Discontinued Hopper io

[MoltenTiger]

Well, now I did:

https://imgur.com/a/Yz8zJDg

I initially tried by hand and got it to turn a bit. Then I used pliers with a bit of paper towel folded up so not to scratch the heck out of it. I managed to unscrew and the waif-y copper band (pictured right of heating chamber) came off. I’m not even sure where or if there’s more of it or only went partially around something.

Not only that but I’m apparently stronger - and possibly more stupid - than I think I am. I bent the heating chamber with the force of the pliers. I would NOT recommend using pliers or perhaps any tool for that matter to attempt this, just for the record. I got the chamber back in shape though it may be moot with the copper piece broken off.

Does anyone know what that is and if it’s critical to the function of the heater? Do I even dare power it up without that little piece? It appears more threading looking but I’m not sure. Does anyone have a pic of one in better condition?

I cleaned what I could and I’m letting it all dry. There’s a chance I may never start it up again (see above) and just use my OG until that goes. I could just get a new IO body too since I messed this up, if HL even has spares on hand. We shall see

This is definitely not a user removeable part, but good work getting it done. You can now clean the device a little more effectively.

A safe method (to protect the chamber) is to place tacky concentrate around the chamber top/MP threads, allow it to cool after heating/using and then the assembly binds and allows the copper threadlock to be easily defeated just by untwisting the MP.

That copper strip is in good enough condition to reuse, but it isn't necessary and if you ever intend on opening it up again it's better to leave it out.

It's just a bit of foil to bind the threads. it only partially covers them, that is the full piece in your photo. I can't believe after all their misguided effort making this thing HL would recommend using loctite in its place.

I had enough grime in the barrel of the body and on and around the PCB as it was. Seeing this really made me question why I liked the unit so much as it is a pretty stupid assembly.

 

[Vaporific]

This is definitely not a user removeable part, but good work getting it done. You can now clean the device a little more effectively.

A safe method (to protect the chamber) is to place tacky concentrate around the chamber top/MP threads, allow it to cool after heating/using and then the assembly binds and allows the copper threadlock to be easily defeated just by untwisting the MP.

That copper strip is in good enough condition to reuse, but it isn't necessary and if you ever intend on opening it up again it's better to leave it out.

It's just a bit of foil to bind the threads. it only partially covers them, that is the full piece in your photo. I can't believe after all their misguided effort making this thing HL would recommend using loctite in its place.

I had enough grime in the barrel of the body and on and around the PCB as it was. Seeing this really made me question why I liked the unit so much as it is a pretty stupid assembly.

THANK YOU! I still can’t quote with this iOS upgrade. For years I’ve always enjoyed your posts and knowledge of Hoppers (and sundry myriad related topics) and I appreciate the quick and informative assessment. I don’t quite understand your cleaning method and I just used some damp ISO-soaked qtips for light cleaning the threads on the backend of the heating chamber. The body threads didn’t look bad and I cleaned them as well.

I’ll let it dry a bit more but it’s dry already since I use a little ISO. Tomorrow I’ll put it together and see how it works and if the frontend will screw on. It’ll be interesting if it’ll fit or if I need to true it more. That’s on me (and so is the loose copper for the thread binding) - and I swear I’ll never remove the heating chamber again.

 

[JBone65]

THANK YOU! I still can’t quote with this iOS upgrade. For years I’ve always enjoyed your posts and knowledge of Hoppers (and sundry myriad related topics) and I appreciate the quick and informative assessment. I don’t quite understand your cleaning method and I just used some damp ISO-soaked qtips for light cleaning the threads on the backend of the heating chamber. The body threads didn’t look bad and I cleaned them as well.

I’ll let it dry a bit more but it’s dry already since I use a little ISO. Tomorrow I’ll put it together and see how it works and if the frontend will screw on. It’ll be interesting if it’ll fit or if I need to true it more. That’s on me (and so is the loose copper for the thread binding) - and I swear I’ll never remove the heating chamber again.

Sounds like a stressful situation. I hope the MP goes on smoothly the first time you try and it ends well.

I think HL advertised upgrading the io to include gold connections, maybe that upgrade was really just gold foil in that one connection. I didn't see any of that when mine came apart. Don't think I dropped it. Maybe it was absent because mine came apart unintentionally with no tools. It was pretty hot.

Could you see any removable gunk or debris from the heating element? Any reason to be optimistic?

 

[Vaporific]

Sounds like a stressful situation. I hope the MP goes on smoothly the first time you try and it ends well.

I think HL advertised upgrading the io to include gold connections, maybe that upgrade was really just gold foil in that one connection. I didn't see any of that when mine came apart. Don't think I dropped it. Maybe it was absent because mine came apart unintentionally with no tools. It was pretty hot.

Could you see any removable gunk or debris from the heating element? Any reason to be optimistic?

The copper or gold foil may be inside the body if you didn’t see it on the heating chamber itself. Mine was warm when I started on it and cooled as I took my time with it. I felt loosening by hand and then couldn’t budge it further. Then I used the pliers. I did not remove the screen in front of the heaters (I heard there may be two of them) - and I’m not sure I want to and further press my luck. I’ll take another look at the backend for removable debris. Nothing readily came off by itself. Perhaps poking and probing with a toothpick is in order.

 

[MoltenTiger]

THANK YOU! I still can’t quote with this iOS upgrade. For years I’ve always enjoyed your posts and knowledge of Hoppers (and sundry myriad related topics) and I appreciate the quick and informative assessment. I don’t quite understand your cleaning method and I just used some damp ISO-soaked qtips for light cleaning the threads on the backend of the heating chamber. The body threads didn’t look bad and I cleaned them as well.

I’ll let it dry a bit more but it’s dry already since I use a little ISO. Tomorrow I’ll put it together and see how it works and if the frontend will screw on. It’ll be interesting if it’ll fit or if I need to true it more. That’s on me (and so is the loose copper for the thread binding) - and I swear I’ll never remove the heating chamber again.

Yeah iOS has gone downhill IMO since iOS 6, jailbroken it was super powerful. Best OS. The latest iterations are incredibly worse, as is Android.


When I was cleaning the front end, I used a toothpick (and isopropyl via spray/pump dispenser) to dislodge/remove a lot of fuzz and gunk that was wedged underneath the PCB and above the heater. Even though that unit nearly always travelled in the leather sleeve, it had accumulated much debris in less than a year. It was quite gross!

I used a cotton bud soaked in iso to clean up the air intake holes, also super gross.

It's a shame to make something so hard to clean like this, even with the module removed. Definitely a source of issues.
But having the electrics so close to the heat is more disconcerting and an even greater cause of failures I'm sure. Those ICs won't tolerate the heat torture forever...
Not something the EEs I work with would do!

Despite that though, I feel confident in saying you should get it working again, but I would not expect much difference if any as to how it was running before.

I think HL advertised upgrading the io to include gold connections, maybe that upgrade was really just gold foil in that one connection. I didn't see any of that when mine came apart. Don't think I dropped it. Maybe it was absent because mine came apart unintentionally with no tools. It was pretty hot.

The gold connections are largely in the back-end. Part of the modulating power rail controllable with the pot via dial rotations. This is to rid corrosive degradation to the power delivery, often noted as a hot back-end with the legacy version, flickering lights and woeful performance. This is where the contact cleaner methods were offering good results.

The foil in the threads is copper and just functions as a threadlock

 

[Coombs]

Anyone file a warranty claim as of late? I finally bit the bullet and submitted another warranty request almost a year after my IO came back useless after my 3rd warranty request in 6 months last year.

Well I submitted the request on Nov 27 and haven’t heard a thing yet. Followed up multiple times, still silence. Starting to assume the lifetime warranty is as reliable as the product…

 

[Vaporific]

Anyone file a warranty claim as of late? I finally bit the bullet and submitted another warranty request almost a year after my IO came back useless after my 3rd warranty request in 6 months last year.

Well I submitted the request on Nov 27 and haven’t heard a thing yet. Followed up multiple times, still silence. Starting to assume the lifetime warranty is as reliable as the product…

No, however that would be my concern too however I’ll readily admit I’ve removed the heating assembly and also untrued the front of it a bit. My IO works again and it works fairly well from a cold start beginning at 2 on the dial. Nice clouds again, good flavor and effect. However upon checking the load after a couple of draws the heating chamber unscrewed when removing the stock mouthpiece. Indeed, it’s now much tighter and harder to unscrew the mouthpiece since I untrued the front of the heating chamber. Later I’ll see how my PFE works with it but I suspect it’ll be the same - and a constant reminder and irritant for minor OCD with such things. At least the IO is working better for now.

Wondering how long this fix will last versus my impulsiveness to buy another Ti body to remedy things as I’d think this wouldn’t be RMA-able. I’d only do so for a brand new body since I do love having a Hopper as a part of a short rotations of favorite vapes. To be continued. More usage needed with my somewhat corrected IO…

 

[vapviking]

Wondering how long this fix will last versus my impulsiveness to buy another Ti body to remedy things

That hasn't work out for me. I bought a spare body pre-emptively last year. Now it is sitting in a drawer along with another body; neither one works. No respone to rma since filing in mid-November (@Coombs).

 

[JBone65]

No, however that would be my concern too however I’ll readily admit I’ve removed the heating assembly and also untrued the front of it a bit. My IO works again and it works fairly well from a cold start beginning at 2 on the dial. Nice clouds again, good flavor and effect. However upon checking the load after a couple of draws the heating chamber unscrewed when removing the stock mouthpiece. Indeed, it’s now much tighter and harder to unscrew the mouthpiece since I untrued the front of the heating chamber. Later I’ll see how my PFE works with it but I suspect it’ll be the same - and a constant reminder and irritant for minor OCD with such things. At least the IO is working better for now.

Wondering how long this fix will last versus my impulsiveness to buy another Ti body to remedy things as I’d think this wouldn’t be RMA-able. I’d only do so for a brand new body since I do love having a Hopper as a part of a short rotations of favorite vapes. To be continued. More usage needed with my somewhat corrected IO…

I wonder if they would

No, however that would be my concern too however I’ll readily admit I’ve removed the heating assembly and also untrued the front of it a bit. My IO works again and it works fairly well from a cold start beginning at 2 on the dial. Nice clouds again, good flavor and effect. However upon checking the load after a couple of draws the heating chamber unscrewed when removing the stock mouthpiece. Indeed, it’s now much tighter and harder to unscrew the mouthpiece since I untrued the front of the heating chamber. Later I’ll see how my PFE works with it but I suspect it’ll be the same - and a constant reminder and irritant for minor OCD with such things. At least the IO is working better for now.

Wondering how long this fix will last versus my impulsiveness to buy another Ti body to remedy things as I’d think this wouldn’t be RMA-able. I’d only do so for a brand new body since I do love having a Hopper as a part of a short rotations of favorite vapes. To be continued. More usage needed with my somewhat corrected IO…

HL might offer a replacement chamber/element at a fair price. If it's in stock you might can bribe them to ship it ASAP.

 

[WhyAreWeWaiting]

So I thought I would try the Hopper again after a few days with the Xmax V3 Pro (and Sublimator).

Filled up the Ti Hopper io, which is really the only hopper I had worth firing up, with 2 legacies and SS io also at my disposal.

No heat from the Ti io at all. LEDs fire up but it is stone cold, and I'm not stoned enough to do anything but write off all devices and the company.

It's randomly dead just after a few days without any usage. It was working before, although it's replacement back-end is playing up so I guess the whole device is faulty.

Now I emptied the green out, and was going to transfer it into the SS to wind up getting a comparison between the V3 Pro.

But I ended up putting it through the Sublimator and it combusted... haha a bit of bad luck that just keeps at it.

I think I may have loaded it on top of a spent chamber from last night, and actually 1 GH chamber equates to about 50% more than average dispensed into the Sub. So it must have touched the heating element, I also have a space heater on so my ambient is above av.
Smells old school in here now haha.


Anyway, I'm happier to have too much heat as opposed to none at all.

With how happy I am with the V3 Pro, it passes the bong test and is overall pretty nice, I am pretty much over the Hopper.

Too many problems, and it has wound up being as difficult and unlikely as ever to get a working product.

I would reccomend against purchasing more or a first unit. It's a great idea, but it is not able to last as a high performance tool.

It still sits in a league of its own, as an ultra portable pocketable sleek potent vape pen, but it sits there because it really is too much to ask for.

If you want maximum performance you will destroy these things rendering them useless.

I got an XMax V3 Pro at Christmas. I had seen favourable comments, possibly from yourself, on here. It's the cheapest vape I have, but I reckon it's the best. I have a Mighty+ which I think is over rated. A Ghost which is pretty cool but crucibles are a bit fiddly. But the vapour is super cool and tasty. Also have an Air 1, Solo 2, Argo, and 2 IOs.

Stealthwise the V3 is good, but not as cool as the Hopper. But what's the point in having a stealthy vape that doesn't work? It looks and feels great in the hand. Heats up really fast. Nice and plentiful vapour on 190C. The mouthpiece is really effective at cooling down the vapour. Not harsh at all. It's dead easy to clean. It has an 18650 battery so you never run out if you have a couple of spares. It has a Session mode and a Hit on Demand mode. I've mostly used the session mode. I just can't fault it. Anyone thinking of buying a Hopper could buy 3 of these babies for the same price, and not have to put up with the constant and never ending frustration of ever having bought a GH or an IO. I got it on Black Friday for €67.

 

[Vaporific]

So far the heating chamber removal and cleaning has improved the low end temps and my IO is working how it did for 15+ months. Not sure I can be patient that long for the trade off in which the frontend doesn’t easily screw on any longer.

In HL news I did inquire about replacement bodies and they very quickly replied stating they are brand new. I replied rather quickly asking if they would sell any new spare heating assemblies instead and they said none available. I left it at that and will ponder it all for a bit. At least my IO is performing better from a heating and vapor perspective; the frontend tightness has me a bit disappointed (and my own fault). So HL seems to respond quickly to general inquiries particularly for new items and $ - RMAs perhaps not so much as some have recently opined. I’ll just have to continue using my IO and think about my options.

 

[Coombs]

What a lesson this purchase has turned out to be. I highly suggest any would be buyers have lots of patience, spare devices and deep pockets for shipping if you are thinking about entering the hopper world. A crazy proposition if you don’t expect that going in IMO…

 

[JBone65]

Maybe one of the many former users will donate a functional spare part. From the sound of it, there should be a lot of dysfunctional ios lying around. Think of it like an organ donor...

 

[WhyAreWeWaiting]

So far the heating chamber removal and cleaning has improved the low end temps and my IO is working how it did for 15+ months. Not sure I can be patient that long for the trade off in which the frontend doesn’t easily screw on any longer.

In HL news I did inquire about replacement bodies and they very quickly replied stating they are brand new. I replied rather quickly asking if they would sell any new spare heating assemblies instead and they said none available. I left it at that and will ponder it all for a bit. At least my IO is performing better from a heating and vapor perspective; the frontend tightness has me a bit disappointed (and my own fault). So HL seems to respond quickly to general inquiries particularly for new items and $ - RMAs perhaps not so much as some have recently opined. I’ll just have to continue using my IO and think about my options.

Hopper don't do RMAs anymore. There is no lifetime guarantee. The only guarantee is that if you are stupid enough, like me, to buy an IO even after all the horrible experiences with the GH, you can look forward to a couple of weeks great performance before it stops working. And when it stops working, that's it. Hopper won't repair it. You're on your own. So that works out at about €150 a week for the 2 weeks it works.

 

[Coombs]

Hopper don't do RMAs anymore. There is no lifetime guarantee. The only guarantee is that if you are stupid enough, like me, to buy an IO even after all the horrible experiences with the GH, you can look forward to a couple of weeks great performance before it stops working. And when it stops working, that's it. Hopper won't repair it. You're on your own. So that works out at about €150 a week for the 2 weeks it works.

Sad, but true unfortunately.

 

[Macicman]

Happy New Year! Both my hoppers are still working flawlessly. I must be a lightweight.

 

[david8613]

No lifetime warranty? Really? When did they stop that? Even if your the original owner?

 

[JBone65]

No lifetime warranty? Really? When did they stop that? Even if your the original owner?

The website hasn't changed. I'm not convinced.

Just over 5 years since I registered the first one. I think I've enjoyed around 23,000 hits thus far. Spent $200 in 2016 then $85 to upgrade to the io in 2020.

I know they will shut down someday, it will be the end of an era.

I still think it's an amazing device. The mistake was offering a seemingly unlimited lifetime warranty for a complex electro-mechanical device that will definitely be abused thousands of times until it breaks.

 

[Coombs]

No lifetime warranty? Really? When did they stop that? Even if your the original owner?

The warranty is still there. If they do not respond to warranty claims however, it is of little use.

 

[WhyAreWeWaiting]

The warranty is still there. If they do not respond to warranty claims however, it is of little use.

Hopper still promote their lifetime warranty. In reality, there is no warranty because they don't even respond or acknowledge when you raise an RMA. Anyone thinking of buying on IO needs to know that they are buying a product that is totally unreliable and when it breaks down after a short time that's it. Money down the drain.

 

[vapviking]

It's getting very repetitive around here.

My is getting stale.

New Year's Greetings, All!

 

[JBone65]

Happy new year!!!

(I'll be surprised if 2022 is any better.)

 

[Abysmal Vapor]

""the standard for robustness""

 

[WhyAreWeWaiting]

This tells you all you need to know.

Grasshopper

✅Grasshopper available in the online VapeFully vaporizer store. Guarantee of the lowest prices!

vapefully.com

 

[MoltenTiger]

This tells you all you need to know.

Grasshopper

✅Grasshopper available in the online VapeFully vaporizer store. Guarantee of the lowest prices!

vapefully.com

This really just tells the story of their retail presence, which is non-existent.

Any sitting stock is just gathering dust and taking up space. Typical clearance sales, they'll lose money (more) to HL and likely will never bother to reorder.

Any retail store that has offered the Hopper no longer does. They have had the same average experience on a higher level and most of them know, that the device might be quite good when working, but the business is totally dysfunctional and a huge hassle to deal with, before and after the sale.

I've had a great time with many hoppers, and it hasn't cost me much yet it still is too much.

Remeber that any benefit that the hopper may deliver is actually caused by a plant and not the finicky tech strapped around it.