Getting it right.

[MightyMouth]

So I was about to give up with my AGA T2 because I couldn't seem to get it right. I recoiled about 5 times and always had hot spots and bad metallic or burnt flavours. well I finally got it right and the difference is night and day, what cracked it for me was getting out my propane torch and really giving the wick a good seeing to with the torch and quenching it in water when it was really hot. I had previously tried using my stove top to oxidise the wick and I thought because the wick was glowing that it was doing the job, well it wasn't. You need a torch.

So my thoughts on getting it right.

1. Get the wick tight, keep rolling t until it stops making a creaking noise. You will know what I mean when you do it.
2. Get that wick really hot and quench it immediately in water, do this 6 times or more to be sure.
3. Wrap the coil firmly and evenly around the wick, not too tight but it should be touching the wick everywhere.

 

[hazar]

Just wrap the coil around the wick and heat it with short pulses of electricity, it will take a few mins but eventually it will get oxidized from just the heat of the shorting coil. If you got an suitable power source (like an old computer PSU is perfect) use that because its kinda rough on batteries and can be too much for smaller, non IMR type batteries. Imo much less hassle than the whole quenching ritual and more reliable.

 

[Yohoto]

If you got an suitable power source (like an old computer PSU is perfect) use that because its kinda rough on batteries and can be too much for smaller, non IMR type batteries.

I'm in the process of readying myself for rebuildables and happen to have a few old pc power supplies kicking around. How would I go about using a PSU for this particular job?

Invading existing threads is going to look like my favourite thing to do but I thought I would risk it. Hopefully it's not too annoying. Sorry, Mightymouth.

 

[hazar]

ATX psus are quite simple for all wires other than the main ATX connector:
all the black wires are ground
all the yellow wires are 12v
all the red wires are 5v
all the orange wires are 3.3v
all the same colored wires meet up inside the psu so for example doesn't matter which yellow you use with which black. (ok there are some exceptions with multi rail psu's but even if psu says its multi rail, 99% of the time its really not as those are quite rare and high end)

for ATX connector:
the color codes from previous list still apply however some of them are -12 and -5 instead of positive, if you take wires from the main connector consult the atx diagram first
the "on" wire is always green (attached to the ATX connector), run it to the ground to turn the psu on

there might be some other, non standard wires with different colors like fan controls and such, just leave those alone.
Also you can get other voltages by mixing the main potentials like 12v and 5v make 7v between them and 12v and -12v make 24v but these configurations can generally handle very little load (under 1 amp)


3.3v is best suited for breaking in a coil, just hook one of the orange wires along with a black wire to the power contacts of the rba (polarity makes no difference, atomizers dont have a positive or a negative). You can hold them in place with your fingers easily enough, just make sure you dont short them too hard or the wires you're holding get real hot real fast Personally i have little crocodile clips which i hook to the right places and then just turn the psu on/off

 

[MightyMouth]

Does this power supply method oxidise the Coil or the Mesh or Both? Do you still flame the mesh to burn off any contaminants?

 

[hazar]

not sure, you can move the coil around a bit after the process but not much so im guessing a bit of both. and yea i do set both the mesh and the wire on fire once for good measure.

 

[MightyMouth]

Ok I have had a chance to use and abuse the coils I have gotten working and I have few observation and questions.

If I vape at 4w or less I get really good taste but poor amounts of vapour.
If I vape at 7-8w I get ok (not Great) vapour but it tastes bad, burnt and bitter. Hotspots maybe?
My wick isn't working very well, I have to tip my PV to get any juice up to the coil.
Even at 6 turns of .2 I am getting less than 2ohms

I am looking for 2.4 ohms or so but no more than 6 turns,
I have heard Kanthal works better on AGA 2Ts, what size would be equivalent to .16 nichrome or are the same sizes equivalent?
How do I improve my SS wicking. I am using 400 and have tried solid, hollow and even tried rolling up some silica inside the SS which so far has been the best but still not great.
I have used silica only in a u-wick configuration and it gives much more vapor but the taste isn't as good. This configuration is about as good as a CE4 I reckon and not as good as my iClear16

All comments ans suggestion gratefully received.