Know it has probably been covered a thousand times but I am going nuts trying go get my wicks to last more than a day or two. Following all the various tutorials but the wick inside by coils seems to disappear! Using UD cotton pads and currently 40vg/60pg mix of mainly fruit based juice in various mtl tanks. Use as 29g wire 3mm Id 7/8 wraps
in temp mode. Vapour production starts out good but gradually declines to useless. Never had this when I was sub ohm with DIY coils on bigger decks. Wick either side of the coil sometimes gets a bit dark but in generally good condition the coil is gunked up but does not appear to have any cotton
Inside.
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I encountered that years ago. In my case:
- Temperature was too high for the build
- Juices were loaded with sweetener
- Used too much cotton and it was ādamming upā at the edges and failing to wick to the inside of the coil properly (especially because I āchain vapeā and it never wicked up fast enough)
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Phil,
Thanks for suggestions, I will be rewicking at least one of my tanks in next day or so. Will try all and report back.
Jim16
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Any more details? Like whatās your setup, power, etc? My listed issues may not be yours, and someone else may spot something amiss.
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Pics could help us help you. When I first started rebuilding I had similar issues.
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What kind of mod are you using? Not all mods do TC well, some may fire up way above the temperature that you setā¦
When I use temp control, I rarely go above 250Ā°C, usually 230-240Ā°C and my cotton stays white. Anything dark on my wicks is gunk from the coil.
Like Deerslayer said, pics can tell a 1000 words, so grab your phone, snap a few pics of the issue and copy/paste them in the thread if you can.
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ā29g wire 3mm Id 7/8 wrapsā?
I canāt even IMAGINE how you could get cotton threaded into 29ga wire (and maintain a coil shape) and still end up with something capable of being vaped more than 1 or two draws.
More information (pics/atty/mod) is definitely in order here IMO.
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Believe me when I tell you that it is your cotton. Those cotton pads are worthless. Normally I donāt mention what people use for wicking material but sense you askedā¦
Try Supema Cotton. Like this for instance. Superior Wicks; www.superiorwicks.co.uk Shipping isnāt bad either. I live in the States and it was like 5 dollars or so. Even cotton bacon is better than that ko gen do or those pads. I mean no offense but I went through the same thing as you and The cotton mentioned above wonāt burn out like that. You might also consider Rayon also.
Good luck
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Excuse me sir, KGD is the best flippin cotton I have tried! 
Iāll trade a full pack of cotton bacon (any version), the remainder of the rayon and hemp I have for a single KGD pad 
Even the (only) slightly lower quality muji pads are better than CB.
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Believe me, I hate cotton bacon but it doesnāt burn out like KGD or Muji. Supima cotton is pretty darn good. Way better than those makeup pads!!! 
Seriously though, thatās why I donāt like talking about wicking material. Itās like talking about religion and politics. People get so testy about it. Personally, I donāt care if someone wants to use toilet paper. As long as they are enjoying themselves but the person that posted is burning the center out of their material and I suggested some that wonāt do that. 
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I know I knowā¦ itās a bit like flavors, very personal choice and not everybody likes the same things. The only time Iāve burnt through cotton though is when I was using non-TC wire and the mod accidentally fired in a pocket or bag.
Iāve been vaping on KGD since the beginning of 2017 though and Iāve tried a lot of different cottons and alternativesā¦ keep coming back to this and the stuff lasts forever. Wick it right and it wicks fast and full flavor from the first rip. So far, I get the best flavor out of this cotton too. Most other cotton Iāve tried mutes flavors or leaves some kind of taste behind.
Thatās what I have left since then.
In any case, vaping at safe temperatures shouldnāt burn any 100% pure cotton so if the OPās cotton disappears (burns up), temperatures get too hot for some reason.
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Yeah, Iām with @anon28032772. KGD is the only cotton I use as well. Iām trying to figure out exactly what the OP is/was talking about. I donāt mean gunking, thatās suc or EM, but cotton disappearing ??
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ya, as @anon28032772 said, it got too hot and he burned the cotton out of the inside of the coil. I am assuming here but I reckon the OP likes a warm vape and KGD or Muji just isnāt good at high temps.
I have had this sense the very beginning and I gave most of it away but I just might try it again because ever since the cotton I use went out of business I have been bumming. I just canāt find good material. Though @Deerslayer sent me some Rayon and I am in the middle of trying it now. I can say this about it though, " dry hits very disgusting ".
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@Dan_the_Man thatās why rayon is a pain to wick when you are first trying. Once you get it dialed in, itās awesome. As far as dry hits being ādisgustingā, I personally donāt know how to describe it and have a hard time deciding if getting kicked in the balls is worse. Well anyway, dry hits suck.
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OH SHIT, hehe, I didnāt even THINK that the OP was cooking the cotton out. OMG. BACK DOWN THE WATTAGE OP !!!
LOL. Glad I asked for a follow up @Dan_the_Man
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@Dan_the_Man I tinkered with the Rayon for a bit, and being a mid wattage, non-TC vaper, it never took hold. Didnāt have any complaints, but having to pull/pack it in because it behaves opposite of cotton made me mental. I never really picked up on any real clean/flavor differences on my rigs to cotton. I AM however, vaping low to mid watts, so I canāt offer anything into the higher watt vape plume debate.
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I started out with 32ga ā¦ very carefully.
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I found that no matter what you use, if the coil gunks up enough, the wick burns, or, in the case of rayon melts and vaporizes.
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Rayon is awesome as long as you arenāt going to vape it too hot/dry. I use rayon and KGD pretty exclusively; they are both pretty economical also. That said if you are vaping anything with <.75% sweetener your going to get build up on the coils and wicks pretty fast. I am OCD about changing out cotton and donāt even think about doing it every other day if there is any flavor loss.
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It is much easier to get a dry hit (burnt coil) with stainless steel then kanthal if you are vaping in power. I personally prefer .5mm SS316 and 22 or 24 gauge kanthal for my daily builds (spaced round wire)ā¦Dan is the exotic coiling king, but on a budget and not a coil craftsman (save twisted builds) I like a meatier coil ā¦heck higher gauge SS wire can burn out and melt (break) if you crank it up too much.
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