Re: Aga-T tech talk

[OneDay]

Nov 8, 2012 15:49:32 GMT OneDay said:

Thanks for the tips guys, I'm gonna leave it til tomorrow now. 6 popped coils is enogh for a sinle day

Yay finally got it going

[blakey]

Nov 8, 2012 23:28:33 GMT maccafan said:

Forget the ebay shop: Buy directly from his shop from here for free worldwide shipping:

buymywire.com/

I've been using this guy for a while, takes about a week to get here but its top notch and cheap as chips

[Brian]

Nov 8, 2012 23:04:41 GMT alvoram said:

Macca, hope you dont mind me asking in this thread, but it relates to what you were saying about the nickel chrome wire earlier.... where can I get hgiher resistance Kanthal at a really good price, wires.co.uk only has .150mm, would that be the one for me?

Im a novice at rebuildables, so my utterances should be taken with a pinch of salt.....

I bought 20 metres from the link Macca gave, it was the .18.

Been waiting for a week to use on the Aga. Wrapped it 4 times round the wick as suggested, for 2.4ohm resistance, which is what i normally vape at.
3 times i popped the top coil, where it goes to the centre post.

Swapped to some .20 and it worked after my 2nd attempt.

I know it requires the wick to be tilted towards the post, but why does it need this? Why does it pop, just because of that couple of mm?
Would, using .22 wire make it less likely to pop?

[alvoram]

Well, I ordered this to start with, as he says same day/next despatch for orders before 3pm www.vapingthings.com/KANTHAL_TASTER_PACK/p1311952_7968303.aspx Should give me a good feel for different Kanthal wires.

Will order some bigger quantities from the guy macca linked to.

[maccafan]

Nov 8, 2012 23:59:46 GMT Brian said:

Im a novice at rebuildables, so my utterances should be taken with a pinch of salt.....

I bought 20 metres from the link Macca gave, it was the .18.

Been waiting for a week to use on the Aga. Wrapped it 4 times round the wick as suggested, for 2.4ohm resistance, which is what i normally vape at. 3 times i popped the top coil, where it goes to the centre post.

Swapped to some .20 and it worked after my 2nd attempt.

I know it requires the wick to be tilted towards the post, but why does it need this? Why does it pop, just because of that couple of mm?
Would, using .22 wire make it less likely to pop?

When you tighten the top nut it pulls the wire which causes it to cut into the insulating layer thereby shorting the coil..Current flows from the top to the bottom of the coil so the top coil is the one that heats up first and shorts. So that section of wire glows white hot and gives up..

The leaning of the wick is to reduce the run to the center post which is to get rid of funky taste of glowing wire in the air and it does not cause the wire to pop. It's most likely that the top coil is too tight or the wick is not oxidised.

If the wick is conducting, thicker dia wire is more resistant to popping but it will still pop given enough current.

[Brian]

Thanks for the info Macca.

I just used the wick supplied, doubled up and 5 wraps of .18, and its a smog machine. well happy.

[secretsnappa]

I,ve got one in transit and I'm seriously thinking about grinding that knurling off as the body looks too thick to me and the knurling too coarse..I reckon it would make the aga at 70+grms(including juice) a bit lighter and it might take a little off the width as well...

[booblay]

Macca - have you ever thought about writing a whole article/thread thingie dedicated to wicking and coiling SS mesh, like a very detailed tutorial, a one-stop place which has all the info....just seems like you're hella knowledgable about it and it would save you passing on the same advice over and over again in separate threads...and of course it would help us sorry lot

[OneDay]

What a good idea Booblay. Blakey's walkthrough on Penelope wicks was a godsend to many first time rebuilders using FG wick. Something similar for SS/mesh would be great

[DiscoDes]

here's a thought, for those that are having problems with the coil popping at the top you could double up the coil wire at the top. Go around the center post then back out to the SS wick a couple of wraps around the top and there you go!

There is probably a BIG flaw in this idea!

???

[reefcat]

I gave up late last night after popping 6 coils or so. Tried re oxidising the mesh, loose wraps, PK method, dripping on the coil, gentle fire ups....all failed. Going to make a new wick tonight and start all over again

[Skwoddy]

Nov 9, 2012 9:54:05 GMT DiscoDes said:

here's a thought, for those that are having problems with the coil popping at the top you could double up the coil wire at the top. Go around the center post then back out to the SS wick a couple of wraps around the top and there you go!

There is probably a BIG flaw in this idea!

???

Twisted wires are getting alot of shouts, twisting 2 wires together using a slow speed drill, this effectively halves the resistance but doubles the surface area of the wire touching the mesh, thereby creating more vapour (if your wicking can keep up).

The flaw in your suggestion Des, as I can see it, the resistance stops when the wire reaches the centre post, anything after that just becomes superfluous and of no use.
Plus the power runs from the top down, the very first piece of wire would take all the heat and give up, thereby preventing voltage getting to the next loop.

[blakey]

I've seen a lot of strangled wicks in some of these pics, at each point that the coil touches the wick too tightly you will reduce the coils efficiency, the current runs from top to bottom of the coil so if you have too tight a contact at places further down the wick then more power will go through the top wire from the wick and center post and cause it to over heat at this point. What too tight a coil also causes is shorts, as the wire heats up it expands a fraction so if your wick is tight then it'll be a bit tighter when power goes through it meaning that it can cut through the carbon layer on your wick.
Ideally, the distance from wick to coil at the top connection should be as short as possible but that isn't possible on the aga without bending the wick. But as you'll see below, a properly wound coil will heat more evenly and take the strain from the top bare section that makes the connection, it is possible to set this aga up without bending the wick and get it to run with zero hot spots







That is a 2ohm coil, I reduced the voltage to 3.5 so that you could actually see the coil behind the fog. Notice the distance between the wick and the center post, that wire is not glowing orange when power is going through it. Wind the coil evenly so that it just about touches the wick all the way down.

[lazydog]

blakey what diamensions are you using to cut your mesh it looks just right in the AgaT

[blakey]

I started with about 9.5cm in width of 500 mesh and went for a pretty tight wrap as you can see, it took a good 15mins to wrap. I have no idea of the length because I trimmed it when I fitted it.
It wicks extremely well.