UD AGI - my first ever build. Have some questions.

[Born2Hula]

I believed I would start this journey by rebuilding a Kanger head but all my rba supplies arrived at the same time so I said, the heck with it and tried the AGI instead using mesh.

Here's pictures of the finished product and also what the ohm meter read on the first attempt. UD AGI - Imgur Though now it's at 1.80 ohm.
I have some hot spots I believe, and don't quite seem to be able to get rid of them. Would anyone care to talk with me about what I might be able to do to fix that?

I found it difficult to find youtube videos for this rba where I could clearly see the kanthal being wrapped though I'm pretty sure I have everything in the correct direction. Counter-clockwise on the short-fat screw, clockwise up the mesh, and finally counter-clockwise around the center screw. The mesh is leaning a bit inward toward the center screw. I suppose that means I might have wrapped a bit too tight?

I used 32g A-1 Kanthal and I couldn't tell you what gauge the mesh is, but it's the one that come in the ug agi packet.

 

[jhelliwell]

Hey there, I got the same as you, and am still getting used to rebuilding it. Well you got a pretty good looking coil there.

As for the hotspots, I'd also like to know if there is a scientific way of working out the hot spots. My method is currently to gently adjust the coils with a toothpick randomly until suddenly after 10 minutes of screwing around with it I FINALLY get an even glow across all 3 of the coil loops.

Like you I use 3 wraps and end up with 1.8ohms, and it vapes like a dream. Tried it in dripper mode yet? Seriously good flavour!

 

[Born2Hula]

I have three wraps only because I couldn't manage to get four on like the video I saw.
I've messed with the toothpick too but something isn't right here. I can't pulse it enough to get it aligned properly without nearly shorting out.

 

[Born2Hula]

Oops, didn't fully answer you. No, I haven't yet tried dripper yet.

 

[minimalsaint]

Ah- welcome to genesis builds with mesh. I'm sure there are lots of folks who can give you tips on building with mesh, but I gave up on it with the AGI a long time ago. My only suggestion is to try a micro coil with cotton. There are lots of videos and tutorials for cotton and micros, but here is what I found works best:



I removed the neg. screw from the deck and used the hole for the wick. Build your coil like a dripper using the posts and use long legs to get the coil near center between the 2 holes (not my best coil, sorry). Roll your wick tight on the ends so they feed through the holes and into the tank, and it vapes beautifully.

 

[folkphys]

Looks like you have even tension on your wraps until you get to the top. The bit of wire extending from the wick to the positive center screw seems to be bowing out somewhat instead of running in a straight line. I'd try pushing that "leg" back towards the center, or re-tightening it + straightening it. The overall coil could be a bit too tight however. Since it is only 3 wraps, you should be able to evenly loosen it by unscrewing the negative screw slightly while pushing the the wick away from it. Then do the same thing at the top with the positive screw.

 

[Born2Hula]

Thank you! Microcoils are my next attempt. I kept reading this genesis build was difficult and so I figured if I could do this I would be gaining some good experience in building. Hope I can succeed!
Do I understand correctly that you have the cotton in the well through two holes, not just one?
If that's not your best coil I would love to see what is!

Ah- welcome to genesis builds with mesh. I'm sure there are lots of folks who can give you tips on building with mesh, but I gave up on it with the AGI a long time ago. My only suggestion is to try a micro coil with cotton. There are lots of videos and tutorials for cotton and micros, but here is what I found works best:

View attachment 273686

I removed the neg. screw from the deck and used the hole for the wick. Build your coil like a dripper using the posts and use long legs to get the coil near center between the 2 holes (not my best coil, sorry). Roll your wick tight on the ends so they feed through the holes and into the tank, and it vapes beautifully.

 

[Born2Hula]

You're right, there was a bow in it. I attempted to readjust but put a kink in the wire I wasn't able to get out. I pulled the wire off and the mesh out. Not sure I had the best side up anyway so will try again once the agi dries from it's bath. Straight line duly noted. Should I stick to three wraps or work on getting in four?

Looks like you have even tension on your wraps until you get to the top. The bit of wire extending from the wick to the positive center screw seems to be bowing out somewhat instead of running in a straight line. I'd try pushing that "leg" back towards the center, or re-tightening it + straightening it. The overall coil could be a bit too tight however. Since it is only 3 wraps, you should be able to evenly loosen it by unscrewing the negative screw slightly while pushing the the wick away from it. Then do the same thing at the top with the positive screw.

 

[minimalsaint]

Thank you! Microcoils are my next attempt. I kept reading this genesis build was difficult and so I figured if I could do this I would be gaining some good experience in building. Hope I can succeed!
Do I understand correctly that you have the cotton in the well through two holes, not just one?
If that's not your best coil I would love to see what is!

Yes, through both holes.
Don't get me wrong- the mesh builds are good for a lot of folks, just not me. They definitely are good for honing your skills and also a good practice in patience. I could never get them to perform the way I wanted so I have cotton a shot and never looked back.
Your build looks good, it will just take a little time to work out the shorts and hot spots. If a wrap is shorting, try adjusting the wrap above or below. Sometimes poking at the shorted wrap won't help.
Are you wrapping directly to the coil? If so, google "drill bit method for genesis" and give that a shot. Sometimes if the coil is too tight on the wick it will cause shorts.
It just takes practice- not many can wrap their first mesh wick and nail it. But you will get there!
If you feel like you need to take a break, try out the cotton and micro. You might be pleasantly surprised!

 

[Born2Hula]

I think I was wrong when I said shorting. I believe I just didn't have the pulse method down yet and was running the unit too long. It never showed a "short" error rather, it just politely asked me to back off.

I tried the above and below thing. I did wind up getting all three wraps to glow together without any one part being more than the others but the bottom wrap didn't seem to want to glow along the whole length of it no matter what I did or how I adjusted.

I was wrapping straight on the coil yes. I will go look at that video now. Speaking of drill bits, I was at home depot last night looking for bits because I had also picked up a phoenix v4 to play with and that whole is MIGHTY small. They didn't have bits that small though. (I find that weird, but ok) I have a tiny & crappy little screwdriver set with a 1.8mm in there. (and a .9, 1.2, 2.4 and 3.0) so I'm guessing that will cover my needs. Oh, plus an 18 guage luer lock blunt tip.

I'm going to try this again before I attempt the cotton as I might never go back and try again haha

Yes, through both holes.
Don't get me wrong- the mesh builds are good for a lot of folks, just not me. They definitely are good for honing your skills and also a good practice in patience. I could never get them to perform the way I wanted so I have cotton a shot and never looked back.
Your build looks good, it will just take a little time to work out the shorts and hot spots. If a wrap is shorting, try adjusting the wrap above or below. Sometimes poking at the shorted wrap won't help.
Are you wrapping directly to the coil? If so, google "drill bit method for genesis" and give that a shot. Sometimes if the coil is too tight on the wick it will cause shorts.
It just takes practice- not many can wrap their first mesh wick and nail it. But you will get there!
If you feel like you need to take a break, try out the cotton and micro. You might be pleasantly surprised!

 

[Jazzi Mike]

When I set up gennys with mesh, I usually split into two parts: actually wrapping the coil and then trying to get rid of hotspots. Seriously, you just need to kind of move the coils around the mesh until they glow evenly

 

[zipflint]

I think you're off to a good start. Took me a week or so of frustration before I got a "good" wick/coil.

You might want to try a silica sleeve, or hollow ekowool, something like this:
XS-18 Silica Sleeving - Kidney Puncher
You put that over the top part of your wick,
and wrap the coil around that. Makes things easier. Some people just don't like what this does to the
flavor, but I can't tell a difference.

edit:
here's a photo of one of my builds using this method.
This is on an I-Chybrid but the concept is the same for any
genesis style device.

 

[Born2Hula]

Hmm. I have ekowool that is 2mm. Not sure I would be able to jam this mesh inside that (?)
Very nice camera you have there.

Is that considered three wraps or two?

 

[zipflint]

It's a 3 or sometimes called 3/2 wrap. Here's another shot of the same build.

2mm ekowool should work as a sleeve. Take a small (clean) nail and insert it into the ekowool to stretch it out,
then give it a quick torch and it will stiffen up. If you're wrapping your mesh fairly tight, it should fit.

Hmm. I have ekowool that is 2mm. Not sure I would be able to jam this mesh inside that (?)
Very nice camera you have there.

Is that considered three wraps or two?

 

[Born2Hula]

hahaha I can't figure out how to stop the ekowool from fraying.

edit: it looks like a bichon frise

 

[zipflint]

If you've got a good torch (a regular lighter, like a Bic or Zippo won't cut it) hit it with that, on the
area you're going to cut. That should keep it from fraying. Also try to cut it very quickly, with
something quite sharp.

hahaha I can't figure out how to stop the ekowool from fraying.

edit: it looks like a bichon frise

 

[jhelliwell]

Yeah you have to torch the ekowool, to stop the fraying. I have 2 meters of the stuff, and it makes amazing wick. I should give it a go! How close/tight are you building your coil round the wool?

 

[Born2Hula]

I bought a Benzomatic yesterday (I love this thing muaahahaha).
So I set aside attempting to get it in the ekowool and instead attempted this: The DrillBit Method - YouTube

But since I didn't have a drill bit, I used a toothpick. Fits surprisingly well. Made a lovely coil. Came out about 1.4. Everything seemed to be going well though the top was pretty hot while pulsing the coil. Got the mesh down inside. Pulsed some more and it didn't quite seem to glow. I had no shorts or anything so I went ahead and put some juice on it and gave it a pulse. Nothing. Nada. The SVD showed "non" and my ohm tester was showing a 1. So I assumed I popped the coil. Took everything apart. Inspected with a magnifying glass. There's no break anywhere. Wha??
Take all the juice back out of the tank, break everything apart, wash stuff down and when I pulled off the center pin thing I noticed the spring inside had a burn mark half way up. But it's not popped anywhere either. I put everything back together and set it on the ohm tester. Now I'm at 1.23 ohm.

There's a short happening, yes?

 

[Born2Hula]

By the way, I have four wraps on this one.

edit: time for bed

 

[minimalsaint]

Ugh. The blasted spring in the AGI. It is meant to cut current if a short occurs, which may be what happened in your case.
One option is to take a piece of stiff copper wire that will fit inside the spring, cut it to the length needed to make contact and assemble. It essentially makes the post "solid" where the spring is.
Another option is to use a syringe needle, cut it to length, remove the spring and use the needle in its place. The pin has a taper on the end that the needle will fit over.
At the very least you could use the replacement spring that it came with. Once you see the spot in the spring where it looks burnt or discolored, the spring is shot (at least in my experience).
The AGI is an awesome genny once you get past the little quirks and mods that it needs. Hang in there- once you get it going it will all be worth it!