This makes me curious. I am going to mark all of my batteries and make a chart of how each one performs. I have some that are relatively new but thinking about it they are still “old” as they are from whenever the last batch came out.Ok ... might as well continue flooding this thread w/ updates ...
So ... 3 bowls in on my SS, and zero flickering lights and nothing but excellent performance. ... so ... this leads me to the question:
"How many times did I send my Hoppers in for servicing, WITH BATTERY AS SPECIFIED, and it was sent back to me either the same or with parts fixed/changed, when all that was wrong was the batteries?"
This really is a valid question ... as I spent >$200 on warranty repair shipping ... and got extremely frustrated as it seemed nothing was being done as they kept getting returned to me with the same performance issues (making them essentially not usable as I want them to be heavy hitters). During this time, I purchased and tried new batteries as well. So they sat in a drawer for > a year until these new batch of batteries were released and all of a sudden @Hopper Labs , you started participating here, so thought I'd try batteries again and then send in if required. I'm surprised (although its early), that they are working 100% fine w/ the new batteries.
It would have been really nice if I had just been told that the problem w/ the Hopper was that the battery I sent with it was no good. If this had been the case, and I had discovered that none of my batteries were any good, and none were available for purchase, I could have lived with that and just waited (for a year I guess anyways); I would have been ok, although not happy, with the wait, but would have really just appreciated knowing what was going on. This is of course all speculation as its still early in my testing w/ new batteries, but it seems to make sense. I wonder how many other customers just have bad batteries (which they thought they ruled out by purchasing new ones either from Hopper Labs or from a retailer)?
Discontinued The Grasshopper
- Thread starter midgetsanchez
- Start date
I have 13 batteries (not including these 2 new ones), and none of them work properly (except the 2 new ones of course). Some were bought new simply for the purpose of testing if the batteries were the issue (I actually did this twice, once direct from Hopper Labs and once from a retailer). This is why I spent >$200 on shipping the hoppers back, and thought they were the issue (as I bought 2 new batteries, 2 times, to eliminate that as the issue) ... and seems all along the batteries were indeed the issue ... (all just speculation right now of course)
Mr Mellish
Well-Known Member
Are these new batteries labelled GHB3 or? @JCat that does sound pretty fishy!
The new ones are still GHB2. That's interesting...my 2-3 year old batteries seem to be working so far (except one that has clearly gone to shit).
Vaporific
All who wander are not lost...
I’ve always marked my batts and rotate using them. I’ve never formally charted their performance but marking them tells me which one may be working worse than the others - which has happened to me with my first two batches. So far my 5 new ones (received a couple weeks ago) are performing fairly consistently though I’ve been using my Nitecore D4 more than the I2 with the digital info (time & voltage). I think one (or two) may be a bit off but not significant. But yes, early on anyway, batteries were not equal.
I have two older cells but they’re on their way out, maybe good for a couple of draws or a bowl but that’s it...
Mr Mellish
Well-Known Member
I’ve always marked my batts and rotate using them. I’ve never formally charted their performance but marking them tells me which one may be working worse than the others - which has happened to me with my first two batches. So far my 5 new ones (received a couple weeks ago) are performing fairly consistently though I’ve been using my Nitecore D4 more than the I2 with the digital info (time & voltage). I think one (or two) may be a bit off but not significant. But yes, early on anyway, batteries were not equal.
I have two older cells but they’re on their way out, maybe good for a couple of draws or a bowl but that’s it...
How are people marking the batteries? Something like nail polish?
Vaporific
All who wander are not lost...
It’s not that they don’t work at all ... it’s just like they can’t put out the amperage required. They all charge to 4.2V like they should, but they all result in flickering blue lights and underwhelming performance.
biohacker
HREAM
And the "fitment" of the new batteries is identical? I'm referring to the post above... do they new batteries fit tighter or same?
Vaporific
All who wander are not lost...
My new batts fit the same - and fine - as the old ones.
I have noticed with some of the new batts the unit goes straight to blinking blue lights yet I’m still getting power from them and at least 3 loads worth. Some start with steady blue on the first draw or two though. Again, I’m not carefully tracking battery operation but perhaps I’ll start soon. I may be past the 14 day return policy and will live with my 5 new batts for now.
EDIT: I haven’t seen anything other than 4.2V in the Nitecore I2 but then again I haven’t been closely tracking this either. Maybe time to start this as well...
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biohacker
HREAM
This certainly does seem like a mystery with the batteries! Hopefully @Hopper Labs addresses these inconsistencies.
Does anyone use their GH here for micro dosing? Just curious what micro loads it's capable of delivering while still being satisfying. <0.05g?
Does anyone use their GH here for micro dosing? Just curious what micro loads it's capable of delivering while still being satisfying. <0.05g?
Everything seems to fit the same ... I'm at 6 bowls out of my SS Hopper though ... still crushing it in one massive cloudy hit (I can't outpace the heater no matter how hard I try), and I've been running it at 3 and it's nice and pretty dark brown ABV (as dark as I want it ... I'm actually going to try 2.5 next). Still no flickering blue lights whatsoever; and the SS one never didn't flicker with any of my other batteries ... ever ... and it couldn't even fill a large bong before the heater started giving up and the vapour became wispy ... I figure it would get best case a few seconds, then would start to choke ... right now I can rip on it for 15 seconds straight as hard as I want and it just keeps going and going.
Edit: What voltage your batteries show when not under load is sorta' irrelevant ... just because they can be charged to 4.2V, doesn't indicate what they can put out when they are under a 10-12.5A load ... (it's a 45W heater correct?)
Might be worth trying to get a new one and see if it makes a difference ...
Vaporific
All who wander are not lost...
How were you charging it and was it unused for a long period in between uses?
I’m no battery expert or electrical engineer but my first two batches, 7 in total, didn’t last very long in the two years my Ti worked though the last year was crappy before RMA. I use Nitecore chargers most of the time - and I always rotate them. And I use the Hopper daily too, sometimes several chambers at night and regularly on weekends, so fairly heavy usage.
I wish a standard sized cell was used in all honesty to take a lot of battery variability - longevity and consistency - out of the equation. Just my
.
biohacker
HREAM
I wish a standard sized cell was used in all honesty to take a lot of battery variability - longevity and consistency - out of the equation. Just my
Could not agree more, however this wouldn't be profitable in the land of proprietary.
I do sometimes wonder if using a Nitecore, or anything other than the Hopper or their charger to charge is causing battery issues?
vapviking
Old & In the Way
@MoltenTiger had some very interesting things to say a month or two ago, in the wake of my Hopper battery venting/explosion incident. He saw some differences in how the mag. charge delivers current (in strong pulses) vs. a Nitecore. And he found that a battery left in a Nitecore will be given a small (maintenance) current periodically.
Finding his post would be far more informative than my summary...and I could be confusing some of his well made points.
I still use a Nitecore, btw, but I do tend to remove batts when they are done, as is probably good practice in all outboard chargers.
None of this should be construed to mean that there's an issue with Nitecore (or other) chargers.
But when it's handy I use the mag charger for the sheer convenience.
biohacker
HREAM
Ummm, WHAT!?!?
@MoltenTiger knows this device more than anyone else I can think of, so if I ever do "hop" on board again, i'm fairly confident that i'll only charge via official Hopper Labs maglock or charger unit, but would like to know @Hopper Labs official stance on it. They have probably already mentioned to only use their accessories, but i've been out of the loop for a while.
I'm still excited in the future for possibility of using this as a micro dosing device.
It was an incident that could have easily happened with any li ion cell that got tossed in a drawer.Ummm, WHAT!?!?
@MoltenTiger knows this device more than anyone else I can think of, so if I ever do "hop" on board again, i'm fairly confident that i'll only charge via official Hopper Labs maglock or charger unit, but would like to know @Hopper Labs official stance on it. They have probably already mentioned to only use their accessories, but i've been out of the loop for a while.
I'm still excited in the future for possibility of using this as a micro dosing device.
biohacker
HREAM
I've heard that this might be a reason why some companies use non-swappable batteries in vapes like S&B, so that consumers don't toss in "non approved" batteries and cause issues with the vape and blame the manufacturer. I guess this wouldn't apply to the Hopper though due to its proprietary style (unless it can be found elsewhere?)
I'll have to search for that post... just curious about the incident... I haven't been following this thread since my boycott eons ago
Ummm, WHAT!?!?
@MoltenTiger knows this device more than anyone else I can think of, so if I ever do "hop" on board again, i'm fairly confident that i'll only charge via official Hopper Labs maglock or charger unit, but would like to know @Hopper Labs official stance on it. They have probably already mentioned to only use their accessories, but i've been out of the loop for a while.
I'm still excited in the future for possibility of using this as a micro dosing device.
I question just how much better a stock Hopper charger can be. There are a shit ton of different power supply cubes that can provide anywhere from .5a on up to 2.1a. So how can they be sure a cord plugged into a random block is any better than a designated for li ion charger?
biohacker
HREAM
I don't know, but considering their batteries are proprietary and the inconsistencies and issues that have been experienced with them and their hoppers, I would trust what @Hopper Labs says is best. Especially since they doubled the price of the batteries since I was buying them last. I always used a Nitecore d4 myself, and initially loved all my hoppers (4 of them) like nothing else, until I didn't for good reason.
It's interesting though, I transferred some warranties, but still have 2 registered hoppers in my account from spring 2017 that have never asked me for a warranty transfer.
Definitely, from my research the most dangerous aspect of lithium batteries is swapping and storing them. In the ecig scene there used to be this big thing about never charging 18650s in devices, then info started coming out that it was actually from swapping the battery for external charging that puts the most wear and tear on the cells wrapper making it susceptible to shorting down the road.