The current E-Power 14650 switch issue

[yzer]

I use the E-Power 14650 only with the 1.7 ohm LR XL carto (called Resurrector by CCV), which I love.

I purchased my SmokTech E-Power and other supplies from Hoosier e-cig supply. I also purchase from CCV. My two new switches came from these two suppliers.

To make a long story short one switch failed to work from the beginning. The lock-out feature worked but it wouldn't fire up the LR carto. The button just flashed white quickly. The other switch worked OK for a day then became intermittent and finally failed to fire the 1.7 LR altogether, just like the first. I went back to using the old blue LED switch, which still works fine.

I sent detailed e-mails to both Brent at Hoosier and Andrew at CCV today. I provided my cell phone number and both called me back today. These guys are great vendors.

Andrew believes the problem lies with the battery spring located in the battery tube. He is awaiting shipment of a new batch of springs, stiffer than the original and gold plated for better electrical conductivity. He will be sending me a pair when he gets them.

Brent believes that there is a more serious problem with the switch. He has experienced surprise changes in SmokTech electronics before and believes that a chip that allowed use of LR (low resistance) cartos with the E-Power is missing from the latest model switch. It will take considerable time before Brent can order a new batch of switches and E-Powers with LR carto capability.

Brent also said the new switch on the E-Power 14650 will work fine with single coil cartos of 2.0 ohms and above.

I'm going to keep the old blue LED switch on my first E-Power 14650 for use with LR cartos. I'm building two more E-Power14650s from parts and will use those with the higher resistance single coils. That way I can keep the two new switches operating in new E-Powers along with their lock-out function, which I really like.

 

[Glam]

This is ironic....I ordered a new epower switch from Hoosier when I started reading all the problems....I have already gone back to my old blue switch also...the new one was not working well. So I ordered new switches for 2 friends from CCV...evidently I did not do them any favors. Yzer....if you find or hear of any new switches that work well, let me know. I am using Resurrectors in a tank so I am using low resistance as are my friends....hope they get this fixed. I don't think I am smart enough to deal with springs in the battery housing.

 

[mynameisrob]

yzer, I posted this on that other thread when you mentioned about the switch problem. Check it out. The problem has noting to do with the switch at all. Its the spring. The way to describe the blinking is exactly what Andrew described and its bc the spring is making a bad connection. The new spring fixes the problem. Heres what I posted in the other thread.


yzer,
I just got off the phone with Andrew. The problem your having with the switch is not bc of the switch at all, its bc of the spring. He said 19 people send "bad" switches back to him and only 1 of them was actually bad. All the others were just acting weird bc the spring wasnt giving a good connection. So I would call him and let him know. He would prob be able to send you the new spring or something and that will fix the problem. I told him about your problem and said I didnt want the same thing to happen so hes including the new spring for me with my new switch order. Thats why he took the E-Powers off the site bc of the spring and since 19 people thought they had bad E-Powers, but was really just a crappy spring. He really does care and refuses to sell crappy stuff or something he knows mught not work well. He easily could have kept selling the E-Powers since most people obviously wouldnt know about the crappy springs, but instead he took them off and lost all those sales bc he only wants to sell a good product that he stands by. I really think he is one of the best vendors available and its him that makes them so good.
He said he just got the new springs in about an hour ago. So he will be including them with every new E-Power thats prdered. For the E-Powers he still has hes just going to include the new spring and you have to put it in yourself. He said hes not going thru 150 kits just to put in the spring. haha But on his next E-Power order the new springs will already be installed. Def call him and get a spring bc I really think that will fix your problem.

Anoob2, so the E-Power kits should be back on tomorrow prob since he just got the springs in today. So if you still were planning on ordering one, you should be able to tomorrow.

Also for anyone else that orders from CCV, with the new springs he also got in the new tanks, which he will be starting to sell on the website


I hope it helps and fixes your problem!

 

[yzer]

Rob, please read all of post #1. I talked to both Andrew at CCC and Brent at Hoosier yesterday. Both of these fine vendors sell the E-Power 14650 each has a different take on what is wrong with this white LED switch module.

After trying to figure out this problem with the two switches I have over the weekend, I can assure the problem is not with the spring. Just my opinion, but if a battery spring pushes the 14650 battery 1/2" outside of the battery tube it is going to make good electrical contact. Using more spring pressure on the battery isn't going to improve electrical contact worth squat.

Just out of curiosity,have you tried the new white LED switch module on your E-Power 14650 with the Resurrector? I have. Two of them and neither will fire up the 1.7 ohm LR carto.

 

[Strigoi]

I ordered an e-power from CCV a few weeks ago and it wouldn't work. It had the white LED and it would just flash. I talked to Andrew and he said it was the spring, but I'm still convinced it was the switch. I sent the switch back to him and should hopefully have a new one in the next week or so (just got a VM from him about 20 minutes ago). I tried using Resurrectors, CCV dual coils and the attys that came with the kit and all that would happen is the button would flash at me 3 times. I also tried stretching the spring and that didn't help at all.

The switch on my MV box mod just crapped out the other day so I'm getting a bit antsy. I've still got my SB, but it annoys the hell out of me having it in my pocket all day at work since it's so big/heavy.

I will say that CCV has some great customer service and no one should worry about ordering from them. Just to confirm, he also mentioned that he just got a box of the new springs in today and hasn't even opened them yet.

 

[yzer]

I have two of the new white LED switches. Both flashed slow white when the battery tube was screwed into place. The lock-out function also worked on both.

One switch never fired up the 1.7 ohm LR carto, not even once. It just flashed fast white when the power button was held down.

The other fired up the carto for several hours then started to work intermittently. I got the switch module to work again by unscrewing the battery tube and screwing it back on again: effectively rebooting the switch electronics. The next day this switch module wouldn't fire up the Resurrector at all, just like the other.

I ran an experiment just now to bypass the battery tube and spring entirely.

1. Freshly charged 14650 battery is connected to test leads with an insulated C-clamp.

2. The other ends of the leads are correctly connected to a DMM. DMM shows a full 4.14 VDC.

3. Ends of tests leads reconnected to white LED switch module. B- goes to module case, B+ goes to module center contact.

4. Both white LED switch modules flashed slow white when power was connected (as they should). Lock-out circuit worked on both (as it should). Both modules flashed fast white when power switch was held down and did not fire up the 1.7. LR cartos (fail).

5. As a control, I repeated steps 1 through 4 with the older blue LED module. This switch module flashed slow blue when power was connected (correct). There is no lock-out circuit to test on this module. When the power switch was held down the blue LED button lit without flashing and fired the 1.7 LR carto (correct).

That's why I don't believe the battery spring is the problem.

 

[yzer]

Bump. Awaitng coments.

 

[jlazarus]

I ordered the E-power from CCV about a month ago. Wouldn't work (wouldn't power *off*) - called and Andrew sent me a new switch. Got the new switch - same problem. Called and left a message. Never got a return call at all. I now have a brand new e-power with two switches that doesn't work Pretty darn frustrating. Perhaps mine is a spring problem as well? Or spring AND a switch problem? Who knows...And apparently I'm stuck with it, lol.....

 

[yzer]

jlazarus, what carto are you using? Brent at Hoosier e cig supply says the E-Power 14650 with new switch should work fine with a single coil carto of 2.0 ohms or higher. Not much of a difference between 1.7 and 2.0 ohms but enough difference to work with the new E-Power switch. Hoosier has 2.0 ohm single coil cartos in the same XL length as the "resurrector".

 

[demonic47]

E power are not made for 1.7 ohm there only rated for 2.0 or higher. I never tryed one on any thing lower than 2.4

 

[madjack]

I have the E with the hard plastic, blue button and have used 1.7ohm scc and 1.5ohm dcc since day one with no problems...in fact, if vendors are replacing the hard blue switch with the white switch w/cutoff, I'll take several of the blue ones......
madjack

 

[yzer]

I now have three E-Power 14650s.

I have the E-Power I purchased as a kit from Hoosier. This is the hard plastic blue light switch model.

The two complete new E-Powers were purchased as replacement parts, mostly from Hoosier. You can build a new E-Power 14650 from parts at much lower cost than buying a new kit. These new E-Powers have the new hard plastic white light switch with the switch lock-out feature.

Blue light switch module E-Power 14650:
-Works great with 1.7 ohm XL carto called "Resurrector" by CCV.
-Works great with 2.0 ohm XL carto purchased from Hoosier.

White light switch module E-Power 14650:
-Works great with 2.0 ohm XL carto purchased from Hoosier.
-Does NOT work with 1.7 ohm XL carto called "Resurrector" by CCV.
-Has switch lock-out feature for safe pocket carrying.

I don't notice much difference vaping with either of these single coil cartos. Both are XL sized and hold the same amount of juice.

Springs don't seem to make any difference in which carto will work with a given switch module. However, I noticed that some springs use thicker gauge wire than others and will probably hold their strength longer than others. The replacement silver color springs sold by Hoosier are first rate. I suspect the new gold plated springs from CCV will be excellent as well.

 

[yzer]

I have the E with the hard plastic, blue button and have used 1.7ohm scc and 1.5ohm dcc since day one with no problems...in fact, if vendors are replacing the hard blue switch with the white switch w/cutoff, I'll take several of the blue ones......
madjack

I just got a 1.5 ohm dcc yesterday but haven't tried it out yet on the blue switch E-Power.

 

[mynameisrob]

Hey for all E-Power users, read this. You were right Yzer, Smoktech f'd up and made the new switch not rated for below 2.0ohms

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/general-e-smoking-discussion/249978-e-power-users-read-answer-problem-new-white-led-switch-not-working-anything-below-2-0ohms.html#post4816435

 

[yzer]

I know that you are quite an E-Power 14650 fan Rob, as am I. It looks like a new improved switch module is on the way that will correct the current difficulties and make the E-Power 14650 a real leader on the mod market. I can't wait...

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...witch-not-working-anything-below-2-0ohms.html

 

[DummyMe]

I have 2 EPowers with the white light buttons & I vape with the Resurrectors. The only time I have problems is in the morning. It flashes a few times, I push the button again & it lets me take a vape, then flashes. After 3 or 4 times, it just works all day long. Next morning, same thing. Stange, huh. the "kit" came from CCV & the other came as parts from Hoosier, CCV didn't have all the parts at the time. It's disconcerting to know what I got doesn't supposed to work. Now that I know it shouldn't work, will it tomorrow?

 

[mynameisrob]

I just wanted to post an update bc my white LED switch came in yesterday. To my surprise, as of now its working with no problems. I fully expected to have to send it back since I only use the Ressurectors, but so far its working exactly as it should. I know yzer said one of his worked for awhile and then stopped, so Im curious to see if thats going to happen. Ive been using it for alittle over 24hrs and so far its okay. So now I really dont know what to think bc I fully expected it to not work at all.
I did put the new gold spring in the tube and still stretched it some. Also when I first used it I was using a 14650 Hi-Drain battery. So I figured that maybe the Hi-Drain battery was helping to make it work and also maybe the gold spring.
I did try it though without those since I got a spare tube from Hoosier and that doesnt have the gold spring and it still worked then too. I do have the spring stretched quite a bit so it does push up on the switch quite a bit when I screw it in, so I dont know if that helps at all or not. Once I figured out that the silver spring worked too I figured maybe that it was just the Hi-Drain battery that was making it work, so I tried using the regular stock batteries and to my surprise it still works then too! So Ive tried both spring, and with the Hi-Drain and regular batteries and both of them and it is working with all of them.

So now Im really confused, bc I really didnt expect that it would work. Im not going to say that its fine though bc for all I know it could stop working in a day or 2. But as of now its been working for the last day and a half with both the regular batteries and Hi-Drains and also with both springs. Also the 5-click on/off works well and I do like being able to lock it so it doesnt accidentally fire in my pocket.

So yeah Im kinda at a loss of words bc I really didnt expect it to work based on all the stuff that was said. Im def not complaining bc Im glad it does work, Im just surprised bc I figured I was going to have to send it back.

For all I know it could stop working in the next hour, but so far so good. I do wish I had a 1.5ohm carto or something to see if that works too but right now I only have Ressurectors so I cant try anything else on it. I will def still get the LR white LED switch when they are available bc then I would know that I could def use lower ohm cartos like 1.5ohm, but for now, I cant complain bc this switch is working.

I swear I think I might have a bionic E-Power or something bc it just refuses to break or stop working. I know some people have had problems with the E-Power but I must be lucky bc mine has worked flawlessly. Up until yesterday when I got this new switch in I was still using the original switch that came with my E-Power. I had bought another blue LED switch about 2 months ago but never even used it bc my first switch never stopped working

 

[Versione]

Thank you for this info -- I've been watching these threads with interest, since E-Powers were my choice. I have multiples of both the blue switch and the current white (yes, I have backups for my backups... you know how that is...) using them with the Resurrector cartos. Well.. it has happened to me... the white switch just blinks at me on a fresh battery. Rob, I'd put money on yours failing with the Resurrectors, too -- though mine worked fine at first, it took less than a week to fail.

 

[yzer]

Rob, I guess we are thinking along the same lines because I ran into a similar experience today.

I received four TrustFire Blue 14650 batteries from China yesterday. They arrived at 3.81V so I charged them up last evening. Now they are over 4.1V just like the Smoktech 14650 batteries are when freshly charged.

TrustFire Blue 14650: 3.7V protected Li-ion, 1600mAh
Smoktech 14650: 3.7V protected Li-ion, 1050mAh (original batteries from E-Power kit)

As mentioned earlier, I have three E-Power 14650s. The original came with the kit and has the blue light switch module. The other two were built from parts and have the new white light switch module.

The blue light E-Power still works great with either the 1.7 ohm LR XL carto (“Resurrector”) or the 2.0 ohm LR XL carto: with either the Smoktech or TrustFire 14650 battery.

Now, both of the newer white light switch modules fire up either the 1.7 ohm LR XL carto or the 2.0 ohm LR XL carto when used with the TrustFire 14650 battery. These white light E-Powers will still not fire the 1.7 ohm LR XL carto when used with the Smoktech 14650 battery.

I use either the stock Smoktech battery spring (unstretched) or the heavier gauge silver spring from Hoosier (unstretched) with my E-Powers. Using one spring or the other does not affect operation of the E-Power at all. However, the heavier spring will probably last longer without fatiguing.

I take all mAh ratings on these Li-ion batteries with a grain of salt but it seems possible that protected Li-ion battery performance makes a difference with the new white light switch module and that performance varies by battery brand.

I’ll use the TrustFire Blue and see how it performs during the next 24 hours with the “Resurrector” on one of my white light E-Powers. The Smoktech batts need recharging when they hit the 3.4V range with the "Resurrector" and the blue switch module. It will be interesting to see the voltage on the TrustFire Blue when it needs recharging tomorrow.

Rob, thanks for keeping up on this.

 

[yzer]

OK. I've been using the E-Power 14650 w/white switch module and TrustFire Blue 14650 for several hours and there is a fail already.

I left the mod on the workbench out in the garage for 45 minutes. It's 50 degrees out there. When I attempted to fire it all I got were fast white flashes from the switch module. No fire. The 5-click lock-out feature wouldn't work, either.

The E-Power fired up again after I let it warm up for twenty minutes in my jeans pocket.

I noticed this same temperature related problem a couple of weeks ago when testing the white light switch module with the SmokTech 14650 battery. With the blue light switch module temperature is not a factor. I had that switch module down to 40 degrees and the PV fired perfectly.

My best guess is that that even with the brand new TrustFire battery this white light module will fail to fire the "Resurrector" completely: given a few charge cycles on the new battery, or perhaps sooner. I'll keep using it until it fails to fire completely.

In previous operation with the SmokTech 14650 battery I noticed that one of the two white switches that worked intermittently with the "Resurrector" would not fire the carto with much less than 3.7V on the battery. I'll bet the same thing happens with the TrustFire. The blue light switch module doesn't show low power until well into 3.4V range.