Discontinued VapeXhale Cloud

[JohnDeere]

My cloud has stopped working, the lights now cycle red/green and it won't heat.


*sigh* time to file another support ticket

That sucks...your vids have been great, but i have noticed you are on the lowest temp setting and getting clouds with small amounts...it made me think your cloud was hot, but your abv doesn't look that roasted. Wonder if this is possible and if that had anything to do with the failure.

 

[JohnDeere]

The SG is *new. The SGW is from beta test. It's upside-down for stability in the photo. I ordered SG in Feb and *took delivery of HT and unit today.

The SG is sick...but I guess duh. I like my SGW, but I am on the prowl for some dewar jointed bub similar to the Muscle Mans.

 

[JohnDeere]

By 'doesn't outperform the VHW', I mean the clouds I can get with the Cloud are equal to the thickness of VHW rips I get, not any denser. They both give rips as dense as I want, neither really better in that regard. I do feel the VHW tastes better, but not by a big margin. THe ease of use of the Cloud and its apparent lesser fragility trumps the small taste difference for me - I haven't used any other vape since getting the Cloud and don't feel the need to. But I could see using my VHW if I got something especially tasty - and assumjng i have plenty. The Cloud is IMO much more efficient than the VHW as well- my two biggest complaints about it have always been how easily the heater cover breaks and how much herb it uses compared to other vapes.

Because of the efficiency the VHW hasn't been my daily driver lately - plus I've been using it with a jury-rigged broken heater cover - but I have been using it periodically, and recently it hasn't helped get through my tolerance. As a medical user, the thing tolerance does to me is it stops helping some of what I use mj for - especially stops helping insomnia - and frankly stops giving me a buzz of any kind.

I feel about the same way (not so much about the taste, and I am a winemaker with a sensitive pallate for what its worth). The VHW provides great dense clouds, but with lots of herb and lots of extremely delicate glass....the nearly "hands-free" and efficient vapor bong is what I have always wanted, and so far VXC is meeting those needs.

 

[Hotboxvapebongin]

i hate to say it but this product scares me. you can have the greatest customer support in the world, but if you lack the capital.... you fail. i will be waiting though and keeping a lookout for this vape. the concept is great it just needs to be run over with a fine toothbrush.

unfortunately i take back my statement about great customer service. i have no proof to back this up lol

 

[JohnDeere]

So I have had my cloud for 5 days and these are my observations:

1. Works as advertised.
2. Equal density and flavor to VHW.
3. Much easier to use than VHW (though I think there is still a bit of a learning curve).
4. WAAAAY more efficient than VHW.
5. 1hr shut-off sucks...wish I could shut-off this function.
6. Takes about 15mins on 5o'clock setting to warm up the whole unit, which for my unit is necessary to get good clouds when I dial it back to the Noon setting.
7. It is definitely a connoisseurs' vape in that every time I use it I have to remind myself to be careful as shit from start to finish...cause its glass, and glass breaks.
8. I love it, my DD for sure....and I'm gonna hate if it fails, this was my main issue with VHW, I ended up having to get a whole bunch of them so that I could have piece of mind that I would not go weeks on end without my tastey blue rips. I know that the VXL Support Team is gonna work hard, but I wish they didn't have to, and I am hoping that the wrinkles get ironed out. It is def VXC 1.0 and we can all say we were there way back when, but I'm looking forward to VXC Grade A.

 

[Tea Party]

May I ask what you decided to do with the two units that has issues a page or two back? In particular I am interested to now what your policy will be on the glass on glass stem part breaking. If it breaks after the one year warranty period what will you be doing to help get the user up and running again and how much can we expect that to cost?

If I snapped the joint off my unit I would in no way expect it to be replaced under warranty, that is just ridiculous.

With a product such as this that most are using many times a day any defects will most likely surface in under a year. A 3 year warranty is excessive.

V4L- you should just quit posting in this thread. You have stated your same opinion many times and have also shown that you don't want your spot on the list.

 

[Progress]

The cloud IMO is a unique and advanced piece of technology that out-performs everything I have seen and heard of for a clean vape (both in air-path and heat consistency/transfer).

About the one main guy on a rant about his concerns with the Cloud and reported issues...

To expect to be able to voice your opinion directly to a company and be heard is rare. To expect a company to increase their warranty due to your personal opinion, is rediculous.

To think it is wise for a new company who has an unmanagable demand for their product to extend their warranty BECAUSE some are reporting problems is rediculous as well (IMO).

Revolutionary technology has the possibility of unforeseen issues both in both development and production.

To say that consumers are actually beta testers is rediculous as well (IMO). Experiencing a splattering of production oversights and shortcomings is far from beta testing (especially with many years of development and about 2 years of actual beta testing).

I am sure that an unusually large percentage of the scattered issues with clouds and hydratubes come to the attention of this forum due to the company's public birth here and activity on the forum.

I guess the thing that pisses me off about this diatribe is that it discourages the transparency and participation of VapeXhale that many love and have become accustomed to.

I find the Cloud to be a huge step in technology. Dig it. Don't. Whatever...

Toke it easy.

 

[JohnDeere]

If I snapped the joint off my unit I would in no way expect it to be replaced under warranty, that is just ridiculous.

I disagree. If it was an impact shot or someone just cranked the thing off fine, but if it was already weak at the seam and it just popped of with the HT that should be covered.

Regardless I always give a slight gentle twist counter-clockwise when I remove the HT.

 

[JohnDeere]

Let's not forget you'll always hear more bad about something then the good. People are just more likely to sign up on fc and post a bad review then if they are happy with the unit.

This is true.

 

[Tea Party]

It's not soft glass. Now I can't see to far into my unit but it feels solid. If you have used it several times without issue it's not going to just "pop" off.

 

[JohnDeere]

It's not soft glass. Now I can't see to far into my unit but it feels solid. If you have used it several times without issue it's not going to just "pop" off.

Again I disagree, joints are notoriously weak spots and over time (the span of a few months) they can go rather brittle and break...obviously this doesn't happen often with good glass makers doing typical work, but this joint is a little different so it is feasible that a couple could malfunction.

Not to mention if a little water escapes the perc or condensation gets down in the joint that shit can be like glue.

 

[Tea Party]

they can go rather brittle and break

If it's a shity piece of glass it's a shity piece. A well made piece of boro is not just going to magically become brittle over time, that sir is an outlandish statement.

What is different about this joint? Malfunction? it's a piece of glass.....

 

[Irie]

Although I have not yet had the pleasure to use a cloud, I look forward to it.

I have had a 18 slide break off close to the joint. BUT, this slide was highly worked and rather tall. In hindsight, I learned a good lesson. Withdraw a male slide (or male cloud) from as close to the joint as possible. If you are pulling from the top of a tall slide or more pronounced with a much taller and "beefier" cloud, you will inevitably have some angle other than straight up on the unit, in effect "tweaking" the joint, pulling from the closest part of the cloud to the joint may minimize the force to "tweak" rather than grabbing hold at the end of a "lever" where the force would be exaggerated.

 

[headdoctor]

@Vape4life, again thank you for your enthusiasm in this discussion, I have noticed that you have posted the same comments a lot on this thread, I think SM55 made a post a while back saying that we can rescind your pre-order, just send us an email and we cant take care of that for you. Since its obvious that you have some very unique requirements as a consumer, we suggest you come back to this thread in a few months and check in to see if we are meeting your requirements. You have made them clear several times.

I think your looking for a vaporizer made out of cheaper components, and don't include new technology. With high grade components comes greater cost, and with new technology comes shorter warranty's and the same for high grade components.

Our goal at VXL labs was to deliver a heavy hitting vaporizer -- that includes high grade components and glass, sold to the customer at the lowest price possible. Our support team stands behind our product, and will do so for the entire warranty of the product.

Like many, I've followed both the Cloud threads with interest, excitement, and a bit of envy. It sure sounds like it has enormous potential, and I'm impressed by the "local" feeling: that it's a business run by people who care and who have a presence on this website. The downside, at least a little, is that a lot of this feels or at least sounds very personal: people are getting defensive. That's probably okay--I'm not one for censorship--but I feel compelled to say that it feels a bit out of bounds to me for a representative of the company to imply that an FC member shouldn't be posting. That's for mods to say, or perhaps for other members of this forum to say (as many have). VXL has no place, in my opinion, suggesting that someone stay out of the discussion ("come back to this thread in a few months") and to criticize the content ("you have made them clear several times"). I'm not trying to get in the middle of anything, just expressing my discomfort with the manufacturer's intervention.

 

[JohnDeere]

OMFG im in shambles, this just happened to me too, just kept flashing red and green for a while, then constantly red flashing but no heat. Turned the switch on and off and it turned on properly. Heres the worst part, when i pulled the cloud off of my mobius after my first hit, the male end of the cloud just broke off in the bubbler!!!! I dont know if they are related but this is making me sick, this is the first piece of glass i have ever broke besides a glass spoon i kept in my coat pocket back in highschool. I dont know if it was from thermal shock because i just cleaned my bub and filled with cold water, but I always dry the joint out before use. I have no idea what happened, if it somehow got jarred b4 which I also highly doubt bc I treat this thing like a baby. Fuck gotta go file a support ticket and see what VXL says

First, I am pretty sure your cloud was just in shut-off mode when you just had to turn the switch back off and on.

Second, that sucks about the joint, do you have any pics? How did it happen, did you hastily pull the VXC off the bub or did it just "pop-off?"

 

[Slightly Medicated]

If I snapped the joint off my unit I would in no way expect it to be replaced under warranty, that is just ridiculous.

With a product such as this that most are using many times a day any defects will most likely surface in under a year. A 3 year warranty is excessive.

V4L- you should just quit posting in this thread. You have stated your same opinion many times and have also shown that you don't want your spot on the list.

I used to be a glassblower. I focused on borosilicate beads, pendants, and smoking pieces. I made dry pipes and did a tiny bit of lathe work (water pipes). I also worked at a headshop while in college. I know that the glass on glass joints will eventually fail. It is their one design flaw.

You can take extreme care of the glass on glass joint but the repeated force of it being locked and unlocked causes the glass to weaken over time. Things will be going fine and one day you will give it the slight twist to pull it apart and the whole joint will come up in one piece. I had a glass on glass downstem that lasted 3 years break on me the other day. I never once tipped that piece over during the life of it and it still eventually broke.

Customers used to come in all the time to buy new glass on glass bowls or downstems. Usually it was the bowl (male end) that would break and get stuck in the downstem (female end). They would go to lift the bowl up and the joint would be left in the downstem. It was worse in dry pieces because they get resin build up and it increased the friction and force required to unlock the two glass pieces. Vapor still builds up sticky stuff though so it can become and issue as well.

Heres the worst part, when i pulled the cloud off of my mobius after my first hit, the male end of the cloud just broke off in the bubbler!!!!

As you can see, just as I said earlier, the male end broke in to the female end of bubbler when he pulled the device apart. This is a risk you take when you use glass on glass parts. As long as the company has a decent repair or replacement program once it is out of warranty, it should not be a big issue. I just don't want to be left dead in the water because the glass on glass connection failed 1 year and 6 months into the life of the device.

It is a reality with this vaporizer that the likely reason I would need the piece serviced is because of a failure in the glass on glass connection. Even if I treated it with the same care you would treat a Faberge egg I would still expect it to fail after some period of time. I was simply asking what the company plans on doing about it? How much would it cost to fix? Can it be fixed or once this happens are you just going to have to buy a whole new unit?

A word to users that have glass on glass connections on any of their hardware. If you clean the join/connection area with water or rubbing alcohol let the joint completely dry before you put them together again. If they are wet the extra water can increase the friction/suction and you can end up breaking them when you go to pull them apart.

 

[greystr0ke]

It would be one thing if V4L owned a Cloud and was making complaints based off his own unit but he seems to just be reiterating other members issues which is getting quite annoying to some of us.

 

[JohnDeere]

If it's a shity piece of glass it's a shity piece. A well made piece of boro is not just going to magically become brittle over time, that sir is an outlandish statement.

What is different about this joint? Malfunction? it's a piece of glass.....

Maybe you haven't heard of thermal shock, but this particular joint on the VXC is heated far hotter for way longer and cooled and heated and cooled and heated far more than any normal joint.

Also, you must never have had a VHW, because nearly anyone who has will tell you about the clinking and popping noises the glass makes during heat-up and cool down, and inevitably the glass cover turns into a hot glass rattle.

Finally ask anyone who tried making glass "vapor skillets" or "glass curves." Every company that attempted making them went to quartz because the glass pads fail usually in days from the thermal shock.

 

[Tea Party]

Considering each end of the glass tube is larger than the opening in the case the whole unit would have to be torn apart.

I'll have to speak with some of my buddies that blow glass ( some for one of the most well known tube companies) about the joints.

I've been involved in the glass game for 6 years, I have friends that have OG roor usa 3 arm perc tubes that have joints in perfect condition.

Almost all of the broken bong I have seen from friends have been cheap ass china shit.

How are ground glass joints automatically prone to breaking. If that were the case I would like that most labs would cease their use of ground glass joints.

 

[Tea Party]

Maybe you haven't heard of thermal shock, but this particular joint on the VXC is heated far hotter for way longer and cooled and heated and cooled and heated far more than any normal joint.

Also, you must never have had a VHW, because nearly anyone who has will tell you about the clinking and popping noises the glass makes during heat-up and cool down, and the inevitably glass cover turns into a hot glass rattle.

Finally ask anyone who tried making glass "vapor skillets" or "glass curves." Every company that attempted making them went to quartz because the glass pads fail usually in days from the thermal shock.

The joint on the VXC isn't even getting remotely close to thermal stress from heat created by the unit. Some one who smoke oil out of a dome is going to heat and cool the male joint hold the nail more often and to higher extremes than those using a VXC.


All of the people I know who make oil accessories use Ti with the exceptions of some that still use glass nails.
Yes lass nail do break but they are constantly being blasted by a blow torch where as the cloud is a few hundred degrees...

 

[JohnDeere]

The joint on the VXC isn't even getting remotely close to thermal stress from heat created by the unit. Some one who smoke oil out of a dome is going to heat and cool the male joint hold the nail more often and to higher extremes than those using a VXC.


All of the people I know who make oil accessories use Ti with the exceptions of some that still use glass nails.
Yes lass nail do break but they are constantly being blasted by a blow torch where as the cloud is a few hundred degrees...

I will concede that it is a heated to a lesser degree than glass nails, but that only implies that the thermal shock exists on the VXC Joint to a lesser degree.

Also let me reiterate that I only said that I thought it was conceivable that a few could malfunction. I am in no way suggesting there is some kind of problem with the VXC Joint.

 

[Tea Party]

people are getting defensive. That's probably okay--I'm not one for censorship--but I feel compelled to say that it feels a bit out of bounds to me for a representative of the company to imply that an FC member shouldn't be posting.

All he is doing he posting the same shit over and over. He doesn't own a cloud, he has stated he no longer has interest in purchasing one, what more could he add to the discussion?

It would be one thing if V4L owned a Cloud and was making complaints based off his own unit but he seems to just be reiterating other members issues which is getting quite annoying to some of us.

He's borderline trolling at this point as it's getting ridiculous

 

[Tea Party]

I will concede that it is a lesser degree, but it that only implies that the thermal shock exists on the VXC Joint to a lesser degree, and again those glass nails often go in weeks if not days.

A couple hundred degrees is not going to thermal shock boro.

 

[JohnDeere]

A couple hundred degrees is not going to thermal shock boro.

It could be the variable that cracks a weak joint is the only point I was making...It is possible, and Mr. Smokes probably will tell you that is what happened to him.

I am not the one throwing around definitive statements, I just think if a weak joint malfunctions that should probably be warranted.

Thanks though for the insiders view of the "glass game."

 

[Tea Party]

How should the company go about determining if something was " a weak factory defect" or the user was just stoned and flat out broke it?