Discontinued The Grasshopper

[MoltenTiger]

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/we-tested-some-of-the-best-weed-vapes-on-the-market

Quality write up, cheers for the link

 

[JoeMama]

Yep, on all 4 of my GH's, whether screwing the backend on, or off, I always get a second of a red blink while going through the process. Normal I would think?

Not sure that I'd say "normal", but perhaps "benign". My other Ti doesn't do it... and it performs SO much better than this grey one I'm referring to.
I'm just not ready to put myself through another GHL back and forth if they're going to say nothing is wrong with it again. I guess I'll get around to it at some point; I kind of hope the thing just takes a crap first.

Hey @JoeMama - I've had the brief red flashing, but more commonly a brief gh "singing". Could never figure it out, and both have stopped now.

I wonder if it was because of a degraded battery? (I'm using new ghb2's now)

I had singing once, but it was even on a prior body at the time. I remember recoiling from it briefly thinking it was gonna explode or something.
Insofar as whether it is the battery, I can only say that I know squat about batteries... so much so that:

Alright guys, here's one for you.
I'll call it trailing a hit.

By trailing a hit, I mean using an insufficient power source where the GH just works only a little better than most vapes, instead of at its usual mind boggling capacity.

So the batteries are small and are really made for use with HL's included charger, which in my case is a rare thing. When the battery is at full capacity, it is most able to drive the hopper. After the first hit from the charger, the battery is physically incapable of reproducing the same energy curve output. And so theoretically every subsequent hit is an eventual reduction of performance of the power cell.
Li-ion discharges on its own, and so charging up a battery and storing it to use the next day will cause trailing a hit. The battery won't quite be able give full output (depending on it's quality/age) and the hopper will indicate flat batts quicker.
Alternatively, storing up flat batteries and charging them in time ready before use gives the hopper its full strength and the bowls will be next level thickshakes instead of basic milk.

I've been taking batteries from the hopper and placing them straight on the charger, I then store and pick them out later to use in the vape.

From now on I'm going to be swapping batteries more regularly and charging directly before use to get the maximum power curve offered more regularly.
The difference is astounding in cloud output, and I'd bet a lot of people might benefit from structuring their charge cycles better too...

@MoltenTiger , this is very interesting to me; so may I pick your brain a bit?

If I were to go by your observations and resulting actions with how you run the table on the batteries...

The easiest way to ask, is: How long can a battery stay on the charger (ie, being constantly topped off, so to speak), before it becomes an inefficient use of the battery?

I've been taking 4-off at a time, going a couple of days, and then repeating the cycle. I'm trying to determine the most effective way without being a slave having to top them off immediately prior to using them. KnowwhatImean??

Thanks!

 

[kbrown5523]

I got my two SS's 4 days ago and wanted to make sure all was really working before I posted. I am in LOVE They are everything that I hoped they would be. I can take a big ripping hit, go do some shit, come back and take another big ripping hit and so on and so on.

I got extra batteries with them and have a NiteCore charger. I also got a funnel and stand and a WPA from Delta 3D Studios. I always use any vape with water.

If I had ANY negatives to give it would be that it can take some time for that first vapor to start to flow. I try and give it some more heat up time, but that doesn't seem to really help. I have to just suck and get nothing for a while before it will give me vapor. My Focus Pro takes a little longer to heat up but gives me massive amounts of clouds with no effort at all. But the Focus Pro is a session vape and it keeps cooking the herb so I waste too much when I just use it.

On one of my SS's I've had a little bit of an issue with blue flickering lights even on a fresh battery. Per someone's suggestion on here I turned the temp dial a little bit and it stops the flickering. Only happens on one of my two units. Not a problem and I am loving my hoppers.

 

[kato1234]

Understood....so any venting is shared with the air/vent holes on the external body casing wich in turn
is a full open air loop thru-out the internals. From mouth piece to open back end of battery housing??

CANNABIS....Cluster Headache....ReNew...Mission. Good to-Go!!!

So if I get it, your concern is inhaling the venting battery. You are probably correct if you are vaping with a device that uses a LI-Ion battery and the battery vents while you are vaping you will inhale a lot of dirty shit? But batteries venting is a rare occurrence with good safety practices. With the capacity of the GH batteries I don't think it would be much of a bang and when a battery goes you would probably throw it and not keep vaping depending on how long you had been vaping. If a battery is getting warm when you charge. If it is showing any signs of swelling or sweating. DON'T USE IT. Vape safe. Glad you are looking at the safety not just the hit.

 

[JoeMama]

If I had ANY negatives to give it would be that it can take some time for that first vapor to start to flow. I try and give it some more heat up time, but that doesn't seem to really help. I have to just suck and get nothing for a while before it will give me vapor.

Congrats on the new Hoppers, KB!

The thing with that first draw is to be expected. As you've surmised correctly, you have to "prime" the herb with a real draw.

The heating element is offering "static" heat and your draw provides its passage into and through the herb. Plus, there are lots of terpines and floral goodies in that first hit.

 

[biohacker]

Not sure that I'd say "normal", but perhaps "benign". My other Ti doesn't do it... and it performs SO much better than this grey one I'm referring to.

Interesting, my SS does it every single time...whether I screw the backend on, or unscrew, it will always very briefly flash red for a split second. I also continue to be amazed at the "second click syndrome" ...seems more the rule than the exception for me, but since this is fairly new on the SS hopper, i'm going with shoddy batteries. They are from the early summer I do believe so have been through the ringer. Hopefully HL can sort out my RMA's and add some batteries....they have oddly gone silent now for well over a day, I was hoping they would have had my GH's out by now based on some of the feedback i've read here. But I will be a patient grasshopper!

 

[JoeMama]

I also continue to be amazed at the "second click syndrome" ...seems more the rule than the exception for me,

I do believe this is the case for me, too... I can't help but second-guess myself on it, but damn it does seem to be the case...
The only smack-down I do on this thought is when I openly consider that the chamber as well as the herb is hotter to begin with, but at times the difference is so great that it's hard to credit just that.

It is a pain in the ass, though. It's frustrating and makes me look forward to the evening when I can use my FW4.

 

[kato1234]

OK DAY ONE well last night and then today. Really enjoying the experience but twice today I left it in my garage @ 45F and when I went to use I got red flashing. Warmed it up in my pocket and worked fine. The battery shouldn't lose that much charge @ 45F. I wonder if the temp chip of the GH wouldn't allow it to heat? Not a big deal just a learning curve. PS using the perfect case. One of my old e-cig ones. Could hold 2 hoppers spare batteries stash etc. Size of an eyeglass case but includes a magnetic battery charge indicator. So you can check the status of your batteries on the go. Cheap. Solid. https://www.vapes.com/products/innokin-vape-case-w-battery-tester?variant=16860155457 might be around other places but it's a couple of years old. And now I am going out to continue testing. Vape safe.

 

[jimbob]

Couldn't wait any longer, I just pulled the trigger on a SS. Bought it locally through Australian vaporizers so I will probably get slightly older stock. The bonus is if it needs to be sent back for any reason I can opt for store credit or a replacement. The downside is I get no spare batteries or any other accessories. I will buy some directly from GHL and also look into a nightcore charger. Can anyone tell me if the supplied USB charger works with an iPhone wall charger plug?

 

[MoltenTiger]

If I were to go by your observations and resulting actions with how you run the table on the batteries...

The easiest way to ask, is: How long can a battery stay on the charger (ie, being constantly topped off, so to speak), before it becomes an inefficient use of the battery?

The length of time the batteries can stay on the charger is dependant on the charger.

That's a chart of the MC2 charging a similar cell to the GHBs.
Notable difference between this 14500 and the 12630 GHB are, the capacity is slightly higher, the discharged voltage is considerably lower and the charge time is about twice as long.

However you can see that after 10 minutes there has been no noticeable discharge and the voltage remains high.
The MC2 features include

• Discharges with less than 0.001mA when not connected to power
• Charges with less than 0.005mA when LiIon battery is full
• Will restart if battery voltage drops below 4.12 volt

So theoretically, in terms of charged capacity, it's not too bad to leave the batteries on the charger for extended periods (which I have sometimes done, but try to avoid). However by leaving them on, it is very slowly eating away at the finite charge cycles. Doing this every time you charge the cells I would imagine would make a noticeable impact on their health.

Do you have the Nitecore D4?
I would consider replacing that charger if so, but here are it's features regarding this concept;

• Discharges LiIon with 0.8mA when not connected to power
• Charges with 0.2mA when LiIon battery is full
• Will not restart if battery voltage drops
  
• Charge will restart charging after power loss or battery insertion

Here's a chart of the D4 charging a similar cell to the GHBs.
You can see that with the lower charge rate 0.35A, the capacity curve is more gradual and takes 30% longer.
After it has reached capacity, the cell will discharge at a faster rate than it will charge at, and it will simply continue to do this until the charger is power cycled or the battery is reinserted.

If you are charging 4 at once, the D4 will use a time share mode to power each cell in sequence

• When a charge circuit has batteries in both slots, it will use 7.5 second on each in a 15 second cycle.
• When a slot is finished, the current is not redirected to the other slot in the group.

This is a bit confusing, but it definitely sounds like a worse idea to leave cells on the Nitecore than on the Xtar.

In order to avoid trailing a hit, it's best to use a fresh 4.20V battery with a fresh chamber, and the best time to pull the battery off is just after it indicates finishing the charge cycle

Ref: http://lygte-info.dk/review/Review Charger Xtar MC2 UK.html
http://lygte-info.dk/review/Review Charger Nitecore Digicharger D4 UK.html

 

[Doktor Dub]

So, after some extremely scientific testing, it seems that indeed just my Batteries have to be changed. With full charging and then immediately useing the GH, i was able to get one really good bowl on 5 through Water - then back to charging.
I have to say when the Hopper works properly, it is really nice.

On the one hand side i m happy about that, on the other hand side i don t know where to get a Battery in europe right now.

Thanks for all your Time and knowledge.

 

[MoltenTiger]

https://vapefiend.co.uk/grasshopper-spare-battery @Doktor Dub

how old are your current batteries? GHB1?

 

[Doktor Dub]

Thanks a bunch - when i had a look the last Time, vapefiend was out of stock. Now i have to spend 70 pounds to get free internationla shipping

Edit: i think i have the old GH1 Batteries, will check again after work

 

[Mr. Gweilo 420]

I'm in. Ordered a ti model on the weekend and it shipped this morning. So far, so good ☺

 

[biohacker]

I do believe this is the case for me, too... I can't help but second-guess myself on it, but damn it does seem to be the case...
The only smack-down I do on this thought is when I openly consider that the chamber as well as the herb is hotter to begin with, but at times the difference is so great that it's hard to credit just that.

It is a pain in the ass, though. It's frustrating and makes me look forward to the evening when I can use my FW4.

It is a pain in the ass, and although i'm happy i'm not alone, i'm actually surprised that more aren't reporting this issue. This really was prominent on my newer GH's, never older so I attributed it to the hot back ends, etc. but now that i'm seeing this on my OG SS, i'm thinking there is nothing else it could be but the battery? What is the condition/age of the batteries you are using that causes this second click thing?

It's really textbook, nearly every single time, pretty sure depending on battery or charge....BUT...with this issue that batteries degrade when left off charge, I definitely don't always put a fresh battery on, so today's testing will be just that, and I think I may start using the stock oem usb charger and see if that makes a difference.

It's almost like my nitecore d4, "does something" to the battery that seems to require it to be clicked on and off before the REAL performance show comes. Otherwise I wonder if it's that pin in the backend clicker? Perhaps this started happening for me after I dropped it? lol

Still silence from HL! My message from the other day has not even been read yet...must be swamped!

I'm in. Ordered a ti model on the weekend and it shipped this morning. So far, so good ☺

Welcome to the growing clan bro! I think I remember you from the Versa Infinity way back in the day?

 

[vapviking]

On this past Monday, I made a warranty claim on a Ti Hopper that was doing cop lights. Got response within hours and posted it Tuesday to HL for service.
The next morning, my other Hopper (ss) went belly up. Upon click-on, it went straight to solid blue light (after extremely brief red). I tried new battery and charge, but it still just went blue. Naturally very disappointed at the prospect of being Hopper-less for sometime. Lots of clicking, thumping, thread cleaning and secret incantations, but no soap.
I even got out the Pax2 and took it for a spin. At least I can say I'm glad I didn't give it away a few months ago. But Mighty will be the interim vape, for sure.

I didn't hesitate much longer than it took to see that Hopper really was not working; started another warranty request (request #10 for me, on these two). I asked if maybe they could just send a new Body -if this is a known "Body" issue - so I wouldn't be without for too long. No reply came that day.

Next morning, getting ready to package Hopper up, I clicked and it behaved completely normally. So I immediately tested and it's working fine.
I added another comment to my warranty dialog, putting the matter on hold til further notice.

Alright guys, here's one for you.
I'll call it trailing a hit.

By trailing a hit, I mean using an insufficient power source where the GH just works only a little better than most vapes, instead of at its usual mind boggling capacity.

So the batteries are small and are really made for use with HL's included charger, which in my case is a rare thing. When the battery is at full capacity, it is most able to drive the hopper. After the first hit from the charger, the battery is physically incapable of reproducing the same energy curve output. And so theoretically every subsequent hit is an eventual reduction of performance of the power cell.
Li-ion discharges on its own, and so charging up a battery and storing it to use the next day will cause trailing a hit. The battery won't quite be able give full output (depending on it's quality/age) and the hopper will indicate flat batts quicker.
Alternatively, storing up flat batteries and charging them in time ready before use gives the hopper its full strength and the bowls will be next level thickshakes instead of basic milk.

I've been taking batteries from the hopper and placing them straight on the charger, I then store and pick them out later to use in the vape.

From now on I'm going to be swapping batteries more regularly and charging directly before use to get the maximum power curve offered more regularly.
The difference is astounding in cloud output, and I'd bet a lot of people might benefit from structuring their charge cycles better too...

Interesting, you are really drilling down on this.
I've been advocating for months now to keep batteries 'topped off'. For me that means mainly putting Hopper on oem charger habitually. I swap for charged batteries often, sometimes for each load if there have been multiple hits. I also use a Nitecore D2, but I have the same gut feeling as you that the HL charger adds some zip.

If I had ANY negatives to give it would be that it can take some time for that first vapor to start to flow. I try and give it some more heat up time, but that doesn't seem to really help. I have to just suck and get nothing for a while before it will give me vapor. My Focus Pro takes a little longer to heat up but gives me massive amounts of clouds with no effort at all. But the Focus Pro is a session vape and it keeps cooking the herb so I waste too much when I just use it.

Congratulations on your Hoppers' arrival!
Yes, primer hit(s) may be necessary to get things going. Dry-ness of herb makes a huge difference. At times, Hopper's initial draws just go to drying the load. It can seem like the thing is not working!

 

[biohacker]

I just wanted to mention that my OG SS GH is now rapidly approaching it's 8 MONTH BDAY and i'm its 3rd owner. Not bad, not a single RMA! I swear that some GH's out there are like the Energizer Hopper and just keep on hopping!!!!!!

EDIT: Just read an interesting fact that I have not heard of before. Ti conducts better than SS? Just thinking about those threads...

Also saw on reddit....someone is texting HL?? They have a cell phone number??? Apparently the coloured GH's have just landed...

 

[Hogni]

Just coming back from the hospital. Was operated three days ago and all the time lil' hopper was my best giving consolation friend.

At -8 °C it was no fun staying outside only dressed with pyjama, house slippers and bathrope so I decided on the 2nd day hoppering inside the hospital. Very interesting experience!
Stealth factor is awesome!
First went to a public toilet inside the hospital. Staying under the vent I did my hopper hits more than satisfying and pain releasing - very well medicated!

When leaving the toilet I waited for the next customer to watch his reactions because of possible smelling. No irritation. After hoppering while using the elevator there were no reactions of other people to me, my smell or that of my fresh used hopper in my pocket.

So I've entered the next step and hoppered on the floors and in front of the elevator when there were no other in my near. But always somebody could SEE me hoppering out of the distance.
When somebody was coming near to me he never showed any sign of reaction or irritation.
All the time I publicly hold my hopper in my hand like a pen - just a simple fucking pen. And so all people were reacting - in no way.
When I was using it I may have looked like an idiot, absently suckling on his pen but nobody took note of that. But I' ve to highlight I always hold my breath as long as possible not to look like a smoking dragon.

At the end I finished just the last hits of a bowl with less smell and nearly no visible vapour in my room beside the other sick boys while they were doing other things or sleeping. No reactions neither of the room neighbours nor of the nurses.

So I'm proud to say - Hopper is state of the art in stealthness of appearance and use. I dont think there actually is any other vape which can compare in these ways.

 

[MoltenTiger]

It's almost like my nitecore d4, "does something"

Considering the charging tendencies of the D4 I mentioned before, plus the fact that HL have tested a batch of someones month old batteries and reported the charger (a nitecore D4 in two cases) killed them,
It seems like it's good advice to say stop charging the GHBs with the Nitecore D4

 

[Mr. Me2]

Just coming back from the hospital. Was operated three days ago and all the time lil' hopper was my best giving consolation friend.

At -8 °C it was no fun staying outside only dressed with pyjama, house slippers and bathrope so I decided on the 2nd day hoppering inside the hospital. Very interesting experience!
Stealth factor is awesome!
First went to a public toilet inside the hospital. Staying under the vent I did my hopper hits more than satisfying and pain releasing - very well medicated!

When leaving the toilet I waited for the next customer to watch his reactions because of possible smelling. No irritation. After hoppering while using the elevator there were no reactions of other people to me, my smell or that of my fresh used hopper in my pocket.

So I've entered the next step and hoppered on the floors and in front of the elevator when there were no other in my near. But always somebody could SEE me hoppering out of the distance.
When somebody was coming near to me he never showed any sign of reaction or irritation.
All the time I publicly hold my hopper in my hand like a pen - just a simple fucking pen. And so all people were reacting - in no way.
When I was using it I may have looked like an idiot, absently suckling on his pen but nobody took note of that. But I' ve to highlight I always hold my breath as long as possible not to look like a smoking dragon.

At the end I finished just the last hits of a bowl with less smell and nearly no visible vapour in my room beside the others while they were doing other things or sleeping. No reactions either of the room neighbours nor of the nurses.

So I'm proud to say - Hopper is state of the art in stealthness of appearance and use. I dont think there actually is any other vape which can compare in these ways.

Hope you're feeling better!

 

[biohacker]

So I'm proud to say - Hopper is state of the art in stealthness of appearance and use. I dont think there actually is any other vape which can compare in these ways.

Completely agree, but when are you going to man-up and join the mile high club?

I must confess, i'm quite vanilla myself....have only tried it in the bathroom stall at the gym!

Considering the charging tendencies of the D4 I mentioned before, plus the fact that HL have tested a batch of someones month old batteries and reported the charger (a nitecore D4 in two cases) killed them,
It seems like it's good advice to say stop charging the GHBs with the Nitecore D4

Yeah no kidding wow..... I may just have to switch to the OEM USB, but it does confuse me somewhat because I know that the nitecore chargers are extremely popular and probably more used than the XTAR's? Is the Nitecore not an approved charging device?

When I get my brand new GHB2's, I think i'll just stick to the oem usbs....since I have 4 GH's perhaps a couple can just become dedicated battery chargers lol See, another good reason to have 4 lol

CAREFUL USING YOUR EXTERNAL CHARGERS GUYS, THEY MIGHT BE FRYING YOUR BATTERIES. MAYBE.

 

[vapviking]

Just coming back from the hospital. Was operated three days ago and all the time lil' hopper was my best giving consolation friend.

At -8 °C it was no fun staying outside only dressed with pyjama, house slippers and bathrope so I decided on the 2nd day hoppering inside the hospital. Very interesting experience!
Stealth factor is awesome!
First went to a public toilet inside the hospital. Staying under the vent I did my hopper hits more than satisfying and pain releasing - very well medicated!

When leaving the toilet I waited for the next customer to watch his reactions because of possible smelling. No irritation. After hoppering while using the elevator there were no reactions of other people to me, my smell or that of my fresh used hopper in my pocket.

So I've entered the next step and hoppered on the floors and in front of the elevator when there were no other in my near. But always somebody could SEE me hoppering out of the distance.
When somebody was coming near to me he never showed any sign of reaction or irritation.
All the time I publicly hold my hopper in my hand like a pen - just a simple fucking pen. And so all people were reacting - in no way.
When I was using it I may have looked like an idiot, absently suckling on his pen but nobody took note of that. But I' ve to highlight I always hold my breath as long as possible not to look like a smoking dragon.

At the end I finished just the last hits of a bowl with less smell and nearly no visible vapour in my room beside the others while they were doing other things or sleeping. No reactions either of the room neighbours nor of the nurses.

So I'm proud to say - Hopper is state of the art in stealthness of appearance and use. I dont think there actually is any other vape which can compare in these ways.

Hope you are recuperating nicely.
Great story!
Folks in hospital pj's always look like something out of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest! So I think this helps with the "nothing odd here" aspect.
I am still pleased about having hopped in Grand Central Station, though I wasn't in my pajamas.

 

[MoltenTiger]

those threads

The back end threads are Ti to SS on a Ti hopper (the clip ring extends down making the back-end threads)
No idea how SS to Ti conducts, but I'd imagine any difference wouldn't really effect the overall circuit.
I guess the SS would act as additional resistance, but it must be negligible, perhaps

Yeah no kidding wow..... I may just have to switch to the OEM USB, but it does confuse me somewhat because I know that the nitecore chargers are extremely popular and probably more used than the XTAR's? Is the Nitecore not an approved charging device?

When I get my brand new GHB2's, I think i'll just stick to the oem usbs....since I have 4 GH's perhaps a couple can just become dedicated battery chargers lol See, another good reason to have 4 lol

CAREFUL USING YOUR EXTERNAL CHARGERS GUYS, THEY MIGHT BE FRYING YOUR BATTERIES. MAYBE.

The D2 has a different charge rates and circuitry to the D4, the D2 is more popular than the D4 for hopper use, from what I've seen.

I've made occasional posts here and on reddit warning of the differences.

My friends hopper has only ever charged with the OEM charger, and everything is in near perfect order. His hopper might be doing some weird light pattern stuff, but so far it's RMA free too, since August 8th.

 

[Hogni]

Completely agree, but when are you going to man-up and join the mile high club?

I must confess, i'm quite vanilla myself....have only tried it in the bathroom stall at the gym!

You are right its high time to do that but only with a stewardess if you are meaning the regular meaning!

BTW I didnt have had a nun.....

Thanks for you wishes! Very well medicated its ok

 

[biohacker]

@MoltenTiger Is there a difference in the way the i and the d nitecore series charge? Just on reddit, and someone is claiming that the intelligent series "overcharges" to 4.25v, but that the d series stops at 4.2v, which is does. I dunno, but I think that we're on to something here... I wish that HL would put out an official blog on chargers, etc and what is approved and isn't.

https://www.reddit.com/r/GrassHopperVape/comments/5a754k/nitecore_charger_warning/

Maybe it was an isolated incident with a defective nitecore.

From Trevor:

We recommend this 3rd party charger: http://www.all-battery.com/Tenergy_Li-ion18500_18650_14500_RCR123A_BatteryFastCharger-01270.aspx "

And does anyone know why @Zenpen stopped posting 2 years ago? lol Shame...