I really really need to vent...

[ChipHead]

Disclaimer: I am not here to slam LF. Their customer service and prices have been exceptional. I have talked with TY close to a dozen times and he has always been prompt and courteous and has worked diligently to help solve my issues. I just sent the following email to TY this morning:

ARRRRGGGGGHHHHHH................I am absolutely beside myself right now. I'm ready to take this RIVA kit and drive over it with my car several times then take it out to the woods and use it for target practice. Then I want to drive over it again with my car. Then I want to douse it in gasoline and light it on fire.
I get up this morning and put my morning carto in the new replacement battery that I received from you a couple of days ago. Right away I get a flashing switch LED indicating it needs a recharge. That's weird, I just took this off the charger last night and I think I've only got a couple of hours on it. No big, I put it aside and think I'll get it on the charger as soon as I get into the office. So I grab one of the original two batteries that came with the kit and screw my morning carto into it. Of course this is the battery that is possessed. LF in sending me another replacement. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. First couple of hits I get nothing. I'm getting cranky now. Got my morning coffee in front of me, I want a vape and I have to get out the door to get going to work. So I screw around with the battery and carto until it starts working. Put the cone on and it stops working. ARRRGGGGHHHHH! Take the cone off. Still won't work. Screw with the carto and battery for 5 minutes. Got it working. Put the cone on. Stops working. My blood pressure is going up! Take the cone off, muck around, get it working, find if I put the cone half way on it still works. OK, I need to get to work. Halfway to work it stops working. .... with it while driving until I get it working. My day is not shaping up to well. Get to work, put the brand new replacement battery on the charger and the charger light goes instantly green. WTF!!! Take it off, put a carto on it, two puffs and the LED flashes indicating it needs a charge. Take the carto off, clean the threads on the battery and charger, plug the battery in and it goes instantly green. #$$^^%#(*&%$!!!! Dig out the 3rd remaining defective battery that is in my possession that I need to send back to LF because the switch LED stays on while charging and it only lasts for 4 hours and plug that in the charger. Hey, I think, at least I'll have a few hours of vaping when the one battery that is now working but possessed goes dead, right?
All I want is a carto kit with decent battery life that that works. Am I expecting too much? All three 510 batteries in my possession are worthless. I'm heading out of town tomorrow for four days. I'm going to dig out my safecig/RN4081 crap to take with me.

Thanks for listening. I need more coffee. And a PV that works.

 

[Katya]

Chip, the first rule of vaping: if you put a carto on a freshly charged battery and the battery starts flashing like it needs to be charged--take the carto off the battery and, whatever you do, DO NOT TRANSFER THE CARTO ONTO ANOTHER BATTERY!!!! There is something wrong with that carto, probably a short, and it will kill every battery you screw it on.

Second rule of vaping: if you suspect that there is something wrong with your carto, grab a multimeter and check its resistance. If you don't have a multimeter, throw the carto away and get a new one. You may be serial killing your batteries with a defective cartomizer. I can't be sure, but it sounds like it.

Do you own, or can you get a hold of, a multimeter?

 

[ChipHead]

Thanks for the reply katya. I hear where you're coming from but I've tried multiple cartos when the battery malfunctions without success. Then all those cartos work on another battery and I've tried brand new cartos out of the box with the same results. I do own a multi-meter although it is an older needle style but I should be able to get a baseline reading. My point is that I have three different batteries, two that came with the original kit and one new replacement less than 5 days old and they all exhibit different issues.

 

[Zen~]

I hear stories like this all the time... eGos and Rivas and funky chargers and weird mosfet switch problems all go hand in hand... and you say you're having problems with your "battery"... I would lay odds that the battery INSIDE your PV is just fine! You are having switch and circuit problems, which is why I consider the Riva/eGo fatbat types to be such a bad value... they are prone to these problems.

Cut your losses... pick up a mod that takes 14500 batteries or 18650s, get a real charger and put these problems behind you. There are MANY affordable options, and you'll be glad you did it.

 

[ImYourSalt]

Thanks for chiming in everyone!


There is something to be said for a good mechanical switch battery MOD.

And we definitely feel your pain CHIP. Hand in there good buddy.

 

[Katya]

Thanks for the reply katya. I hear where you're coming from but I've tried multiple cartos when the battery malfunctions without success. Then all those cartos work on another battery and I've tried brand new cartos out of the box with the same results. I do own a multi-meter although it is an older needle style but I should be able to get a baseline reading. My point is that I have three different batteries, two that came with the original kit and one new replacement less than 5 days old and they all exhibit different issues.

So sorry, Chip. It was early in the morning, and I don't do my best work at 5 AM... You know how it is, to a guy with a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. I killed two of my own very first Rivas with a shorted atty, so there...

I hope your replacement batteries are on their way to you. In the meantime, you may be interested in reading the following posts by Scottbee, explaining the finer points of the eGo/Riva intricate circuitry:

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/joye-510/65055-battery-voltages-surprise-25.html#post1587370

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...d-old-sticky-threads-1-a-128.html#post1205584

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...092-manual-ego-battery-stuck.html#post2227389

Again, so sorry for your misfortunes. I can assure you that once you get some working batteries, you'll love them. They really are very reliable and easy to operate.

And get a multimeter. You don't need a Fluke. I have a $25 digital multimeter from Lowe's that works great. And gives me some peace of mind. I check my atties regularly; it takes seconds and is worth it, IMO. I haven't killed a battery since I got my multimeter....