Aga T woes

[anha]

Okay so clearly I am doing SOMETHING wrong. I finally decided to jump into the rebuildable arena and just can't seem to get it right. I have an Aga T+ that I have coiled and wicked with .28 .30 and ribbon. coils come in at 1.0 - 1.5 and for wick material I have 400 and 500 mesh. I've followed all the procedures that I've read/watched for building the coil assembly and every attempt results in zero flavor or a burnt flavor. The only improvement (if you can call it that) is that I seem to be getting a higher concentration of nicotine in the vapor. At least based on my physical experience after 3-4 hits of my juice.

So what could be causing a juice that tastes fine in something like an iClear30 with a 1.5 ohm coil on any of my devices to lose all its flavor in the Aga? Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Hiding]

Could be a few things.

Check that you have the air hole lined up with the wick/coil.

With the cap off, if you fire the device with juice in the tank, are the legs of the coil, or any of the wraps glowing?

 

[anha]

the coils all lit up fine... some brighter than others but they did glow red. I don't know about the air hole I'll give that a shot.

 

[Hiding]

With juice in the tank they shouldn't be glowing.
If they glow when you have the tank filled up, you're not getting enough wicking, or the coils are too loose.

 

[WattWick]

You really want them coils to light up preeetty evenly on a dry wick. Bottom most coil probably won't light up as much as the others tho. It's well worth taking the time to get this part right before jumping to trying it out for real. I know it's tempting, but getting it all to settle in properly will save you time in the long run.

It's just trial and error. Sounds like you're close to the point where you get your first decent setup going. From there it will only get better. Hang in there!

 

[nidua42]

Agree with WattWick. Poor wicking on your build. I took me a while to get it right on my AGA-T2. I find the 3 mm hole on RSST much easier to get it right. Just keep on trying and tilt your AGA to help it wick.


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[Heavyrocker]

Forget the mesh wicks,use SS Cable ropes.

 

[murphyramone]

Are you tilting your mod up when you use it ?

 

[Ryedan]

You've got some great advice already. It can be a pain to get the hang of, but it is worth it. I use a AGA-T every day and love it.

With no juice in the tank, when you pulse the switch the coils must all glow with the exception that the bottom coil is hard to get as bright as the rest. Do not continue until this is accomplished. I don't oxidize my SS wick, just pulse gently until the whole coil glows. Before that happens the whole RBA will get too hot, so I dip it in cold water and dry it off with a towel. If you let the AGA-T get too hot you can damage the plastic grommet that isolates the positive, center pin. Or you could just wait til it cools down, but I don't have the patience for that. If you get a stubborn short, it can help to move it a bit with a small screwdriver.

Once this is done you can fill with juice and vape. Mine usually shorts once or twice more in the first day. I syringe out the juice and pulse again until it's gone.

I also wrap the coil around a drill bit that just goes into the hole. I drilled the hole to 1/8", or 3 mm. I use 27 gauge wire which is about the same as your 28. I then roll the wick such that it slides easily into the coil. The nice thing about this build is that I can gently take the wick out, unroll it a bit, wash it off and put it back. After the coil end gets messed up, I put it in upside down and have fresh wick in the coil.

I always tilt when I vape.

HTH.

 

[anha]

All good advice. The coil(s) glow/burn bright with a dry or no wick. With the unit juiced up the do not glow or have a very faint red hue if I really stay on the button. I didn't know about the air hole needing to line up with the wick. Tried that and it tightened up the draw but did nothing to improve flavor. The Aga produces a decent quantity of vapor so it isn't that I'm not getting vapor, it's that it tastes either of nothing or of old wet running shoes.

I will drill out the wick hole to 1/8 as I wanted to be able to put in a larger wick anyway. As for SS ropes... I'm all ears... It there a thread on that technique?

 

[Baditude]

Before even adding juice to the tank, you must test your coils with pulse fires (see video below) to ensure there are not hot spots or shorts. The entire coil should glow evenly, with no upper leg glowing. I use a dental tool or a blunt-tip needle to move individual coils as needed.

Making sure the air hole in the cap lines up vertically with the wick is sound advice. Many people enlarge the air hole in the cap with the AGA T.

Once you are reasonably certain there are no shorts or hot spots, then you can add juice to the tank. I prime the wick and coil by dropping e-liquid on it (see video) and pulse burn it off. When ready to vape, tilt the tank as you take a draw. This improves wicking. It may take up to a tankful of juice to "season" the wick properly.

The absolute best video IMO on setting up an RBA was done by Zen for the ZAP for Provape. Watch it and pay attention to all the steps that Zen goes through and I believe you'll be on your way to huge clouds. I've included some links to some other helpful info for the AGA T2.

E-Cigarette Forum - eHuman - Blogs

Advice & Tips for Vapors Looking to Try Their First RBA

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/new-members-forum/430679-aga-t2-rba-setup-tutorial-2.html

A PBusardo Review - The AGA-T(s) - Part 2 - Assembly & Building Tutorial - YouTube

 

[RedhatPat]

If you're gonna pulse, helps the oxidation if you wrap a little cigarette paper around the wick BEFORE coiling it (add juice to make it stick) then when you pulse the paper turns to carbon, blow off the ashes, good to go.



RHP

 

[anha]

Okay I followed the video from Zen pretty much to the T. It really has helped. Less burnt taste and less gym shoe flavor too... so maybe now I just need to break in the wick. Rolling papers? I'll let you come over and try to explain a pack of rolling papers on my desk to my wife... No honey REALLY they're just for my VAPING.... lol

 

[WattWick]

If you pulse, there really isn't a whole more to it. I juice burn first to burn off any finger grease from rolling and add a tiny layer of oxidation to make pulsing even easier.

Sounds like you're getting there. It can be a pain at first, but once you got it, you'll find what works for you.

 

[anha]

SUCCESS!! Well mostly anyway... After giving up for many days, today I decided to give it another go. I wound what I assume would be called a micro coil. .30 Kantal wrapped around the 'lead' of a mechanical pencil. Wicked the micro hole with cotton and laid that up against the SS coil that is bringing up the juice from the tank. BY FAR the most vapor I have gotten from any device and frankly I'll have to mix my juice to a lower nic level. 3-4 hits @ 24 and it's like my body forgot that I used to be a 2 pack a day smoker.

So that is the success side... now the question for the experts....

The flavor is a bit wonky. I am theorizing that I have been blending my juices for the heat that was being put out by the coils on a standard commercial coil. I have no doubt that my micro coils are putting up a crapload more heat and maybe altering the tastes. Anyone have to change their recipes to account for the extra heat? Right now I'm mixing @ 20% on my green apple and the suggested mix is 10-30%.

 

[blondeambition3]

I'm clearly doing something 'wrong' with my AGA-T also..... (I'm tired of fiddling with it) - It's going in the classifieds soon

 

[WattWick]

If you want to go for Easy Mode on Aga setup, add a small washer below top center post nut. Much easier if you reduce the span between post and wick.

 

[blondeambition3]

If you want to go for Easy Mode on Aga setup, add a small washer below top center post nut. Much easier if you reduce the span between post and wick.

Say WHUUUUUUUUT????

 

[RedhatPat]

..................

 

[entropy1049]

E-Cigarette Forum - eHuman - Blogs

THISTHISTHIS! In my opinion, the best rebuilding tutorials anywhere for RBA newbies.