Discontinued VapeXhale Cloud EVO

[t-dub]

...that will clean relatively pain free with Pbw .

I plan to try my ultrasonic cleaner on it. So far every piece of glass I have put in it has come out immaculate . . .

 

[Pickz]

Just got my EVO back after sending it in for a firmware upgrade! I don't have too much time to test it at the moment so I will report my findings later. Time to test...

Edit: Very quick initial impression. The light looking a little dimmer is the only aesthetic difference I see. Other than the fact that it seems they cleaned the bamboo for me... Before I go in to a rant here after a 15 minute heat-up I just got as good of a hit at 2:00'ish as I was getting letting it heat up for hours and on max. This firmware upgrade definitely improved it. Now I just have to learn my temps. You guys rock VXL!

 

[Enchantre]

Just got my EVO back after sending it in for a firmware upgrade! I don't have too much time to test it at the moment so I will report my findings later. Time to test...

Remember, in the name of Scientific Discovery, we expect you to test it out fully, repeatedly, and then repeat again to verify that the theory is correct.

Photos, vids, long & rambling insights are all welcome

 

[Skuma]

Hello everyone at FC,

First of all please excuse my English, it’s not my primary language.

I wanted to relate my experience in general with this product and company.

I’ve been wanting a cloud for a very very long time, since the original unit came out but I live in Mexico and there was no option for international customers so I waited and waited while occasionally taking a look a the FC thread.

Finally something great happened, the company seemed to have gotten bigger and better with a more reliable product: the EVO and the possibility for it to be shipped to Mexico. So I took my savings and bought the EVO with the swagger turbine.

The process was very painful because Vapexhale took a long time to ship my order and the shipping time was very long. The EVO stayed at customs for a few days…. And I had to pay taxes on it…. (I obviously don’t blame the company for this). Then finally I had the EVO in my hands.

My first impression was that the unit is really nice but I expected a better finish and plastic sealing for a product marked at that price tag. Anyway that didn’t matter to me and I tried it for the first time. The only vape I have owned before this one is the UD.

I really really liked this vape, I think it’s a great product and I love the easiness of use and the all glass path. I own a few high end glass pieces and I really liked to pair them with the EVO.

I noticed I couldn’t get the dark ABV and thick thick hits I used to get with the UD but I kept testing it with different strains and at different temperatures. I noticed some variations but I still didn’t manage to get the really thick vapor. I also often noticed a “cracking” sound when the unit was heating and cooling down. Although I did not achieving the dark brown ABV, I really enjoyed this product and considered it to be a step up from the UD.

Finally something terrible happened, the bamboo cracked while in regular use. So I had to send the EVO back and it is now being repaired.

Sorry for the long post,

In conclusion I’d like to say that this product is great, I love it, but I would like to have it performing as it should. Hopefully when it comes back to me it is going to be that way, I really really hope so. This has been a very expensive product overall adding all costs (retail + tax + shipping (3 times) + repair) but if I can have it working fine and lasting without breaking I’ll have no regrets at all.

This brings me to my question:
I live in Mexico so it is the same EVO as the US one (110V) not the intl one.

What can I do to prevent the bamboo from breaking in the future? How can you keep your unit running for hours without the bamboo breaking?

I take very good care of my things since I own high end glass, so it was not a handling problem, it was a temperature problem.

What is the proper way to use the EVO to limit the exposure of the bamboo to changes in temperature that could cause it to break?

Thanks a lot to anyone who can help me. I am waiting eagerly for my unit, and I don’t want it to break again. I LOVE this product.

 

[turk]

....not sure what advice I can offer you...I have a evo and I still have my cloud ticker.....I have NEVER experienced my bamboo breaking in any of my units...they both perform flawlessly....my house is carpeted so the couple of times my evo dropped....it was from a height of about 1 foot onto a carpet...any problem I have experienced with the evo was simply negated by toggling the on/off switch @ noon...

 

[SlinginPaint]

Maybe you had a defective bamboo with a very SMALL bubble in the glass? Maybe just bad luck, since you are running at 110v. Sorry to hear about the issues. Its one hell ova machine once its working correctly.

 

[t-dub]

@Skuma - either the heater is wrapped to tight and/or the firmware needs an update. Either way, when you receive a properly functioning EVO you will not have to worry about the bamboo.

 

[Skuma]

Thanks for your response turk. I'm glad that your units are working perfectly.
I have never dropped my unit and I take very good care of it.
I was told by the support team that the bamboo might have broke because of "tricking the auto shutoff" that means toggling the on/off switch after the auto shutoff happened. Anyone has any more info on this matter? I couldn't stand my unit breaking again.
Also does anyone know how long does the repair process take? My unit arrived at vapexhale return depot
Friday 11 April.

Thanks alot for your answers.

 

[t-dub]

There is a possibility that a thermocouple is being blinded causing this problem, either way the remedy is known and easily applied.

 

[Skuma]

Thanks t-dub.

Sorry for so much questions, but I was also wondering if you guys get the cracking sound when the bamboo heats/cools down? Is it normal? Is it ok to trick the auto shutoff? Or how do you keep your unit working for more than 1 hour?

Forgot to mention I love the turbine aswell, it has a really nice pull to it. I can't wait to use my EVO again, once you go EVO you never go back.....

 

[Zangano Cruel]

I don't know the highest temp the EVO heater and bamboo can get.
But I'm guessing a kiln oven is way higher temperature than anything during the creation of the bamboo.
IMO bamboos breaking and so are milimetrics glass imperfections during blowing, then stressed out by bad shipping and handling by post carriers.
I've seen carriers here, some are very good, and some are very bad.
I come from a country that carriers are really bad. It's a matter of luck IMO, or a bad QC on the blowers end side.

 

[t-dub]

When my EVO was brand new, it had a little of the "crinkling" sound but it subsided very quickly. I do not get it any more. This is thermal expansion just like you hear on a hot car exhaust after driving. Too much heat too quickly will obviously fracture a bamboo.

 

[JCat]

I kinda' have to agree with ZC on this one ... you should generally be ok, but if you add up a whole bunch of stress factors, you might get a cracked bamboo! (The improved firmwares continue to improve upon this issue as well as far as I know/can tell)

There are a bunch of factors:
- bamboo itself and any possible imperfections/weak points
- how tight the heater is "wrapped" around the bamboo
- temperatures during heating/cooling
- firmware version
- potential issues created from shipping
- slightly deformed bamboos from prolonged overheating
- ...

 

[turk]

......don't remember any sound with my evo when I got it....maybe my music's too loud..(heard this before)...did hear the ticking on the "tickler"...

 

[lookmomnohands]

Got my tracking # yesterday and was very surprised to see the acceptance location being Clarks Summit, PA and not the Bay Area. Initially I got slightly nervous when i saw it, but after diggin through this thread, it turns out to be the correct and valid location.

Now the nervousness has turned into uncontrollable anticipation and impatience. I am only a 3-4 hour drive from Clarks Summit. Expected delivery is 4/24, but I'm rolling the dice and hoping for delivery tomorrow. I have yet to receive notification of anything leaving, so it remains unsure. we shall see...

 

[Skuma]

Thanks all for your responses.
From what you mention I think that yeah the bamboo was defective in some way or the temperature wasn't well adjusted. My EVO made a very noticeable sound always when heating and cooling. I guess the glass was weaker than normal. I don't think I used it in a wrong way that would hurt the bamboo. Hopefully it will be fine when it gets here.
The wait is killing me.

Hope your EVO arrives soon lookmom, you are lucky to be that close

How would you recommend to use the EVO to achieve a minimal impact on the bamboo? I mean how to turn it on and off and which temps? How to go through an ELB and then another one? Do you move the knob gradually? Or from one setting to another?

 

[darkrom]

I have to say that the evo is great when not inverted. I don't know how this is possible, but it seems to extract better at the same temp with the same bud than it does when inverted.

Either way everything is better!

 

[John Lewus]

Thanks all for your responses.
From what you mention I think that yeah the bamboo was defective in some way or the temperature wasn't well adjusted. My EVO made a very noticeable sound always when heating and cooling. I guess the glass was weaker than normal. I don't think I used it in a wrong way that would hurt the bamboo. Hopefully it will be fine when it gets here.
The wait is killing me.

It is not just you with bamboo issues. Mine has broken twice through normal usage. I've never dropped my EVO and treat it carefully. It is currently out for repair again and I plan to treat it very carefully when I get it back. I am worried though it will break again.

I rarely crank it to max and generally do low temp vaping. I have also never seen mine glow red like others so I am even more perplexed why it broke twice.

 

[aj0125]

Mine has been working flawlessly since I got it, The Volcano has not even been plugged in since I got the EVO.I was planning on selling my Volcano but after hearing all these bamboo breakage and other issues I am wondering If I should keep it? It will never get used as long as I have a working EVO but the idea of being desktop vapeless for a few weeks during potential EVO repair time is scary, but i could use a few extra hundred right about now...

 

[JCat]

Mine has been working flawlessly since I got it, The Volcano has not even been plugged in since I got the EVO.I was planning on selling my Volcano but after hearing all these bamboo breakage and other issues I am wondering If I should keep it? It will never get used as long as I have a working EVO but the idea of being desktop vapeless for a few weeks during potential EVO repair time is scary, but i could use a few extra hundred right about now...

... IMHO ... always keep a backup ...

Edit: not to say that I'm not confident in VXL and the EVO ... just w/ any electronics of this nature, there are bound to be growing pains and failure rates ... (anything that heats or has mechanical movement especially) ... better safe than sorry

 

[Skuma]

It is not just you with bamboo issues. Mine has broken twice through normal usage. I've never dropped my EVO and treat it carefully. It is currently out for repair again and I plan to treat it very carefully when I get it back. I am worried though it will break again.

I rarely crank it to max and generally do low temp vaping. I have also never seen mine glow red like others so I am even more perplexed why it broke twice.

I know how you feel John. I'm gonna be super careful and extremely paranoid with mine now. I really can't aford sending it back again..

 

[Enchantre]

I have to say that the evo is great when not inverted. I don't know how this is possible, but it seems to extract better at the same temp with the same bud than it does when inverted.

Either way everything is better!

This is incredibly high praise! Houston, we have lift-off!

 

[Seek]

Sorry for so much questions, but I was also wondering if you guys get the cracking sound when the bamboo heats/cools down? Is it normal?

Yes I'm getting it. I think it was louder when it was brand new. But it still happens, I just have to put my ear just above the unit to hear this.
I think it's not the bamboo making these sounds, if it did it would probably be shattered by now.
Also from the cold start I can start hearing this crackling immediately after turning it on.
There certainly isn't enough time for the bambo to be heated up THAT fast. It must be the heater itself making these sounds.
I hear the same kind of sounds from my hairdrier or oven when they are cooling down and heating up. I think its the heater metal parts expanding.
I think we should be probably glad for these sounds as they are maybe protectting the bamboo. If this didn't happen in the heater it could happen it the bamboo afterwards.

Is it ok to trick the auto shutoff? Or how do you keep your unit working for more than 1 hour?

I think it should be ok. Even the old Cloud which got hot all over could be run 24/7 and I think EVOs can be run 24/7 aswell (not inverted).
My EVO doesn't seem to have this timer at all, I had it running for 5 hours no problem.
Also it survived some overheating and is being power heated up and cooled down several times a day.
It is almost a month old (got in on April Fools day) and the bamboo is still airtight.
24/7 runnign can be better for the bamboo as its not heating up and cooling down.
But the unit should of course be able to cool down and heat up a lot without breaking.
I think the heater is programmed to be gentle with the glass.

When my EVO was brand new, it had a little of the "crinkling" sound but it subsided very quickly. I do not get it any more. This is thermal expansion just like you hear on a hot car exhaust after driving. Too much heat too quickly will obviously fracture a bamboo.

When you put your ear near the top you still don't get these sounds? I am getting them still, but not as loud as when brand new.

 

[t-dub]

When you put your ear near the top you still don't get these sounds? I am getting them still, but not as loud as when brand new.

Nope. All quiet.

 

[pittiserria]

When you put your ear near the top you still don't get these sounds? I am getting them still, but not as loud as when brand new.

Not for me as well, completely quiet (220V).