Changing Coil vs. Changing Cotton

[PansyRabbit]

I can't find the post, but someone recently posted a helpful YouTube video on how to change cotton in a Kanger Subtank coil. I had no idea it was so easy, and I'm going to try it on my old coils. I've saved the video for future reference. My question is: how do you know when you need to change the cotton vs. when you need to change the entire coil? I don't think I'm up to doing my own coils yet. Is changing cotton just a way to prolong their life a little longer, and do you get to a point when you have to redo the whole shebang? Also, does any cotton from a vape store work, or do you need a specific kind depending on what kind of coil you have?

 

[Baditude]

Cotton will start to get a nasty taste after 3 - 4 days use in a coil. That's the time to change out the wick.

I've not purchased factory made coils in years, however homemade coils can last weeks if not months. Just dry burn them clean between wick changes. Pulse the coil (without cotton in them) until it glows red, then let off of the power and blow off the residue. You can rinse with water if needed.

People use silica, cotton balls, organic cotton, Japanese cotton (Ko Gen Do), Bacon Cotton, and Rayon (cellucotton) as wick. Everyone has their own preference.

 

[PansyRabbit]

Thank you. I can't put my hands on the original packaging at the moment, but I could have sworn it said not to do dry burns, though. FYI I use the Subtank Nano with the iStick 30 if that matters.

 

[ckquatt]

After you take the old cotton out, it'll be ok to dry burn the coil. They say that because you're not supposed to dry burn the coil with the cotton in it.

 

[edyle]

I can't find the post, but someone recently posted a helpful YouTube video on how to change cotton in a Kanger Subtank coil. I had no idea it was so easy, and I'm going to try it on my old coils. I've saved the video for future reference. My question is: how do you know when you need to change the cotton vs. when you need to change the entire coil? I don't think I'm up to doing my own coils yet. Is changing cotton just a way to prolong their life a little longer, and do you get to a point when you have to redo the whole shebang? Also, does any cotton from a vape store work, or do you need a specific kind depending on what kind of coil you have?

You should be able to tell from the taste ; old coil/wick tends to taste more and more burnt the longer you run it.
Changing the cotton is a way to prolong the usefull life of your coil.
If the coil wire is very thin, it might actually burn out in a few weeks of usage. Thicker wire coils last longer. I have been running the same 30 gauge coils for months.

I use regular cotton from the pharmacy; only thing to check for is you don't want cotton that's been bleached; I believe mine are cleaned not with bleach but with peroxide judging from the taste; to clean out the cotton if you think it needs cleaning people try boiling it for a while; I sometime just put some cotton in a strainer and pour hot water over it to rinse out the peroxide then leave to to dry for a few days

You can also buy flat cotton pads designed for vape purposes.

 

[PansyRabbit]

After you take the old cotton out, it'll be ok to dry burn the coil. They say that because you're not supposed to dry burn the coil with the cotton in it.

Ahhh, that makes sense. Thank you!!

 

[PansyRabbit]

You should be able to tell from the taste ; old coil/wick tends to taste more and more burnt the longer you run it.
Changing the cotton is a way to prolong the usefull life of your coil.
If the coil wire is very thin, it might actually burn out in a few weeks of usage. Thicker wire coils last longer. I have been running the same 30 gauge coils for months.

I use regular cotton from the pharmacy; only thing to check for is you don't want cotton that's been bleached; I believe mine are cleaned not with bleach but with peroxide judging from the taste; to clean out the cotton if you think it needs cleaning people try boiling it for a while; I sometime just put some cotton in a strainer and pour hot water over it to rinse out the peroxide then leave to to dry for a few days

You can also buy flat cotton pads designed for vape purposes.

Thanks for the information! I appreciate it.

 

[DingerCPA]

Thank you. I can't put my hands on the original packaging at the moment, but I could have sworn it said not to do dry burns, though. FYI I use the Subtank Nano with the iStick 30 if that matters.

I think I also saw somewhere to avoid dryburning. I just make sure my wick is out, and I'll PULSE it a few times to break off some of the gunk. I don't want to keep a lot of heat on it for a long time so as not to melt the insulators.

I have put new coils in a few of my OCC heads, and I do fire them long enough to check for even heating (center working its way out) to make sure I have a good coil, but only after measuring its resistance FIRST

 

[Alien Traveler]

I have made/rewicked coils for Protank, but it is about the same thing.

Change noting if you do not feel taste degradation (depending on juice it could take from 2 days to 2 weeks).
If you need to replace wick, remove old cotton, dry burn coil (to clean it), replace wick as shown on youtube (or somewhere else).

If you see (on display of your mod) that coil resistance increased, replace a coil. I do not know another way of knowing when to replace coil.

 

[erictho]

after dabbling a bit in rebuildable set ups although changing the wick boosts confidence i still would rather replace the whole she-bang after every 10mls rather than just replacing the cotton.
it's kinda tolerable but mostly pretty gross. nothing tops a fresh coil, especially when the debris builds up.
i replace everything about a day and a half after the build. i use shiseido cotton and 26g kanthal.
i cant dry burn to clean after seeing the sludge build up on the coil after the first 10mls. sure it works, but not worth it.

 

[yuseffuhler]

You can dry burn to clean most coils. Please do not do this in the subtank occ; you can melt the insulator really really easily. If the coil looks gunked up (visible crust all over it) replace it. Otherwise I'd leave it. Just don't dry burn. It will taste like monkey ...., and that whole tank of juice will taste like it too. Monkey .... will be the flavor of your tank until you clean the whole shebang.

 

[PansyRabbit]

You can dry burn to clean most coils. Please do not do this in the subtank occ; you can melt the insulator really really easily. If the coil looks gunked up (visible crust all over it) replace it. Otherwise I'd leave it. Just don't dry burn. It will taste like monkey ...., and that whole tank of juice will taste like it too. Monkey .... will be the flavor of your tank until you clean the whole shebang.

Thank you for the advice. I'm open to trying most flavors, but monkey .... is not among them.

 

[yuseffuhler]

Thank you for the advice. I'm open to trying most flavors, but monkey .... is not among them.

No problem . I did it when I rebuilt my wife's coils and literally bought another tank because I couldn't figure out what happened. It's almost unbelievably bad.