DSE601 Autopsy

[tinstar15]

My original 601 finally died. Wouldn't activate at all. So, I took a hammer and screwdriver and split the bowl the rest of the way. The innards seem pretty straight forward. The metal tube that the mouthpiece attaches to extends nearly all the way to the bottom of the bowl. It appears that they went to great efforts to seal the atty from the battery bowl, except for putting anything in there to block the two air intake holes beneath the atty switch. The next thing I noticed is that the switch is the same magnetic type that the dse701 cigars use. The white plastic battery compartment is glued with a white silicone glue to one side of the bowl.

I read somewhere that the wood was basically particle board or plywood composite. This one definitely isn't. Its a lightweight soft wood covered externally by acrylic. It was not covered internally at all. The wood is porous and, in my case, soaked up quite a bit of juice at the bottom of the bowl. The discoloration on the stem portion of the bowl appears to have been caused by excessive atty heat.

It appears well built and the atty looks pretty good considering the amount of use its seen. The only downside/weakness that I saw was a lack of a valve to prevent leakage into the bowl.

Hope this is useful.

 

[Parky50]

Hey tinstar,

After your autopsy... is there any apparent reason that the auto switch would stay on or self activate and stay on? This is happening to me and I'm trying to figure out what I can do to prevent it.

Thanks !!!

 

[tinstar15]

I just noticed that I forgot to mention the cause of death. Apparently at some point, juice leaked down into the magnetic switch area and eventually turned into some sort of sticky residue. This appears to have caused the switch to stick at some point which activated the atty and burned it out. I don't usually take out the battery when i'm finished so it probably fired up while I wasn't paying attention.

The magnetic switch connector is very tiny and has a very close tolerances. It doesn't take much to stick it in place from what I can see. I can't even think of an effective method of cleaning it either. At least no way to visually insure that it's clean since getting access to that area is a destructive act. The sticky residue is really tough to get off.

 

[Parky50]

Yeah, that sounds like what is happening to my 601 too.
Can you tell if there might be a way to remove the magnetic switch and install a manual somewhere in the bowl section. I really love the way it vapes and would like to find a permanent solution of some kind... I appreciate the "insight" as I might be looking at taking mine apart soon.

 

[tinstar15]

As far as the electronics are concerned, the adding of a manual bypass doesn't look particularly difficult if you have any skill. The problem comes in getting to the parts without destroying the wood bowl. I suppose that if you cut the wood apart and take all the inner parts out carefully you could re-install the parts into another similar size real pipe body, adding a radio-shack push switch in the process. The battery housing is the only inner part that isn't completely glued in. Even if you could get past the single side of glue, the wires attaching the atty housing to the battery housing are a pretty close length which keeps it from being removed far enough to get much access to them. The atty housing is really glued in tight and it would be a real pain to remove it.

For what it's worth, I was thinking of doing the same thing until I saw how big a pain it would be. I said screw it and decided that when my new one dies, I'll just buy another atty bowl.

I did find, playing around with the switch, that when the switch sticks, a flick to the side of the stem will jar it back loose easily enough.

 

[Parky50]

I see your point if it comes down to having to destroy the bowl/atty section then I too will just get another when the time comes. Thanks for all the info !!!

 

[BartS]

I am considering purchasing a 601. How long did yours last before the autopsy was performed?

 

[blackbug]

In my case I was glad to get from someone with a decent service record. My first died after two days, the second was DOA. The third however has been chain vaped daily like a disco fog machine since the middle of November as is still going strong. Way better after that time than a normal e-cig.

I plan to do some autopsies of my own on the dead units.

 

[BartS]

That is not good news blackbug. I am so looking forward to receiving this thing. I hope I do not have these issues. Was yours replaced by the supplier every time?

 

[blackbug]

That is not good news blackbug. I am so looking forward to receiving this thing. I hope I do not have these issues. Was yours replaced by the supplier every time?

Yeah replaced with no questions asked both times. I put it down to being unfortunate or the postmen playing football with the parcels or something. Because it is still going well with no drop off of vapour.

 

[tinstar15]

Mine lasted almost 4 months before dying. It took an insane level of abuse, dropped onto tile floor, not draining/cleaning it, etc. Used hard and almost exclusively for all but the last month or so.

My new one has been working quite well and will probably last longer since I learned all of the weak points with my first one.

 

[BartS]

Thanks Tinstar, this is better news. I already placed the order for mine, so I expect it within the next 4 to 5 days.

You mentioned the weak points. Are they listed on ECF some where?

 

[tinstar15]

I would guess that I'm probably not the first one to have problems with a specific PV but I do recall seeing something about weaknesses in the design in another post.

Basically, drain the pipe on occasion to keep the pipe from flooding the bottom of the bowl area. Modding the cart to improve flow/wick rate. Mixing the fluid to match the device. Modding the jewel cap to make it easier to open. These are a ones I did/do.

I originally modded a cart by drilling a tiny hole in the closed end. This allowed the juice to flow eassier and to use a toothpick to remove the cart without getting messy. For this one, I intend to use blue filter foam, a straw mod, and a slightly different viscosity juice. If it works I won't bother with the drilled hole mod.

I used a media blaster to rough up/texture the jewel cap. This made the cap easier to deal with and diffused the LED light better.

I now flip the pipe upside down on a paper towel after use to drain. I also picked up a nice pipe holder to reduce dropping and knocking over issues.

 

[BartS]

Thanks for the feedback. I just got my DSE-601. The vape is awesome. I just can not stop. How do you intend to change the viscosity of the juice? More Glycerin or vegetable glycerin? I am definitely going to take care of this thing best I can. It is awesome. I will see how it goes wit the jewel cap. How long is the battery life on it? How much do you vape?

 

[tinstar15]

I use mine relatively steady for about 2 to 5 hours every weekday and slightly more on the weekends. I usually find that the battery will last for around 6 or 7 hours of constant use. The spare is recharged long before I need it.

I use more VG in juices I intend to use in the pipe to thicken them up. I haven't had a chance to pick up the blue foam yet so I'm still using my original hole modded carts. I use a 50/50 mix of VG and PG with either a 5:1 ratio base to flavor mix for coffee, tobacco, menthol, or mint mixes, and a 4:1 ratio for fruits.

I'm gonna try to get some foam today and see how well that works.

 

[BartS]

I am really enjoying the DSE 601. I got it on Thursday night, and charged the battery for the prescribed 12 hours. I took it to work, and the battery lasted about 7 hours. I did some heavy vaping though. I think I got my Nicotine mix to low, so I sucked on it like a dummy. Today, I changed my mix, it seems better. Here in South Africa, we can only buy the E-Juice in High Meduim or Low. I think I diluted mine ‘n bit to much. Today I got some High, which is apparently about 24 mg. I cut it 2 (E-Juice) to 1 (PG/Glycerin) with 50/50 Glycerin and PG. This seems to do the thing. We do not have such a variant of flavors either. I have Cherry, Mint and Tobacco. I think I saw one or two others, but did not really interest me, so I can not remember. I want to get some from heaven-gifts. I would have to hang on a bit though, since I have been vaping for thee weeks now, and already spend over R 2000.00 (about $ 261.00) on PV’s and E-Juices. I must say though, that this DSE 601 is the best investment ever. I think I must invest in a backup device a.s.a.p. Just need to get the wife calmed down about the money that I already spend.

 

[Raenon]

I'd suggest getting some straight glycerine, flavors and high strength flavorless for pipe use. I found after using my 601 frequently I felt like I had to low nic content under 10mg and raise flavors above stock level.

It produces plumes of vapor, but it does weaken some of the flavor profiles. Have to admit, cherry-tobacco is my favorite flavor for the pipe, with a hint of chocolate. I mixed that up from tobacco absolute (a STRONG tobacco flavor extract also used in perfume, from Bulgaria), and Lorann's candy oils (which aren't oils at all, check the DIY forum for more details) into VG with a little pure grain alcohol to get the flavorings to mix.

There are some other threads in this forum documenting complete cleaning instructions, you should check around in order to get the most out of your device- and for the longest life. Since it's still new, you will hopefully avoid having to correct/repair mistakes by building on others' experience.

Most cleaning instructions will include a mix of draining, sopping up juice with paper towels, and sometimes carefully "rinsing" with distilled water or alcohol (please note, this is with drops at a time, not under running liquid please!)

Also, _when_ your jewel cap comes loose, reattach the retaining ring with superglue. Woodglue and other adhesives are broken down by eliquid and it's just frustrating. Super/krazy glue is the only stuff that seems to hold up to it.
If you get any cracking around the top of the bowl, I'd also recommend quickly drying and sealing the crack with superglue so it cannot spread. If you keep the bowl dry and limit excess liquid this should be kept to a minimum, however.

 

[BartS]

Thanks for this info Reanon. I am definitely going to look into upping the flavour in stead of upping the nicotine.

Regarding the maintenance of the PV, I do take at the battery and turn it up side down to drain, when going to sleep at night. I am defiantly also going to look into the “rinsing” method. I have been using the PV from Thursday, and I left it up side down last night on a paper towel. There was no liquid that drained from it. Does this mean that there was any, or am I just doing it wrong?

 

[Raenon]

Thanks for this info Reanon. I am definitely going to look into upping the flavour in stead of upping the nicotine.

Regarding the maintenance of the PV, I do take at the battery and turn it up side down to drain, when going to sleep at night. I am defiantly also going to look into the “rinsing” method. I have been using the PV from Thursday, and I left it up side down last night on a paper towel. There was no liquid that drained from it. Does this mean that there was any, or am I just doing it wrong?

If you're turning it with the bowl downwards, then there shouldn't have been anything draining out. I suggest putting a paper towel inside of a drinking cup and hanging it stem end downwards (or leaning inside) with the cartridge removed and the mouthpiece off. You might roll up a small section of paper towel and stuff that into the battery compartment if you notice any residue in there (small amounts will eventually collect under the spring and on the walls, easy to clean up).
Also, be sure not to exhale back into the mouthpiece if at all possible- the vapor is forced back into the bowl and re-condenses there. I believe this is one of the chief causes for liquid seepage.

As far as the rinsing- I basically use a dropper with alcohol (vodka works as well as pure grain alcohol) and drip that down into the atomizer wick. 5-6 drops, and quickly short the little square to the battery arm with a paperclip or screwdriver to activate the cleaning process. This will burn off residue first. You might have seen this process in the manual that came with your pipe, but they don't mention the alcohol first. I think it works better. I believe 8-10 seconds should do the trick. You can take a quick puff to see if any more vapor comes out, ideally you want it to basically go dry (but stop JUST at that point).

Uh, this is going to look and feel silly, but it does work, I promise.
Leave off the jewel cap and remove the battery. Drip 3-4 more drops into the atty, then blow into the bowl (this is where it feels weird, as the bowl is just not shaped well to get a good seal...) to force air out the stem, which should be hanging down into a papertowel in your hand to catch liquid that comes back out. I'd repeat that process with 3-4 drops of alcohol in maybe 4 cycles to basically remove the buildup. If you don't think you're using enough alcohol, you can try a few more drops at a time, but remember that you really need to get as much of that out again before you can reactivate, so don't go nuts.
I'd suggest letting it dry for at least an hour after this before you try to vape again, but now you're going to need to make sure you use a really fresh cartridge, or drip fresh eliquid onto the wick like it's a brand new pipe.

With any luck, it'll perform better than new


As always, I'm not responsible if you blow up your pipe, get attacked by dolphins, or encounter your evil-twin-with-a-beard. I'm just sharing what worked for me.

 

[BartS]

Thanks Reanon. Now I understand the Drip cleaning. I did something else last night. I took the battery out, took of the mouth peace, left the jewel cap on, took a rolled up a paper towel, and pushed it up to the atty. I then blew through the hole next to the jewel cap. I lot off juice came out onto the paper towel.

How often do you do the Vodka cleaning of the atty?

What other devices do you have, and is there anything else which compares well with the battery life and vapour production of the 601 e-pipe?