Ascent Vaporizer by DaVinci

[trezhunter]

Following up with those of you who are curious..
GotVape's Response:

I was able to investigate your case and have the following resolution:
Sorry for the inconvenience, we can definitely have that taken care of and get you back up and running. Here’s the process:

Step 1
We need you to contact us at 888 827-3101, so that we may take you through the Trouble Shooting process, most issued can be resolved by going through this process.

Step 2
We will be glad to assist you by issuing you an RMA which is a Return Merchandise Authorization to your email address, send the malfunctioning unit back to us and we can look into it further.

Make sure to disconnect any mouthpieces and or filling chambers and keep them with you at home, as it is a unit-only warranty and we will not be issuing any accessories back to you.

Important Note:
Please clean your unit out and make sure there is no residue whatsoever left in the unit. This unit will be traveling through a carrier service, which can be inspected at any point leaving you legally responsible for any residual substances found.

Step 3
Once we receive your unit we will get back in contact you and advise you of your warranty period, if your unit is within the period and is found to be consistent with normal operations, your unit will be repaired or replaced with a new unit at the manufacturers discretion.

If your unit is outside of the Warranty period, we will instruct you on any costs associated with the repair/replacement.

Shipping Charges
You will be responsible for shipping to us (we suggest you insure the package and record the tracking number) and then charged $9.99 to the card on file to ship the repaired unit back out to you.

This fee is only waived if the unit has a problem within 2 weeks of the delivery date.
If you have any additional questions or concerns regarding your purchase feel free to contact us through email or call us (888)827-3101.
The current status of this case is "Closed". If this case response does not provide a resolution, please reply and our Support Team will resume investigating. If the above case response resolves your inquiry, no further action is required.

Best Regards,
Heidi A.
Customer Service
GotVape.com

So they seemed somewhat reluctant to RMA me.. Luckily I know how to speed thru support.. 2 tiers of tech support..basically when I started explaining the offgassing, she replied "do a burnoff"... "these things come with oil on the wick"..LoL.. "it's just harmless oil"..." no mam.. I JUST explained that it's not that kind of vape"..*click* 2nd tier.. no exaggeration on the expedience of that transfer.. "sometime these units just need to be burned off", she said.. "oooook...wait..hang on"..I explained everything.... finally they said they'd do the RMA, but required I give them pictures of the hairs.. (good thing I already took care of those!) They didn't seem to care for the LCD screen AT ALL.. but after the 2nd re-phrasing of the RMA policy from the tech, I reminded her that I should then also give her pics of the LCD.. so safe to say they've already heard about that one enough..

*cheers!

mod note: Please avoid back-to-back posts, use Edit instead. Two posts merged.

 

[Dreamerr]

We have issues with GB for many reasons and that is just one of them. What the heck was that in the warranty unit only wtf...you can get a bad charger and that should be under the same umbrella as well as shit that comes broken. It sucks that you have to pay to ship back to anybody no matter what the product if it is defective.

 

[OF]

Following up with those of you who are curious..
GotVape's Response:

Shipping Charges
You will be responsible for shipping to us (we suggest you insure the package and record the tracking number) and then charged $9.99 to the card on file to ship the repaired unit back out to you.

That's a bit cheeky IMO. Not to mention last time I checked making unapproved charges on someone else's card was frowned on. No, make that illegal? Was this 'you have to pay shipping both ways for defective stuff' agreed to 'up front'? I while some cover return shipping (and some don't) I don't think I've ever heard of one that soaks you both ways when they sell you something defective?

OF

 

[grokit]

That's a take-it-or-leave-it "opt out" kind of notice.

I agree, it's a pretty sleazy way to handle this.

That's what internet forums are for, to let consumers know about practices like these, so they can make the decision to shop elsewhere in the future.

 

[Digger42]

Following up with those of you who are curious..
GotVape's Response:

I was able to investigate your case and have the following resolution:
Sorry for the inconvenience, we can definitely have that taken care of and get you back up and running. Here’s the process:

Step 1
We need you to contact us at 888 827-3101, so that we may take you through the Trouble Shooting process, most issued can be resolved by going through this process.

Step 2
We will be glad to assist you by issuing you an RMA which is a Return Merchandise Authorization to your email address, send the malfunctioning unit back to us and we can look into it further.

Make sure to disconnect any mouthpieces and or filling chambers and keep them with you at home, as it is a unit-only warranty and we will not be issuing any accessories back to you.

Important Note:
Please clean your unit out and make sure there is no residue whatsoever left in the unit. This unit will be traveling through a carrier service, which can be inspected at any point leaving you legally responsible for any residual substances found.

Step 3
Once we receive your unit we will get back in contact you and advise you of your warranty period, if your unit is within the period and is found to be consistent with normal operations, your unit will be repaired or replaced with a new unit at the manufacturers discretion.

If your unit is outside of the Warranty period, we will instruct you on any costs associated with the repair/replacement.

Shipping Charges
You will be responsible for shipping to us (we suggest you insure the package and record the tracking number) and then charged $9.99 to the card on file to ship the repaired unit back out to you.

This fee is only waived if the unit has a problem within 2 weeks of the delivery date.
If you have any additional questions or concerns regarding your purchase feel free to contact us through email or call us (888)827-3101.
The current status of this case is "Closed". If this case response does not provide a resolution, please reply and our Support Team will resume investigating. If the above case response resolves your inquiry, no further action is required.

Best Regards,
Heidi A.
Customer Service
GotVape.com

So they seemed somewhat reluctant to RMA me.. Luckily I know how to speed thru support.. 2 tiers of tech support..basically when I started explaining the offgassing, she replied "do a burnoff"... "these things come with oil on the wick"..LoL.. "it's just harmless oil"..." no mam.. I JUST explained that it's not that kind of vape"..*click* 2nd tier.. no exaggeration on the expedience of that transfer.. "sometime these units just need to be burned off", she said.. "oooook...wait..hang on"..I explained everything.... finally they said they'd do the RMA, but required I give them pictures of the hairs.. (good thing I already took care of those!) They didn't seem to care for the LCD screen AT ALL.. but after the 2nd re-phrasing of the RMA policy from the tech, I reminded her that I should then also give her pics of the LCD.. so safe to say they've already heard about that one enough..

*cheers!

Odd, nothing like consistency. For me, I was on the phone for maybe 3 minutes when they said they would take care of it. That afternoon I got the RMA info and the next morning I got a paid label. No mention was made of return shipping. It is on it's way back to GotVape right now. I guess it is all luck of the draw on who you get on their end.

 

[OF]

Yeah, that's like a take-it-or-leave-it "opt out" kind of notice.

I agree, it's a pretty sleazy way to handle this.

That's what internet forums are for, to let consumers know about practices like these, so they can make the decision to shop elsewhere in the future.

That's what internet forums are for, to let consumers know about practices like these, so they can make the decision to shop elsewhere in the future.

I don't even see it as that benign. Check out the agreement on the web, what I believe the courts would hold as contractual and allowing you 'full recourse':
http://www.gotvape.com/return-policy.html

The interesting part is:
"However if you receive your unit damaged or nonfunctioning we will gladly replace the unit for you." (emphasis is theirs....).

This says noting about your paying for shipping.....either way. Nor does it say anything about your having to return it at all, does it? It just says they will replace the defective unit for you. No RMA needed, all they have to do is do what they contracted to do. send you another.....and in a timely manner, please?

They contracted to supply you a (working) unit for the price agreed. They failed that, you should get a refund of a new unit. If they want to pay for shipping of the dead one back, you might consider returning it but I don't see where you agreed to return it at all if it was defective? It's a contract, how do you read it?

I agree, one of the most important functions of Forums like this is to allow us to warn each other about stuff like this. Informed buying decisions should include this part as well IMO.

OF

 

[VaPeD&CoNfUsEd]

I've noticed that the black chrome on the trim of my ascent is chipping like crazy all of a sudden! They should have just stuck with the chrome.

 

[WakeAndVape]

I've noticed that the black chrome on the trim of my ascent is chipping like crazy all of a sudden! They should have just stuck with the chrome.

Both of my ascents did that too... even the Chrome. ..its a great vape, but their detail work leaves something to be desired

 

[trezhunter]

Odd, nothing like consistency. For me, I was on the phone for maybe 3 minutes when they said they would take care of it. That afternoon I got the RMA info and the next morning I got a paid label. No mention was made of return shipping. It is on it's way back to GotVape right now. I guess it is all luck of the draw on who you get on their end.

HA.. Good to hear (they are probably aware that people are aware now)... I've YET to get a response to my RMA request yet FYI.. . Taking their sweet time and wasting mine..

I've noticed that the black chrome on the trim of my ascent is chipping like crazy all of a sudden! They should have just stuck with the chrome.

Yea.. the scuffing, scratches, and chipping are really nasty... and plain unacceptable for a brand new vape.. I can't even send hi-res photos of my "luxury" vape to anyone without them wondering how long I've had it...

I mean, we basically bought refurbs..

 

[notorio]

Finally got my RMA from DaVinci. Now I'm just trying to suck it up, cos I have to spend another $100 returning this thing! Never again

 

[WakeAndVape]

Finally got my RMA from DaVinci. Now I'm just trying to suck it up, cos I have to spend another $100 returning this thing! Never again

Why so much?

 

[Cannabis Connoisseur]

I want one of these things bad but I also want the damn thing to be basically turn-key i dont care to deal with all these issues. I sure dont want to PAY for the issues. Davinci needs to step it up. Seems like my Solo will remain solo in my portable collection awhile longer.

 

[notorio]

Why so much?

The only courier close to me is Fed Ex, and I'm shipping from Europe. But I found out the local mail service here works with Parcel Force, so I'm going there now to see if they will do tracked.

EDIT: They do! I paid £21 ($32), not exactly cheap, but much better than Fedex, UPS etc.

 

[marvil701]

For those of you super paranoid about the wire(s) but still wanting to try out your Ascent ... if you have a silicone ring/washer you can put around the main tube from the top before putting on the extension tube ... I'm sure you can make it seal so that the wire I definitely out of the way.

Emphasized for being insightful & useful. This also might get rid of the whistling that some owners here are experiencing.

 

[grokit]

I like the whistling, it lets me know that I'm drawing too hard.

I got to try my ascent again last night. The pipestone spacer worked out even better than I had hoped; besides keeping the load firmly on the bottom of the bowl, it absorbs, holds, then radiates heat back into the load once it gets going, functioning as an additional heat source. If I had my leatherman I would have experimented with pre-heating the pipestone before adding the herb, but it works pretty well by bumping the temp high to 420f or so and then backing off to around 390f once the clouds start to rip.

We also conducted a couple of experiments. My buddy put some wet bubble hash directly in the bowl, off to one side, not really happening so we added the pipestone insert. Got a few hits, not great but the hash was wet and it was a small amount. It didn't fully cook so I added it to the second herb bowl.

But the next experiment was interesting.

The herb bowls were filled loosely, then tamped down to like half-size to make room for the pipestone. We went through a couple of those. At the end of the evening, I took the spent avb from both bowls, and crammed all of it into the ascent and pumped it up to 430f. I got at least a half-dozen solid hits with quite a bit of visible vapor. And it tasted surprisingly good!

edit: The pipestone was not employed for the avb bowl because there was no room for it.

The result was I slept very well last night

No pics, but soon.

 

[Dreamerr]

Question please, when you all are doing burns are you doing it with the glass in or out?
On that same thought process, wouldn't that let more heat into the open spaces near the wires and electronics if you are leaving the glass out? I think if that is the case it could make what we now think are issues worse?

 

[Reflections]

When i did my burn the glass screen broke...so id suggest taking the glass out!

 

[nigel]

@grokit Thanks for the update/tips. About how tall is the pipestone, as a percentage of the height of the bowl? 50%? 75%?

Question please, when you all are doing burns are you doing it with the glass in or out?
On that same thought process, wouldn't that let more heat into the open spaces near the wires and electronics if you are leaving the glass out? I think if that is the case it could make what we now think are issues worse?

I'm with you on this. I wouldn't want to subject parts that normally don't get that heat to the heat.

@Reflections statement concerns me a bit, but I did all of my 430° burn tests with the stems in place.

Remember to NOT use the oil can lids though! I don't know if it affect all of them or just some of them, but at least the one I tested produced the mystery smoke. We don't yet know what this smoke it (could be inert/harmless for all we know. or not), so I'd avoid it.

 

[grokit]

Nigel, I would say it's about 40% of the bowl height.

We will have another piece of pipestone to experiment with soon, will make more of an oblong one with holes that's deeper but as I said I am pleased with the results so far.

The pipestone is pretty soft, so I think it's okay rattling around loose in the bowl when not in use.

 

[Reflections]

Nigel i did like 5 burns..all with glass in place... wasnt till the last burn..i wanted to open it and check how bowl burned open..only i couldnt open it... so i forced it and crunch....i had it all tucked in place so dont know why it moved a little so i couldnt open it.

 

[Dreamerr]

So wait @Reflections, it had nothing to do with the burn what I think you are saying is that the stem slipped. If that is the case that can happen during normal usage so all should watch out for it and make sure the screen stem is all the way up. It seems like you may want to pull it up from the top before opening which would be a pain in the ass. I wonder if you just turn it over and tap will it go back into place.

 

[nigel]

Nigel i did like 5 burns..all with glass in place... wasnt till the last burn..i wanted to open it and check how bowl burned open..only i couldnt open it... so i forced it and crunch....i had it all tucked in place so dont know why it moved a little so i couldnt open it.

Oh, you were the other person! Was trying to figure this out the other night.

That wasn't a heat issue. That was a position issue.

When you push the screen-stem down (intentionally or accidentally) when the unit is closed, you essentially bolt the unit shut. It's like a glass dead-bolt.

I accidentally managed to push the screen-stem down a bit on my unit. I was messing around with the U-adapter, and I think I had it at a weird angle.

I went to open the base and I couldn't. I finally managed to get the tube back up, so I didn't break anything.

I think the chances of accidentally pushing the stem down are very very slim, but it's still something to be aware of and avoid.

 

[rsqemt911]

Sojust got my stealth in from
GV. DEAD!!

After 5 mins on the charger it finally showed the bat charge light. Tried powering it up and it shut down. So that's not a good start.
Screen is foggy like the others. Visible charge board through bottom of grille. Slightly off rubber seal on inside of bowl. And some of the "hairs in the vapor path.

When I open the chamber and place
My finger over the screen I still get FREE draw so HUGE air leak. Going to have do a little inspection further. The outer glass pathway is a tad loose but the inner one is tight.

And GV forgot my WT adapter. Just got off the phone with them to see what that's about.

Will do more experimenting when I get home from work tomorrow. Should be Charged by then.

An that wonky taste is def GLUE! Can smell and taste it cold and fresh out of box. Somebody was sloppy and got it all over the inside is my theory. And it's heating melting vaping.

No wires in my air path either and all other seals seem to be good.

 

[Reflections]

So basically every time i use it , you suggest i slide the glass straw out and make sure the screen tube is in place? ugh..lol...I'll know next time < i hope if it doesnt open ..dont force it lol> Now im wondering about the spacer.. The herb rises and so will the spacer... another glass cruncher?

 

[nigel]

So basically every time i use it , you suggest i slide the glass straw out and make sure the screen tube is in place? ugh..lol...I'll know next time < i hope if it doesnt open ..dont force it lol> Now im wondering about the spacer.. The herb rises and so will the spacer... another glass cruncher?

Naw. Don't know why the stem moved in your case. I've done quite a few 430° tests on my end and never had that problem. I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just be mindful of the issue and don't push the screen-stem down.

Only three of us (that I am aware of) have seen this happen, and the third pushed his down intentionally to try to seal the bowl. (Think he pulled his back up once he realized what he had done, so no breakage.)