Discontinued The Grasshopper

[btka]

I understood that part attached to the screen to be a proprietary glass/silicone material. Mine came unscrewed by accident so I was able to get all the residual oil out of the front and scrape most of the dark stains off of said screen protrusion piece.

what do you mean with residual oil exactly.... was it in the front end when you got your gh or after you used it...

 

[Baron23]

I've been wrestling myself internally in the last couple weeks but decided to post....I wonder sometimes if I am overthinking it?

Yes, you are over thinking and overly worried. Please don't get me wrong...I definitely am a supporter that discussion of a vape and vape related topics most certainly must make room for negative as well as the positive. Critical review is....well, critical and that's what I think we share here along with our experiences and discoveries.

With that said, however, I don't know what you mean by "all this talk of exploding batteries" (note the plural). I'm only aware of one battery, with a damaged wrapper, self-destructing. One is not a trend.

Do you own a cell phone? Many, many, many cell phones have gone the way of the world when the batteries failed and out vented gas/heat or just plain caught things on fire. If you are not living in worry about your cell phone, perhaps that will give you a perspective on this GH battery failure.

To put my money where my mouth is, to me the GH is a wonderful device and I love it completely. However, the company's abysmal schedule performance in delivery to pre-orders and the continued high failure rate (with lifetime warranty, granted...your life time or Hopper Labs, which ever ends sooner), and their lousy customer communications are causes for legitimate serious concern and criticism.

Love the vape, the company needs to grow up in a hurry.

I do cherish my GH and it has worked flawlessly for 4-5 months now. But I would not recommend this vape to a new user as the manufacturing quality is not yet mature (and maybe the design also).

Cheers

 

[tubasco]

what do you mean with residual oil exactly.... was it in the front end when you got your gh or after you used it...

Sorry, I should've been more clear. I meant the 'oil' that builds up from use. Some call it reclaim I think?
It's typically the reason we soak the front end...to purge it of that oil.

(Wasn't there a user on here a while back that really, REALLY wanted to torch it to do dabs with it? )

 

[JoeMama]

My guess is to direct the vapor into a straight stream to the hole of the mouthpiece instead of it swirling in the metal mouthpiece?

It's also one reason that maybe GHL doesn't feel the need to instruct on its removal, since that stem makes it so you only really need to use a pipe cleaner for it.

Even though I will continue to periodically remove the screen assembly, as long as the stem is kept clean, I guess that screen assembly can stay put.

Do you own a cell phone? Many, many, many cell phones have gone the way of the world when the batteries failed and out vented gas/heat or just plain caught things on fire. If you are not living in worry about your cell phone, perhaps that will give you a perspective on this GH battery failure.

To put my money where my mouth is, to me the GH is a wonderful device and I love it completely. However, the company's abysmal schedule performance in delivery to pre-orders and the continued high failure rate (with lifetime warranty, granted...your life time or Hopper Labs, which ever ends sooner), and their lousy customer communications are causes for legitimate serious concern and criticism.

Love the vape, the company needs to grow up in a hurry.

I do cherish my GH and it has worked flawlessly for 4-5 months now. But I would not recommend this vape to a new user as the manufacturing quality is not yet mature (and maybe the design also).

Cheers

What he said.

 

[moondog]

Yes, you are over thinking and overly worried. Please don't get me wrong...I definitely am a supporter that discussion of a vape and vape related topics most certainly must make room for negative as well as the positive. Critical review is....well, critical and that's what I think we share here along with our experiences and discoveries.

With that said, however, I don't know what you mean by "all this talk of exploding batteries" (note the plural). I'm only aware of one battery, with a damaged wrapper, self-destructing. One is not a trend.

Do you own a cell phone? Many, many, many cell phones have gone the way of the world when the batteries failed and out vented gas/heat or just plain caught things on fire. If you are not living in worry about your cell phone, perhaps that will give you a perspective on this GH battery failure.

To put my money where my mouth is, to me the GH is a wonderful device and I love it completely. However, the company's abysmal schedule performance in delivery to pre-orders and the continued high failure rate (with lifetime warranty, granted...your life time or Hopper Labs, which ever ends sooner), and their lousy customer communications are causes for legitimate serious concern and criticism.

Love the vape, the company needs to grow up in a hurry.

I do cherish my GH and it has worked flawlessly for 4-5 months now. But I would not recommend this vape to a new user as the manufacturing quality is not yet mature (and maybe the design also).

Cheers

Where's that "mic drop" smiley when you really need it?

Well said, Baron.

 

[Bdubbdiblets]

With that said, however, I don't know what you mean by "all this talk of exploding batteries" (note the plural). I'm only aware of one battery, with a damaged wrapper, self-

Yes, you are over thinking and overly worried. Please don't get me wrong...I definitely am a supporter that discussion of a vape and vape related topics most certainly must make room for negative as well as the positive. Critical review is....well, critical and that's what I think we share here along with our experiences and discoveries.

With that said, however, I don't know what you mean by "all this talk of exploding batteries" (note the plural). I'm only aware of one battery, with a damaged wrapper, self-destructing. One is not a trend.

Do you own a cell phone? Many, many, many cell phones have gone the way of the world when the batteries failed and out vented gas/heat or just plain caught things on fire. If you are not living in worry about your cell phone, perhaps that will give you a perspective on this GH battery failure.

To put my money where my mouth is, to me the GH is a wonderful device and I love it completely. However, the company's abysmal schedule performance in delivery to pre-orders and the continued high failure rate (with lifetime warranty, granted...your life time or Hopper Labs, which ever ends sooner), and their lousy customer communications are causes for legitimate serious concern and criticism.

Love the vape, the company needs to grow up in a hurry.

I do cherish my GH and it has worked flawlessly for 4-5 months now. But I would not recommend this vape to a new user as the manufacturing quality is not yet mature (and maybe the design also).

Cheers

Yea ur prob right...however I don't often suck on my cell phone...although I would if it worked like the hopper...also wouldn't put HL in the same boat as Samsung or Apple etc as far as QC especially with 7 buck batts..naw mean.......just my 2 cents worth.

Don't get ME wrong I'm hopping currently...it's just not without a healthy respect for combusting batteries....

 

[JoeMama]

PS I guess blu-tac isn't a common household item the world over? How do you guys stick up posters? @JoeMama

Sorry, Molten, didn't see this til now...

I wasn't paying attention closely enough when I searched "blue tac", and didn't associate "putty" with "cleaning product". Plus that pic of the stuff looked like tissue! I should be getting some of it on Wednesday and can't wait to try it out and report!

Probably not. They usually tear around the circumstance of the end, which is still exposed if you use those covers. Typically longer cells will be the ones to tear because the cell compartment of the charger is a couple millimeters too small and requires pressure to pop the battery in. Usually this is the case with 18650 because they are usually the longest battery that fits in spring loaded lithium ion Chargers.

The best thing that you can do is pull the spring loaded contact all the way back and drop the battery in without scraping either end on anything. That is what will keep your batteries in proper condition. Conversely, pull the spring-loaded contact back and lift the battery out without scraping either end when done charging.

Actually, if I may, I do own these sleeves, and a D4. The combination is perfect because the sleeves offer better handling of the installation into the charger, IMO. Before I had the sleeves, I'd drop or fumble batteries whilst trying to center them in their respective bays.

It says: M242 5GC1

Great shot of this. Now I see what might be the cause of hot back ends...

So that "brass" piece off to the right is the battery contact. Note that it has three "feet" that interface with - the threads and related metalwork. And these three little feet are the only connection to the body from the battery.

It appears that it is NOT a solder connection, but some kind of press-fit connection.

I hope GHL evolves these backends to a more permanent and reliable connection to the battery terminal.

 

[MoltenTiger]

So you just "dab" or press the putty into the threads and, Voila!?

Yep, it's that simple. Some bits were more reluctant, and a bit of pressure and movement did the trick. The grime in the temp notches would clean better if it was dissolved first I guess, but my + is now silver not black so a bit of persistence is worthwhile.

The best thing that you can do is pull the spring loaded contact all the way back and drop the battery in without scraping either end on anything. That is what will keep your batteries in proper condition. Conversely, pull the spring-loaded contact back and lift the battery out without scraping either end when done charging.

This is how I handle my batteries, my Xtar MC2 works really well in that regard, there's enough space to stretch the sprung terminal back to fit a thumb and battery into the slot, so no chance of wrapper damage.
It also defaults to the safest charging voltage, unlike Nitecore, according to HL, who have had cases of people killing batteries with Nitecore chargers.

I really like the circuitry design of the GH, interesting in the least.

It is very impressive considering the working space. There seems to be a bit more going on in the back end than I expected too.

guys ever lifted cartoons off of paper with Silly Putty? Same kind of thing.

That is sorcery, the power of adhesion!

I know I'm not gonna take the most likeable position on this issue, but if the same thing that happened to lovecrush happened to me, and some sort of bodily injury occurred to me causing me incredible pain or what not, then yes I would sue for my medical expenses (that is if they didn't work with me to make things right).

However, just for the pen not working or breaking, not a chance. My 360 broke 5 times and never once did I think about suing. However, I never needed to worry about my safety with that.

Their manual is structured quite well. You would need good lawyers to win your case, but in that instance it would absolutely be fair game to try. I will continue hoping no one ever has to face this.
The battery cells, from what I have gathered, don't actually have much exploding potential though. A big 18650 is capable of serious damage, apparently smaller cells like 12850s, are far less scary or dangerous in catastrophic conditions. Still risky, for sure, but not as scary as a phone or an eCig mod at the end of the day.

With that said, however, I don't know what you mean by "all this talk of exploding batteries" (note the plural). I'm only aware of one battery, with a damaged wrapper, self-destructing. One is not a trend.

There have been three cases I'm aware of; a while back someone left one in their car on a scorching summers day. It caught their dash on fire and made a real mess.
@lovecrush (cheers for the pic btw, hope you get it sorted soon) had an issue, that to the best of our knowledge, was NOT caused by a damaged battery wrap.
Then some other multi-month user on reddit also had a similar issue, but apparently it was charging in the device at the time.

I feel like there have been two other posts on reddit about a heated and swollen battery and the removal of a hot cell, but don't remember any details.

Li-ion is super unstable and there will be more issues to come. However, practicing safe battery handling will reduce user risk to an acceptable level and most people will have no issues.

Plus that pic of the stuff looked like tissue!

My bad, it really does. Sorry for the confusion!

 

[lovecrush]

An update about my warranty: I need to send my faulty device, battery and charger for a replacement.

 

[MoltenTiger]

I also got a warranty update about my plain Ti, trouble-shooting for back-end pin misplacement: hold the button down continuously and see if blue lights come on.
If the pin is out of place, releasing the button will just turn the device back off.

Unfortunately I have something more complex going on, and when I filled the bastard up to try it out (it had just worked before anyway) it instantly failed and holding the button in gives the same response. Murphy's Law at play, full effect.

Well, my plain to Ti came back to life as expected so its loaded chamber was enjoyed not removed

I also just saw a cool gif of the updated charger, posted on reddit by /u/guacamoweed
Looks pretty good, actually a really well thought through change

 

[Kermitt]

Precisely... I've bought 3 from Vapefiend so far (I'm obsessed) along with a Honey bubbler. He has a special going on where if you buy a Hopper you get a Honey for 50% off. The services is top notch, you get it immediately, it's fully covered under the same lifetime warranty, and you barely pay anything extra when you factor in the free shipping (certainly worth the extra few bucks vs waiting a year+ and getting jacked around on delivery dates).

I also have a FF2 and a Crafty. I don't really use either anymore. The Hopper is super versatile, especially when using at home with the Honey or on the go very discretely. No stiring, etc.

I bought the Honey Bubbler too. Also I bought the Bomb Tower, works wonderful with the Hopper :-)

 

[MoltenTiger]

I bought the Honey Bubbler too. Also I bought the Bomb Tower, works wonderful with the Hopper :-)

The hopper and honey bubbler...

That looks like it would pass any test I threw at it

These guys are killing it on YouTube

GH VS. FF2

Super well balanced reporting, I think that's worth a watch too

I feel like it's worth acknowledging again the use of silicone whip with a grasshopper.
If you want cool direct vapour, it works amazingly. That's my travel companion if I can't take glass

Relevant:

Just an hour ago I hooked the Arizer straight glass mouthpiece (the one that comes with whip) directly to HL's silicone mouthpiece, was able to just shove it in while mp was warm. Stays pretty cool and it's nice to draw from. The assembly is about 3" long and slides on and off hopper easily. Likewise, one could use a short length of the Arizer tubing instead of the HL mp, which would give a very snug fit on hopper. (Iirc, Arizer tubing is 5/16" i.d.)

 

[JoeMama]

Question for all you bubbler users....

I've been using my little Pur since buying it just because I did get the hopper... first just a little and then, WHAM, I'm a hopeless case.

There's no doubt about it, Hopper + Glass =

I know there is no reason or explanation that makes sense, but, I'm finding that when I use the bubbler, the backend is supremely cool. Is this witchcraft again?

 

[MoltenTiger]

Is this witchcraft again?

I think so.
Definitely the most civilised way to consume, but other than removing water soluble nasties making it healthier yet again, it doesn't improve functionality of the hopper.

 

[JoeMama]

I think so.
Definitely the most civilised way to consume, but other than removing water soluble nasties making it healthier yet again, it doesn't improve functionality of the hopper.

Witchcraft is an acceptable reason.

It's been three solid weeks that I've been cycling two Ti hoppers every day for about 4 medium chambers each per day. With a thorough thread cleaning every 4-5 days, I am completely satisfied with performance and consistency.

And after a total of 2-1/2 months using 4 batteries, they are all still holding a good charge.

Knock wood.

 

[Mr. Me2]

Witchcraft is an acceptable reason.

It's been three solid weeks that I've been cycling two Ti hoppers every day for about 4 medium chambers each per day. With a thorough thread cleaning every 4-5 days, I am completely satisfied with performance and consistency.

And after a total of 2-1/2 months using 4 batteries, they are all still holding a good charge.

Knock wood.

Hey @JoeMama - have you tried the blu tac yet? I'm curious to hear your thoughts when comparing it to deoxit (did I spell that right?)

I'm thinking I'm gonna need one or the other. I've noticed my backend starting to get warm during use. And not just with a depleted battery. So I want to give a thread cleaning a try...

 

[Verax]

Why are all the posts about supply questions and answers being deleted? Is that against a rule of some Kind?

 

[moondog]

Why are all the posts about supply questions and answers being deleted? Is that against a rule of some Kind?

They're not being deleted. They are being moved to the Grasshopper Shipping Poll Thread.

 

[Justpassedu]

Sorry all i have not been keeping up with this thread or using my hopper much do to a few small reasons : It recently started shocking me when replacing the battery sometimes , small shock , nothing to put me out for the count but it def is a surprise lol. I only get visible vapor on heat level 5 and my batteries now die in about 3-5 hits and drain just by sitting in my hopper for a day or two. I can fully charge a battery , leave it in my hopper for 2 days , go to hit it and it will die in one hit. I have only used my hopper 10-20 times since i got it bc of this. Sent a email to hopper labs today. Please chime in if anyone knows any info on what i have been experiencing. I will also say there is very small visible gap under my temp dial since day 1 , i am not sure if this effects anything.

 

[vapviking]

Hey @JoeMama - have you tried the blu tac yet? I'm curious to hear your thoughts when comparing it to deoxit (did I spell that right?)

I'm thinking I'm gonna need one or the other. I've noticed my backend starting to get warm during use. And not just with a depleted battery. So I want to give a thread cleaning a try...

I went to local hardware store today and they didn't have Blu Tac but I bought something very similar (I think). It's called Stik Tak, made by Duco. Off-white color, almost no smell.
Bought a 1 oz. package for $2.99 and used about twenty cents' worth to clean male & female threads on two Hopper back ends. It definitely picked up more of the grey matter than cleaning with iso on a q-tip yields, and the threads feel nice and very smooth after cleaning and a quick wipe with a towel, towel just as a matter of course, though there is no visible residue.

I give a big thumb's up to this method of cleaning debris from the back end threads. Until, of course, someone brings up reason not to...

The hot back end on my SS Hopper still will (often) spike quickly to a very hot level when the heater is working, and it cools very quickly, even as I draw. This behavior has not changed with the cleaning by Stik Tak, and I have serious doubts whether a Deoxit treatment is the answer in this case. This SS backend has had these heat spikes since it was about a week old, I don't think time enough for oxidation (or even the grey stuff)to be a relevant issue. So, I believe a claim is in the cards for this one. In the meantime I'm so enjoying two working Hoppers that I just keep my fingers off the back end, and let the wife use the Ti which has no backend heat issue. My other comment on the heat spiking is that it seems to happen less when the battery is fully charged, though I have no firm factual basis for this thinking.

 

[JoeMama]

Hey @JoeMama - have you tried the blu tac yet? I'm curious to hear your thoughts when comparing it to deoxit (did I spell that right?)

I'm thinking I'm gonna need one or the other. I've noticed my backend starting to get warm during use. And not just with a depleted battery. So I want to give a thread cleaning a try...

Hey, Me2, not yet, but I expect it to arrive today so I can try it out.
I'll definitely be posting on it.

Meanwhile, in case anyone has asked GHL about leather sleeves and SS cases:

Me: Hi, Caroline; I’m curious about the two leather sleeves and stainless case status…. please advise?
Love my two hoppers, they work great now.

GHL: We are still waiting on the Leather Sleeves to arrive here. As soon we get them in-stock, I will get yours shipped out.

Me: I’m curious about the two leather sleeves and stainless case status…. please advise?
Love my two hoppers, they work great now.

GHL: The SS Case is still in development and will be available once we get them in-stock. If you already have one on your order, it will ship out as soon as we get them.

Me: Yes, but do you have any idea of the ETA of these things?

GHL: Unfortunately, I don't have any concrete date information for either of these items to be back in-stock. I would hate to bother you with another estimated date only for that to be changed again. I apologize for the inconvenience.

 

[Mangos]

Hey guys,

Had my TI Hopper since the end of February. A month ago it started taking much longer to heat up (up to 20 seconds) which led to combustion pretty much every time I tried to use it.

I used the Nitecore D2 charger to charge a total of four batteries all experienced the same results.

On Monday I finally accepted that my hopper was very ill , I decided to contact @VapeFiend.com for warranty purposes.

I received an email back telling me I needed to register my hopper on hopper labs and to also fill out a small warranty form.

After doing just that I get an email from hopper labs -about 3 hours later telling me that a new replacement body was being shipped out to me , next thing I know I have a dispatch email from Vapefiend telling me my replacement body was being shipped out for next day delivery.

Was amazed at how easy of a process that was, all done in a day pretty much. The replacement body did the trick and I'm reminded at what an amazing piece of technology this device is.

Sorry just wanted to let others know that if you got/get your hopper from @VapeFiend.com , You're in good hands.

 

[btka]

Sorry all i have not been keeping up with this thread or using my hopper much do to a few small reasons : It recently started shocking me when replacing the battery sometimes , small shock , nothing to put me out for the count but it def is a surprise lol. I only get visible vapor on heat level 5 and my batteries now die in about 3-5 hits and drain just by sitting in my hopper for a day or two. I can fully charge a battery , leave it in my hopper for 2 days , go to hit it and it will die in one hit. I have only used my hopper 10-20 times since i got it bc of this. Sent a email to hopper labs today. Please chime in if anyone knows any info on what i have been experiencing. I will also say there is very small visible gap under my temp dial since day 1 , i am not sure if this effects anything.

In my opinion your backend should be replaced... I also encountered small shocks when I am touching the backend (when it is on) but not when changing batteries (which I did not when I got my gh) and also my batteries drain very fast in comparission to when I got my hopper... please let us/me know what ghl told you...

DiD I mention how much I like the gh

 

[cobra505]

So I have kind of a generic question regarding these since I was considering purchasing one of these as a traveling device. It seems like everyone is selling them? Why?

 

[Justpassedu]

In my opinion your backend should be replaced... I also encountered small shocks when I am touching the backend (when it is on) but not when changing batteries (which I did not when I got my gh) and also my batteries drain very fast in comparission to when I got my hopper... please let us/me know what ghl told you...

DiD I mention how much I like the gh

Thanks btka , they replied with a few tests they wanted me to try for them so i did that and replied. Basically asking me how long it takes to heat from low and high and also they asked if the battery shocks me if i hold negative and positive and that is not my problem , its when i touch the body and clicker i will randomly get a shock , sometimes when screwing the back end back on and it is off. They stated the gap in the back end is normal. So i am now waiting to see if i could send it in . Id like a hopper that runs a bit hotter as mine only now produces visible vapor at setting 5 and one that works properly. I want to like my hopper as much as you. I think it looks awesome , now i want it to run the same.