There are no problems with the AGA-T, only opportunities to hone your skills. Part 2

Part 2
Note: If at any point your resistance drops and does not allow your APV to fire due to low Ωs, move the coils up or down a little, concentrating on what looks like the tightest ones first and test fire to see if you have solved the problem. Sometimes merely spinning the wick a little in place takes care of it. Make sure you allow the wick to cool before grabbing it!

Note: (This can be performed earlier also )You may slide your wick out to test what your true coil Ω is and compare it to what you get when you slide your wick back in. They should be identical when everything is right. This is also a good method to see if your coil wants to lean over towards the center post. If it does, loosen the nut and straighten it back up. You want your coil to be vertical while relaxed and not have any force pulling on it which causes shorts.

Bump voltage to 3.2v and repeat process.
Bump voltage to 3.4v and repeat process.
Bump voltage to 3.6v and repeat process.
Bump voltage to 3.8v and repeat process.
Bump voltage to 4.0v and repeat process.

You are now ready to fill tank with juice.

Check for wicking issues:
Fill with juice, replace your fill screw and put a drop or two of juice on the wick if desired.
With the cap still off, fire your PV and verify that vapor is produced and your coils DO NOT glow as they did when there was no juice. This is normal and required for a good vape. The juice keeps the coils cool enough to not glow (which would cause the flavor to be bad. No I mean it, really bad and un-enjoyable)

VAPE: After firing it a few times to ensure that you do not have a wicking issue, replace cap and enjoy awesome flavor and wicking from the start.

NOTE: (Assuming you don't have a wicking issue) If at any time after your AGA-T is set up properly and vaping good, it starts to taste bad, a hot spot has likely re-appeared. You may not be able to see it due to liquid cooling.
Drain your tank with a syringe (save and re-use) or tilt PV with wick side up ()trickier but I have done it successfully a few times), dry burn off juice from wick and work out the hot spot that I 99% guarantee will be there.

Refill and vape on.

Understanding your enemy:
The reason a hot spot is your enemy. When you have a hot spot, all of the heat is super-concentrated in one spot instead of being spread out over a large area. Your juice is burning at the hot spot and not heating much at all over the rest of the coil. This can be happening even if you do not see the top coil glowing (see liquid cooling effect). If you do not fully address hot spots, and learn to recognize through taste when they have returned, you will be stuck vaping at a capacity that is much less than your AGA-T is capable of. If it doesn't taste really good (assuming that your juice should taste really good), then there is a problem, don't put up with it or think that is just the way it is. Fix it.

This process may seem overwhelming and too involved. The warning you see on websites that sell RBA's should make sense now. It takes getting your hands dirty and messing with it. The main reason for the warning is that without some proper guidance, a person can think that their RBA is a lemon and they are unsatisfied and want a refund. The AGA-T is an excellent RBA. That being said, I know complete un-mechanically and un-technically minded people find quick success with a little instruction and hands on practice.

I hope this helps more of you become proficient and comfortable with your AGA-T or other RBA .

eHuman

Comments

holy_handgrenade;bt8422 said:
Thank you so much for these written instructions. It explains quite a bit more than I was seeing in the videos. Now my AGA-T2 is actually performing almost as good as my dripper. All thanks to your suggestion of troubleshooting while the tank is full and troubleshooting during vapor production. Worked like a champ an hits quite nicely!
I'm glad that people are getting use out of the instructions. The more happy campers the better.
 
I know you suggest using a solid wick, and since I have figured out how to roll the 1.5"x3" and oxidize it to help and not hinder my rolling I haven't looked back. But Im just wondering. What are the benefits of solid vs. hollow wicks? I really like not having to worry about my mod falling on its side. I even fell asleep with it in my bed last night and it didn't leak at all over night. But I do notice that if I don't do the "genny lean" the wick dries out after a vape or two.
 
I also know you say to keep the fill screw in. I just filled up my tank with a new coil and wick. ( using 32awg with 3 wraps at 1.4 ohms) and fired it with the full screw out and then in. Got more vapor with it out. Why is this?

Also: I have been using 30awg for the last week or two. This is the first time going back to 32awg since I bought the 30awg. The flavor seems dirtier with the 32 if that makes sense. I think I'm about to go back to 30awg. But god it takes awhile to switch all this.
 

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