I recently got an AGA-T2 as my first. Didn't think it would be that hard, and it's not, but there is a learning curve. Here's how the past week has been for me:
After watching a bunch of videos, I decided to try a stock SS Mesh wick using the SS that came with it. Rolling and oxidizing the wick was easy. Then came the coil. The first few coils I wrapped with the Kanthal that came with the AGA popped at the top leg. Luckily I ordered 28g Kanthal a few days earlier, along with a sheet of 400 SS Mesh.
When I finally got my coils burning evenly, I checked my ohms. Never seemed to differ from about 1.2 ohm. When I took a drag, the hit was thin and harsh. I knew something wasnt right so I researched more and tried again. After a few more fails, my ohms not changing with different coils (went through about 2.5ft at this point) , and trying 5 different SS wicks i figured I might have two problems. 1.) I have a short and 2.) my wick and/or air hole needs to be drilled bigger.
I started with the air hole, which helped but deffinatly didn't solve the problem. Next I drilled the wick hole to 9/64" (.140625 or 3.572mm) with a bit I got from Menards. I also purchased a 7/64" (.109375 or 2.778mm) drill bit as well. Rolled a new wick, wrapped a coil around the wick, a little better but my ohms still weren't changing and the vapor was still harsh. Frustrated at this point. I had a good feeling my SS Mesh was shorting on the AGA since the wick hole isn't insulated. This seemed like a common difficulty on the AGA's from my reading.
After all this, I was about to change wicking material to cotton or ekowool. Which prompted me to watch a guy on YouTube who used a layer of cotton around his SS Mesh using a mini coil to avoid all hot spots/shorts.
So off to CVS I went where I picked up some sterile rolled cotton that was used for medical purpose for like $5. You get a lot too. I used the 7/64" drill bit too wrap a 9/10 mini coil and while on the drill bit, positioned it center above the 9/64" wick hole and hooked it up. When I pulsed the coil, it took a second but it lit up perfect, I was excited. The ohms finally changed to about 2.0! Next I rolled a SS Mesh wick a little smaller than my 7/64" coil and feathered on some cotton around the top 5/8 of my SS Mesh enough to make the wick snug in my coil and keep it away from the AGA's wick hole. Carefully, I threaded the wick into my coil and it sucked up the juice like a straw. When the cotton expanded from being saturated, it filled the remaining room in the wick hole and after test firing, appeared to finally be working good. The vapor had slight TH, good clean flavor, and a respectable cloud. The only thing I didn't care for was it took a second for the coil to fire up and start producing mass vapor.
To fix that, I took my coil off and pulled the wick. Torched the cotton off my SS Wick and rewrapped it with fresh cotton. Then I wrapped a 4/5 micro coil and threaded my SS Mesh with cotton in and fired her up. Wow. Ohms checked out at about 1.0 and the coil heats instantly. I can take a 2 sec hit and blow a small dense fog. A normal hit feels "fulfilling" and the TH is there but nothing to choke on. A clean "crisp" vapor laced with flavor is how I would describe the TH... Just right. The vapor production on a normal hit is blowing me away. A long thick dense fog that rolls out and falls to the ground.
The hype that got me into trying a RBA I feel I finally understand. It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. Damn it sure is worth it though. Making micro coils is simple and quick. SS Mesh is just as easy. The cotton layover is quick and easy to apply and burn off if needed. I'm not sure if the modifications to the AGA T2 were necessary with the cotton but I honestly don't see how it could get much better than what I've got it at now. At first, i regretted not getting an RBA with a insulated wick hole but using the cotton method I'm extremely pleased with the AGA. Easy to setup and take apart. Vapor is awesome, seals well, the positive nuts are a little small and figgity but otherwise I would recommend it using the cotton over lay on SS Mesh.
