Petar K Method with a hybrid Wick

[EDO]

48lowes...can I see a picture of your set up? I just don't get how your are not getting good wicking with 500 mesh. I am still using 325 mesh and I get perfect wicking. What juices are you using? I think that you mentioned that you are even tilting so this is baffling to me. Did you followm the steps I outlined in how to make a wick? Did you leave a small hole in the middle of the wick?

The darkening of the juice is part of the game when it come to bottom fed gennys. If you make a more solid wick.....it will happen to a lesser degree than a straw like wick. But it really depends on the juice...some juices get real dark as you vape them with a genny and others don't.

 

[gdeal]

Okay, got it.

A couple follow-up questions if no one minds too much:

How do I keep my wick from slipping into the tank and contacting the bottom if the coil doesn't have a pretty good grip on it? Or is it "just tight enough" to not allow that?

EDO skipped this point, so I will add to his response. EDO recommends (If I recall) that you do the process with the wick in a horizontal position. So you place the wick in the correct position, horizontal, while "tuning" your wick. (Going from low voltage to higher voltage), the wick should secure itself. I usually start in a vertical position and loosen my ss mesh so that there is some friction to keep it from falling. Either will work, it really only depend upon which technique you want to develop. EDO's method is probably easier to eliminate any shorts, because theoretically he has the least amount of pressure contact between mesh and coil. I just started the other way and it works for me, so why change?

 

[StaircaseWit]

Staricase...when doing the peter K method.......you need to fit in you wick like he shows you in the video (maybe a tiny bit looser with a solid wick). In his video the wick is loose but it is just tight enough to offer some resistance, when trying to slip it out or in. Then you want to check your ohms and do some dry burns and check to see you have no hot spots and all coils are glowing evenly....then you fill the tank with liquid and do 5 x ten second burns. The build up of gunk on the coil will hold everything together nicely. Peter makes his wicks straw like...so he makes his wicks short and he tilts when vaping. If you make normal more solid wicks, you have to make the wick long so it almost will reach the bottom of the tank....and be a few mm above the top coil.

Ah, see the dry burn and ten-second burn section wasn't in the video I watched. I saw him do the couple 1-second or less burns without the wick, but then it ends rather abruptly after he inserts the wick, but the player shows the video has ended. Hmm...now it's a bit clearer. I can see how the "build-up" would grab the wick and keep it from the bottom of the tank.

EDO skipped this point, so I will add to his response. EDO recommends (If I recall) that you do the process with the wick in a horizontal position. So you place the wick in the correct position, horizontal, while "tuning" your wick. (Going from low voltage to higher voltage), the wick should secure itself. I usually start in a vertical position and loosen my ss mesh so that there is some friction to keep it from falling. Either will work, it really only depend upon which technique you want to develop. EDO's method is probably easier to eliminate any shorts, because theoretically he has the least amount of pressure contact between mesh and coil. I just started the other way and it works for me, so why change?

Got it. I'm still surprised it works, though. With all the (hours and hours) of research I've done, very few people recommend not oxidizing the wick; the Petar K method is actually the first I've seen that does without entirely. It's definitely counter-intuitive that a conductive sheet of stainless mesh would somehow become un-conductive with a bit of dry burning at the coil only (it still has to pass through negative at the wick hole) would eliminate the oxidation step.

I'm very eager to try it, though. Does anyone know if the 2mm drill is appropriate for a coil size on the AGA-T2? I bought one but it seems positively tiny compared to the wick I made that fits the AGA wick hole (un-threaded hole) with a little play. Should the wick be that loose in the hole?

Thanks again for all the help, gentlemen.

 

[EDO]

Gdeal is correct....Initially I make the fit of the wick very loose for solid wicks. There is hardly any resistance when slipping the wick in and out. Once I do a few dry burns and check that all the coils are glowing even, I am ready to put liquid in the tank. Then I do the burns to season the coil and wick with a little gunk. You can at this point start vaping it....it will taste excellent but the vape will be intense (you have to vape at very low wattages until the coil breaks in). If you can't handle the initial intensity...you can take out the wick and roll the wick backwards a little to make the fit of the wick to the coil slightly tighter....this will make the vape smooth as silk....no break in period at all.

To adjust the coils if they are not glowing evenly after you insert the wick in the coil...all you have to do is pulse the power switch...on/off... on/off....after 30 seconds of pulsating, all your coils will be evenly glowing.

It doesn't matter if you follow everything exactly like we are describing, but the concept is that if you have a perfect coil and you loosely fit a perfectly cylindrical wick inside it.... you don't have to oxidize your mesh. So the oxidation is taken out of the equation. So if you are getting shorts it is either the coil isn't perfect or the wick is not fitted correctly inside the coil....that's it.

Petar perfectly explains everything in his video...but I think some people will have problems when they try to do his method with a more solid wick. To fit a solid wick all you have to do is remember if you roll wick in the same direction as it was initially rolled, you will tighten the wick. If you roll it backwards it will loosen the wick and make it thicker. If you are making straw like wicks...follow the video exactly. If for whatever reason you can't get it to work....use the cotton. After a few days with the cotton you can take out the wick and take the cotton off and try again using the same wick... just roll it back to make it fit again.

You need a 3/32 or even a 7/64 drill bit for the AGAs.

Regarding the Petar K method vs other methods....IMHO his method is the best. I can set up a genny using a variety of ways but the end result has to be that coils should be making minimal contact with mesh....or else the taste will be muted and you have to vape at higher wattages to get the same results in terms of vapor. So even if I set up using the traditional way of wraping coils and using a syringe to adjust the coils...you can slide out the wick very easily after I set it up. Believe me most people won't be able to do a set up like that with out using a drill bit. Even people who use the drill bit but oxidize their mesh...end up making the fit of their wick to tight and their builds aren't optimal.

 

[StaircaseWit]

Excellent. I really appreciate you explaining it so clearly.

I think I'm well on my way to knowing the best methods for a smooth-running AGA. I have quite a bit of 500 mesh coming, and wire in multiple gauges (32, 30 and 28), although it seems your advice is to stick with the 32 unless there's a specific reason you want thicker/lower-resistance wire.

Thanks.

 

[EDO]

Yeah stick with the 32g if you are running it on any of the chinese VV/VW devices or a Provari v1....do 4 wraps. On Provari v2 run it with 30g wire... 4 or 5 wraps. With a mechanical mod you can try the 28g with 4 to 6 wraps, depending on how intense you want the vape to be.

 

[StaircaseWit]

Yeah stick with the 32g if you are running it on any of the chinese VV/VW devices or a Provari v1....do 4 wraps. On Provari v2 run it with 30g wire... 4 or 5 wraps. With a mechanical mod you can try the 28g with 4 to 6 wraps, depending on how intense you want the vape to be.

I DID IT!

Sorry, I'm a bit excited. I got my supplies in from SteamMonkey (steammonkey.com) today: (2) 6"x12" 500 stainless mesh, and Kanthal in 28, 30 and 32 gauge.

I made a video of the entire process. I did the Petar K method of making the coil, and the EDO/Bluegrasslover cotton hybrid method. I had to finagle a bit on the drill bit size, and my coil came out looser than I'd have liked, but my AGA-T2 is running successfully, with zero hot spots and excellent wicking.

I can't thank you guys enough. This thing vapes like a dream. I'm even enjoying a juice I had written off. I'm surprised at the vape quality at what I consider low voltages. My coil came out at exactly 2.0 ohms and I'm vaping away at 3.9V and it feels like I need to turn it down. No top-leg hotspot! That was a huge deal for me not to see that damned hotspot.

Thanks again.

Video to follow. I have to edit and upload it, and it's a bit rough in spots, but I felt I should document the process.

 

[EDO]

Great...I am glad you had success..looking forward to your video.

 

[StaircaseWit]

Great...I am glad you had success..looking forward to your video.

Unfortunately I had a lot of problems with the files from a camera I've never used much before. Still working on it...

But, the AGA-T2 is still running smoothly. I'm on my second full tank and not a hotspot in sight, and great wicking even though I ended up with more of a "straw" than a solid wick using 50mm of 500 mesh. So glad I found out about this method, because as you'll see in the video the Petar K method had some drawbacks (the coil likes to "spring back" after you wind it on the drill bit, increasing its size) and I ended up with hotspots initially. But with the addition of the cotton, I have a smooth-running Genny clone.

 

[EDO]

The whole purpose of this thread was for a person like you...so many people have problems with the drill bit method or any other method when setting up a genny. My tutorial on cotton wicks was to help people to transition to the Peter K method. Now you have an idea of a good set up should vape like....which is a big achievement. Next time you try the peter K method....notice how tightly he wraps the wire around drill bit. Also if you are making a four wrap coil you have to make 5 five wraps as tightly as possible and then unwind the last wrap. When you do it you will understand what I mean. Also you have to pull as tightly as possible when you put the wraps around the positive and negative screw....to get any slack out of the coil.

On the Agat you have to wrap counterclockwise on the negative screw and clockwise on the positive post. Also you need to put washers on the positive post or else you builds are going to be a PITA....the wick hole is way too far from the positive post. I posted a picture of the washers on the positive post in an earlier post.

 

[48lowes]

48lowes...can I see a picture of your set up? I just don't get how your are not getting good wicking with 500 mesh. I am still using 325 mesh and I get perfect wicking. What juices are you using? I think that you mentioned that you are even tilting so this is baffling to me. Did you followm the steps I outlined in how to make a wick? Did you leave a small hole in the middle of the wick?.

A picture will take me some time. I'm using some juice I made using a tobacco recipe tobacco absolute and grain then mixed @ 10%. I didn't leave a small hole. I've reread all of these posts and returned to the basement. In the process I lost the only screw I have for my negative attachment. When I lost the first screw I emailed Health--Vape, the ones who sold it to me, asking them to give or sell me more screws. No answer! So now I'm off to the hardware trying to find a small metric screw to fit, I don't have much hope in that regard. Hope your day is running a little smoother than mine. I will en devour to persevere.

 

[Abracastabya]

Running this now...works great!

 

[EDO]

A picture will take me some time. I'm using some juice I made using a tobacco recipe tobacco absolute and grain then mixed @ 10%. I didn't leave a small hole. I've reread all of these posts and returned to the basement. In the process I lost the only screw I have for my negative attachment. When I lost the first screw I emailed Health--Vape, the ones who sold it to me, asking them to give or sell me more screws. No answer! So now I'm off to the hardware trying to find a small metric screw to fit, I don't have much hope in that regard. Hope your day is running a little smoother than mine. I will en devour to persevere.

I think something might be off with your juice, If you have any other juices that you can use, try them and see if it makes a difference. Does your juice work well in other atomizers?

I forgot if you have DID clone....if so....go to discountvapers.com for the parts....they have AGAT parts as well.

 

[EDO]

Running this now...works great!

Excellent.

 

[XfooYen]

The only thing I have issues with in this method is with high temperatures, the cotton tastes burnt. I find that anything above an 8.5-9 watt equivalent burns the cotton or at least give off a slight funk. Sometimes pure ss is the better route. Got a primo ss wick going on right now in the AGA-T so I don't want to touch it. The drill bit method is a dream once you have your wick measurements down to a science.

Using 500 mesh. Tight straw wick (0.5mm hole). 32AWG kanthal. 3/4 wraps. 1.8 ohms. Vamo.

 

[gdeal]

The drill bit method is a dream once you have your wick measurements down to a science.

That is the smartest thing I have heard today. I completely agree. I can repeat the same perfect set-up every time

 

[StaircaseWit]

The whole purpose of this thread was for a person like you...so many people have problems with the drill bit method or any other method when setting up a genny. My tutorial on cotton wicks was to help people to transition to the Peter K method. Now you have an idea of a good set up should vape like....which is a big achievement. Next time you try the peter K method....notice how tightly he wraps the wire around drill bit. Also if you are making a four wrap coil you have to make 5 five wraps as tightly as possible and then unwind the last wrap. When you do it you will understand what I mean. Also you have to pull as tightly as possible when you put the wraps around the positive and negative screw....to get any slack out of the coil.

On the Agat you have to wrap counterclockwise on the negative screw and clockwise on the positive post. Also you need to put washers on the positive post or else you builds are going to be a PITA....the wick hole is way too far from the positive post. I posted a picture of the washers on the positive post in an earlier post.

It's like you'd watched my video before I posted it! Yes, I had an issue with the 5-wrap thing, and keeping the coil tight on the drill bit, although I wrapped it as tightly as practically possible. I think his Nichrome wire might not have as much "spring back" as Kanthal, and next time I'm going to try annealing the wire lightly in a flame before making the coil, because I know that takes a lot of the "springiness" out of the wire.

And I wrapped exactly as you described. I couldn't find washers in stainless steel small enough for the center post, but I did okay without them.

Sorry the video is so long and has so many edits, but I was rambling as I made the coil and wick and didn't want to subject anyone to 45+ minutes of me trying this out. There's a lot of fiddling with the coil that I edited out, but I was able to get it working well, and it's still going strong on its third day.

Have a look if you're interested: https://vimeo.com/57904389

Thanks again for all the advice. I've been reading elsewhere that the drill bit method isn't very practical and isn't required if you "know what you're doing", but I like that it makes a coil that allows me to remove the wick for cleaning or dry burning and that I could brush the coil and make a new wick for it quite easily.

Still learning...

 

[48lowes]

I think something might be off with your juice, If you have any other juices that you can use, try them and see if it makes a difference. Does your juice work well in other atomizers?

I forgot if you have DID clone....if so....go to discountvapers.com for the parts....they have AGAT parts as well.

I'm using a H-E-V SS-GENESIS

The juice works fine elsewhere but then I don't see the aftereffects of it either. I'll try discountvapers for the parts, I did manage to get screws at the hardware size 1.6 they only had one smaller, of course, not quite what I wanted but I'm back in operation. I tried making another wick 35mm X 35mm I torched it first then rolled it up tight, did the hybrid thing, new coil 1.8 ohm. Tried some clear storebought juice Still no luck. My coil was the best I've made to date, is it possible to roll the wick to tight? Do I need to have a hole up the middle (straw). I haven't had much time to mess with it today, comcast decided in there blankity blank blank wisdom to shut off my service for no apparent reason, phone, internet, cable.
I'll try a little later with another whole new setup, tomorrow maybe even a picture.
Hey thanks for hanging in there with me.

 

[EDO]

The only thing I have issues with in this method is with high temperatures, the cotton tastes burnt. I find that anything above an 8.5-9 watt equivalent burns the cotton or at least give off a slight funk. Sometimes pure ss is the better route. Got a primo ss wick going on right now in the AGA-T so I don't want to touch it. The drill bit method is a dream once you have your wick measurements down to a science.

Using 500 mesh. Tight straw wick (0.5mm hole). 32AWG kanthal. 3/4 wraps. 1.8 ohms. Vamo.

If you have a system down that works for you....then why change? I don't use the cotton myself....I only tested it out for about ten days. That was so I can offer people help with their builds who are at their wits end because they just can't set up a genny properly....the cotton is a good training wheel. I am assuming there are a lot of people like that since there is so much interest in the ceramic wicks thread.

The only thing I can say that you might have used too much cotton in your build....when I was using it I had no problems turning up the wattage.

 

[EDO]

Staircase....I would use kanthal 32 or 30...especially if your a beginner. Nichrome is very hard to set up with ss mesh. I prefer it when it comes to silica but not ss mesh. I bet it will work great on ceramic wicks as well. I'll check out the video when I have some time.