Sourcing 316 SS Woven Wire Mesh

[Kinnikinnick]

Having finally run dry of my supply of SS mesh... I noticed today, it’s getting nearly impossible to find 316 SS woven wire mesh these days! Just about every vendor I knew that carried it in years past is now out of stock or just no longer carrying the product. Guess all the vendors are just carrying the premade/stamped out screen versions for all the mesh atomizers on the market.

The days of using my old genesis style atomizers are all but gone. However, I do use SS mesh for wicking purposes in a couple of atomizers; i.e. Vapefly Galaxies. For me, it works much better than having to worry about jamming the tails of the wick down into the tank of the RDTA. The SS mesh feeds the deck a constant flow of liquid.

On occasion, I’ve been a little disappointed with the SS wire rope wick which is in my Vapefly Brunhilde MTL RTA. I’m not sure if it’s the SS rope wick performance or poor coil wicking on my part... but sometimes it seems like not enough liquid is getting to the wick; a dry burn happens if I chain vape. So, I’m gonna be replacing the SS wire rope wick with the SS wire mesh wick and see if that can solve the issue.

Anyway... If anyone is looking for SS mesh and can’t find it... here ya go:

316 Stainless Steel mesh 400 Woven Wire 50X50mm 10 Pieces a Pack for DIY Heating Wire https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08XJQQ8PL/re ... J3SYEG8TDG

[Peter_Ramish]

I noticed today, it’s getting nearly impossible to find 316L SS woven wire mesh these days!

I am not familiar with the application you have there. I am still using cotton ! Anyway plain 316 is OK for your use (I think ) The difference to the "L" spec is probably not going to matter: see:
http://www.farnell.com/datasheets/26035.pdf

The primary difference between these two stainless steel types can be inferred from the name of the two alloys. Although they are similar, they have one minor difference. The 316 stainless steel has a maximum carbon content of 0.08%, while 316L contains a maximum carbon content of 0.03%.

Anyway I did a quick search for 400 mesh 316 and got a bunch of sources, everything from eBay to industrial suppliers, and a lot of stuff in between. So you sould be able to get plain 316 woven cloth for sure !

Do you have a close up pix of your application? I would like to see the arrangement you have there. Since I no longer follow the "high-end hardware centric guys" like: https://www.geekayvapes.com - I am just living under a rock and know NOTHING !! hahaha...

[Kinnikinnick]

Thanks for catching a mistake of mine! I’m so used to speaking of “316L SS” when speaking about the coil wire I use, til it automatically jumped into that post! Post edited Indeed, the SS mesh I found on the Amazon is 316.

I could find the mesh elsewhere online, however, just not in inexpensive small quantities. That little pack of mesh on Amazon will last me a crazy long time for not much money.

I don’t have the Vapefly Galaxies with me at the moment, so I can’t take a photo of the set up. I’ll shoot you that when I can. But, to get an idea of where I’m going, you can hit YouTube and search for “Wicking for Genesis Atomizers”. All those videos bring back bad memories for me! The Genesis atty was how I started in the RTA realm 7 years ago! Here’s a good example:

https://youtu.be/Sp-8vSTWw2E

That technique in the video does work like a champ, should you ever decide to torture yourself with a Genesis atty!

Anyway, imagine you’ve created a mesh wick for a tank, but, you chop it off flush with the deck. The tails of your cotton/rayon wick simply sit on top of the deck, directly over the mesh wick coming up through the deck. That’s what I do with the Galaxies RDTA.

[CAAB]

On occasion, I’ve been a little disappointed with the SS wire rope wick which is in my Vapefly Brunhilde MTL RTA. I’m not sure if it’s the SS rope wick performance or poor coil wicking on my part... but sometimes it seems like not enough liquid is getting to the wick; a dry burn happens if I chain vape. So, I’m gonna be replacing the SS wire rope wick with the SS wire mesh wick and see if that can solve the issue.

Same issue. I had to increase the PG ratio to work with my Brunhilde. Also I get some condensation issues that gets juice in the airflow. I'm determined to get the Brunhilde to work for me because it's the perfect NET atomizer. It's easy to remove the bell cap and rebuild without dumping juice.

I've heard that the SS ropes need a break in period or extra cleaning sometimes. I tried doing a cotton wick which was a major hassle and really didn't help much. I'd be interested to see how the mesh works for you.

[Kinnikinnick]

I’ve received my mesh in the post. The mesh is as described on Amazon; 12 nice little 2x2 screens. I’ve installed them in my Brunhilde. Now, for the test phase!

I’ll vape on it for a few days and let you know the outcome. Here’s hoping it’s the fix for which you and I both desire.

The Brunhilde MTL is a very nice RDTA for NET. It vapes exactly like a dripper... the flavor you get is very intense and satisfying.

[CAAB]

The Brunhilde MTL is a very nice RDTA for NET. It vapes exactly like a dripper... the flavor you get is very intense and satisfying.

So I just completed a 3 week test on the Brunhilde. I chain vaped unflavored, 0mg 70/30, 60/40, and 50/50. About a tank of each. The build was always the same, 5 wrap spaced, 3mm ID, 28 gauge SS316l. Smallest airflow insert. Temp control on a Dicodes Dani 21700, 15 watts, anywhere from 195 C - 220 C. Although I don't exactly trust those temperature numbers, as I had to do a custom profile for my wire. The Dicodes standard SS profile did not work for me.

One thing is for sure, I got the wicking down solid. I didn't get a single dry hit. Even with the 70VG/30PG. I didn't have the steel cables stick up or anything, they were down pretty much flush to the juice well. The cotton was a little on the loose side than what I might do on a Kayfun. Passing it back and forth through the coil made a little movement on the coil, but not much. I fluffed and trimmed the cotton so it just rested on the bottom of the well.

The one thing I do struggle with is juice getting in the airflow. It seems like after every 5-7 hits, I have to blow juice out of the airflow on 70/30. At 60/40, I have to blow out juice like once every 10-15 hits. At 50/50, it seems like I don't get any juice in the airflow. Still testing that.

One trick on minimizing the juice in the airflow seems to be keeping the coil somewhat level with the posts on the build deck. Normally with a Kayfun I try to keep the coil very close to the airflow. Not so with the Brunhilde. It seems that contributes to juice in the airflow.

So 50/50 seems to work best for me. No dry hits and no juice in the airflow.

My next tweak is to drill out the .8mm insert to make it 1mm. For me, .8mm is just too tight while 1.2 is too loose. 1mm is the sweet spot for me. I wish they had a 1mm insert.

[Kinnikinnick]

Glad you found your sweet spot on the wicking!

My hopes of the mesh wick solving my issues hasn’t worked out as planned, so far. I still need to play around with different mesh variations before I throw in the towel.

The one variation I’ve tried, seems to create a vacuum in the tank, not allowing enough liquid to flow to the wick. There’s more trial and error in my future!

[Hourman]

I've been following this discussion because I also favor RDTA's. I use the Galaxies, but don't yet have a squonk mod, so I top fill the tank. I like that it makes me examine my cotton and wick with every 2ml. of juice. Kinnikinnik, are you dissatisfied only with the results on your Brunhilde? Is the mesh wick working out well on the Galaxies?

[Kinnikinnick]

It works like a champ on the Galaxies. I never have a dry wick issue. I imagine it is due to the Galaxies stubby little tank.

I haven’t gone back to testing with the Brunhilde quite yet; time hasn’t allowed. I was really hoping I would have the same outcome with the Brunhilde... alas, not yet.