My ViVi Nova... failed...

[LifeLongJoyRide]

My guess on why there are so many views and so few replies is because there can only be two answers to what the problem is...and you've already said that you won't accept either of them. From what you've said, there seem to be only two things that are constant. 1)The user & 2)The juice. The first being the most likely culprit. When a large group has min hassle with equipment and a small minority says that the same equipment doesn't work, it's usually operator error. Nobody is calling you dumb but it IS probably some tiny stupid detail that is killing/malfunctioning your gear. Without being present, it's hard to say what that detail is.

I (not to mention the 3 or 4 others that I've turned onto them) run each nova head for 3 to 4 weeks minimum with no maintenance other than rinsing them off and dry burning once every day or two. After 4 years of vaping, this is easily the most hassel free clearo/carto/atomizer/tank setup that I have used.

If you know any other vapers around you or have a local brick and mortar shop, ask them to take a look at it. Every piece of gear that you buy cannot be defective. Once you find the issue, you'll probably be amazed at how easily it was fixed.

 

[Pyrate]

Like others have said, youve probably charred and gunked up the wick/coil beyond cleaning.
Toss or recoil/rewick.
The reasons could be many why the atty only lasted a short time. Juice (thickness or recipe), tight or bad wick/coil.
It could also be that the top rubber cap got pushed down and choked off the juice wicking up to the atty properly.
This happens to mine.
To fix this, I take some small nail clippers and notch a little ^ on 2 sides so it wont squish the wick.
Dont cut one too big or it could flood.
.
Vision Vivi Nova is an excellent tank system. I have had very few issues with their performance.

 

[Rocketpunk]

I guess I did fly off the handle. I was just so pumped to get what was (probably is) the best of the best, and when it failed, I was like, "WHAT? Really?! Gaah!"

I was hesitant to use it at first because of such issues. When it happened to me, I got a little, well, ok, a lot angry. But I've since calmed down. I'm going to reorder the 2.4 ohm heads and try, try again.

Sorry for going all Hulk and smash.

In the meantime, I've been using my SmokTech DCT carto/tank with caramel, and it's actually pretty good. Not with my butterscotch, but with other flavors this thing rocks pretty good. I'm also getting high res, 2-hole replacement cartos for it, too.

 

[Kemosabe]

so which butterscotch are you rockin? im new to butterscotch but ive tried Quick Nic Juice butterscotch and its glorious.

 

[j4mmin42]

I guess I did fly off the handle. I was just so pumped to get what was (probably is) the best of the best, and when it failed, I was like, "WHAT? Really?! Gaah!"

I was hesitant to use it at first because of such issues. When it happened to me, I got a little, well, ok, a lot angry. But I've since calmed down. I'm going to reorder the 2.4 ohm heads and try, try again.

Sorry for going all Hulk and smash.

In the meantime, I've been using my SmokTech DCT carto/tank with caramel, and it's actually pretty good. Not with my butterscotch, but with other flavors this thing rocks pretty good. I'm also getting high res, 2-hole replacement cartos for it, too.

You're not the only one with problems with the Vivi's.

These things have gotten really popular, so I've been keeping my mouth shut- But I for one had all of the same issues. Check out my thread history (started threads) and it will take you through my journey where i finally concluded... THEY SUCK .... lol. It's true, though...the Novas have flaws, and some of us notice them while others don't ever see them at all...it's luck-of-the-draw chinese manufacturing, unfortunately. And horrid engineering skills on their part.

 

[AttyPops]

I use em (Vivi novas). Love em. Nothing burns. Works great.

So...IDK. Tanks...are advanced stuff, IMO. But then again, the VN isn't any more or less better/sucky than a top coil clearo that works darn near the same way with a bit diff design so you can rebuild it for pennies.

You're doing it wrong.
(leaves)

 

[jeffjr464]

are you doing regular cleaning and maitenance? i tear apart all of mine every couple of days, a week tops, nothing beats the taste of a fresh coil and fresh tank of juice

 

[PONKAW]

My guess on why there are so many views and so few replies is because there can only be two answers to what the problem is...and you've already said that you won't accept either of them. From what you've said, there seem to be only two things that are constant. 1)The user & 2)The juice. The first being the most likely culprit. When a large group has min hassle with equipment and a small minority says that the same equipment doesn't work, it's usually operator error. Nobody is calling you dumb but it IS probably some tiny stupid detail that is killing/malfunctioning your gear. Without being present, it's hard to say what that detail is.

I (not to mention the 3 or 4 others that I've turned onto them) run each nova head for 3 to 4 weeks minimum with no maintenance other than rinsing them off and dry burning once every day or two. After 4 years of vaping, this is easily the most hassel free clearo/carto/atomizer/tank setup that I have used.

If you know any other vapers around you or have a local brick and mortar shop, ask them to take a look at it. Every piece of gear that you buy cannot be defective. Once you find the issue, you'll probably be amazed at how easily it was fixed.

Good Post!
The Novas are a great thing. I haven't used a carto in over a month. take the time and learn how they work... I suggest a light(ish) clear liqued to begin with, and work up. You have to do the head maintenance like every one says, the darker the juice the more you may have to do. Rebuilding the wick and coil is simple and cheap.
Don

 

[Rocketpunk]

so which butterscotch are you rockin? im new to butterscotch but ive tried Quick Nic Juice butterscotch and its glorious.

Mount Baker Vapor butterscotch, 70 pg/30 vg, 24 mg nicotine, with one extra "shot" of flavor for .25 cents. (Butterscotch E Juice Baker Vapor - Mt Baker Vapor - Electronic Cigarettes) It became my all day vape. Very, very, VERY discouraged when I learned it's the kind of juice that speeds up the failure process in VNs. I literally LOVE this juice to death. I'm heartbroken that I'd have to sacrifice my all day vape just so a device will work.

 

[gthompson]

Have you tried cleaning and dry burning it? I clean and dry burn mine after every fill or two, and they always taste great.

And most juice tastes bad above 4.5 volts with a 2.4ohm head.

 

[Rocketpunk]

You're not the only one with problems with the Vivi's.

These things have gotten really popular, so I've been keeping my mouth shut- But I for one had all of the same issues. Check out my thread history (started threads) and it will take you through my journey where i finally concluded... THEY SUCK .... lol. It's true, though...the Novas have flaws, and some of us notice them while others don't ever see them at all...it's luck-of-the-draw chinese manufacturing, unfortunately. And horrid engineering skills on their part.

I quickly realized that clearos, stardusts, et all, suck for chain vapers. They came with my first kit and I quickly realized they... well... sucked. For all the reasons many of you know.

So when I heard about the ViVi Nova and saw so many rave reviews, I was still a little hesitant. But man, them reviews! They were all so positive and glowing! I decided, yeah, if it's working for this many people, it may work for me.

Nope. Now, I've calmed down quite a bit, but it struck me a little harder than others because I ordered this expecting failure, but hoping for a success. I got failure. And believe me when I say I did a TON of research, youtube videos, website reviews, everything. I did everything everyone said to do, and it didn't work.

I'm going to chalk it up to getting a subpar pack of dud heads. I'm giving it another try. If it fails on me again, I'm done. I won't even make a crying rant thread, I'll just quietly let it go...

 

[gthompson]

I've been using them for a while now and I haven't had any problems whatsoever.

 

[Berylanna]

My roommate likes vg and sugary juices and she has a LOT more trouble than I do, though she can get the Nova to work for her by washing it EVERY tankfull.

I vape thinner pg/vg, not sweet, so I only have to wash it every 4-5 fills, because I am not caramelizing sugar.

I also plan to learn to re-wick them, a lot of people have said the burnt taste goes away if they double-up the leads so that there is very low resistance going past that rubber washer.

Q.A.-wise, some of the Novas have coils touching the washer, and that can be fixed with a gentle toothpick nudge but if not corrected, you will get a burnt taste. I've only had to correct 1 so far. And of course if you rebuild it yourself, you get to do your own Q.A.

I think your BEST bet is to go to a juice forum and ask other butterscotch vapers what they use, also mention what you are doing wrt pg/vg.

 

[Rocketpunk]

I never even got to the point where I needed to clean it between refills. I never finished a full tank. My first filled tank was with the 2.4 atty. It worked for about a day and a half of medium vaping (not a chain vaper at work), and the tank barely hit the middle mark when the 2.4 atty quit. I poured the liquid back into an empty bottle, switched the 2.4 to the 1.8 ohm atty, poured the juice back into the tank, set the voltage back down to 3.7 and vaped. Within 10 minutes the 1.8 ohm atty tasted burnt, too. So I poured the juice back into the empty bottle, switched to the 2.8 ohm head, poured the juice back in, re-set the voltage to 4.0 and vaped. Within 10 minutes, a burnt taste. So I said what the heck and tried it at 4.5 volts and it tasted even worse. At first I thought it was because I needed to "break in" the attys, so I continued to vape at said voltages for each head, switching them every twenty minutes. They all tasted horrible. So I cleaned each head (I don't keep hard liquor such as vodka in the house, enough said) in hot water (not boiling), pat dried them, let them all air dry, then dry burned them with pulses at low voltages until the coils glowed orange. Then I cleaned the tank, and retried the attys. All tasted burnt.

 

[cedric212]

The issue I had with the burnt taste was due to the fiber sleeve, however, I quickly remedied by removing it after reading j4mmin42's thread.

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/tanks/332596-vivi-nova-mini-2-5-burnt-taste-fix.html

Now that I started rewicking my ViviNova heads, my biggest issue is the wick becomes TOO saturated (using cotton ATM). Still, I don't think ViviNova is meant for everyone as it often requires some tweaking to get the best result. Perhaps you want to consider getting a CHiD (need to learn how to build a SS Wick) or a Phoenix rebuildable atty (wick rebuild similar to ViviNova), or just get a carto tank mod if you don't want to deal with the hassle of rebuilds.

 

[lrage]

Here's my opinion on the Vivi's.

They are super easy to use. They are cheap. You can get good hits with them. But they trick you into thinking they are better than they really are. They give a lot of dry hits. They are super finicky. You really have to play with the wicks. Hell, people honestly believe cutting one of the wicks shorter makes wicking better for some reason. If I can't see a science behind it I'm not buying into it. And two long wicks one short is hocus pocus to me.

I've gone back to tank and dc cartos and the taste is 10x better and the hits more consistent. I also had worries about the vivi with stuff burning that shouldn't be burning.

 

[cedric212]

Here's my opinion on the Vivi's.

They are super easy to use. They are cheap. You can get good hits with them. But they trick you into thinking they are better than they really are. They give a lot of dry hits. They are super finicky. You really have to play with the wicks. Hell, people honestly believe cutting one of the wicks shorter makes wicking better for some reason. If I can't see a science behind it I'm not buying into it. And two long wicks one short is hocus pocus to me.

I've gone back to tank and dc cartos and the taste is 10x better and the hits more consistent. I also had worries about the vivi with stuff burning that shouldn't be burning.

LOL, yep, ViviNova is great for someone to get into vaping and rebuilds, but over time, people will realize how inconsistent and unreliable these made in China products are. I've left it half-filled overnight standing on top of a box, see how much ejuice got out from the bottom connector!!! Not a fan of carto, but I do have a Phoenix atty on the way and is seriously considering getting an ATA SS atty to replace the ViviNova.

 

[Berylanna]

I never even got to the point where I needed to clean it between refills. I never finished a full tank. My first filled tank was with the 2.4 atty. It worked for about a day and a half of medium vaping (not a chain vaper at work), and the tank barely hit the middle mark when the 2.4 atty quit. I poured the liquid back into an empty bottle, switched the 2.4 to the 1.8 ohm atty, poured the juice back into the tank, set the voltage back down to 3.7 and vaped. Within 10 minutes the 1.8 ohm atty tasted burnt, too. So I poured the juice back into the empty bottle, switched to the 2.8 ohm head, poured the juice back in, re-set the voltage to 4.0 and vaped. Within 10 minutes, a burnt taste. So I said what the heck and tried it at 4.5 volts and it tasted even worse. At first I thought it was because I needed to "break in" the attys, so I continued to vape at said voltages for each head, switching them every twenty minutes. They all tasted horrible. So I cleaned each head (I don't keep hard liquor such as vodka in the house, enough said) in hot water (not boiling), pat dried them, let them all air dry, then dry burned them with pulses at low voltages until the coils glowed orange. Then I cleaned the tank, and retried the attys. All tasted burnt.

I assume you are rolling it between puffs every time, especially if it was standing upright.

If that is the case then IMO either you need to find out what other butterscotch (and probably tiramisu and caramel) vapers use or else rebuild the heads so that the coil does not touch the rubber sleeve and the leads are doubled and twisted to reduce resistance (and therefore heat) on the part that touches the rubber.

 

[Rocketpunk]

I spoke hastily and too soon. Ashamed of myself. I judged the ViVi Nova based solely on how my butterscotch tasted and the anticipation of failure. It tasted nasty. I thoroughly cleaned my 2.8 atty and retried it with another juice and it tasted phenomenal.

I resurrected it!

Right now I have a blend of Ry4, candy corn, sweet cream, and a dash of butterscotch. I love it! Joker Juice is what I call it,

 

[aquaphx]

so each juice has some relation with atty/catty, its so confusing.

reading your first post, i can relate. i'm having trouble too with inconsistencies of vaporizer.
im using vivi nova with ry4, does vivi nova tone down its flavor ?