Discontinued The Grasshopper

[Vapor_Eyes]

I buy batteries every year or so, give or take a few months. I first purchased 4 additional batteries with my two Grasshoppers, so I had six batteries total. A little less than a year later I bought five new batteries, it was shortly after the GHB2 version came out. That set lasted me more than a year, about 15 months.

The GHB2s seem to last longer than the GHB1s did. I could have got a few more months out of both sets for sure, but their performance had declined noticeably, especially the GHB1 set.

I rotate my batteries so each gets used equally. I don’t mark them anymore, I keep them in a case and always pull from the front and put freshly charged batteries in the back of the case. When I marked my batteries it would wear off quickly and I noticed a residue forming on the inside battery contact of both of my hoppers. I quit marking batteries because it felt like a futile effort and my first in first out rotation was working well. Ever since then I haven’t noticed that same type of residue. Correlation does not equal causation but it’s certainly something to consider.

 

[seriousTone]

Thanks for the detailed explanation @Vapor_Eyes as I was wondering the same thing as @Zow237 .

What’s up with the caps on the batteries plus being in the case? Or is that so you can grab single batteries quickly and put them in your pocket?

 

[Vaporific]

@Vapor_Eyes Thanks for your battery usage description. I hadn't realized there were different versions of batteries, i.e. GHB1 vs. GHB2. Of the 7 I have (#3 was tossed within a year) I think the first 3 or 4 I got when I initially got my pre-order Ti; the others were purchased over a couple of orders at least a year ago. I imagine the original 4 are GHB1 but couldn't attest to what 5-7 are. Is there any way to tell?

Yeah, if you have a good rotation order sans marking them then that's a great thing. I like your case and a bit curious to why the end caps. I bought Ratchett's leather case early on and store extra batts in there along with a dental brush for cleaning - and usually a 3 dram vial of herb, of course . Love that case! I didn't think marking the batts with a Sharpie on the side of the battery, not on either conductive end of course, would incur any residue. I do touch up the numbers when they're wearing out but it's seldom so I can keep my rotation going that way.

 

[Zow237]

@Vapor_Eyes Thanks for your battery usage description. I hadn't realized there were different versions of batteries, i.e. GHB1 vs. GHB2. Of the 7 I have (#3 was tossed within a year) I think the first 3 or 4 I got when I initially got my pre-order Ti; the others were purchased over a couple of orders at least a year ago. I imagine the original 4 are GHB1 but couldn't attest to what 5-7 are. Is there any way to tell?

Yeah, if you have a good rotation order sans marking them then that's a great thing. I like your case and a bit curious to why the end caps. I bought Ratchett's leather case early on and store extra batts in there along with a dental brush for cleaning - and usually a 3 dram vial of herb, of course . Love that case! I didn't think marking the batts with a Sharpie on the side of the battery, not on either conductive end of course, would incur any residue. I do touch up the numbers when they're wearing out but it's seldom so I can keep my rotation going that way.

They say right on the battery

 

[Vaporific]

They say right in the battery

By jove you're right! Thanks! I never knew that or knew to look. Perhaps it's too much Indica, lol. So batts 1-2 , my oldest and least charge capacity, are GHB1 and 4-7 are GHB2 and these hold charges fairly well still. My problem however is that it needs to go to RMA soon - even with batts 4-7 the unit doesn't perform like it used to (ghost pulls but I'm not necessarily chasing clouds but seldom get good clouds) and gets hot often (body and backend mostly, frontend occasionally with lots of use).

Ironically but perhaps not, off to use it...

TGIF!!

 

[Vapor_Eyes]

@wild anchovy, @Vaporific: I use the end caps so the batteries don’t rattle around in the case. I hate making noise when I walk.

Those end caps are actually from @Ratchett himself. They keep the batteries snug in the case so they don’t rattle or move at all. I do throw single batteries in my pocket as well depending on my needs, and they protect the ends of the wrappers from damage, you really only need to have a cap on the positive side of the battery to protect it from a short but like I mentioned before I’m a bit OCD.

 

[Zow237]

The TI hopper I got this week runs hotter than the ss one i have. I also notice the taste is much better as well . Love it

 

[Vapelife13]

The TI hopper I got this week runs hotter than the ss one i have. I also notice the taste is much better as well . Love it

for how long??

 

[Vaporific]

Thanks again @Vapor_Eyes for the info. I like your case and agree the rattling of batteries would drive me crazy too. @Ratchett ’s leather case does the trick for me (usually my main Hopper setup). I do have the 2nd gen leather sleeve which I use a lot too & throw an extra battery in my pocket (it was free when they screwed up my initial preorder - and I received it nearly a year and a half after getting my Hopper. I was persistent and wouldn’t let them off the hook for promising it). A friend with two Hoppers loaned me one of his original sleeves for a while until I got mine.

Which again took almost a year and a half to get. And again I point out HL’s supply chain issues, which still persist to a degree...

 

[Zow237]

for how long??

Bro we get it, they break. Good thing I got 3 of them at 85 a piece and all under warranty. With the 5th iteration I remain hopeful that they can fix the bugs. Either way I'm fine with my hoppers and know the risk. A risk to take for a cheap price .

Edit: Does anyone else prefer the stock mp over the pfe. Ive notice that my pfe just gets clogged and doesnt perform well.. The og seems to never get clogged and always gives me the same result.

 

[Vaporific]

Bro we get it, they break. Good thing I got 3 of them at 85 a piece and all under warranty. With the 5th iteration I remain hopeful that they can fix the bugs. Either way I'm fine with my hoppers and know the risk. A risk to take for a cheap price .

Edit: Does anyone else prefer the stock mp over the pfe. Ive notice that my pfe just gets clogged and doesnt perform well.. The og seems to never get clogged and always gives me the same result.

I've never used the PFE and only the stock frontend. Mine is 2+ years old and as clean as it was the day I got it; it clogs up once in a while and I brush it out after a couple of loads. I've noticed if I add a little kief to course to moderate grind in the load the kief will get stuck in the screen in the tip - and then it gets a good brushing. The occasional ISO bath never hurts either. The Hopper is my daily until I get another portable vape in a couple of weeks.

I've noticed with my Ti's degraded performance the last several months that draw resistance is more difficult likely due to overheating, mainly the body and backend and occasionally frontend too.

I don't know anyone personally who's usee the PFE but it's supposed to mitigate and reduce draw resistance. It could depend on your grind, temp and draw strength.

 

[Vapor_Eyes]

Edit: Does anyone else prefer the stock mp over the pfe. Ive notice that my pfe just gets clogged and doesnt perform well.. The og seems to never get clogged and always gives me the same result.

I agree completely and am not a fan of the PFE for that reason. It doesn’t even make much difference with the old style Grasshopper, the bottleneck of resistance was mostly in the air intake. With one of the revisions last year they increased airflow noticeably.

My Ti has the old resistance and my SS has the newer decreased resistance. On my Ti the PFE barely makes a difference, on the SS it makes such a big difference that I have to adjust my draw speed. I like the extra airflow but not the cleaning, it makes the PFE not worth using for me, except for rare occasions when using glass and water.

 

[CarolKing]

You shouldn’t have to be buying extras from the HL to make your GH better. It should be better when you get your unit back from repair. It’s seems like we are being nickle and dimed to death. Mine unit is still doing fine. Just recently started using my GH more with a WT too. I hope it holds up to more usage. Mine was repaired and back 10 months ago. Been using kid gloves, now the gloves are off.

 

[nonbeliever]

Bro we get it, they break. Good thing I got 3 of them at 85 a piece and all under warranty. With the 5th iteration I remain hopeful that they can fix the bugs. Either way I'm fine with my hoppers and know the risk. A risk to take for a cheap price .

Edit: Does anyone else prefer the stock mp over the pfe. Ive notice that my pfe just gets clogged and doesnt perform well.. The og seems to never get clogged and always gives me the same result.

I only use the PFE, no glass or water. I always found the original MP would clog up or had much more restricted flow. I prefer the wide open draw I can get with the PFE. One thing I do when ever I change out the flower is blow through the mouthpiece (instead of inhaling). A sharp blow or two will usually clean up the screen well. Every few weeks a quick ISO bath or QTip and it’s good to go again.

 

[Zow237]

I'll make 2 vids and post to see if we can see if there is a difference

 

[Vaporific]

I should have added to my last post that I don't use glass or adapters of any kind with my pre-order Ti. I have a buddy who has all that stuff (and table tops too) however either of our units (he has two Ti's too) get hot when using with glass or bubbler and the silicone tip - which I don't use anymore either. It eventually stretched out and I've almost lost it a few times so I don't use it. Call me 'au naturale' with my Hopper

@CarolKing - you're right about them nickel-and-diming us and attempting to make up for early design flaws. Offering spare bodies for sale is indicative of that. Also their promising of accessories - case and charger - neither of which I've ordered haven't been shipped yet (another buddy ordered the case 2 years ago and still waiting for it - go figure! - but he seldom uses his Hopper anyway and has graduated largely to concentrates and edibles).

I only use the PFE, no glass or water. I always found the original MP would clog up or had much more restricted flow. I prefer the wide open draw I can get with the PFE. One thing I do when ever I change out the flower is blow through the mouthpiece (instead of inhaling). A sharp blow or two will usually clean up the screen well. Every few weeks a quick ISO bath or QTip and it’s good to go again.

Yep, blowing through either mouthpiece with them off the body cleans it out pretty good. A quick brushing - I use a dedicated interdental brush - also works well and keep one in my @Ratchett leather case. Indeed I do the same thing with ISO, every few weeks. But just the mouthpiece. Even rarer that I apply ISO anywhere else on the Hopper. I just use my brush regularly to clean out the chamber and blow through the air holes when the mouthpiece is off (and chamber empty of course). Usually the battery is in when I blow through the air holes but I'm going try it without it in soon to see if it makes any difference. OK, time to wake and bake...

 

[MoltenTiger]

cleaning the front-ends with PBW makes a noticeable and favourable improvement to the rate of clogged-ness as compared to an alcohol solution.

It's very quick and easy to wash the PFE;

• grab tongs and hold the PFE MP up under a hot tap water flow
• remove from stream and tongs
• plug one end with an index finger
• spray in isopropyl or similar, i.e. pour in alcohol to 1/3rd capacity
• plug other end with thumb
• shake it like a mad man
• grab a q-tip/pipecleaner and with an end plugged rub it around carelessly mainly into the threads
• tong to tap and rinse with hot water

should take less than a few mins

once it's dry, it's good to go but it will get dirty much quicker than after a deep clean;

• optionally do above steps
• get PBW and a plain metal finish, not coloured PFE
• put some PBW in a container (pyrex jug or mug, something heat proof), probably 1/8th-1/4th tsp
• boil kettle, pour immediately into container enough to fully submerge PFE
• mix solution
• drop in PFE
• soak for a min, not long
• take it out and rinse under tap
• repeatedly dunk it and rinse til it's completely clean, a q-tip/pipecleaner will help in some cases
• thoroughly rinse under hot or cold water

Once the PFE is PBW'd and rinsed, it is totally, entirely clean. It takes longer to gunk up like it did when it was brand new.

If you put anodised titanium in PBW it affects the oxide layer causing the colour.
I have successfully cleaned anodised front-ends with PBW a few times, but after soaking for about a couple of mins it turned my blue front end a gross brown-purple. A soak for 5 mins turned it bronze - convincingly at least, HL enquired why I had a bronze end on it when I returned it a couple of years ago or whenever

Anyway, I'm fucking loving getting stoned with the hoppers. 10/10.
And I find cleaning them is rarely a task

 

[Hogni]

Fear of damaging the anodization is the reason for cleaning in PBW so short? Otherwise 1 min. is quite short. Better let rest it in the solution for 5 min. at least

 

[MoltenTiger]

Fear of damaging the anodization is the reason for cleaning in PBW so short? Otherwise 1 min. is quite short. Better let rest it in the solution for 5 min. at least

It just doesn't need that long, if it's pre-rinsed and agitated in solution or when coated.
Redunking subsequently is more effective than soaking too

Using very hot water and stirring the PFE with a utensil is a good way to speed up the process. Just boil the kettle and shake the PFE around in a glass, the stuff cleans it up easily. PBW is made to clean up baked-on carbon deposits. With the GH oil, it just gets stripped right off.

If the threads are really gunked up, like the lid can't be screwed on, then soaking for longer times will be beneficial - but only then, IME

EDIT: on anodisation, Ti02 is the outer layer of titanium, so very intensely quickly this layer forms on all raw Ti or majority complexes that are exposed to the atmosphere. The difference between the coloured Ti is due to variance in refraction of light as it interacts with the material surface causing minor bandwidth variation that is perceivable as different colour - very much as a prism can manipulate light.
I do think that very long soaks of the raw Ti could lead to a more matte finish, which could become noticeable when matched up against the unexposed body - but I mean... a working hopper is paramount to flashyness. Too flashy is annoying, I want my throwabout kit back haha. Plain Ti FTW

 

[Vaporific]

cleaning the front-ends with PBW makes a noticeable and favourable improvement to the rate of clogged-ness as compared to an alcohol solution.

It's very quick and easy to wash the PFE;

• grab tongs and hold the PFE MP up under a hot tap water flow
• remove from stream and tongs
• plug one end with an index finger
• spray in isopropyl or similar, i.e. pour in alcohol to 1/3rd capacity
• plug other end with thumb
• shake it like a mad man
• grab a q-tip/pipecleaner and with an end plugged rub it around carelessly mainly into the threads
• tong to tap and rinse with hot water

should take less than a few mins

once it's dry, it's good to go but it will get dirty much quicker than after a deep clean;

• optionally do above steps
• get PBW and a plain metal finish, not coloured PFE
• put some PBW in a container (pyrex jug or mug, something heat proof), probably 1/8th-1/4th tsp
• boil kettle, pour immediately into container enough to fully submerge PFE
• mix solution
• drop in PFE
• soak for a min, not long
• take it out and rinse under tap
• repeatedly dunk it and rinse til it's completely clean, a q-tip/pipecleaner will help in some cases
• thoroughly rinse under hot or cold water

Once the PFE is PBW'd and rinsed, it is totally, entirely clean. It takes longer to gunk up like it did when it was brand new.

If you put anodised titanium in PBW it affects the oxide layer causing the colour.
I have successfully cleaned anodised front-ends with PBW a few times, but after soaking for about a couple of mins it turned my blue front end a gross brown-purple. A soak for 5 mins turned it bronze - convincingly at least, HL enquired why I had a bronze end on it when I returned it a couple of years ago or whenever

Anyway, I'm fucking loving getting stoned with the hoppers. 10/10.
And I find cleaning them is rarely a task

Too lazy to look up PBW. Care to define the acronym? An ISO bath in a sealed wide mouth vial - the one HL sells - works for me every time. Only do it every few weeks and mine is always clean as new.

 

[MoltenTiger]

Too lazy to look up PBW. Care to define the acronym? An ISO bath in a sealed wide mouth vial - the one HL sells - works for me every time. Only do it every few weeks and mine is always clean as new.

Powdered Brewery Wash - so much easier saying this on forum vs. RL. Brewery - not a fan of the word, bit of a tongue twister

An iso bath is going to do a pretty damn good job - how do the threads go?
I'm careful not to get bud caught up in the threads, but sometimes it happens - and PBW allows me to spin the SS PFE on with one flick. It's like, ultra mega cleaning solution. I rave on about it all the time, it's great stuff for lots of things

 

[Vaporific]

cleaning the front-ends with PBW makes a noticeable and favourable improvement to the rate of clogged-ness as compared to an alcohol solution.

It's very quick and easy to wash the PFE;

• grab tongs and hold the PFE MP up under a hot tap water flow
• remove from stream and tongs
• plug one end with an index finger
• spray in isopropyl or similar, i.e. pour in alcohol to 1/3rd capacity
• plug other end with thumb
• shake it like a mad man
• grab a q-tip/pipecleaner and with an end plugged rub it around carelessly mainly into the threads
• tong to tap and rinse with hot water

should take less than a few mins

once it's dry, it's good to go but it will get dirty much quicker than after a deep clean;

• optionally do above steps
• get PBW and a plain metal finish, not coloured PFE
• put some PBW in a container (pyrex jug or mug, something heat proof), probably 1/8th-1/4th tsp
• boil kettle, pour immediately into container enough to fully submerge PFE
• mix solution
• drop in PFE
• soak for a min, not long
• take it out and rinse under tap
• repeatedly dunk it and rinse til it's completely clean, a q-tip/pipecleaner will help in some cases
• thoroughly rinse under hot or cold water

Once the PFE is PBW'd and rinsed, it is totally, entirely clean. It takes longer to gunk up like it did when it was brand new.

If you put anodised titanium in PBW it affects the oxide layer causing the colour.
I have successfully cleaned anodised front-ends with PBW a few times, but after soaking for about a couple of mins it turned my blue front end a gross brown-purple. A soak for 5 mins turned it bronze - convincingly at least, HL enquired why I had a bronze end on it when I returned it a couple of years ago or whenever

Anyway, I'm fucking loving getting stoned with the hoppers. 10/10.
And I find cleaning them is rarely a task

Thanks for the info. I’ll stick with ISO as my threads aren’t too bad - and stuff discoloring apparatus is not my cup of tea. And it won’t matter for some time anyway - my 2+ year old Ti is going into RMA purgatory on Tuesday for the first time. In addition to overheating it’s not turning on intermittently. Just scored an inexpensive Fury 2 knockoff which is quite nice so I can send the Hopper back...

 

[kbrown5523]

Thanks for the info. I’ll stick with ISO as my threads aren’t too bad - and stuff discoloring apparatus is not my cup of tea. And it won’t matter for some time anyway - my 2+ year old Ti is going into RMA purgatory on Tuesday for the first time. In addition to overheating it’s not turning on intermittently. Just scored an inexpensive Fury 2 knockoff which is quite nice so I can send the Hopper back...

I need a new backup vape, where did you get your Fury 2 knockoff?

 

[Vaporific]

I need a new backup vape, where did you get your Fury 2 knockoff?

It was a completely spontaneous decision - at the Freedom Rally in Boston. Wasn’t planning on it but my Hopper wouldn’t work on the way and, well, when in Rome - it was a large, cool cannabis flea market

 

[MoltenTiger]

Thanks for the info. I’ll stick with ISO as my threads aren’t too bad - and stuff discoloring apparatus is not my cup of tea. And it won’t matter for some time anyway - my 2+ year old Ti is going into RMA purgatory on Tuesday for the first time. In addition to overheating it’s not turning on intermittently. Just scored an inexpensive Fury 2 knockoff which is quite nice so I can send the Hopper back...

Yeah I will never PBW my HT PFE, but I also hardly use it to preserve it lol, glass alone scratches it, I use it native or with a Teflon adapter.
I wouldn't really recommend a coloured PFE at all, they scuff up in a matter of days if you're not so careful.

The last few times I've cleaned the PFEs I've just spent a few mins with isopropyl and a pipe cleaner.
But today I'm going to give them a proper wash. With plain metal it's no drama, super easy and faster than any other method I can think of to fully clean (without increasing risk factors, PBW is safe stuff and free rinsing).

Good luck with purgatory! It's a gruelling process