Earthling789 Posted January 16, 2015 Posted January 16, 2015 I've had an iStick since before Christmas, and it's worked beautifully with every tank or RTA I've put on it... with the exception of over-tightening a KPT3-mini on the adapter, causing a short (my fault, I know). Now, my newest iStick is starting to do weird things, in that I can attach any tank, and it will show the resistance (usually very accurately), and after I take a hit or two, I get a burnt taste... look down at the read-out, and suddenly the resistance is reading some rediculious Ohm reading... like 4.9 or 3.5. Once it reads the resistance incorrectly, huge voltage is applied to reach the Wattage I have set, which means I'm burning wicks (and my juice). I've had to re-wick my RTA twice in one day, and so far I've toasted a couple of Kanger and an Aspire coil... Fortunately, I've not toasted any juice (yet). If I set it down and wait a minute or two, press the button, and the resistance is correct again... WTH? I have re-seated attys, and even if they are fully seated, this occurs randomly. I've tapped the fire-button and watched the resistance change in the window (wild fluctuations).... wait a moment, tap again, and it will read correctly... I have tweaked/lifted the center pin, and it still occurs randomly, even right after adjusting the pin, installing a tank, and not touching anything.... a couple dozen hits are fine, then boom... excessive Voltage applied because it reads the resistance incorrectly (always too high)... I've tried using VV mode, and that has stopped the over-voltage issue, but it still reads the attty incorrectly at random times... and if it reads the atty at max Ohms, the Wattage will be below the threshold, causing it to not fire at all... so that's not helping much either... although it has stopped the burning of wicks Do I have a defective iStick, or what? Does anyone else notice this issue? Jiyce 1
joejoevapekins Posted January 16, 2015 Posted January 16, 2015 One of two things. A problem with the 510 or a faulty chip set. Imo not an expert here lol
Tam Posted January 16, 2015 Posted January 16, 2015 I've been having the same problem as you. I reset the wattage down as far as it will go and it'l work for a time or two and then, when I notice a harsh/burnt taste, I look down and it's bumped itself up to 11 watts (had it set at 6.4 watts). Since these are my first iSticks, I thought I might've been inadvertently hitting the buttons or doing something wrong.
Earthling789 Posted January 16, 2015 Author Posted January 16, 2015 Hmmmm... you know, Tam, my newest iStick and your pair all came from the same batch .... and my older one is not having this issue, at least as far as I've noticed. I think I need to try different tanks on my old one for a week or so... then repeat the same tanks on the newer one... see if it's just specific tanks (510 issue) or a specific iStick?
Tam Posted January 16, 2015 Posted January 16, 2015 The thing is, I'm not using tanks when this happens. My HH.357 is giving me fits on it. The iStick also gives me the "no atomizer" message (with and without the adapter). Then, after playing with it a bit, it reads the atomizer at around 1.2 ohm (this is a brand new 2.0 ohm that I tested on my ohm meter). Then, the dance of the bouncing wattage setting begins again. The blue one has the Nautilus mini on it with no problems there so far other than one screw not being seated right on the bottom so it sits a little crooked. I've tried unscrewing it but it won't budge and I don't want to take the chance of stripping the head. *sighs* At least my IPV mini is working like a champ.
Earthling789 Posted January 16, 2015 Author Posted January 16, 2015 Tam, are you using VW mode, and noticing the Wattage change, or using VV mode and noticing the Wattage change because it's reading the resistance of the coil incorrectly? If I use VW mode, and set it to 6.5W (which is like 12W on my other APV's, lol), the Wattage does not change, but I see the resistance bounce all over the place from time to time, and when it goes higher, more Voltage is applied to the coil to reach the Wattage I have set. 6V applied to my 1.4 Ohm RTA coil tends to cook my Japanese Cotton, Cajun style Tam 1
joejoevapekins Posted January 16, 2015 Posted January 16, 2015 If its the 510 connection having problems it will cause bad atty reading thus causing the crazy fluctuations
Tam Posted January 16, 2015 Posted January 16, 2015 (edited) Just changed it over the VV mode and it won't read the atomizer at all. Now I'm getting the "atomizer low" message. WTH? Then, I loosen the adapter and it reads everything from 0.0 ohm - 1.4 ohm depending on how much I rock the adapter. I think these are going back. Sorry, I just got off a 12.5 hour workday so my brain's about as fried as your wicks. LOL Anyway, to answer your question, I had it at VW when it was bouncing like Tigger all over the place. Edited January 16, 2015 by Tam
joejoevapekins Posted January 16, 2015 Posted January 16, 2015 I read a post in another forum stating that there is and estimated 4% failure rate on the 510 connection. 4% is huge Tam 1
jasonculp Posted January 16, 2015 Posted January 16, 2015 Dang...I hate that y'all are having trouble! I guess I am lucky as mine have never given any trouble. From looking at my first one (which is disassembled) I the positive wire runs really close to the fire button and like joejoe said, it sounds like it is getting a bad reading from the 510. I am not sure, but it could be the connection to the positive pin, possibly a cold solder, or movement of the pin has weakened the connection. I think (like Tam just said, and I can't type fast enough) I would send them back. I have had great luck with mine, and so far the 30watt looks even better! I am still reluctant to recommend it until I get more feedback.
Earthling789 Posted January 16, 2015 Author Posted January 16, 2015 Ouch, not good news for me then... and I have one wrapped in pretty birthday paper, too... so if I have to get a replacement of my new silver one, I'm willing to bet the new blue one will need to be replaced too I guess I need to unwrap that one and try it out for a couple of days to see if it has the same issue?
Tam Posted January 16, 2015 Posted January 16, 2015 For whatever it's worth, my blue one seems to be working fine. It's the "red" one that's causing problems. In any case, take the blue out one of the box and double check that the screws on the bottom are flush seated... unlike mine.
joejoevapekins Posted January 16, 2015 Posted January 16, 2015 For a dollar more in production cost they could have went a way better route for the 510. Hell they make have this sh*** for pennies on the dollar lol
Tam Posted January 16, 2015 Posted January 16, 2015 What's sad is that I really do like these iStick 20w -- when they behave, they work great! When they're having tantrums is when I have a problem with them. Earthling789 1
jasonculp Posted January 16, 2015 Posted January 16, 2015 For a dollar more in production cost they could have went a way better route for the 510. Hell they make have this sh*** for pennies on the dollar lol I agree. The 30 watt has many improvements and is the one they should have put out in the beginning. I still have my doubts that the spring loaded 510 on it is any more durable than the 20 watt, but is still spring loaded. I was going to pick up another one next week and then disassemble this one and see how much different it really is. What's sad is that I really do like these iStick 20w -- when they behave, they work great! When they're having tantrums is when I have a problem with them. I love mine! I just wish it was a bit higher in quality.
Earthling789 Posted January 16, 2015 Author Posted January 16, 2015 Yeah, Tam, I checked for flush screws and gave it a good charge before wrapping it up. I have it unwrapped now, and attached an AeroTank to see what happens. If that works okay, I'll try a few others, and at least run it through a couple of charge cycles to test it. I know the silver one is having more issue with the Kayfun V4 than the others, but still it's not happy with any tank
Earthling789 Posted January 16, 2015 Author Posted January 16, 2015 What's sad is that I really do like these iStick 20w -- when they behave, they work great! When they're having tantrums is when I have a problem with them. Yeah, I love the size of them... and when they work, they work well. I can even live with the fact that you have to dial them back to get an equivalent vape, compared to another APV... I'm just not happy with these tantrums either Tam 1
joejoevapekins Posted January 16, 2015 Posted January 16, 2015 http://www.avidvaper.com/istick-bending-adaptor/ Wonder if this adapter would help possibly solve the problem or help prevent it from happening
Earthling789 Posted January 16, 2015 Author Posted January 16, 2015 http://www.avidvaper.com/istick-bending-adaptor/ Wonder if this adapter would help possibly solve the problem or help prevent it from happening I thought about one of those... less for the 510 issue, more for the ability to fold it up in my pocket and not worry about accidentally firing the coil if I forgot to turn it off... Not sure if it would fix the issue either, though? So far, the blue one seems to be working... I tested the coil with my meter... 1.76 Ohms, and the iStick is consistently reading it at 1.7, and even if I unseat/reseat it, it goes back to 1.7. Now to use it for a couple of days to see if it throws a tantrum like the silver one has been doing...
Tam Posted January 17, 2015 Posted January 17, 2015 So I put the HH.357 that my iStick was complaining about low resistance on my IPV mini. Put the Jam RDA on the iStick. Originally, the iStick said that the resistance of the HH.357 (originally at 2.0 ohm), was too low to fire. My IPV mini says it's at 2.4 ohms. I checked it on my ohm meter and it read 2.3 ohms. It vapes just fine at 5.0 watts. The Jam RDA reads 1.8 ohms on the iStick but on my ohm meter it reads 2.4 ohms. On my IPV mini, it reads 2.4 ohms. Either way, it vapes just fine on the iStick. I think I won't be getting any more iSticks but I can see a few more IPV minis in my near future. Might need some more Sony VTC4s as well.
Compenstine Posted January 17, 2015 Posted January 17, 2015 I still have a few VTC 4s, but they are going fast. I only have 8 pair left. Tam 1
Earthling789 Posted January 17, 2015 Author Posted January 17, 2015 (edited) Yeah, I'm debating on what to do about the iSticks... they seem to all be working fine with my full-size Kanger tanks, so I guess I'll pick up another IPV-mini to use with my RTA's and keep the Nautilus on my MPV (it seems to like it there, lol). VaporRange.com still has IPV-minis for $49.95 with free shipping, and they have a new limited-edition pink, which is more of a red (or dark fuchsia) from the images, and has the Vapor Range logo on it. They're out of stock on black, but have silver and blue (with silver buttons, not the cheesy blue buttons of the original blue version). Champagne color is now lighter (with champagne buttons), and much better looking too, but they're on pre-order/OOS at the moment. Amazon also has Samsung 25r's in a 4-pack for $31, or a 5-pack for $34, which makes them same price I paid at the B&M (on sale)! I'm really liking the Samsung batteries, too... they easily handle any build I care to make, and they outlast my Sony batteries (obviously) since they are 2500mAh. Edited January 17, 2015 by Earthling789
Tam Posted January 17, 2015 Posted January 17, 2015 The iSticks seem to work fine with RDAs (I only build over 1.0 ohm anyway) and tanks but that's not why I bought them. Was originally looking to replace my Spinners (I and II) for use with my HH.357s but that's not an option. The IPV minis though... I'm stuck on what color I want next. That champagne looks really nice.
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