Discontinued Custom Crafty Battery Packs for Easy Replacement

[JCat]

Thank you very much everyone in the FC community for having been such great supporters over the last year or two. I just had an interaction with a new member (I won't mention their name but I have ignored them now) that if more of my interactions were like I wouldn't be providing this service. In fact, it is the only person who has been rude to me and treated me badly in all my time doing this.

They first started by attacking the shipping prices I had (which are within a couple dollars of my cost), I guess they thought that shipping w/ insurance and tracking isn't required ... then when I explained this, and their alternatives, they again attacked me saying "WTF you are really expensive amongst other insults ..." ... for telling them about alternatives such as the $100 discount or so that S&B has typically offered.

Anyways ... I guess this guy feels that making $20 for 1/2 an hour to 1.5 hours of my time on every customer is too much and "really expensive" ... ... anyways ... just wanted to vent ... thanks for listening everyone! I've ignored this user now so won't have to deal with any more of this shit ... and I've indicated that even if he wanted to purchase something, I would not be willing at this point.

For the little bit of money I've made on this in the last couple years, if even 1 out of 10 of my customers was even close to like this, I wouldn't be doing this anymore.

So thank you very much to the other 50-75 of you who have been absolutely amazing to deal with! (and the rest of the FC family!)

As all of you know who have had difficulties, I always go above and beyond to help out, and do everything I can, largely because I just love this community and honestly want to see everyone get back up and running--there are also lots of you out there that I haven't sold a cell to as I've instead helped you troubleshoot the problem and avoided buying something that wouldn't fix the issue; I don't want to sell anyone anything that they don't want and don't need

Happy holidays everyone!
JCat


Edit: @francomg ... sorry I missed your post ... did you get it back up and running? If not maybe post a picture of the top/bottom of the mainboard (nice high resolution preferrably), and I'll see if I can spot any issues. It does sometimes overheat and cause a short/break on the mainboard circuit near where the heater connects.

 

[billbaroude]

From S&B:
Dear Mr XXXX,

Thank you for contacting us.

The CRAFTY is a portable device, delivering the most satisfactory user experience when used occasionally when on the move. The use on the occasion is the most advisable form of application, while a constant use at home is suboptimal. For this purpose, we offer desktop devices.

Furthermore, we regret we do not sell individual parts. A battery's lifetime is limited - after hundreds of charging cycles there will be a decrease in performance. This is the case with any battery, though we tried to prolong battery life as much as possible with the help of a sophisticated battery management. If you are no longer satisfied with the capacity, send your Vaporizer to our Customer Service to get new batteries. Never try to change batteries by yourself as we use pre-assembled packs with special temperature sensors and plugs for safety reasons.

We do offer a full service for 69€. It includes:

- The replacement of the battery
- Thorough cleaning of the device and exchange of all wear and tear components like seals and screens.

If this is an option for you, please send your device in for service.

We look forward to hearing from you again.

With kind regards,

Technical Support

75x50$=3750$..sure thanks to fc familly

 

[carloco276]

Hi JCat,

I wanted to know where you were with the thermistors ? My Mighty is out of order just because of those thermistors which are defective. I have already changed my batteries 2 times (I have 2 Mighty), being a repair technician myself I had no problem doing this. As I live in France I won't order you a battery pack (too expensive) but would like to know if you could give me a link where to buy the thermistors or the exact specs of that part ?? Thank you !!

 

[algomix]

Hi JCat,

Sorry to read that you've had a bad experience with a customer. The price of $45 USD is totally fine. I sent you a message a few days ago; I'm ready to purchase a battery replacement pack. Please reply and tell me how you'd like to proceed.

Cheers and thanks for your service!

 

[monk18]

Greetings JCat! I came across this forum and found your amazing work bud! Are you still selling these battery packs? Mine is out of warranty and you make it look so easy. Thanks for your efforts and hope to hear from you :-)

I have custom Crafty Battery Packs available for easy replacement of your battery pack. I started this project as I felt there should be an easy replacement available, that didn't require shipping your vaporizer back, especially for those of us with a vaporizer out of warranty.

These battery packs come ready to install with a pre-soldered wiring harness that meets or exceeds the specifications of the original. These are perfect for those of you that don't want to spend the time, don't have the tools, or simply aren't comfortable enough, to de-solder and re-solder the wiring harness from the original battery to a new one.

I've also sourced appropriate name brand cells with tabs for optimal performance based on others feedback in this forum, which guided my research (thanks @Vambo1980 for pointing me towards the Sony VTC6 3120mAh cell and for other inspiration and for answering my questions ) The wire used for the harness is silver plated and rated for high current and low temperature operation.

I'm selling these packs for $40 USD + shipping.


The following are the instructions for installing your battery pack:

http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?file_id=09116962006551867733

And here's the video instructions for installing the pack (doesn't cover removing the existing pack completely though, as I'm removing my custom pack and installing another one of my custom packs):

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments!
JCat

 

[JCat]

Greetings JCat! I came across this forum and found your amazing work bud! Are you still selling these battery packs? Mine is out of warranty and you make it look so easy. Thanks for your efforts and hope to hear from you :-)

Hey Monk,

Have all the required parts coming in next week, but am leaving on Thursday for a week and a bit of vacation.

I can get packs shipped out at the start of the week of the 4th.

Send me a private message with your shipping info (or state and country) and I’ll get back to you with a firm price including shipping.

($45USD + shipping)

 

[RazinKane]

Hey Monk,

Have all the required parts coming in next week, but am leaving on Thursday for a week and a bit of vacation.

I can get packs shipped out at the start of the week of the 4th.

Send me a private message with your shipping info (or state and country) and I’ll get back to you with a firm price including shipping.

($45USD + shipping)

Hey JCat

Do you have any Crafty batteries ready to ship?
Can you send me a quote ASAP.
Thanks.

 

[JCat]

Same story @RazinKane , I have the parts right now, but can only get them out the week of the 4th. Sorry, but best I can do.

 

[Joao8v]

I have custom Crafty Battery Packs available for easy replacement of your battery pack. I started this project as I felt there should be an easy replacement available, that didn't require shipping your vaporizer back, especially for those of us with a vaporizer out of warranty.

These battery packs come ready to install with a pre-soldered wiring harness that meets or exceeds the specifications of the original. These are perfect for those of you that don't want to spend the time, don't have the tools, or simply aren't comfortable enough, to de-solder and re-solder the wiring harness from the original battery to a new one.

I've also sourced appropriate name brand cells with tabs for optimal performance based on others feedback in this forum, which guided my research (thanks @Vambo1980 for pointing me towards the Sony VTC6 3120mAh cell and for other inspiration and for answering my questions ) The wire used for the harness is silver plated and rated for high current and low temperature operation.

I'm selling these packs for $40 USD + shipping.


The following are the instructions for installing your battery pack:

http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?file_id=09116962006551867733

And here's the video instructions for installing the pack (doesn't cover removing the existing pack completely though, as I'm removing my custom pack and installing another one of my custom packs):

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments!
JCat

Hey there, thanks for your vídeo on how to replace the batteries of the Crafty, first of all. I have a mighty myself and I was wondering if you ship battery replacement packs to Portugal where I live.

 

[francomg]

Thank you very much everyone in the FC community for having been such great supporters over the last year or two. I just had an interaction with a new member (I won't mention their name but I have ignored them now) that if more of my interactions were like I wouldn't be providing this service. In fact, it is the only person who has been rude to me and treated me badly in all my time doing this.

They first started by attacking the shipping prices I had (which are within a couple dollars of my cost), I guess they thought that shipping w/ insurance and tracking isn't required ... then when I explained this, and their alternatives, they again attacked me saying "WTF you are really expensive amongst other insults ..." ... for telling them about alternatives such as the $100 discount or so that S&B has typically offered.

Anyways ... I guess this guy feels that making $20 for 1/2 an hour to 1.5 hours of my time on every customer is too much and "really expensive" ... ... anyways ... just wanted to vent ... thanks for listening everyone! I've ignored this user now so won't have to deal with any more of this shit ... and I've indicated that even if he wanted to purchase something, I would not be willing at this point.

For the little bit of money I've made on this in the last couple years, if even 1 out of 10 of my customers was even close to like this, I wouldn't be doing this anymore.

So thank you very much to the other 50-75 of you who have been absolutely amazing to deal with! (and the rest of the FC family!)

As all of you know who have had difficulties, I always go above and beyond to help out, and do everything I can, largely because I just love this community and honestly want to see everyone get back up and running--there are also lots of you out there that I haven't sold a cell to as I've instead helped you troubleshoot the problem and avoided buying something that wouldn't fix the issue; I don't want to sell anyone anything that they don't want and don't need

Happy holidays everyone!
JCat


Edit: @francomg ... sorry I missed your post ... did you get it back up and running? If not maybe post a picture of the top/bottom of the mainboard (nice high resolution preferrably), and I'll see if I can spot any issues. It does sometimes overheat and cause a short/break on the mainboard circuit near where the heater connects.

Hi JCat, thanks for replying to me. Actually it didn't work out. After I've tried fixing my Crafty and it started to keep shutting down all the time once it reached the desired temperature, than I gave up on trying to use it and started to relying on my Mighty. I thought my Crafty was shutting down because it was overheating and for that reason I've managed to protect the battery using a PVC heat shrink wrap and I thought that would solve the issues I was experiencing, but I guess there's something else going on with my Crafty internal circuits??

I'll see to take some pictures of it's internal circuits, motherboard so you can take a look and see if you can spot what the issue might be? Maybe it's not all related to the battery itself as I have used a brand new Panasonic/Sanyo NCR18650GA 3350mAh 10A with tabs attached.

 

[JCat]

No problem. If you post pictures, I'll be more than happy to see if there's anything obvious I can spot.

Does it feel hot on the outside when it shuts down? If so, where?

There could be a poor connection somewhere causing excess heat ...

 

[francomg]

No problem. If you post pictures, I'll be more than happy to see if there's anything obvious I can spot.

Does it feel hot on the outside when it shuts down? If so, where?

There could be a poor connection somewhere causing excess heat ...

Not really, it actually stays as hot as when it was working properly. I'm not sure I felt it overheat inn my hands. Once I turn my Crafty on and it reaches the desired temperature, I'm able to take a few draws for the 1st 5 minutes, and then it starts to shut down, and even If I try to turn it on again, it won't stay on for more than 10-20 seconds before shutting down again. If I wait a few minutes and let it cool off, than I can turn it on for a few minutes again, but once it reaches the temperature I want and gets hot, the shutting down issue continues....

One thing that I find quite strange, is that even after a full charging and having a brand new battery replacement, after I keep trying to turn my Crafty on when it starts shut down, I sometimes get the flashing blue lights indicating the battery has ran out which doesn't make any sense, since battery was full and I haven't even used it for more than 5-10 minutes trying to make it work??? Very mysterious issue?

 

[JCat]

Not really, it actually stays as hot as when it was working properly. I'm not sure I felt it overheat inn my hands. Once I turn my Crafty on and it reaches the desired temperature, I'm able to take a few draws for the 1st 5 minutes, and then it starts to shut down, and even If I try to turn it on again, it won't stay on for more than 10-20 seconds before shutting down again. If I wait a few minutes and let it cool off, than I can turn it on for a few minutes again, but once it reaches the temperature I want and gets hot, the shutting down issue continues....

One thing that I find quite strange, is that even after a full charging and having a brand new battery replacement, after I keep trying to turn my Crafty on when it starts shut down, I sometimes get the flashing blue lights indicating the battery has ran out which doesn't make any sense, since battery was full and I haven't even used it for more than 5-10 minutes trying to make it work??? Very mysterious issue?

I'm betting there's a connection on the circuit board that is going and causing excess heat. That would cause your battery to drain faster, and the device to shutdown I believe. Could also be the thermistor along the battery is faulty and is tripping sooner than it should (I'm not sure if the thermistor being tripped would cause the flashing blue lights too?)

 

[Elgar]

Hello.
I might have missed it. I didn't see a link to order a replacement battery pack. How do I go about it? Payment methods? Are you in Ontario?

 

[JCat]

Hello.
I might have missed it. I didn't see a link to order a replacement battery pack. How do I go about it? Payment methods? Are you in Ontario?

Hey Elgar,

I am in Ontario. I'll send you a PM (private message) and we can discuss shipping/payment there, or through e-mail. I accept payment through PayPal.

 

[Fire_B_rad]

Hi Jcat, I am interested in purchasing one of your battery packs for my crafty. I am also located in Canada. Do you have a price in Canadian dollars?
Thanks for putting this out there, it's a great find!

 

[JCat]

Hi Jcat, I am interested in purchasing one of your battery packs for my crafty. I am also located in Canada. Do you have a price in Canadian dollars?
Thanks for putting this out there, it's a great find!

Hi @Fire_B_rad ,

I did send you a PM as well when you posted the question, but thought I'd just post here for others, it's usually around $60CAD based on exchange rate (give or take $1-$2 so that's generally the price I use if selling in CAD).

 

[FWDSLIP]

How do I PM you Jcat? I can’t figure out the forum. I’m in Ontario, and have a few questions about your battery replacement. I’m a vaper (nicotine Vapes) so I have a whack of HG2 18650’s and a plethora of soldering experience for RC projects over the years. But the connector is my question....

 

[Jill NYC]

How do I PM you Jcat? I can’t figure out the forum. I’m in Ontario, and have a few questions about your battery replacement. I’m a vaper (nicotine Vapes) so I have a whack of HG2 18650’s and a plethora of soldering experience for RC projects over the years. But the connector is my question....

Click on his avatar and then click on “start a conversation”

 

[FWDSLIP]

Click on his avatar and then click on “start a conversation”

Thanks! I see it now. Super small font. Lol.

 

[Solmyr]

Hello JCat !!
I'd be interested in buying your battery pack. how should I proceed mate ?
Thank you in advance,
Regards.

 

[nathanf]

For anyone on the fence, do it! My Crafty from 2015 works like new again. Thanks JCat!

 

[Pyetro]

hello @JCat ! i just replaced the battery of my crafty following in details all the instruction found on a thread on reddit. I bought exactly the same battery found on the device (ending with PF, but 2900mAh instead of 2700 mAh).

I put my crafty on charge and everything was fine, until after a couple hours it suddenly stopped blue blink and the blue light became still. I tried it, it reached about 140 c then turned off. as soon as I tried to recharge again, it started to red/green(or yellow?) blink... this should mean that the charger is inadequate (or something related to thermal sensor as I read in this thread), but Im using the same charger used in past, I also tried many other cables and charger unsuccessfully

Since I bought a pair of those batteries, I tried to replace it again, now it doesn't charge at all and immediately start blink in red/green..

do you have any suggestion for me? my crafty was bought in december 2015, so not one of the latest models.

thanks in advance!

 

[JCat]

Unfortunately @Pyetro it sounds like your circuit board is finished.

What does it do when you try to turn it on? (You say it red/green blinks now when you try to charge it?)

If it's the thermal sensor, it would be a red/yellow flashing sequence when trying to power on ... if you test the battery you have in the crafty right now with a multimeter what is the charge on it?

 

[Pyetro]

Unfortunately @Pyetro it sounds like your circuit board is finished.

What does it do when you try to turn it on? (You say it red/green blinks now when you try to charge it?)

If it's the thermal sensor, it would be a red/yellow flashing sequence when trying to power on ... if you test the battery you have in the crafty right now with a multimeter what is the charge on it?

Thanks @JCat for your quick reply! I continued my search and found this video.
then i looked better at the lights and indeed I got red/yellow flashing, not red/green!

Actually now that I have replaced again the battery my crafty won't turn on at all because I guess the battery is dry, but if i try to charge it, i got the flashing red/yellow lights..

I don't have a multimeter right now, but i will check soon as i borrow one from some friend.

I just bought from ebay some new thermal fuse as suggested in the video, and I will try to replace it as soon as they arrive. I will post further updates very soon!!

what do you think about the method suggested in the video?