Discontinued ThermoVape

[Soflo]

Any chance you can talk to the guys and see what they plan on protecting patent wise. I would really like to know what they used for heater wire. I an fully capable of rebuilding these carts, but eventually the Ceramic rod in the middle will fall and need to be replaced. It would be nice to get a little stash of these

 

[product.puppy]

Sorry to hear about Thermocare closing, they seemed to be a company that put the customer first in terms of product safety and warranty. Speaking of the TC and safety, do you guys think there is a increased safety risk when buying a T1 used off ebay. I'm kind of paranoid about having clean, toxic free vapor lol. I of course would fully clean it before using it. I will look up how to do that, but any specific advice for that here would be awesomesauce to thanks in advance

 

[PPN]

Since you can completly dismantle it and clean it there is no issue to get a 2nd hand T1 except to get an old core which can fail....or not!

I'm thinking to test the T1 from Zoly (china counterfeit) since OF told us they are identicals....if I didn't misunderstood him...but Zoly don't build the Evolution, only T1 and revolution(or dart)...

 

[OF]

I'm thinking to test the T1 from Zoly (china counterfeit) since OF told us they are identicals....if I didn't misunderstood him...but Zoly don't build the Evolution, only T1 and revolution(or dart)...

You did misunderstand me it seems. I said the parts interchanged, a very big difference. I also said the Revolution cart version I got was pretty useless since they missed the key function of the porous ceramic. They used conventional ceramics so there is no reservoir. Clearly a mechanical copy, I don't think they really understood the function.

And the batteries provided (wrong kind, of course......) were pretty scary. They appear to be unprotected Li-ions not RCR123A. They would probably blow up a real Revolution core before 'winking out' power wise. Batteries (and charger) need replacing and in the case of my unit, the core had to be rebuilt to fix the heater/cores problem. The mechanical parts seemed OK, and in fact I used them. Heavier and cruder than the originals, but functional.

By all means check them out, but I never said they were identical. Only similar (and interchangeable) in some areas. In the most important materials areas (ceramics and heater) they are 'not right'. And the supplied batteries and charger are dangerous/useless.

OF

 

[PPN]

Thanks for clarifications!

 

[product.puppy]

OF, are the similar, interchangeable knock offs from

You did misunderstand me it seems. I said the parts interchanged, a very big difference. I also said the Revolution cart version I got was pretty useless since they missed the key function of the porous ceramic. They used conventional ceramics so there is no reservoir. Clearly a mechanical copy, I don't think they really understood the function.

And the batteries provided (wrong kind, of course......) were pretty scary. They appear to be unprotected Li-ions not RCR123A. They would probably blow up a real Revolution core before 'winking out' power wise. Batteries (and charger) need replacing and in the case of my unit, the core had to be rebuilt to fix the heater/cores problem. The mechanical parts seemed OK, and in fact I used them. Heavier and cruder than the originals, but functional.

By all means check them out, but I never said they were identical. Only similar (and interchangeable) in some areas. In the most important materials areas (ceramics and heater) they are 'not right'. And the supplied batteries and charger are dangerous/useless.

OF

Thanks for the clarification. Are the "knock offs" from China easily distinguishable though? Like say I was buying a T1 on ebay, would the knock offs be noticeable from a picture of an assembled T1?

 

[OF]

Thanks for the clarification. Are the "knock offs" from China easily distinguishable though? Like say I was buying a T1 on ebay, would the knock offs be noticeable from a picture of an assembled T1?

Easy to spot 'in person' if you look close. For instance, the tube body is 3 pieces of plated brass, I suspect because they lack the precision machines to make such a deep square hole in Aluminum with such thin walls and precise threads. It's therefore much heavier in places.

In a photo, not so much so. In fact I think the web page photos for the unit I got were pirated photos of the real deal. As long as you're stealing the design, why not take the photos too? Like I said, it smacks of 'make more just like this one'.

You know the old joke about the fellow that takes his favorite shirt to the tailor and orders 4 more just like it......and gets five matching shirts, right down to the matching cigarette burn? Like that, only different.

OF

 

[catbird]

You cannot disassemble the switch (5 pieces IIRC) without wrecking it most likely and for sure can't put it back together without the tooling TV uses.

Send it in remains my advice if you can fix it by resetting the o-ring (which solves almost all such problems, switch failures are quite rare these days last I heard).

OF

Looks like I missed the boat on getting my switch/adapter repaired by TV. I was out of town, got back yesterday and heard the news. I know you don't recommend attempting to fix the switch on your own (according to your above reply to @Cheerios), but I'm kind of at a loss for what to do, not that I think I'd successfully accomplish this anyway. Though it's not really a big deal; I am more saddened by the loss of TV in general for the vaporizing community, than I am concerned about my loss of warranty/service for the products that I have (though I am disappointed that I have yet to try the Cera, and the Luna but to a lesser extent). I guess the search for the ideal small/stealthy portable herb/concentrate vape for me continues... I wish the best to the TV guys and I hope someone picks up where they left off, or something.

 

[Mynameismud]

Looks like I missed the boat on getting my switch/adapter repaired by TV. I was out of town, got back yesterday and heard the news. I know you don't recommend attempting to fix the switch on your own (according to your above reply to @Cheerios), but I'm kind of at a loss for what to do, not that I think I'd successfully accomplish this anyway. Though it's not really a big deal; I am more saddened by the loss of TV in general for the vaporizing community, than I am concerned about my loss of warranty/service for the products that I have (though I am disappointed that I have yet to try the Cera, and the Luna but to a lesser extent).

You can still buy one of the knock offs just for the switch... If you really need it... Good thing with the old line is it's all 510 so most mods will do

 

[OF]

I know you don't recommend attempting to fix the switch on your own (according to your above reply to @Cheerios), but I'm kind of at a loss for what to do, not that I think I'd successfully accomplish this anyway.

Bummer. The problem is disassembly and reassembly. The pieces are pressed together, and you'll need the press to put it back together almost surely. And there's nothing you can do inside except clean out debris (which should not be there to start with but was a problem very early on until the assembly process changed).

There's always a chance oil or something like it got in. If you think it's a dead switch anyway, I'd probably break the rules and try ISO soaks and boiling?

I think MNIM has a good point. Both the adapter piece and switch from the Zoly unit will fit and function with the TV stuff........

OF

Edit: After thinking a bit, I don't see any reason not to intentionally rotate the spring loaded contact. It just floats anyway and debris or contact surface damage (the only two failures I can imagine) should be fixed this way, at least temporarily...... OF

 

[catbird]

Bummer. The problem is disassembly and reassembly. The pieces are pressed together, and you'll need the press to put it back together almost surely. And there's nothing you can do inside except clean out debris (which should not be there to start with but was a problem very early on until the assembly process changed).

There's always a chance oil or something like it got in. If you think it's a dead switch anyway, I'd probably break the rules and try ISO soaks and boiling?

I think MNIM has a good point. Both the adapter piece and switch from the Zoly unit will fit and function with the TV stuff........

OF

Edit: After thinking a bit, I don't see any reason not to intentionally rotate the spring loaded contact. It just floats anyway and debris or contact surface damage (the only two failures I can imagine) should be fixed this way, at least temporarily...... OF

Thanks for the suggestions, as always. The switch is free of debris as far as I can tell. But I will break the rules to see if there's anything I can do. Not sure if there are Ultra-sized Zoly units, as I've only seen their "T1" model. The switch I'm having issues with is for the Ultra.

 

[OF]

Thanks for the suggestions, as always.Not sure if there are Ultra-sized Zoly units, as I've only seen their "T1" model. The switch I'm having issues with is for the Ultra.

You're welcome. While they also make a Revolution counterfeit (I have one....), T1 uses the same switch as Ultra and Ultra Max. You should be able to use the switch from their T1 or Revolution.

Good luck.

OF

 

[Nick Brand]

That is terrible news, really does devalue the otherwise fantastic product line.

Thankfully I got mine rebuilt literally just in time, that would've been really frustrating if I had waited too long...

I did wait too long to get my T1 coil repaired,
but I feel rather meh about it. Hope not too many folks have been left high and dry.
All the best

 

[khamal]

looks like i missed the boat on this one. bought a used t1 on ebay for $140. its starting to go out now and i didn't send it in for rebuild before they went out of business. guess ill just use it till it dies then toss it. my first vape. guess it was a mistake

 

[Shit Snacks]

Well when you say go out, it could be the switch or batteries, those can be resolved. If its the heating element then yea, but i still wouldn't toss it. It will still have value (on here especially)

 

[OF]

looks like i missed the boat on this one. bought a used t1 on ebay for $140. its starting to go out now and i didn't send it in for rebuild before they went out of business. guess ill just use it till it dies then toss it. my first vape. guess it was a mistake

I'm sorry you're having troubles, but I don't agree with your conclusions. T1 is an extremely reliable product in terms of the body and core. At one point, when I asked, in service failures of cores were well under one percent.

The only real issue, aside from the battery (which is actually a very good choice for the extreme service IMO) is with owners not understanding how to reset the switch. There's a long history on this product, it's a solid one for sure.

OF

 

[R.John.Blake]

looks like i missed the boat on this one. bought a used t1 on ebay for $140. its starting to go out now and i didn't send it in for rebuild before they went out of business. guess ill just use it till it dies then toss it. my first vape. guess it was a mistake

Don't give up on the T1 just yet especially considering you might not know what's causing the problem.

What do you mean by "going out"? Do you only see one element in the core lighting up and you're getting little to no vapor production? In that case, you're probably screwed.

But if that's not the case, maybe getting another pair of batteries might solve your problem considering you got this second hand. My batteries lasted about a year before I had to replace them as they were not powering the core very well or for long.

 

[Cinnamonster]

Is there any danger in placing two of these magnets:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/10pcs-3x1-5...835?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item33962a786b)
between the 8-9 holes on the screw-top of the T1... with a stainless steel screen held in place in the inner part?

 

[incandenza]

This is really sad news about TET going out of business. How will we get replacement cores? Perhaps the community can come up with a DIY method for re-building the core. Maybe one of the engineers from TET can give us some insight? What parts and tools are needed? What the steps are?

I'm very sad about this. The T1 was honestly the best portable vape I've ever used. I will continue using mine until I die or it dies. But hopefully we can come up with something before that guys!

 

[Pipes]

I had successfully rebuild mine a couple years back. Definitely not for beginners.
However, most failures appear to be at the top side of the element wire crimp. If the break is at the bottom then the procedure gets very messy and risky.
The unit in general is completely put together via pressure fittings.
Hopefully, the break is at the crimp under the rim of the bowl. Unscrew the bowl from the outer cylinder exposing the 510 thread. Look at the top under the bowl and you will see where the tube pushes into a rim under the bowl. Looking really close and you might see the ends of the element wire coming out of the groove. This is where the element passes through a hole in the side and squeezed between the upper bowl and the tube. Also it's the usual spot for the connection to fail.
First try the easiest fix which I have advised and had good success with.
Set the bowl on a flat semi rigid surface like a cutting board. With the 510 connector pointing up give it a good tap with the handle of a screw driver. Hit squarely and only a couple times.
Screw into your power handle and check it out. Repeat a couple times only if needed.
If a no-go then the bowl will need to come off to check the upper connections. Screw the 510 connector into a solid female device. Ensure no power to device. The bowl can be pried using needle nose pliers. Using the V shape to push on bowl while the ends push again a hard surface. Caution here as the female 510 connector will be taking a beating here too. Rocking the top will slowly loosen it up. Each rock it will move ever so slightly.
Once the bowl comes off, the inside will be accessible. Careful not to loose the ceramic bits that go inside the coils. They can fall out sometimes. Separate on a clean surface.
Again look for the break where the element pass throw the holes to be sandwiched between the tube and bowl. Changes are you will see the break at this point. You can pull a little more element throw the hole. 1 -2 mm will hardly be noticeable in performance. Actually, the more taken off the hotter it will be.
Reassemble using the handle of screw driver to tap the tube into the bowl again and hopefully that's the ticket.
Going any further is not recommended as the bottom is much harder to deal with. The center of the 510 comes out and the element wires are held on with a very fine brass collar pressure fit onto a peg on the center of 510 connector. All I can say is avoid at all costs.....

Hope this helps.

 

[incandenza]

Great info Pipes, I have one that needs rebuilding so I will give that method a try.

 

[mixchu69]

Hey guys, is thermovape products similar to the omicron.persei? They both seem like mods with DIY. I was going to buy the Persei but am now thinking of buying a used THermovape. Any thoughts? Thanks.

 

[OF]

Hey guys, is thermovape products similar to the omicron.persei? They both seem like mods with DIY. I was going to buy the Persei but am now thinking of buying a used THermovape. Any thoughts? Thanks.

Actually they're very different. Depending on the TV model, they don't even use the same batteries. And Persei has more latitude there. While the T1 and Cera are mechanical supplies, not so Persei. It's a 'smart' supply (or at least smarter). And they have similar but different threads. Carts and such for one won't fit the other without adapters.

Aside from that they're all long and round. And have treads.

OF

 

[mixchu69]

Actually they're very different. Depending on the TV model, they don't even use the same batteries. And Persei has more latitude there. While the T1 and Cera are mechanical supplies, not so Persei. It's a 'smart' supply (or at least smarter). And they have similar but different threads. Carts and such for one won't fit the other without adapters.

Aside from that they're all long and round. And have treads.

OF

Thanks for the quick response. Would you recommend buying a Persei over a used eBay thermovape. I like the idea of loading, instead of dab as you go. Thanks

 

[OF]

Thanks for the quick response. Would you recommend buying a Persei over a used eBay thermovape. I like the idea of loading, instead of dab as you go. Thanks

You're welcome. I think if you want a Persei type load (like Omicron carts?), which are 601 thread you should go with a supply designed for them, Persei or Omicron if you're not trying to run Bender or the bitter oil carts.

TV stuff will also be harder to support as time goes on of course.

OF