Arnold RBA doesn't like SS Mash (in my case)

[AMDTrucking]

I built and re-built this Arnold with 400 Stainless Steel Mash wicks that I love so much but it kept producing some nasty Dry Hits. Until I gave up on SS Mash and used SS Rope with Ekowool Sleeve around it (the easy way). Is there something I'm doing wrong?

Failure pictures:

More Failure Pictures:

Success Picture:

These are just to show that I'm not a first time SS Mash user:

Kraken. Great success.

RSST. Success:

Taifun GT. Success:

Steam Turbine. Success:

Flash E-Vapor. Success:

Caravela. Success:

Prometheus. Success:

Bliss. Success:

UD AGI. Success:

UD AGA-T3. Success:

 

[Ease]

Very nice. Telll me a little more about your Flash-e build. Are you wicking down to the coil with the silica to the ss mesh? Using any mesh at the top?

 

[AMDTrucking]

Very nice. Telll me a little more about your Flash-e build. Are you wicking down to the coil with the silica to the ss mesh? Using any mesh at the top?

Little tiny pieces of Ekowool wrapped in tiny pieces of Mash.

 

[Asmo6]

Little tiny pieces of Ekowool wrapped in tiny pieces of Mash.

What is stainless steel "mash"? A combination of wicking materials? SS Mesh / ekowool? etc?

Or do you just mean "MESH" / I'm confused...

Nice pics of all the builds!

 

[AMDTrucking]

What is stainless steel "mash"? A combination of wicking materials? SS Mesh / ekowool? etc?

Or do you just mean "MESH" / I'm confused...

Nice pics of all the builds!

 

[Kemosabe]

what size ss rope is in your Bliss?

ive got mine wicked with #500 mesh, unoxidized. i can take a couple second draw before it dries out. if i try to chain, i get dry hits. i have to wait about a minute in between draws, which is obviously unacceptable.

seems to be the same problem you're having with the arnold. whats similar about my bliss build and your arnold build regarding wicking is the sheer amount of open air holes in the deck. my bliss is set up single coil, with both the other wick hole and the fill hole open. if ANYthing, these exposed holes in the deck should be aiding in our wicking- but instead we are both getting dry hits. its so odd and frustrating. if you figure out whats wrong with yours, please post as the same thing might be wrong with mine.

its incredibly frustrating because i, like you, am an experienced genny builder. all of my other half dozen or so gennys run flawlessly. yet this one, not so much. cant figure it out.

 

[AMDTrucking]

what size ss rope is in your Bliss?

ive got mine wicked with #500 mesh, unoxidized. i can take a couple second draw before it dries out. if i try to chain, i get dry hits. i have to wait about a minute in between draws, which is obviously unacceptable.

seems to be the same problem you're having with the arnold. whats similar about my bliss build and your arnold build regarding wicking is the sheer amount of open air holes in the deck. my bliss is set up single coil, with both the other wick hole and the fill hole open. if ANYthing, these exposed holes in the deck should be aiding in our wicking- but instead we are both getting dry hits. its so odd and frustrating. if you figure out whats wrong with yours, please post as the same thing might be wrong with mine.

its incredibly frustrating because i, like you, am an experienced genny builder. all of my other half dozen or so gennys run flawlessly. yet this one, not so much. cant figure it out.

My fast tech Bliss Clone was giving me the same problem until I gave up and rebuilt it with 1.5mm (1/16) unoxidized SS Rope with short Ekowool (just under the coil, above the deck) sleeve. It vapes fine now. I was wondering: what did you do about those large weird Air Holes, different size holes on each side of the Top Cap?
I drilled mine and cut 2.5 mm Treads, and installed 2.5 mm SS Screws that I Lathed and Drilled like Carburetor Injectors of a car. I've borrowed that idea from Flash E-Vapor:

 

[Kemosabe]

My fast tech Bliss Clone was giving me the same problem until I gave up and rebuilt it with 1.5mm (1/16) unoxidized SS Rope with short Ekowool (just under the coil, above the deck) sleeve. It vapes fine now. I was wondering: what did you do about those large weird Air Holes, different size holes on each side of the Top Cap?
I drilled mine and cut 2.5 mm Treads, and installed 2.5 mm SS Screws that I Lathed and Drilled like Carburetor Injectors of a car. I've borrowed that idea from Flash E-Vapor:

wow i like your ingenuity. i happened to like the large air hole so i use that one as my active air hole but the other one i plugged up (rather ghetto-ly). for now, ive just got a tiny square of scotch tape over the second hole. im not too handy with tools (probably because i dont own any), although i probably would be if i had the chance to use them. plus i didnt want to permanently plug the other hole because id eventually like to get this genny running as smoothly as my others, then dual wick it.

i do have some 1/16" steel cable. thanks for that info. im using it right now in my AGT and also my AIOS, with great success on each. ive got a small oxidized strip of mesh as a sleeve under the coil. but i do have some ekowool too so maybe i'll give that a go in teh bliss with the ss rope. i havent yet achieved as great of flavor with the ss rope compared to pure ss yet. but im thinking a thicker sleeve of mesh will solve that issue. or maybe the ekowool.