Lavatube 3

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katking

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May 25, 2009
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www.katking.com
  • Deleted by retired1
  • Reason: Negative reviews need to be posted in the Negative Reviews forum.

katking

Full Member
ECF Veteran
May 25, 2009
61
18
Long Beach, Ca
www.katking.com
The man was asking for opinions on this mod. My opinion was based on very a negative experience. The design of this mod, coupled with very bad customer service, was MY experience. Why was it deleted? I would also like to ask members if anyone has any information on how the firing button can be replaced. Hate to just throw away $130.00 mod after a couple of hours of use.
 

retired1

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Apr 5, 2013
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It was deleted for two reasons.

One. It was a negative review. ALL negative reviews must be posted in the Negative Reviews forum.
Two. As vendors are not permitted to post regarding their business outside authorized areas, by posting in the proper forum allows the supplier AND member to converse. This is a win for both parties.

If you had stated you had issues with yours and left it at that, no problem. But you crossed the line into negative review territory and that's why it was deleted.
 

MikeyNY

Senior Member
Apr 18, 2015
127
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I also have one. The problem that I had right out of the box was that the spring wasn't making a good connection causing the device not to give an accurate battery reading and also not fire. I emailed them and they did respond in a timely manner. I ended up fixing the issue myself. I hope that I don't have any other problems in the future with this device, we all know how expensive this thing is.
 

AlphaGuitarist

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Oct 2, 2015
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New York City
***UPDATE: After discussing this issue with Volcano's tech support in great detail, it was determined that my Lavatube 3 requires replacement under warranty. The tech support rep has initiated the replacement process and will be sending me a prepaid shipping label shortly. I have to give Volcano's tech support a lot of credit, as they are extremely responsive and helpful. Unfortunately, my faith in the reliability of their product is gone. When I spend a good chunk of change on a device, be it a smartphone, a TV or a vape mod ($135 is not a small amount for an item like this), I expect it to work. Reading other people's experiences with this device and having my own to add to the list make me worried that the replacement unit will fail as well. I'll consider this an expensive learning experience and will not be purchasing Volcano's products in the future.

I just received mine last Saturday and am having a similar battery-related issue noted by @MikeyNY. After inserting a fully charged 2200mAh/20A battery, the gauge display was about halfway down. I took a few (less than 10!!!) of vapes at a 20W setting (.6 ohm coil), the gauge drained completely, the "Weak Battery" message flashed on the screen and the unit stopped firing. I removed the battery and tested it with a meter, just to be sure. It was at 4.1V. I swapped the battery for another fully charged one - same results.

I reached out to Volcano's tech support, who informed me that it may be a bad connection and that extending the spring would remedy the problem. The tech suggested that I use needle nose pliers to extend the spring. Here's where the problem comes in: the spring has a metal plate on top of it, which blocks access to it and appears to be non-removable. I replied to tech support, asking them for directions on how to remove the plate and am currently awaiting response. I'm beginning to seriously regret spending the money on this unit.

I also have one. The problem that I had right out of the box was that the spring wasn't making a good connection causing the device not to give an accurate battery reading and also not fire. I emailed them and they did respond in a timely manner. I ended up fixing the issue myself. I hope that I don't have any other problems in the future with this device, we all know how expensive this thing is.

Would you mind sharing how you fixed the issue? Thanks in advance!
 
Last edited:

MikeyNY

Senior Member
Apr 18, 2015
127
28
***UPDATE: After discussing this issue with Volcano's tech support in great detail, it was determined that my Lavatube 3 requires replacement under warranty. The tech support rep has initiated the replacement process and will be sending me a prepaid shipping label shortly. I have to give Volcano's tech support a lot of credit, as they are extremely responsive and helpful. Unfortunately, my faith in the reliability of their product is gone. When I spend a good chunk of change on a device, be it a smartphone, a TV or a vape mod ($135 is not a small amount for an item like this), I expect it to work. Reading other people's experiences with this device and having my own to add to the list make me worried that the replacement unit will fail as well. I'll consider this an expensive learning experience and will not be purchasing Volcano's products in the future.

I just received mine last Saturday and am having a similar battery-related issue noted by @MikeyNY. After inserting a fully charged 2200mAh/20A battery, the gauge display was about halfway down. I took a few (less than 10!!!) of vapes at a 20W setting (.6 ohm coil), the gauge drained completely, the "Weak Battery" message flashed on the screen and the unit stopped firing. I removed the battery and tested it with a meter, just to be sure. It was at 4.1V. I swapped the battery for another fully charged one - same results.

I reached out to Volcano's tech support, who informed me that it may be a bad connection and that extending the spring would remedy the problem. The tech suggested that I use needle nose pliers to extend the spring. Here's where the problem comes in: the spring has a metal plate on top of it, which blocks access to it and appears to be non-removable. I replied to tech support, asking them for directions on how to remove the plate and am currently awaiting response. I'm beginning to seriously regret spending the money on this unit.



Would you mind sharing how you fixed the issue? Thanks in advance!
Sure. Tech support told me the same thing that they told you, but while attempting to stretch the spring out with a long thin screwdriver, the whole spring ended up breaking and popping out. I placed it back in the tube (insecurely) and then placed the battery back in and closed it up. I then turned on the device, saw that it was reading the battery accurately and vaped on it for a few minutes. I then took the battery back out and turned the tube upside down to see if the unsecured spring would slide out and it didn't. I don't think that the spring is locked into place as it should be but as long as it's sitting securely in the tube and I'm not getting inaccurate battery readings, ill leave it as is.
 

AlphaGuitarist

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Thank you. Since the spring in my device had a circular metal plate covering it, there was no way for me to remove the spring. As mentioned in my previous post, I ended up sending my device back to Volcano and their RMA team confirmed that it was defective. They promptly shipped a new device to me and it's actually out for delivery as I'm typing this. Unfortunately, they were all out of black (my original choice) and gun metal grey, so I settled for a silver replacement device. I'll update the thread when I get home from work and test the replacement. I did, however, ask the RMA team to test the replacement device prior to shipment to ensure it works, but I'm not sure if this was done.
 

AlphaGuitarist

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Oct 2, 2015
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I got home a little while ago and the replacement Lavatube 3 was waiting for me. The box was sealed in plastic, which leads me to believe that Volcano's RMA team didn't test it like I asked. One thing that I noticed immediately was that the spring at the bottom of the battery tube was very large and didn't have the metal plate on top of it. It also gave a bit of resistance when I inserted the battery and pushed the tube up to screw it on. This is a very good thing, as it'll ensure proper battery contact - my original unit didn't have anywhere nearly as much resistance. Perhaps Volcano realized that the small spring with a metal plate was a design flaw?

So far, the replacement is working like a charm. I'm vaping it right now and the battery meter seems very accurate. Let's hope it stays this way!
 
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