Crafty/Crafty+ by Storz & Bickel

[Vambo1980]

Just to check back in and say mine is still fully working @212 hours. But decided to put new 18650 cell in, because I can and wanted to see the difference.

The unit has been fine but at around 150hrs it used to shut down early whenever I did 2 bowls straight, so I decided to remove the thermistor from the battery heat shrink and provided a small air gap to the battery, instead of taped tight to the cell. This cured the problem, it did still shut down on battery thermal but only when its was on for longer periods like when fully charged but then just using it constantly till nearly flat.

I decided to install a new battery myself a few nights ago, I have some new cells with tabs from Samsung 25R they are cheap cell's but push 20A easy and maintain a decent voltage under load so thought I try one in the crafty. One thing to note; the crafty was fully charged with the original cell when I removed it, I installed the new cell with a resting voltage of about 3.6v to see if it recognises the new battery voltage intelligently, but when I turned the crafty on the app still showed the battery was full so I decided to run a long bowl to see if it reaches a shut down on critical cell voltage and thankfully it does, although it still shows incorrect battery level on app. So I decided to just charge it through the proprietary usb and monitor the actual voltage of the cell in relation to the charge level with my meter, after a while the app and crafty stopped charging, showing it fully charged but the voltage of the cell was back up to only 3.8v. So its not very intelligent, I charged up another new cell to 4.2 and put that in the crafty that already thinks its charged. I've ben using it for a couple of days its been working well. Things I have noticed:

• The base of the unit is now cooler when in use, was getting hotter and hotter with old cell
• The heat up time is slightly faster
• The unit still thermal shuts down on continuous use (thermistor resting against battery)
• Slightly longer run time (perceived) even though its a 2500mah cell (the old one was @ 211 hours)

I'm happy using it like this at home but I know that the cell wont last as long because of the crafty thinking it has 2700mah so may run it to lower voltage before shutdown. I'll check what it resting voltage is when crafty thinks it flat just to be sure its not going to blow me up.

 

[wolf1027]

Just got a email response from SnB (very fast response) and they said my Crafty seems to be normal from what I described. The mouthpiece will get hot from use, but if I wanted them to check it out I would have to mail the heating unit back to them. Since my Crafty is still fairly new maybe it needs a break in period. I'll try it out a bit more before deciding to send it back.

UnshavenFish you got lucky and received one that stays cool. That is funny that you were pressing the stirring tool to turn it on. Actually I'm guilty of doing that sober.

I did have a better session last night and this time I did get some vapor at higher temp, even though my lips were almost burnt. Maybe I should get some silicone sleeve for the mouthpiece. I am new to vaping so I'm still learning. I started with my half fill and pad on top, 1st draw very tasty and nice vapor, 2nd draw a little taste with some vapor, 3rd draw not much vapor. Then I tried raising the temp again to see if I would get some more vapor. I had bad luck before but despite the heat I boosted it and took a 4th strong draw and got some vapor but it was way too hot. My 5th draw I just sipped it a bit but still got vapor, my final 6th draw and still got vapor, but it was freaking hot and the taste was terrible. I got to say though, I was well medicated, it just creeps up on you. My meds were toasted a beautiful dark brown.

And after reading more on how to vape and applying those techniques I can see this actually saving my meds, so I admit I was wrong from what I said earlier. There is definitely a learning curve to vaping. When I first got this Crafty I filled it up to the top and didn't feel as medicated, but now I can't imagine filling it that much without being knocked out. I've come to the conclusion that I'll just do 3 draws and wait 5-10 mins., cause I'll definitely feel it, and see if I need more. This Crafty is very crafty. Although I would like to try the Mighty because of the bigger CU. But I do really like the size and portability of the Crafty.

I had the same problems with heat and just thought it was normal but then my unit just cracked in 3 different spots around the cooling unit. I can now see the metal around the oven. sigh.
Also I noticed that the vibrator lol does not always work and sounds like its barely working even when charged.
I have tried temps from 314 to 392 and the vapor seems to be inconsistant. I think we might have received bad units around the same time. I hope the company did not change anything recently (e.g. the material plastic that they mold into the shell)

I bought mine directly from S&b 2 weeks ago after reading how great the customer service was on here. Now I need to use it. I just hate to go awhile without medication. I actually need this device to function normally.

My unit has around 20 hours on it.

Oh and I bought some seals from vapemood. They gave me the darker blue ones. I do not know if it matters but fyi

 

[brownstone403]

Hey guys. I'm pretty new here. I bought a crafty 3 weeks ago for use while I was at work etc. it's a beast, works great. Big clouds every time. I have no complaints about how it vaporizes.

But I've notived IT gets pretty hot, and twice it has told me the battery is to hot to continue to use. This has happend after a quick 6 min session. I Cook at 362 and boost to 387 and both tune I had waited about 20 min between uses. I've never used it while charging, and I've never charged it hot.

Has this happened to anyone else, can you use the crafty repeatedly till the battery dies? Do you need to let it cool down between sessions? Or is mine defective?

 

[wolf1027]

Welcome brownstone. I bought my unit at the first of this month around the same time as you and overheating has been an issue while vaping for just a few mins. (forgot to mention that in last post). It usually happens if I try to reload it but sometimes after a few mins on first load. I have noticed that it was happening more up until the unit broke.

The pieces that hold the CU on are chipped and long cracks in the the plastic surrounding the top oven around where the gasket sits.

I have spent years inspecting metal and plastic mold products in and outside a lab. When I see that type of crack it usually means either shifting,contaminates in the material, or material is simply too weak in a high stress area. (whether engineering or a mistake at production). Not saying that is the case but it is a possibility.

If I had to guess I would say that the material does not have enough plasticizers. It could be a thousand other things though lol.

I tried to cool down my unit after every session before opening. I even bought a dehumidifier and air purifier for the room just took keep the unit dry and cool. I leave them off while vaping so I can enjoy the aroma.

I hoped this kind of answered some of your questions. I do not know if you need to let it cool down between sessions. Probably would not be a bad idea if you can do it most of the time. I would like to know if anyone uses it for multiple refills during a session and how it affects the unit.

Oh and btw if anybody is using a duster to blow off the excess herb watch out to make sure it does not get too cold blowing on the units plastic especially when the unit is hot. The sudden drop in temp makes the unit vulnerable to cracking.

Umm I did not mean to write all of this. I need my meds.

 

[dzoinp]

Just to check back in and say mine is still fully working @212 hours. But decided to put new 18650 cell in, because I can and wanted to see the difference.

The unit has been fine but at around 150hrs it used to shut down early whenever I did 2 bowls straight, so I decided to remove the thermistor from the battery heat shrink and provided a small air gap to the battery, instead of taped tight to the cell. This cured the problem, it did still shut down on battery thermal but only when its was on for longer periods like when fully charged but then just using it constantly till nearly flat.

I decided to install a new battery myself a few nights ago, I have some new cells with tabs from Samsung 25R they are cheap cell's but push 20A easy and maintain a decent voltage under load so thought I try one in the crafty. One thing to note; the crafty was fully charged with the original cell when I removed it, I installed the new cell with a resting voltage of about 3.6v to see if it recognises the new battery voltage intelligently, but when I turned the crafty on the app still showed the battery was full so I decided to run a long bowl to see if it reaches a shut down on critical cell voltage and thankfully it does, although it still shows incorrect battery level on app. So I decided to just charge it through the proprietary usb and monitor the actual voltage of the cell in relation to the charge level with my meter, after a while the app and crafty stopped charging, showing it fully charged but the voltage of the cell was back up to only 3.8v. So its not very intelligent, I charged up another new cell to 4.2 and put that in the crafty that already thinks its charged. I've ben using it for a couple of days its been working well. Things I have noticed:

• The base of the unit is now cooler when in use, was getting hotter and hotter with old cell
• The heat up time is slightly faster
• The unit still thermal shuts down on continuous use (thermistor resting against battery)
• Slightly longer run time (perceived) even though its a 2500mah cell (the old one was @ 211 hours)

I'm happy using it like this at home but I know that the cell wont last as long because of the crafty thinking it has 2700mah so may run it to lower voltage before shutdown. I'll check what it resting voltage is when crafty thinks it flat just to be sure its not going to blow me up.

I also like to invent ...
I had my first crafty working with replaceable batteries for a week ... just!
Then when I opened again I fucked the board.

I can confirm that the battery charge indicator was as you describe you.
I think the software (2:05) is not prepared for battery changes.

 

[joeblowssmoke]

Hey everyone, I ordered a crafty the other day and was wondering if all of the overheating problems have been fixed. I'm just now hearing anything about the bluetooth problems and just want to be sure that my new unit will not have these problems. Thanks.

 

[Vambo1980]

I also like to invent ...
I had my first crafty working with replaceable batteries for a week ... just!
Then when I opened again I fucked the board.

I can confirm that the battery charge indicator was as you describe you.
I think the software (2:05) is not prepared for battery changes.

Wow what a great mod! I may well go and get the dremmel out! I did actually think of doing this but couldn't work out how to do it, I was thinking though the top of it but the fixing screw is in the way. I did a battery change mod on my old PAX too
How did you break the board? Have you chipped it with something? Or shorted it out? Reverse polarity?

Since changing the battery I have found the heat up time is much much better than first thought, the low internal resistance of the battery really helps here, that and the great holding voltage under discharge. One bad point is that these batteries run hotter than the original Panasonic NCR under discharge so I've had to put a little insulator between the cell and thermistor (small bit of card) to get 2 long bowls on the bounce.

To stiffen up the mouthpiece flange I got a black paperclip and bent it round to sit in the shallow groove and hooked the ends round the gaps with a bit of glue just to keep it all stiff, it's worked pretty well and keeps it from flexing as much.
Yes mine is 2.05, I have now run it down completely numerous times and checked cut-off voltage is perfect at around 3.0v it still charges to 4.2v also even when the app says its charged it does carry on until topping the battery to 4.2v.

Shame about your faulty board though, unlucky as your mod looks great.


Just time heat up from 23C to 190c 2minues and about 5 seconds, so it's not that quick but definitely notice it's faster than before.

 

[dzoinp]

Yeah! It worked relatively well.
Only the battery indicator was not very smart and also overheats because i left the thermistor very up so I had to re-open it.
When I was closing it again my plastic screwdriver escaped me, hit the board and wrenched a component.
From then stopped working.

Thankfully, S & B made me 50% discount on a new crafty.

 

[BioSector]

Hey everyone, I ordered a crafty the other day and was wondering if all of the overheating problems have been fixed. I'm just now hearing anything about the bluetooth problems and just want to be sure that my new unit will not have these problems. Thanks.

I've got about 20 hours on a Crafty that shipped a month or so ago (version 2.06 of firmware so one back from current as of today). I've only had issues connecting to it once over Bluetooth and it worked the next session so I haven't concerned myself.

As for heat, I don't think it's meant to be a back to back session vape. I've always given a break between sessions since I have the Mighty if I need more than 1 session and I've never had it overheat.

 

[Astedra]

Mid use my crafty turned off and when I try to turn it on I get slow flashing blue lights. There is 3 bars of battery left. 71 hours on it.

Must have been overheating but the app never said that anyways it came back on

Edit:
It's overheating every time I put it into booster temp mode

 

[wolf1027]

I am guessing that S&B does not work on the weekend. I have had no response since friday night from email or phone.

I just want to know if I need their approval before sending the package back and if I pay for the shipping or do they? I just want to do the proper procedure to get my unit back. Every day without it working is a living hell for me. I hate to combust but I might have too.

 

[Stinky]

I am guessing that S&B does not work on the weekend. I have had no response since friday night from email or phone.

I just want to know if I need their approval before sending the package back and if I pay for the shipping or do they? I just want to do the proper procedure to get my unit back. Every day without it working is a living hell for me. I hate to combust but I might have too.

S&B are taking two days to reply to me. In January it was four days. Over weekends it takes them an additional day or so to reply.

If you email them and ask them for a shipping label them they will pay for postage. Otherwise if the customer is not savvy enough to know to ask for free shipping then they will let the customer pay.

I bought an additional second unit so that I have something to use when my units are being returned for warranty replacements as it was happening so often.

 

[UnshavenFish]

First, hats off to @Vambo1980 and @dzoinp in the search for the mythical replaceable battery crafty

That pic has my head spinning with ideas, I'm thinking a door with magnets and a spring loaded + pin just to get started, no no gotta stop thinking my crafty is still working great, maybe when/if things go wrong
anyway great work, although the 3v cutoff seems a little on the low end for my taste (assuming the 3v is not under load) IMO if it's 3v resting that's not going to do the battery any favours, think I will stick with just recharging whenever I get the chance.

@wolf1027 sorry to hear your troubles, hopefully you get a quick turnaround, this is where having a back up, or two or three or...well it's easy to get carried away but IMO two vapes are a must, even if money is an issue there are a lot of good cheap vapes out there, and if you can get your head past all the butane myths there are some really good cheap options (I can blow bigger denser clouds with my Daisy than my crafty and there is no heat up time) so yeah options are always nice, not sure where you are but if your on the same side of the pond and anywhere in the north east I could probably sort you out with a loaner to keep you combustion free

 

[wolf1027]

Thanks for the offer but I live in Pennsylvania. Vapers are such considerate people . Well some of them at least.

I plan on getting the vapman.

I owned pax and mflb couple of years ago. They were not enough to keep me from smoking but were good at work. The crafty replaced smoking completely. After I quit my stomach went flat from bloating the last few weeks and I have more energy.

I ran 3 miles for the first time in about a year yesterday. All other times were abruptly stopped bc of wheezing.

Damn I so scatter brained lol atm.

 

[Vambo1980]

Well it didn't last long, I have the red and yellow lights of death, but never fear after investigation I've found another design fault, and possibly why it's failed and why the base gets so hot! The heater is remove able (not soldered to the board) the leg of the internal 10a fuse is a push fit and so is the yellow lead next to it. I can see where the joint has oxidised and become a resistive joint, I'm assuming it's this that has caused the internal 10a thermal fuse to blow causing the flashing lights.
I still have the correct resistance across the heater post fuse so I maybe tackling a fix ( if temporary I need my meds)

VJ

I'll update if I fix it. If it was easy to put pics on I'd do that too.

Fixed! Removed the fuse (temporarily) soldered the heater to the board switched on working just got to rebuild it for a vape! Was starting to get worried I'd have to get the extreme q out!

I'd say what I've found is a serious issue!! Heat up time from cold is now super fast!!!! The temp jumps is 3-4 degree at a time right the way up I didn't time it but it was about 1.30 at a guess.


Edit: Just timed it from 24c to 190c comes in at a super speed of 1 minute 18 seconds


Happily back vaping!!!

I suppose being a geek with electronics has helped me a bit but I hope I can help others!!!!

Thanks Hairy fish for the info enabling me to post this photo

 

[Vambo1980]

First, hats off to @Vambo1980 and @dzoinp in the search for the mythical replaceable battery crafty

That pic has my head spinning with ideas, I'm thinking a door with magnets and a spring loaded + pin just to get started, no no gotta stop thinking my crafty is still working great, maybe when/if things go wrong
anyway great work, although the 3v cutoff seems a little on the low end for my taste (assuming the 3v is not under load) IMO if it's 3v resting that's not going to do the battery any favours, think I will stick with just recharging whenever I get the chance.

@wolf1027 sorry to hear your troubles, hopefully you get a quick turnaround, this is where having a back up, or two or three or...well it's easy to get carried away but IMO two vapes are a must, even if money is an issue there are a lot of good cheap vapes out there, and if you can get your head past all the butane myths there are some really good cheap options (I can blow bigger denser clouds with my Daisy than my crafty and there is no heat up time) so yeah options are always nice, not sure where you are but if your on the same side of the pond and anywhere in the north east I could probably sort you out with a loaner to keep you combustion free

Hi, ^ Kindness costs nothing but means a lot. Nice.

It's under load cutoff is 3.2v sorry for the wrong information. Can't understand why I wrote 3.0v. I hate giving people the wrong info I do apologise.
I have a fluke meter only and resolution not the best. But it was definitely 3.2v The Samsung cell jumps back up to about 3.55 resting.

Things I'm finding out for people who want to swap batteries:

You can take the battery gauge on the app with a pinch of salt. When the crafty flashed yellow and told me to send it in for repair the app went a bit strange, it was reporting battery empty or near to it with one bar. The battery had only been used for ten mins from fully charged to when it went faulty. Since fixing the crafty and resetting the app it still reported that it has a flat battery and was doing so until the 3.2v had been reached again (after 2 bowls, then running it till cut-off)

So anyone who opens up the crafty needs to take extreme care not to put any stress on the thermal fuse leg and yellow wire, unless you decide to solder them like I have. They really should be soldered to the board or make use of another battery type jst plug, especially as we are dealing with around 8amps and low voltage any poor connection is just heat and overall efficiency loss. All this time the base has been getting hot from this resistive joint in my crafty, this happened before I opened the unit, in fact it's the reason I opened it because I thought the battery was failing. It was the extra heat from this that made it shut down more often i'm certain of that. You can see where board and connectors have got that hot they have turned brown!!

VJ

Thank you moderator, I'm not very good at forum etiquette. Please could you merge this one also I only read your mail after posting sorry.

 

[UnshavenFish]

If it was easy to put pics on I'd do that too.

If your interested have a look here
http://fuckcombustion.com/threads/how-to-post-pictures.155/

And to practice go here
http://fuckcombustion.com/threads/the-sandbox-make-test-posts-here.13650/page-5#post-813700

For anyone that has the time I can highly recommend looking through all the sections of this site, lots of interesting info, story's that will make you roll on the floor laughing and some that will almost bring a tear to your eye, really great place.

Oh and crafty crafty crafty there kinda on topic

 

[wolf1027]

Well s&b sent me an email at about 4am asking about my unit.
Germany and Oakland sent me a shipping label because I emailed everybody lol.

Customer service was very efficient and polite. The shipping label was priority 2 day so that made me feel better and I have a tracking number so now it's a wait game.

As soon as I mentioned broken plastic they told me to send it in at my convenience. Which was cool bc I had the option to use it a little longer before using the labels.

 

[BioSector]

PSA: To anyone that was looking for the fine mesh screen sets, they are back in stock for both Crafty and Mighty:

US/CA link - http://www.storz-bickel.com/shop_us/en/shop/crafty-vaporizer/crafty-fine-screen-set.html

 

[BillClinton]

My crafty comes Thursday and I can't wait. Any tips or advice?

I like smaller bowls and a more mellow high so I will def be utilizing the liquid pad and go with lower temps of around 345 and 365 to start. Clean it maybe every 10-15 bowls or so. Anything else to know?

 

[h3rbalist]

My crafty comes Thursday and I can't wait. Any tips or advice?

I like smaller bowls and a more mellow high so I will def be utilizing the liquid pad and go with lower temps of around 345 and 365 to start. Clean it maybe every 10-15 bowls or so. Anything else to know?

As others have stated before you might be better using a second screen pushed on top of a small load rather than the liquid pad.

Or just no second screen or pad at all.


Nice purchase, enjoy.

Hey, just seen your wife in the Grasshopper thread.

 

[Mr Mellish]

My crafty comes Thursday and I can't wait. Any tips or advice?

I like smaller bowls and a more mellow high so I will def be utilizing the liquid pad and go with lower temps of around 345 and 365 to start. Clean it maybe every 10-15 bowls or so. Anything else to know?

Personally, I'd skip the liquid pad. From my experience, it just makes the hits more harsh.

 

[BillClinton]

I think you might be better using a second screen pushed on top of a small load rather than the liquid pad.

Or just no second screen or pad at all.


Nice purchase, enjoy.

Hey, just seen your wife in the Grasshopper thread.

Thanks! So just push a screen down on the load and go to work?

 

[wolf1027]

I have asked S&B to upgrade me to the Mighty while my crafty is being repaired. I have heard that some people have done this before but I am not really sure how it works. If anybody has any tips it would be much appreciated.

Reasons why I want to switch is because I think the mighty might cool down the unit a little easier especially with the larger cu. Maybe this will prevent future plastic breaking like before. So overall it comes to which one is more reliable for me doing high temp vapes sometimes really close to each other.

I will miss the stealth aspect of the Crafty if I get the upgrade (it could be a downgrade for some people it is all about personal preference and what works best for you in your current situation).

As for advice for a new owner I would suggest getting an extra set of gaskets and screens. I touched one of the tiny orings and it disappeared forever lol.

 

[BioSector]

I have asked S&B to upgrade me to the Mighty while my crafty is being repaired. I have heard that some people have done this before but I am not really sure how it works. If anybody has any tips it would be much appreciated.

If you simply asked them to do that in your letter, they should contact you once they read it to get the upgrade fee payment and then they will send you a Mighty. It should be a very painless process.