Stainless Steel Mesh Wick Question

[tA71ana]

I am considering an rba (an RSST) and would like to experiment with stainless steel wick.
I know this question sounds a bit pedestrian but I am a total newb.

Do I HAVE to use a torch when oxidizing the mesh?
I don't have a gas range that puts out flame (I use electric) and I don't own a torch.

Can't I just use a lighter? I still have plenty of those, lol.

 

[d3mon]

I am considering an rba (an RSST) and would like to experiment with stainless steel wick.
I know this question sounds a bit pedestrian but I am a total newb.

Do I HAVE to use a torch when oxidizing the mesh?
I don't have a gas range that puts out flame (I use electric) and I don't own a torch.

Can't I just use a lighter? I still have plenty of those, lol.

i use a lighter.
1.each side and the edges
2. roll wick
3. burn rolled wick for a min or 2
4. juice.
5. burn.
6. juice.
7. burn.
8. juice.
9. burn.
10. install.
11. wrap coil.
12. pulse & adjust any hotspots
13. trim wick to fit.
14. juice.
15. be amazed at vapor produced
16. fill
17. vape.
18. make fun of GF's substandard DCT vape (optional)

 

[tA71ana]

i use a lighter.
1.each side and the edges
2. roll wick
3. burn rolled wick for a min or 2
4. juice.
5. burn.
6. juice.
7. burn.
8. juice.
9. burn.
10. install.
11. wrap coil.
12. pulse & adjust any hotspots
13. trim wick to fit.
14. juice.
15. be amazed at vapor produced
16. fill
17. vape.
18. make fun of GF's substandard DCT vape (optional)

LOL on #18
Thank you so much for your reply!
I didn't want to have to go out and buy a torch because I wouldn't use it for anything else, lol

 

[d3mon]

LOL on #18
Thank you so much for your reply!
I didn't want to have to go out and buy a torch because I wouldn't use it for anything else, lol

as far as my minimal experience goes with RSSTs...just make sure you pulse it up and you'll be fine.

yeah...she gets so mad at me. i like blowing huge clouds of vapor while shes talking to me and be like, "oh, i'm sorry, you can't see me through all this vapor, can you?" lolol

 

[vapdivrr]

one thing nice about the rsst is that the wick hole is insulated so when you pulse oxidize it the coils will start to glow from both ends, this makes the process a little quicker.

 

[aycho]

If you don't have a torch, you can go to Harbor Freight and order one for like 10 bucks. That's what I use and works like a charm but before I did that, I just pulsed to oxidize the wick. Coiled it using the Petar K method, rolled the wick hollow and thin enough to slide in and out but thick enough to make sure it won't slip through and just pulsed the coils so the heat from that would oxidize the wick where the coils would heat up. That's usually what I do when I lack a torch or if I need to do an emergency rebuild and I leave my torch at home lol

 

[Boeriemore]

Just tried my first SS wick. A total failure. Hardly any vapor and no taste.
The wick must be oxidized correctly as I get no resistance reading.
The head gives me 1.8 ohm reading ( four wraps)
Back to silica wick I go.

 

[Stone19Delta]

Just tried my first SS wick. A total failure. Hardly any vapor and no taste.
The wick must be oxidized correctly as I get no resistance reading.
The head gives me 1.8 ohm reading ( four wraps)
Back to silica wick I go.

I too am new to the rebuildables but jumped right into the kayfun 3.1 and bought a RSST to practice as i wait for overseas shipping.
What i've learned:

Easier to just get a little 10 dollar butane torch at Walmart and pre oxidize, roll it as a tube and not solid, the ss mesh is essentially acting like a straw. when putting the cap/driptip on make sure the air hole is lined up with the wick. I literally had to build 10 or so wicks till i made one that hit like a champ i used 400 SS mesh 30 gauge kanthal 3 wraps at 1.2 ohms

 

[jamentertainment]

I was allot like Boeriemore...I could not get it right, This is what I have found "and this is what works for me, but I have not tried rolling the wick around the mesh since this has worked"..I rolled the wick around a small screwdriver, then I rolled the mesh and kept checking the size until I could twist it into the coil "you don't want it loose or tight around the coil"...Then when I got it in place I pulsed until all the coils were glowing..I did not have to oxidize the wick with this method..and it is working great..SO FAR

Good luck..It took me a while to find a method that worked for me

 

[vapdivrr]

pulse oxidizing really requires a mechanical mod. people talk about pulse oxidizing the wicks, this works awesome with a mechanical mod but if you have a vv device it will be extremely difficult as it will throw out error after error messages. if you only have a vv device you need to oxidize the wick kind of beforehand.

 

[Thrasher]

you can use a bic lighter. i torch the end the coil will go on after i roll it.
learn the drillbit method for more reliable coils.

make sure coils are spaced evenly and adjust while firing dry with a paperclip to get a good even glow.


get fancy and learn the pulse method (a cheapo mech is the bomb for this) and oxidizing is not needed at all, but yea it h*ll on a vv mod.


mesh is a big change and sometimes it takes some voltage adjustment to get used to the crisp clean difference in flavor, some flavors are wicked some seem very light, but most dont really shine until the second tank or so.

 

[Boeriemore]

I tried building a wick and coil again. This time I made the coils tighter around the wick
and it works in a fashion. I would like to know the ideal size of the wick hole, the thickness
of a pin, a small paper clip or a large clip?
I made mine the size of a pin and wonder whether it should be larger.

 

[Hesynergy]

Forget about sizing,burning twiddling,conforming the mesh, I am totally bumfuzzeled!

I am going on 100 days of no smoking and vaping exclusively through my MVP. I have seen more than several tutorials on how to roll ss wire mesh, how to burn it and how to wrap the coil around it connecting one side of the coil to the center post, and obviously I am totally confused about this simple circuit.

One. Is not stainless steel conductive?

Two. Is not kanthal wire or any wire conductive?

It appears that the ssmesh is being used as a wick... And since stainless steel is also a conductor, how is the coil not shorting out everywhere it touches the mesh when you wrap it around the stainless steel?

The only thing that I can imagine is that somehow the stainless steel is working as a sturdier than Cotten or silica wick, and not as a conductor!

And I fought with my brother over this for at least a half an hour as he tried to explain it to me...

I am so confused!

Splain Lucy!!!

How the hell does stainless steel mesh and a coil work together without shorting out the coil around it?

Help!

Chas

 

[Jazzi Mike]

SS mesh is conductive which is why you have to oxidize it. The oxidation stops the mesh from conducting electricity from the resistance wire.

 

[Hesynergy]

Ahhhhhh thanks for the explanation!