Discontinued VapeXhale Cloud

[mestizo]

I have a question:
Will trying repairs on your own Cloud void the warranty?.
I'm asking because I have a friend that works with glass, and I asked him if he could make me a glass bamboo, he is well know by some people in the glass industry, and his work is very clean, he told me he can make the glass bamboo and that sounded like a great idea, except for the fact that I don't remember the name of the FC member who attempted a repair with a Chinese heat pad, and was successful at it, he posted pics in the old FakeXhale thread.
Does anybody remember his name?
By the way, my friend can make glass bamboos if anybody else want to tinker with their clouds. Of course, everything will be done correctly if he wants to sell in these forums.

 

[olivianewtonjohn]

I have a question:
Will trying repairs on your own Cloud void the warranty?.
I'm asking because I have a friend that works with glass, and I asked him if he could make me a glass bamboo, he is well know by some people in the glass industry, and his work is very clean, he told me he can make the glass bamboo and that sounded like a great idea, except for the fact that I don't remember the name of the FC member who attempted a repair with a Chinese heat pad, and was successful at it, he posted pics in the old FakeXhale thread.
Does anybody remember his name?
By the way, my friend can make glass bamboos if anybody else want to tinker with their clouds. Of course, everything will be done correctly if he wants to sell in these forums.

@lazylathe he has a thread, I was talking about it earlier in this thread should be a link somewhere in here

 

[mestizo]

Thank you very much for your reply, I'll look for it.

 

[Sinclue]

Not sure its an issue since they essentially abrogated all Cloud and Cloud+ warranties in favor of a discounted EVO trade in.

Can't void something the company says no longer exists.

~

 

[lazylathe]

Just a quick update!
@olivianewtonjohn sent me a broken Cloud, the top of the bamboo had sheared off.
The heater still worked perfectly, so i carefully removed the glass from the heater.
Any screw ups here and you loose the heater...

So far it is pumping out vapor like a machine again!!
Just a few tweaks left to clean everything up and a few more tests and then it is off to it's owner again!
I have taken some pics and i will post a video of it working again!

It has been fun working on this project!
And comparing it side by side to my EVO, the EVO slightly nudges it out.
Also remember that i am unable to calibrate the Cloud.
All i can say is that if it was my Cloud, i would be a very happy camper!

 

[mestizo]

@lazylathe where did you get the new glass for the heater?
I have a friend in the same situation, and my thinking was that he had to scrap both, heater and glass, but for what I read from you, the heater can be salvageable.

 

[Tweak]

I quit using my Cloud+.

Keep getting a weird electronic taste while using it inverted into a water pipe. Taste OK with the glass mouthpiece, so my guess is the heated electronics on the inside are making its way into the vapor path. Not cool, .

 

[biohacker]

@Tweak the EVO's have had some smell issues with some of them apparently. I think I once detected a slight whiff of it on @lazylathe's Cloud+ i'm borrowing at the moment. I only use it inverted but never leave it inverted. I'll have to look out for this - just more reasons to test! lol

 

[Tweak]

@Tweak the EVO's have had some smell issues with some of them apparently.

Really? Haven't followed the EVO thread at all. I've found a work around is to add some silicone tubing to the bamboo, effectively extending it farther from the electronics. But then I have to remove it every time I set it back down.

 

[lazylathe]

@lazylathe where did you get the new glass for the heater?
I have a friend in the same situation, and my thinking was that he had to scrap both, heater and glass, but for what I read from you, the heater can be salvageable.

I bought one of those fake ebay Clouds, it arrived DOA.
The heater was cracked in numerous places but the bamboo was perfect.
I asked the guy to send a new bamboo and he sent a complete unit, bamboo plus heater.
So i had a spare bamboo i offered to @olivianewtonjohn to see if i could get his unit working again.

It has been on all day and working very consistently!!
And the top does not get very hot at all!! Just watch those pesky screw heads though!
White walls the Swagger HT every time!

It is almost time to send it back on it's way to it's original owner.
Take some videos and a good cleaning and away she goes!

 

[SlinginPaint]

@lazylathe makin shit happen!

 

[tepictoton]

Well that sounds great...same thing has happened to mine, top part came off...but my heater seems to be cemented in place and I see no way
1. to get it loose
2. where to get a new bamboo?

but that is really great, shows again that being on this forum has its plus sides

 

[biohacker]

Really? Haven't followed the EVO thread at all. I've found a work around is to add some silicone tubing to the bamboo, effectively extending it farther from the electronics. But then I have to remove it every time I set it back down.

Yeah it was all over the thread not long ago either. Go check it out. I think they are starting to drill holes to allow venting or something. It only happens inverted. Apparently there are no health effects it is just an "odour".

 

[NineDelta]

Most first world nations have governmental consumer protection bodies that wouldn't allow this to go down.
For example, here in Australia, VXH would face large fines from the A.C.C.C (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) if they didn't honor the warranties.

Not sure its an issue since they essentially abrogated all Cloud and Cloud+ warranties in favor of a discounted EVO trade in.

Can't void something the company says no longer exists.

~

In Europe you can't abrogate the warranty, you have 2 years of warranty in all electronics equipment. Is this legal in USA?

I understand that the update is because your VXC is ok and you want another better unit. Warranty means repair the unit or change it for other model equal or better quality, no pay anymore.

Is it legal to change the warranty for an update in USA?

 

[Frederick McGuire]

Ok guys, so after a good 6 months or so of use, my fakexhale seems to have died

I plugged it in, and got a red light, but the unit never heated.

I'm gonna try it with another outlet soon, but I'm thinking something in there has gone wrong.

Anyone got any tips on how I would go about diagnosing the problem?

I'm guessing it might be that weak link at the heater connection?
But I can't remember if that leads to a light show, or just solid red...

But yeah, I'm hoping its just a broken connection, and not a dead heater...

I was gonna switch out the LEDs in it too soon, does anyone know the specs of the LEDs in there?
I'd rather switch em out for brighter ones (similar I EVO brightness), so if anyone can help me out and tell me whether that'd matter it'd be much appreciated.

I've got the skills to swap out the LEDs and such, just not enough to identify what I need

If this is easily searchable just tell me to shut up and what to search for


Oooh, crazy idea:
I might be able to harvest some stuff out of my dead EVO if I need anything...
How awesome would it be if I could somehow stuff the guts of the fakexhale into the body of the EVO...

 

[olivianewtonjohn]

Ok guys, so after a good 6 months or so of use, my fakexhale seems to have died

I plugged it in, and got a red light, but the unit never heated.

I'm gonna try it with another outlet soon, but I'm thinking something in there has gone wrong.

Anyone got any tips on how I would go about diagnosing the problem?

I'm guessing it might be that weak link at the heater connection?
But I can't remember if that leads to a light show, or just solid red...

But yeah, I'm hoping its just a broken connection, and not a dead heater...

I was gonna switch out the LEDs in it too soon, does anyone know the specs of the LEDs in there?
I'd rather switch em out for brighter ones (similar I EVO brightness), so if anyone can help me out and tell me whether that'd matter it'd be much appreciated.

I've got the skills to swap out the LEDs and such, just not enough to identify what I need

If this is easily searchable just tell me to shut up and what to search for


Oooh, crazy idea:
I might be able to harvest some stuff out of my dead EVO if I need anything...
How awesome would it be if I could somehow stuff the guts of the fakexhale into the body of the EVO...

Im really not sure what the blinking light could be. You seem to be handy (based on your LED questions) so I say crack her open and look around at the usual suspects (heater, leads, thermocouple, and lastly circuit board). There are four metric hex screws on each side you just take those off and slide it out of the shell. It might pop open due to how tightly packed they are. Carefully unwrap insulation.

If its the lead and not the heater, still seems like a tricky fix. Heater gets too hot for regular solder. Someone did try silver solder and a torch (I think) and the heat cracked the ceramic heater. If you could somehow get the heater upto heat maybe by applying current to it somehow then solder maybe this would be more successful. But still not sure if a high heat solder can withstand the temps.

Is your evo still under warranty? What went wrong with it, 220V problem? Would be cool if you could take its heater and possibly bambo and swap it into your cloud+.

 

[Frederick McGuire]

No blinking light, just solid red when I plug it in.
The only way I knew something was wrong was when I grabbed it after a 10 min heatup and it was still cold

I might have a torx screwdriver handy (from modding guitar hero controllers a few years ago ) otherwise ill have to stop by bunnings to grab the right thing to get the cloud open.

I've got an incredibly cheap voltmeter, so I could use that to inspect some of the insides, would just need to know what to look for...

I should have some play time on the weekend, so I'll crack it open then

I'll post some pics up because why the hell not

The EVO is still under warranty, waiting for VXL to get the 220v version all up and working (seems odd to me that they didn't have this issue with the old clouds, just the EVO, but I'm no engineer...)

As far as I'm aware, I won't have to send the EVO back, so I'm sitting on a sorta working EVO (working aside from the already established 220v issues) that's got a broken bamboo.

I don't know if the EVO uses brighter LEDs, or if its a slightly different bamboo structure, but the bamboo on the EVO glows much brighter, and I want to replicate it with my fakexhale if I can get it working again...

 

[olivianewtonjohn]

No blinking light, just solid red when I plug it in.
The only way I knew something was wrong was when I grabbed it after a 10 min heatup and it was still cold

I might have a torx screwdriver handy (from modding guitar hero controllers a few years ago ) otherwise ill have to stop by bunnings to grab the right thing to get the cloud open.

It uses 2.5mm hex screws

I've got an incredibly cheap voltmeter, so I could use that to inspect some of the insides, would just need to know what to look for...

Based on what I read the problem will likely be heater wires. It would be very obvious since one or two leads would not be attached to the ceramic heater. There are in total 4 wires connecting the heater/bamboo to the circuit board; two are for heating (think they are thick white wires) the other two are for the temperature sensor thats below the heater.

Just a guess from one of stoneymonkey's posts that it is heater lead. Not too many people have opened their clouds to check but it sounds like the likely candidate.

I should have some play time on the weekend, so I'll crack it open then

I'll post some pics up because why the hell not

Great to hear. The more pictures of open clouds the better

The EVO is still under warranty, waiting for VXL to get the 220v version all up and working (seems odd to me that they didn't have this issue with the old clouds, just the EVO, but I'm no engineer...)

As far as I'm aware, I won't have to send the EVO back, so I'm sitting on a sorta working EVO (working aside from the already established 220v issues) that's got a broken bamboo.

Id double check, thats an expensive piece of hardware to void the warranty on. So checking before opening would be best. If you do please post pictures, would love to see whats going on inside of it compared to the cloud+.

Best of luck getting your cloud back to its former glory

I don't know if the EVO uses brighter LEDs, or if its a slightly different bamboo structure, but the bamboo on the EVO glows much brighter, and I want to replicate it with my fakexhale if I can get it working again...

EDIT: Oh yeah forgot to say if you get to the reassembly stage, use strong rubber bands or wire to hold the inner shell shut. Its hard to reassemble without doing this because it slides into the black shell too deep to keep it well shut while trying to line it up and screw in the hex screws. Sorry if that sounds confusing but if you get to this step im sure you will know what I mean.

 

[mistergyro]

i like the reemergence of this thread, not to trash vapexhale but to figure out how to possibly save our broken clouds. like most, mine crapped out in under 6 months (quit heating up).

has anyone had success with a re solder?

does anyone have any extra heater to sell?

 

[olivianewtonjohn]

i like the reemergence of this thread, not to trash vapexhale but to figure out how to possibly save our broken clouds. like most, mine crapped out in under 6 months (quit heating up).

has anyone had success with a re solder?

does anyone have any extra heater to sell?

I have not heard of any successful resoldering. Seems like it gets to hot for must solder (has to get pretty hot to heat up the glass and then heat up the air inside the glass). Think someone tried silver bearing solder with a torch and cracked the heater.

http://fuckcombustion.com/threads/vapexhale-cloud.5247/page-419#post-333751

At the end of the day it seems like they are all kind of like ticking time bombs. I am looking for a broken cloud to experiment on one day.

We are still looking for a good alternative heater in this thread. The search is on!:
http://fuckcombustion.com/threads/vapexhale-heater-mods.12014/

Edit, have an idea no clue if it's any good or anything and might be dangerous. For a broken connection, what if you clip the wire to the connection with like an alligator clip or something. Then heat up, get her hot (make sure temp sensor is correctly placed don't want orange glass). Once it's really hot, unplug it. Then using caution take off clip and solder it up. No uneven heat this way. Just not sure if the solder can handle the temp (silver bearing solder). Could then put furnace cement over it for reinforcement because why the fuck not at this point. Wonder if it could stand the heat and if it could, wonder if it could stand the constant hot cold cycles.

Wish I could find a cloud to try my crazy ideas on lol

 

[pakalolo]

Wish I could find a cloud to try my crazy ideas on lol

You can post a Wanted ad in the Classifieds. We have a rule against asking in the threads.

 

[jpdnkstr]

My OG is still ticking away!

 

[ozzietoker]

Hey guys I'm new here! Looking for a first plug in to make transition from bongs. The "Cloud EVO" seems great but in Australia we only have the "Cloud +" reading all the problems people are having should I just stay away? I mean there's no warranty..

It's such a shame because out of the 3 I've narrowed it down to (Cloud,SSV and Plenty) this seems like the best for me. I want a water filter/bong experience for smoothness of Vapor and to make transition from smoking easier.

Looks like I may have to get the SSV and hook up to a Bong - I've posted on that thread and trying to work out what I need to buy (attachments) and if I can even get them here in Aus. It seems easier to do than with the Plenty but I'm still unsure.

Like I said it's a shame cos the Cloud + looks like I'd love it but what's the point of spending $150 + more than the SSV /Plenty if it breaks down...

OK now I'm puzzled - "Australian vaporizers" say they offer a 1 year warranty...

The more I research the more "breakdown" or "buyer beware" stories i'm hearing - like on "Vapecritic"

 

[z9]

Hey guys I'm new here! Looking for a first plug in to make transition from bongs. The "Cloud EVO" seems great but in Australia we only have the "Cloud +" reading all the problems people are having should I just stay away? I mean there's no warranty..

It's such a shame because out of the 3 I've narrowed it down to (Cloud,SSV and Plenty) this seems like the best for me. I want a water filter/bong experience for smoothness of Vapor and to make transition from smoking easier.

Looks like I may have to get the SSV and hook up to a Bong - I've posted on that thread and trying to work out what I need to buy (attachments) and if I can even get them here in Aus. It seems easier to do than with the Plenty but I'm still unsure.

Like I said it's a shame cos the Cloud + looks like I'd love it but what's the point of spending $150 + more than the SSV /Plenty if it breaks down...

OK now I'm puzzled - "Australian vaporizers" say they offer a 1 year warranty...

The more I research the more "breakdown" or "buyer beware" stories i'm hearing - like on "Vapecritic"

If you're primarily going to use a water path get the Cloud EVO or LSV. Do NOT buy a Cloud plus as it does not have a warranty and will break. The LSV is basically the SSV (both made by 7th floor) but in a much more bong-friendly form factor. Here's the link: http://lifesabervaporizer.com/lsv.html
The LSV will be the cheaper option and is more than capable of knocking any vaporist on their ass, the EVO will just get you there a little better. The Cloud EVO and LSV are both highly praised here on the forum, I suggest reading their threads and weighing the costs of each.

 

[ozzietoker]

If you're primarily going to use a water path get the Cloud EVO or LSV. Do NOT buy a Cloud plus as it does not have a warranty and will break. The LSV is basically the SSV (both made by 7th floor) but in a much more bong-friendly form factor. Here's the link: http://lifesabervaporizer.com/lsv.html
The LSV will be the cheaper option and is more than capable of knocking any vaporist on their ass, the EVO will just get you there a little better. The Cloud EVO and LSV are both highly praised here on the forum, I suggest reading their threads and weighing the costs of each.

Cheers man. My problem is how do I hook it up to a waterpipe? The SSV has no adapters here in Australia. What about the LSV? How does it hook up and how do I get what I need to do so here?
I wish I could just get the EVO but AGAIN - not available here!
It seems the only 1 I can hook up straight away with no attachments from overseas is the Plenty - which seems great as well - but a little "all or nothing" - less versatile