Bum Batch???

[Von Vape]

Well, it was bound to happen but that thought didn't lighten the disappointment.

I was SO looking forward to vaping Kangertech's new CLAPTON COILS and ordered 3 - five packs! GREAT reviews, Kanthal "Clapton" style wire, Organic Japanese Cotton, GREAT Flavor, better "Cloud" production (Meeehhh, not my goal but what the heck) and a fantastic new DIY juice all ready to go.

Sunday afternoon comes and the old head had been in the tank for two full weeks. "OH BOY! The moment has arrived!" My mind was racing, imagining an even BETTER vaping experience than I was already experiencing with my Subvod. I popped open the first box and screwed in a brand new, primed, CLAPTON .5 ohm head in my freshly washed tank. "OH MAN! THIS IS GOING TO TASTE SOOOOOO GOOOOODDD!!!" I clicked the button 5 times to turn the fully charged battery on, then hit the button once, quickly, to "test fire" it ..... CRAP! 3 flashes from the button! Another "test fire". NOPE! 3 more flashes! Okay, well it happens, right, just try another one. Same process, prime, screw it into an OFF battery/deck, test fire, 3 FLASHES AGAIN! FINE! I'll hold the button down for more than a nano second and see if it will "take". NOPE! 3 flashes AGAIN! This process was repeated through ALL 5 NEW coils/heads and the result was ALWAYS the same! 3 flashes - BUM HEADS!!! By this point I was so disappointed that I wasn't about to open the other TEN heads, hoping to be able to at least return them.

Fortunately I still had 3 - NC .5 ohm, SSOCC heads and tossed one of those on board. NOPE! Another bum head! #2, NOPE! Finally, the third time was the charm but now our "stock pile" of heads no longer exists! We're left with ONE 5 pack of "originals" and who knows how many (if any) of those heads are functional.............. In the past 80+ days since we started vaping, we've had one or two of the 5 coils/heads be "bummers" right out of the box, but ALL 5 and then THREE more out of the "original" 5 pack!?!?!? (The first one out of that pack was bad, the second was the one I was TRYING to replace .)

Am I doing something wrong here or has anyone else had this high of a failure rate with Kangertech's coils/heads? These are "Authentic" Kangertech coils with the little card, I-phone registration label, the whole nine, not cheepo knock offs. I/we REALLY DO want to try out the Clapton style coils/heads, they just sound like they'd be so much better. I just don't want to flush another $40 down the toilet.

Any thoughts???

Thanks in advance ,
Von Vape

 

[Topwater Elvis]

I'd try the new heads on a different power device.

The 3 flashes is telling you something isn't making proper connection or the resistance is too low/amp demand too high for the power device you're using.
Thoroughly clean the 510 connection, make sure the power device center pin is making solid connection with the delivery device pin.
Make sure the head is fully seated in the base.

 

[K_Tech]

I'd try the new heads on a different power device.

This. Although there are bad coils out there, if I had that many failures in a row, I'd start checking things out on another device just to make sure.

 

[Von Vape]

Thanks for both /all suggestions. I sincerely appreciate it.

I did start with a freshly cleaned tank, cleaned connections, fully charged battery (green light ) battery off, installed deck, installed primed coil(s), insured everything was screwed on TIGHTLY, turned battery to "On", test fired, got the 3 flash "indication", removed deck & coil as a unit, turned battery to off (can't do that with the "bum coil" in place) reinstalled deck w/o coil, insured it was properly seated, reinstalled coil also making sure it was properly seated, back to "On", "test fire", 3 flashes, disassembled again and repeated process five times . When I went to "the stash", two MORE "original coils" also "failed". That made 3 of the five in THAT pack . HOLY COW!!! I mean, I've always known I'm just one of those people who seems to have a rain cloud follow him around, BUT DANG!!!

The Subvod is less than 90 days old and has been working fine and is again now that I've got a coil in it that fires. My wife has a duplicate Subvod that is a couple of weeks newer and I will DEFINITELY be re-trying the "seemingly" bum coils on her device when she gets home.

I REALLY DO appreciate the advice guys! I'll keep you posted on the device switch results .

Thanks Again!
Von Vape

 

[K_Tech]

That really is disappointing, I am glad you're back to vaping, tho. Yes, please, update later when you can, I'm curious to see how things turn out!

 

[Completely Average]

It's possible that your Subvod is misreading the coil resistance.

The minimum ohms a subvod will fire is .4ohms. You're using .5ohm coils. If the Subvod is just .11ohms off on it's reading it won't fire the coil and will flash 3 times instead. Prefab coils are rarely exactly what is advertised, and it's not unusual for a .5ohm coil to really be .51 or .52 which would still fire in your mod, but if it's .49ohms and your Subvod is .1ohms off on it's reading it will not fire the coil. That may be what is happening.

In fact I would find that far more likely than having an entire pack of coils that are all bad.

 

[Steamix]

If it don't work on the missus' mod/tank either, ( ensuring it'S the coil and not your mod) you certainly got a bone to pick with whoever you ordered it from, DOA clause or not. A dud every now and then is tolerable. Like not firing at all or conking out on me after just one or two refills. Had those too - just like any other fellow vaper, I reckon. But wading through spare coils like there's no tomorrow - I think the supplier needs to know about it.

 

[Robert Cromwell]

It's possible that your Subvod is misreading the coil resistance.

The minimum ohms a subvod will fire is .4ohms. You're using .5ohm coils. If the Subvod is just .11ohms off on it's reading it won't fire the coil and will flash 3 times instead. Prefab coils are rarely exactly what is advertised, and it's not unusual for a .5ohm coil to really be .51 or .52 which would still fire in your mod, but if it's .49ohms and your Subvod is .1ohms off on it's reading it will not fire the coil. That may be what is happening.

In fact I would find that far more likely than having an entire pack of coils that are all bad.

THIS.

 

[Von Vape]

It's possible that your Subvod is misreading the coil resistance.

The minimum ohms a subvod will fire is .4ohms. You're using .5ohm coils. If the Subvod is just .11ohms off on it's reading it won't fire the coil and will flash 3 times instead. Prefab coils are rarely exactly what is advertised, and it's not unusual for a .5ohm coil to really be .51 or .52 which would still fire in your mod, but if it's .49ohms and your Subvod is .1ohms off on it's reading it will not fire the coil. That may be what is happening.

In fact I would find that far more likely than having an entire pack of coils that are all bad.

THIS.

Thank you BOTH. This makes as perfect sense as it can to someone who knows very little about the inner workings of even these "Idiot proof" devices .
If this is the case (and I DO suspect you're on to something here) is there any way to "test" my device for "reading accuracy"?

I do intend to get us some back up/replacement devices but haven't as yet. (I know, I know, "Foolish newbie!" ) As stated, I'm trying to keep this as simple as possible but if I'm going to end up with devices that are reading the signals in error and there's no way to test for that, maybe I should get "schooled up" on ohms law and take the plunge into RBA/RDA, mods & making my own coils. It's just kind of scary because I'm not the brightest bulb in the pack when it comes to "leg-tricity" and we've never exactly been "the best of friends" .

You see it here on the board a lot, there's just some people who probably SHOULDN'T be building their own mods & coils. I may be one of those people .

Wifey's home now and we'll do the device swap in a bit, then I'll be back with an update. Everybody's input is sincerely appreciated, thank you all.

Von Vape

 

[crxess]

If this is the case (and I DO suspect you're on to something here) is there any way to "test" my device for "reading accuracy"?

No, what you have is a simi Mechanical device with a minimal feature protect circuit and no display.

A simple Ohm meter could answer your question by comparing resistance of a known working low ohm coil against a known non-firing Clapton coil.

 

[Von Vape]

7:15 A.S.T. (An hour earlier than P.S.T.)
I am reasonably sure @Completely and @Robert were SPOT ON!!! THANK YOU BOTH & All!!!

We tried every single "failed" coil in my wife's device and they ALL worked just fine (with a "test fire" anyway). We left one of the Claptons in her Subvod and I must say, it's a nice vape! Now my back up/replacement schedule has been sped up. Any thoughts or recommendations, keeping in mind we'd like to stick with tube/ego/clearo devices to keep it simple. The Subvod Mega is appealing with it's temp control and larger battery but I'm open to suggestions.

Thanks again EVERYBODY!!! I consider this a WIN for "The Team"!!! (And the crowd goes wild ... Haaahahhaaaaah!!!!)

Von Vape

 

[daviedog]

Buy an ohm meter, you'll need one anyway.
Since your device reads low (erroneously) you may salvage your current device by using higher ohm coils..

 

[Robert Cromwell]

7:15 A.S.T. (An hour earlier than P.S.T.)
I am reasonably sure @Completely and @Robert were SPOT ON!!! THANK YOU BOTH & All!!!

We tried every single "failed" coil in my wife's device and they ALL worked just fine (with a "test fire" anyway). We left one of the Claptons in her Subvod and I must say, it's a nice vape! Now my back up/replacement schedule has been sped up. Any thoughts or recommendations, keeping in mind we'd like to stick with tube/ego/clearo devices to keep it simple. The Subvod Mega is appealing with it's temp control and larger battery but I'm open to suggestions.

Thanks again EVERYBODY!!! I consider this a WIN for "The Team"!!! (And the crowd goes wild ... Haaahahhaaaaah!!!!)

Von Vape

Try this. Simple unregulated tube mod with protection features and built in battery. Fires down to .3 and only $8.
$29-39 elsewhere. They also have the changeable battery version for same price.
Aspire CF Sub oHm MOD

 

[Von Vape]

Buy an ohm meter, you'll need one anyway.
Since your device reads low (erroneously) you may salvage your current device by using higher ohm coils..

Thanks @daviedog. Ya, I really should take this a little more seriously and get "geared up & schooled up". It's not "rocket surgery" as many have said. As a newbie just starting out, trying to (and 100% successfully I might add) quit & stay off of the stinks the easiest way possible is/was our primary goal. Now that we're nearly 90 days in ( ) it's probably time to get more involved in the whole "process". One thing's for sure, we're NOT going back to "The Stinkies"!!!

Try this. Simple unregulated tube mod with protection features and built in battery. Fires down to .3 and only $8.
$29-39 elsewhere. They also have the changeable battery version for same price.
Aspire CF Sub oHm MOD

WOW!!! HOLY COW!!! MAN OH MAN!!! Thank YOU for that tip!!! Gonna go check that out RIGHT NOW!!! Thanks again @Robert Cromwell!!!!!

Cheers!
Von

 

[daviedog]

New hat becomes old hat.
Sooner than you think..

 

[Von Vape]

That is SO true!