Broken govad - NO WARRANTY!!

[pizzadave80]

Well....today I tossed a fresh build in my govad and just as I got the coil tight I heard a snug ... snapped the top clamp! Emailed vandy vape, but this sucks. Love the tank....up until now!

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[Just Frank]

You gotta stop tightening your coils with an impact wrench.

 

[pizzadave80]

You gotta stop tightening your coils with an impact wrench.

My mistake

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[greasegizzard]

I had one of these. Loved it. But I had already gotten into squonking even i tried it, so I didn't hang on to it. But man it really had some good flavor.

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[greasegizzard]

Hopefully they will make it right for you.

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[hellcatrydr]

Man I'm so glad I misread the title of this thread...

 

[Synphul]

That does suck. Vandy had issues with their posts in the icon splitting as well. Maybe they need to stop using cheap pot metal. If that little screw puts that much torque on a metal plate as thick as that then poorly cast metal seems to be the issue allowing it to crack. If it were solid the screw would have stripped either at the head and rounded out or the threads. Hope they take care of it.

 

[pizzadave80]

That does suck. Vandy had issues with their posts in the icon splitting as well. Maybe they need to stop using cheap pot metal. If that little screw puts that much torque on a metal plate as thick as that then poorly cast metal seems to be the issue allowing it to crack. If it were solid the screw would have stripped either at the head and rounded out or the threads. Hope they take care of it.

That's how I felt...shoukd have stripped before snapped an 1/8 thick plate

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[pizzadave80]

I sent in all the requested info for warranty. This includes pics of bottom, box, receipt, and their special authentic symbol.... so now we wait I guess... haven't heard a thing!

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[pizzadave80]

Well...i heard back from vandy vape. They won't cover my govad under warranty. They said that I bought it from an unauthorized site. I bought it from a brick and mortar! Gave them the receipt and everything! It comes up as an authentic on their site too....

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[Ryedan]

Well...i heard back from vandy vape. They won't cover my govad under warranty. They said that I bought it from an unauthorized site. I bought it from a brick and mortar! Gave them the receipt and everything! It comes up as an authentic on their site too....

That sucks! Will they sell you the part, can't be much money.

 

[pizzadave80]

They won't even talk to me once they said I am not eligible for warranty. I asked if I could buy just 2 clamps .... looks like I'm parking my govad and probably going to avoid vandy vape now.

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[pizzadave80]

They replied to me this am......

Told me I can go my a new tank from elegomall or myvpro.com.

Wow....

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[NGAHaze]

Do Not Buy From List:

Added - Vandy Vapes, all products.

That sux ... first they give you a BS excuse for not honoring the warranty and then they won't even sell you a replacement part for something that was obviously defective?

That's all I needed to see/hear.

 

[pizzadave80]

Yeah in definitely disappointed

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[The Cromwell]

No parts availability for vape stuff is a BIG problem.
They just want to sell complete units, if a small part breaks in one they view it as an opportunity to sell another complete unit.

 

[pizzadave80]

The thing that bugs me us buying from a brick and mortar usually means you should be able to get warranty too. I'd completely agree with no warranty if bought from a Chinese site that isn't authorized....but the reason i like to buy locally is for warranty and piece of mind.... I might as well buy clone shit!

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[greasegizzard]

I agree they should have replaced this under warranty. But I understand not offering the parts for sale. They would most likely charge $5 to $10 minimum, plus shipping. So you'd be at half the cost of a new one. Pretty crappy to say it was an unauthorized vendor, though.

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[pizzadave80]

I paid $36 plus tax . My local owner feels bad . He's going to sell me another at cost to help me out. Which is pretty awesome if him.

I'm good friends with 3 local shops....and all of them are going to give vandy vape a piece of their mind about it too.

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[The Cromwell]

Buy a 1:1 clone for parts?

 

[pizzadave80]

Buy a 1:1 clone for parts?

I thought about that... probably just as good of quality. I mean.. how the eff does the metal snap!

Don't know if I said this or not but I checked the code on their site and it is an authentic. Not like the local shop pulled a fast one and bought clones and markers as authentic. (One shop here does do that)

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[The Cromwell]

I thought about that... probably just as good of quality. I mean.. how the eff does the metal snap!

Don't know if I said this or not but I checked the code on their site and it is an authentic. Not like the local shop pulled a fast one and bought clones and markers as authentic. (One shop here does do that)

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it is cast metal not forged metal?
or not heat treated after forging to relieve the stress of forging?
aka cheap crap that should not be used for that application.

 

[NGAHaze]

it is cast metal not forged metal?
or not heat treated after forging to relieve the stress of forging?
aka cheap crap that should not be used for that application.

The screw should have stripped before that plate snapped like that ... cheap pot metal.

 

[Ryedan]

it is cast metal not forged metal?
or not heat treated after forging to relieve the stress of forging?
aka cheap crap that should not be used for that application.

I'm wondering this too Cromwell. It could also be a machined part that's been heat treated and left too hard.

@pizzadave80, not to get your hopes up, but I've got a small milling machine in the garage and if you're game wouldn't mind a little project. It really does depend though on if I feel I could make these things because they are so small.

If you take the clamp off the RDA does it fall apart into two pieces or are the halves still attached? Either way, could you take a couple of pics of the broken clamp and post them. Close as you can get to it, keep them sharp and from a couple of different sides including the side that goes in the center of the atty. Also take a pic of the build from the top before you take the coil out. I would like to see about how much space there is between your coil and the inside of the clamps.

 

[pizzadave80]

The clamp stays together. Also it seems both halves are the same so there us for sure a good half to base off of.

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[The Cromwell]

I'm wondering this too Cromwell. It could also be a machined part that's been heat treated and left too hard.

I suspect machined cast.

 

[Ryedan]

I suspect machined cast.

Yup, it could be. It would really suck though if they did that

The strain at the center of the part when you're using a long coil and clamp the wire at the end of the bar is pretty high. Let's see how it turns out

 

[The Cromwell]

Yup, it could be. It would really suck though if they did that

The strain at the center of the part when you're using a long coil and clamp the wire at the end of the bar is pretty high. Let's see how it turns out

yep especially the fat fancy coils put lots of strain on these types of clamps.
It is prolly a balancing act to have the clamp bar hard enough not to bend but soft enough not to break?

 

[Ryedan]

The clamp stays together. Also it seems both halves are the same so there us for sure a good half to base off of.

And that IMO indicates they used a casting rather than a hard piece of steel. Hard steel cracks instead of bending, but not always

Seems to me that you've taken it apart already. Can you possibly show me a pic of your build from the top with at least one clamp installed?

 

[Ryedan]

yep especially the fat fancy coils put lots of strain on these types of clamps.
It is prolly a balancing act to have the clamp bar hard enough not to bend but soft enough not to break?

That's exactly what I'm thinking Cromwell. Sounds like you have some metal working experience too. I'm thinking of making a couple of these in SS. That's soft as steel goes, but I am thinking of modifying the design a bit to get more strength which is why I'm interested in seeing how much room is on the inside of the assembly with the coil installed.

 

[The Cromwell]

That's exactly what I'm thinking Cromwell. Sounds like you have some metal working experience too. I'm thinking of making a couple of these in SS. That's soft as steel goes, but I am thinking of modifying the design a bit to get more strength which is why I'm interested in seeing how much room is on the inside of the assembly with the coil installed.

SS would prolly be the best choice.

I view it as the design being a bit of a weak point and trying to cut costs issue.

Imho these types of clamp plates should be just soft enough to bend and designed so that you can flip them over if they do bend.

 

[Ryedan]

Imho these types of clamp plates should be just soft enough to bend and designed so that you can flip them over if they do bend.

Agreed. OTOH, they can only bend so many times until they fail. IMO they just really need to be strong enough to last with the forces the screws can apply and that might be hard to accomplish with the design as it is.

OTOH, a little mod could just fix it

Or not.

 

[pizzadave80]

When I get home I'll snap some pictures of it

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[Just Frank]

My impact comment was a joke of course. I really thought Vandy Vape would take care of you. I don't like it when companies don't stand behind their products.

 

[pizzadave80]

Pics....

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[The Cromwell]

yes cast and not a simple top plate...

 

[pizzadave80]

yes cast and not a simple top plate...

Garbage. At least a good or pharoah rta are made of robust metals on their clamps.

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[MagicJosh]

I dislike these rda decks. They just look shady to me. My favorite decks are velocity, all day!

 

[Synphul]

It's not just this product, vandy's icon rda the posts split just like that on some of them. Same shit metal. I had hoped that when vandy split off from geekvape it would be a good thing, a chance to have similar products released with issues solved prior to the release but seems like it's no better. Not saying it's the worst stuff out there but honestly I don't know how they (geekvape) got to be such a fan favorite. I only mention them since vandy comes directly from them and share so many of their designs.

I'm less than impressed by either. After seeing multiple vandy vape issues and their response to an obviously flawed product personally I think I'll write both these companies off. I can pick up equally shit quality clones for 1/3 to 1/4 the price.

For that matter wouldn't be at all surprised to find the 'clones' are made by the same people and just a way for companies to pick up profits on both ends.

 

[Mattp169]

should we get this thread moved to hall of shame area maybe

 

[pizzadave80]

should we get this thread moved to hall of shame area maybe

Should be. I keep putting them in blast on social media....

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[Mattp169]

@Teresa P can ya move this to hall of shame

 

[pizzadave80]

Well...after posting comments on Facebook posts to vandy vape telling my story they sent me an instant message followed by an email from support. They are sending me clamps! They say it was a misunderstanding and they apologized.

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[Mattp169]

Well...after posting comments on Facebook posts to vandy vape telling my story they sent me an instant message followed by an email from support. They are sending me clamps! They say it was a misunderstanding and they apologized.

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sure sure ...just a misunderstanding
glad you got it worked out
now dont break the new ones

 

[Ryedan]

Well...after posting comments on Facebook posts to vandy vape telling my story they sent me an instant message followed by an email from support. They are sending me clamps! They say it was a misunderstanding and they apologized.

Good to hear that pizzadave80

That clamp design is not the strongest, specially for thicker coils and also for long coils where the wire gets clamped far from the clamp screw. I'm being called by my wife to help her out with something, but when I can I'll make a sketch of something you can try next time that may make the setup stronger.

 

[pizzadave80]

Good to hear that pizzadave80

That clamp design is not the strongest, specially for thicker coils and also for long coils where the wire gets clamped far from the clamp screw. I'm being called by my wife to help her out with something, but when I can I'll make a sketch of something you can try next time that may make the setup stronger.

I was thinking the same. What I was planning to do was to get the coil wire in closer to the screw. The other thought was the place a piece of wire on the opposite side of my coil. This would allow for a more even clamping action.

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[Ryedan]

I was thinking the same. What I was planning to do was to get the coil wire in closer to the screw. The other thought was the place a piece of wire on the opposite side of my coil. This would allow for a more even clamping action.

You got it, and now I don't need to make the sketch

I'm thinking the easiest way would be to leave the coil legs long enough so after you set it up like you did in the pics, you can bend the ends back toward the screws, and clamp over all of it. Leave each long enough so it passes the screw head and that should keep the clamps level and eliminate a lot of the bending forces on them.

It looks like a really nice atty otherwise. Hope it works out for you!

 

[Zohmbiebuilds]

Glad I read this. I will not support Vandyvape. That is a clear cut quality issue. That atty looks damn well near brand new, that piece of metal was cracked before they plated the clamp.

That is damn near impossible to do with such a tiny screw. No way could you torque that enough to snap it, even with pot metal. There is no torque on screws that small as pointed out that would have stripped out.

We need to have a specific thread for companies and problems were having with that company. This bullshit about not being an authorized dealer is a bunch of lame ass excuse garbage.

They don't realize that that hurts them. I will never buy anything from Vandyvape. What is the big deal about sending a new clamp? There not hurting a bit especially since Rip trippers is there most popular Fanboy.

Vandyvape metal sucks, I work to hard for what little I have. Thank you for the warning brother. Spread the information.

Mods, we need a forum for companies warranty and customer service. VU is being viewed by these companies believe that. If they see the issues with there business and QC there's a chance they might decide to fix it.

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[pizzadave80]

Glad I read this. I will not support Vandyvape. That is a clear cut quality issue. That atty looks damn well near brand new, that piece of metal was cracked before they plated the clamp.

That is damn near impossible to do with such a tiny screw. No way could you torque that enough to snap it, even with pot metal. There is no torque on screws that small as pointed out that would have stripped out.

We need to have a specific thread for companies and problems were having with that company. This bullshit about not being an authorized dealer is a bunch of lame ass excuse garbage.

They don't realize that that hurts them. I will never buy anything from Vandyvape. What is the big deal about sending a new clamp? There not hurting a bit especially since Rip trippers is there most popular Fanboy.

Vandyvape metal sucks, I work to hard for what little I have. Thank you for the warning brother. Spread the information.

Mods, we need a forum for companies warranty and customer service. VU is being viewed by these companies believe that. If they see the issues with there business and QC there's a chance they might decide to fix it.

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I thought I updated my post, but apparently I failed to do so.

I ended up posted negative comments in Vandy Vapes Facebook posts. It wasn't the most mature thing in the world, buy within minutes of my post I received a Facebook message and an email from Vandy Vape. They said they misunderstood where I purchased from because they didn't recognize the little brick and mortar from ND. They have sent me new clamps which are supposed to be delivered today. They rushed them from China to top it off and apologized for the mistake.

They gained my trust for now, but they may need to work on some better quality components.

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[SteveS45]

Well...after posting comments on Facebook posts to vandy vape telling my story they sent me an instant message followed by an email from support. They are sending me clamps! They say it was a misunderstanding and they apologized.

Squeaky wheel gets the grease!