eGo-V Soft button repair / replacement?

[Cavediver]

So I bought one of these a few weeks ago: EGO-V 650mAh . I really like it, except for the STUPID rubber-band switch which is now broken. The hole for the button has a sharp edge which caused the band to split. For a time I was able to use it like that, but the button has finally separated from the band.

I've since found a few places that offer replacement bands for a dollar or less, but wonder if there's any point. Sure, it'll get the battery up and running again for a couple of weeks, but it's just going to happen again. And again. And...

So, have any of y'all managed to replace the band with a regular button, or come up with a different (permanent) repair solution, or am I stuck in a Groundhog Day loop?

 

[Salm12]

Hmm good question. I also got mine about a month ago and can feel the band starting to wear off. But my problem is with the display screen. It still moves the voltage up and down, but the screen only displays 3.8 volts for some reason.

 

[murphyramone]

I would pick up the cheap replacement part. If nothing else it would still be a back up or maybe someone you know will need one and you can pay it forward.

 

[Cavediver]

Hmm good question. I also got mine about a month ago and can feel the band starting to wear off. But my problem is with the display screen. It still moves the voltage up and down, but the screen only displays 3.8 volts for some reason.

Hmm. It may be the proper fix involves a hammer and anvil.

I would pick up the cheap replacement part. If nothing else it would still be a back up or maybe someone you know will need one and you can pay it forward.

Yeah, I'm definitely going to get a couple for now, I'm just hoping that someone has developed a long-term fix. If I don't find one, this thing may end up as an Altoids tin mod.

 

[murphyramone]

Hmm. It may be the proper fix involves a hammer and anvil.



Yeah, I'm definitely going to get a couple for now, I'm just hoping that someone has developed a long-term fix. If I don't find one, this thing may end up as an Altoids tin mod.

If you are going to have it apart maybe you can file/sand it down and fix the problem to. Its a pain when you buy something and have to repair it to make it the way its suposed to be but it happens.

 

[Cavediver]

If you are going to have it apart maybe you can file/sand it down and fix the problem to. Its a pain when you buy something and have to repair it to make it the way its suposed to be but it happens.

I've already taken care of the filing, but that's a patch at best. The basic design is flawed; breakage is a foregone conclusion.
Ah well, that's enough griping on my part.
I'm looking at a couple of replacement button ideas, but they're going to take me a while to execute. In the meantime, additional bands will probably have to do.

 

[Unforeseen]

Moved to Model Specific Discussion - eGo Type Models

 

[kjustinc]

Happened to me! I cut off about half centimetre off a disposable chopstick with a large kitchen knife and used about a half cm of white wide duct tape (can still see blue light through it). Works so well that I might not even put my replacement button on.

 

[Vaptor]

I hated that silicon button so much that I've replaced it withing 1st hour of use. I've just swapped the plastic button from cheap Ego. Fits perfect and the difference in feel in indescribable.

Here is how - Screw an old Kanger T3 base or something on the connector. Gently tighten the base in to a wise. Grab the ego and wiggle it from side to side till it gets loose. Remove from wise and do rest in hand. Pull apart, pull out the PCB about 2cm, put the button in and than reverse the process including the wise. I can't stress enough that you MUST BE GENTLE all the way through. If you're not good with fixing stuff, don't do this.

 

[Cavediver]

I decided to order a few replacement bands. Sweet-vapes.com and Hoosier have them in stock and ready to ship.

Happened to me! I cut off about half centimetre off a disposable chopstick with a large kitchen knife and used about a half cm of white wide duct tape (can still see blue light through it). Works so well that I might not even put my replacement button on.

Nice! I tried this last night as a temporary measure, but all of our chopsticks were way too thin. I'm going to scout around the office today for a possible substitute.

I hated that silicon button so much that I've replaced it withing 1st hour of use. I've just swapped the plastic button from cheap Ego. Fits perfect and the difference in feel in indescribable.

Here is how - Screw an old Kanger T3 base or something on the connector. Gently tighten the base in to a wise. Grab the ego and wiggle it from side to side till it gets loose. Remove from wise and do rest in hand. Pull apart, pull out the PCB about 2cm, put the button in and than reverse the process including the wise. I can't stress enough that you MUST BE GENTLE all the way through. If you're not good with fixing stuff, don't do this.

Dang! If I had thought this would work, I would have bought a couple of regular replacement buttons! The hole diameter is a bit larger on the eGo-v and I thought that would be a problem. Oh well, I guess I'll keep an eye out for a dead ego battery or a replacement button from one of my regular vendors. When I run through the 10 bands I bought ($0.25 each) I'll give this a shot. Thanks!

 

[440BB]

You might want to look around for a cheap pen with a rubberized grip that's fat enough to slide over the cap. I found an opaque one, cut it down, then just found a small nub that would sit in the button hole, sticking up a bit. With the right nub, possibly a piece of your broken part, you can get a tight fit that doesn't fire until you press it. That was my fix when my spinner button jammed and had to be ripped out.

 

[Cavediver]

You might want to look around for a cheap pen with a rubberized grip that's fat enough to slide over the cap. I found an opaque one, cut it down, then just found a small nub that would sit in the button hole, sticking up a bit. With the right nub, possibly a piece of your broken part, you can get a tight fit that doesn't fire until you press it. That was my fix when my spinner button jammed and had to be ripped out.

View attachment 223011View attachment 223008

I looked around for some small elastic-ish bands, but never considered cannibalizing a pen. Excellent idea!

 

[440BB]

Finding the right nub is the hard part - I ended up with a little rounded plastic piece from a hack e sack that my son took out to make it softer. A cut down piece of earaser might give you a good feel. It's actually better to use than the hard plastic original in a spinner. If you're not in a hurry you can probably cut it better than this and leave it looking pretty good too.

 

[xDervishx]

Wow, several great ideas for a fix. Thankful for the info!

 

[Cavediver]

Update:
I replaced the button band on June 24th. It's now July 9th and the button already has a good tear in it, same as before. I guess my efforts at smoothing out the hole were unsuccessful. I'm guessing I've got another four or five days until it splits and becomes unusable, so it's a good thing I bought 10 of 'em

 

[we2rcool]

I've run into the same *#(&$~! problem with my two knock-offs from Fasttech mislabelled as eGo-VV's (they have a puff counter, fwiw). The button-bands last less than 2 days before they start ripping, and there's no extras included. I got extras from smokincrow.com before I received them (yes, I have done this before) - and then I found this thread and saw they were only .25 cents from sweet-vapes.

I tried sanding the edges of the hole (it's too thin to sand effectively and remains so sharp it still rips the bands)
I tried applying rubber cement to inside of the rim; it comes off in a few days
I tried applying Elmers glue to the inside of the rim; it comes off in a few days
I tried applying Superglue to the inside of the rim; it comes off in a few days

None of the the glue above will repair the bands (Superglue worked best).

Two part epoxy would probably work, but I'm "all done glue"!

Ultimately, I'll probably rig something with a translucent piece of plastic shaped like a button (but I won't take the battery apart to put in an eGo button, cuz I'll likely kill the battery).

'A temporary fix that seems to be working...

Take 2 narrow pieces of scotch tape about the same width as the band, and tape them over the hole. Cut a very small hole out of the tape right over the button post (I used a safety pin and made little holes in the shape of a circle, then pulled it out with a tweezer). Put the normal button band back on over the tape, pushing the smaller end of the button through the small hole in the tape - then push until it lights. That causes a tiny bit of double layer scotch tape to go around the sharp edges of the rim, protecting the band.

'Don't know how long it will end up lasting (2 days so far). Next time I'll use clear duct tape instead of scotch tape (because duct tape'll fix anything :::grin::.