the timelock doesn't start until you close a channel. It's there to protect the other participant from you trying to close using old transactions (from when you had more BTC in the channel than when you closed it)
there is no channel expiry, it just stays open till you or the other side closes it
Well that's a relief. For a second I've thought that the channel would close on a given timeframe. But now that I know that I'll stay open as long as neither I or the other side closes it, I think I'll keep my LN balance on the channel for a couple of days. Although I'm still using the mainnet, I've deposited a small amount of BTC just to be safe.
my previous advice to you was "don't try it yet", so I hope you're willing to accept that you are 100% responsible for everything that happens to your BTC. That said, Zap should be pretty straightforward, although I don't have any direct experience using it.
NONETHELESS
I strongly recommend you try out the TESTNET version first. Play around, alot, then do that some more.
Yes, I know. But in this case, I wanted to try some games online listed on the "Lightning Network Stores" website which only accept LN payments on mainnet (AFAIK). I've only deposited $5 on my Zap wallet, so I've got nothing to lose. But for learning/educational purposes, I'm better off with the testnet version of the Lightning Network. At first, I've became confused with the concept of local balance and remote balance. After a few digging, I've found that local balance refers to your Bitcoin on the channel's end, while remote balance refers to the Bitcoin available on the channel where you can receive funds from it. If I wanted to receive some lightning payments, I need to have some inbound capacity (remote balance) to do so. I didn't know about this earlier and thought that the wallet was flawed, due to the inability to receive LN payments (as I had 0 remote balance/inbound capacity).
Nonetheless, I appreciate your help with this. I'll continue to play/experiment with LN's testnet until the mainnet is stable enough for mainstream use. In case any other issues arise, I'll be sure to contact you via PM.
I'll be locking this thread now since my problem has been solved.