Discontinued Zion vaporizer

AJS

Calm Consistency
If people are reporting max temp is not enough to char or combust that is a big issue to me.
How is it ever going to get to a sufficient temp for hash, wax or other concentrate?
It seems there's only been a few people so far who are having this issue. Max temp is supposed to be able to combust and be used for concentrates. Maybe just defective units.
 

KeroZen

Chronic vapaholic
Yes fair enough. I don't do concentrates so I tend to forget your different requirements, I'm sorry.

I think I can combust in both my Zions but I didn't really try. I did combust in my Milaana though. I expect it would be the same with even more power available on the top end, but maybe Ryan changed the resistors values in recent models and they run cooler? (the combined resistance of the potentiometer and the discrete resistor connected to it in series set the peak voltage output of the OKR)
 

Philreal187

Well-Known Member
To all the new zion owners be aware to not leave batteries in the unit when not in use.

Two nights ago i was enjoying the zion and set it on the table to take a break. I reached back for it 20 mins later and it was entirely too hot to handle. So I pulled the batteries to let it cool down. I could smell wood and was worried i was going to catch fire if i had waited any longer before catching this failure.

I emailed ryan late last night and he got back to me early today. He said he is aware of this problem and there is no chance for a fire. But he wants to stress to everyone not to leave the batteries in the unit when not in use.

I'll probably ship this out tomorrow after i fill out the warranty info.

Practice safe battery habbits new zionites! You don't want the burn...

:peace:
 

TeeJay1952

Well-Known Member
I withdraw cool comment. I did not know what the fuck I was doing.
Day one weak bat = cool comment
Day 2 Jammed button to unit so much that could not be held with oven mitt.
Day 3 Ya'll told me about hole on bottom and about riding the heat wave and surfing at crest and I haven't looked back. Or anywhere that I can remember....:rockon::myday:
 

nosmoking

Just so Dab HAppy!
Mine works just fine for Concentrates! There is plenty of heat to accomplish the feat.

I always leave my batteries in the unit and it may sit days without use with no problems. I am the worst tho, I dont pair batteries or worry about slightly ripped battery jackets. My batteries have lasted me way longer than I anticipated. I will start removing the batteries between use though.
 

money2

Well-Known Member
Did Ryan mention what from a technical perspective is causing the issue?

Know that in general it is safer for batteries to be removed from any device when not in use but impractical in many contexts (e.g. Lithium ion phone and computer batteries).

Was this an issue with earlier production units?
 

P.A.M.

Vapo Rising
To all the new zion owners be aware to not leave batteries in the unit when not in use.

Two nights ago i was enjoying the zion and set it on the table to take a break. I reached back for it 20 mins later and it was entirely too hot to handle. So I pulled the batteries to let it cool down. I could smell wood and was worried i was going to catch fire if i had waited any longer before catching this failure.

I emailed ryan late last night and he got back to me early today. He said he is aware of this problem and there is no chance for a fire. But he wants to stress to everyone not to leave the batteries in the unit when not in use.

I'll probably ship this out tomorrow after i fill out the warranty info.

Practice safe battery habbits new zionites! You don't want the burn...

:peace:

Wow, when I was considering a rbt zion unit last december , it was around $400!!

Ive Been reading thread since and poked a bit of fun on here since, but this really puts icing on the cake .

Why would anyone want to spend $400 on a unit which you can't leave batteries installed in between use.

Going to hear from folks oh it might be just the one or few units . Seems every unit as its own beast though!

Too bad guitar market isn't full of hyped up mislead clients such as vaporizer folks are. I'd make a killing . I should start building again, I felt bad having clients wait 6 months for their guitars , here it seems like 2 years wait for defective product is accepted and encouraged. Reading all this makes me even more happy i wasnt able to afford a zion and to have purchased a vapcap M. The vapcap is not the taste of a log vape but it sure does its job.

I'm happy for those who have a working unit , feel for the ones who aren't happy and/or defective units. Of course you expect lots after 2 years of wait and build up hype

Keep blazing y'all!
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Shit Snacks

Milaana. Lana. LANA. LANAAAA! (TM2/TP80/BAK/FW9)
Did Ryan mention what from a technical perspective is causing the issue?

Know that in general it is safer for batteries to be removed from any device when not in use but impractical in many contexts (e.g. Lithium ion phone and computer batteries).

Was this an issue with earlier production units?

No, only one when it was left on its side and button was pressed. I leave batteries in mine for weeks without use even, lying on its back the button isn't at risk of being pressed. Did your button get pressed @Philreal187? Like the Milaana that is the only risk that I am aware of, so if you are careful always setting it down on sides away from button push risks, leaving batteries in should be fine... I don't know if this is a new issue or not, but yeah nicer to leave em in when not in use for sure. I do leave my 18650 powered wood vapes without the battery sometimes too, but definitely leave them in a whole lot without issue. Just be careful!
 

Shit Snacks

Milaana. Lana. LANA. LANAAAA! (TM2/TP80/BAK/FW9)
@Shit Snacks The zion was up right and button was where it always is not depressed in any way.. I'm not really sure what went wrong but if I hear from ryan on the exact issue I'll report back!

Ah so strange, yes that is troubling, hopefully far from typical. Sorry bud, you got the taste for it and now have to take a break, I guess after waiting all this long what's some more waiting?
 

KeroZen

Chronic vapaholic
That's one of the design flaws of the Milaana and Zion, which is not present in the MistVape Touch: to do it properly Ryan should have used a MOSFET for the switch and not just hook the trigger in series with the circuit.

That's how they do it even in basic e-cig mech-mods and good FETs are a couple dollars at most. I told Ryan back then during the alpha testing but he said he wanted to keep the complexity down.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contact_protection

"Heating due to arcing and high current density can melt the contact surface temporarily. If some of the melting material solidifies while the contacts are closed, the contact may stick closed due to a micro-weld, similar to spot welding."
 

upriver

combustion-free
Huge bummer, mine just did ye olde "don't leave the battery in" trick. I used it about an hour and a half ago, and (gasp) did not remove the batteries. Went back to take have a touch-up sesh and actually burned my finger on the wooden exterior when trying to pick it up. I took the batteries out, and they were quite warm but the wood was very very warm (or pretty hot, you could say). I do not find this usable, because taking the batteries out every single time a session is complete negates all of the convenience for this thing. A hardwired on-off switch would be fine.

I am quite certain the button was not mechanically engaged.

I hope there are refunds or service available for this...
 

AJS

Calm Consistency
Huge bummer, mine just did ye olde "don't leave the battery in" trick. I used it about an hour and a half ago, and (gasp) did not remove the batteries. Went back to take have a touch-up sesh and actually burned my finger on the wooden exterior when trying to pick it up. I took the batteries out, and they were quite warm but the wood was very very warm (or pretty hot, you could say). I do not find this usable, because taking the batteries out every single time a session is complete negates all of the convenience for this thing. A hardwired on-off switch would be fine.

I am quite certain the button was not mechanically engaged.

I hope there are refunds or service available for this...
Wow ...
this is scary. A one time thing, not so bad. Two within a day of each other, no bueno. There are units running for a year+ without this happening ... why now? Wonder if his new electronics manufacturers are taking a shortcut somewhere...or doesn't understand something? scary scary....
 

Vapenvy

Indie vaper
Quite unexpectedly, the Zion train has arrived at my station.

Just 9 days days after I replied to the email it arrived halfway around the world...



A touch over 2 years since ordering, and so far, well worth the wait.



Amber glass :tup:. Fit and finish are very nice. Perfectly rounded corners and so smooth it has almost slipped out of my hand a couple of times. There's a bit of excess glue around the button, but I will likely get very focused picking that out after a session some time...

1 more Crappy night photo, but more to come later as well as some further impresions, but so far i am really enjoying the testing. Very happy.



That's a bummer about the battery issue. I haven't noticed anything with mine over the day and a half i have had them in, but I will keep an eye on it.
 

KeroZen

Chronic vapaholic
Wow a second incident, this is terrible news. After what happened to Marc in the Firewood thread recently this is again a huge blow...

:(

Please guys play it safe and remove at least one of your cells after use to break the circuit, until the problem is clearly identified.

Our alpha/beta and first production run devices have had zero problems over a long period now, so the issue is probably not widespread and possibly affects only recent devices. Nonetheless this is bad.

:\
 

tblast

Well-Known Member
This is a serious bummer to hear. One of my favorite things about the Zion vs my other vapes is that it’s a self-contained unit. There’s a spot for a stem, stirrer, herb, and batteries. If the batteries can’t be stored in the unit, that kind of defeats the point, IMO.
 

AJS

Calm Consistency
RBT on Instagram live said he is aware of the issue now and believes it may be defective chips. He is working on identifying the problem and making sure everything is good and well on the next batch.

I'm going to get into the habit of storing 1 battery in the stem holder .. will that be safe? Or maybe I'll keep a tiny piece of paper on hand and slide it between the battery and the connector, like a ghetto Milaana power switch. That should work, right?

Also .. he's got 3 more units to get out in this batch it seems, then waiting 4 weeks for wire harnasses if I heard correctly. So hopefully that's enough time to find this problem or implement some kind of safety feature.

Quite unexpectedly, the Zion train has arrived at my station.

Just 9 days days after I replied to the email it arrived halfway around the world...



A touch over 2 years since ordering, and so far, well worth the wait.



Amber glass :tup:. Fit and finish are very nice. Perfectly rounded corners and so smooth it has almost slipped out of my hand a couple of times. There's a bit of excess glue around the button, but I will likely get very focused picking that out after a session some time...

1 more Crappy night photo, but more to come later as well as some further impresions, but so far i am really enjoying the testing. Very happy.



That's a bummer about the battery issue. I haven't noticed anything with mine over the day and a half i have had them in, but I will keep an eye on it.
Awesome pictures man. Thanks a ton! Look forward to more reviews!!
 

Shit Snacks

Milaana. Lana. LANA. LANAAAA! (TM2/TP80/BAK/FW9)
RBT on Instagram live said he is aware of the issue now and believes it may be defective chips. He is working on identifying the problem and making sure everything is good and well on the next batch.

I'm going to get into the habit of storing 1 battery in the stem holder .. will that be safe? Or maybe I'll keep a tiny piece of paper on hand and slide it between the battery and the connector, like a ghetto Milaana power switch. That should work, right?

Also .. he's got 3 more units to get out in this batch it seems, then waiting 4 weeks for wire harnasses if I heard correctly. So hopefully that's enough time to find this problem or implement some kind of safety feature.


Awesome pictures man. Thanks a ton! Look forward to more reviews!!

Yeah unsettling not ideal etc.

Battery won't fit in the stem storage I don't think, but yeah its like carrying spares, which Zion had enough battery life that that shouldn't be too necessary, so yes quite inconvenient for self-contained product though this is officially a defect on a few units as opposed to a design issue with the product itself at least.
 

Farkas

Do you know about the bird?
Well, she arrived around 2:21PM this afternoon. Unboxed and, as @Vapenvy noted, fit and finish of the unit is nice. I also opted for the amber glass (I previously bought cobalt and emerald stems, so I'll have those in rotation). I like the feel of the button - it's solid and crisp when you press it. It is definitely a solid unit, surprisingly so, as there is a good amount of heft to it. I had charged some LG HG2's yesterday, so she is ready to rock 'n roll. I loaded them in and, spooked a bit by the stories of the unattended heating issue, am currently watching it to see if I will suffer from the same problem. I plan to properly test her a bit later this evening, but for the moment, I do like what I see. She's #107.
 

Farkas

Do you know about the bird?
Well, I will say this - I like it. There is a learning curve, for sure. But it's fairly easy to get the hang of. First three pulls got progressively better. Taste was great. Effects, wonderful. Sadly, though, I believe I am experiencing the same after-the-fact heating that a couple others owners have. Area in the corner by the stem (when inserted) was still a bit warm after a couple minutes. Will need to test further.
 
Top Bottom