I've been reading the first ever 10 pages of this thread. Nuts and washers causing division and derision from day one
I guess some things don't change. Fun to see the hopeful early adopters take a chance, knowing they all got their minds blown most likely.
Indeed, it is fascinating to read the early pages, and with 853 pages now, there are many previous questions, comments, confusions, cures, and other curiosities. The TM2 seems to be less posted about than was the original.
I have had my TM2 for seven months, and have 4 cooling units from TM and eBay. From the beginning I've disassembled the CU, ditched the inner hardware and used the CU halves to retain glass balls or as depth stops in long cooling stems.
And as we all know, unless using dark glass stems, the resin soon visibly colors the glass. Personally, not-clean glass burns my ass, so I clean a lot.
That said, I recently reassembled a CU in a modified fashion* and have been using it in an 80 mm stem. The CU really is efficient and the stem is ridiculously easy to keep clean, especially with dosing capsules (without caps). Some paper towel rolled into a properly sized cylinder will ream the glass clean and can push the CU out for wiping it off and easier screen brushing. Of course, the CU is building up resin and will clog, especially the screen, thus an occasional alcohol soak, soap and hot water cleaning ritual is required. It is nice to have more than one CU.
The CU cools better than the long cooling stem, as self-tested at 8 on the dial. As to taste, to each their own
*Maybe they all came this way? CU with screw, two nuts, washer, nut, washer, nut, CU. This opens the mouthpiece end a bit more than one nut.