Want to thank
@LabPong for providing accurate and helpful info re: cause and remedy for performance drops.
My TMs performance started tapering off about a month ago. I thought maybe it was a battery issue, but not the case.
As of this week I was getting no vapor at 7 (formerly my max) and light wisps at 10.5! I also notice that the time to vibration was the same no matter the setting, so it seemed like the sensor was reading an increased baseline resistance.
Well I’m glad I didnt mess with undocumented settings. My I fix it kit has a torx, so,
load after 3 longs draws at 10.5 is barely any darker than fresh ground.
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Removed the top plate only. Cleaned up the underside with artist eraser. Roughed up the contact strip with some sandpaper, holding the unit upside down to avoid aluminum dust as much as possible.
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folded up some tin foil to use as a shim. Perhaps .3mm final thickness.
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total service time, maybe 15 minutes. Not bad for 9 months of light/moderate use. End result 1 draw at 6.5:
View attachment 4444
heat up times seem back to normal, and performance is better than ever.