Discontinued The Grasshopper

[Baron23]

When I watched Vapecritic's review back when he did it, I came away with the feeling that he was biased. Maybe he had to pay full price for his hopper and he didn't like being given one for review, or maybe he had problems with GH's stellar customer service. I respect that others may not think he was biased, but I definitely thought he had a bug up his butt about it.

Having watched all of Bud's reviews and having read all of his writings, I developed the impression that he just has some idiosyncratic likes and dislikes. I posted on his site about my experience with the GH, including my absolutely opposite view of somethings he didn't like and did it point by point, and he had no objections and allowed as his reviews are based on his personal aesthetic. What else would you expect, really.

Cheers

 

[Vapor_Eyes]

Pretty excited to see these things through summer

I got my stainless steel Grasshopper the first day of summer, the timing couldn't have been more perfect for me. Now autumn is here and I have my titanium hopper, I'm good to go. This should be the perfect vape for celebrating during the upcoming holidays, from Halloween to New Years.

I've always wondered what it's like for our friends down under celebrating Christmas in summer. I love warm weather so I think I'd actually prefer it.

 

[AJS]

I've always wondered what it's like for our friends down under celebrating Christmas in summer. I love warm weather so I think I'd actually prefer it.

Clouds look bigger in cold weather tho!

Clean threads, fresh battery, cool backend and solid lights. I'm Hoppin in luxury on this fine Friday. This is how it was meant to be. Love it love it love it.

Edit: just finished the session on 4.5 and the back end never got more than cool. Optimal performance right there. If you guys haven't cleaned off the thread of your battery slot in a while, even if they look clean, get a paper towel or something without fibers and give it a good rundown and see if anything kinda dark comes off. On the inside of the slot and the backend itself. Hopefully it keeps up and isn't a coincidence or short lived phenomenon, but this is as good as it gets right here.
Never even a light flicker.

 

[newVaper420]

I use mine on 4 and 5 natively and don't find the vapor too hot personally.

 

[Skywalker OG]

Sent another message about my front end that doesn't match up and received this in response:

Hi There,



Each part has a slight variance. We have a range of acceptable tolerance and this falls within the acceptable range of variance. I apologize for the dissatisfaction and appreciate you bringing this to our attention. When I had your Hopper here, I showed the team and received the same response.



Best,

Caroline

 

[MoltenTiger]

I got my stainless steel Grasshopper the first day of summer, the timing couldn't have been more perfect for me. Now autumn is here and I have my titanium hopper, I'm good to go. This should be the perfect vape for celebrating during the upcoming holidays, from Halloween to New Years.

I've always wondered what it's like for our friends down under celebrating Christmas in summer. I love warm weather so I think I'd actually prefer it.

It's fucking sick mate

I think the GH works better when it's cold so it'll be interesting to see how she handles a true blue scorcher

 

[vapviking]

Has anyone here had a Grasshopper last, out of the box, with zero repair issues for any good length of time?
Three months?
Four months?
Six?
Buehler?

I really do like these Hoppers. Got a warranty Body back today, I have two hopping Hoppers and life is good.
On the flip side, of four new Hoppers received in early August, all four have failed at least once and one has had a second malfunction.
Response from service has been very, very good.

One for the Travelogue;
On the beach at Robt. Moses State Park (Atlantic Ocean) with my honey in our beach chairs, umbrella, etc., not too many folks there after Labor Day so we were pretty comfortable with hopping. I was taking a nice long draw and happened to look over my shoulder as the state police SUV rode down the beach about 30 yards behind us...
Glad I didn't bring the bubbler!

 

[WoodyWeedPecker]

With my new drawing technique I turn off the hopper very quickly (for a fresh bowl) after I start drawing, then, while off, I keep drawing hard until there's no more vapor/hot air left.

You must turn off the hopper quickly or you will get overwhelmed by vapor with a fresh bowl and you will have to stop drawing before the air/vapor turns cold. This drawing technique helps make my hopper more efficient and cools down the heater at the same time imo.

I'm now using my hopper without the silicone mouthpiece for stealth and taste. It can get a bit hot but it's easily manageable and I like it better when not using mflb stem/bubbler. The backend is still warm in normal use and often very hot when the light's blinking blue but it's been worse before. Would like to see a power adapter like the mflb for home use. Maybe I overdo it but I clean my mouthpiece in hot iso to remove the honey oil accumulation. At the moment, I do it about every 1 or 2 weeks when I notice the draw resistance increasing in the mouthpiece. I also clean my threads and my bowl with Iso and qtips from time to time even if they never gave me reason to.

The new batteries (GH2) intrigue me. I wonder if they help reduce the backend heat and last maybe a bit longer (and keep improving the situation even after a couple of recharge cycle).

 

[travis]

A cleaning with deoxit then nooxid seemed to work well for me. Went from 6 hits per battery to about 12. I've only been testing it for two days but so far so good. A guy on eBay has small tubs of nooxid for $5 shipped.

 

[UnDerBerG]

So Ok, im very well baked, stoned, confused, anything...
why dont the clip thing can be stiring tool?
it can be anything, but static... detachable

 

[lovecrush]

My grasshopper almost exploded.

So, seems like I'm going to submite my fourth warranty request or whatever the fuck that means. I just switched batteries with my unit turned off and instantly I started to smell burned electronics in my room. My grasshopper got REALLY hot, like I couldn't even touch it, but I tried my best to unscrew the unit and remove the battery. My fingertips are hurting at the moment. The battery was melting and the top piece just got fucked as you can see in the picture. My room is still stinking like burned electronics btw. Honestly I'd just like a refund at this point (I don't know if that's possible, since I've already registered for the three previous warranties)

 

[ZC]

@lovecrush

That is some scary stuff!

They should at the very LEAST refund you.

 

[6079Smith]

My grasshopper almost exploded.

So, seems like I'm going to submite my fourth warranty request or whatever the fuck that means. I just switched batteries with my unit turned off and instantly I started to smell burned electronics in my room. My grasshopper got REALLY hot, like I couldn't even touch it, but I tried my best to unscrew the unit and remove the battery. My fingertips are hurting at the moment. The battery was melting and the top piece just got fucked as you can see in the picture. My room is still stinking like burned electronics btw. Honestly I'd just like a refund at this point (I don't know if that's possible, since I've already registered for the three previous warranties)

"Your Hopper tested to operate in the acceptable heat range. Unit was retested multiple times with a nearly drained battery but was unable to recreate the excessively hot Back End. Nothing was replaced on your device. I apologize that I was not able to replace your Back End, but the heat was well within the acceptable range- Caroline"

In all seriousness, that is pretty disturbing.. glad nothing catastrophic happened. I've been down this exact road with my first back end, burned fingers and all- thankfully not to the melting point. I was plenty frustrated, can't imagine the level you're at

 

[Icon13]

As somebody who has more battery knowledge than the average person, I can say that this has always been my concern. How can a Li-ion cell last and be safe so close to a heating element? Are they using standard Li-ion or IMR batteries? They really should be using lithium magnesium nickel cobalt or something similar, but not standard li-ion.

Thinking of cancelling now. What if they get sued for damages in another instance? Will we ever see our orders or refund in that case? Do I want to risk fire in my home? Hmmmmmmmm...

Also, was the pvc wrap on the battery already torn before this happened? If so it's your fault, dumbass! Lol, sorry. Been binge watching that 70's show on Netflix.

 

[lovecrush]

Also, was the pvc wrap on the battery already torn before this happened?

Nope, I always check my batteries before inserting them on my grasshopper. I ordered 8 of them in my initial order. The battery melted after I inserted it in my unit that was turned off.

 

[JoeMama]

Having watched all of Bud's reviews and having read all of his writings, I developed the impression that he just has some idiosyncratic likes and dislikes. I posted on his site about my experience with the GH, including my absolutely opposite view of somethings he didn't like and did it point by point, and he had no objections and allowed as his reviews are based on his personal aesthetic. What else would you expect, really.

Cheers

I guess that's what makes the world go 'round.

The backend is still warm in normal use and often very hot when the light's blinking blue but it's been worse before.

With the exception of an actual discharging battery causing blue flickering lights -- which is the intention of the design, I've concluded for myself that if the battery is at healthy charge and the blue lights are flickering, it can only be due to a testy connection at the backend. To reiterate a prior post, a quick loosening-and-tightening of even 1/8th of a turn normally introduces a better connection and the flickering is subsides- until the battery discharges, of course.

EDIT: SORRY for the back2back, MOD! Wish I could undo that!
Modnote: Undid

 

[Icon13]

Nope, I always check my batteries before inserting them on my grasshopper. I ordered 8 of them in my initial order. The battery melted after I inserted it in my unit that was turned off.

On or off, it does not matter. If the PVC is ripped, exposing the negative terminal (the entire side is negative) it could in theory cause a short and make the battery heat up rapidly to the point of fire. When building battery packs from multiple cells, I have caused flames to shoot out of the top of the cell by incorrectly placing a metal tab. Within less than a second that tab is red hot. If you do not cut it or pull out, RUN! It happens so fast and if you don't act immediately expect a blue flame to shoot out the top much like a small butane torch. Explosion will follow. This is a chemical reaction and will not stop burning until the reaction is finished.

 

[SlinginPaint]

: just finished the session on 4.5 and the back end never got more than cool. Optimal performance right there. If you guys haven't cleaned off the thread of your battery slot in a while, even if they look clean, get a paper towel or something without fibers and give it a good rundown and see if anything kinda dark comes off. On the inside of the slot and the backend itself. Hopefully it keeps up and isn't a coincidence or short lived phenomenon, but this is as good as it gets right here.
Never even a light flicker.

Nice man, glad to hear it!

My Ti at any power setting with fresh batts... and my blue lights flicker and the back end gets blazing hot.

What did they replace to fix yours? Back end or body?

 

[945]

On or off, it does not matter. If the PVC is ripped, exposing the negative terminal (the entire side is negative) it could in theory cause a short and make the battery heat up rapidly to the point of fire. When building battery packs from multiple cells, I have caused flames to shoot out of the top of the cell by incorrectly placing a metal tab. Within less than a second that tab is red hot. If you do not cut it or pull out, RUN! It happens so fast and if you don't act immediately expect a blue flame to shoot out the top much like a small butane torch. Explosion will follow. This is a chemical reaction and will not stop burning until the reaction is finished.

how could negative touching negative cause a short explain if you know more about battery's than others

 

[AJS]

Nice man, glad to hear it!

My Ti at any power setting with fresh batts... and my blue lights flicker and the back end gets blazing hot.

What did they replace to fix yours? Back end or body?

I haven't submitted anything through the warranty yet. Ima just play it out. The cool backend was from wiping the threads down I believe. Idk tho seems random.

 

[Skywalker OG]

My buddy brought over his purple Ti and the dial was sooooooooooooo much smoother than mine. He actually thought mine was broken or something when he tried to turn my dial. His front end also lines up perfectly with the body. Color me jealous.

 

[MoltenTiger]

how could negative touching negative cause a short explain if you know more about battery's than others

I believe he means if the plastic wrap is damaged, exposing the side-wall of the battery cell, contacting this to the hoppers body will short circuit the device.
My assumption was similar, though I was thinking perhaps some conductive material was caught on either PCB or bridging the back of the battery.

The problem with either assumption is that the hopper is programmed to disengage if that connection is bridged, you can test this yourself by contacting the back of the battery to the threads with a paper-clip or similar.

So perhaps something was trapped on the positive side contacting the PCB.

Whatever the case, @lovecrush, dayum That is most unfortunate and quite worrying. I'm glad you were not seriously injured !
I would appreciate hearing HL's communication over this issue, if you're willing to share
I would also be interested in a pic of the PCB in the backend if possible

EDIT: might as well mention my plain Ti is showing the same error again. Turn on, red light on.. red light off.. nothing
last time it fixed itself overnight, we'll see what happens

 

[btka]

My buddy brought over his purple Ti and the dial was sooooooooooooo much smoother than mine. He actually thought mine was broken or something when he tried to turn my dial. His front end also lines up perfectly with the body. Color me jealous.

do you have a ss hopper? try to push down your temp dial when turning....

 

[Icon13]

how could negative touching negative cause a short explain if you know more about battery's than others

well, the tear seems to be by the positive end. If that negative part of the cell which is exposed makes contact with the Positive terminal that could cause a short. I have not actually seen grasshopper in person so I do not know how the design is when it comes to the battery contacts. I have, however, seen batteries get hot and burn people, nickel metal batteries to be exact; which is a very safe chemistry, because the PVC is torn and it shorts out when being placed in or taken it out of the charger.

Of course, I cannot tell you exactly what happened because I'm not there. Perhaps the battery did not short inside the device and the battery was defective to begin with. Maybe the battery went bad over time from the stress this device puts on it.

Personally, I have been planning all along to source whatever size batteries are inside the grasshopper once I receive mine. I was also going to make sure whatever battery I sourced was lithium magnesium of some sort because it is a much better chemistry all around especially when it comes to safety.

 

[Skywalker OG]

do you have a ss hopper? try to push down your temp dial when turning....

It's titanium but the backend works the same as the rough SS ones. It does get smooth if you push down. His is like perma-pushed down and glides just by turning it. Feels really nice.