The perils that the new vaper must face

[Lil-Stewie]

I'd like to acknowledge and send a thank to all that posted the offers of some equipment to use while I get my situation sorted out, you guys are the epitome of the definition of a good neighbor. Funny as big as Canada is when we all get together on a forum like this we are like next door neighbors me thinks. So with regards to all your offers of eGo or 510 batteries etc to use the truth is I won't be able to make use of them because since I'm shipping the complete T-Rex kit back I won't have a proper battery charger on hand. Yes I could have just sent the batteries back and kept the other parts but after mulling it over sending the whole kit back seems like the right way to go.


Next...


A big thank you goes out to VapourGuy for offering me the use of his 510 USB PT while I work at getting the situation with my gear sorted out...very very much appreciated friend and that device I'm sure I can and will make good use of since it won't require a charger. I have 1 new cartomizer left that I got from the weekend market guy to use with it, I'll miss dripping for sure but I think I can deal with that loss for now


Group Hug

.

 

[LoungeMuffin]

Hang in there Steve! Hopefully Vapors Kitchen will do the right thing and give you a refund or exchange, whatever it is you are asking for. Keep us posted on the outcome...

 

[tmac1981]

The last thing any of us would like to see is a fellow vaper have to go back to cigarettes
good luck and i hope everything works out for you

 

[BlondieLocs]

I'd really like to take that kit back up to him and center him out with a crowd nearby. I don't mind a guy making a buck but it for sure does not work anything like he said it would...not even close.

Just go back there with your fancy new eGo, and vape right beside him. Bet you'll have more questions than he!

 

[Danesnpits]

I'd like to acknowledge and send a thank to all that posted the offers of some equipment to use while I get my situation sorted out, you guys are the epitome of the definition of a good neighbor. Funny as big as Canada is when we all get together on a forum like this we are like next door neighbors me thinks. So with regards to all your offers of eGo or 510 batteries etc to use the truth is I won't be able to make use of them because since I'm shipping the complete T-Rex kit back I won't have a proper battery charger on hand. Yes I could have just sent the batteries back and kept the other parts but after mulling it over sending the whole kit back seems like the right way to go.


Next...


A big thank you goes out to VapourGuy for offering me the use of his 510 USB PT while I work at getting the situation with my gear sorted out...very very much appreciated friend and that device I'm sure I can and will make good use of since it won't require a charger. I have 1 new cartomizer left that I got from the weekend market guy to use with it, I'll miss dripping for sure but I think I can deal with that loss for now


Group Hug

.

So very very happy for you Stewie, and I want to say I am so proud of you for sticking through it. You are so very right. This tight community we got going on here is amazing! Everyone here is like a big ol family, lookin' out for each other's welfare. Good for you Stewie for coming here, seeking advice, venting when you had to, taking the time to think things through and coming to your senses to keep up with vaping!!!! You are an amazing person!

 

[sparky604]

I am curious what your setup is. I would like to try ego. I am using 510 right now but the ego is looking mighty fine!

I'm alternating between an eGo and a GGTS with AVS at the moment. I like the GGTS as a carto holder, it gives a bit more kick than an eGo at 3.7v - but not too keen on the AVS tank. Tastes weak to me, even with 510 atomizers, etc. Boge 3 ohm carto at 3.7v is the thing I'm sticking with from now on!

The thousand bucks was spent on buying cartomizers, various different attys, RoyalSmokers cartos, rechargeable batteries from China, eGo lanyard that I don't use, LR atties, regular atties, The Dripper (lol what a waste of $20), TastyVapor juice from the States, various juices from other suppliers... if it looked interesting I bought it. Slowed way down on the buying now

 

[Sagg]

That was a great post thx for doing that. I am six weeks into vaping and went from a pack a day to less than 7or8. Starting to enjoy different flavours and it helps that i can smell so much better! Replacing the anaologs with the vape is not always easy. Sometimes feel I am saying goodbye to a friend though.. Did you quit cold turkey or did you do the cutdown method?

 

[AlbertaClipper]

I cut down on my use for starters, and then eliminated analogs altogether around 2 weeks ago....going well so far.

 

[kanadiankat]

I'd like to acknowledge and send a thank to all that posted the offers of some equipment to use while I get my situation sorted out, you guys are the epitome of the definition of a good neighbor. Funny as big as Canada is when we all get together on a forum like this we are like next door neighbors me thinks. So with regards to all your offers of eGo or 510 batteries etc to use the truth is I won't be able to make use of them because since I'm shipping the complete T-Rex kit back I won't have a proper battery charger on hand. Yes I could have just sent the batteries back and kept the other parts but after mulling it over sending the whole kit back seems like the right way to go.
Group Hug

.

First - welcome to the wonderful world of vaping and ECF. There is a thread here that is a primer for beginners - I think one of the best written. You might be a bit beyond some of it - but it's really great info to mull over while waiting for the new kit.

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/new-members-forum/32985-buying-using-electronic-cigarette-primer.html

 

[Lil-Stewie]

Hi all .. I'm still alive, vaping happily and feeling great .. been analog free for 17-18 days now too!! Kudos to VapourGuy and his 510 USB PT for playing a big part in that miracle

I am sorry I didn't bother to pop in and update this thread but really I was done stressing over this T-Rex deal. As I and others in the world have figured out the hard way some of the T-Rex'es out there in the wild are truly just junk. I should have done my homework a little better before I fell for VK's sales pitch and maybe even asked which Chinese supplier it was that they were getting theirs from. A quick look on Alibaba shows there is more than one company manufacturing the T-Rex kits and obviously some are not faring as well as others with regards to quality and life expectancy.

So I don't know if anyone noticed but earlier in this thread I had posted a video showing what was going on with my T-Rex, talked about sending it back and so on, well I did send it back. After it arrived at the vendor's place of business I received an email from them and in that email I was asked to remove the video because it was bad for business, I complied and had one of the mods delete the post which linked to my video. Few days later I received a replacement T-Rex kit, few days later both batteries in the replacement kit fell apart where they were glued together by who knows who. I notified the vendor about this and pointed out that the use of a cyanoacrylate adhesive (ie: super glue) on the replacement batteries was obvious and at that point I was told that I'd be sent 1 more battery but after that they no longer wanted to do business with me. That last replacement battery was said to have been mailed out last Monday but I have not received it yet and quite frankly I could care less if it ever arrives.

After admitting defeat on the T-Rex deal I was sitting here vaping away one night last week on the 510 USB PT plus browsing my local Kijiji and I spotted a recently posted ad for a NIB VGO kit for 25 bucks. Seems a local guy bought 2 VGO kits and then decided vaping wasn't for him so long story short I went for a drive and picked it up. The VGO I bought from him came with 5 fresh KR808D-1 type cartomizers and I was a bit skeptical about buying into something that uses the 808D-1 stuff but really it's been an awesome kit and best part is that it's batteries haven't randomly fallen apart!! I was thinking about getting a couple 510 adapters for it so I can use some of the 510 stuff I have but I don't think I'm going to bother as the 2 cartomizers I've been using are holding up well, I still have 3 fresh ones in the box plus 808D-1 cartos are fairly cheap and easy to get. The included cartomizers vape quite nice too and 2 filled cartos gets me through the day with juice to spare. Something else I'll add is that the VGO batteries are 650 mah but so far I've been getting about 12 hrs of use per charge which kinda blows me away because the T-rex batts were 650's too but I was only getting about 6-7 hrs of use out of those per charge .. go figure eh .. lol

So whats next? Well I think I'm going to get into building some mods so I can make use of the 510 hardware I have kicking around and I've already been collecting bits and pieces for a flashlight + tank mod I have in mind. Still have to decide on what battery I want to use for my mods and then order up some tho. Now that I have the VGO and some mods in mind I'm thinking too that I should pass this 510 USB PT back to VapourGuy or maybe pass it along to someone who is interested in checking out vaping and getting off the analogs. Seems the later might be the right thing to do as I seriously do think that this particular 510 USB PT has some good karma attached to it, it certainly kept me in the game which in the long run might turn out to have been a life saver.



Goodnight all and happy vaping

 

[RubenX]

Nice story. Thx for sharing your journey. I've been trough a few equipments myself, just to find out I still prefer to vape from the standard 510 atty/cart. But I'm still buying stuff to try out, still on a quest to achieve vaping nirvana, where flavor will be great, TH will satisfy, refills will be minimal, and the only thing to buy will be replacements and juice.

 

[thinblueline36]

Quite the story. I too started vaping with a disgustingly overpriced unit, but since it got me off analogues after a twenty-year two-pack-a-day habit, I consider it a deal at twice the price. I went from the over-priced hunk-of-junk to a 510 to a Silver Bullet, and after that I started making my own mods. It's not as steep a learning curve as some people think. Ten months ago I didn't know a soldering iron from a curling iron and now I can throw together a mod from scratch to finished in just under an hour.

Keep on vaping, you megalomaniacal football headed ankle biter!

TBL36

 

[BlondieLocs]

So I don't know if anyone noticed but earlier in this thread I had posted a video showing what was going on with my T-Rex, talked about sending it back and so on, well I did send it back. After it arrived at the vendor's place of business I received an email from them and in that email I was asked to remove the video because it was bad for business, I complied and had one of the mods delete the post which linked to my video. Few days later I received a replacement T-Rex kit, few days later both batteries in the replacement kit fell apart where they were glued together by who knows who. I notified the vendor about this and pointed out that the use of a cyanoacrylate adhesive (ie: super glue) on the replacement batteries was obvious and at that point I was told that I'd be sent 1 more battery but after that they no longer wanted to do business with me. That last replacement battery was said to have been mailed out last Monday but I have not received it yet and quite frankly I could care less if it ever arrives.

This disgusts me, and confirms my thoughts that this is a vendor I do not wish to deal with. (I'm fortunate that I have NEVER had a bad experience with a vendor to date - although I tend to over-research my purchases and vendors before any dealings.)

I'm glad that your bad experiences haven't dissuaded you from vaping entirely. I know some people would end up with a bad taste in their mouth because of something like this, and just give up.

Good luck on your foray into modding!!

 

[Lil-Stewie]

I'm fortunate that I have NEVER had a bad experience with a vendor to date - although I tend to over-research my purchases and vendors before any dealings.

I can relate...

I've been online shopping since shopping went online and of the hundreds of completed transactions I've never had an issue or complaint about a product or a seller. I guess I can look at the Vapors Kitchen deal as a the one bad apple I picked off of the online shopping tree. What's odd tho is that I seem to maybe be a one off with them, no bad words about them can be found anywhere but in the same breath there is nothing positive to read either.

 

[BlondieLocs]

I can relate...

I've been online shopping since shopping went online and of the hundreds of completed transactions I've never had an issue or complaint about a product or a seller. I guess I can look at the Vapors Kitchen deal as a the one bad apple I picked off of the online shopping tree. What's odd tho is that I seem to maybe be a one off with them, no bad words about them can be found anywhere but in the same breath there is nothing positive to read either.

While I can, to an extent, forgive a bad experience due to faulty product because of the nature of the device, what I cannot forgive is the attitude of the vendor in dealing with you. To ship you back batteries that were super-glued together, and then when confronted about it say they will replace ONE and then refuse to do business with you thereafter IMHO is reprehensible.

There are other vendors here that go well and above the call of duty when dealing with returns and/or faulty products. Yes, it is not their fault they are shipped faulty product from China - it is also not the customer's fault for purchasing faulty products. The good vendors understand this, and do everything possible to rectify the situation.

I have an eGo Mega atomizer that I received from Happy Vaper that has a minor manufacturing defect - the end where the cartridge sits is a little too wide, and the threads are wonky (my M601 atty will actually seat ). Regardless of the fact that it works, Jack offered to replace it for me. There was also a recent thread where someone had a couple batteries die, likely due to user error. Kat at Electro-Vapers ponied up and offered to replace them anyway.

These are the types of vendors that will always get my business - the ones who understand what customer service really means.

 

[AlbertaClipper]

These are the types of vendors that will always get my business - the ones who understand what customer service really means.

I'll second that! What costs the vendor more: to fix the problem properly or to lose the amount of sales that will happen as a result of a bad consumer experience? I'll bet a lot of vendors wouldn't even exist if not for the forums. They need to remember that this is where the good, the bad, and the ugly all are freely represented and that a dissatisfied customer may just TALK about it.

 

[BlondieLocs]

I'll second that! What costs the vendor more: to fix the problem properly or to lose the amount of sales that will happen as a result of a bad consumer experience? I'll bet a lot of vendors wouldn't even exist if not for the forums. They need to remember that this is where the good, the bad, and the ugly all are freely represented and that a dissatisfied customer may just TALK about it.

Well, apparently not if some vendors think it's okay to tell someone to take down a video/post that may be detrimental to their business. (Note: I have no problem with this IF the post is slanderous or flat out untrue... but an honest review or post about a problem with faulty product? Come on. )

 

[AlbertaClipper]

Yeah, I woulda probably not been as friendly as Stewie, and left the stuff up for us to see for ourselves (particularly since it wasn't nasty). Facts 'r' facts...you screw me, I'll talk about it! I would certainly listen to a mod for the forums, but ... a vendor? Oh well...

 

[Lil-Stewie]

I've attached a picture of the insides of one my T-Rex replacement batteries that self destructed. Those that are experienced with cyanoacrylate will see the tell tale signs of it's use right away and for those that are not well look closely and basically everywhere you see some white fuzzy\powdery looking stuff that's the evidence of cyanoacrylate use. This white powdery looking stuff is what you get when cyanoacrylate is left to cure or whatever in an enclosed environment, the white gets even more pronounced if the cyanoacrylate is exposed to a little heat. For CSI buffs this white stuff that is deposited on objects when cyanoacrylate fumes are circulating in an enclosed environment is why forensic scientists use cyanoacrylate fuming for obtaining finger prints in certain circumstances. Anyway as you can see the white stuff is on the PCB, the bottom of the button, the clear plastic center parts, the wires and there was some deposited on the top of the battery too.


The Cyanoacrylate Fuming Method

AlbertaClipper

Yeah, I woulda probably not been as friendly as Stewie, and left the stuff up for us to see for ourselves (particularly since it wasn't nasty).

Well at that time they kinda had me over a barrel in that they requested I take it down before I had the replacement kit here in my hands, I took the high road so to speak just to make sure I would get something back.


Edit: You may have to download the picture and zoom in on it to see what I was talking about. The forum software resized the image which makes it hard to see the cyanoacrylate fuming reaction clearly.

 

[VapourGuy]

I find it sad that a company would do this to what could have been a loyal repeat customer and it is all over something that probably cost them around $15-$25 when bought in bulk. They should know if they don't take care of legit issue a customer has with manufactures defects and come off with the I don't care since I already have your money attitude that maybe the customer might look out for the next unsuspecting consumers. But that is just my opinion