What am I not getting here ?

[FarmerCam]

7 years ago, my first Bloog I opened was great! Then I learned I had to buy 5 batteries to get 2 or 3 good ones. Then a few years later, the 1st myJet I bought was also great until I found the same poor quality control in those. Had to buy 5 to find maybe 3 good ones.

And now... I have tried the vaporesso Zero. Wonderful little device. Doesn’t satisfy my desire for a cig between my fingers and too heavy to support with only my mouth, but man!- it has great battery life, a great hit and is a snap to fill. I have now purchased 7 from eBay to get 3 that didn’t work at all, 1 that was very weak and 3 good ones. Thinking I was being sold knock-offs, I have now purchased 2 more from a local (40 miles away... I live in a rural area) vape shop. 1st one was great until it got ran over by a 40,000# tractor (cleaned it up and straightened the dents and it still worked!!). Thought I’d better get a replacement from the same store in case it would fail (still vapin’ the poor thing) and low and behold... the new one doesn’t work at all!

By the way, blowing them out with 175# of air pressure does NOT improve their performance at all...

While I’m on here, I received my new uwell Caliburn Saturday. It’s a nice device, same good flavor, much more airy draw, smaller battery lasts, but not as long as the Zero of course and takes twice as long to fill as the Zero. Caliburn mouthpiece is awkward after using the Zero.

In summary, I have not read of others on here having such troubles with quality control. And how am I so lucky to get a good device on my 1st trial ?

 

[Toronnah]

You're getting knockoffs if you're buying on the Bay.

Order from a legit vape store.

 

[FarmerCam]

As I suspected...

Tried to verify their code on Vaporesso’s website and they did not recognize them. I’m a little thick sometimes but finally catch on.

Thank you for the reply.

 

[Baditude]

E-Bay tends to attract those evil individuals willing to take advantage of consumers by selling knockoffs, counterfeits, or older off the shelf battery products. E-Bay may be fine to purchase odds and ends from, but not for batteries.

You do know that batteries begin to degrade almost immediately after they are made, right? Some folks will purchase old stock piles of gear at a reduced price, and go on E-Bay to unload it with a pretty decent profit margin. Batteries have an expected shelf life of just 1 - 2 years.

Stick to the larger, established, well-known vape sites such as My Vapor Store, Discount Vapors, Element Vape, Vapor DNA, Vape Wild, Eight Vape, etc. who turn over their stock frequently. These sites sell name brand authentic gear, too.

 

[FarmerCam]

Thank you, I will. I guess they sell at a discount for a reason.

 

[Baditude]

Thank you, I will. I guess they sell at a discount for a reason.

Duh.

Batteries are the most important part of your setup. It doesn't pay to skimp on cheap batteries, as you have found out repeatedly. Try to purchase name brand batteries from reputable suppliers; you'll save money in the long run.

Ciga-likes (cigarette-size batteries like the Bloog) are getting harder and harder to find. Why? Because they are poor performers when compared to larger battery devices. Although not written in stone, the bigger the battery the better the performance. Its not realistic to ask a cigarette-size battery to perform like a cigarette does, you need a larger battery.

Good Starter Setups for a Beginner Vaper

 

[DeloresRose]

In addition to shopping at the list of sites Bad gave you, go to those sites and sign up for emails. Yes, you’ll get far too many emails, but you’ll also learn of any sales. There are always sales, but the ones around any holiday are better than the everyday ones.

 

[bombastinator]

It is against policy for ANY vape stuff to be sold on either eBay or amazon. While it is still done, the result is any vape stuff sold there is by definition shady.
To make it worse, China has a very healthy counterfeit industry, and their main outlet for fake products is amazon and eBay. I would randomly estimate that the vast majority of vape stuff sold in those places is fake.

 

[Rossum]

Batteries have an expected shelf life of just 1 - 2 years.

Depends on the battery. I have some five year old VTC5s. The worst of them measures at 89% of the rated 2600 mAh, and the rest are in the low 90s. All still show respectable internal resistance values as well.

 

[Brewdawg1181]

E-Bay tends to attract those evil individuals willing to take advantage of consumers by selling knockoffs, counterfeits, or older off the shelf battery products. E-Bay may be fine to purchase odds and ends from, but not for batteries.

You do know that batteries begin to degrade almost immediately after they are made, right? Some folks will purchase old stock piles of gear at a reduced price, and go on E-Bay to unload it with a pretty decent profit margin. Batteries have an expected shelf life of just 1 - 2 years.

Stick to the larger, established, well-known vape sites such as My Vapor Store, Discount Vapors, Element Vape, Vapor DNA, Vape Wild, Eight Vape, etc. who turn over their stock frequently. These sites sell name brand authentic gear, too.

I knew Li-Ion batteries had a shelf life, but didn't realize it was that short. So I looked it up at BatteryUniversity.com. I also knew lower temperatures helped, but this shows that storing at 0-C with a 40% charge, you'd only lose 4% of capacity after a year. Interesting. Didn't know it helped that much. Guess I'll have to stick the mods I'm not using in a ziplock in the freezer.

 

[Baditude]

Mooch doesn't recommend storing batteries in a refrigerator, let alone a freezer.

• "Storing batteries in the refrigerator doesn't make much of a difference in battery life unless you live in an area with high temperatures year around. It's not dangerous to refrigerate them but be sure to let them come to room temperature before opening whatever airtight wrapping/container you have them in."

• How can we extend the life of our batteries?

 

[Rossum]

Guess I'll have to stick the mods I'm not using in a ziplock in the freezer.

Mooch doesn't recommend storing batteries in a refrigerator, let alone a freezer.

Every spec sheet I've looked at for a li-ion cell allows for storage at freezer temperatures or even lower, so fridge or even freezer temperature is not a problem per se. So I asked Mooch why he recommends against it on his Patreon page. It's basically because he's worried about condensation and the corrosion that could result. He also doesn't think it will make a significant difference to how fast they degrade.

Since I've had a hard time finding anything definitive myself, I decided to put it to the test myself. Earlier this summer I bought eight VTC5As and tested them for capacity and IR. Two of them are now in the freezer, two in the fridge, and two in at room temperature. These six are all at "storage charge" (3.6V). Another set of two is at room temperature, but fully charged, and I intend to top them off every few months. I will be re-testing all eight next summer to see if there are any significant differences.

 

[sonicbomb]

Since I've had a hard time finding anything definitive myself, I decided to put it to the test myself.

Nice one Rossum

 

[Baditude]

 

[stratus.vaping]

It is against policy for ANY vape stuff to be sold on either eBay or amazon. While it is still done, the result is any vape stuff sold there is by definition shady.
To make it worse, China has a very healthy counterfeit industry, and their main outlet for fake products is amazon and eBay. I would randomly estimate that the vast majority of vape stuff sold in those places is fake.

It does not seem to be against policy at Ebay UK to sell vape kit. You have to be an established business seller and apply and be accepted onto the " adult items" sale category, joining with those who sell <ahem> marital aids ( quote!) and inflatable dolls 8) So be careful of used items folks!

 

[Brewdawg1181]

Every spec sheet I've looked at for a li-ion cell allows for storage at freezer temperatures or even lower, so it's temperature is not a problem per se. So I asked Mooch why he recommends against it on his Patreon page. It's basically because he's worried about condensation and the corrosion that could result. He also doesn't think it will make a significant difference to how fast they degrade.

Since I've had a hard time finding anything definitive myself, I decided to put it to the test myself. Earlier this summer I bought eight VTC5As and tested them for capacity and IR. Two of them are now in the freezer, two in the fridge, and two in at room temperature. These six are all at "storage charge" (3.6V). Another set of two is at room temperature, but fully charged, and I intend to top them off every few months. I will be re-testing all eight next summer to see if there are any significant differences.

Great idea, especially since there's a broad range of batteries out there, but for the most part, we're dealing with 18650's. I mean, the Battery University site looks sciency and all, but they don't detail the product tested or methodology.

But I'm wondering what made you decide to top them off every few months? Seems that'd introduce more mushy variables, and most people storing rather than using them, wouldn't do that.

 

[Brewdawg1181]

Mooch doesn't recommend storing batteries in a refrigerator, let alone a freezer.

• "Storing batteries in the refrigerator doesn't make much of a difference in battery life unless you live in an area with high temperatures year around. It's not dangerous to refrigerate them but be sure to let them come to room temperature before opening whatever airtight wrapping/container you have them in."

• How can we extend the life of our batteries?

Yeah, looking again at the chart I posted, it's only showing a 2% drop going from freezing to room temp after a year. I can see why he'd be more concerned with condensation, which is why I mentioned a ziplock. But even sealed, it'd have moisture in the air it was sealed with. So I guess 2% isn't really worth the trouble. More important not to store overcharged.

 

[Rossum]

I mean, the Battery University site looks sciency and all, but they don't detail the product tested or methodology.

Exactly. In addition, some of the info on that site strikes me as rather dated. Li-ion cells have improved a lot over the last decade or so. I mean car manufacturers (both straight EV and Hybrid) are now offering 8 year, 100,000 mile battery warranties as something of an industry standard. They would have to be completely nuts to do this if the shelf life of li-ion cells was only 1-2 years.

 

[bombastinator]

It does not seem to be against policy at Ebay UK to sell vape kit. You have to be an established business seller and apply and be accepted onto the " adult items" sale category, joining with those who sell <ahem> marital aids ( quote!) and inflatable dolls 8) So be careful of used items folks!

It may be eBay.uk and eBay.com have different systems

 

[United States]

check to see if the contacts are wet on the second one you bought at the shop. could be juice is between the contact points preventing the electrical connection.