Mesh wick and coil hints and tips.

[ginge7289]

I tried my first mesh wick and coil today using 400 mesh and 0.4 ribbon wire on an RSST using todds review. It has turned out ok but it has a taste of metal about it, I oxidised the mesh and wick but the taste is still there.

Also if I hold the fire button down for around 6 - 7 seconds I start getting hot spots at the top of the coil. Is this due to a wicking issue? It does produce great vapour and vapes pretty well.

Does anyone have any tips about SS mesh wicking as this is new to me,

[ginge7289]

Anyone?

[bobka12]

Just hotspots mate give them a nudge or try pulsing to get an even glow.

[kailey]

I am not an expert with RBAs by any stretch of the imagination but I would tend to think the metallic taste is due to hot spots too.

I have just posted this in another thread -

This is probably the best guide I have come across regarding rebuilding:

There are no problems with the AGA-T, only opportunities to hone your skills - Part 1 and Part 2

I hope this helps.

[ginge7289]

Sept 22, 2013 23:10:20 GMT bobka12 said:

Just hotspots mate give them a nudge or try pulsing to get an even glow.

They glowed even whilst there was no juice and I was happy with them. The top ones start to glow after 6 seconds or so of constant firing, Thats why I wondered if it was a wicking issue? I presumed the juice was getting burnt before it reached the top?

[ginge7289]

Sept 23, 2013 2:31:48 GMT kailey said:

I am not an expert with RBAs by any stretch of the imagination but I would tend to think the metallic taste is due to hot spots too.

I have just posted this in another thread -

This is probably the best guide I have come across regarding rebuilding:

There are no problems with the AGA-T, only opportunities to hone your skills - Part 1 and Part 2

I hope this helps.

Great read, thanks

[womble]

It's not a wicking issue, it's a hot spot. Turn the wick within the coil by hand, and pulse, till it stops glowing.

Any bad tastes will come from the hot spot, normally a burnt taste though I've found.

I've give you the best piece of advice you can get about mesh building, only use a little bit on top of SS rope! I've used some for months and haven't had a wicking problem once, when I was totally using mesh wicks, sometimes it worked well and sometimes not.

[ginge7289]

I recoiled it again this evening, this time I made the mesh a lot thicker and less like a straw. I have no hotspots at all, I can hold my finger on the fire button for 15 secs and it just produces vapor and pops every now and again (looks pretty cool) But it still does not taste right. It does however smell exactly like it should lol.

So Im not sure if something is up with it. I have been using ribbon kanthal so maybe that is the issue?

[markm]

There are a number of areas to look at.
Personally I don't torch wicks any more, it just covers them in soot, which then mixes
with and turns the juice black. Hotspots can have a similar effect as loose soot will develop
around them. I think this is why people always say that SS is best with Tobacco flavours,
which can mask the sooty taste better. I try to avoid adding to the soot and find even delicate
flavours can shine in a genny.
Hotspots also create their own particular metallic flavour whilst they are active.
A hotspot can be either due to shorting or wicking issues. You don't say what ohms your
coil is. Low and sub ohm coils can be great for vapour and flavour but only if you can get them
to wick fast enough to keep the wick wet. Airflow also has a small effect on this, a coil
heating up with the top cap off will benefit from air cooling, once the top cap back on
the heat of the vapour will encourage the coil/wick to get hotter. So the size and position
of the air hole will contribute to how it all works together.
Ribbon wire in itself has no particular effect on flavour other than it has a larger surface area
against the wick, once again adding to the operating temperatures. What most
people are looking for is for the coil to warm up fast, to create the vapour required, but not hot enough
to start burning the taste. Its a juggling act that takes time and experience to develop.

[ginge7289]

Sept 23, 2013 16:44:35 GMT markm said:

There are a number of areas to look at.
Personally I don't torch wicks any more, it just covers them in soot, which then mixes
with and turns the juice black. Hotspots can have a similar effect as loose soot will develop
around them. I think this is why people always say that SS is best with Tobacco flavours,
which can mask the sooty taste better. I try to avoid adding to the soot and find even delicate
flavours can shine in a genny.
Hotspots also create their own particular metallic flavour whilst they are active.
A hotspot can be either due to shorting or wicking issues. You don't say what ohms your
coil is. Low and sub ohm coils can be great for vapour and flavour but only if you can get them
to wick fast enough to keep the wick wet. Airflow also has a small effect on this, a coil
heating up with the top cap off will benefit from air cooling, once the top cap back on
the heat of the vapour will encourage the coil/wick to get hotter. So the size and position
of the air hole will contribute to how it all works together.
Ribbon wire in itself has no particular effect on flavour other than it has a larger surface area
against the wick, once again adding to the operating temperatures. What most
people are looking for is for the coil to warm up fast, to create the vapour required, but not hot enough
to start burning the taste. Its a juggling act that takes time and experience to develop.

I appreciate the advice thanks very much.

The coil is down at 1.3 ohms, with the cap off it looks to be wicking great, its eating through the juice lol. I am using a tobacco juice in it but it does not taste the same as on silica. Its a weird taste, the closest I can come to explaining it would be a very mild fairy washing up liquid (I have washed it and left it in hot water for hours prior to putting together) which just mutes the flavour. The air hole is the standard size and is directly in front of the coil.

I may keep trying with the mesh I have but if I can't get the taste to go away then I guess ill put SS on the back burner.

[Dan]

Have you tried with a different wire?

What did you use to oxidise the ribbon?

[ginge7289]

Dan I have tried about 50cm of the ribbon wire, I oxidised it with a mini blow torch, I gave it 5 or 6 passes. Plus the dry burning which was not smoking or hissing at me.

[Dan]

Interesting..

My immediate thought would be hotspot.

One thing.. the juice you're using.. I assume you've tried it in other atties and so know the flavour you're aiming for?

Also,

When you dry fire the coil does it burn from inside out or outside in? Are the legs glowing any brighter than the coil? How tightly have you wrapped the coil?

One thing I learnt from my rssts was to take my time making sure the coil glowed evenly from leg to leg. Do this when it is all bone dry to make it easier to pinpoint problematic spots.. once its wet it can take ages to get it running right!!

Ss rope certainly makes life easier, as does normal kanthal.. ribbon always played up for me!

[ginge7289]

Sept 24, 2013 19:51:24 GMT Dan said:

Interesting..

My immediate thought would be hotspot.

One thing.. the juice you're using.. I assume you've tried it in other atties and so know the flavour you're aiming for?

Also,

When you dry fire the coil does it burn from inside out or outside in? Are the legs glowing any brighter than the coil? How tightly have you wrapped the coil?

One thing I learnt from my rssts was to take my time making sure the coil glowed evenly from leg to leg. Do this when it is all bone dry to make it easier to pinpoint problematic spots.. once its wet it can take ages to get it running right!!

Ss rope certainly makes life easier, as does normal kanthal.. ribbon always played up for me!

I have used this juice from pretty much day 1 so im happy with how it should taste. When I dry fired, it glowed nicely all the way through the coil, there was no areas that I was concerned with and when it is wet I can keep my finger on the fire button and it just creates clouds of vapor and smells great

I have heard mixed reviews of ribbon wire and how much of a pain it is, I think I will give it a go with just kanthal wire and see how I go. I don't really want to buy some SS rope if mesh atties are not for me. I guess I just want to find out if I am missing out by not having SS mesh or rope in my life lol. I love the flavour I am getting of certain (KFL, drippers) silica wicks but this is a game of chasing the perfect vape

I guess it is a case of just keep trying lol.

[blakey]

Some juices mate just simply taste better with silica and that's it.
I can wrap any coil I like on a gennie and create a whole range of wicks that have no problems at all feeding juice but my cocomel will never taste like it should till it's used in a silica attie.