What causes hard draw/uneven performance? (901)

[Shan123]

My first hardware, a 901. Been using the same atomizer for the month I've been at this, and rotating between 3 batteries, one recently bought as a spare, and one of which has gone all the way south -- I don't know if the new one went bad, or an older one just gave up.

Lately I'm getting VERY uneven performance. Last night I was drawing so hard to get any vapor (and sometimes to get the LED to come on at all) that my cheek muscles ached. Other times, it takes so little effort to crank up this atomizer that I get crazy vapor, great flavor, and an atty that's uncomfortably warm/hot to touch.

Am I looking at an about-to-go-bad atty, or a steadily weakening set of batteries? I'm guessing this is a battery problem... I just hooked up a charged battery that's rarely been used (from BF's starter kit he never quite took to), and I'm getting very decent vapor and a somewhat easier draw.

What are the signs, if any, when an atty's about to go? And is there a way to test these batteries to see what shape they're in?

Thanks, brainiac vapers.

 

[STILLSMOK9]

My first hardware, a 901. Been using the same atomizer for the month I've been at this, and rotating between 3 batteries, one recently bought as a spare, and one of which has gone all the way south -- I don't know if the new one went bad, or an older one just gave up.

Lately I'm getting VERY uneven performance. Last night I was drawing so hard to get any vapor (and sometimes to get the LED to come on at all) that my cheek muscles ached. Other times, it takes so little effort to crank up this atomizer that I get crazy vapor, great flavor, and an atty that's uncomfortably warm/hot to touch.

Am I looking at an about-to-go-bad atty, or a steadily weakening set of batteries? I'm guessing this is a battery problem... I just hooked up a charged battery that's rarely been used (from BF's starter kit he never quite took to), and I'm getting very decent vapor and a somewhat easier draw.

What are the signs, if any, when an atty's about to go? And is there a way to test these batteries to see what shape they're in?

Thanks, brainiac vapers.

I just switched to a 901 this week from a rn 4081 and it has been a real tease at best

At first it was great(easy draw, tons of vapor)!

Now I am experiencing your delimna, plus a nasty burnt taste that comes and goes

Have to say I am a little disappointed after all the rants and raves

 

[geeker]

Having the same issues here...
I think it's an atty problem, because my SD acts this way with the 901 attys, too.

 

[taz3cat]

I have recovered some atty's using 99% alcohol (rubbing) and then us them on my USB pass though, because it get hotter than my battery's. It takes a several puffs to get them to really work again almost like new.

I have found that when they need cleaning they will get hard to draw.

 

[dee5]

Are you sure you are not covering up the little hole towards the battery end of your e-cig with one of your fingers when you're trying to take a drag? You won't get anything out of it at all if you keep it covered up the whole time, check and see.

 

[Annastasia]

My 901 is doing this too, it's really annoying. The newest battery I have (about a week old) works like a champ, but my other two have been getting progressively worse for the last few days. It looks like I'm sucking a lemon, and the l.e.d. comes on apparently whenever it feels like it -- more often when it's sitting on my desk than when it's in my mouth. It's gotta be a battery thing because I'm using the same atomizer each time and getting totally different performance.

 

[VelvetVisions]

Personally, I don't think all attys are the same. My very first PV (901) sucked, and also gave me headaches from drawing so hard (and I wasn't covering the hole, in fact I did it on purpose sometimes to get the atty hotter).

I bought some extra parts and basically built a new 901 and this one has been going like gangbusters, I love it. I'm really not looking forward to this atty going bad out of fear the next one won't be quite so good. I think sometimes it's a crap shoot as far as attys go. IMHO.

 

[Jules22871]

It's crap shoot with the batteries too. I had 9 go bad in one week. I had 9 others that were fine so it wasn't user error, just a bad batch of batts is all. Thankfully they have all been replaced. In the little bit of experience I've had, the batteries are what made the ecig hard to draw. The only atty I had go bad without me messing with it to make it go bad, just got to where it wouldnt produce any vapor.

 

[firhill]

First thing to try is take some tissue and make sure that the areas of contact between the atty and the battery are nice and clean.

If that fails to help, take a paper clip and gently pull the inner (positive contact) ring on the battery out just a tiny bit. Not much..but just enough to help/make sure that the atty and battery are making good contact with one another.

 

[bri1270]

I strongly suggest blowing your 901 atomizers out every day/night and let them drain battery side up. It sounds to me like most of you have flooded them.

 

[enico]

Are you sure you are not covering up the little hole towards the battery end of your e-cig with one of your fingers when you're trying to take a drag? You won't get anything out of it at all if you keep it covered up the whole time, check and see.

This is a common issue and for some reason this is the only e-cig (I use a few different one's) that my finger lands on the hole a lot of times.

 

[Shan123]

Wow, thanks for all the replies. No, it's definitely not finger-over-the hole... I occasionally do that on purpose, but I normally hold the 901 by the battery and rarely touch the atty.

After more observation I'm becoming convinced that it's not this atty but the batteries... as in, my two originals are just starting to die out after a month of heavy use. A second battery set I have is really iffy anyway -- from a starter kit I'm just cannibalizing now (the one BF never started using). One battery does that won't-turn-off trick frequently so I put it AWAY, and the other one has this intermittent good-draw/hard-draw, won't-always-turn-on thing going. It seems like a switch problem on both those batteries.

I drain this atty on a paper towel almost every night, with a small twisted bit of paper inserted up around the iron mesh, and blow it out from the other end occasionally. I've cleaned the contact area of the atty with a Qtip dampened in 91% isopropyl, and will do that to the rest of the batteries when they're charged -- can't hurt but might not help. In the 901, what are the contacts, exactly? I'm assuming it's the flat surfaces, engraved with numbers, surrounding the interior hole.

I'm just gonna invest in several more 901 batteries... and am waiting for a new Joye 510 to arrive (ooh, a month in and I'm on my second piece of hardware!), hoping a manual battery will yield a more consistent result.

 

[cyberwolf]

A passthrough might be a good investment for you, too. I finally got a kodak USB adapter today at Bestbuy for my passthrough and this is the best my 901 has performed so far. I had other adapters that were rated at 5V 1amp, but wouldn't work.

I still take my M401s on the road because the 901 is so hit-and-miss. One draw will yield no vapor and the next liquid in my mouth. The third will be perfect! One thing I have found when I'm getting poor vapor is to give the unit one good shake to try to get some liquid moving toward the atomizer. That seems to help.

 

[Shan123]

Cyberwolf, heh... I just got a Joye-510 tonight, with a passthru. The problem is that apparently the passthru normally comes with a weird battery that goes in the little black box, but mine didn't, so I haven't experienced it yet. At least, someone else 'splained that the missing battery is likely why my passthru isn't doing anything. I'm guessing a 510 passthru must be similar to a 901 passthru.

Why do you need a USB adapter for a passthru? I thought a passthru was by definition a USB critter; it is not? (I feel almost as stupid as the night someone explained to me that you can pop the tops off most drip bottles to refill them with your own mix of liquid.)

You're describing exactly the experience I'm having with this month-old 901. Nothing vs. mouthfuls of liquid vs. the occasional blazing-atty monster vape. After spending some quality time with this 510, I've decided it is a trumpet to the 901 kazoo. (A Screwdriver sounds like the equivalent of a tuba.) The 901's still a pretty decent introduction to the vapeosphere -- I was completely enchanted with it for several weeks (and, y'know, stopped smoking) -- but I'm seeing cloudier, tastier vistas just ahead. Maybe a 901 passthru will rekindle my affection for my first love. Thanks.

 

[MonkeyMonk]

Well, all of you made me feel a little better, the only consistancy I have found with vaping is that it is inconsistant... You get 1 or 2 days of perfection and then a problem arises... you work on the problem... find a fix or a new gizmo... another couple of days of great vaping and then a new problem...

But, when it works....Mmmmm... there is nothing better!!!!

 

[kr0nicle]

I strongly suggest blowing your 901 atomizers out every day/night and let them drain battery side up. It sounds to me like most of you have flooded them.

+1 they get finicky when they are flooded..

also you might try sucking on the end of a battery w/ no atomizer attached - to see how hard/easy the draw may be. i fixed one of mine that was acting up by spraying some isopropyl alcohol (eyeglass cleaner) into the threaded end - waited a few minutes - then blew from the led end to make sure none was left. dont remember who suggested this but it does work.

 

[taz3cat]

Well, all of you made me feel a little better, the only consistancy I have found with vaping is that it is inconsistant... You get 1 or 2 days of perfection and then a problem arises... you work on the problem... find a fix or a new gizmo... another couple of days of great vaping and then a new problem...

But, when it works....Mmmmm... there is nothing better!!!!

MonkeyMonk, you said it all, can't and don't need to add anything to that statement.

 

[framitz]

I was having a problem with one of two atomizers. The bad one was very hard to draw hard enough to keep it turned on. It was virtually unusable.

I fixed it:
I took a sharp knife and used the blade to push off the LED cover. There are two vents on the side, I broke those open to allow more air and then pushed the cover back into place. I just took wire cutters and sniped out the vent area to make slots.

Now it is the better of the two batterys that I have!

This should help in some cases.

 

[Kate51]

My first hardware, a 901. Been using the same atomizer for the month I've been at this, and rotating between 3 batteries, one recently bought as a spare, and one of which has gone all the way south -- I don't know if the new one went bad, or an older one just gave up.

Lately I'm getting VERY uneven performance. Last night I was drawing so hard to get any vapor (and sometimes to get the LED to come on at all) that my cheek muscles ached. Other times, it takes so little effort to crank up this atomizer that I get crazy vapor, great flavor, and an atty that's uncomfortably warm/hot to touch.

Am I looking at an about-to-go-bad atty, or a steadily weakening set of batteries? I'm guessing this is a battery problem... I just hooked up a charged battery that's rarely been used (from BF's starter kit he never quite took to), and I'm getting very decent vapor and a somewhat easier draw.

What are the signs, if any, when an atty's about to go? And is there a way to test these batteries to see what shape they're in?

Thanks, brainiac vapers.

I've been using a DSE801 (Now a Janty Stick!) but I suspect the same problems may be mutual. I replaced manymanymany batteries, as they lose power and won't charge sufficiently anymore, which in turn I think fouls the atty coil, then that will go cold too. But also you mention drawing hard: I found that to compound the problem, harder pull just pulls more juice into atty and you get that extra that won't vaporize popping into your mouth or leaking out into the battery top, worse!
Is the wick matl in your cart good, not maybe lumpy and packed too tight (hard pull) or too loose (can't hold as much juice). Pull should be nice and light, do nice long pulls, not harder pulls, you know?
Probably battery deficiency, my guess. That seems to trigger all other anomolies.

 

[Shan123]

i fixed one of mine that was acting up by spraying some isopropyl alcohol (eyeglass cleaner) into the threaded end - waited a few minutes - then blew from the led end to make sure none was left. dont remember who suggested this but it does work.

I've heard references to "blowing through the LED end" before and never understood this. Then I just read a little below your post where someone wrote about popping the LED cover off and making airholes -- so, you pop the cover off the LED and blow into that end? (Man, it seems like I ask an awful lot of obvious questions here.)

You folks are a goldmine of info.

And I don't know that I can ever be happy going back to my 901 after having spent just one day with this 510. YIKES. It's freaky good -- of course, I am comparing brand-new gear to old, that might make a dif. The only thing I don't like about the 510 is the round mouthpiece; it's slightly bigger in circumference than a cigarette filter, and doesn't clamp between the teeth well, when you suddenly need both hands, like a 901 mouthpiece does. OTOH, you can set the 510 down on a table and not worry about it rolling off like the 901 can, because the battery button stops it.