Field Trip Meets Serial Batt Killer

[JustaGuy]

Took my PVs out on a trip today - two Rivas, plenty of attys, plenty of juice in my brand new eGo carrying case. I was .

Placed an assembled Riva, which I was vaping before getting in the car, fully charged, in the upper compartment of the center console, to be used while driving, even took a few hits on the road.

Then, the Riva batt died. Pressed the button, nothing. Took the atty off, 3 blinks and LED on permanently. Put an atty back on, LED off. Good thing I brought a second batt, which promptly fell into the gap by the driver seat while I was going 70 miles an hour.

I did manage to get the att on a second Riva, still nothing, but batt survived.

Limped home figuratively, tried the atty from the dead Riva on a 510 batt and it died. Both batts smelled of burned plastic inside, no visible appearance. I believe both circuit boards fried.

This was the first time I took my PVs on the road and the first batts lost ever. And it was an EM 510 Atty that came with the kit that did it. I knew they were flimsy, but...




p.s. What to do with a Riva batt whose LED is always on?

 

[donnah]

I love the riva batts but I've had this problem also. They seem to be finicky and flighty. I've had 2 (of 2) do this. As much as I liked them I don't know if I'll buy another one. Now my friend has had one for awhile and has had no problems like this and many others have used theirs for months. My eGo batts are going on a year old and still chugging along with no problems. I use bottom feeder box mods now for the most part but I do still love my ego with a 1.7 resurrector and when these egos finally die I'll get more instead of a riva batt.

If both of your rivas died with the same atty.. I would suspect the atty.

 

[JustaGuy]

I love the riva batts but I've had this problem also. They seem to be finicky and flighty. I've had 2 (of 2) do this. As much as I liked them I don't know if I'll buy another one. Now my friend has had one for awhile and has had no problems like this and many others have used theirs for months. My eGo batts are going on a year old and still chugging along with no problems. I use bottom feeder box mods now for the most part but I do still love my ego with a 1.7 resurrector and when these egos finally die I'll get more instead of a riva batt.

If both of your rivas died with the same atty.. I would suspect the atty.

The atty is toast, along with other kit atty and replacement (3 total, all dead). Junk. Too bad, I liked the vape they gave.

 

[DaveP]

Yours is probably toast, as you said, from reading the checks you made and the results to had, but there is a failure mode that almost parallels yours. I've included it and the fix below for other who may have a problem. After fixing mine, they've been working fine for months. I still have one Ego batt from 1 1/2 years ago and 2 from a year ago that are still good.

For those who have had failures on one atty but not all ... below.

You might check the atty with an ohmmeter. If it's in the 1.5 - 3.something range, it's probably not fried. Look at the center post on the atty you had problems with. It should protrude slightly and not be flush with the outer ring. The idea is that the outer ring connects to one pole of the battery through the threads and the inner ring only touches the center conductor in the battery. Somehow, if the center conductor on the atty is pushed back, it can create a short by the outer ring touching the center post of the battery.

I had a brand new Riva kit that did that. The giveaway symptom was that it didn't work with two batteries. It's easy to tighten the atty a little too tight and press the center contact up into the atty. That lets the outer ring on the atty touch the center post on the battery.

The Fix: Straighten out a jumbo paper clip and make a tiny L or hook on the end that will fit into the hole in the center of the attys battery end. Insert and pull slowly until you see the center post begin to emerge. You only need to create a small ledge between the center contact and the outer ring. If that's the problem, then you should be back in business.

A quick check is to try an atty that works fine on another ecig battery. You may only have the two batteries, though.

 

[base234]

If both of your rivas died with the same atty.. I would suspect the atty.

So would I.

 

[Vitolo]

Hard lesson to learn. It is hard to choose an appropriate order to test with when troubleshooting!
All that at once sounds almost like the company installed some type of "planned retirement" chip in all parts so they would take themselves out of service at around the same time (conspiracy theory)
Best Battery I have.. I got at MadVapes, in the bargain bin. I bought a half dozen for friends. I got two for me.. (1 for me 1 for wife)..... Bargain Bin 900maH battery. They are great... and even though sold out right now, you can get on the waiting list. (for 9.95, why not?)

 

[JustaGuy]

You might check the atty with an ohmmeter. If it's in the 1.5 - 3.something range, it's probably not fried. Look at the center post on the atty you had problems with. It should protrude slightly and not be flush with the outer ring. The idea is that the outer ring connects to one pole of the battery through the threads and the inner ring only touches the center conductor in the battery. Somehow, if the center conductor on the atty is pushed back, it can create a short by the outer ring touching the center post of the battery.

I had a brand new Riva kit that did that. The giveaway symptom was that it didn't work with two batteries. It's easy to tighten the atty a little too tight and press the center contact up into the atty. That lets the outer ring on the atty touch the center post on the battery.

The Fix: Straighten out a jumbo paper clip and make a tiny L or hook on the end that will fit into the hole in the center of the attys battery end. Insert and pull slowly until you see the center post begin to emerge. You only need to create a small ledge between the center contact and the outer ring. If that's the problem, then you should be back in business.

A quick check is to try an atty that works fine on another ecig battery. You may only have the two batteries, though.

Thanks, Dave. Yes, I've heard about lifting the center contact. My 2nd Riva is working fine with Joye attys. After frying the Riva and a Joye 510 batt, I'm afraid to chance that EM atty on another batt. I'll run out of batts if I try to save that atty.

There's something funky going on with that atty, since it fried a Riva and a Joye batt.

 

[JustaGuy]

So would I.

Yes, that atty is the spawn from hell. It's going in the trash and it's taking two batts with it.

 

[JustaGuy]

Hard lesson to learn. It is hard to choose an appropriate order to test with when troubleshooting!
All that at once sounds almost like the company installed some type of "planned retirement" chip in all parts so they would take themselves out of service at around the same time (conspiracy theory)
Best Battery I have.. I got at MadVapes, in the bargain bin. I bought a half dozen for friends. I got two for me.. (1 for me 1 for wife)..... Bargain Bin 900maH battery. They are great... and even though sold out right now, you can get on the waiting list. (for 9.95, why not?)

Three things, Vitolo, buddy.

1. The Riva batt is 3 days past warranty.
2. I've looked at the Madvapes Smoktech 900 mAh batt. They do have center contact issue.
3. I was also thinking about an e-power kit, $5 batt replacement thereafter, just didn't think I'd need it so soon.

Thanks for the ideas.

 

[DaveP]

I agree. I edited my post after going back and re-reading yours. I jumped on the part about the same atty frying an Ego batt.

I had one Ego do that about a year ago when it was 6 months old. The LED stayed on. I screwed on an old mega atty for some leverage and pulled back and forth and popped out the threaded end. There's a Mosfet chip on a little board. It was fried. The actual battery cell was OK, but I trash canned it.

People blame it on low resistance atomizers pulling too much current. I haven't seen the specs on the MOSFET but high current will almost always let the smoke out of a chip! And there are bad parts in every batch.

 

[hairball]

Now you know why I don't care for atty's. I only have a handful to test flavors. Also, another reason I use mods instead of proprietary batteries...it's cheaper to replace the battery in the event of a meltdown (short). I test all atty's on a really old ego battery before it hits anything I own. If it kills the ego, then I'm not out anything. The ego has had plenty of runtime in it's life. Toss that atty immediately.

 

[JustaGuy]

I agree. I edited my post after going back and re-reading yours. I jumped on the part about the same atty frying an Ego batt.

I had one Ego do that about a year ago when it was 6 months old. The LED stayed on. I screwed on an old mega atty for some leverage and pulled back and forth and popped out the threaded end. There's a Mosfet chip on a little board. It was fried. The actual battery cell was OK, but I trash canned it.

People blame it on low resistance atomizers pulling too much current. I haven't seen the specs on the MOSFET but high current will almost always let the smoke out of a chip! And there are bad parts in every batch.

These EM 510 attys came with the Riva kit! They're 2.0 - 2.3 ohms according to Liberty Flights. The only clue I had it was fried was the heavy plastic/silicon/wiring smell. The mini 510 batt got real hot, then death.

 

[JustaGuy]

Now you know why I don't care for atty's. I only have a handful to test flavors. Also, another reason I use mods instead of proprietary batteries...it's cheaper to replace the battery in the event of a meltdown (short). I test all atty's on a really old ego battery before it hits anything I own. If it kills the ego, then I'm not out anything. The ego has had plenty of runtime in it's life. Toss that atty immediately.

I'm not sure what's better, in the trash can or onto some alter as sacrifice to the vaping gods, the junkyard of PV pieces, but it'd be too painful to be reminded. I won't forget that chemical burning smell for a long time.

As I was saying, my next experiment would have been the e-power, just didn't think it'd be this quick.

 

[JustaGuy]

A quick check is to try an atty that works fine on another ecig battery. You may only have the two batteries, though.

Yep, did that, different batts, different attys. That Riva AND Joye 510 are toast.

 

[LauraBolyard]

THATS IT!!! I had no idea!! I was just about to send you one of my epowers toTRY, now Im sending you the new riva too. You can decide if you want one, none, whatever... Im sooo sorry!! That REALLY stinks!! Heading to the P.O. tomorrow!!

 

[JustaGuy]

THATS IT!!! I had no idea!! I was just about to send you one of my epowers toTRY, now Im sending you the new riva too. You can decide if you want one, none, whatever... Im sooo sorry!! That REALLY stinks!! Heading to the P.O. tomorrow!!

I just PMed you back, talking to you in stereo (multiple windows).

Don't send me anything you want back! I'm keeping...and let me know how much, please! I only figured you had too many kits and I'm killing batts in a hurry.

Yah, I had a bad day. But you and other buddies are coming through! Thank you.

 

[JD1]

......As I was saying, my next experiment would have been the e-power, just didn't think it'd be this quick.

Wow, bad news all piled up one after the other. My sympathies.

Me loves me e-power, but take a look at the kgo (slb ego clone). Here's why. hoosierecigsupply.com 1100mAh eGo battery whips AW 18650 IMR - YouTube

I feel that measured over a period of time, the e-power is saving me money, and I've had no problems with mine at all. The switch is being redesigned so supplies are limited at places, and I suggest an e-mail first to make sure you're getting the latest and greatest.

The thing is, those kgo batts are more compact, hit a little harder than the e-power, and may be worth the few extra dollars over their lifetime of use. Good luck and happy vaping.

 

[LauraBolyard]

Thank you! This explains why I am slightly less impressed with epowers than Rivas. So its not my imagination! Also the reason I like riva better than ego. Guy, ALSO the reason I insist that you try before you buy!!! I have 2 1860's, one performs better than the other in that the button doesnt shut off too soon. Must have been different models/versions. Im obviously sending the one with longer button time!

 

[JustaGuy]

Wow, bad news all piled up one after the other. My sympathies.

Me loves me e-power, but take a look at the kgo (slb ego clone). Here's why. hoosierecigsupply.com 1100mAh eGo battery whips AW 18650 IMR - YouTube

I feel that measured over a period of time, the e-power is saving me money, and I've had no problems with mine at all. The switch is being redesigned so supplies are limited at places, and I suggest an e-mail first to make sure you're getting the latest and greatest.

The thing is, those kgo batts are more compact, hit a little harder than the e-power, and may be worth the few extra dollars over their lifetime of use. Good luck and happy vaping.

But wait, there's more! The package I sent another ECFer came back "returned to sender", they wanted more postage. And, I got jury duty next week. But, one day at a time. I can't go faster or slower.

Thanks for the suggestion and sympathies. Good to know. I don't think I need a harder hit, was only looking at e-power to save on batt costs, $5 vs $12 - $15 per eGo/Riva. The e-power switch and casing/thread would wear out over time and still have to be replaced anyway, whereas the eGo/Riva is disposable after months/year. Ah, the fun...

Yes, happy vaping!

 

[Vermonster13]

Get a Silver Bullet or other mechanical mod JAG. If you're serious get a VV mod. Spend more now for better vape and longer term happiness.