Expected life span for chargers?

[curiousJan]

I've recently had my original wall-plug charger and both my usb chargers stop charging. The original wall-plug was ~9 months old, and the usb chargers were ~6 months old.

I had some older batteries that began to not hold a charge around the same time, which have been replaced. I'm trying to use my new (~6 weeks ago) wall-plug and my PCCs to keep my charging rotation going and am having a hard time of it occasionally when I'm out and about (PCCs have a hard time getting a good charge into an XL in a reasonable time frame).

My question is this ... how long are chargers expected to last (either in months or charging cycles)?

With replacing batteries (and now potentially chargers) at such seemingly short intervals I'm wondering if I wouldn't be better off with my mod of choice to use with my V4L cartos and niquid ...

Anyone else experiencing such short charger life span?

TIA,
Jan

 

[jamvector]

Jan, have you tried cleaning the charger contacts? With them unplugged, use a Q tip dipped in isopropyl alcohol and clean the interior post contact. Allow to dry or spray dry with compressed air can, then try again. I have never experienced a charger failure, only intermittent contact problems I have been able to solve by cleaning.

 

[ChrisKY]

I have had several issues with chargers and batteries... I just saw your post as I finished putting in a ticket for a 2 week old XL manual and a 3 week old USB charger. I was charging my XL and noticed smoke coming from around the button and the charger where the battery connects.

My wife's wall charger went out Friday and it was under a month old and we have had to replace two auto batteries and a PCC. I am beginning to wonder if something is incompatible with newer batteries and chargers, since I see a lot of posts from people that have had batteries and chargers last for a year, but recently there seems to be issues.

Does anyone have any information from similar experiences? I am sure customer service will make everything right, but I am considering a mod myself for reliability. I really like V4L, but I am getting frustrated with the mechanical issues.

 

[JenJen]

Like most electrical devices, I am sure it varies. I have a wall charger that I have been using daily for over a year now - still working great. I have had one USB charger that crapped out after only a few uses, but for the most part, I have been pretty lucky with my batts and chargers.

 

[jamvector]

Wow, sad to hear of all these problems; I must be lucky I guess. To me, if the charger works initially, it should continue to work indefinitely if it is kept clean. There are no moving parts or major wear issues; sounds like a quality control problem at the factory. Defective items such as recently described should be caught much earlier in the manufacturing and QC cycle (if there is one I might add).

 

[Davo]

My wall charger is over a year old and has so far been great... used nearly every day. I have had 2 USB chargers croak, but they were also about a year old. Interestingly though, upon a forensic exam they both failed at the same point. There is a small chip on a circuit board inside that allowed smoke to escape.

Actually JamVector, there are moving parts, you just can't see them... electrons. And if too many get to moving to fast they tend to cause things to get hot and fail. Engineering problems... I would not want to ride in a Chinese made aircraft or spacecraft, (**#%^@, oh wait, they make all the electronics we use, yikes! I digress.

 

[jamvector]

I understand that very well, however the solid state chips and printed circuit board should not degrade if designed properly. The first lesson we teach our physics grad students is to "never let the smoke out"

 

[ChrisKY]

Customer service was fast & helpful as always... For that reason alone I am sticking V4L. There are still a lot of issue throughout the industry it seems, but Steve and his crew seem determined to work through the problems and stand by their products. I, personally, cannot really ask more than that. The first to brands I tried pretty much said I was out of luck when their product was garbage out of the box, so this is a breath of fresh air to me.

 

[JenJen]

Indeed! They stand behind their products above and beyond! Can't ask for more then that when it comes to electronics!

 

[curiousJan]

Jan, have you tried cleaning the charger contacts? With them unplugged, use a Q tip dipped in isopropyl alcohol and clean the interior post contact. Allow to dry or spray dry with compressed air can, then try again. I have never experienced a charger failure, only intermittent contact problems I have been able to solve by cleaning.

I have used a dry q-tip on one of the usb ones, and I did get a little bit of dark stuff on the cotton. The interior post contact seemed to move as I tried to clean ... is it supposed to/is that okay? I was afraid to get too aggressive with it, as stated I'm experiencing a shortage of chargers right now. Although in hindsight I should have just kept going 'cause it too has failed now.

These batteries and chargers are too used in my opinion to seek any replacement from V4L; I was just wondering if there were others who were having the same types of issues (i.e. indicative of either a design or manufacturing issue) or if this is a PBCAK (problem between chair and keyboard, for those non-geeks out there) type of problem.

I love V4L cartos and my favorite niquids (they've been my exclusive supplier for 9 of my almost 12 months of vaping), but if I can't get my battery/charger issues worked out I'll have to lose the lovely form-factor of their batteries in favor of a mod with greater longevity.

Jan

 

[curiousJan]

I am beginning to wonder if something is incompatible with newer batteries and chargers, since I see a lot of posts from people that have had batteries and chargers last for a year, but recently there seems to be issues.

Does anyone have any information from similar experiences?

If this could get a response from V4L personnel that would be wonderful, as I've been wondering myself if there's an incompatibility of some sort between older chargers and newer batteries that's starting to show itself.

Jan

 

[Luma]

Wall chargers are over a year old and still going good. Both usb charger have died tho. Kinda sucks cuz I use those usb chargers as extras when I travel in case my wall chargers go out.

 

[Adrenalynn]

An incompatibility would manifest in the battery, not the charger. The charger uses a chipset that is protected.

 

[Davo]

I understand that very well, however the solid state chips and printed circuit board should not degrade if designed properly. The first lesson we teach our physics grad students is to "never let the smoke out"

Totally agree... keyword here is "designed properly", if so then the smoke stays in. LOL Oh well we're still way ahead of the game here, I know I save a couple of grand... so what's a thingy here and there.

 

[jamvector]

Right on; I don't expect their product to be perfect as it is an emerging unregulated technology. Since the cartos are intended to be disposable after single use, I am WAY ahead of the game (using cartos well in excess of 20x each), which more than makes up for having to buy replacement Chinese electronic components such as chargers or batteries on occasion. No slight intended toward those who cringe at the extra cost to replace defective or short lived parts, but think how much you are saving over smoking analogs! Consider your health and overall well being, your family, friends, social aesthetics, you get to have your life back!