Vamo Apacolypse at my house

[DenaInWyo]

It's been a bad week for Vamos here.

For Christmas, my mother bought my sister and I each a pink chrome V5. Both DOA. She bought my son a gold one (ugliest thing EVER but he is on this weird yellow gold kick..no accounting for taste) and it worked for about 3 days then, poof, same thing. It's doing the low ohms error message thing. I *think* I can fix it by replacing the O-ring around the top pin (where the tank connects) after looking it up on youtube, but if I'm wrong, then they can't be returned. In my son's case it's worth a shot because that was apparently the last one in stock of that color.

And then.

Last night my own stainless one, which is probably 2 months old, started flashing an error alternating between low ohms and short. Sigh.

I am currently borrowing my mom's Provari. It vapes nicely but I am put off by the button clicking required to adjust settings. I need to google a simple "How to speak Provari" site so I can get used to it I guess because it's going to be a good two weeks before I have a new APV in my hands and at least it's better than my ego twist or the Vamo V3 sitting in my cupboard that has a messed up fun button. The button still works, but it doesn't click. You push on it and it fires, but it's loose or something and doesn't actually click in, if that makes any sense. I like the click. I need..the click.

Mostly looking for sympathy. I really liked my Vamo V5 and the chrome ones we got for Christmas are beautiful. Any advice is appreciated as well though, and if someone has heard about a recent bad batch of Vamos running loose out there or something, that would be interesting to hear about as well.

In the end, I'll probably end up either trying to buy this pink Provari from the moms (she doesn't use it..far to happy with some other things she has) or buying my own Provari. I am a klutz and the floors where I work are hard tile.

 

[mightymen]

Mostly looking for sympathy. I really liked my Vamo V5 and the chrome ones we got for Christmas are beautiful. Any advice is appreciated as well though, and if someone has heard about a recent bad batch of Vamos running loose out there or something, that would be interesting to hear about as well.

In the end, I'll probably end up either trying to buy this pink Provari from the moms (she doesn't use it..far to happy with some other things she has) or buying my own Provari. I am a klutz and the floors where I work are hard tile.

My condolence on your recent lost and my heart goes out to you.

Not trying to kick dirt in your face but My Vamo V.2 is going strong and over one year old.

 

[WarHawk-AVG]

How do you know DOA (no rapid 5 click turn on)? Time to put in a RMA and return em from where you got em and get new ones, what batteries?

Low ohms with and without the tank on the Vamo? Hold right button down 3 seconds

What is the resistance of your heads you put on it?

Vamo is usually a bit more resistant that that, how hard are you tightening the tanks down? You can pull up the center pin w/o voiding the warranty, very easy to do

Sux that you have issues with the Vamo...they are usually pretty solid (occasionally there seems to be ultra crap runs though...sux)

 

[DenaInWyo]

Thanks for the condolences

The three new ones we are having trouble with are saying "Lo load" with any tank we try it on. We have no shortage of devices in this house, and the ones that are in good working order have no trouble with the the tanks. 5+ tanks were tried on each. We all use a combination of evods, Protanks and iclear 30s..would guess they are all in the 2.0 to 2.5 range. I think there's a good chance it is an issue with the rubber o-ring around the center pin ..down at the base of where it connects to the tank. If you do a look on youtube for Vamo V5 low ohms error ..that is what I am talking about. It seems to be a fairly common problem. Hope I make sense, I am NOT a tinkerer and not very smart about all that.

Unforunately the vamos in question are at my mom's work to be returned so I can't try the holding down the right button. My own vamo was only doing it with a tank (multiple tanks) attached and otherwise just displaying the wattage when clicked. Funny thing now though..I pulled that one out to check the stuff on your post and now it is working.

Thanks for the reply. The best outcome would be for everything Vamo to just get ironed out because I really do like them very much. Mom does not want to sell me her Provari apparently (it's part of her "collection") so buying one of those is likely my next step if it doesn't. The company she bought them from has been emailing back and forth with her and they are apparently being somewhat resistant. We aren't experts in this house but we aren't total newbies either. I know they say they test everything before shipping..but in my son's case, his died in about 3 days so that didn't even matter. Hopefully they will do the right thing. It wasn't fasttech, btw.

 

[DenaInWyo]

Oh and the batteries are Panasonic NCR18650PD. From what I've read those seem to be decent batteries and have been working well in a wide range of APVs for between 1 and 4 months in this house.

 

[SirSteve]

For ProVari speak go here, http://www.provape.com/v/images/ProVariManual.pdf

As for the Vamo's, you are already aware of the center oring, and as WarHawk has stated the center pin can get pushed down and prying it up fixes it. The center pin being pushed down too far is often caused by over tightening toppers, I would imagine this is hard on the oring also. Seeing as how you don't have them handy I hope the vendor will stand behind them. Best of luck.

 

[DenaInWyo]

I know better than to screw the tanks on more than just barely finger tight..not even really that much. Just enough to connect. I even use an adapter on my own Vamo to protect the APV's connection from constant switching out of tanks that I do. They are definitely not damaged from screwing a tank down too tight.

Turns out the gold one is still at the house after calling my son to check. I tried pressing the right button for three seconds and it reads 0.0 ohms with any tank I put on it. Well rats.

Thanks everyone for all the help and sympathy And thanks for that provari link too!

 

[mightymen]

Before you go this route one suggestion. Use a tweezers and wiggle the center pin upwards just slightly than try it out.

 

[DenaInWyo]

Mightmen that's the exact same video I saw on Youtube that made me think it was the o-ring problem. I just now gave this a shot and no go. I'm not entirely sure I made any headway at all with the pin anyway..super hard to get a grip on.

I think at this point we are just going to try to send them back. Hopefully this vendor will honor their sale. My mom even bought herself a blue one from them and it's being squirrelly as well with reading ohms. It works off and on, but at times is reading things like 0.3 ohms no matter which tank I put on it. I think perhaps these colored chrome ones were just a bad batch or something.

We are also using these tanks on other fully functional APVs..a Provari, an SVD, an innokin VTR, an ego Twist, and my now apparently function, previously purchased Vamo V5 (a stainless one from a US vendor) with no problems at all. And we are not talking 2 or three tanks..between my mom, my son and I we have switched out between several varieties and MANY tanks.

I've had no further trouble out of my current Vamo. No idea what that was all about.

Thank you ALL very very much for all the help tonight!

 

[mightymen]

I think at this point we are just going to try to send them back. Hopefully this vendor will honor their sale. My mom even bought herself a blue one from them and it's being squirrelly as well with reading ohms. It works off and on, but at times is reading things like 0.3 ohms no matter which tank I put on it. I think perhaps these colored chrome ones were just a bad batch or something.

Tanks work on other units than it's the Vamo's don't try to fix it send them back.

You never said where you got them from - china?

Three Vamo same problem than your not alone others have the same problem.

I would email or if vendor was local call them and tell him what's going on NEVER saying you tried to fix it your self.

Any vendor worth anything should replacing them; could be a bad run and their know about the issue.

This is the first time I heard of someone getting three bad units at one time.

 

[yzer]

Spend $40 to $75 (depending on vendor and warranty) and you will have something that will last you a long time, especially if you treat it like you paid $200 for it. You'll probably have it by Thursday, too.

Your January bill from the CC company will be lighter.