Is it just me or.....

[RyGuy]

is anyone else's V4L equipment crapping out on them too?

I purchased my first kit back in August and since have purchased and won a ton of equipment when you include bonuses, well.... now it's all dying off on me and I am down to only a couple of batteries. I know that Steve has his awesome warranty, but the last time I said in the comments that I had a busted USB charger I didn't receive a new charger? I am having a hard time now telling them that I have 5 dead batteries, 3 dead PTs, and 1 dead PCC (which zapped me the last time I plugged it in). I have been hesitant on requesting replacements in the comments section just because I have lost track of what I have bought and what I got as freebies, but now I'm getting a little concerned because I'm sure that my dead equipment now far exceeds the bonuses that I've received.

Anyone else having a problem with equipment not lasting very long?

Should I just buy a new arsenal of equipment? It is going to get expensive if I have to keep replacing all my batts and chargers every 6 months.

 

[cr12]

you need to pm mark with this instead of posting a thread. he will replace all of that, see its hard to get the chinese to have quality control so its just hit and miss but that is why the warranty is so good. pm mark or email him at customer_service@vapor4life.com
they will fix it.

 

[Pugzley]

Hi RyGuy, I've been lucky, my first order was the first of Oct. and they've replaced 2 batts for me and the only other thing that went wrong was my passthrough cord and I think I can fix that.

I don't know how long this stuff is supposed to last or what an adequate inventory of batteries etc. is considered enough for a long term holdover.

You can see what you've purchased by going to the v4l site and pulling up all your past orders in your account, that might give you a good idea of what was bought and which are freebies.

 

[RyGuy]

you need to pm mark with this instead of posting a thread. he will replace all of that, see its hard to get the chinese to have quality control so its just hit and miss but that is why the warranty is so good. pm mark or email him at customer_service@vapor4life.com
they will fix it.

I'm not trying to give V4L a bad wrap trust me on this! I'm a die-hard when it comes to V4L hardware, just simply stating that I kinda feel bad that I waited to say anything to V4L about my dead hardware and now it has piled up and I kind of feel like an ... saying "hey Mark, can you guys replace my pile of dead stuff that has piled up because I have procrastinated with letting you guys know what's going on". Sorry, just venting.



Thanks Pugz! Don't know why I didn't think of that. I'll have to check it out to see what's what.

Ry

 

[Adrenalynn]

Yes - you should plan on replacing the batteries every six months under typical use. These are consumables and disposables, not forever-gear.

Let's see: A $15 battery or a hundred packs of cigarettes... Well, that means the battery costs $2.50 /mo. or $0.08/day. Say you consume two pre-filled cartomizers/day: (9.95/5) = $1.99 * 2 = $3.98/day. That 0.08 is 2% of the cost of the cartomizers, bringing your daily total to $4.06. Vaping two cartos per day means you must have smoked at _least_ a pack a day, I'd think, which means (according to "tobacco free world", colorado-wide average, $5.75/pack, or a savings of $1.69/day or nearly 30%.

That means that you could buy 21 batteries on day one, throw them all away in six months, vape two full cartomizers per day, never refill, and still break even with a penny left over each day, enough to buy a fistfull more batteries at the end of the month. (YMMV for your actual local price and brand)

 

[Pugzley]

I like your logic, but how many should be replaced after 6 months. Surely not 21. LOL

How many batteries do you think would be needed if they were working normally to last a person who uses 2 cartos a day for 6 months?

Batteries are supposed to be rechargeable up to what? 200 to 300 times, that's what I have always been reading here? And a heavy vaper will use probably 2 xlongs batts per day, 2 cartos a day user?

My brain doesn't want to wrap around this math right now.

 

[Adrenalynn]

My point was the excessiveness of the cost savings, really. If you used 2 batteries/day, you'd be looking at 6 months if the life-cycle were 365 charges, right? Honestly, I think 200 is probably a more realistic number for that chemistry and the relatively low-quality of the chemicals. They are meant to be cheap, not like my power tools.

I think four batteries every six months is not unreasonable. I see replacements for things like stuck auto switches inside that period, because that's clearly a design flaw. Actually, I'm leaning towards thinking anything inside that six months outside of obvious abuse, tamper, or battery failure, and any battery failure inside four months, is reasonable to warranty - but obviously that's my thinking not V4L's.

That's 0.32/day + $4.00/day = 4.38/day worst-case (no filling) - more than a 25% savings over smoking a pack/day.

Of course, this is all moot when the fed gets a hold of it.

 

[Pugzley]

I know what you meant, I was just joking around with you a little bit.

I was thinking 4 batteries for me every six months to be on the safe side and would be more than reasonable from a budget standpoint. And hopefully they would go much longer than that.

This would be a good rule of thumb for newbies, too, in order for them to get a handle on what they need to last them for awhile. And if the batts keep on chuggin' it's a bonus.

Just trying to get a ballpark idea for what would be a good number to stock up on in case the Feds do get their paws on these things. Feh, I feel that is already a foregone conclusion, they WILL be meddling one way or another and it won't be good for us.

 

[Adrenalynn]

I think stocking up on batteries might be mis-directed (in my incredibly under-qualified opinion)

My reasoning?

The batteries are identical to those used in billions of consumer electronic devices today.

The cartomizers are pretty much uncontrollable.

The flavoring is common food additive

The PG/VC is common additive and uncontrollable

No - they'll go after the "drug". Taxing the nicotine is easy. So that's where any stockpiling efforts should be directed. Note that if you find large supplies - it is pretty toxic in volume and will certainly kill pets at even moderate concentrations, so keep it safe. I keep my supplies in a locked safe. They come out only when I'm actively using them, and then the environment is controlled.

 

[v4l555lover]

2 carts a day is that it ? 1 cart lasts me 5 hours . i do refill them though . my cig habit was $4 a day on average my vaping may be around $2 a day just don't have enough history of info to put the math together yet . i will say i can use 20 ml of juice a week and that is about it. all my other stuff was bought for me . but a battery if chared once per day i am guessing should last 10 months due to it can be recharged supposedly 300 times ...

 

[Adrenalynn]

I suggest not counting on 300 times. And if you're smoking 3/4 pack/day or less but vaping three or four carts - well you're vaping a LOT more than smoking. Which is typical at first, I think you'll find it comes down once the novelty wears off.

 

[v4l555lover]

i agree on the new wearing off Adrenalynn , i did smoke a pack a day , pall malls at wallgreens were $4 with tax . do not know if they went up yet since i have not bought in about a week . but with me it is double since there is 2 of us , me and my gf . i would'nt care if it costs equal to or even more than smoking at this point due to my health and i feel a lot better since vaping . i am less irritable and have energy now .

 

[Michelle43]

I think a some good general questions are:

How long should a battery last?

How long should a Pass Through last?

How long should a PCC last?


I know for me, I do not expect the batteries to last more than a few months of heavy use. I have no idea about the other two.

RyGuy-I liked your youtube videos, you should do more

 

[Pugzley]

I think stocking up on batteries might be mis-directed (in my incredibly under-qualified opinion)

My reasoning?

The batteries are identical to those used in billions of consumer electronic devices today.

The cartomizers are pretty much uncontrollable.

The flavoring is common food additive

The PG/VC is common additive and uncontrollable

No - they'll go after the "drug". Taxing the nicotine is easy. So that's where any stockpiling efforts should be directed. Note that if you find large supplies - it is pretty toxic in volume and will certainly kill pets at even moderate concentrations, so keep it safe. I keep my supplies in a locked safe. They come out only when I'm actively using them, and then the environment is controlled.

I wasn't sure if the batteries with the screw on cartos would be available and who knows what kind of penalties there may be for mailing them around, there was some noise about that, making it a "crime" to send some of this stuff through the mail, don't know for sure which "stuff" it was, but I think it was atomizers and juice that was being talked about awhile back. So, I am stocking up on everything since no one really knows what might be done.

I've been working on my nic supply for a long time, even have 1 liter bottles of juice I brought in from China DeKang, tons of juice from different suppliers as well as V4L and very high nic levels that are flavorless for DIY mixing. I've probably got over a gallon of juice that can be cut into 2 to 3 gallons with PG and VG and flavorings. All in a safe place away from prying little fingers and paws.

I also have a couple of mods that are virtually indestructible for the long haul, the atomizers for those mods are their weak point, but I have a bunch of them stashed, too. I should be able to withstand a few years as long as the juice doesn't go bad on me.

 

[Lightgeoduck]

Hey RyGuy,,, this is the hard facts for these small lithium batters they tend to crap out... one becaused they are worked harder than a battery is intended to be used for (look around you will get the exact info) and if you have tons of batteries .. and have batteries sitting around not being used they will tend to die in a "short" time... well shorter than expected at least.


So it is always good to keep a small supply to rotate and have back-up... but as I have seen in other threads... 20 ecig batts is too much to manage and doesn't mean you will have a longer lasting supply than a person with say 5 batteries.


THIS GOES FOR ANY BATT used for vaping... I have many types of ecig models and mods but I have limited my batteries to the different sizes needed and a spare for rotation....so when a pair dies 4-6months down the line I purchase a replacement


I understand the addiction for gagets believe me... but research (not just talking to you RY) here on ECF and you will find a plethera of information ...

its one thing DOA but no surprise at all for DSL (dead six months later)

I know I am just one man with a "different" opinion... but take it FWIW


I am not a duck

 

[Blue Skies]

Very good stuff here. Makes me re-think my battery obsession

 

[Pugzley]

I just pulled out 2 xl batteries that have been sitting in a bag for 4 months and never used before. I screwed on cartos and tried them out, they worked the same way the other ones I ordered along with them did the day I recieved them the first week of October last year. That's a relief, I thought they might have died or something.

 

[Taryn]

I'll probably just keep ordering my batteries like I've been doing, one new battery every month or so. I'll likely take the older batteries and send them out to friends so they can try vaping for themselves letting them know it's a used battery and if they love it they will have to buy their own soon! I'll have to throw an extra cheap usb charger in my order now and then for giveaways.

 

[RyGuy]

OK, so it sounds like the general consensus here is that I have had the gear for quite a while then I should buy new stuff rather than try to have my dead stuff replaced by V4L. This is pretty much what I was wanting to know because I wasn't quite sure if asking for replacements would be justifiable since some of the gear I have had since August. Sounds like some of my gear has just reached "the end".

I figured that this day would come eventually, I guess I just hoped that I would get a little more life out of my gear than 3-5 months. Oh well, gotta love electronics eh?

 

[Belletrist]

i know V4L is working on coming out with their own exclusive model of battery... and considering their commitment to having someone oversee prod. development, etc. (and their excellent warranty) i have no doubt that V4L will be at the forefront of better batteries...