What to do with tube & 18650 batts? w/ no switch!

[Tamster]

So, as I was trying to "save money," I should have remembered my Grandpa telling me, long ago: "The cheap turns out to be expensive; we can't afford to buy cheap."

But after a 3-month relapse to analogs, my lungs/heart were urging me to go back to ecigs...at the same time that my wallet was slim. So I opted for an 18650 E-Power that came with a tube, 2 18650 batts w/ charger (could recharge one, while using the other), and a switch. A package that suited my pocketbook.

Within 2 weeks of receiving the kit, the switch died. I emailed the vendor, and they sent me a new switch, because they have a 14-day warranty. Now it is 3 weeks after I received the second switch, and today, it died, too. (I teach people how to fly airplanes, and none of my students have crashed in the thirty years I've been at it, so suffice it to say that I'm pretty good with gadgets/communication.)

I am *not* into the idea of ordering the same switch for this E-Power (from the original vendor, or any other), but I am open to being persuaded...

Anyway, I have a tube and two 18650 protected batts. Anything I can do with this rudimentary set-up???

(BTW, in the meantime, I am probably going to order an EGO USB Passthrough battery. I usually am near my computer, and hope that I can get a bit of mileage out of that.)

Any tips on what I can do with the equipment I already have, and/or with where best to get an EGO Passthrough, would be highly appreciated!

Best & thanks!

 

[tobarger]

Thats got to be the cheapest switch in the universe
Your either going to replace it every two weeks
Or replace it with a better switch

You could "hot wire" it, but you'll need three hands to vape it.

 

[Tamster]

Your either going to replace it every two weeks
Or replace it with a better switch

Yes! I want a *better* switch! Is there one that's compatible with this tube/batts?? Please advise!!

 

[sailorman]

I don't know where to get a "better" switch, but I do know that the e-Power switches have been revised several times in the last year and it's very likely that some vendors are still selling old stock. Unfortunately, you chose the 18650 model. The 14650 is built a lot better and the newer switches are turning out to be very reliable. I would think that the 18650 switches have undergone similar revisions.

My suggestion is to contact some vendors and nail one down as to whether he has the latest switch. CrystalClearVaping is the best e-Power vendor around and Andrew will actually communicate with you. They only sell the 14650 model, but he might be able to steer you to the best switch available, or even order it for you. At the least, he can likely give you the lowdown on the whole situation. They're a small outfit and good that way.

 

[sailorman]

Meanwhile, if you want something of unquestionable reliability, you're going to have to forget the eGos and e-Powers and the other mass produced Chinese stuff. What do you want a disposable e-cig for anyway? Do you have a terminal disease? Are you going to give up vaping in the next 6 months? You're going to have to bite the bullet if you want something you can really depend on.

Here's a an e-cig you could throw out the window of your plane, pick it up, stick a new carto on, and continue vaping.
I have run mine over with a tow truck, dropped it overboard into the Gulf, buried it overnight in mud and dropped it out the window of a car at 30mph., and it still works like new. There are two sizes. An 18650 and a 14500. I have the 14500 size. The 18650 is even tougher and you can't find a single bad word written about it since the day it was introduced, several years ago. I challenge you to try.

Meet the renowned, the revered, the virtually indestructible, bulletproof "Silver Bullet"
AltSmoke.com | Personal Vaporizers | Electronic Cigarette | Ecigs | Silver Bullet - Starter Kits

 

[Huffelpuff]

I would recommend that you buy a different ecig. Not worth messing around w/ batteries if you don't have experience with that type of thing. It's a battery (which can be volatile) that you hold in your mouth. JMHO though but I'm not into quick fixes for vaping. Not worth risking injury to person or stuff.

 

[Rader2146]

For a big battery mod on a budget I would recommend a Smokteck Bolt. With the extension if accepts 18650's, 18500's without extension. I've have mine for about 3weeks now and it is a solid, heavy wall aluminum mod. There have been a few complaints in the past about the wire from the switch to the connector being too thin, but if you have a problem and are slightly handy with a hobby knife and soldering iron then it will be just as good as the most expensive unregulated mods on the market.

A couple days ago I dropped mine straight on the drip trip from about 5 feet. The carto separated at the base (takes a lot of for e to separate if you never taken one apart before) But the connector and everything else was still straight and true.

Hoosier has a sale going for the Bolt with extension (no battery). This is probably your best option since you already have batteries.
Maxi Roughstack V2 Multi-voltage capable E cig mod
(edit: ignore the name of the link. The page header is incorrect. The link is for the Bolt)
Or

With 18500 battery, no extension.
Crystal Clear Vaping
Extension are available separately.
Crystal Clear Vaping

 

[TheHop]

Just to share....
I started vaping with an Ego-T 1000 mah passthrough batteries the first of January and bought 4, 2 for me 2 for my wife. knock on wood, it's 6 months tomorrow and all 4 are still kickin strong! I can make it through an 8 hours shift at work on 1 battery, without a recharge. I use a 1.6ml Clearomizer tank 2.2 Ohm.
I chose those batteries because of the price. Since then I picked up 2 more 1000 mah batts (non-passthrough) about a month ago and already had one of those go bad due to a switch problem. I also upgraded to a Lavatube for home use mainly because of it's size, but it's great too.
I know there is good and bad in all things, but I have been really impressed with our Ego's.
Good Luck!

 

[Iusedtoanalog]

Ok Tamster, Are you fairly handy with a soldering iron? You could opt for a switch like this 3A 125V SPST Normally Open Pushbutton Momentary Switch : Pushbutton Switches | RadioShack.com which served me incredibly well in my last mod. It should fit in the top portion of your epower once you get the original garbage out of there. then its just solder in a wire from one side of the switch to the center connecto and solder the other side of the switch to the positive battery contact in the head. It being a 3ampere switch there is very little you could do to kill it. Once you have modded the head on your epower if you ever roach the switch it would be a simple swap with another. I do not own an epower but if i had a battery tube a couple 18650 and a crappy switch head you bet I would find a way to make it run again. Radioshack almost always has a store close to everyone and these switches are in stock at most of them. Good Luck. Happy Vaping.

 

[sailorman]

For a big battery mod on a budget I would recommend a Smokteck Bolt. With the extension if accepts 18650's, 18500's without extension. I've have mine for about 3weeks now and it is a solid, heavy wall aluminum mod. There have been a few complaints in the past about the wire from the switch to the connector being too thin, but if you have a problem and are slightly handy with a hobby knife and soldering iron then it will be just as good as the most expensive unregulated mods on the market. ...

With all due respect, you obviously never handled a Silver Bullet. The OPs original problem was a switch. The Bolt uses a cheap $2 horn switch you can buy at Madvapes. The build quality isn't even close to a SB or a BB. It takes more than "heavy wall aluminum" to make a great PV that people love so much they buy five and six and that almost never show up in the classifieds. Three or four years from now, people aren't going to be talking about how they bought nine PVs, all better than the last, but they still hang on to their Bolt.

The SB uses a commercial grade, 1 million cycle, vandal resistant switch like they use in ATMs and public intercom systems. It uses 6061 aircraft grade aluminum and the threads are the smoothest, most robust you've ever seen on any piece of equipment. The fit and finish makes the Bolt look and feel like the cheap knockoff it is. You will never hear about the wires breaking on a SB when the positive battery terminal twists the wires apart when you install a battery. You will never have to take it apart to try to solder some cheap wires back together. You will never hear about a Bolt that had stacked batteries vent in it and only needed to have the switch pushed back a 1/8" into the housing to be functional again.

You've had your Bolt for a whole 3 weeks. That's not even a decent trial period. The crappiest PV with the cheapest switch on earth could last 3 weeks. Check back after 2 or 3 years of daily, heavy use. Drop it 400' off an antenna tower onto concrete and see if it still vapes. Drop it into the Gulf of Mexico and see how much longer it works.

To compare the Bolt to the SB is like comparing one of those fiberglass Cobra kit cars to the real thing. Yeah, they look the same...from a distance....if you don't touch them....or use them... End of story.

 

[Rader2146]

Sailorman,
With all due respect....I don't need, nor will I probably ever handle a silver bullet. I'm sure that it's a great mod built to very high standards. The OP mentioned a slim wallet so I keep my recommendations with budget in mind. Let me add to the sentence that you put in bold; "that will vape just as good as the most expensive.....". Will it be indestructible? No, nothing is. But does a person NEED a million cycle switch, or 6061 aluminum, or the smoothest most robust threads? Absolutely not. A person might want that, and it is their choice to pay for those qualities, and pay a lot. The Bolt sturdy enough and simple in construction to the point that is can be serviced by the user for many years. I can replace a $.99 switch (easy task) a couple times over the next couple years and upgrade to heavier wire and still be far from the the SB price tag.

Don't make the mistake of assuming that since I'm new and only had my Bolt for a couple weeks that I'm ignorant to aspects of quality. There is a difference between functional quality and pioneering the laws of over-engineering, which one someone chooses to pay for is their own choice.

 

[nomoretar]

So, as I was trying to "save money," I should have remembered my Grandpa telling me, long ago: "The cheap turns out to be expensive; we can't afford to buy cheap."

But after a 3-month relapse to analogs, my lungs/heart were urging me to go back to ecigs...at the same time that my wallet was slim. So I opted for an 18650 E-Power that came with a tube, 2 18650 batts w/ charger (could recharge one, while using the other), and a switch. A package that suited my pocketbook.

Within 2 weeks of receiving the kit, the switch died. I emailed the vendor, and they sent me a new switch, because they have a 14-day warranty. Now it is 3 weeks after I received the second switch, and today, it died, too. (I teach people how to fly airplanes, and none of my students have crashed in the thirty years I've been at it, so suffice it to say that I'm pretty good with gadgets/communication.)

I am *not* into the idea of ordering the same switch for this E-Power (from the original vendor, or any other), but I am open to being persuaded...

Anyway, I have a tube and two 18650 protected batts. Anything I can do with this rudimentary set-up???

(BTW, in the meantime, I am probably going to order an EGO USB Passthrough battery. I usually am near my computer, and hope that I can get a bit of mileage out of that.)

Any tips on what I can do with the equipment I already have, and/or with where best to get an EGO Passthrough, would be highly appreciated!

Best & thanks!

My personal experience with Smok products has been horrible!! Switch/button problems are unexceptably common. Apparently NO quality control.

 

[yzer]

I would recommend that you buy a different ecig. Not worth messing around w/ batteries if you don't have experience with that type of thing. It's a battery (which can be volatile) that you hold in your mouth. JMHO though but I'm not into quick fixes for vaping. Not worth risking injury to person or stuff.

Single cell APVs have an exemplary safety record.

 

[yzer]

Switch module for first version E-Power 18650. Maybe worth a call or e-mail.

Parts for SMOK Tech Epower Electronic Cigarettes, E-Cigarettes, E-Cigs, Personal Vaporizers

 

[sailorman]

Sailorman,
With all due respect....I don't need, nor will I probably ever handle a silver bullet. I'm sure that it's a great mod built to very high standards. The OP mentioned a slim wallet so I keep my recommendations with budget in mind. Let me add to the sentence that you put in bold; "that will vape just as good as the most expensive.....". Will it be indestructible? No, nothing is. But does a person NEED a million cycle switch, or 6061 aluminum, or the smoothest most robust threads? Absolutely not. A person might want that, and it is their choice to pay for those qualities, and pay a lot. The Bolt sturdy enough and simple in construction to the point that is can be serviced by the user for many years. I can replace a $.99 switch (easy task) a couple times over the next couple years and upgrade to heavier wire and still be far from the the SB price tag.

Don't make the mistake of assuming that since I'm new and only had my Bolt for a couple weeks that I'm ignorant to aspects of quality. There is a difference between functional quality and pioneering the laws of over-engineering, which one someone chooses to pay for is their own choice.

Re-read the first sentence in the OP's first post.
An item you have to repair and one you have to rebuild with your own components is NOT "as good" as one built right in the first place. On a particular day, it may vape as well. A Hyundai goes 30mph "as good" as a Mercedes, but is it "as good"? On any given day, at 30mph, it might be. There's a difference between quality, durability and reliability and "over-engineering". If you think "functional quality" is something that only functions after periodic rebuilds and repairs, then you indeed are ignorant to the aspects of quality and a Fiat is as good as a BMW.

So, you save $30-40 buy buying a cheap Bolt. Over the course of the next couple years, you spend how long replacing switches, upgrading wires and dealing with seized, galled threads? What is your time worth?

We aren't talking automobiles here. You shouldn't have to buy a simple PV with the anticipation that it'll need to be repaired and parts replaced as a matter of course. Again, I refer you to the first sentence in the OPs first post. I had assumed that was an indication that he had learned his Grandpa's lesson.

 

[tj99959]

Who needs a tube/switch when you got a good thumb.

Disclaimer:
Don't try this unles you know what you're doing (instant short if you don't know how to prevent it)

 

[sailorman]

Who needs a tube when you got a good thumb.

Exactly. You don't NEED 6061. You don't NEED a million cycle switch. You don't NEED smooth, robust threads.
The ThumbPV has all the functional quality of a Silver Bullet. And it's more reliable than a Bolt.

 

[440BB]

I think an eGo passthrough is a good idea in any case as it will always be useful as a backup too.

If you want real durability and nothing to do but perhaps lube the threads the Silver Bullet is in a class by itself. It's a little big and heavy but looks cooler than an ePower. I bought mine third hand (at least) and it is just wonderful. Chad at Altsmoke will also fix it quickly and inexpensively if you ever have an out of warranty problem, so it's a very safe long term choice. Used ones turn up on ECF regularly in the $65 range, but at about $85 new you shouldn't have any issue for a year or two of daily use!

If you do like to tinker a bit the other choice I can recommend is the Maxi RoughStack frome Madvapes. It's small and light with a replaceable switch assembly so you can fix it yourself. The top switch and smaller size makes it very pocketable. It costs about $50 new and the replacement plug-in switch assembly is $15.

I would run both of those mods over and expect them to still be working when I picked them up.

 

[tobarger]

Who needs a tube/switch when you got a good thumb.

Thats how cavemen vaped

 

[Rader2146]

Re-read the first sentence in the OP's first post.
An item you have to repair and one you have to rebuild with your own components is NOT "as good" as one built right in the first place. On a particular day, it may vape as well. A Hyundai goes 30mph "as good" as a Mercedes, but is it "as good"? On any given day, at 30mph, it might be. There's a difference between quality, durability and reliability and "over-engineering". If you think "functional quality" is something that only functions after periodic rebuilds and repairs, then you indeed are ignorant to the aspects of quality and a Fiat is as good as a BMW.

So, you save $30-40 buy buying a cheap Bolt. Over the course of the next couple years, you spend how long replacing switches, upgrading wires and dealing with seized, galled threads? What is your time worth?

We aren't talking automobiles here. You shouldn't have to buy a simple PV with the anticipation that it'll need to be repaired and parts replaced as a matter of course. Again, I refer you to the first sentence in the OPs first post. I had assumed that was an indication that he had learned his Grandpa's lesson.

Exactly. You don't NEED 6061. You don't NEED a million cycle switch. You don't NEED smooth, robust threads.
The ThumbPV has all the functional quality of a Silver Bullet. And it's more reliable than a Bolt.

I'm not sure what the (or your) problem is here. I can only assume that I have offended the Silver Bullet gods by comparing it to such an inferior product. But in reality, I recommended an option to the OP. an option that he can take or leave, his choice.

Since you are makin analogies to automobiles (but then say we're not talking about cars?), I drive a Silverado because a Mercedes can't tow. I change my own oil, rotate my own tires, change my own brakes, and even build my own engines and transmissions. Why, because I can and it what I like to do. Should everyone do what I do because it works for me? Thats an easy answer. So when it comes to PV's, I can afford to buy a mod that is assumed to have a problem at some point in its life. The Bolt is assumed that it will have a problem with the switch and wires. When it happens I'll replace it and still be more than $40 less than a SB. For me and many others mods are a hobby. Hobby time is worth nothing, so my time spent building and repairing Mods is worth nothing. For me that means that my Bolt will be far more valuable than any SB.

So with regards to the OP's problem, I offered him an option. I was up front and told him of the known issues. Now it is his choice to decide if he possesses the skill set to make the repairs as needed and weigh the pros and cons of each choice. I did not campaign for him to choose my recommendation and I certainly didn't attack the recommendations of others because I disagree with them.

Not everyone shares the same opinion. I make recommendations with full disclosure and then let them make choices of their own free will. Fair enough?