Hey everyone. I'm just looking for some confidence. I got a REO back in 2011 and I absolutely loved it. It was my first and only mod. I loved it so much, I bought a second one just for the hell of it. It worked perfect for a long time, and that fear I had of batteries exploding and getting electrocuted all disappeared to the background after a short while. So one day, I decide to kick off the day with a vape session and then......kerplunk.......nothing. I check the battery in the top is sunken in and the "connector" (you must forgive me, I never was good at mod jargon) won't touch a new battery. So, my heart racing, feeling as if I just dodged a bullet, I reached for my other mod just thinking this may have been a fluke incident. So I put a new battery in my other grand, same atomizer, and......kerplunk.......same thing happens. Now I am thoroughly devastated and also terrified to try again, even after so much time has passed. My suspicion is that the atomizer I was using was causing a short and was bad. Alas, I never mentioned it at the time, and it was just as well since I couldn't vape all that much due to being diagnosed with testicular cancer literally a month after getting my REO and due to this one particularly nasty chemo drug that scorches the lungs, my oncologist recommended I cut back on the vaping because of that drug. Otherwise he had no issue with my vaping btw. I however found myself stealing vape sessions every few days which on one of those I experienced my issue. On a side note, in case anyone is wondering, vaping did not cause my cancer as my cancer has literally no known cause and is an utter crapshoot. Also, I had been vaping since 2009 and when I got my pulmonary embolism test before chemo (to see if my lungs could handle this one nasty drug) which tests my lung function my lungs were found to be in incredible working order. So in essence, has anyone had my issue happen to them before? And I am seriously dying to pull the trigger on buying a new REO and because I LOVED it so much. For the record, I was using chem safe batteries, but that event really shook me up and not to mention it was definitely rough watching my 2 beloved REOs go down inside of a minute. I'm pretty sure it was the atomizer, and I forget which one I was using but I wasn't using any adapters or anything crazy. I am a careful vaper, and only used atty's that were approved for the unit.
Gun Shy
- Thread starter Furius
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Hi Furius 
Welcome back.
Your assumption is correct. The atty shorted your mod, then you made the unfortunate choice to put it on the other one. So both springs collapsed....which is exactly what they are supposed to do in the event of a short. When they collapsed, the batteries dropped away from the positive battery contact and voila....no more power, no more short. So, you're good, no bullets to dodge. The mod worked as designed and you were never in any danger.
There are a few things you can do down the road to help you feel more confident. You can keep a meter handy and test your atties before you put them on your device. This doesn't always tell the tale, but it does help. If the spring collapse freaked you out, you can try using something like this. It will stop the spring from collapsing, but your mod will just stop working in the event of a short. And most importantly, if this happens again, be sure to take the atty off and if you don't toss it right away, at least mark it so you know not to put it back on your mod.
I'm very sorry to hear of your diagnosis...I'm sure that has been a terrifying ordeal. Hoping things are better and you're well on your way to enjoying a very long and healthy life.
Welcome back.Your assumption is correct. The atty shorted your mod, then you made the unfortunate choice to put it on the other one. So both springs collapsed....which is exactly what they are supposed to do in the event of a short. When they collapsed, the batteries dropped away from the positive battery contact and voila....no more power, no more short. So, you're good, no bullets to dodge. The mod worked as designed and you were never in any danger.
There are a few things you can do down the road to help you feel more confident. You can keep a meter handy and test your atties before you put them on your device. This doesn't always tell the tale, but it does help. If the spring collapse freaked you out, you can try using something like this. It will stop the spring from collapsing, but your mod will just stop working in the event of a short. And most importantly, if this happens again, be sure to take the atty off and if you don't toss it right away, at least mark it so you know not to put it back on your mod.
I'm very sorry to hear of your diagnosis...I'm sure that has been a terrifying ordeal. Hoping things are better and you're well on your way to enjoying a very long and healthy life.
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Wait. Do you still have those Grands? Because if you do, you know they can be fixed. If you're handy, you can buy the repair kit and do it yourself, or you can send them in and Rob can repair them.
Furius, you just had some incredibly bad luck all at one time, and I'm SURE it was the atty, too....especially since it shorted both REOs the minute you put it on. The REOs are very safe mods. The safety feature.....the spring that drops the battery away from the firing mechanism...worked perfectly in both REOs. That should ease your mind. The REO is safe. And with the safe chemistry batteries we use (AW IMR) there's nothing to worry about.
The way to avoid having a bad atty short out your mod is to test it with an ohms meter. Easy peasy. I use nothing but REOs and although I've had a spring collapse, I'm totally confident that they are safe and I have no fear whatsoever about vaping with them. I think you own it to yourself to get one. You can order an extra spring and change it out yourself if anything like that should happen again.
Good luck with your decision. I wish you had come on here and discussed it at the time. I think the people here could have saved you a lot of worry.
Jan
The way to avoid having a bad atty short out your mod is to test it with an ohms meter. Easy peasy. I use nothing but REOs and although I've had a spring collapse, I'm totally confident that they are safe and I have no fear whatsoever about vaping with them. I think you own it to yourself to get one. You can order an extra spring and change it out yourself if anything like that should happen again.
Good luck with your decision. I wish you had come on here and discussed it at the time. I think the people here could have saved you a lot of worry.
Jan
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Hey thanks! Great info. And its good to have a testament that both my REOs fail safes worked to keep anything bad from going down. And thanks for your thoughts too. I've been clean since January of 2012. I think the medical industry is starting to get with it on the vaping. At first my team of doctors looked at me like I had a dragon head when I asked if I could vape during treatment. Now since I was assigned a new oncologist, she asked me if I smoked as I guess my file was a tad.....unclear, lol. And I told her I vaped and she says, "Oh good". I was shocked at that reaction. Cancer at 27 does suck, but looking back, I think I am all the better for it. It was really annoying though having some people try and pin it on the vaping as it was the only unique thing that I do. None of my doctors made any connection to vaping at all and I was treated at a very well known cancer hospital. It was all these know nothing people in my life trying to play "House". If they had bothered to do any research, they would have seen that my cancer has zero known lifestyle causes and a tad genetic connection at best.
I think I have one of my grands tucked away. That is a great idea! My original grand got run over in Hurricane Irene (jeez what a crappy year) the night before my surgery. Only the door bent because it slid down the door when it was run over, but the body didn't give at all, there was no destroying that thing.
All clear is great news!! And having doctors supporting you is fantastic. I'm seeing more and more posts about doctors that are being supportive.
The door can be replaced too!...if you still have the grand
Ya...these things are tough. I've only seen one that probably would never work again, but I think it had been run over by several big rigs and dragged under a tire for a very long ways on a highway.Thanks! I do still have both bodies, I just checked. I think I will definitely give a repair a whirl. Oh I would love to resurrect these babies. The REO is my favorite. There is nothing like this build quality and I can just feel the care that went into each one.
Good....these are not a small investment....so it's best to repair them when needed. You can contact Rob via PM if you have any specific questions (redeyedancer). When you send them in, be sure you include a note with your name, phone number, email address and return address. Just make sure you ship them with no batteries and no juice. I have no doubt that they're already empty, but this is for anyone else who may read this.
Here is the address:
Reosmods, LLC
120 Ida Jim Rd
Alfred, ME 04002
I'm up way past my bedtime, so I'll leave you to it. Have a great night, Furius
You can contact Rob via PM if you have any specific questions (redeyedancer). When you send them in, be sure you include a note with your name, phone number, email address and return address. Just make sure you ship them with no batteries and no juice. I have no doubt that they're already empty, but this is for anyone else who may read this.Here is the address:
Reosmods, LLC
120 Ida Jim Rd
Alfred, ME 04002
I'm up way past my bedtime, so I'll leave you to it. Have a great night, Furius
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Furius... I actually had the same thing happen and all I did was order new springs and used the CORRECT wire. Hubs bought beading wire thinking it was all the same... it is clearly NOT!! I am THRILLED that you are clean now, it must have been a scary frustrating time in your life. Big Hugz!! and yes, please invest in a meter, home depot has some cheapies for $20, nothing fancy but it gets the job done
sounds to me like you just need new springs. If the spring has an allen key holding it in then I think a .5mm allen wrench is needed. Newer ones use a Phillips head.
Marvin (sennie) was talking about wire used in a rebuidable atomizer (RBA) . If all you've done to your Reo is pop some springs i think all you need to do is order a couple of them and install them. Meter for shorts your attys before you mount them and you should be good to go.
Furius, we're all into the rebuildable atomizers these days.....and she's talking about the resistance wire you get to use as a coil. She got the wrong kind and it immediately shorted her REO out....so she had to replace the spring.
For sure with the one that wasn't mangled in the hurricane, all you need to do is replace the spring with a $4 part. The other one, you should PM redeyedancer and see if he has a door that would replace the door that got messed up.....and the spring. You have about $300 worth of equipment there just wasting away. For shame.
Given the age of his Reos, it might be a good idea to send them in for a thorough tune up...replace the gaskets, tubing and what not. Yes, it will cost a little more than doing the repairs himself, but in the end, when he gets them back, they'll be good as new.
This is why I love this board. You guys got all the angles covered. My second Grand only was used for about a week before the short and is in pretty fantastic condition. My first Grand however got tons of use, has battle wounds from a hurricane where it was out in a huge puddle overnight collecting all kinds of gunk, and not to mention my liquid gunk. So I think I will send the original in and give my second one a shot. I do so want my original fixed up though.......after all we've been through together......lol.
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