ss genny wick shenanigans

[steffijade]

I got around to trying an ss wick in the aga-t and it's been a bit of a pita. The actual oxidising of the wick seemed to actually go ok but when it came to getting an acceptable coil it started to get a bit more complicated. I've gone through about half a mile of .15 kanthal trying to get rid of hotspots (particulary at the top of the wick connecting to the pos terminal) and getting a reliable ohmage reading seems nigh on impossible.

I got a coil to work but wasn't that happy with the resulting vape so decided to try and let it 'bed in' a bit. It was during this bedding in process I realised I'd actually connected the neg end of the coil to the wrong place on the atty (doh!). I tried recoiling but every time, the coil just burned out at the pos terminal. Eventually, I decided that I must have scraped off the oxidation layer on the wick so I reburned it and tried using .20 nichrome instead.

This seems to have worked in that the vape is acceptable, if not anything special. I still can't seem to get a reliable ohmage reading and if the atty gets jiggled a little, the ohmage changes... even had a few 'Lo' displays and safety cutouts on the vamo.

Given the above symptoms, could anyone please offer me a few pointers as to probable causes and (hopefully) a few solutions?

I know that there'll be a learning curve involved but it'd be nice if it wasn't too steep.

 

[Purplefowler]

Any chance of a photo so we can see what's going on? They are tricky buggers especially at first. I find the flavour and vape is better on the .15 kanthal but the .2 is much more stable.

 

[todd]

Drill bit method, it will work

 

[ZT]

I got around to trying an ss wick in the aga-t and it's been a bit of a pita. The actual oxidising of the wick seemed to actually go ok but when it came to getting an acceptable coil it started to get a bit more complicated. I've gone through about half a mile of .15 kanthal trying to get rid of hotspots (particulary at the top of the wick connecting to the pos terminal) and getting a reliable ohmage reading seems nigh on impossible.

I got a coil to work but wasn't that happy with the resulting vape so decided to try and let it 'bed in' a bit. It was during this bedding in process I realised I'd actually connected the neg end of the coil to the wrong place on the atty (doh!). I tried recoiling but every time, the coil just burned out at the pos terminal. Eventually, I decided that I must have scraped off the oxidation layer on the wick so I reburned it and tried using .20 nichrome instead.

This seems to have worked in that the vape is acceptable, if not anything special. I still can't seem to get a reliable ohmage reading and if the atty gets jiggled a little, the ohmage changes... even had a few 'Lo' displays and safety cutouts on the vamo.

Given the above symptoms, could anyone please offer me a few pointers as to probable causes and (hopefully) a few solutions?

I know that there'll be a learning curve involved but it'd be nice if it wasn't too steep.

Steffi ... it will do in your head for weeks to come .. then all of a sudden it will go right .. and you will have sussed it!

try using a cocktail stick to move the coils around a bit WHILE they are glowing .. you can then see when it all lights up at the same time (dry tank)

 

[ZT]

Or as todd says .. drill bit method! thats the easiest to start with till you get your head round it.

the only problem with it is sometimes if your wick isnt fat enough you can get spaces which will either a: glow hot or b: have a wierd vomity taste.

 

[todd]

if your wick isnt fat enough you can get spaces which will either a: glow hot or b: have a wierd vomity taste.

Not an issue, remember, roll the wick one way, it gets fatter, the other way thinner so just keep adjusting it till it's a nice tight fit round the top coils.

 

[ZT]

Good point

 

[steffijade]

Thank you PF, ZT & Todd... will try and find me camera and put up a pic later.

The coil seems to be bedding in a bit now I've put a few mls through it, although it seems to be suffering from a bit of 'turbo lag'... if you know what I mean.

I'm not familiar with the drill bit method but I'm guessing it's something to do with rolling the ss mesh diagonally?

I'm thinking that the next time I get some wire I'll try .20 kanthal, but I've still got a few metres of .15 kanthal (which I'll use for vivi novas) and a sheetload of .20 nichrome that I'll use to try and climb the learning curve.

 

[ZT]

Steffi .. nichrome or kanthal ... it makes no odds on the mesh wick Ive happily used both

the drill bit method:

instead of putting the coil around the mesh and putting it in place put your mesh to one side.

now drop a small drill bit (about the diameter of the mesh wick you have) into the wick hole

wrap the wire around the drill bit.

now slide the drill bit out .. leaving the wire in a coil on its own (this looks kinda cool!) on a very low voltage .. pulse it a few times to harden it in place .. then get your mesh and slide it into the coil and atty

hope that helps!

 

[todd]

http://www.toddsreviews.com/2012/12/the-drillbit-method-hotspot-free.html