Problems with new (to me) Reo Mini

[MickeyRat]

I picked up a Reo mini recently on classifieds. I'd previously used a homemade bottom feeder. Pretty much the same principle and performance is comparable. Of course, the Reo is better made. That's why I got it. This morning however the Reo really wasn't working well. I hooked up an in-line voltmeter and found that under load, it was delivering less voltage than my homemade and sometimes it doesn't deliver any voltage. I'm not the least bit afraid of pulling the switching mechanism apart to have a look. It's simpler than the micro switch and mosfet in my homemade. OTOH I don't want to void my lifetime warranty. I'm on the road at the moment and don't have a phillips screwdriver though.

Anyone else have this problem?

 

[Erfmann]

Try a dab of nalox on the firing pin, and make sure the spring under the battery isnt collapsed....other than that, not sure what could happen to these things...only times I've noticed a drop off in performance were due to weak batteries, or clogged attys...
Reet did have a spring collapse, but that causes the unit to stop working completely...
If the mini is an older one, I've heard the nalox on the pin is more important than on the recent versions....
Maybe the masters will have a few more ideas....

 

[lostknitter]

I would check the battery and atty before I took apart my REO, That is generally where the problem is.

 

[nerak]

What batteries are you using? Did you check the voltage on them? Did you meter your atty?
Is your battery fitting in normal, or has it dropped away from the top?
As previously said usually problems are with the equipment we put in or on our REO and not the REO itself. Check everything else first. Try different batteries and attys or cartos.
If there is still a problem send a PM to Rob. Redeyedancer. He will get this taken care of quickly.

 

[mlinky]

The most common issues are caused by the battery and/or atty. If it is the REO, the most common point is the firing pin or button. First, make sure your button is turned completely counter-clockwise so that it is not locking. Second, you could have some oxidation on the point of your firing pin (which touches the battery top and completes the circuit). Clean the tip of your firing pin with a QTip dipped in alcohol and then apply a tiny bit of noalox on the tip. I clean my firing pin about once a week, but I'm a little OCD. Most folks can go months without doing it.

 

[ltrainer]

I don't think the Reos have a lifetime warranty but I coul be wrong. I thought it was 6 months. Anyone clarify this?

 

[irukandji9111]

I have no idea what the warranty is, but I will tell you this...my atty connector got destroyed (all my fault of course ) on my grand and Rob had that bad boy back to me fixed in a speedy 3-4 days! Rob is the man!

 

[Dudeman]

Noalox on the battery is about all you can do. There's basically just a pinpoint of contact on the positive post of the battery. Noalox makes that point larger.

Unfortunately, mechanical mods don't give quite as strong a punch as mods with a good old fashion switch. It's the nature of the beast.

 

[nerak]

If you can't find an answer PM Rob! He stands behind ALL his REO's, does not matter how old they are. You can even call him, his phone number is on the REO site.

 

[kot1rc5]

- Ohm test atty
- volt test the battery, charge and test again
- nolox firing pin
FYI
A non wood REO uses the body as ground. This adds some (small) resistance. Aluminum has more resistance than copper. Copper wire is used in most non mechanical mods.

I also got a mini off the classifieds. It was obviously used with some sweet fruity juices,..... not my thing. So I disassembled and soaked it for a couple of days in 50/50 water/alcohol. The scent was removed and it fired but there was a little corrosion under the spring were it is screwed on the bottom. I removed the spring and polished it clean, added a little nolox around the threads and between the spring and body. More nolox to the underside of the metal tab that the firing pin presses on (battery side). Good as new.

 

[MickeyRat]

I need to clear one thing up. When I was comparing performance, I was swapping the battery and atomizer between my Reo and the homemade. So, it's highly unlikely that the problem is there. As I said, I'm on the road. I don't have a full blown voltmeter with me. The inline is quite small so I threw it in my bag. However, I'd say that given the fact that the same battery and atomizer are working fine on another mod, those can be eliminated as a cause. I might as well see if I can find a phillips screwdriver. I'm too curious not to pull it apart and take a look.

I think the locking pin has been removed from this button. It will turn indefinitely either way and it doesn't lock in any position. I can see the spring come down when the battery is out. So, that doesn't appear to be the problem either.

Sorry, don't have any naalox or qtips with me...I can get some vodka to clean it though. Actually visually, it looks fine,

 

[Taniger1]

I'm having the smae problem. The REO just doesn't have the oomph of the Old goat I have. The vape is cold. I like a warm vape. I swapped the battery and atty over to the old goat and no problems. I use a 306 Cisco so......ya should be warm.

 

[MickeyRat]

I'm having the smae problem. The REO just doesn't have the oomph of the Old goat I have. The vape is cold. I like a warm vape. I swapped the battery and atty over to the old goat and no problems. I use a 306 Cisco so......ya should be warm.

Well, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with Reos in general. It's clearly a well made device. There might be something going on with this Reo though. I was just hoping that someone had a simple solution. I may have to wait till I get home to do more diagnosis. I still have ways to vape.

 

[mlinky]

I'm having the smae problem. The REO just doesn't have the oomph of the Old goat I have. The vape is cold. I like a warm vape. I swapped the battery and atty over to the old goat and no problems. I use a 306 Cisco so......ya should be warm.

Are you using the AW IMR batteries and have you cleaned and applied noalox to your firing pin? I have 3 Minis and use a Cisco 1.5 306; my vape is very warm and flavorful.

 

[Taniger1]

I emailed Rob, he asked me to send it back to him. He suspects it's one of the first models and wants to have a look at it :0). So I'll ship it to him and see what we get!!

 

[mlinky]

I emailed Rob, he asked me to send it back to him. He suspects it's one of the first models and wants to have a look at it :0). So I'll ship it to him and see what we get!!

Good. It probably has the original design firing pin. Most of those have already been replaced. They had a larger contact surface, were more prone to oxidation, and required diligent noalox application.

 

[Taniger1]

Yar VERY wide. But this little box show's not much sign of wear so...../shrug

 

[MickeyRat]

Okay, I made it back home last night. Here, I have more tools and equipment to evaluate things. I tried cleaning the firing pin, the end of the battery, the spring, and took a look at the switching mechanism. There's not a lot to go wrong there and I didn't find anything. Then I pulled out my ohmmeter and started checking things. The firing mechanism seems to be okay. However, the meter should read wide open between the battery spring and the center of the atomizer connector. I got around 1 megaohm. That's not right. I cleaned the connector and still got the same reading. I tried putting a 510 extension on there to simulate what would happen with an atomizer. The readings fluxuated. That would explain the intermittent nature of what I observed. I suspect there's something wrong with the isolator between the center and the ground on the atomizer connector.

That would be a really unusual problem to have but, I can't explain these observations any other way. Anyone else have any ideas?

 

[Mudflap]

Box it up and send it to Dr. Rob.

 

[nerak]

I know it is a hard thing to have to do, but Rob needs to see it. His turn around is quick, he tries to fix and mail within 24 hours of getting it. It will come back fixed and in great working order. It really is quicker than messing with it and trying to come up with things yourself. You can always call or PM him first, but I know what the outcome will be!

Okay, I made it back home last night. Here, I have more tools and equipment to evaluate things. I tried cleaning the firing pin, the end of the battery, the spring, and took a look at the switching mechanism. There's not a lot to go wrong there and I didn't find anything. Then I pulled out my ohmmeter and started checking things. The firing mechanism seems to be okay. However, the meter should read wide open between the battery spring and the center of the atomizer connector. I got around 1 megaohm. That's not right. I cleaned the connector and still got the same reading. I tried putting a 510 extension on there to simulate what would happen with an atomizer. The readings fluxuated. That would explain the intermittent nature of what I observed. I suspect there's something wrong with the isolator between the center and the ground on the atomizer connector.

That would be a really unusual problem to have but, I can't explain these observations any other way. Anyone else have any ideas?