Taking Apart The Vision Stardust...Made Super Easy!

[GWG73]

I've had a lot of frustration over this thing as of late. While the vape is great, and maintenance/rebuild seems relatively easy, I have just not been able to get the things apart. In the process of attempting to take one apart today base on antfuzz's method, shown here, I discovered that these guys can be beat...and it's unbelievably easy.

These are my notes from that thread....

So the other day I attempted to get the supplies mentioned and give this a go. They, of course, did not have what I needed where I went so I put things on the back burner until I could swing back into the store with one of the stardusts in hand to look for something else to use instead. While I haven't made it back to the store, I was feeling brave this morning, so I went to the toolbox and grabbed a few things I thought might work. Now I won't go into details on attempt #1, but let's just say that stardust is unrecognizable now. I did, however, learn from attempt #1 and am happy to say I have found a very easy method for taking these things apart (sure....I've heard that one before).

The edge of the inner base (ribbed metal piece inside), stops perfectly in line with the edge of the outer ring. This, combined with the dimensions of the two pieces puts the plastic in a bind making it nearly impossible to just slip the ring off. Coincidently, I believe that this "binding" of the plastic is a major contributor to the cracking. All of my cracking starts at the point referred to earlier, where the plastic is incurring the most amount of pressure. Anyway, what I actually do to get these off....

1. Remove the drip tip (nothing else needs to be removed)
2. Place the stardust on a hard surface (I used a desk with a towel on it), top side down.

Now you'll need any hard object (I used the base side of a punch) that is small enough to go inside the base ring, but larger than the thread base itself. Your goal is to make solid contact with the inner base, but do so with something that's not going to damage the threads. For example, a 5/32 piece of steel rod would be perfect. Anyone that has a toolbox will more than likely have something in it that will do the job, so don't necessarily run out to the store.

3. You're actually going to tap the inner base further into the tube...yes further. Gently with a hammer, it does not take much force at all, tap until you feel it nudge. Look to see if there is a gap between the outer and inner ring....it was enough for me when I saw about 2mm worth of gap. Not much at all, but enough to tell.

4. Grab the outer ring with pliers (I have the old masking tape wrapped pliers trick) and just give the big ring a wiggle, it should come right off.

5. Screw a battery onto the connector, and with very little effort, the inner portion should slide right out.

I found that by pushing the inner components up into the tube a little it relieved the pressure that was holding everything together enough to get the base ring off.

While running some errands this afternoon, I thought about it some more. Those inner components moved up so easily, and the outer ring came off so nicely afterwards, I really wondered just how much effort it would take...very little. I had to shoot a quick video to show you guys. I screw on the battery, then back it off a little bit (note the gap in the video). Then I apply pressure to push the inner components up into the tube slightly. I actually think the ring may come off without pliers, but they make is easy. I recommend something to pad your palm from the top.



*Note, this is done on the latest version and I've taken apart 4 of them now with this method....consistent results all around.

I really hope this can help those like myself who love these things, but have been fighting with the upkeep on them.

 

[Unforeseen]

I'm sure a lot of Stardust fans will benefit from your tutorial. Thanks for sharing!

 

[lxrubin]

Thanks, I was actually going to go to home depot today to grab some piping. I'll be trying this method out tonight instead

 

[fudgeball]

LOLOL I just tried this an accidentally sliced my index finger. Yes, very bloody. lol

 

[chewie]

Buuuuump!

Now!

For the imaginatively challenged (like myself), how do you get this bugger back together? It may look rather obvious when you have all the pieces in front of you. But if you could even include a video, that would be spiffy slick. I'd get the thing apart, clean it, dry burn the coil, and then forget how to put it back together.

I'm more concerned, how will you get the cylinder and ring to fit tightly again, once their original tight fit has been undone? I actually have a dead KGO battery and some 510 to 510 connectors that might help with the taking apart procedure (pushing the base and cylinder further in to facilitate loosening the ring).

Could it be that people interested in cleaning their Vision Stardust multiple times might find a loose fit beneficial, and the rubber (or silicone) ring around the base of the cylinder is adequate to prevent leaking once reassembled?

OK . . . here goes . . .

 

[GWG73]

I've done a few more of these since I did this video and found that many times the inner parts aren't as willing to move as easily as in the video (tight o-ring seal against the plastic). I have reverted back to the method in the description above of tapping in the inner portion with a hammer and punch instead of pushing with just my hand. To get things back together, I screw on the cap, then take the inner assembly (attached to a battery) and insert it back into the tube pushing firmly against the installed cap. Then I take the trim ring and place it over the tube and tap it down lightly with a hammer. I haven't seen any issues so far of there not being a tight fit. I have heard that one member doesn't even put the trim ring back on and it seals just fine...also improving the air flow.

Sorry about your finger fudgeball. Since I don't advocate using the "hands only" method of taking them apart anymore, I'm going to go ahead and remove the video.

 

[chewie]

The only thing I have that is the right circumference to fit around the 510 connection, is my old, non-working KGO PV. However, it still has the malfunctioning Lithium-ion battery inside, meaning that hitting this with a hammer could lead to a sudden meltdown. Now Estarra on YouTube got the battery out of his KGO. I don't know his ECF Forum handle anymore, and his videos are so long, and I forget which video he mentions it in, does anybody know?

I'm just wondering if anyone could offer some advice how I can get that battery out of my "dead at 11 weeks" KGO, so that I might safely hammer on it when I attach it to dirty Stardusts that need cleaning, to open them up. He never said in the video, but he just hammered on a KGO, and mentioned, "don't worry, I removed the battery from this one, it was sorta difficult but you can do it," to that effect.

It worked fantastically of course, only a perfectly selected tube at the hardware store would be the right size, and I never get out of the house, especially to go to a hardware store following a doctor visit.

 

[erez]

chance for video mate ?