I finally created an account, mainly because I have a question. I know this is going to look/sound redundant, as I'm likely going to repost it under a more appropriate rubric (so apologies in advance), but it is (or at least, may be) time sensitive.
I've tried various e-cigarettes and components since I switched over a year ago (batteries mainly of the Ego-T variety, with various types of atomizers/cartridges/cartomizers). In fact, I spent a disproportionate amount on just atomizers/cartridges, as I have the tendency to go through them fairly quickly -- one of my long-term (and still ongoing) objectives has been to find a long-term atomizer (one that ideally is designed to be impervious to clogging, can be rebuilt, etc.).
Because of this, my most recent acquisition was a Bulli A2-TM atomizer -- certainly by far the most expensive atomizer I have purchased, but one that I had hoped would finally finally moderate my expenditures on such things (beyond the initial purchase, of course).
And in fact, it worked well (other than some persistent leakage issues -- which I assume are/were mainly due to my less than stellar skills at creating/placing a proper coil; by the time the coils are properly tightened to the posts, the wire from the coil to each post tends to be too short to properly position the coil centered above the screws).
Unfortunately, the situation seems to have changed as of last night when, after replacing another poorly seated coil with a new one, suddenly the atomizer base itself (i.e. the part that screws into the battery) seems to have developed an open circuit. Specifically, the impedance between the center contact on the bottom and the shielded terminal on top seems to vary (I've taken readings from 0.3 ohms -- which is what it should be at all times -- to 50,100, 150 ohms, and infinite). My guess is that it's a cold solder joint (but I have no way of verifying this without disassembling/breaking the base).
I found a post on this forum from last year that addresses the same issue: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...ulli-a2-positive-terminal-dead-re-solder.html
Unfortunately, no other posters other than the creator of the thread confirmed the problem as described and no resolution/explanations were offered either.
So my question is: has anybody else experienced a similar, intermittent conductivity problem with a Bulli atomizer that is manifested by a variable resistance between one of the top-bottom contact/terminal pairs of the base -- specifically, where the resistance seems to vary with the temperature of the base?
My guess (similar to the author's mentioned above) is that it's a cold solder joint inside the base itself, especially because the resistance across the connection appears to change depending on the temperature of the base.
Now the obvious issue is, the atomizer is essentially brand new, but unfortunately past the two week replacement policy of the U.S. reseller. I always measured the impedance of each coil I created (all varied between 2.8-3.3 ohms, measured between the two screws), so that shouldn't have put a strain on the internals of the base. Plus, one would think that the -- I'm guessing 26+ gauge -- wires connecting the battery to the contacts should be the first to melt, if the resistance was too low (current too high).
And if anyone has made it this far, my second question is: what should I do next? Ask the reseller nicely if they would consider replacing it? Contact the manufacturer (in Germany) and settle the issue through them (which might incur significantly more downtime and probably a good bit more money spent on shipping)?
To the best of my knowledge, I have operated the atomizer as intended and this -- to me -- seems to be a manufacturing defect (a bad solder joint would not necessarily fail on day one, but would still be weakened over time from temperature cycling (caused by operating the unit) and eventually fail. I'm guessing that in my case, it simply failed within three weeks of initial use. Additionally, the base itself (which is not user serviceable) is apparently sold separately and costs $35 -- an expense that I would prefer to avoid after fewer than 20 days of use.
To properly rephrase the questions: is this a problem that's been known to happen, or am I the second person on this forum to have experienced it? And, depending on the answer, what course of action should I take?
Again, I apologize in advance, as I'm probably going to repost this question in other threads in the near future.
I've tried various e-cigarettes and components since I switched over a year ago (batteries mainly of the Ego-T variety, with various types of atomizers/cartridges/cartomizers). In fact, I spent a disproportionate amount on just atomizers/cartridges, as I have the tendency to go through them fairly quickly -- one of my long-term (and still ongoing) objectives has been to find a long-term atomizer (one that ideally is designed to be impervious to clogging, can be rebuilt, etc.).
Because of this, my most recent acquisition was a Bulli A2-TM atomizer -- certainly by far the most expensive atomizer I have purchased, but one that I had hoped would finally finally moderate my expenditures on such things (beyond the initial purchase, of course).
And in fact, it worked well (other than some persistent leakage issues -- which I assume are/were mainly due to my less than stellar skills at creating/placing a proper coil; by the time the coils are properly tightened to the posts, the wire from the coil to each post tends to be too short to properly position the coil centered above the screws).
Unfortunately, the situation seems to have changed as of last night when, after replacing another poorly seated coil with a new one, suddenly the atomizer base itself (i.e. the part that screws into the battery) seems to have developed an open circuit. Specifically, the impedance between the center contact on the bottom and the shielded terminal on top seems to vary (I've taken readings from 0.3 ohms -- which is what it should be at all times -- to 50,100, 150 ohms, and infinite). My guess is that it's a cold solder joint (but I have no way of verifying this without disassembling/breaking the base).
I found a post on this forum from last year that addresses the same issue: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...ulli-a2-positive-terminal-dead-re-solder.html
Unfortunately, no other posters other than the creator of the thread confirmed the problem as described and no resolution/explanations were offered either.
So my question is: has anybody else experienced a similar, intermittent conductivity problem with a Bulli atomizer that is manifested by a variable resistance between one of the top-bottom contact/terminal pairs of the base -- specifically, where the resistance seems to vary with the temperature of the base?
My guess (similar to the author's mentioned above) is that it's a cold solder joint inside the base itself, especially because the resistance across the connection appears to change depending on the temperature of the base.
Now the obvious issue is, the atomizer is essentially brand new, but unfortunately past the two week replacement policy of the U.S. reseller. I always measured the impedance of each coil I created (all varied between 2.8-3.3 ohms, measured between the two screws), so that shouldn't have put a strain on the internals of the base. Plus, one would think that the -- I'm guessing 26+ gauge -- wires connecting the battery to the contacts should be the first to melt, if the resistance was too low (current too high).
And if anyone has made it this far, my second question is: what should I do next? Ask the reseller nicely if they would consider replacing it? Contact the manufacturer (in Germany) and settle the issue through them (which might incur significantly more downtime and probably a good bit more money spent on shipping)?
To the best of my knowledge, I have operated the atomizer as intended and this -- to me -- seems to be a manufacturing defect (a bad solder joint would not necessarily fail on day one, but would still be weakened over time from temperature cycling (caused by operating the unit) and eventually fail. I'm guessing that in my case, it simply failed within three weeks of initial use. Additionally, the base itself (which is not user serviceable) is apparently sold separately and costs $35 -- an expense that I would prefer to avoid after fewer than 20 days of use.
To properly rephrase the questions: is this a problem that's been known to happen, or am I the second person on this forum to have experienced it? And, depending on the answer, what course of action should I take?
Again, I apologize in advance, as I'm probably going to repost this question in other threads in the near future.
