I always had horrible luck with SS Mesh in my RBA. I kept getting shorts that would pop the top wrap of the coil. It could have been that the Positive Post in an AGA-T2 is not stationary, because even if I got a coil to work, minor movements of the tank would make a short or hot spot, and while working it out, the top wrap would pop.
I found a product called XS-18, which is a hollow silica sleeving or tubing, where -18 stands for 1/8" diameter. It was available is three sizes at the place I used to be able to get it.
XS-116 = 1/16"
XS-18 = 1/8"
XS-316 = 3/16"
XS-18 is similar to Ekowool, but the walls are thinner. It is made for high-heat insulation of industrial wiring, and insulation of bare wires.
There is also XC-18, which is a ceramic tubing, and comes in various sizes (but I didn't know about XC products then).
I used XS-18 because it fit easily over a 3/32" (~2.5mm) SS Mesh Wick, which is what an unmodified AGA-T2 needs. I used a tapered dental tool to spread it open like a Chinese finger trap by pushing on it, then slipped it over the coil section of the SS Mesh Wick. I left a little flared out on the deck, trapped it with the dental tool (or a small flat blade screwdriver), and pulled up on the XS-18 to close it tight on the wick. I cut the XS-18 at about 1/4" above the wick, then wrapped the coil, terminated it on the plus post, pulled the Kanthal back to the XS-18 above the coil and mesh, and wrapped it around the top to close the XS-18. This stopped the majority of Spitting, plus held some juice above the coil. The flared XS-18 at the deck, below the coil, absorbed any excess juice down there right into the coil.
By using XS-18, I didn't have to worry about shorts, so I no longer had to Torch the SS Mesh for Oxidation. I cleaned the Mesh first with PGA (Everclear) and an Acid Brush with the bristles cut short so I could scrub it. Then dried it and rolled it.
When the makers of XS and XC products learned that it was being used for vaping, they stopped selling it to e-cig vendors, so I couldn't get it anymore. There is one vendor selling it by another name, but not in the size I need, so I had to find another option.
I found Aluminum Oxide (AO) Ceramic Wicks and loved them, but I had to get a modified AGA-T2 with a 1/8" wick hole, because AO Wicks are pretty fragile, and making them smaller than 1/8" was too difficult for the people here on ECF who were doing it. I was able to get 5 or 6, which lasted a very long time, but when I wanted more, I couldn't find them, so I moved to wicking the AGA-T2s with cotton, using a procedure that was shared with me.
So, to answer the question in this contest, there are 3 things I'd like to see available. XS tubing in various sizes, XC tubing in various sizes, and/or Quality AO Wicks in various sizes (I need 1/8").
Thanks for the contest, MadVapes and Crowedude.
