Discontinued VapeXhale Cloud

exit

Well-Known Member
In my cloud +, nothing remained to solder the leads to. The metal contacts on the surface of the ceramic enclosure no longer existed, they had ceased to be, cast off their mortal coil, the contacts had literally joined the clouds.

I wonder if I should try to touch them up before I even use it to see if I can prevent this.....
Was yours from one of the "bad" batches?

But yeah if you could somehow still get a pic of the contact-less board, I'd seriously appreciate it. I'm still just trying to find a pic of the guts of this machine if anyone has one or is willing to bust their cloud+ apart!
 
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wootze

Well-Known Member
I wonder if I should try to touch them up before I even use it to see if I can prevent this.....
Was yours from one of the "bad" batches?

Bad batch or not, mine lasted five months of non daily, medium temperature use. I think opening a functional unit could hasten its demise as the connections are buried in all their fragility beneath copious amounts of tightly packed insulation.

No pictures cause it has not reappeared from its recent move. It could be in its various parts in one of forty or fifty moving boxes. I think my two EVOs will appear before the defunct cloud sees the light of day.

It shipped at the beginning of January , this year, if that helps with the batch question.

This is in no way hating on VXL ... They are doing a stand up job of dealing with it. They are family on the forum and we stand by family.

I do not wish to make a complaint. It's only resting.

Edit, everything was/is firmly attached to the board. No problem there. The leads had become disassociated from the ceramic heater- wire filled enclosure.
 
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exit

Well-Known Member
Here you go: <LINK>

And one more: <LINK>

Thanks a ton for linking this up!
Glad to see this has already been discussed.
Sucks because I don't think I'd want to put non-silver solder there!
For now, trying to think if I can come up with something other than leaving it on 24/7 ;)
 
exit,

gigaurora

Well-Known Member
Thanks a ton for linking this up!
Glad to see this has already been discussed.
Sucks because I don't think I'd want to put non-silver solder there!
For now, trying to think if I can come up with something other than leaving it on 24/7 ;)

Not to further make you lose hope, but I remember earlier a broken cloud owner took it to his master welder friend, and even with all their gear and experience one of the internals just can't handle the heat from soldering and shatters or something :\
 

grokit

well-worn member
@exit, from what I have read in this thread, soldering/welding is a no go on the old clouds, and could even make things worse as the post above mentions.

Some have suggested a conductive, high-temperature epoxy solution. There were better suggestions with higher temperature tolerances than the JB Weld product that I suggested, which I'm not even sure is electrically conductive. But you'll have to scan back through the last week or two's posts to find them.
 
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exit

Well-Known Member
Good lookin out @grokit I was thinking something like a high temp epoxy. I figured that would probably be best if soldering is too risky. I can solder well but I don't wanna cause a break to happen.

I'll watch the thread, that's the only thing that's trouble about these giant threads haha, I think I have a tab open where I was last reaing and I hadn't even made it to page 600 yet
 
exit,

Purpl3_Haz3

On a Permanent Vakation
As soon as I receive my EVO I'll be opening my Cloud+ for a look inside. Considering a lot of the +'s have also failed I wouldn't be a bit surprised if I find the same method of power lead attachment to the ceramic heater as the original Clouds (perhaps with a better quality controlled spot weld).
Do so with caution, it's a bit delicate in places, and take care to put it back together carefully :cool: lol (take care, carefully...you get where I'm going with this!) I took apart my OG, and had no issues re-assembling it, however, it should still not be taken lightly! Well lit, clean environment, container for loose screws, etc. Take pictures, of how things are set, before moving them. Also, count the turns when removing the screws from the Cloud, so they can be re-inserted the same way...unless one is also correcting the alignment of the inner shells while doing this, in which case, you'll have to change how much or little the screws are screwed in anyhow. If your shells are all aligned perfectly though, count the turns. Also, when you remove these screws, the inner 4 shell pieces are no longer held tightly together...don't let it all fall apart! And most of all, marvel at all of the work that went into this masterpiece! :nod:
 

Budzman

Rocky Mountain High!
Do so with caution, it's a bit delicate in places, and take care to put it back together carefully :cool: lol (take care, carefully...you get where I'm going with this!) I took apart my OG, and had no issues re-assembling it, however, it should still not be taken lightly! Well lit, clean environment, container for loose screws, etc. Take pictures, of how things are set, before moving them. Also, count the turns when removing the screws from the Cloud, so they can be re-inserted the same way...unless one is also correcting the alignment of the inner shells while doing this, in which case, you'll have to change how much or little the screws are screwed in anyhow. If your shells are all aligned perfectly though, count the turns. Also, when you remove these screws, the inner 4 shell pieces are no longer held tightly together...don't let it all fall apart! And most of all, marvel at all of the work that went into this masterpiece! :nod:
Great tutorial for anyone who has not been down this road before... thanks for posting that!

I disassembled and reassembled my Cloud twice after two failed attempts to repair the disconnected power lead. I found that using couple of stout rubber bands to hold the inner metal case halves together make it much easier to insert the case halves back into the outer shell and keep the proper alignment for reinsertion of the screws.

Regarding realignment of badly assembled case halves, read this post.
 

Purpl3_Haz3

On a Permanent Vakation
Great tutorial for anyone who has not been down this road before... thanks for posting that!

I disassembled and reassembled my Cloud twice after two failed attempts to repair the disconnected power lead. I found that using couple of stout rubber bands to hold the inner metal case halves together make it much easier to insert the case halves back into the outer shell and keep the proper alignment for reinsertion of the screws.

Regarding realignment of badly assembled case halves, read this post.
Great additions! I neglected to mention the rubber band tip (given to me from another member via PM back when I took mine apart) as I only used the rubber band to hold the halves together while I stripped the paint from my outer shell...until curiosity got the best of me, and I had to peak inside! :brow: I bet the bands would have been a huge help holding it all together while re-assembling lol!

And that post you linked about re-alignment is a little gem too!
 
Purpl3_Haz3,

Richy

Frequently up in space with Bowie
I'd like to make a suggestion to all you intrepid explorers that delve into these Clouds in hope of repair to create a dedicated thread detailing your experiences, both the successful and the less successful, so that people who wish to attempt to resurrect their own fallen heroes can find this information more easily. I'm sure you would be doing a great service to the community by saving people having to either think of key search phrases and risk missing vital tips or scan through over 700 pages to find out how best to go about the repair procedure.

I know this is something that we all hope we'll never need but I for one would be extremely grateful if the worst was to happen. Also by concentrating everyone's attempts together we may find some viable solutions that will benefit us all.
 

Madcap79

Jack of all trades, master of none.
Anyone have a horrible melting plastic/electronics smell emanating from the area where the power cord goes into the unit?
 
Madcap79,

Vessel

Well-Known Member
Some of the earlier units had a pretty strong smell to them at first. I think it was something like oil from the machining process. I can't really describe the smell, but it wasn't pleasant, some kind of a chemical being burned off.
 
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Madcap79

Jack of all trades, master of none.
No. It's definitely not that. Mine isn't new. My experience has been less than stellar. :disgust: I use it inverted in one of my pieces and it's very noticeable. I let it sit off for a week. Came back and it had the same smell when I gave it another go
 
Madcap79,

SD_haze

Well-Known Member
No. It's definitely not that. Mine isn't new. My experience has been less than stellar. :disgust: I use it inverted in one of my pieces and it's very noticeable. I let it sit off for a week. Came back and it had the same smell when I gave it another go
My 15month cloud has a weird smell when I invert it, I think.
I hoped it was just my unclean bamboo.
 
SD_haze,

elmomuzz

That just happened...
Mine also smells like cooked electronics/ozone when I invert it. I keep it right side up. lol
 
elmomuzz,

exit

Well-Known Member
ah very good point then. i have been thinking of ditching my bong for a hydratube to be honest....
is it a common problem with upside down cloudi?
 
exit,
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