AGA T+ Need Help Stopping the red spot

StaircaseWit;8467593 said:

I've owned my AGA-T2 for a week or so and I'm finally able to build a wick and coil and eliminate all hot spots and have a good-running unit in short order.

I started oxidizing the wick in the way Scott on youtube (igetcha69) does, wrapping the coil on the unit, and having a go. Instant hot spots, and never did get it working. Then I tried the Petar K method, followed by the Petar K / Bluegrasslover's hybrid cotton method suggested by EDO. I struggled a bit with that, but eventually got it running well. (Video here.)

The Petar K method doesn't include oxidizing the wick, so I've been trying to use either barely-oxidized wicks or just burning off machine oil with a light flame pass. This surprisingly works, and works well.

The biggest thing that helped me build coils with no hot spots is Mike Zen's advice: every coil is a good coil. It just needs to be coaxed into working well. Pulse the power while adjusting the coil. Do the adjustments to the *hot* coil. Suddenly your hotspots will disappear and the coil will burn evenly.

Here's what works for me on the AGA-T2:

• 500 mesh at 1-5/8" x 3", lightly flame-passed to burn off oils, wrapped into a solid wick. Fold over the edge that will end up "out" on the wick. It should fit semi-loosely in the wick hole. This requires quite a bit of squeezing/wrapping/squeezing to accomplish, but it wicks brilliantly and is easier to wrap the coil on because it's solid. You can lightly oxidize the top half of the wick in a hot flame, but I've been doing without. Insert the wick and verify that it's 1-2mm off the bottom of the tank. It *cannot* contact the bottom of the tank (edit: it's been pointed out to me that people run these fine with the wick touching the bottom, but I have to test this with an un-oxidized wick)
• 32ga Kanthal. It's the easiest to get a 1.8-2ohm coil with 4 wraps, which is a good starting point. Anneal it first by passing it through a flame so that it glows red briefly. This will remove most of the "springiness" and make it easier to wrap the coil without it springing back.
• Counter-clockwise around the negative screw, towards the wick. Tighten the screw. The coil will go counter-clockwise around the wick. Don't *wrap* the coil around the wick; rotate the device and simply *guide* the wire around the wick. There should be very little tension between wick and wire. At the top bring the wire between the wick and center post and wrap it clockwise around the post between the nuts. Tighten well.
• Set your device to its lowest voltage/wattage setting, or use a nearly-expired battery on a mechanical mod. Everything should still be dry at this point.
• Pulse the power. If you have instant hot spots, take a toothpick/pin/needle/syringe and prod lightly at the coils, moving them up/down the wick slightly. Pulse the power, adjust the coil. It may seem hopeless that there's one hotspot at the top leg, but you'll get rid of that. Keep pulsing power and adjusting the coils.
• You'll see at some point that the coil will start to glow towards the middle. Keep pulsing/prodding/pulsing.
• Rather suddenly you'll have an even-glowing coil. Pulse some more to verify, keep an eye out for hotspots, and (if possible on your device) slowly raise voltage a bit (0.1V at a time).
• Check the resistance of the coil if your device is capable. It should be 1.8-2.2ohms, and the reading shouldn't bounce around.
• Any other issues, pulse and prod.
• Only when it's running clean, with zero hot spots and nice even coil, add juice to the tank, watch it wick up to the coil while tilting the device, and fire. You should now have a clean-running coil and wick.

I've done this build a few times now, and it's becoming routine to set up a nicely running wick and coil in short order. I don't use washers or bend the top of the wick; in fact the top leg off the coil to the center post is quite long, but it doesn't produce any hotspots. I'm vaping right now on this setup and it barely even requires the "genny tilt" to wick.

Good luck.

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