Life Span - Switch Assembly

[jennifergib7]

I received my Prodigy VI around the end of August. My switch went bad on October 15. When I say it went bad, there was no burnt smell, nothing, just cold. Prodigy would not fire. I am curious what has other Prodigy owners experienced with the life span of their switch assembly? I guess I want to know if this is a common life span? The replacement switches are kind of high to keep back-ups on hand.........

 

[jennifergib7]

By the way, I'm still under warranty. And yes, Puresmoker is awesome. I have already got my switch back in the mail for them to fix. I just want to see what other experiences have been. I want to be prepared for 'if' it happens again, and also want to know 'how' expensive this mod may be for the long haul. Thanks for any help.

 

[MaxUT]

I received my Prodigy in July and just lately the switch seems to be gradually going bad. I have to push harder and harder to get it to activate. I took everything apart for a good cleaning and it helped a bit but I think I'd better replace the switch before it gets any worse.

So the switch is definitely covered by the warranty? I wasn't sure about that.

 

[Gibby]

I received my Prodigy VI around the end of August. My switch went bad on October 15. When I say it went bad, there was no burnt smell, nothing, just cold. Prodigy would not fire. I am curious what has other Prodigy owners experienced with the life span of their switch assembly? I guess I want to know if this is a common life span? The replacement switches are kind of high to keep back-ups on hand.........

Mid-July, going strong,

Gibby

 

[jennifergib7]

Yes, the switch is covered under warranty. I am assuming 6 months..... I am just hoping, (praying) that I had a 'lemon'. I would like to see an average life of a year or more.

 

[Flitzanu]

not to try to convince you otherwise, but things DO go bad, especially made out of plastic. i think it's a little unrealistic to think they will last "forever" but i understand the frustration of it going bad, period.

but yes, you've got six months worry free.

the way i look at it, with a mod like this, i'm not having to replace $10-$12 specialty batteries for a standard PV, i'm not dealing with the fail rates of the other parts involved (aside from atomizers) so some minor maintenance past the 6 month mark isn't too terrible, right?

 

[BrockJ]

My Prodigy is 3 or so months old. I actually cut the resistor out of mine to vape @ 3.7 and have been loving it on the 510's.

I'll get another resistor switch when they come back in stock but it's really nice without the res..

 

[Trox.Shawn]

not to try to convince you otherwise, but things DO go bad, especially made out of plastic. i think it's a little unrealistic to think they will last "forever" but i understand the frustration of it going bad, period.

but yes, you've got six months worry free.

the way i look at it, with a mod like this, i'm not having to replace $10-$12 specialty batteries for a standard PV, i'm not dealing with the fail rates of the other parts involved (aside from atomizers) so some minor maintenance past the 6 month mark isn't too terrible, right?

I understand things go bad, however, they should not go bad within a months time. Even with 6 months of warranty its still a hassle shipping it to them then waiting for the switch to arrive.

Personally I believe that once pure smoker sets up a permanent product line it will be much easier, as they would have everything in stock with what we need it, when we need it. I would not care about buying a new switch every 2-3 months if when it did go out I had one ready to reload. If they would become to first to do this, they would jump way ahead in the market. Try to find another mod right now... everywhere is pre-order or non-existent. (with the exception of the silver bullet which just came off of pre-order today, but how long till they go back to pre-order status.)

 

[J_Data]

I am awaiting stock on the switches too. Not that I have a bad one, but that is the only thing I can see failing on this thing and I want to be covered. I take the switch apart weekly just to see if there is any juice leaking down in there, so far I havn't found any inside the switch.

 

[Walrus]

Got mine somewhere around beginning/mid June, IIRC... no problems here.

 

[crashtestjeep]

I dont have a Prodigy, so im not sure, but you may want to ask PS if maybe the connection was off? Sometimes somethiing as minor as a piece of tiny debris can be enuff to offset a mechanical connection. I would prob clean that connection with alcohol every now and again just to be sure. Again, I dont have one so I could be way off, just something Ive learnned to check when my mods fail and it fixes it every time...

 

[Synthnadz]

I received my Prodigy on September 11th - just over a month ago - and my switch went bad last week. So, I too only got about a month of use out of it before it suddenly died.

I have similar concerns about the lifespan as a result. Sure, a 6 month warranty is nice to have, but what about after the warranty period is over? If this continues to be a monthly occurrence, it will be really darn expensive to keep my Prodigy running. I certainly won't be excited about purchasing a new switch every few months, that's for sure. ;-)

 

[Ultimist]

Unfortunately, I've not had the luck when it comes to Prodigy V1 switch assemblies. I originally bought the Prodigy back in July, with switch and resistor. A month later, I bought a resistor-less switch.

I barely used the resistor-less switch, as I found that it fried my 801 attys too quickly, and the vapor was a bit too much for me. I'd say I used the resistorless one for about a day, total, and it stopped working when I tried using it again a couple weeks ago.

My original resistored switch is now acting up as well. At first, I thought it was completely dead. It stayed dead for a couple hours, then miraculously started working again. Now it is stopping every day or so... seemingly getting very hot... stops working for an hour or so... and then works again. I just don't know how long it is going to last this way.

I have the resistorless one in for repairs, and asked that they install a resistor. I hope to get it back soon so I can send this other switch in for repairs. The resistor on this thing is getting very dark and discolored,closer and closer to black as each day passes.

I really hope this thing lasts until I get that first switch back... My worst fear is having to substitute analogs during the wait, since I have been analog-free for over 6 months now.

I agree that things sometimes go bad... but I also think it is reasonable to expect something to work for a year or longer without issues. I didn't really get the Prodigy expecting to have to replace the switch assembly every couple of months.

Hopefully the Prodigy V2 will have a much more reliable and long-lasting switch assembly.

I believe Steve is working diligently to make this happen. Just a few days ago I asked when the V2 will be available. Steve responded that the switch assembly design is what needs to be finalized.

So it looks like they're determined to provide better switches with the V2.

 

[jennifergib7]

I appreciate everyone's input. It looks like maybe 'not so many people' have had the problem with switches 'dying'. Let's just hope it only gets better, as Puresmoker keeps putting out mods. I really like my Prodigy VI. I understand battery replacement, atomizers, and juice are monthly expenses. I would like to see a longer switch 'life'. Also, I want to be able to see where I am saving money on this verses analogs.

 

[a2dcovert]

I want to be able to see where I am saving money on this verses analogs.

It doesn't take me long to come out ahead on the cost benefit. I quit smoking almost 6 months ago. I was going through 2 cartons a week that is almost $2,200.00. I haven't spent that much on e-cigs and I have bought enough to last me 2 years.

Kevin

 

[Fusoya]

I have an original prodigy pre-order and got it sometime back in early July I believe.

I've NEVER been able to remove my switch and have no idea how. I'm not sure if it's stuck on a burr or what but when I remove the adapter I can slide the 'switch' part out a bit but then it just seems to stick and I never wanted to force it.

So I wouldn't know how to put a different switch in if I could.

Is this normal?

Brandon

 

[Synthnadz]

I have an original prodigy pre-order and got it sometime back in early July I believe.

I've NEVER been able to remove my switch and have no idea how. I'm not sure if it's stuck on a burr or what but when I remove the adapter I can slide the 'switch' part out a bit but then it just seems to stick and I never wanted to force it.

So I wouldn't know how to put a different switch in if I could.

Is this normal?

Brandon

You have to remove the entire switch assembly. Here's how you do it:

Remove your adapter, and push the batteries in the tube up against the switch assembly until it slides out. There will be 3 main components that will come out together. That's it. ;-)

 

[Fusoya]

You have to remove the entire switch assembly. Here's how you do it:

Remove your adapter, and push the batteries in the tube up against the switch assembly until it slides out. There will be 3 main components that will come out together. That's it. ;-)

Ahh!

I was doing it wrong.

So, once I do this is it easy for it to get back in?

Thanks much BTW, I thought I had a defective switch.

Brandon

 

[BrockJ]

It's good to have tight switch Just make sure you get it all squared away when you go to slide it back in. A little tricky the first time or two.

I've never had a problem with my Prodigy.

Ultimist, have you tried the non res switch with an 18650 battery?
That's 4.2 to the 510's and mine are a dream at that voltage. Tons of vapor and cool enough to allow the flavor to come through. Just a thought...

If you're not happy with the non res switch you can either put a 0.5ohm 2 watt resistor in it or just send it to me.. )

 

[jennifergib7]

Just wanted to let everyone know. Puresmoker received my switch on Monday 10/19/09, and I got it back by 10/22/09. They really have awesome service. I will keep a log on how long the switch last this time. Hey, Steve if you're reading this, can you tell me exactly what was wrong with my switch? Maybe it's something I can fix in the future. Thanks again everyone.