Please help - z atty pro - center post popping

[DarklyNoon]

Like I said before, I'd be nervous about having the glue up near the top deck, but to each their own.

Just be careful with tightening the positive screw... That's how my glue broke.

 

[Rule62]

Like I said before, I'd be nervous about having the glue up near the top deck, but to each their own.

Just be careful with tightening the positive screw... That's how my glue broke.

I'll keep that in mind. I haven't taken the ZAP apart yet, so I have no idea what's inside; but I'm pretty mechanically inclined, so it shouldn't be a problem. Thanks for the tip about not tightening the positive connection too tight. I'm still using the factory wick and coil. But I'll have to change it out eventually.

 

[ninfreak]

Thanks DarklyNoon & Buzzsaw46!

A few weeks after I got my Z Atty Pro, I remember seeing a crusty, foam-like residue that seemed to be coming from the center tube, and thinking that it looked like Gorilla Glue. This residue cleaned off easily and the atomizer worked so wonderfully that I ignored this.

One morning about two months ago, I discovered that my Provari/Z Atty Pro wouldn't fire. The pin had retracted back into the atomizer during the night...somehow...perhaps something to do with no use, no heat, and 50-something degree living room? Taking things apart would cause that pin to pop back down and to resume making contact with the terminal on the device.

I had emailed House of Hybrids regarding this issue and never received a response. I've also been monitoring the House of Hybrids site because I'd like to order some more wicks and a cobalt-colored tank, but they haven't been accepting orders for about two to three months now. Combining all of this stuff, I'm a bit frustrated.

I'm going to clean the atomizer tonight, apply some gel super glue near where the bases of the delrin insert and center tube meet and wherever this "step" is, and let it sit overnight.

Thanks again!

the pin retracting back up inside is generally due to juice buildup inside....take the atty apart and clean.....every week i do this to clean all metal contacts(pin, spring, and post) juice does get in there, albeit very minute amounts. i do this to clean the oxidation off the metal too, just like i would any mechanical anything.

to your comment about the tanks on his site. he no longer sells anything....everything is now sold through vendors. 310 vapors, provape, electronicstix, and mawn&co. so checking his site is really pointless

i love my zap....it has now seen 5,000 mls of juice and it keeps trucking

 

[ninfreak]

I'll keep that in mind. I haven't taken the ZAP apart yet, so I have no idea what's inside; but I'm pretty mechanically inclined, so it shouldn't be a problem. Thanks for the tip about not tightening the positive connection too tight. I'm still using the factory wick and coil. But I'll have to change it out eventually.

it is a fantastically simple device (simple things always seem to be better). there are not many parts. there is the top post with the positive wire screw. a spring under that that is responsible for the floating pin underneath. and you have the negative screw...thats all the parts.

and as i said in my last post it will need to be cleaned for corrosion and juice buildup. it will warn you though. your ohm reading will start to climb steadily higher till one day your zap will show OP error message. i really ought to make a cleaning video, as all these peeps that now have zaps have no clue how to take care of it and will start complaining in droves

 

[NFiorentini]

the pin retracting back up inside is generally due to juice buildup inside....take the atty apart and clean.....every week i do this to clean all metal contacts(pin, spring, and post) juice does get in there, albeit very minute amounts. i do this to clean the oxidation off the metal too, just like i would any mechanical anything.

I hadn't heard this before. The only thing that I've across regarding Z Atty Pro care have been videos which dealt exclusively with removing the tank and coil and wick replacement. I guess tonight I'm going to figure out how to the post, spring, and pin in order to clean it.

to your comment about the tanks on his site. he no longer sells anything....everything is now sold through vendors. 310 vapors, provape, electronicstix, and mawn&co. so checking his site is really pointless

i love my zap....it has now seen 5,000 mls of juice and it keeps trucking

I did not know this either. In fact, I had emailed Provape regarding purchasing replacement wicks and they referred me to House of Hybrids. So they may also not be aware that House of Hybrids site isn't selling anything anymore. And I never saw a message about "everything," including Zencessories, now being sold through vendors. There was a notice about disabling adding items to your cart because the company was behind in fulfilling orders; the inference, to me, was that this was a temporary situation, and to keep checking back.

I apologize if I'm coming across as being too negative. I also love the heck outta my ZAP and wouldn't trade it for anything.

 

[ninfreak]

i was prolly the one sounding the most negative, and for that i am sorry. sadly the only people that have a clue what is going on in the world of zen are the one's that follow the zen thread. i just looked at his site and it does say to go to the vendors i mentioned for parts https://houseofhybrids.3dcartstores.com/

it is very easy to take this thing apart....unscrew the top post(needle nose and a towel to avoid dents and dings), push pin and spring out with something that will fit in there, that's it. sometimes i have to sand all the metal parts down real lightly if the oxidation is bad, but most of the time i can just give the parts an iso bath

 

[NFiorentini]

Well...I have screwed up royally. I was not able to get the delrin insert to budge. It's stuck, sticking up about 1mm.

Worse yet, my ZAP will not fire at all now. I put everything back together correctly. I put that tiny bb or ball-bearing back in (didn't lose it). The coil is fine. But it will not fire and the atomizer check mode on the Provari is showing "OP."

Anyone have any ideas of things that I could try to get it working again?

 

[Buzzsaw46]

You need to get the center post pressed in all the way. If it was me I would try to tap it in by placing a small piece of wood over the center post and lightly tap on it with a hammer, don't wack it hard just light taps.

With the number of people having trouble with this I really think Zen needs to address this with a redesign. For the price we paid we should not be having this issue. Not every one is mechanically inclined to solve issues like this and as consumers we should not need to figure out how to repair design short comings. Why could he not make it so the center post threads into the body, rather then relying on glue to hold it in place.

 

[NFiorentini]

You need to get the center post pressed in all the way. If it was me I would try to tap it in by placing a small piece of wood over the center post and lightly tap on it with a hammer, don't wack it hard just light taps.

With the number of people having trouble with this I really think Zen needs to address this with a redesign. For the price we paid we should not be having this issue. Not every one is mechanically inclined to solve issues like this and as consumers we should not need to figure out how to repair design short comings. Why could he not make it so the center post threads into the body, rather then relying on glue to hold it in place.

I completely agree. Gorilla Glue? REALLY?!? Also, I can go to Zen's website, click "ADD TO CART" which takes me to a page that says "Out of Stock" and "PUT ME ON THE WAITING LIST," and there's nothing about him not selling Zencessories anymore. There are some customer service issues here, as well as...ummm...whatever this glue issue can be called.

Also, I'm a little frustrated that Zen made a really good video illustrating how to replace the coil and wick and how to vape with the atomizer, but not about cleaning the pin inside like NINFreak is describing. And my Google-Fu hasn't turned up anything.

Which brings me to the latest:
I did actually try to use a hammer and a piece of wood to push the insert back in and it didn't move at all. So I gave up, put everything back together, and tried to fire it. The ZAP didn't work!

I assumed that I had messed something up by beating on it with the hammer and the block. What I had actually done was knock gunk and corrosion in such a way as to prevent it from working. I was able to remove the spring, but I never was able to get that pin out. So instead, I repeatedly flushed the inside out with a syringe and alcohol, continuously depressing the pin. Eventually, I got several paper towels-worth of junk out of there.

Now it works.

But there really needs to be a more detailed explanation of this aspect of ZAP care, ideally on Zen's site. Preferably, in the form of a video. I'm not going to attempt to remove the pin again until I see someone else do it.

I was also able to order the replacement wicks and the cobalt tank from ElectronicStix.com. I emailed them a question about the tank size for the ZAP and got a response in 10-15 minutes, which was impressive, especially on a Saturday!

Now I need to learn how to oxidize wicks!

 

[Rule62]

I guess I'm totally confused. I haven't tried taking mine apart yet. I haven't needed to. But a video, from someone who has, would be helpful.
How does the pin come out? Do you gain access to it when the top positive screw is removed, and push it out the bottom? How does the solid stainless tube piece on the deck come off? What does this neoprene piece do; and where is it?

 

[Buzzsaw46]

Sorry my tip didn't help with your issue. I'm glad you were able to get it working again though!

I watched the Vapelink video with Zen last night and he explained that he was just overwhelmed by the CS aspect of being a manufacturer/distributer, which I can understand. I think he needs to slow down on making new products and address issues with products already on the market. Even if the solution is as easy as doing a video walking folks through maintenance and potential repairs.

Vapelink Episode 12: Fireworks- Zen. Jeannie, and Coz goes off...... - YouTube link to the Zen interview.

 

[DarklyNoon]

I fixed mine tonight and I'm waiting for it to dry fully before using it much. Get the "Super Glue" type of Gorilla Glue... It's CA and I'm pretty sure that doesn't expand.

I also took the advice of cleaning out the spring chamber and added some noalox to the spring for good measure. The pin wouldn't come all the way out, so after removing the spring, I used a paper clip to push the pin to the top and dabbed it clean with a paper towel. Prior to doing this it was adding .4-.5 ohms of internal resistance to whatever coil I wrapped. After cleaning, it's metering dead on as it should... I'll just have to remember to clean it out occasionally.

 

[ninfreak]

I completely agree. Gorilla Glue? REALLY?!? Also, I can go to Zen's website, click "ADD TO CART" which takes me to a page that says "Out of Stock" and "PUT ME ON THE WAITING LIST," and there's nothing about him not selling Zencessories anymore. There are some customer service issues here, as well as...ummm...whatever this glue issue can be called.

Also, I'm a little frustrated that Zen made a really good video illustrating how to replace the coil and wick and how to vape with the atomizer, but not about cleaning the pin inside like NINFreak is describing. And my Google-Fu hasn't turned up anything.

Which brings me to the latest:
I did actually try to use a hammer and a piece of wood to push the insert back in and it didn't move at all. So I gave up, put everything back together, and tried to fire it. The ZAP didn't work!

I assumed that I had messed something up by beating on it with the hammer and the block. What I had actually done was knock gunk and corrosion in such a way as to prevent it from working. I was able to remove the spring, but I never was able to get that pin out. So instead, I repeatedly flushed the inside out with a syringe and alcohol, continuously depressing the pin. Eventually, I got several paper towels-worth of junk out of there.

Now it works.

But there really needs to be a more detailed explanation of this aspect of ZAP care, ideally on Zen's site. Preferably, in the form of a video. I'm not going to attempt to remove the pin again until I see someone else do it.

I was also able to order the replacement wicks and the cobalt tank from ElectronicStix.com. I emailed them a question about the tank size for the ZAP and got a response in 10-15 minutes, which was impressive, especially on a Saturday!

Now I need to learn how to oxidize wicks!

https://houseofhybrids.3dcartstores.com/
read the front page....he doesn't sell anything anymore and all customer service is done through these vendors and not through him anymore.

contact provape and get this situated...they are the ones to talk to not zen, but if you really need to talk to him call the number on his site. i will try to make a video soon for this very very easy proccess for all to see, and i will try and contact him personally so this issue can be put to an end

 

[ninfreak]

I guess I'm totally confused. I haven't tried taking mine apart yet. I haven't needed to. But a video, from someone who has, would be helpful.
How does the pin come out? Do you gain access to it when the top positive screw is removed, and push it out the bottom? How does the solid stainless tube piece on the deck come off? What does this neoprene piece do; and where is it?

the pin is a sperate piece that is held down by a spring(this is why it floats) which is underneath the positive post. the positive post is threaded into the delrin(which you referred to as neoprene, which it isn't) you remove the top post(not the screw that you attach the wire with, but the entire post itself) then you take a paperclip or something that will fit into where the pin is in the connector and shove it through till the spring and pin come out.

 

[NFiorentini]

https://houseofhybrids.3dcartstores.com/
read the front page....he doesn't sell anything anymore and all customer service is done through these vendors and not through him anymore.

contact provape and get this situated...they are the ones to talk to not zen, but if you really need to talk to him call the number on his site. i will try to make a video soon for this very very easy proccess for all to see

I definitely look forward to the video! Thanks!

Also, I think I see where the confusion is...at least between us: Two different websites.

Your link: https://houseofhybrids.3dcartstores.com/
My link: Home "http://houseofhybrids.com/"

I see what you're talking about on your link. But the only thing close to that page on my link, which is the first return in Google for "House of Hybrids," is under the "About Us" tab.

I think that clears things up a bit!

 

[Buzzsaw46]

I wish I would have thought to at least take some pics while mine was apart. I thought it was a more isolated issue at the time though so just fixed it and went back to vaping.

 

[ninfreak]

aye....it has always just been common sense to me so i never figured people might need help with it. anything mechanical you have to clean the contact points.

our zenfidel thread is now in the electronixstix forum.... zenfidels are always there to help you guys if there are issues. we have always been and will continue to be zen's customer service. i hope i have given some of you at least a bit of my knowledge

 

[Rule62]

the pin is a sperate piece that is held down by a spring(this is why it floats) which is underneath the positive post. the positive post is threaded into the delrin(which you referred to as neoprene, which it isn't) you remove the top post(not the screw that you attach the wire with, but the entire post itself) then you take a paperclip or something that will fit into where the pin is in the connector and shove it through till the spring and pin come out.

OK...got ya so far. But how does the top post come off? Is it threaded?

 

[ninfreak]

read my post again lol......"threaded into the delrin"

 

[Rule62]

read my post again lol......"threaded into the delrin"

Oh...ok. I misunderstood. I thought you meant the positive screw was threaded into the delryn.