My first VVPV had a short so I sent it in for replacement. It took over a month, but it was replaced. When I got the replacement VVPV, it was perfect. I experienced zero problems. The
batteries lasted all day and then some. At the same time, others were reporting problems with the charging port, leaking bottles, poor battery life, sticky and/or inaccurate trim wheels etc. Mine ran almost a year completely trouble free, though.
After having it just under a year, I tipped it over on my desk and it quit working (some glue inside broke loose and the guts moved around). Back to notcigs it went. When it got back to me (just under a month again), I had problems with the charging port, the trim wheel was sticky and no longer accurate, it would accept nothing but trustfire flames (well, it would only fire with trustfire flames, but any 14500's will fit - I still haven't figured out why the grey ultrafires won't work but I do know why my black AWs won't work - the left contact is way off center).
When I emailed notcigs about the problems after repair, they did not respond. -- At the time, this was unusual for notcigs. Before the stacked
batteries fiasco, notcigs had top-notch customer service and much faster repair service. After the stacked battery fiasco, buzzkill seemed to loose interest in ECF and in his customers using the ECF forum. Bovina took over the daily operation of his forum and Bovina is very cool... but no matter how cool Bovina is, at the end of the day, I can't recommend notcigs any more. I ended up with a VVPV that has trouble charging; that will only use sub-par batteries; that won't hold a charge more than a couple of hours; that can't be reliably trimmed to the voltage I want to use; and that never leaves my desk because I can't trust it to work.
A little over a year ago, I bought a REO VV Woodville. It has been perfect. In fact, it is the PV I use all day every day. Once and a while, I take my REO Mini out with me (if I'm going to be near water - at the lake - or fishing in the river etc), but the VV Woodville is my primary PV.
