How to tell wick types?

[Tornadotwist]

Good evening friends,

I was wondering how to tell the difference between a silica wick and cotton wick by just observing them? I order a lot of off brand stuff to help save me a bit more money when trying new things, and I don't ever see any vendors listing what type of wicks they use in their off brand clearo's, so I was wondering if there is a way to tell the silica apart from cotton wicks. I have tried to visualize the difference through photographs of name brand vs off brand, but it is difficult to tell them apart when looking on a computer screen.

What type of vaping difference do each have? Does cotton last longer? Absorb more flavor? Just really curious in what exactly I am using so I know how to better care for my products or replace what I can on rebuildables.

Thanks!

 

[stevegmu]

I had the same issue. I could have sworn the silica wicks were cotton, so I took one out and held a match to it. It did not erupt in flames. My guess is a cotton wick will.

 

[Tornadotwist]

I had the same issue. I could have sworn the silica wicks were cotton, so I took one out and held a match to it. It did not erupt in flames. My guess is a cotton wick will.

I really don't want to take mine apart and try that lol. I don't have the rebuildable CE4 clearo's so maybe when this one takes a crap on me I will try it. I would just like to know if there is a way to tell the difference and what the difference is when vaping Silica compared to cotton.

 

[Iusedtoanalog]

Hi Tornado. Just thinking about your question brings me to this conclusion, I am nearly certain there is no device that comes with cotton wicks. Everything that I can think of is silica/fiberglass wicks as they are originally built from the manufacturer. If I am incorrect, well that would be not surprising, but I cant think of one single device that comes with a cotton wick.

And yes, Stevegmu is correct cotton would burn when fire is applied. Silica/fiberglass would not.

 

[Tornadotwist]

Hi Tornado. Just thinking about your question brings me to this conclusion, I am nearly certain there is no device that comes with cotton wicks. Everything that I can think of is silica/fiberglass wicks as they are originally built from the manufacturer. If I am incorrect, well that would be not surprising, but I cant think of one single device that comes with a cotton wick.

And yes, Stevegmu is correct cotton would burn when fire is applied. Silica/fiberglass would not.

Thank you Iusedtoanalog! Is there a vape difference in the 2? I keep reading on other pages about cotton wicks, so it peaked my interest a bit on what the difference is between the 2. I tend to read too much into things lol but I am a knowledge hog and try to learn as much as I can when I am into stuff.

 

[DoogieTony]

I've never seen a device sold with cotton wicks either.

I've been using cotton yarn as wick for ~6 months and IMO cotton:
-Wicks better (no dry hits)
-produces better flavor
-is much cheaper

The only plus sides from silica wicks are the ability to dry burn and longevity.

Some have expressed concern about silica degrading and thus allowing users to inhale silica fibers, I'm not sure I buy this, but either way I believe cotton to be superior.

Other have been using ceramic wicks as well with positive results, I haven't tried it but it might be something to research as well.

There is a subsection in assorted pv topics for rebuildable atomizers which has tons of info on wicking material and rebuilding in general.