Popped my first coil, can I reuse the wick?

[spawnsharks]

So, I picked up an AGA T2, and my first build went really smoothly. I used the mesh and wire that came with the atty, so I think 30ga and 400 mesh?

This was my first build.

I rolled a perfect wick, did a really nice job on the coil at 4 wraps, oxidized everything. It read 2.0 ohms on my MVP. I then trimmed everything up, pulsed it until I had a nice even glow, added some juice and had a vape. Whoa! Nice. I moved it to my mech with a Panasonic battery (the 34mah one... big and green). Everything was going great, except that I will be drilling the air hole a little larger tomorrow.

Anyway, after maybe 10 or 15 draws, I looked under the hood to see how things were looking, and with a pulse, I noticed that the wire would glow orange between the top of the wick and the center post. The next draw, the coil popped right there.

Any idea why, for future reference, and can I reuse the wick? Also, what are the indicators that I should change out my wicks when using SS?

I have a bunch more questions about RBAs, but I will ask one at a time so I can learn as I go.

 

[speedemon]

Yes the wick can be reused many of times over. I pull mine out and hold over my burner on gas stove to clean then back in it goes.

 

[crxess]

As to the coil popping - Pull the top close to the center post to keep the top wire leg as short as possible. Generally the top and bottom should be about the same length, but the lower leg is usually laying on the base which draws off heat.

 

[spawnsharks]

As to the coil popping - Pull the top close to the center post to keep the top wire leg as short as possible. Generally the top and bottom should be about the same length, but the lower leg is usually laying on the base which draws off heat.

Thanks! This is great advice. I assume they should not touch.

I also forgot to mention a little trick I did. I noticed that the center post, where it comes up through the middle of everything was going to be prone to non-insulation and perhaps be a bit wobbly. I discovered that the rubber grommet from the bottom of a Protank head fit perfectly in the center tube (the one that goes through the center of the tank). The OD is just right, the ID is just right for the post to pass through, and the thickness of the top is thin enough to still catch a full rotation or two on the threads when reassembling the tank! It is now stable, and insulated.

 

[Ryedan]

Anyway, after maybe 10 or 15 draws, I looked under the hood to see how things were looking, and with a pulse, I noticed that the wire would glow orange between the top of the wick and the center post. The next draw, the coil popped right there.

Any idea why, for future reference, and can I reuse the wick? Also, what are the indicators that I should change out my wicks when using SS?

You got a short between the top coil and the wick which caused the wire to overheat there. eHuman has written a great tutorial on setting up the AGA-T that includes info on how to pulse out shorts. Would have saved me a lot of time when I first started using mine

And as has been said already, you can keep using the same wick. I find after a while it gets gunked up and needs to be cleaned. I wrap my coil around a drill bit in the wick hole which I remove afterwards. The drill is the largest number size I can get in there. I then roll the wick so it goes in easy but is snug in the coils, so I can remove it to clean without disturbing the coils or dry burning the wick. I partly unroll the wick and wash it out. I find a wick lasts me a few weeks and when I can't get it to perform anymore I turn it around and use the clean bottom end up.

Best of luck with it

 

[WarHawk-AVG]

I found that if I take two 32 gauge wires, hold one end by some pliers, the other end I catch them in the chuck of a cordless drill then spin them till they are pretty tight then wrap my coils (I got 1.9Ω at 6 wraps) it hits very good, and doesn't glow red between the wick and center post. (a single strand would glow red)

Also on the rolled stainless wick, I just pulled mine when it got goopy, rinsed with hot water, held with pliers then held in the fire on the stove burner until it all glowed red evenly and it hits/wicks just fine for round 2