Be careful with passthroughs!!
- Thread starter Trish342
- Start date
- th_trl_thread_readers 0
- Status
V4L Guys? I would think that a note about the passthroughs should be in the stickies.
Just to keep it real: It's a good idea to unplug any high-current device when not in use.
Electronics fail. And when the hair dryer, curling iron, or space heater decides to malfunction - life can suck real fast.
I had a space heater burst into flames unprovoked last year. It was out in the bedroom, I was in the bathroom laying in the tub with a glass of wine. I'm half drowsing, puppy's asleep in the other room. It trickles through my sleepy alcohol sodden brain that yes, that's dark black smoke pouring out of the heater, not my imagination. I get out of the tub, take two steps towards the bedroom, and VWOOM! It burst into flames. I quickly crossed to the heater, grabbed it with a towel, opened the window, and tossed it two stories down out onto the rain-soaked driveway. Closed the window, got back in the tub.
Point to the story? Heaters fail. And that's all a PT or eCig in general is: An electric heater. No different than a toaster, electric heater, hair dryer, curling iron, clothes iron, ... They're all electrically identical, really.
Electronics fail. And when the hair dryer, curling iron, or space heater decides to malfunction - life can suck real fast.
I had a space heater burst into flames unprovoked last year. It was out in the bedroom, I was in the bathroom laying in the tub with a glass of wine. I'm half drowsing, puppy's asleep in the other room. It trickles through my sleepy alcohol sodden brain that yes, that's dark black smoke pouring out of the heater, not my imagination. I get out of the tub, take two steps towards the bedroom, and VWOOM! It burst into flames. I quickly crossed to the heater, grabbed it with a towel, opened the window, and tossed it two stories down out onto the rain-soaked driveway. Closed the window, got back in the tub.
Point to the story? Heaters fail. And that's all a PT or eCig in general is: An electric heater. No different than a toaster, electric heater, hair dryer, curling iron, clothes iron, ... They're all electrically identical, really.
LMAO thinking about Addy throwing a flamin' space heater out a two-story window...
This stinks. Are you talking about the inline battery kind or the 5v? I have both and so far I haven't had any problems with either models. Knock on wood, I don't leave stuff plugged into my computer for fear it will short my computer out. I don't use the wall charger so I'm safe there. Good grief, that stinks!
Honest-to-goodness true story.
And an object lesson in why you don't want to interrupt one of my marathon bath or spa sessions...
Hairball:
The type with the inline battery just has more to go wrong. These are super cheap disposable items. You wouldn't leave a burning cigarette unattended for long periods, right? Or a burning candle? Those are more dangerous examples, but they still are reasonable analogies in that they are still "connected" to their heat-source/power-source.
I still contend there just isn't enough stored energy or an outlet reasonable enough for it to cause actual conflagration without being _really_ careless. (leaving it on a bed of shredded tissue with butane-soaked paper towels underneath, for example). A space heater or hair dryer are ~1800 watts. In the US, you could be pulling 2400 watts into a short, and with a failed breaker or freak conditions, the source is "infinite". A PT is ~10 watts at worst with a very limited power supply. 1/10th a toy "Easy Bake Oven"
1/4-1/8 of a desk lamp.
Just had an automatic regular Smoketip start by itself over the weekend. Put the carto on and away it went. It wasn't even a passthrough
It's called Chinese electronics. Any experience I've had with them, whether it be adult gadgets or kids toys, has never been good. They are unreliable at best and downright dangerous at worst.
I just had a brand new 510 manual battery go nuclear on me this weekend.
Opened the box.
Charged the battery.
Screwed in an atty.
Took a puff.
Set it down.
Came rushing back to the smell of burning plastic and burned my fingers trying to unscrew the melty bits.
Opened the box.
Charged the battery.
Screwed in an atty.
Took a puff.
Set it down.
Came rushing back to the smell of burning plastic and burned my fingers trying to unscrew the melty bits.
Ever since I found the V4L passthrough, I've been using it with my laptop for hours a day. I leave it plugged in all the time. Never had a problem and my first passthrough just quit working after 7 months of use, so that is a great track record for a passthrough. I ordered a back-up just after receiving my first and am now using it the same way. They are automatics.
Then I started reading horror stories about passthroughs maybe ruining computers. So I dug out my little wall adapter for iPods that I used to use with a cheaper passthrough from a different company. The V4L passthrough doesn't work very well with it. It works, but the vapor/flavor/heat is very light.
So I tried it on my Kensington power pack and it works the same way as it does on the computer. It's still something I need to keep recharging though. I like the idea of just using a power source that I don't have to keep recharging.
I don't really like using the USB ports on my computer because of potential damage. I had to replace a previous laptop because the USB ports stopped working. (My guess is it was because they wore out from having my printer plugged into it all the time, and whenever I picked up the laptop to work on it a couple feet away from the printer, I'm sure the cord to the USB got jiggled a bit.) It was cheaper to buy a new computer than to have the USB ports replaced.
I wrote to V4L to ask them which AC/USB adapter would work with their passthroughs and the response I got was:
"Janet,
A customer support staff member has replied to your support request, #110823 with the following response:
Greetings,
At this time we are not aware of one that works well.
We hope this response has sufficiently answered your questions. If not, please do not send another email. Instead, reply to this email or login to your account for a complete archive of all your support requests and responses."
Sorry V4L, but you did not sufficiently answer my question. Maybe V4L should consider carrying a wall adapter to use with their awesome passthroughs. After all, they have one for the car.
I have a brain block with electrical stuff. I know that volts and mahs matter, but I don't understand that stuff.
So, does anyone know of a decent USB wall adapter that works with V4L's passthroughs? I love them and have never had a problem, but I don't want to risk the wear and tear and possible damage on my computer. I like the automatics, but a manual would be alright. Any recommendations would be much appreciated.
Then I started reading horror stories about passthroughs maybe ruining computers. So I dug out my little wall adapter for iPods that I used to use with a cheaper passthrough from a different company. The V4L passthrough doesn't work very well with it. It works, but the vapor/flavor/heat is very light.
So I tried it on my Kensington power pack and it works the same way as it does on the computer. It's still something I need to keep recharging though. I like the idea of just using a power source that I don't have to keep recharging.
I don't really like using the USB ports on my computer because of potential damage. I had to replace a previous laptop because the USB ports stopped working. (My guess is it was because they wore out from having my printer plugged into it all the time, and whenever I picked up the laptop to work on it a couple feet away from the printer, I'm sure the cord to the USB got jiggled a bit.) It was cheaper to buy a new computer than to have the USB ports replaced.
I wrote to V4L to ask them which AC/USB adapter would work with their passthroughs and the response I got was:
"Janet,
A customer support staff member has replied to your support request, #110823 with the following response:
Greetings,
At this time we are not aware of one that works well.
We hope this response has sufficiently answered your questions. If not, please do not send another email. Instead, reply to this email or login to your account for a complete archive of all your support requests and responses."
Sorry V4L, but you did not sufficiently answer my question. Maybe V4L should consider carrying a wall adapter to use with their awesome passthroughs. After all, they have one for the car.
I have a brain block with electrical stuff. I know that volts and mahs matter, but I don't understand that stuff.
So, does anyone know of a decent USB wall adapter that works with V4L's passthroughs? I love them and have never had a problem, but I don't want to risk the wear and tear and possible damage on my computer. I like the automatics, but a manual would be alright. Any recommendations would be much appreciated.
I don't know why this didn't occur to me before, but I found a wall adapter that works! Since the Kensington Battery Pack works, I thought maybe its USB wall charger would work better than the iPod to use as a power supply for the V4L passthrough. So I tried plugging the passthrough into the Kensington wall adapter/charger and my passthrough works like it does on my computer and the Kensington battery pack! As far as I can tell, the iPod USB wall charger and the Kensington battery charger both have a 5 volt output. So I don't know why one works and the other doesn't. I don't really care, just as long as it works. I do care though if using it this way can cause any danger.
I have a new manual pass through from V4L. When I push the button down for a puff and release the button, it pops back up like it's suppoed to. BUT I heard a hissing sound and found the battery was still on and that I could take another puff. I have to unplug it to turn it off. I'm hoping someone has a fix I could try. As it was a gift from a V4L contest, a trouble ticket isn't happening. I just won't. But I'd like to fix it if possible. Any suggestions?
Maxwell....gift from a contest or not...we stand behind the product. If it's broke we'll replace. And that sounds broke!
Should I just send it back or do a trouble ticket? I hate to be a P.I.T.A.
- Status
