Multi-brand Vivant Alternate

[squigger]

In my view, as few as possible.
I believe that burn offs with no material in the vaporizer, may be the cause of issues some members have had. With herb in the unit, the herb absorbs the heat as hot air passes through it.
Leaving the oven turned on without herb and without doing hits puts a great deal of heat in one spot...
...the underside of mouthpiece.
The unit is made to draw hot air through herbal matter.
It was not designed to sit and cook with no air flowing through herb.
Just my opinion.
I have never done a burn off with any of over 100 vaporizers, and I still am on my original of every unit I own.
While free to disagree, please, do not barrage this post with criticism, I am just one user expressing an opinion.

Did you ever smell your alternate's bowl and inside the mouthpeice before you hit yours with weed? i've done two burns offs and the vape now smells exceptionally less like plastic. The mouth piece was sooooo smelly even after the two burnoffs with it on(mouth piece was not hot at all just the metal screen). imo the burnoffs heat any oils left over from the manufacturing process(it happens sometimes) until they evaporate. Now im not sure about the science of burning the smell into the vape but I intended to try to heat the underside of the mouthpiece as that is the primary spot for leftover oils to be. Your right though about it being a bad idea for this vape since the reason they're cracking is repeatedly going over the heat index will form cracks over time.But after i just cleaned it with water the smell is close to gone completely.

 

[PsySijk]

Here's what the seller had to say about this. Not sure if he's resending me the whole unit or just he mouthpiece tho.

I did the same thing following my mouthpiece melting and I asked to confirm if it was a full unit and they said it was. I can dig up a screengrab for you if you want.

 

[Vitolo]

Did you ever smell your alternate's bowl and inside the mouthpeice before you hit yours with weed? i've done two burns offs and the vape now smells exceptionally less like plastic.

I did smell mine prior to use.
I explained earlier, that I am exceptionally fortunate. I seem to be one of those (there are a number of us) whose unit's did not have a plastic odor, although I am very sensitive to smells and taste.

 

[lemmeadem]

Short Air stems with the plastic MP should work equally well, while minimizing the form factor.

Will drilling out the bowl àrea negate use of a cooling unit?

Solo/Air stems work with the Mighty/crafty, without drilling.

Drilling out my Alternate? I donno. Wish I have an alternate solution.

@lemmeadem.

Did you drill out the heater aperture! What size bit, and what speed?

Vape Dr drilled out the cooling unit.

If you indeed were successful in enlarging the heater hole, you may have come across a solution to the cooling unit cracking.

If there is no direct contact of the cooling unit with the heater, the unit should be able to withstand catastrophic failure better .

Pictures, please!

Holyfucksit please don't drill out your bowl. I meant the cooling unit/mouthpiece. Check out the Vape Dr WPA.

 

[mourningbell]

My mouthpiece definitely has some deformation in the same area as everyone else. Can't help but feel frustration with Vivant for their lack of a solid answer as to why (although I know Emily/CS isn't at fault).

 

[Stinky]

I just got the alternate. When updating the firmware mine shows that it is hardware version is 1.1. Does anyone know what version the bad batch was in? Was version 1.0 even sold to anyone?

Also how many burn offs should i do and and at what temp. I did a minute burn off at 370 then a 2 minute burn off at 372. While doing this i put my nose over it and it was a nauseating plastic smell(which is not odd for plastic vape burn offs). My fault, I don't know what i was expecting... I have a slight headache now.

Also viviant, maybe change the frequency of the beep. Very close to a certain frequency that is incredibly annoying. The speaker might not be capable of playing anything else besides beeps. But imo if you really want some noise confirmation maybe something like
aaaawwwWWoooaA or if your able to actually play a noise created in a DAW then something that also has some bass that plays something different for if it reaches temperature something like boombim or for when the timer runs out have it something where the last note is lower and deeper,

Also, how do i use the airflow adjuster? do I just force to the top for a less free flow? The way it is by default is that the max airflow?
I just took apart the mouth piece it absolutely reeks of plastic and somehow made my headache slightly worse. Should i clean it with water or iso? I haven't used it yet but I cleaned my Boundless cf mouthpiece with iso before using it since i heard so much about the factory taste.

What's the consensus on the iso cleaning? half iso half water? 1/3 iso?

Interesting that you say you got a head ache from your unit. The day I used mine I got a horrible head ache and felt spaced out and sick for the rest of the day. I haven't used mine since because of that. My unit was from Heaven Gifts.

 

[BaroneBarra]

My mouthpiece definitely has some deformation in the same area as everyone else. Can't help but feel frustration with Vivant for their lack of a solid answer as to why (although I know Emily/CS isn't at fault).

Agreed, and I really don't understand why.

They must realise they're losing money doing this. I'm fairly active on r/vaporents (as in, I read every new post published) and I can assure you, since these problems arose a lot of people stopped suggesting the Alternate when beginners are asking for recommendations, or they always add "but it seems to have some issues, so you might want to consider other options".

Just 7 hours ago a redditor wrote: "I was going but pull the trigger on the alternate because of the piu 4/20 sale, but then I read about it cracking/melting so I don't know know now".

I hope this doesn't come off as insulting, it's an advice really. I might not be a vape connoisseur, but I know a thing or two about public rep and damage control

@BaroneBarra any pic of cracking MP?

Yeah, a few of them on this thread if you look at the pages before.

Mine has not cracked, but the ring above the chamber melted a bit. Not as bad as other's I saw on here, but I guess that's because I stopped using it on high temps (I never go above 200°C now).

 

[squigger]

Interesting that you say you got a head ache from your unit. The day I used mine I got a horrible head ache and felt spaced out and sick for the rest of the day. I haven't used mine since because of that. My unit was from Heaven Gifts.

I've hit mine with weed now i didn't get a headache. It was just during the burn off. Really shows the importance of burn offs and cleaning the mouthpiece before first use. I would have taken a big hit of that had I not done a burn off and cleaned it.

 

[zombonaut]

I got my Vivant Alternate from Heaven Gifts and have had a few days to check it out. I already have a little bit of deformation around the rim of the mouthpiece. When it came out of the box it was completely smooth, but after 5 three minute sessions at 375 it is rough and bumpy and is obviously melting a bit. This did provide some off tastes, especially in the first bowl. I have contacted the seller and have asked for help with a new mouthpiece. Hopefully they will respond promptly.

Having said all that, I really hope the kinks get ironed out because I think this unit has a lot of potential!

 

[Ted_Stuffins]

Does anyone's Alternate stop heating in the middle of the session and just go to idle mode? I can get a hit or 2 off mine before it just stops heating and the light on the front turns red. Any info on this?

 

[Meach]

No expert @Ted_Stuffins but it sounds like you have it set to the one minute auto shutoff...you need the firmware update and can adjust it to go longer..

 

[gienkollo]

I've hit mine with weed now i didn't get a headache. It was just during the burn off. Really shows the importance of burn offs and cleaning the mouthpiece before first use. I would have taken a big hit of that had I not done a burn off and cleaned it.

Received mine today, from heaven gifts dhgate, strong plastic smell from very beginning in second i took off top of the box was unit in. Chinese Nitrogen Factories, i call this smell. Better sounds in my native language, but we should move to conclusions, definitely can get you headache, i'm smell sensitive and regarding safety i was a little dizzy too.But after device burn offs there where device gets hot, smells are gone, for this moment something left on the bottom of device and on top where the three torx screws are. I lurking through this thread from almost month now, and considered all was posted here.
Whole device (outside shell had this strong plastic taste, mouthpiece on cold draw had plastic taste. I Didn't risk to soak it with cannabis terpenes like @Vitolo suggested, i choose to cook soup from top cap.
I burn off couple off cycles, but without, top cap to (on this stage of tests) not melt it down, i choose to water bath them (first cold water then warm water, then boiling water.
Mouthpiece was soaking 8 hours plus with water, and now most of plastic smell is gone.

I already have a little bit of deformation around the rim of the mouthpiece. When it came out of the box it was completely smooth, but after 5 three minute sessions

Same here, i received mine today and run maybe 2-3 sessions at 193C and noticed (checked every bowl)
some deformation, more like turn from smooth to little bit rugged.

Having said all that, I really hope the kinks get ironed out because I think this unit has a lot of potential!

I'm totally impressed with performance of heavy hitter, and adjusted airflow. That is just great!
And it have something nobody mention before going for pros for sure for me, always standby, no auto shut off.

 

[Vitolo]

The 3 other units I have recently tried were very much like mine.. I found no aroma.
Today a friend received a unit from Heaven Gifts.
I am helping him arrange a return.
His unit (the first Vivant that I have touched out of 4) DOES have a strong essence of Plastic.
I did a couple of hits from his unit, and it was not like mine, it did not taste good.
I can comment, about Heaven Gifts.
I have never ordered from there, nor has my wife...
but when we each on separate dates had our credit cards compromised, Things were ordered from Heaven Gifts.
Coincidence?
We both had our credit cards fixed, and owe nothing, and we no longer have credit cards (Neither of us).

I'm totally impressed with performance of heavy hitter, and adjusted airflow. That is just great!
And it have something nobody mention before going for pros for sure for me, always standby, no auto shut off.

I also like the "no auto shut off" feature!

 

[Ted_Stuffins]

No expert @Ted_Stuffins but it sounds like you have it set to the one minute auto shutoff...you need the firmware update and can adjust it to go longer..

Updated my firmware the minute I got it and its set to 3 minutes. Checked in between ovens just to be sure that it didn't reset itself back to 60 seconds. So it's definitely not the timer.

 

[OyVape]

I PM'ed Vivant about the melting/cracking issues and this is what they said:

We are going to revamp our top cap and use PES material instead, however, we are still undergoing tests to make sure everything will function correctly. It seems the batch issue happened with poor thermal expansion at high temps. I suspect the revamped parts will be completed, manufactured and shipped to us within the next 2 weeks or so (including shipping time).

I have asked for more details about whether the revamp will include the rest of the vape in addition to the mouthpiece AKA top cap. Waiiting on their response before returning mine to PIU.

 

[Stinky]

I can comment, about Heaven Gifts.
I have never ordered from there, nor has my wife...
but when we each on separate dates had our credit cards compromised, Things were ordered from Heaven Gifts.
Coincidence?
We both had our credit cards fixed, and owe nothing, and we no longer have credit cards (Neither of us).

That is very concerning. I'll be checking my credit card now.

I PM'ed Vivant about the melting/cracking issues and this is what they said:

We are going to revamp our top cap and use PES material instead, however, we are still undergoing tests to make sure everything will function correctly. It seems the batch issue happened with poor thermal expansion at high temps. I suspect the revamped parts will be completed, manufactured and shipped to us within the next 2 weeks or so (including shipping time).

I have asked for more details about whether the revamp will include the rest of the vape in addition to the mouthpiece AKA top cap. Waiiting on their response before returning mine to PIU.

Thanks for the info. That's the first I have heard them mention any of that.

 

[KeroZen]

Switching from PC to PES to improve heat resistance, that's a good move. Although surprising, why not PEEK or POM like everyone else? But alright. The MSDS look clean from a cursory glance and it's said to be odorless. And it's an expensive thermoplastic, they are not being greedy here.

Doing it to avoid estrogenically active compounds (i.e. endocrine disruptors), according to this study not so much, with PES being amongst the worst "BPA-free alternatives" http://www.livescience.com/13209-bpa-free-plastics-bottles-safety-ria.html

Seeing it's going to replace parts that are not too directly in the vapor path, could be good enough. For those really worried, just use a vape with no plastics in the air and vapor path, there are alternatives. I tend to dislike plastics for vapes in general but I do use my SwiftPro often for instance and I think it's as safe as the S&B portables devices (I did switch to a glass mouthpiece though, but mainly because I prefer to touch glass with my lips)

 

[OyVape]

@KeroZen, please enlighten us to the meaning of these acronyms.

 

[little maggie]

Is it all possible that the majority of problem vivantes were ordered from Heaven Gifts? I don't know why that would make a difference but I continue to have no problems and never had a strong plastic scent.

 

[KeroZen]

@OyVape: Just different kinds of plastic resins really. PC being the one they said they were using. PEEK and POM being the ones most often used (in e-cigs for instance) to withstand high temperatures. PES is the one they are reportedly replacing PC with. All are just acronyms of their respective chemical compositions.

I invite you to read the wikipedia pages if you want more technical details, as it's way beyond the scope of this forum (and surely boring for most readers)

@little maggie: that's a tempting assumption to make, but unfortunately many mouthpiece problem reports were with units bought from PIU, which we know is a reputed source.

 

[BaroneBarra]

I PM'ed Vivant about the melting/cracking issues and this is what they said:

We are going to revamp our top cap and use PES material instead, however, we are still undergoing tests to make sure everything will function correctly. It seems the batch issue happened with poor thermal expansion at high temps. I suspect the revamped parts will be completed, manufactured and shipped to us within the next 2 weeks or so (including shipping time).

I have asked for more details about whether the revamp will include the rest of the vape in addition to the mouthpiece AKA top cap. Waiiting on their response before returning mine to PIU.

Good news! Keep us posted

 

[Fat Freddy]

The MSDS look clean from a cursory glance and it's said to be odorless

Did you find the MSDS in a free or fee DB?

Listed as "vivant-alternate"?



.

 

[IckiestOfTheSticky]

Did you find the MSDS in a free or fee DB?

Listed as "vivant-alternate"?



.

Pretty sure he meant the MSDS for PES itself, not the Alternate. PES has pretty good numbers from a heat resistant standpoint, right up there with PEEK and Polyimide (what used to be used in the Inhalater vaporizer capsules), is food grade, easily machinable, and I think a great choice by Vivant to replace the PC they're using today. Please note that I am not a plastic expert by any means, but I did stay at a holiday inn last night

Vivant is doing this right, and that's why I bought my Alternate with confidence. Every vaporizer has growing pains, as we all know, and I think it's how a company that reacts to those growing pains that make or break the success of both the product and the company. I'm looking forward to the future and what other things they will bring to the market.

Thank you again Scott and Emily and the Vivant team for reacting so quickly to the identified issues, and really listening to this community.

 

[sickmanfraud]

I invite you to read the wikipedia pages if you want more technical details, as it's way beyond the scope of this forum (and surely boring for most readers)

I agree with @KeroZen the technical issues being boring.

These technical issues put me to sleep faster than Ambien.

 

[xlr8shun]

Does anyone's Alternate stop heating in the middle of the session and just go to idle mode? I can get a hit or 2 off mine before it just stops heating and the light on the front turns red. Any info on this?

check your battery. believe it or not, when the heater kicks on, it can put quite a load on the battery. i have watched it go from 50% to 10% just during a heat up cycle. took me a few times to figure out what was going on because once i realized it wasnt heating, i would look at the screen. by then the battery levels had already equalized and went back up. but once that heater kicks on, it can really tax that battery. give it a full charge and see if you notice the same thing, or better yet, if you have spares. as soon as you notice your alternate "quitting" on you, then swap out a new battery (w full charge) and see if it does it again. if it does, its might be a malfunction or something, if it doesnt happen again with new battery, i bet its the battery dropping below threshold and the vape stopping, so it doesnt over discharge/damage the battery.

edit: when i go outside at work now, or somewhere trying to be discrete.. i'll make sure i have over 50% battery left, or im likely to run out mid-session (at least near the end of 2nd part of session). i always try to keep a full battery in there.. sucks running out mid-session

I PM'ed Vivant about the melting/cracking issues and this is what they said:

We are going to revamp our top cap and use PES material instead, however, we are still undergoing tests to make sure everything will function correctly. It seems the batch issue happened with poor thermal expansion at high temps. I suspect the revamped parts will be completed, manufactured and shipped to us within the next 2 weeks or so (including shipping time).

I have asked for more details about whether the revamp will include the rest of the vape in addition to the mouthpiece AKA top cap. Waiiting on their response before returning mine to PIU.

thanks for your update, much appreciated.