I am new to thes STMs but I went and looked at one of my bases and it does not appear to be anything in the airhole that would need tightening. It sounds to me like a faulty coil, loose post screws or the insulator under the pos is cracked or burned. This is a STM with an rta head right ?
You mean remove rba and then stick a screwdriver through air holes on that for leverage to tighten or loosen the positive post for insulator replacement. I see now, I did not know it worked like that.
Thanks for the tip good to know. Mine are probably old first generation, I got em for a cheap price last month and love em. Thanks I did buy some newer rbas with the Taifun style holes on the side will check em out and see if they are same way.
They are the same way, I guess after a ultrasonic cleaning it would be a good idea to check that before recotton.
No problem, I was not very clear, sorry about that.)
Not stupid at all C if you've never taken this base fully apart. All good answers here. The pos pin (airholes) screws through the insulator into the positive post bracket on the deck. Back it out and take a look. Loose insulator seating is the most common fault that drives res values unstable. Don't overtighten tho as this very slight shortening can impede good contact with the AF base or worse make the base pin too short at the 510 exit!
That pos pin can get pretty cruddy inside. Oxidation and residue can impact performance (and flavor) so I'm routinely taking these guys apart to clean, ultrasonic or polish them if need be. Not a big deal as you can go thru quite a few fills before it's needed depending on the juice. As with the old PT heads tho it makes for better results so I keep a batch of fresh ones handy with an oxidized t.m.c. wind installed ready to be wicked with KGD or Nextel.
Thx for the pics @JimDrock.
Good luck.
A lot of good parts for the STM, it never dawned on me to go straight to the source for them, I usually have been part shopping a Fasttech.
Thanks for the Link.
