I seen this topic was never discussed on its own, so here it is. I have my own ideas how to minimize the tedious task.
Short of (typical) rolling it between the fingers, I'd like to hear/see if anyone has accomplished a simpler way.
Short of (typical) rolling it between the fingers, I'd like to hear/see if anyone has accomplished a simpler way.
Nope, roll and twist. Although rayon. Procedure is the same just need to adjust for different wicking properties. (Cotton swells, rayon "shrinks" so needs to be initially tighter.
The bigger issue, imo, is what the coil is in. Different tanks / rdas / rtas etc, may need the ends treated differently.
The bigger issue, imo, is what the coil is in. Different tanks / rdas / rtas etc, may need the ends treated differently.
I've never seen a simpler way, short of buying shoestring cotton, which is just barely simpler as all it eliminates is cutting off the piece you need and rolling the end to get it thin enough to fit through the coil.
You could try to make the rolling part a tad "simpler" by cutting the end of the part that that goes in first in a V shape, but you still have to roll it a bit to make it firm enough to enter the coil.
Introducing any other "technique" will likely be more complex and/or more time consuming and/or superfluous as far as I can think.
This is as simple as it gets.
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I use CottonMan Mavaton Select and Carolina Blend corded cottons.
That's a 120 gram bag of Mavaton cotton along with a mod/RBA for reference.
I cut the corded cotton to about 65mm strips. Then strip off what I need for a 3mm coil.
Twist one end of the cotton and thread it through the coil. This is a 3mm ID Clapton coil on a Dvarw DL RTA deck.
I work both ends through the coil for even shoulders. Then trim and place the cotton as need be.
It's pretty straight-forward, really. And, wicking is not tedious whatsoever (IMO). The more one does it, as with any learned skill, the easier it becomes.
as to wicking...........
Wicking any RBA is a total "feel" thing. Once one knows the "feel" of a good fitting wick in a coil one can reproduce that every single time.
Rule of Thumb with Wicking: Too little = gurgling/flooding. Too much = dry hits/muted flavor.
Ideally one wants a cotton wick to be tight fitting within a coil when moving the wick side-to-side, but not so tight that it moves the coil when one moves the wick side-to-side. If using thin wire, one might have to hold the coil in place or reposition the coil after threading.
A wick should move side-to-side within a coil while feeling some friction/resistance.
And absolutely, not loose fitting within a coil.
Again, wicking is a total "feel" thing.
If using rayon for wicking, one needs to use ~30% more density versus cotton. That's because rayon contracts (cotton expands). As noted in both rayon threads, one wants a rayon wick to fit fairly tightly within a coil (not too tight). You should hear some squeaking as you pull rayon through a coil.
I switch off between using cotton and rayon in all my RBA's.
That's a 120 gram bag of Mavaton cotton along with a mod/RBA for reference.
I cut the corded cotton to about 65mm strips. Then strip off what I need for a 3mm coil.
Twist one end of the cotton and thread it through the coil. This is a 3mm ID Clapton coil on a Dvarw DL RTA deck.
I work both ends through the coil for even shoulders. Then trim and place the cotton as need be.
It's pretty straight-forward, really. And, wicking is not tedious whatsoever (IMO). The more one does it, as with any learned skill, the easier it becomes.
as to wicking...........
Wicking any RBA is a total "feel" thing. Once one knows the "feel" of a good fitting wick in a coil one can reproduce that every single time.
Rule of Thumb with Wicking: Too little = gurgling/flooding. Too much = dry hits/muted flavor.
Ideally one wants a cotton wick to be tight fitting within a coil when moving the wick side-to-side, but not so tight that it moves the coil when one moves the wick side-to-side. If using thin wire, one might have to hold the coil in place or reposition the coil after threading.
A wick should move side-to-side within a coil while feeling some friction/resistance.
And absolutely, not loose fitting within a coil.
Again, wicking is a total "feel" thing.
If using rayon for wicking, one needs to use ~30% more density versus cotton. That's because rayon contracts (cotton expands). As noted in both rayon threads, one wants a rayon wick to fit fairly tightly within a coil (not too tight). You should hear some squeaking as you pull rayon through a coil.
I switch off between using cotton and rayon in all my RBA's.
I'm curious to see if someone comes along with a truly quicker or simpler or just all around better way.
And, in my experience, it does not matter if the wick is going into an RDA/RTA/RDTA.
The principle of threading the coil with cotton is exactly the same. Exactly!!!
The principle of threading the coil with cotton is exactly the same. Exactly!!!
There is NO easier way. Period.
If there was, it would have been Very Well Documented on the ECF many many years ago.
If there was, it would have been Very Well Documented on the ECF many many years ago.
also.......... there are 100's, if not more, of videos on YouTube for how to thread a wick in an RBA
as well as, how to wick nearly every RBA known to humanity
as well as, how to wick nearly every RBA known to humanity
OK, I'll delete the thread.There is NO easier way. Period.
If there was, it would have been Very Well Documented on the ECF many many years ago.
Thanks for the input, folks. I'm done here.
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No reason to delete at all. Just because we haven't found a better/easier way does not mean there isn't another way. Back when I still used single wire coils I found it less frustrating to wrap the wire around the wick then installed it. This only works with spaced coils; contact coils must be dry burned before wicking in my experience.
