaly that is only occurring in my little place in the universe.. but it seems to be..
I have been able to avoid it by swapping cotton every other tank full...

is it possible it is my juice?

So your saying that you used all those different wicks with all those different atty's with all those different mods and with all those different wires and they all burn up the wick entirely in the middle. If that is true then for one you are constantly smoking(yes smoking you are combusting your wick) plastic from the rayon which should taste horrendous and cotton which should also taste terrible. So either your using way to much wsttage for your coils and burning all the wick up or you have some crazy plastic eating acid ejuice. I've burnt my wicks before which results in black spots and usually a ruined wick because it will taste like shit afterwords but I've never had my wicks disintegrate inside the coils especially after only a few tanks. Not to mention you should be tasting this the entire time your vaping. I own 4 of the tanks you mentioned and 2 of the mods and not even remotely the problem that your saying you have and I vaped without Scottish rolling for about 9 months I've only recently switched to the Scottish roll texhnique. You also said this is happening to you in tc mode which it definately shouldn't happen in tc mode. I don't know what to tell your with this mix of all those atty's, mods, and wire you shouldn't be having this problem you have to either doing something very wrong or you are the most unlucky person on earth...

 

[Mattp169]

are you removing layers of cotton and just using really fluffy stuff that is not tightly compacted together?

 

[Emberwilde]

o your saying that you used all those different wicks with all those different atty's with all those different mods and with all those different wires and they all burn up the wick entirely in the middle

not always, it happens(happened) randomly.... it did not happen every time, it did not happen with any level of consistency, I might be mistaken on the rayon.. this has been going on for so long it is all a blur to be honest.. it was never a gradual thing, it was like good vape, good vape.. good vape.. harsh dry burnt shit.. and when that happened it was *poof* the magical vanishing wick

it does not happen anymore since I started replacing the wick every other tank full.. but it has nagged me as to why so I figured maybe someone else has had this problem...

So either your using way to much wsttage for your coils

depending on the tank, mod, and juice I run anywhere between 12w and 30w
my builds come in anywhere from 0.06 (Ni200) to 1.5 (kanthal)
. *shrugs* maybe them folks I used to tease as a kid were gypsies and put a curse on me??

 

[UncleRJ]

IMHO, you have your coil packed too tightly with wick

 

[PaulS]

No the wick is too loose. I vape series mods almost exclusively and my cotton when not thick enough in the coil will evaporate at the center. Its not that uncommon if you have a coil that heats up very quickly.

 

[Scratch88683]

I vape my Noisy Cricket all the time I never had my wicks evaporate maybe I'm good at wicking. There's times I'll have the same wick on there for weeks. I mean I rewick a lot and know how to do it so I guess it could make sense as to why it hasn't happened to me. But you think at least 1 out of thousands of wick jobs would have been bad

 

[Lost]

@Emberwilde
You've been doing this too long for this to be happening to you. This problem is so bizarre, I keep having to push down the thought that you're just messing with us. Ha.

But strange things happen to most of us at some point. I've been wracking my brain trying to remember similar situations. Pretty sure the only time I've pulled wick out of coils and have them partially disintegrate was in my wife's micro coils for her POS Kanger EVOD. (I rebuilt those throw-away 5-pack coils for at least 2 1/2 years. So that was either silica or either insanely small-ID Kanthal coils with wisps of cotton.)

Everything in the house now is 3mm ID. Absolutely no issues close to yours. RDAs, RBAs/tanks, Ti, Kanthal, and there was some Ni200 in there for just a while. TC and power modes. And I even use crap cotton.

I just rewicked my RDA a few days ago, after at least two weeks of use. The cotton was still so together that I had to cut the excess off one end to remove it without bending the coil.

One thing though... I do realize how the Big Boys vape, and we don't vape like that. I told the owner of a vape shop how long my wicks and coils last, and he looked at me like I was on fire.

 

[Scratch88683]

@Emberwilde
You've been doing this too long for this to be happening to you. This problem is so bizarre, I keep having to push down the thought that you're just messing with us. Ha.

But strange things happen to most of us at some point. I've been wracking my brain trying to remember similar situations. Pretty sure the only time I've pulled wick out of coils and have them partially disintegrate was in my wife's micro coils for her POS Kanger EVOD. (I rebuilt those throw-away 5-pack coils for at least 2 1/2 years. So that was either silica or either insanely small-ID Kanthal coils with wisps of cotton.)

Everything in the house now is 3mm ID. Absolutely no issues close to yours. RDAs, RBAs/tanks, Ti, Kanthal, and there was some Ni200 in there for just a while. TC and power modes. And I even use crap cotton.

I just rewicked my RDA a few days ago, after at least two weeks of use. The cotton was still so together that I had to cut the excess off one end to remove it without bending the coil.

One thing though... I do realize how the Big Boys vape, and we don't vape like that. I told the owner of a vape shop how long my wicks and coils last, and he looked at me like I was on fire.

Lol yea I change my cotton every other day but I'm also running them at high wattage's sometimes if I'm lucky or being lazy I can get a week out of them it also depends on the juice I'm using usually with desert flavors they last longer

 

[Mikhail Naumov]

First of all, if you're using Rayon, it wouldn't burn away into ash and vanish. It would melt down onto your coil and atomizer base, Rayon is a VERY iffy material to use for wicking and there's a TON of medical information on it that makes me avoid it like the plague. It's very similar (as is silica) in composition to asbestos. Main point, it doesn't burn like cotton, it melts like a plastic almost.

Second of all, Rayon shrinks overtime throughout use, where-as cotton will end up expanding overtime. So you could be choking your coil out after vaping for an hour or two without realizing it, or if you're using Rayon your coil could end up half ass wicked and not full.

Otherwise, ID of your coils matters. If you're using 2.5-4mm coils, use a LOT of cotton. Not too much to where it's difficult to pull through without the coil itself moving with it, but not too little to where it just freely slides in and out.

My advice, there's a LOT of medical information stating Rayon could be very dangerous to use as a wicking material. It's not something you want to inhale, and as you vape on it the material of Rayon shrinks considerably.

The fact treated organic cotton is far more absorbent than cellucotton/rayon, the fact NOTHING I've ever wicked with Rayon tasted good at ALL (it tastes like burnt plastic), the fact it shrinks inside your coil as you vape and the fact medical studies show it's very much potentially toxic in some uses makes me want to post billboards on every street corner saying DON'T USE THIS. Anything that could actually hurt our lungs is something that could seriously hurt vaping. That's something to think long and hard on especially right now. Don't just think about YOUR lungs, think about vaping surviving.

 

[AmandaD]

First of all, if you're using Rayon, it wouldn't burn away into ash and vanish. It would melt down onto your coil and atomizer base, Rayon is a VERY iffy material to use for wicking and there's a TON of medical information on it that makes me avoid it like the plague. It's very similar (as is silica) in composition to asbestos. Main point, it doesn't burn like cotton, it melts like a plastic almost.

Second of all, Rayon shrinks overtime throughout use, where-as cotton will end up expanding overtime. So you could be choking your coil out after vaping for an hour or two without realizing it, or if you're using Rayon your coil could end up half ass wicked and not full.

Otherwise, ID of your coils matters. If you're using 2.5-4mm coils, use a LOT of cotton. Not too much to where it's difficult to pull through without the coil itself moving with it, but not too little to where it just freely slides in and out.

My advice, there's a LOT of medical information stating Rayon could be very dangerous to use as a wicking material. It's not something you want to inhale, and as you vape on it the material of Rayon shrinks considerably.

The fact treated organic cotton is far more absorbent than cellucotton/rayon, the fact NOTHING I've ever wicked with Rayon tasted good at ALL (it tastes like burnt plastic), the fact it shrinks inside your coil as you vape and the fact medical studies show it's very much potentially toxic in some uses makes me want to post billboards on every street corner saying DON'T USE THIS. Anything that could actually hurt our lungs is something that could seriously hurt vaping. That's something to think long and hard on especially right now. Don't just think about YOUR lungs, think about vaping surviving.

Rayon does NOT melt - in fact, in burn tests it goes to ash faster than cotton!

 

[Huckleberried]

I've never experienced melting with rayon and it's never shrunken in use when I've properly wicked it. It does shrink when I put juice on it, so I account for that when wicking the coil in the beginning. I just swapped out wicking in 2 tanks today, not melted, no shrinkage. Been using it for over a year.

 

[Whiskey]

Hang on I have to grab my eyes back....they just rolled to the back of my head

 

[UncleRJ]

I have had the same thing happen to me before I figured it out.

Using Organic Japanese Cotton (what I call makeup pads) I cut a very thin strip to thread into my coil.

It should easily insert into the coil and be able to move back and forth in it.

If it does not easily move back and forth, you have too much.

Keep in mind that cotton will SWELL and EXPAND once it is soaked in E-Liquid at which point if you use the proper amount of wicking material, it will expand just enough to come into uniform contact with the inside of your coil.

My theory is that if you have it packed too much into the coil, it will not be able to be fully absorb the E-liquid and will be kind of dry when you go to fire the coil.

Lack of "Wet" = "Dry" wick which = "Burning Wick" = "Missing Wick Inside the coil" = "No Joy or vapor production".

If you don't like or agree with the above, send your PM's to Whiskey

Only because I have not done anything to piss her off for awhile and I am overdue

 

[Whiskey]

HEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

 

[Mikhail Naumov]

Rayon does NOT melt - in fact, in burn tests it goes to ash faster than cotton!

http://www.absonant.com/2014/03/why-do-natural-fibers-burn-but.html

Just because you think what you see is 'burning' doesn't change the fact Rayon is cellulose, which is made from wood. It DOES melt.

When I get crazy on my 3 and 4S PWM lipo boxes, past the 1,200W range, I begin using Rayon. Because Rayon will not burst into flames like cotton will, it can handle those temperature ranges like a champ. Take to to around 1,500-2,000watts. It will VISIBLY start to degrade and melt. Ergo, Rayon melts, it may leave ash behind, but it still melts. There's a million and one reasons out there, even full scientific studies, that show you why you should not using Rayon for wicking.

http://www.vintagevisage.net/Burn_Chart.html

You can still BURN things that melt, but this chart tells you that the flames off 'burning' Rayon are brighter, which is often the case when you burn chemicals. The smoke produced is also much darker. Call me crazy, but I don't trust inhaling things into my lungs coming off of something that begins to melt over time, produces fire brighter than other materials and lets off black smoke.

Vaping is about harm reduction, I feel inhaling Rayon is probably a HUGE carcinogen. Just putting factual information out there, all these people saying Rayon is 100% safe, sorry to say but they're either misinformed or lying flat out.

Rayon will begin to melt when it's pushed past its temperature limit, and yes when you put juice in it, it shrinks. Meaning if the OP was wicking using Rayon I'd advise him to use more than normal to compensate, the opposite of cotton. If you push Rayon TOO far, it WILL burn, a bright chemical-esque flame that releases black smoke. If you push it just UNDER TOO FAR, it will begin to melt. This is scientific fact that has been studied in labs. I take real scientific date over 'well it never did it for me!' any day of the week. I know of at least one person who vaped for two years using Rayon wicks and now has a severe lung issue that has seemingly come out of the blue.

Also you cannot change the fact that Rayon and Silica fibers are similar to asbestos. Synthetics melt, naturals burn. Rayon is a combination of synthetic and natural. Meaning parts of it will burn under circumstances, and parts will melt under certain circumstances. I cannot recommend ANYONE to use Rayon for their wicking. It just isn't safe.

 

[Zamazam]

wire: kanthal a1, 316L SS, and Ni200 has happened with all three types (*note always use spaced coils)
and yes has happened in TC mode
Mods: IPV4S, Sigelei 75W, iJoy Asolo, invader mini
Tanks: TFV4 Mini RCA deck, Subtank Mini, OBS Crius, Aromamizer, Epoch D1, Goliath, Bellius


have used rayon, cotton bacon, organic cotton balls, Japanese organic cotton pads





okay what I do is get it loosely full, if that makes sense.. not floppy and not overly snug..
slight resistance but not enough to pull Ni200 coils out of shape

I was hoping this is not some spacial anomaly that is only occurring in my little place in the universe.. but it seems to be..
I have been able to avoid it by swapping cotton every other tank full...

is it possible it is my juice?

Ok, I think I see what's happening. You want the cotton to be snug, not tight. You should be able to take the wick and pull it back and forth in the coil with come resistance, but not enough so it pulls the coil from one side to the other. See where I'm going here?

 

[UncleRJ]

Ok, I think I see what's happening. You want the cotton to be snug, not tight. You should be able to take the wick and pull it back and forth in the coil with come resistance, but not enough so it pulls the coil from one side to the other. See where I'm going here?

Didn't I just say something very much like that?

Now if you don't like the theory, you can send PMs to either Whiskey or Zamazam

 

[Zamazam]

Didn't I just say something very much like that?

Now if you don't like the theory, you can send PMs to either Whiskey or Zamazam

or @UncleRJ preferably.

 

[UncleRJ]

or @UncleRJ preferably.

 

[Mattp169]

see im new to makin coils. but i twist my cotton super tight so i can slide it through but just barley through, and it does sometimes move the coil. i think untwist when i have it where i want it. I THINK this is the scottish roll method. and i never have any issues. in fact when i use slightly less i get leaking issues and dry hits

 

[Number3124]

http://www.absonant.com/2014/03/why-do-natural-fibers-burn-but.html

Just because you think what you see is 'burning' doesn't change the fact Rayon is cellulose, which is made from wood. It DOES melt.

When I get crazy on my 3 and 4S PWM lipo boxes, past the 1,200W range, I begin using Rayon. Because Rayon will not burst into flames like cotton will, it can handle those temperature ranges like a champ. Take to to around 1,500-2,000watts. It will VISIBLY start to degrade and melt. Ergo, Rayon melts, it may leave ash behind, but it still melts. There's a million and one reasons out there, even full scientific studies, that show you why you should not using Rayon for wicking.

http://www.vintagevisage.net/Burn_Chart.html

You can still BURN Things that melt, but this chart tells you that the flames off 'burning' Rayon are brighter, which is often the case when you burn chemicals. The smoke produced is also much darker. Call me crazy, but I don't trust inhaling things into my lungs coming off of something that begins to melt over time, produces fire brighter than other materials and lets off black smoke.

Vaping is about harm reduction, I feel inhaling Rayon is probably a HUGE carcinogen. Just putting factual information out there, all these people saying Rayon is 100% safe, sorry to say but they're either misinformed or lying flat out.

Rayon will begin to melt when it's pushed its temperature limit, and yes when you put juice in it, it shrinks. Meaning if the OP was wicking using Rayon I'd advise him to use more than normal to compensate, the opposite of cotton. If you push Rayon TOO far, it WILL burn, a bright chemical-esque flame that releases black smoke. If you push it just UNDER TOO FAR, it will begin to melt. This is scientific fact that has been studied in labs. I take real scientific date over 'well it never did it for me!' any day of the week. I know of at least one person who vaped for two years using Rayon wicks and now has a severe lung issue that has seemingly come out of the blue.

Also change change the fact that Rayon and Silica fibers are similar to asbestos. Synthetics melt, naturals burn. Rayon is a combination of synthetic and natural. Meaning parts of it will burn under circumstances, and parts will melt under certain circumstances. I cannot recommend ANYONE to use Rayon for their wicking. It just isn't safe.

Rayon is not a plastic. Cellulose is not a plastic. Cotton is in fact 90% cellulose. Cellulose is the fibrous material that forms the walls of the cells of plants. It's why wood is hard while the flesh of animals is soft. We don't have cell walls. Rayon is simply processed cellulose. It's 99% cellulose in fact. It is not dangerous in any way, shape or form.

Read up. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellulose

 

[inspects]

6. PROPERTIES OF RAYON

Variations during spinning of viscose or during drawing of filaments provide a wide variety of fibers with a wide variety of properties. These include:

Fibers with thickness of 1.7 to 5.0dtex, particularly those between 1.7 and 3.3 dtex, dominate large scale production.

Tenacity ranges between 2.0 to 2.6 g/den when dry and 1.0 to 1.5 g/den when wet.

Wet strength of the fiber is of importance during its manufacturing and also in subsequent usage. Modifications in the production process have led to the problem of low wet strength being overcome.

Dry and wet tenacies extend over a range depending on the degree of polymerization and crystallinity. The higher the crystallinity and orientation of rayon, the lower is the drop in tenacity upon wetting.

Percentage elongation-at-break seems to vary from 10 to 30 % dry and 15 to 40 % wet. Elongation-at-break is seen to decrease with an increase in the degree of crystallinity and orientation of rayon.

Thermal properties: Viscose rayon loses strength above 149°C; chars and decomposes at 177 to 204°C. It does not melt or stick at elevated temperatures.
.

 

[Emberwilde]

I have had the same thing happen to me before I figured it out.

so I am not alone, thank you, was starting to question my sanity.. well or worry I pissed off gypsies
some wicks may have been snugger then others

You've been doing this too long for this to be happening to you. This problem is so bizarre, I keep having to push down the thought that you're just messing with us. Ha.

heh would be funnyish if I were.. did start quite the rayon debate
it has not happened in a while but it did happen fairly often.. I should also note it never happened with my various rda's just my tanks..
how did that old saying go "inquiring minds need to know"

 

[Mikhail Naumov]

Rayon is not a plastic. Cellulose is not a plastic. Cotton is in fact 90% cellulose. Cellulose is the fibrous material that forms the walls of the cells of plants. It's why wood is hard while the flesh of animals is soft. We don't have cell walls. Rayon is simply processed cellulose. It's 99% cellulose in fact. It is not dangerous in any way, shape or form.

Read up. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellulose

You people keep throwing what you WANT TO HEAR at me. I know cotton is 90% fucking cellulose. I also said rayon is HALF natural, HALF synthetic. I also already said I knew cellulose is mostly wood pulp. Scroll up in case you missed it.

I use the word synthetic, I used the word plastic. I said melts LIKE A PLASTIC. English is not my first language, or my second or third, but I'm pretty damned good at speaking it. I have witnessed Rayon FIRST-HAND melt like a plastic.

Rayon contains large amounts of dioxin when exposed to heat, when you inhale dioxins, well, how about you go be the guinea pig. Go wick your coils with tampons if you think it's so safe.

P.S. Rayon isn't 99% cellulose. Not even close. Maybe 99% synthetic cellulose.

http://www.life.ca/naturallife/0908/ecofiber_or_fraud.htm

http://www.barnhardtcotton.net/blog/know-fibers-cotton-vs-viscose-rayon/

FROM THE VAULTS OF VU ITSELF: http://vapingunderground.com/threads/rayon-for-wicks-not-a-good-idea.15412/

http://ukvapers.org/Thread-Rayon-wick-side-effects

http://www.flavourart.co.uk/news/rayon-wick-possible-side-effects-and-causes.html

http://naturallysavvy.com/care/rayon-what-you-need-to-know-about-this-fiber-and-your-health

Rayon is a SYNTHETIC, MAN MADE fiber. There is NOTHING natural about it. You don't find Rayon plants growing out in the wild. This is a world where people are too paranoid to use nickel as a heating element. You cannot ignore the amounts of people getting side effects when using rayon wicks in their coils, or ignore the fact that when heated Rayon gives off larger amouts of dioxin than things like cotton. If you want to be the guinea pig, by all means do so. I'm not an expert of synthetic materials, I'm just an electrical engineer. I know first hand from using Rayon it FUCKED my chest up for days, so I don't trust it a damned bit.

That last link I gave. when Rayon is bleached (because it is, BLEACHED) it ends up with dioxin in it. The wonderful, good ol' competent people at the FDA said not enough to matter, but when you TAKE IMMENSE HEAT TO SOMETHING the equation changes.

Look, it's your peoples lungs. But if certain vapers end up with lung conditions due to vaping with certain wicks, it will be the final nail in the coffin of vaping.

Getting cotton package ready for the retail market is a 7 stage process. Rayon is a 19 STAGE PROCESS. Let me translate that: MORE ROOM FOR ERROR.


Back to my original point, if you are using Rayon, it will shrink once you've splattered juice all over it and heated it so use extra when you first wick, do the opposite of cotton.

 

[VapeWorm]

I've been a regular reader of VU but only today I decided to register because of the issue being discussed here. I'm also a victim of the misterious vanishing wick.

I'll get into that in a moment but first let me do a little background on myself. I'm no super expert in building but I'm no noob also. For the past one and half years I've build and wick several RTAs and RDAs including Goblins, several Kayfuns versions, Tayfuns, Zephyrus, Avocados and more, experimenting several techniques with very good results. I've had my share of mistakes climbing the learning curve but I'm convinced I'm pretty good at wicking. Never had a severe leak (ok, once I had a complete tank spill on me, easily solved), never had a dry burn (no, also not true, had a few, usually wrong wattage settings). I've also built TC coils. I don't like Nickel but I love and use Titanium daily (space coil).

So, yesterday I got my hands on a Goblin Mini and tried for the first time to build in SS316. Made a pretty contact coil, burn it beautifully even, no hotspots, wick it with japanese cotton, put my most delicious juice and let it rest. When I tried it, it tasted like... nothing, zero. It was the most unsatisfying vape I already tried. Vacuum has more flavor than I was getting. Started to climb on temperature and suddenly, a awful burn taste. Wait, I should get no dry hit, this is TC.

I thought I messed with the wick, so let’s do it again. When I took the cotton (which was completely saturated) it came in two pieces just like referred by OP in fist post. Cotton was completely white, no signs of burn, but the cotton inside the coil jumped to hyperspace never to be seen again.

With several question marks over my head, I rewicked it again a bit more snug. This time flavour was better but still below par, a lot. Never had a dry burn but had funny roasted cotton in some hits. This morning I tried a kanthal build just to be sure the problem was not from the tank and when I took SS coil out the cotton inside the coil was once again missing, with no burn marks at all. The new kanthal coil worked brilliantly, I've been through a tank already with no funny taste what so ever.

Note that with SS coils I never did a dry cotton test - I never make those with TC coils - but maybe I should. I'm also using VTC mini.

I think contact SS coil is getting too hot in the middle in the first burst before TC catches on and cotton is being incinerated, I'll try spaced coil next to see how it goes.

 

[AmandaD]

I've been a regular reader of VU but only today I decided to register because of the issue being discussed here. I'm also a victim of the misterious vanishing wick.

I'll get into that in a moment but first let me do a little background on myself. I'm no super expert in building but I'm no noob also. For the past one and half years I've build and wick several RTAs and RDAs including Goblins, several Kayfuns versions, Tayfuns, Zephyrus, Avocados and more, experimenting several techniques with very good results. I've had my share of mistakes climbing the learning curve but I'm convinced I'm pretty good at wicking. Never had a severe leak (ok, once I had a complete tank spill on me, easily solved), never had a dry burn (no, also not true, had a few, usually wrong wattage settings). I've also built TC coils. I don't like Nickel but I love and use Titanium daily (space coil).

So, yesterday I got my hands on a Goblin Mini and tried for the first time to build in SS316. Made a pretty contact coil, burn it beautifully even, no hotspots, wick it with japanese cotton, put my most delicious juice and let it rest. When I tried it, it tasted like... nothing, zero. It was the most unsatisfying vape I already tried. Vacuum has more flavor than I was getting. Started to climb on temperature and suddenly, a awful burn taste. Wait, I should get no dry hit, this is TC.

I thought I messed with the wick, so let’s do it again. When I took the cotton (which was completely saturated) it came in two pieces just like referred by OP in fist post. Cotton was completely white, no signs of burn, but the cotton inside the coil jumped to hyperspace never to be seen again.

With several question marks over my head, I rewicked it again a bit more snug. This time flavour was better but still below par, a lot. Never had a dry burn but had funny roasted cotton in some hits. This morning I tried a kanthal build just to be sure the problem was not from the tank and when I took SS coil out the cotton inside the coil was once again missing, with no burn marks at all. The new kanthal coil worked brilliantly, I've been through a tank already with no funny taste what so ever.

Note that with SS coils I never did a dry cotton test - I never make those with TC coils - but maybe I should. I'm also using VTC mini.

I think contact SS coil is getting too hot in the middle in the first burst before TC catches on and cotton is being incinerated, I'll try spaced coil next to see how it goes.

Welcome to the VU!

I was reading yesterday about someone who's TC stopped working properly with the latest update - could that be your issue? Also, did you try the ss in regular wattage mode? I usually just use mine in power mode, which works well also.

 

[VapeWorm]

Welcome to the VU!

I was reading yesterday about someone who's TC stopped working properly with the latest update - could that be your issue? Also, did you try the ss in regular wattage mode? I usually just use mine in power mode, which works well also.

For sure not. I've updated to the new firmware minutes ago. My cotton "vanished" yesterday.

 

[AmandaD]

For sure not. I've updated to the new firmware minutes ago. My cotton "vanished" yesterday.

Did you try the SS in power mode? I have no problem with rayon using ss that way!

 

[VapeWorm]

Did you try the SS in power mode? I have no problem with rayon using ss that way!

I did try it but while experimenting the first go. Cannot be taken into account, though.

In the meantime, I realized that I might have burn dry SS too hot. I put it really glowing and read somewhere this is to be avoided. Could this be the problem?

 

[AmandaD]

Do you mean you dry burned the coil before wicking? If so, no, I do this all the time - but of course you have to make sure the coil is cool before wicking (my apologies if this wasn't what you meant).

I'm currently running a single SS316 3mm 0.5 ohm coil in my Merlin on regular power mode , wicked with rayon, at 40 watts with no issue.

I'm not familiar with the tc on the VTC mini, but if the problem is only in tc it sounds as if you might a) need to check the tc is working properly, or b) use it in power mode.

 

[VapeWorm]

Do you mean you dry burned the coil before wicking? If so, no, I do this all the time - but of course you have to make sure the coil is cool before wicking (my apologies if this wasn't what you meant).

Exactly. And I let the coil cool down before wick.

need to check the tc is working properly

For Ti sure is working, I'm using it constantly with great results.

Thank you for the replies. I'll do some more testing and let you guys know how it went.

 

[NickIsANoob]

I don't know who is right and wrong here, I use rayon and enjoy it I'm sure it's less toxic than cigs and lasts longer than cotton. When I do have to rewicking it is never burnt and usually completely white after sitting in a glass of water or the toilet bowl for 5m.

What amazes me is that people have such totally different experiences using the same materials and tools.

 

[VapeWorm]

A little heads-ups on this…

I’ve been experimenting during weekend and concluded that I was setting too much wattage in TC mode. As I referred before, the first burst was apparently very hard, and really was. Had it set like I use it with Titanium with no concerns but since SS ramps up temp very quickly, I think the cotton was burnt before mod could catch up TC. The strange thing was not seeing burn marks near the “vanishing” bit – the cotton was white as… cotton.

I brought the wattage down for about half and got better. Even though, I could not get the flavor I would expect, so I went for a spaced coil. Better (SS has indeed a characteristic nice flavor) but not even close to the flavor I can get with good old kanthal. Built in kanthal afterwards and… god… so much yummy.

Ni is a hell to work on, Ti works well but not amazingly well and SS still to experiment more, but not thrilled so far. Still not in love with TC.

 

[vera]

I want to chime in on this issue as I have the same problem.

I have never had this problem in nearly 4 years of vaping until I started vaping a diy ejuice that is 10% CAP Green Apple and 4% TFA Pear.

Anyhow I am pretty good at wicking and never have had this problem until this specific juice. I tried Pear buy itself and Green Apple buy itself and the wick was "disintegrated" with the Green Apple.

I'm pretty convinced that it is this flavoring that is doing the wick eating. Have never seen it before this juice. I use rayon exclusively.

Really wondering why the CAP Green Apple does this to my wicks. I really like the flavor and have tons of it left which really sucks because I am getting paranoid about it. Also hate having to rewick after a few tanks as with rayon I am used to going 100+ mls on one wick so the rewicking is quite annoying.

Anyhow people that are having this problem please share what kind of juice you are using as I am pretty convinced that it is the juice that is the culprit.

 

[lordmage]

missing wick ah thats simple i blame the FDA it is always there fault but with each build and juice ratio there are times when you need more and times when ytou need less but with spaced coils it would be odd to not find something in the middle me thinks it is hot spots or shorts in the coil when it happens

 

[Emberwilde]

spaced coils it would be odd to not find something in the middle me thinks it is hot spots or shorts in the coil when it happens

no, no hot spots.. I am at this point convinced that @vera has hit on it, the juice is the issue..

these days I run a cuboid and istick pico using SS316L.. but I have also gone on to different flavor combos and the problem of the vanishing wicks has itself vanished..
right now I get 90ml out of a set of wicks, I rotate between 3 flavors in 30ml batches... I run in power (wattage) mode for the most part and when I dump the last of a flavor into my tank I switch to TC and run it till it simply stops producing anything.. wicks bone dry so I don't get bleed over on flavors.. honestly I only even change them when I do out of habit more then anything.. I run a simple dual coil 5.5 wrap 26g on 2mm id coils.. comes in about 0.16ohms... run it between 25w - 30w and 410deg when I am drying out the wicks in power mode between 30w - 50w
oh yeah and I change out my coils after the fourth wick swap is used up.. so roughly every 360ml

given my current approach it had to have been the juice flavorings I was using that caused the wick to disintegrate in the center of the coils

 

[vera]

no, no hot spots.. I am at this point convinced that @vera has hit on it, the juice is the issue..

these days I run a cuboid and istick pico using SS316L.. but I have also gone on to different flavor combos and the problem of the vanishing wicks has itself vanished..
right now I get 90ml out of a set of wicks, I rotate between 3 flavors in 30ml batches... I run in power (wattage) mode for the most part and when I dump the last of a flavor into my tank I switch to TC and run it till it simply stops producing anything.. wicks bone dry so I don't get bleed over on flavors.. honestly I only even change them when I do out of habit more then anything.. I run a simple dual coil 5.5 wrap 26g on 2mm id coils.. comes in about 0.16ohms... run it between 25w - 30w and 410deg when I am drying out the wicks in power mode between 30w - 50w
oh yeah and I change out my coils after the fourth wick swap is used up.. so roughly every 360ml

given my current approach it had to have been the juice flavorings I was using that caused the wick to disintegrate in the center of the coils

This was my only theory as well. I only ran into this problem with the CAP Green Apple flavoring. Have no freaking clue why. It's kind of scary though.

I'm brave enough to just finish off what I have left of it but will probably have to find an alternative as I hate having to rewick so often.

Hopefully others can chime in with the kinds of juice they are using when this occurs, would be nice to know.

 

[vera]

Another thing that is very strange about this is that it only eats the wick that is in the coil. Maybe a combination of whats in that flavoring and the heat make it eat the wick? The tails always stay intact just fine.

As the title of this thread says it is like a mystery and quite peculiar.