Singin' the Ego Twist Battery Blues

[Thornie]

Until yesterday at about 5 PM I had been 28 days analog free. I had issues with my batteries... or my charger... or both. Still do, and they have escalated. Bwahahahahaaa (yes, that is the sound of encroaching hysteria!

Neither of my 2 would charge properly. All of a sudden. One of my 2 seemed to be holding a charge a little better than the other, but I was going insane. I braved my nicotine withdrawal while I searched the forums for possible solutions. I concluded that the problem was twofold, so I set about adjusting the pin on the batteries to assure a connection and I also adjusted the pin on my charger. Then I had a really bright idea (I then thought). I have the little adapter to make my 808 cartos fit on my ego and as far as I knew the 808 charger still worked properly, so I threaded them together and set one of my egos to charge. This was around 3 am this morning, after finally breaking down and smoking a few nasty, hot analogs to push back the withdrawal. The good news was, I wasn't happy to smoke. It didn't feel, as it always had before, like I was embracing an old friend. It was pretty gross. I really wanted to vape.
*sigh
Then I fell asleep. I awoke this late morning to a super hot battery. Just as I removed it from the charger it gave a little pop and dribbled its life juices onto my nightstand. RIP, battery number one.

I should mention that I live way out in the boonies and running out to pick up a charger or battery is NOT an option for me. The nearest place is 35 miles away and they want $99 for an ego knockoff starter kit, which contains the only charger in their shop that would fit. I ordered a couple of new batteries and a charger yesterday and they will be here in a couple of days. In the mean time, I'm trying the 808 charger again but I've set a timer, and I guess I'll just have to choke down the occasional analog to keep me from grabbing an automatic weapon and heading for the nearest walmart.

 

[RosaJ]

Get a hold of the vendor who sold you the eGos and ask if they are genuine Joyetech. If they are, then they have a six months' manufacturer warranty and they'll ask you to send them back. If not, then you're stuck buying more.

 

[junkman]

Sorry to hear the problems. Lesson learned: have more backups.

 

[dsy5]

There could be a couple reasons the battery fried - 1) maH too high or 2) polarity od the chargers are reversed. I know for a fact that the Blu ecig charger is the opposite polarity of an EGO charger.

 

[Los Marauder]

Any chance of geting a crappy disposable gas station e cig in the mean time. I know you said town is to far away, but some times gas stations are closer. So sorry to hear your bad fortune.

 

[Thornie]

Thanks for the support and suggestions. My batteries are indeed real egos, so I will definitely get in touch with the vendor!! And I did order 2 more yesterday, and picked up a disposable today. I also managed to get a charge on my remaining ego using the adapter and the 808 charger. I used an usb phone charger adapter. I kept a close eye on it and only charged it for about 2 hours. Been vaping on it most of today, and have the disposable for use while I charge it again for a couple of hours tonight. I don't see anything on any of my chargers that indicates maH...? My choices seem to be

Input: AC 100-240v1v or 2v output
50/60HZ 0.3A
Output: DC5.0V--1.0A

or

Input: AC 100-240v1v or 2v output
50/60HZ 0.4A
Output: DC5.0V--2.1A

I used the second one and my battery began getting a little warm in about 2 hours, so I took it off. Perhaps I should use the other one?

 

[Switched]

Neither of those chargers should be used as they put out too much current. I know it can be daunting in the beginning but are you looking to become a statistic? Only used the mfr recommended charger that came with a device.

The proper charger for the eGo is:

Wall adapter
Input 100-240VDC 50/60HZ 100mA
Output 5VDC 500mA

Charger (USB)
Input 5VDC 500mA
Output 4.2VDC 420mA

... and yes some chargers (808) do have reverse polarity. For general info 1A = 1000mA the 2nd charger has a charging capacity 5 times greater than the battery can accept. e.g 420mA x 5 = 2100mA or 2.1A

Please be careful it is less harmful going back on the stinkies while waiting for the appropriate equipment then becoming a statistic.

 

[Thornie]

Wow, Switcher!!! Thank you!! I had no idea!! I bought my first charger from a different vendor than I got my batteries, and the wall adapter didn't work so I erroneously (and now it turns out, stupidly) used the one above. The second of the 2 actually came with my first e-cig switch attempt from 2 years ago... a cheapie stick type with push on cartos that I was never able to find cartos or anything else for. I just thought it would be ok!! I'm going to copy and save the much appreciated info you've given me. So I'm not seeing those numbers when I look at my Mac usb info. Is it safe to assume that I can use the powered port on my Mac, or no?? All I see is this: "Current Available (mA): 500
Current Required (mA): 100"

My new egos won't be here until Tuesday, I think. I picked up a $20 stick type at a smoke shop today (I was paying $8 for a disposable, it was breaking my little bank!! lol) by Imperial that came with the little usb thingy, but no wall adapter...

I'd like to give big props to Ken at Vapor Beast. When I called about my batteries, he immediately told me to send them back and he'd replace them both at no charge, even though I had passed the Vapor Beast exchange period of 30 days.

Thanks again for the info, Switcher.

 

[ShogaNinja]

Sorry to hear about eGopocalypse.

 

[vsummer1]

I am in the AV, how close are you? I may have something I can PIF to you. If you are close, PM me.

ETA: Looks like you picked something up earlier so you are all set until the new ones come in?

 

[Switched]

Wow, Switcher!!! Thank you!! I had no idea!! I bought my first charger from a different vendor than I got my batteries, and the wall adapter didn't work so I erroneously (and now it turns out, stupidly) used the one above. The second of the 2 actually came with my first e-cig switch attempt from 2 years ago... a cheapie stick type with push on cartos that I was never able to find cartos or anything else for. I just thought it would be ok!! I'm going to copy and save the much appreciated info you've given me. So I'm not seeing those numbers when I look at my Mac usb info. Is it safe to assume that I can use the powered port on my Mac, or no?? All I see is this: "Current Available (mA): 500
Current Required (mA): 100"

My new egos won't be here until Tuesday, I think. I picked up a $20 stick type at a smoke shop today (I was paying $8 for a disposable, it was breaking my little bank!! lol) by Imperial that came with the little usb thingy, but no wall adapter...

I'd like to give big props to Ken at Vapor Beast. When I called about my batteries, he immediately told me to send them back and he'd replace them both at no charge, even though I had passed the Vapor Beast exchange period of 30 days.

Thanks again for the info, Switcher.

No problem my good man I am just glad all worked out for you. Yes you can plug the USB chrager to your computer, better yet, an independent USB hub

 

[Switched]

Sorry to hear about eGopocalypse.

Switched's post may be a little confusing for some. The outlet adapter is a standard USB so it puts out 5v. You connect the normal USB charger to it - the output of that is as he said DC 4.2v 420mA.

Don't plug that other situation in again please until you verify that it has this output. I don't want to hear a story that you burned your house down etc... It'd be on the news too and then the vaping community at large would be a target for the media again not to mention, at very best, it's likely to cost you another battery too. I've been where you're at (well dang close) when I lost 3 batteries in the span of a week leaving me with one. Remember, 4 batteries is a backup, 2 chargers is a backup. Anything less than that is NOT a backup.

Go get some disposables to hold you over from a convenience store, or wire up a quick passthrough. It's easy as pie. Since you have a dead battery, all you need do is take an atomizer and pry (well WIGGLE) the ego connector off the battery and wire it up to a spare USB cable. Wear gloves if you have raw acid concerns, and safety goggles.

How to make a passthrough. You will need a switch of some sort. It doesn't matter what it is. Toggle, button, whatever. I don't recommend trying to use the one that came in your eGo though since it's attached to a PCB. Scavenge one from an old electronic device or get one from Radio Shack or the like. You can wire the whole thing up in your dead eGo battery case. Slot out the bottom cap, tape it together whatever it takes. You do need some solder to make the connection to the eGo connector. Once you get one going just make sure to use a 5v wall adapter if possible. The USB output on a frontpanel of a computer is not always consistent, and if anything goes wrong (like a short) you are very likely to do serious (and expensive) damage to your computer (and even moreso with a laptop). Take the computer out the equation. Use an adapter. DON'T leave a passthrough plugged in unattended. It's not wise.

Also, if you'd like to see the guts of an eGo BEFORE you go in, there is a complete repair guide on my blog, The Vaper's Handbook (link is in my signature) WITH pictures and labels for each of the parts, as well as full instructions on how to take them apart, etc.

Here's a link as to how others on ECF have made passthroughs. I would've linked a video but the guy I know closed his account. You can look around on YouTube and see what you can find there if you wish.
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/modding-forum/257535-making-5v-usb-pass-through.html

OR you can try cutting the other charger apart and splicing a new USB cable to it, if you suspect that the 510 connection itself is not to blame. You can, of course, pry it apart and check for yourself, and rewire it while you are in there. The wiring to those things isn't exactly rocket science. See this as a challenge. Necessity is the mother of all invention. I try to get people to learn how to be self-sufficient in case there's an FDA ban, or WWIII, total economic collapse, zombie apocalypse, or what have you for this very reason.

Oh, and please take the dead battery (if there's anything left) and take it to Lowe's which is one company I know accepts battery recycles. They have a little box on the wall usually at the Customer Service/Returns desk just on the right or left as you go through the first set of doors, but before you enter the store proper. Please don't pollute the environment if possible.

Thanks for the clarification.

OTOH I am not sure I would have recommended the remainder considering the circumstances and not knowing the degree of expertise Thornie has at this point.

 

[Racehorse]

Get some disposables from Lorikay13 at SmokeStik here.......I keep several in a drawer for just this reason. they taste great, and way better than any gas station cigalike you can find.!

She also runs a lot of contests, so find them and maybe you can win some.

Even people with the best hardware should keep DISPOSABLES around ------- power outages in summer and winter will render your equpment useless!!!!

(not smokestix, but SmokeStik)

A lot of us think we have all this high tech stuff and it never occurs to us that you can have the most expensive equipment yet there are times when a simple disposable will mean the differrence between continuing to vape and breaking down and having to buy an analog NO NO NO!

I keep a few in drawers all over the house. Also give a lot away.

 

[Thornie]

ShogaNinjah, thanks! LOL. It's all a bit confusing to me, but living out here on 40 acres of scrub, sand and scorpions, believe me, it won't be the first, (nor I'm sure, the last) thing I must learn self sufficiency in. I have discovered though that my learning curve these days is a bit of a larger, softer curve than it used to be! I definitely will NOT hook up to the previous charging setups. I have learned my lesson. I sent back both batteries for exchange. Now I feel kinda bad knowing that it was my fault and not the manufacturers, but I guess I got lucky with a good vendor. I will save your instructions on making a pass through, though, and thanks for the good advice on what backing up would be. LOL out here I may just bump that up a bit. I have 4 batteries on the way as I type and one charger. I now 2 of the usb adapters for 510, so my next order I will add a couple of wall adapters. As a tiny aside in my own defense, I did read about battery hazards and charged my batteries in a tin plate on a ceramic tile surface well away from anything flammable.
@Vsummer, hey thanks so much!! I am blown away by how kind and friendly (as well as helpful and informative) the folks on this forum are. I think I'm in good shape with my little stick type 510, the powered usb port on my Mac and an atomizer. I am happily dripping and cruising through my work days here without the need to resort to "stinkies"! (hahahaha... I love that!! It's so true! I was one of those smokers who LOVED to smoke, but HATED everything associated with it; the smell, dirty ashtrays.... *shudder) Thanks again to everyone!!!

 

[Thornie]

No problem my good man I am just glad all worked out for you. Yes you can plug the USB chrager to your computer, better yet, an independent USB hub

LOL. "woman"

 

[Thornie]

Get some disposables from Lorikay13 at SmokeStik here.......I keep several in a drawer for just this reason. they taste great, and way better than any gas station cigalike you can find.!

She also runs a lot of contests, so find them and maybe you can win some.

Even people with the best hardware should keep DISPOSABLES around ------- power outages in summer and winter will render your equpment useless!!!!

(not smokestix, but SmokeStik)

A lot of us think we have all this high tech stuff and it never occurs to us that you can have the most expensive equipment yet there are times when a simple disposable will mean the differrence between continuing to vape and breaking down and having to buy an analog NO NO NO!

I keep a few in drawers all over the house. Also give a lot away.

Will do and thank you!!! (Although that will have to be next month. I've already blown this month's nicotine budget.

 

[vsummer1]

@Vsummer, hey thanks so much!! I am blown away by how kind and friendly (as well as helpful and informative) the folks on this forum are. I think I'm in good shape with my little stick type 510, the powered usb port on my Mac and an atomizer. I am happily dripping and cruising through my work days here without the need to resort to "stinkies"! (hahahaha... I love that!! It's so true! I was one of those smokers who LOVED to smoke, but HATED everything associated with it; the smell, dirty ashtrays.... *shudder) Thanks again to everyone!!!

No problem, I think you are (relatively) close to me and I do have a personal backup of my backup, so if you needed it, well, what are neighbors for? Glad to hear you were able to find something to tide you over until you get your delivery.

 

[Thornie]

Yay!!! I got my new batteries today (not the returned ones, LOL, the ones I had ordered the day it all started going downhill) along with a proper charger. So now I have 2 chargers. *happy dance* The 2 replaced batteries will be on their way soon, and I ordered an appropriate wall adapter to go with.
I already had the following on my wishlist, since my truck doesn't have a cig lighter or usb port for charging on the go, and after considering Racehorse's power outage emergency disposables suggestion, I'm putting it on next month's list: Solar Ego Charger Thanks again to everyone for your support and advice.