OK, still liking the L2 and overall satisfied with it on all Facets. It will remain in the Ft. Vape Armory and see its fair share of Action.
One thing I have noticed is that the L2 does tend to leak
juice into the Center AF below the Coil and into the Air Chamber and Slots in its Base. Especially if it sits for a while. So, it does tend to Flood a tad with current Wicking SOP and there is a very fine line between over wicking (leading to Dry-Hits) and Flooding. The L2 is an "unforgiving" RTA if Wicking is not close to "just Right".
A few Observations after having thought about its Design and Possibilities in Function and experimenting with ways to either avoid or overcome those Possibilities and Issues....
1. Position the Coil a little higher above the Center Post vertical Air Intake. Most say 1.5mm but it seems to Perform better and have less residual Juice entering the Air Duct if Coil bottom positioned closer to 2.5-3mm above the opening.
2. Be sure the Cotton through the Coil itself is not too loose or too taut (Basic Wicking Altruism). Very key to achieving that fine line of awesome performance without Dry-Hits or Flooding/Leaking.
3. Wicking.... The standard School of Thought for the L2 is the medium-to-light Fan Brush Method just touching the Deck and across the side Area completely from Post to Post with nothing in the Channel itself. Well, that works OK for most and me as well. But, it can, and does, lead to over flowing into the Chamber. With only the Medium/Light Brush Wick in the Chamber to grab & absorb the Juice and prevent liquid from flooding due to unchecked fed and limited Wick material to hold it, that's where Issues arise (IMO). So, how to get the best of the Fan/Brush method and solve its One Shortcoming....
Remembering back to Wicking my old Fogger v4.1 and doing the
Qorax 2-Cut Method (foolproof on the Elk & Props to Qorax-the Earl of Konigin himself) on my Earl Konigin, I decided to add a slight twist and depart from the Conventional No Wick in the Channel Mantra.
I did the Wick through the Coil as in #2 above, fanned it out (fluffed it), then made 2 Cuts leaving a small center Wisp of Wick between two larger Sections on each side.
Then did a rough Trim/Snip to get the Lengths closer to proper length, wet the Center Wisp, laid it into the Channels with a micro-Driver and cut to Length to stop right at the bottom of the Juice Channel. It definitely does not fill the Channel and only takes up maybe 30% of it. Wetting helps hold it and puff up to Operating size to allow proper trim to length and insure takes up only less than half the Channel diameter.
Then Juice the other Wick Sections and cut them to proper length just touching the Base as normal. Fan them toward the Posts and sides to insure proper Coverage on each Side of the Coil & Chamber (again as normal). Slightly Overlapping the interior sides of the left and right Brushes to cover the center Channel Wisp completes the upper Fan. This entire Method and the center Cuts help to prevent too much Wick Mass in the center of the Fan Brush which leaves the entire Fan Wick nice and uniform for an efficient saturation. This evenness of Wick aids in proper Juice absorption, retention, and flow without clog or flood.
Then attach the Chimney Base making sure it just touches the Wick Perimeter and does not gap from it nor is it crammed or packed against it with excess. No need to clear a "Hole" or Gap at the Channel opening as the Wick Wisps in the Channel itself will naturally pull Juice up and on into the rest of the Wick Fan Brush Sections (that's what "wicking" is and ones) Gaps lead to Flooding and/or excess Juice making its way into the Center Air Fee Chute. Also prevents having to worry about the Wick working into the Channel openings and clogging it up preventing flow into the Chamber and Main Wick as it is Vaped and refilled over time.
*After posting this and looking again at the Pics, I thought of one more possible Improvement. Next time, I will incorporate more of the
Qorax 2-Cut Method into this by adding another Cut at the very first through the center of the Main Wick Tails from left to right making an Upper and Lower Section first (approx. 1/3 of the Main Wick Tail as Upper Section and 2/3 as the Lower). Then "bob" the Upper to create a Retention "Shoulder" on top of each side of the Wick. Then complete the lower section as described above.
4. Complete the Assembly of the Chimney and place the Tank onto the Base (confirm presence of lower O-Ring of course) doing your best to insure it is as centered as possible on the O-Ring.
5.Place the Top Cap Assembly onto the Chimney Tube and Tank Top (again, confirm the upper outer O-Ring is present in the Top Cap & inner upper O-Ring is on the top of the Chimney Tube). Holding the Tank in place with one hand to insure it doesn't rotate and/or move while tightening, screw the Top Cap on until "taut" and makes a good seal NOT Tight so it smashes the lower O-Ring outward or deforms it into the Channels or out of the Base. Either will cause Major Issues with leaking or blocking/limiting Juice flow.
6. Properly Fill the Tank.
a. Close the AFC in the Base before opening the Top Fill Access.
b. Turn upright, open the Top Fill Access, fill the Tank leaving about an 1/8" unfilled space showing at the top (all such RTAs need this Air Pocket to create proper Vacuum Feed).
c. Close the Top Fill Access completely and turn the Tank upside down and hold there for @ 10 seconds.
d. Slowly open the AFC in the Base.
e. Return to upright position.
7. Attach L2 to your Mod & Hit it and watch for Air Bubbles to rise out of the lower Channel openings and the Air Intake Slots to be free of residual (or more) Juice appearance. You should see some light wisps of Vapor emitting from the Base Air Intakes after firing it as well. The appearance of Bubbles rising in the Tank and wisps of Vapor from the Slots coupled with a robust and non-dry Vape are the Proof it's humming along and built well.
Once it is verified to be performing as expected,,, Hit it good several times in a row to confirm there is no Dry-Hit Issue. IF all the above is done well & is good prior to,,,, there will Not be an issue with either Dry-Hit or Flooding.
Doing all the above, I can hit this thing hard multiple time and it never Dry-Hits nor is there Juice in the lower Air Slots or Base even after sitting all night or over several days.
All that may be Common Knowledge or Practice for some. I have seen and read pieces and parts of it but not all of it & never all together in one Place. So, figured would share that and give back a tad and hopefully help some to get the great Vaping Performance the L2 can and will provide.
FYI:
Coil is a 26 gauge Ti, 5/4 Wrap (next will be a 6/5 for more Area and hopefully increased Flavor) with about a 2.6 mm I.D. Spaced about a Wire width in between wraps. Shows 0.25 ohm on an SX Mini M. Should be lower, around 0.20, but the L2 seems to add about a half ohm or Resistance across the board on all builds (in comparison to Steam Engine).
*I know it's starting to "Gunk" and needed to be cleaned while apart. I will do normal Coil Clean Maintenance after a few more Tankfulls when ready to upgrade this Method with some Shoulders.
Cotton is just good ol' standard generic boiled & cleaned Organic "Hellifino" Cotton that comes balled up. Bought on eBay in a big Ziploc bag for $9 shipped.
