Paranoia post!!!! Voopoo DRAG

[stols001]

I think if you are outside the US, well, then your options change a bit. That is interesting information @Punk In Drublic , and since Dashvapes just became a supplier here, maybe they would be willing to post their battery tests in the forums, since they sound like a good option for Canadian folks? It would be nice to have confirmation of that for Canada folks I'm sure.

I totally believe in the possibility that some retail stores really do sell (or even test) authentics, I just personally have no idea which ones, so I tend to blanket not use them, but I certainly have the luxury of that when many other folks may not.

Anna

 

[Punk In Drublic]

@stols001 – they do not test batteries in the way Mooch does – this would be unpractical for a retailer. Their test involve throwing a battery into a charger and possibly a mod just to ensure it works. I have witnessed batteries removed from chargers with their boxes marked as such but not tested within a mod so the latter may not be fact

 

[Walee]

As per all above, stick with Mouch and the best batteries you can source. As far as mods are concerned, they all claim to be the "ultimate vape". They claim a plethora of protections, amazing output, amazing accuracy, bla bla bla. What's in the box remains a mystery. No mod that I have tested has completely lived up to all of it's claims. A year down the road as youtube vids and forum posts rack up, a flavor for what the things will actually do compile. I know of mods that have decided to start firing in the middle of the night on the night stand. Like Mouch says to the question "is it safe?", No. You have to decide on what safety measures are prudent for you. There is an assumption of risk in vaping.

 

[Vape Magoo]

The shipping is high, from IMR it is down to $28 U.S. to Canada, 30Q are at $5.99, so it depends on how many you buy. I ended up with fake HG2's locally so I don't buy local any more. I got Type B from Pegasus (thought to be 30Q's when tested) and after a couple of weeks one stopped holding a charge. When I bought from NKON I got like 10 so it reduced total cost per a battery a lot. The problem I have now is I discovered Fed Ex here starts charging $5 a day warehouse fee if there is a delay in getting something through customs. From my own experience and reading complaints from others the delay magically ends up being about 70% of the value of the item and original shipping charge paid. So I won't chance anything Fed Ex to the Philippines. I ordered 6 25R's from IMR delivered to the U.S. and hoping I can bring all 6 back on the plane with me. I'd order 6 20S but fear that would be too many to carry onboard.

PS - I did throw the Type B in the charger and tested it before using it. Both the mah and resistance were inline with the 30Q I got from NKON. But that didn't last long.

 

[TrollDragon]

I was never overly impressed with the Drag. There was a ton of hype for a mediocre mod that has bizarre TC functionality and no firmware updates. It has a sharp case with too many corners , gets very warm with use (the battery wires are too small of a gauge IMHO) and the battery indicators don't show the proper level of the batteries.

I've since gutted my Drag to use the board in a DIY case with better wire.

As far as leaving mods loaded with batteries and tanks, I have 19 ready to go in my desk cupboard at any given time. I only rotate 5 rigs daily and slide a little piece of Mylar (similar to the battery pull tabs) under the negative side of the batteries on unused mods.

You can leave them under the battery door and put them back after charging, you don't even have to take the batteries out to put them back in. (Bend up the corners of the tab a little for easy installation.)

 

[stols001]

Well, if the latter is the case, @Punk In Drublic , that's a bit different. At that point, you are going to have to weight the risk/cost/reward ratio.

I have heard mixed things about the Drag, but not so much TC more that it's a bit of a battery hog in general, so like not the most efficient board of all time. I don't have one. I don't think it's inherently unsafe or has a high QC issue rate like, say, Smok.

I just know I like having authentic batteries in my mod.

Anna

 

[Punk In Drublic]

We could find faults with any mod, regardless of make or price. But that is not the topic of discussion here. The OP has concerns with leaking juice causing damage and or leaving batteries in a mod unattended. Just like all matters in life there are certain risks in which we accept but yet ignore simply because it is impractical. Is there a danger to leaving batteries in a mod unattended? Sure…but the same risk applies when said device is attended to, such as being in your pocket or sitting in front of you on your desk. The key here is to not completely avoid risk, but to educate one self so they can mitigate risk as much as possible and understand why an event such as a failed battery or sticky fire button may have happened.

Also, as much as I have the utmost respect for Mooch and the efforts he puts forth in educating us on battery safety (well done dude!!). It is impossible for him to know every retailer and whether they sell authentic products or not. That is great if one wishes to follow Mooch’s approved vendor list, but that is not to say every retailer outside that list sells fake, dangerous batteries. For many the approved list is impractical and an unnecessary added expense. Again, the key here is educating one self, so they can identify a fake battery or shady retailer. Dashvapes is far from perfect (no retailer is) but they do not fall into that category of selling fake batteries.

@JJ Hair – if it makes you more comfortable removing your tank and batteries from your mod when not in use, then by all means do so. But if your tank is excessively leaking, then address that.

 

[Shawn Hoefer]

I have nothing much to add... A lot of good info here, including @TrollDragon awesome battery tab suggestion. I will say that I have around 250 mods, all with toppers installed (though rarely with much juice in them), and I've rarely had an issue with a device being flooded... I also leave a set of cells in most and have only experienced drained cells a couple times.

 

[Punk In Drublic]

@Shawn Hoefer – 250 mods??? You sir are awesome!!

 

[TrollDragon]

I think @Shawn Hoefer has the largest collection of vape gear on ECF. One day I would like to make a holy pilgrimage to the Ozarks, buy a few of his awesome brooms and bask in the glory of all things vape!

 

[TrollDragon]

At one point in time @ccwaters had a massive collection of atties but we have not seen him around these parts in a year.

 

[Punk In Drublic]

I think @Shawn Hoefer has the largest collection of vape gear on ECF. One day I would like to make a holy pilgrimage to the Ozarks, buy a few of his awesome brooms and bask in the glory of all things vape!

Very impressed to say the least. Much respect for this level of dedication toward any hobby (for lack of better words) including vaping. One of my fav websites is Dust & Grooves which is dedicated to vinyl collectors. Some very impressive libraries there!

 

[Baditude]

Also, as much as I have the utmost respect for Mooch and the efforts he puts forth in educating us on battery safety (well done dude!!). It is impossible for him to know every retailer and whether they sell authentic products or not. That is great if one wishes to follow Mooch’s approved vendor list, but that is not to say every retailer outside that list sells fake, dangerous batteries. For many the approved list is impractical and an unnecessary added expense. Again, the key here is educating one self, so they can identify a fake battery or shady retailer. Dashvapes is far from perfect (no retailer is) but they do not fall into that category of selling fake batteries.

I agree with this. Mooch has said that his short list is merely a list of vendors which he has had some sort of professional dealing with and he is confident that they are a trustworthy battery supplier. In no way is his list an exclusive list.

Key point here is the vendor that you buy batteries from should guarantee, to the best of their ability, that the batteries they sell are authentic name brand batteries, and should those batteries turn out to be counterfeit or in any way defective, they will either replace them or offer a refund if so proven. That's the best that any trusted supplier can do. Even the more trusted suppliers will get a rare batch of bad batteries, but the key is what will they do to correct the issue with their customer?.

 

[TrollDragon]

Very impressed to say the least. Much respect for this level of dedication toward any hobby (for lack of better words) including vaping. One of my fav websites is Dust & Grooves which is dedicated to vinyl collectors. Some very impressive libraries there!

My step daughter manages the largest vinyl collection east of Montreal. She is the station manager at CHSR-FM in the University of NB, floor to ceiling shelves full the stuff.

I asked on Head-Fi one time about the best way to convert a record collection over to digital, then showed them part of the collection.

 

[Vape Magoo]

We could find faults with any mod, regardless of make or price. But that is not the topic of discussion here. The OP has concerns with leaking juice causing damage and or leaving batteries in a mod unattended. Just like all matters in life there are certain risks in which we accept but yet ignore simply because it is impractical. Is there a danger to leaving batteries in a mod unattended? Sure…but the same risk applies when said device is attended to, such as being in your pocket or sitting in front of you on your desk. The key here is to not completely avoid risk, but to educate one self so they can mitigate risk as much as possible and understand why an event such as a failed battery or sticky fire button may have happened.

Also, as much as I have the utmost respect for Mooch and the efforts he puts forth in educating us on battery safety (well done dude!!). It is impossible for him to know every retailer and whether they sell authentic products or not. That is great if one wishes to follow Mooch’s approved vendor list, but that is not to say every retailer outside that list sells fake, dangerous batteries. For many the approved list is impractical and an unnecessary added expense. Again, the key here is educating one self, so they can identify a fake battery or shady retailer. Dashvapes is far from perfect (no retailer is) but they do not fall into that category of selling fake batteries.

@JJ Hair – if it makes you more comfortable removing your tank and batteries from your mod when not in use, then by all means do so. But if your tank is excessively leaking, then address that.

That is true. And experimenting I did get a couple of good HG2's and MJ1's from a Chinese eBay vendor. If they weren't real they are fantastic undisguisable fakes. I've just opted to minimize exposure to fakes. My paranoia has me believing some of the fakes may be impossible to spot by looking at them or even basic testing.

 

[Lufty]

so i recently got in touch with voopoo to ask about the safety of their mod the drag. I know that batteries have failed in them and videos on line show guys using cheap batteries. They said to take care if my batteries which are 18650 LG HG2 from dashvapes who reassured me they test their batteries by the case. They also mentioned leaking juice has been an issue. So if im using this mod do i have to worry about leaving it at home or overnight and juice leaking and casing a short? Does anyone have this mod? It looks awesome and most people support it as being a top shelf mod. Thanks

I have seen a concerning amount of Voopoo Drags that have spontaniously caught fire (usually around the chsrge port) on Reddit in an alarmingly short period. I would strongly suggest you dont leave batteries in it unattended, or if you do to store it in such a way that it wont burn your house down if it does.

For example, if you have a thick glass surface away from flammable material, maybe store it on that. Just make sure its away from animals, children (obv [. Or you could purchase a steel metal box/fireproof safe and just leave it in that overnight. Or a thick glass jar. Most of the cases where its burned it was a small fire, but it didnt get far enough to damage the batteries either. It appeared. I shouldnt say that, it damaged them but mostly melted the plastic and left carbon on the battery. Those ceramic crock pot type things for pot roasts in ovens would probably work, or a metal pan for cooking.

Better safe then a burned down house!

 

[Punk In Drublic]

Reddit is full of trolls. One story of a failed Drag with no details on abuse or not and it becomes headline news for the next several months. Pick a mod, any mod and search Reddit – guaranteed you will find some catastrophic story about it blowing up causing WWIII. I’d take anything you read on Reddit with not just a grain of salt but the whole dam shaker!

 

[Lufty]

Reddit is full of trolls. One story of a failed Drag with no details on abuse or not and it becomes headline news for the next several months. Pick a mod, any mod and search Reddit – guaranteed you will find some catastrophic story about it blowing up causing WWIII. I’d take anything you read on Reddit with not just a grain of salt but the whole dam shaker!

Well my reasoning behind believing this to be a fault in the device and not user error was many of the devices caught fire and melted in the same manor, the fire started around the USB port and moved out from their. Many people would argue the Drag is a popular device on reddit, so some were bound to burn, but the Legend and Pulse 80w are also just as popular as the Drag and their werent really any reports of either of them having this issue. And if it was user error from the batteries then the damsge would be focused around the battery tray, where in many cases the batteries were unscatched compared to the chip/USB port. It just didnt add up. Better safe then sorry if you ask me, their are plenty of other mods around the Drags price point that are as good/better and arent having these issues this prominently.

 

[Punk In Drublic]

Found 1 reported case of a Drag catching fire on Reddit with no mention of how or why. However, there are dozens upon dozens of speculating threads of people talking about how dangerous the Drag is with 0 evidence to back some of their claims. This is how Reddit works, one story gets blown out of proportion and now becomes some major disaster. There are a few who have claimed over heating due to a stuck fire button but I relate this more toward misuse and not knowing what to do in such a situation. How many members are on ECF? Given the popularity of the Drag how many ECF members own one? Now how many reported incidents of a Drag catching fire causing catastrophic damage on ECF?

I have no doubt there have been issues with the Drag – but name a regulated mod that has been issue free. Given the popularity of the Drag it is only natural we hear more about the problems. What we do not hear, or better put, take note of are the hundreds of thousands of functional devices.

Fully agree better safe than sorry. But there is no need to scare the bejeasus out of a new user insinuating that the mod they just purchased is a ticking time bomb with 0 evidence outside some claim on reddit. It is more beneficial to educate so that the new user can gain the needed knowledge to mitigate risk. Teaching that user about battery safety is educating them….talking about exploding mods just gives vaping a bad rep! If I was a new user to vaping, trying to quit smoking and read stuff like this….I’d go back to smoking cigarettes.

 

[Vape Magoo]

I smelt burnt plastic one day. Searched everything and couldn't locate the problem. Then my gf smelt it and checked again. Later on I went to use one of my Primo Mini's in rotation and it wouldn't turn on. Pulled the battery out, battery was fine and tested fine on a charger. It died a pretty silent death.