Multi-brand Vivant Alternate

[Ted_Stuffins]

Does anyone else here personally not care if their device has a crack or 2 in it? I completely understand and respect others choices to send back and get a new device, but doe's anyone else feel that it's not worth the time and aggravation to send it back and get new devices just because of a hairline crack?

 

[Chocu1a]

Does anyone else here personally not care if their device has a crack or 2 in it? I completely understand and respect others choices to send back and get a new device, but doe's anyone else feel that it's not worth the time and aggravation to send it back and get new devices just because of a hairline crack?

Do I care that a device I haven't dropped or abused, has had a melted top & crack on the outer housing in 2 weeks time? Yes. It means that the materials used cannot hold up to stress of not even daily use. What if I want to resell it? Nobody wants a cracked or broken device.
If I had it for a year, & used it daily, & it cracked, probably not. But less than a dozen times used is concerning.

 

[Chingas]

I care because cracks spread. I ordered from dhgate on 3/2 and got the message it gets delivered tomorrow. I was so looking forward to this vape and now I don't want to open it.

I'm sure Vivant will eventually get this worked out and am impressed that in the face of these failures that they haven't slunk away with their tail betwixt their nethers. Remember, they have been a successful ecig company for years but the heat generated in those is within the tank or dripper on top of it. Now they are making something that generates heat itself. A different engineering challenge that is providing a teachable moment for them.

The lesson is cheap plastic can be expensive.

 

[mourningbell]

got my Alternate on Friday... gonna say more later but one thing is apparent: this thing has to be one of the stealthiest vapes I've used because it doesn't smell. If I start heating up my Pax 2, the at least the entire room smells. The Alternate is as close to odorless as it gets--basically only the clouds themselves smell.

plus the Alternate without a doubt has cooler and tastier vapor than my Pax.

 

[Povertysteak]

Mine just cracked in the center part of the cooling unit.
i only vape it at 360 degrees, which is disappointing.

I wonder how much replacement mouthpieces are going to cost from vivant.

note, this is a unit purchased from heaven_gifts.

 

[BuzzDanklin]

@gienkollo I took a couple photos for you here: http://imgur.com/a/0DB5G

Edit:

 

[Ted_Stuffins]

Do I care that a device I haven't dropped or abused, has had a melted top & crack on the outer housing in 2 weeks time? Yes. It means that the materials used cannot hold up to stress of not even daily use. What if I want to resell it? Nobody wants a cracked or broken device.
If I had it for a year, & used it daily, & it cracked, probably not. But less than a dozen times used is concerning.

I understand and respect that viewpoint. IMO since it doesn't effect performance its not worth it for me to return it.

 

[mash]

I also had mine order thru DHgate....but it was stuck at China's post and heaven gifts was nice enough to
let me cancel the order .....I didnt want no part of plastic cracking or melting.......just doesnt sound like a healthy unit.

Im going to wait to see if this issue is corrected.....if its a bad batch...then its a easy fix....If it is indeed
the plastic used that cant take the heat ....then I will wait for Vivant to bring out a new improved Alternate. I really would like to try this unit....

I dont think I will order thru DHgate tho......seeing now that there are a few Canadian places to order ...I hope to see if I can get one from them at a reasonable price.

I have my eye also on the Mighty......with Bedrocan ...my medical marijuana producer they have it at supposed cost of $375 cad....I know its alot of money ....especially for me....but it will be my backup
plan if this doesnt work out.

 

[uhranium]

I think this is the first european seller

http://www.dampfi.ch/vivant-alternate-loose-leaf-vaporizer.html

 

[BuddingMagic]

I understand and respect that viewpoint. IMO since it doesn't effect performance its not worth it for me to return it.

Also remember that in both cases where there were cracks near the USB port, the mouthpiece melted beforehand. That absolutely affects performance, and the fact that this plastic continues to crack in other places seems to indicate that this is not just an issue with the mouthpiece.

 

[Ted_Stuffins]

Also remember that in both cases where there were cracks near the USB port, the mouthpiece melted beforehand. That absolutely affects performance, and the fact that this plastic continues to crack in other places seems to indicate that this is not just an issue with the mouthpiece.

How does it effect performance?

 

[BuddingMagic]

How does it effect performance?

It affects performance by providing a lack of a good seal between the mouthpiece and chamber. Depending on the size and severity of the crack, this could mean leaked vapor or a complete inability to have suction.

An example of a not-so-severe crack that still led to performance problems:

An example of a completely unusable crack:

Basically, anything that introduces air between the tip of the mouthpiece and the adjustable airflow switch is going to lead to issues.

 

[Ted_Stuffins]

Basically, anything that introduces air between the tip of the mouthpiece and the adjustable airflow switch is going to lead to issues.

Couldn't you just apply a piece of electric tape or something to stop the airflow from leaking?

 

[Just Justin]

I love my Alternate, Crafty, Mighty and other plastic vapes but I'm tired of plastic! I'm looking forward to a mostly metal, medical grade vape that is built to last a lifetime. It would have replaceable heaters, replaceable battery, full digital temp control, on-demand full convection heat, draw sense technology, a cooling vapor path and a docking station that would allow you to pump air through it to fill balloons! That's my dream vape.

 

[BuddingMagic]

Couldn't you just apply a piece of electric tape or something to stop the airflow from leaking?

There are all sorts of things one COULD do, the question is, should they? A vape < 2 weeks old shouldn't have to be taped together to function properly. Period.

Plus there's the question of safety. Electrical tape is made from PVC and you don't want that heating to vaporization temperatures as it's toxic.

 

[Stinky]

The plastic is being looked into every moment our team is awake. We have performed multiple testing's ourselves and will release some videos to show the community our findings.

@Vivant Are you still going to be releasing the videos?

 

[gienkollo]

@gienkollo I took a couple photos for you here:

Thanks!

Also remember that in both cases where there were cracks near the USB port, the mouthpiece melted beforehand.

I\m still standing on my opinion, is wrong material choose for sure, @Vivant can say what in the Big Book of PR was written, but EVERYBODY mean all reviewers said (this which love device too) it feels cheap and plasticy. Seriously it was that much more expensive to choose better material?
I would rather buy device without a cell which i have plenty or can buy whatever i want to (LG HG's or PANASONIC NCR's or whatever) but it feels more sturdy and less cheap, like Boundless CF for example.
It is genius good vape on blueprint's, but its cheap made. That's a massive con.

I love my Alternate, Crafty, Mighty and other plastic vapes but I'm tired of plastic! I'm looking forward to a mostly metal, medical grade vape that is built to last a lifetime. It would have replaceable heaters, replaceable battery, full digital temp control, on-demand full convection heat, draw sense technology, a cooling vapor path and a docking station that would allow you to pump air through it to fill balloons! That's my dream vape.

Yes, that will be my 6 pay checks with the pricing of vape market, but yes +1 for that.

There are all sorts of things one COULD do, the question is, should they? A vape < 2 weeks old shouldn't have to be taped together to function properly. Period.

Can't argue with that.

 

[xlr8shun]

so, i received my replacement topcap/mouthpiece last week and just today did i get around to taking a look at it. thanks @Vivant

i, like @IckiestOfTheSticky, will be attempting (as well as memory permits) to document the usage of this replacement. i have a picture of the unused, right out of the packaging, clean cut edge of the mouthpiece and hope i can get a picture after each and every session of heat that it was exposed to, for how long, and what temp.

edit: as a side note... does anyone elses mouthpiece get... extremely.. hot? the OUTSIDE of the mouthpiece on my unit does get hot.. and its always caused me a little concern, but now with the possible melting issues and such, i decided to pull out my IR temp gun. there is 1 spot on the mouthpiece that i cant really hold onto while in operation..

my results: 172*F.. maxed out at about 175* after a 4 min @ 400*F session. pretty dam warm...

 

[mourningbell]

so, i received my replacement topcap/mouthpiece last week and just today did i get around to taking a look at it. thanks @Vivant

i, like @IckiestOfTheSticky, will be attempting (as well as memory permits) to document the usage of this replacement. i have a picture of the unused, right out of the packaging, clean cut edge of the mouthpiece and hope i can get a picture after each and every session of heat that it was exposed to, for how long, and what temp.

edit: as a side note... does anyone elses mouthpiece get... extremely.. hot? the OUTSIDE of the mouthpiece on my unit does get hot.. and its always caused me a little concern, but now with the possible melting issues and such, i decided to pull out my IR temp gun. there is 1 spot on the mouthpiece that i cant really hold onto while in operation..

my results: 172*F.. maxed out at about 175* after a 4 min @ 400*F session. pretty dam warm...

Same here, the part of the mouthpiece that covers the bowl gets EXTREMELY hot, like I'm pretty sure it would burn me if I left my fingers on it. Could certainly be causing the cracking in some units.

 

[IckiestOfTheSticky]

Same here, the part of the mouthpiece that covers the bowl gets EXTREMELY hot, like I'm pretty sure it would burn me if I left my fingers on it. Could certainly be causing the cracking in some units.

Mine is not getting overly hot to the touch to the point where it feels like it is burning me, but I'm noticing that where many are reporting cracks (on the cooling unit) is where mine gets the hottest.

So far, I've documented each session and haven't missed one yet. I'm up to 75 minutes of use, and still experiencing some faint plastic taste, but it is getting more faint.

I noticed after my last session there appears to be a small bubble or bump in the rim of my cooling unit but need to investigate that after a double 3 min session to see if it's just material on there or truly the start of something.

Save for the first two burnoffs at 428 (two minutes total), my unit has never been over 400.

I will say watching my cooling unit like a hawk, it's seemingly holding up well except for the most recent bump I'm noticing, which I still need to confirm. I am cleaning the unit every single time, it essentially looks brand new after every use. Thank you Vivant for including a brush, it's quite handy!

Waiting for my warranty replacement Arizer Air, I'm a little worried that I'm still detecting plastic taste after 75 minutes of use. That will probably be my daily driver again once I get it back, but I at least want to document until the plastic is gone and/or I start seeing warping or damage in the mouthpiece.

I'm going to continue documenting though, for sure.

 

[xlr8shun]

@IckiestOfTheSticky @mourningbell that's exactly where I notice the hottest part of my mouthpiece also.. and belive it or not.. even after @BuddingMagic posted his pictures the second time I did not put 2 & 2 together until you mentioned that is where some people are experiencing cracking... good call...

A pic of where I find the hottest part to consistently be, facing the vape in the pic below.. I find the right side (right side like in the picture) to be 10-20 degrees F hotter than the right side of the vape.
http://i.imgur.com/R1u8rIJ.jpg

 

[doobienoobie]

I've just received my Alternate from DHGate, and I have to say the smell of melting plastic during burnoff is rather strong. This coming from a guy with a poor sense of smell; I can barely smell bud!

The Vivant is my first step into the world of vaping, and I picked it up based on the positive early responses here.

Well, if nothing else, it makes for an interesting start to vape adventure!

 

[lemmeadem]

Maybe this is a batch issue? Units, three I know of included, are doing spectacular and regularly running at max temp back to back until battery failure and through water with the original mouthpiece and CU.

 

[Taz4101]

Could you try the measuring the temperature of the underneath of cu around screen? The bottom section of cu will probably get hotter.

If it's a batch issue it must be a large batch. There is also people who's replacement cu melted or cracked also.

Does anyone have a green mouthpiece tip? Myne is black but on some of the photos on vivants Facebook it's green.

 

[doobienoobie]

Maybe this is a batch issue? Units, three I know of included, are doing spectacular and regularly running at max temp back to back until battery failure and through water with the original mouthpiece and CU.

If it is, I wonder how we might be able to identify which batch our units are from. I couldn't find any serial number on the box or the Alternate itself.