The Pinnacle by Vaporblunt

[OutkastBoss]

Oh I get it now.. I don't have any helpful input for you but nice XJ!

I went to the 30th anniversary of the Xj in MOAB Ut last month with mine.
Was good times and my Pn still had 100% battery life LOL the good old days.

 

[OF]

It has been heavily used and I got it right after the release usually 2 full charges a day but at least one.

I remember him saying that they would lose their programming now that you mention it.

Mine was one of the ones that pulled out of the case and iirc the battery is connected by two wires soldered onto the board and then soldered onto that battery.
It would be easy to replace if you have ever soldered. too bad it would need to be recalibrated.
Would it be a bad idea to solder in the new and then remove the old batt so It never completely disconnects from power? Or would that cause a surge to burn the board?

Lots of stuff there, perhaps I can offer some insights?

First off, that's a lot of cycles (recharges). 300 is a common estimate given reasonable treatment. It could well be getting worn out?

Yes, they do lose programing if you power completely down, but you have to be able to build them and there's no programing port......so they boot up just fine and you need to do a discharge way down/fully recharge cycle (one time, any time) so the flashing part of the charging light works right. That bit, the flashing light while charging, is the only calibration in question, temperature calibration is in hardware it seems (2.2 Volts for low temperature, 2.0 for high), so no problem there really.

Yes, I've done it. Earlier today in fact. BTW they do charge OK from USB connectors with less power, it just takes a lot longer using a .5 Amp one than the 3 Amp unit VB send us.

You're memory is a little off. There are 3 wires, not two, and they end in a handy connector. If you had the replacement battery and weren't too shy with tools you could do it, but it's pretty frail in there it's easy to break a heater or sensor lead free from the PCB and you then be up the proverbial creek without excellent soldering skills to fall back on.

Also soldering such live batteries in is very far from "easy to replace if you have ever soldered" it is, in fact very dangerous to do. There's a LOT of energy on tap in that battery, a little slip and the sun could come up in front of you....or you could fry something nearby if the wire, solder or iron went the wrong way. A job experts sweat over and avoid (like by using connectors.....) if at all possible.

Yes, you absolutely remove one battery before soldering the other in in such cases, you don't want strong fighting weak there as you watch.

I'm sure in the fullness of time demand for batteries will net a solution. The maker or some savior of the faithful like Pipes will rise to meet it.

Here's a shot of the back of the board and the battery. You can see the cable and connectors with the 3 wires (white, black and red).



When the time comes, I bet we find a solution.

OF

 

[Dreamerr]

OF, I don't know when you read the thread if you missed the post so just pointing it out in case you did. As said on the last page the battery was re-engineered. I believe sticks asked about it and said well it is just a whatever number it is and the engineer said well it isn't' what it appears to be. I hope that gives you some useful info.

I know you said you think the plastic is good in your other post but how is that so when we are breaking the pongs left and right because of the heat? I don't really care what name they put on it creep, melting or chipping the fact is it happens and it doesn't take long. I don't even use iso because of it and boiled this last one and it still turned white. I doubt it will last that much longer as the creep has set in. I have gone through 3 or 4 pongs already.

 

[OF]

OF, I don't know when you read the thread if you missed the post so just pointing it out in case you did. As said on the last page the battery was re-engineered.

I know you said you think the plastic is good in your other post but how is that so when we are breaking the pongs left and right because of the heat?

Thanks, yes, I got it. I've read the thread. It's marked '18650' because that's the (physical) size of it. Like the Solo, it's no doubt not a run of the mill battery. The demands are not quite so strict as with say Cera, but some careful selection is no doubt in order. And then there's the tab issue (we need them welded on) and the protection board to deal with.....what's the story with the third lead? Fun stuff for another day.

The discussion was about dropping the unit with no damage, best to keep it in context. On the problems with covers I've no opinion past sharing the 'there should be no problem in this application' view. Creep (coldflow) could be a factor, but you'd think it'd not be a deal breaker, the manufacturing technique used is very common and IMO better done (the fit is very good) than usual. If I saw an issue there, I'd say so.

The fact that some issues (like fogging) can't be reproduced tells me science isn't here yet. More data is needed. I'm not sure, for instance, that hot condensate might not be a factor? Has anyone done aging tests under dirty conditions?

If I were king, I'd probably make the cap a consumable like the MP is. Many good parts have defined service lives. Perhaps even inclued a second with new units (hoping to bring cost down through volume). I also think the lack of problems with the Pro GonG has something worth looking into.

FWIW, I also think a modified top (drill this one out, fit a ring?) and Solo style stem has some metit......

OF

 

[Dreamerr]

The pnp is new and the problems with the pong are in the last ten pages now. The new pong is thicker so it will just take longer and now the reports are coming in. Also they are using higher heat on the pnp so on some it will maybe take the same amount of time?

 

[OF]

The pnp is new and the problems with the pong are in the last ten pages now. The new pong is thicker so it will just take longer and now the reports are coming in. Also they are using higher heat on the pnp so on some it will maybe take the same amount of time?

Like I said, IMO we don't have enough data to make judgement or draw conclusions. The material is suitable for the conditions they report. They are the Pros here, and IMO sound fully competent, they have the most information and most at stake.

For now, I'm not second guessing them in that area. Their demonstrated abilities elsewhere give me confidence here as well. I just don't see it as a deal breaker no matter. It's a tool, not a work of art. If changing caps every 500 sessions and changing batteries every 2000 turns out to be the call that's fine by me. As long as it does the job I bought it for it's a good tool. That's the sort of drill that keeps airplanes from falling out of the sky. It's all a matter of knowing the materials, conditions they work in, and hours of service between rebuilds. We run car engines into the scrap yard, in a plane it'd be rebuilt every XXX hours instead of waiting for it to fail.

OF

 

[spacemanpiff]

hey folks!

brand new forum member and slightly new pinnacle owner. i couldn't resist the cyber monday sale so i snagged one.

this is my first experience with a vape and i'm having a pretty good time so far. honestly, i'm enjoying it much more than i thought i would.

this morning, i figured that i'd clean it out for the first time since there's been a bit of buildup. i soaked the mouthpiece and the attachment with the screen (not sure what it's called) into 91% iso for about fifteen minutes.

unfortunately, the mouthpiece ended up frosting and cracking. i think it's still usable.. but still a bummer.

undecided on where to go from here. would it be harmful to keep using it as is? i guess i could buy a new one from somewhere.. but i'm not really keen on the idea of buying replacement parts for something i bought a couple weeks ago. and i don't really wanna use the flavored mouthpiece that it came with.

also, is there any way to replace the battery with something larger? i always vape at orange.. so i probably use it 3-4 times before i gotta charge it. not terrible, but not ideal. again, i have no experience with other vapes so i'm not sure how the pinnacle compares in battery life. or perhaps a way to use a car charger to charge it?

overall, i've been having a blast with the pinnacle. i haven't given up on burning completely.. but right now, the pinnacle has become my default when choosing how to medicate myself.

edit: just checked out the screen attachment thing.. there is SLIGHT frosting on that as well on the end where it meets the mouthpiece. but nowhere near what happened to the mouthpiece. i'll try to snap a couple pics but all i have is my phone.

 

[Quetzalcoatl]

@OF, you silly, I can't see your pic

@spacemanpiff that's called "creep" and has been discussed a fair bit between this thread and the Pinnacle Pro thread.

 

[spacemanpiff]

@spacemanpiff that's called "creep" and has been discussed a fair bit between this thread and the Pinnacle Pro thread.

i've searched for "creep" in this thread but i haven't found any solutions to the problem.

am i missing something? or is this just something that i'm gonna have to deal with..

 

[OutkastBoss]

To be clear I don't think mine was defective like OF said it may have just been used enough to reach the beginning of the end of its battery life. I did think it would last a bit longer but I am very curious what options if any Vb will offer for Pn owners that have perfectly good units with a dead batt.

Thank you for your Insight OF I have soldered wires on r/c batteries a few times and it scared me tbh. I have done a bunch of wires but I never tried directly to a board and I don't think I have the skill for that.
You are right the solution will come when the need for it grows some, unless mine dies completely I will wait until someone more qualified like VB, or a member here like you finds the correct way to do it.

For people that are having the pong degrade I would recommend trying the higher temp rated ones for the Pn pro. I got the latest Thicker version of the Black PC high temp Pong for the Pn Pro after my tinted V2 failed and have not seen any damage to it yet.
It has been iso soaked quite a few times and boiled, my V2 lasted a long time but you could see the damage slowly taking hold.
However I would need more time with it before saying it will be good for the long haul.

I agree with OF about these things being tough I go through quite a few cell phones a year from dropping and getting smashed or crushed by equipment, many get smashed while in my pocket LOL.
In the rough and tumble world of work, camping,and Off road my Pn has been pretty Solid.
When dropped it predictable make a big dramatic scene of throwing the Pong and bullet bouncing away only to be picked up and work flawlessly.
If it wasn't for the degrading mp's these things would be super durable.

Still no word from TRVB guess I will check out their contact info on their site and make contact that way.
I figured I'd try here since this is where my Pn experience has run its course.

 

[Adox]

Regarding the clouding... soaked the mouthpiece with iso for a while in glass (a shot glass). No clouding. Shook pong in iso and salt for a short time in a pill bottle (plastic). It clouded. Lots of other variables in play buy I haven't seen this one mentioned in the thread.

 

[OF]

Regarding the clouding... soaked the mouthpiece with iso for a while in glass (a shot glass). No clouding. Shook pong in iso and salt for a short time in a pill bottle (plastic). It clouded. Lots of other variables in play buy I haven't seen this one mentioned in the thread.

Very interesting......a plastic pill bottle? It 'saw' ISO as well, how did it fare? Is it possible that we're leaching something out of the container onto the Pinnacle parts????

OF

 

[Dreamerr]

I use iso in plastic bottles all the time with no issue but they don't see heat either.

 

[OF]

I use iso in plastic bottles all the time with no issue but they don't see heat either.

There are lots of kinds of plastics, not all of them OK with ISO. Just thinking out loud.......

To quote the OP, "Lots of other variables in play buy I haven't seen this one mentioned in the thread" I was trying to follow that with an open mind looking for new clues, a known character fault.

OF

 

[lookhigh]

welcome spaceman.
Use the pong instead of the broken MP for a better experience. Better not to use iso if possible. cleaning with brush works well or boiling water immerse and wipe with soft tissue and repeat until clean.

 

[OF]

Gentle Friends,

A quick note on something I find interesting. I put a thermocouple into the Pinnacle as I've done with Ascent and Solo and like there immediately learned something new and unexpected to ponder over: At idle there's a huge temperature gradient going on! Check this out:


The T/C is at the top of the tube that makes the oven. Down at the bottom (just above the vents) it's like 150C. This guy definitely depends on convection.....

Consider that 215C is 419 real degrees, a LOT hotter than the advertised 370F (this is on low range, high is 11 degrees higher still).

The normal maximum service temperature for this stuff is in the 250F range, with deformation happening 20 or so degrees higher (depending on how hard you push....). I don't mean to start a storm here, we don't know what temperature the MP is really 'seeing' yet, more work needs to be done before we should get upset I think. Still the potential heat is there, much more than I'd have expected and at a different time (idling) than you'd expect convection to heat the bullet up (what probably matters most to the MP).

It also raises some interesting questions about the guys not using the bullets. First off, I think that effective converts it to a conduction vape and may change the temperature profile a lot. ABV from bullets is very uniform, but I think that vaping directly from the chamber will expose some herb to much higher temperatures than other parts? Like by almost 100 degrees F???

OF

 

[spacemanpiff]

Very interesting......a plastic pill bottle? It 'saw' ISO as well, how did it fare? Is it possible that we're leaching something out of the container onto the Pinnacle parts????

OF

i also used a plastic container. i took a look at it after reading these posts and there is a little film buildup on the side of it. it's very similar to the creep on the mouthpiece that i was able to scrape off. the rest of the creep on the mp was unscrapable.

not sure if it's leeching.. since both have the same residue. kinda just looks like grime. i've attached a picture.. not so great quality but i think you'll be able to make out what i'm talking about.

welcome spaceman.
Use the pong instead of the broken MP for a better experience. Better not to use iso if possible. cleaning with brush works well or boiling water immerse and wipe with soft tissue and repeat until clean.

thanks for the suggestion. i guess i'll have to invest in a pong although i was having a pretty good experience with the mouthpiece.

 

[pakalolo]

I've never seen ISO here that didn't come in a plastic bottle.

 

[OF]

I've never seen ISO here that didn't come in a plastic bottle.

At the risk of repeating myself, there are lots of plastics out there, some cool with ISO (obviously), some not (like Acrylics). Lots in between (solvent resistance is often rated in broad, ill defined categories like 'good, fair, poor').
http://www.palramhort.com/pdffiles/PC_Products_General_Info/PC_Chemical_Resistance.pdf
http://msdssearch.styron.com/Publis...auto/pdfs/noreg/857-02401.pdf&fromPage=GetDoc

I just wondering if the reason some report clouding in the MP with ISO while other, equally reliable IMO, folks report none. Presumably we're all using the same material in our MPs and the purity of the ISO can be resolved I think, perhaps the containers guys are using is a factor?

I don't think folks are making this up, there's likely a factor we're not considering?

OF

 

[al bundy]

I cleaned my mouthpiece in a small glass jar with ISO , I used 70% ,and I also have clouding/cracking.

 

[lazylathe]

I cleaned my mouthpiece yesterday and it still has a bit of yellow staining but all the nasty is gone!

All i did was to soak it in some hot tap water and sunlight soap for a few minutes.
Attack with Q-Tips and it is as clean as it will get.

Taste improved a lot after the cleaning!

No clouding or cracking!

 

[lookhigh]

@Spaceman PONG should be included with the pinnacle.

 

[RUDE BOY]

@Spaceman PONG should be included with the pinnacle.

I just received a new Pinnacle in the Mail no Pong only a mouthpiece. I did order a Pong and Chamber cap from theyoyokid, the tinted are the black ones for the pnpro $19.99.

 

[Dreamerr]

OF thanks for getting over the facts as they presented and are carrying on your testing. I had written in a post that is has to be a combo of heat and usage. The recent mouth piece was just boiled and the same thing happened so no ISO involved. I still stand by this is not the right material but I will wait for you to prove it hehe. I have zero residue on my plastic bottle that used to hold vitamins or the one that used to hold prescription meds. The iso has been in both for more then a year. They are both different types of plastic and doubt either would hold up to even a lighter let alone the abuse we do in vaping so I get what you are saying about different plastics and iso. I was never and still no pleased with what happens to the mp/pongs. I love this vape as you know but like everything else nothing is perfect.

To make this vape perfect for me is replaceable batt and pongs that don't creep or glass would even be better.

Speaking of which @TRVB when are you going to tell us about the battery replacement as said way back in the beginning of this thread? Some are starting to need it. I don't yet but would like to know if there is a plan in place yet? TIA.

 

[samirfuzzywuzzy]

So Ive just got my PNP 2 days ago but the lowest temperature is still the equivalent of 400 degrees on any other machine I own. Just too hot for me but ill be getting a regular pinnacle soon.