Become a Patron!

So much for my Alien 220

Khassy

Diamond Contributor
Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
I loved my Alien. LOVED it. But just a few minutes ago, I went to take a hit off of it. Nothing came out. I looked at the screen and it read "Ohms too low," then through the vent holes, I saw it sparking then it burst into flames. I immediately ripped the batteries out, took it to the kitchen and covered it with an iron skillet to put the flames out. It's now sitting on my driveway, away from the house, just in case it's still smoldering inside. My house smells like burning plastic now. *sigh*

Thank God I have other mods I can use. I'm afraid to put the same tank (Big Baby Beast rba) on one of the other mods, though, in case that was what caused the problem.
 

krypto909

Gold Contributor
Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
I loved my Alien. LOVED it. But just a few minutes ago, I went to take a hit off of it. Nothing came out. I looked at the screen and it read "Ohms too low," then through the vent holes, I saw it sparking then it burst into flames. I immediately ripped the batteries out, took it to the kitchen and covered it with an iron skillet to put the flames out. It's now sitting on my driveway, away from the house, just in case it's still smoldering inside. My house smells like burning plastic now. *sigh*

Thank God I have other mods I can use. I'm afraid to put the same tank (Big Baby Beast rba) on one of the other mods, though, in case that was what caused the problem.

How long did you have your Alien 220?
 

Mykreign

Platinum Contributor
Member For 5 Years
Damn that's crazy. My sisters gave her the same error and she wasn't using the baby beast. So I think you're safe with the tank. That sucks though!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Raymcconn

Silver Contributor
Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
That is unbelievable. Glad your OK. I have seen that come up a time or two on mine. I am going to have to be more carful it looks like.
 

JuicyLucy

My name is Lucy and I am a squonkaholic
VU Donator
Diamond Contributor
ECF Refugee
VU Challenge Team
Member For 5 Years
I loved my Alien. LOVED it. But just a few minutes ago, I went to take a hit off of it. Nothing came out. I looked at the screen and it read "Ohms too low," then through the vent holes, I saw it sparking then it burst into flames. I immediately ripped the batteries out, took it to the kitchen and covered it with an iron skillet to put the flames out. It's now sitting on my driveway, away from the house, just in case it's still smoldering inside. My house smells like burning plastic now. *sigh*

Thank God I have other mods I can use. I'm afraid to put the same tank (Big Baby Beast rba) on one of the other mods, though, in case that was what caused the problem.

We need photos of that shit!
 

Mykreign

Platinum Contributor
Member For 5 Years
I forgot to mention, I believe most of the ohms too low errors came from a tiny piece of metal getting lodged in the 510. So maybe there's something in the mod that's getting knocked loose. Catching on fire is a story I haven't heard yet though.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Khassy

Diamond Contributor
Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
If you look at the top, you'll see brown charring around the bottom (as pictured). There's also a bit of charring around the vent holes in the second picture, and you can see the burn marks around the battery contacts - primarily the positive. I had just put freshly charged married batteries in it, too, and the batteries are only about a month old and haven't been used much.

20170706_123626.jpg

20170706_123659.jpg
20170706_123907.jpg
 

DebbieNY

Member For 4 Years
Man, oh, man... I keep seeing more and more of these types of problems about the Alien. :eek: Glad I didn't fall in love with one and am thrilled that you and your house are safe!
 

Johnnytraveler

Gold Contributor
Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
If you look at the top, you'll see brown charring around the bottom (as pictured). There's also a bit of charring around the vent holes in the second picture, and you can see the burn marks around the battery contacts - primarily the positive. I had just put freshly charged married batteries in it, too, and the batteries are only about a month old and haven't been used much.

View attachment 86086

View attachment 86087
View attachment 86088
Glad you're ok. I've never have had a runaway and hope I never do.
I do own an alien so I must ask:
Any other symptoms? Any recent problems? Anything we can give other alien owners to be looking out for?
 

Khassy

Diamond Contributor
Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
Looking at the bottom of the tank, apparently some of the metal has scraped away on the 510 pin (or paint or whatever it is). Maybe that's what caused the problem.

20170706_130130.jpg
 

Khassy

Diamond Contributor
Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
Glad you're ok. I've never have had a runaway and hope I never do.
I do own an alien so I must ask:
Any other symptoms? Any recent problems? Anything we can give other alien owners to be looking out for?

Nope, I was using it just last night without any problem and had taken a few hits off of it this morning before I got the error message and fzzt, sparks and flameage.
 

Khassy

Diamond Contributor
Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
I just put the tank on my Reuleaux RX2/3 and it gave me an "atomizer too low" message. I pulled it off and it's going in the derelict drawer for the time being.
 

Mykreign

Platinum Contributor
Member For 5 Years
I just put the tank on my Reuleaux RX2/3 and it gave me an "atomizer too low" message. I pulled it off and it's going in the derelict drawer for the time being.

That's odd. I'm going to have to take a look at my sisters RDA and see what the 510 looks like. Thanks for the heads up


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

KingPin!

In my defence, I was left unsupervised ^^
VU Donator
Platinum Contributor
Member For 4 Years
VU Challenge Team
Reviewer
Khassy glad you are ok ...how far does that positive pin stick out? Can't see it with the front on view ...I found with the beast tank sometimes that pin can push up especially if the coil isnt screwed down ...if the contact hits the threads and the pin you have a bad day
 

Khassy

Diamond Contributor
Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
Khassy glad you are ok ...how far does that positive pin stick out? Can't see it with the front on view ...I found with the beast tank sometimes that pin can push up especially if the coil isnt screwed down ...if the contact hits the threads and the pin you have a bad day

It sticks out about 1.5 mm.
 

Puff

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
Oh wow Kassy I am glad your ok, The other day I had a built coil on my Smok 350 and it said ohm to low I fired it again and the screen said don't abuse safety , Glad it warned me..

Sent from my LG-V930 using Tapatalk
 

Raymcconn

Silver Contributor
Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
Oh wow Kassy I am glad your ok, The other day I had a built coil on my Smok 350 and it said ohm to low I fired it again and the screen said don't abuse safety , Glad it warned me..
That is what my Alien did that one time. My build was 0.5 or something close to that. What was your build reading when you received that error.
 

Puff

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
0.33 is what mine read on my meter and 2 different mods, I am just learning building so I backed off and built another coil 0.39 and it worked go figure.

Sent from my LG-V930 using Tapatalk
 

Puff

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
I wonder if the wire in the mod cannot take the low wattage and starts burning ?

Sent from my LG-V930 using Tapatalk
 

KingPin!

In my defence, I was left unsupervised ^^
VU Donator
Platinum Contributor
Member For 4 Years
VU Challenge Team
Reviewer
That sucks then khassy not heard of an alien catching fire yet :( wonder if the fire button got stuck or something underneath the bar? Mind you it should have a 10second cut off
 

Khassy

Diamond Contributor
Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
I wonder if the wire in the mod cannot take the low wattage and starts burning ?

Sent from my LG-V930 using Tapatalk

It wasn't set for low wattage, but it should have been fine for low watts anyway. It was set for 75 watts.

That sucks then khassy not heard of an alien catching fire yet :( wonder if the fire button got stuck or something underneath the bar? Mind you it should have a 10second cut off

Nope, nothing wrong with the bar. Almost positive at this point that it was the 510 pin on the tank, since I also got an error message on my RX2/3 with the same tank.
 

Johnnytraveler

Gold Contributor
Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
I just put the tank on my Reuleaux RX2/3 and it gave me an "atomizer too low" message. I pulled it off and it's going in the derelict drawer for the time being.
Could be. Without a tab to test the atty, maybe best to go one step further and file it away in the trash bin.

Glass 1/2 full:
Awesome. Now you can buy a new mod and tank! Any ideas what you are going to get?
 

Khassy

Diamond Contributor
Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
Could be. Without a tab to test the atty, maybe best to go one step further and file it away in the trash bin.

I do have one. Haven't pulled it out to test, though. Don't really want to hook it up to anything with a battery. Still trying to get the stink of burnt plastic out of the house. :)

Any ideas what you are going to get?

Divorced, if I even attempt to buy anything new in the foreseeable future. I still have 4 other useable mods and several tanks, and since I just blew close to a grand on a firearm and accouterments (as well as a new bench and pad for The Dementor's ass for the front yard), he'll skin me alive if I spend any more. :D
 

gakudzu

Gold Contributor
Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
Damn, I hate to see that, Khassy! Glad you survived.
Looks like the atty shorted, but it still shouldn't have tried to go supernova and shit, though. Damn.
 

Iliketurtles

Silver Contributor
Member For 4 Years
Big baby with RBA you have to be careful with reassembly or the bottom of the RBA section shorts out to the 510 -ve connection when you screw the atomiser down tight in the mod. I blew a fet on an unregulated mod with mine which lead me to the discovery. Unfortunate that you borked a full regulated device with one though, you wouldn't expect that to happen.
 

Teresa P

Senior Moderator
Staff member
Senior Moderator
VU Donator
Diamond Contributor
Member For 4 Years
Big baby with RBA you have to be careful with reassembly or the bottom of the RBA section shorts out to the 510 -ve connection when you screw the atomiser down tight in the mod. I blew a fet on an unregulated mod with mine which lead me to the discovery. Unfortunate that you borked a full regulated device with one though, you wouldn't expect that to happen.
Thank you for this. I've got a couple of ladies at work who have been having this reading issue with this same tank and I was stumped. (Of course one instance came about because the RBA glass included with the kit was just a shade too short and was creating a problem - ordered new glass, went away) But I've printed this convo thus far and will be taking it to work with me today. ;)
 

zafirovp

Member For 2 Years
Even if there is hard short on the 510 or the resistance is too low, there must be some kind of protection. This is regulated mod, it is not supposed to vent even if your 510 is hard shorted.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

mjag

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
Oh wow, glad your OK.

I am on the road a lot so stop by vape shops to feed my addiction. One thing I have noticed is a lot of vape shops have been taking back a lot of Aliens for defects. I haven't asked about it, if I mention has there been a lot of Predator returns they say no, a lot of Alien returns though. One owner even went on to say that Smok has begun using 2nd and 3rd party mfg's to keep up with the demand for the Alien and he has seen a steady decrease in quality.

That is some scary stuff, I am going to take the batteries out of my Alien and just trash it. My Alien sucked from the first day anyway so no loss there.

Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk
 

Iliketurtles

Silver Contributor
Member For 4 Years
Long story short - when you put the BBBeast with RBA back together don't do it like this...
Z7HQ6UW.jpg

where you screw the base on first.

But do it like this...
Wjfd0hf.jpg

where you screw the base on last.

Otherwise you will 'possibly' bridge the pos and neg in the base because only the paint on the base around the 510 is insulating it...
Here you can see a gap at the top of the RBA section because I screwed it in to the base first and it is gone too far in and will cause a short sooner or later when it wears out the paint or expands due to the heat and shorts out. This may be mid-vape as I think it was for both me and @Khassy - which is not a good thing, although I am surprised the Alien didn't just shut itself off at that point.

MjgHHNb.jpg

...yours may not be as exaggerated as mine was - I only have mine to test so I cannot say.

This time the RBA section was screwed in to the top first....
I4a3j7B.jpg

...no gap at the top of the RBA section.

So just be careful re-assembling the atomiser after you build or re-wick the RBA - I still use mine all the time just make sure I re-assemble it the right way round.

:)
 

Khassy

Diamond Contributor
Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
Oh wow, glad your OK.

I am on the road a lot so stop by vape shops to feed my addiction. One thing I have noticed is a lot of vape shops have been taking back a lot of Aliens for defects. I haven't asked about it, if I mention has there been a lot of Predator returns they say no, a lot of Alien returns though. One owner even went on to say that Smok has begun using 2nd and 3rd party mfg's to keep up with the demand for the Alien and he has seen a steady decrease in quality.

That is some scary stuff, I am going to take the batteries out of my Alien and just trash it. My Alien sucked from the first day anyway so no loss there.

Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

I'm not sure it's a problem with the Alien, although as others have pointed out, it shouldn't have caught fire like it did since it's regulated. But positive that the problem was with the Big Baby Beast RBA and the exposed metal on the 510 pin that wore off. I also had an atomizer fault reading when I connected the same tank to my RX2/3, so it had to be the tank that caused the problem.

Big baby with RBA you have to be careful with reassembly or the bottom of the RBA section shorts out to the 510 -ve connection when you screw the atomiser down tight in the mod. I blew a fet on an unregulated mod with mine which lead me to the discovery. Unfortunate that you borked a full regulated device with one though, you wouldn't expect that to happen.

I haven't had any problems with the RBA until now, and I don't think it was because it was attached incorrectly. As I showed in the photos, there's definite wear on the 510 pin which I'm sure caused the issue. The only problem I've ever had with gaps is when it leaked. I just unscrewed it and screwed it back together and it was no further problem.
 

georgemeadal

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
I loved my Alien. LOVED it. But just a few minutes ago, I went to take a hit off of it. Nothing came out. I looked at the screen and it read "Ohms too low," then through the vent holes, I saw it sparking then it burst into flames. I immediately ripped the batteries out, took it to the kitchen and covered it with an iron skillet to put the flames out. It's now sitting on my driveway, away from the house, just in case it's still smoldering inside. My house smells like burning plastic now. *sigh*

Thank God I have other mods I can use. I'm afraid to put the same tank (Big Baby Beast rba) on one of the other mods, though, in case that was what caused the problem.
Sorry for your loss, I'm so glad you weren't seriously hurt.
I have the Alien with Big Baby Beast with included RBA, (have not used it for a long time because) I read about a problem with the RBA coil that the bottom is too flat and can potentially short out across the center pin and the bottom of the tank. This could potentially be more of a problem if your mod's center pin spring had lost some of it's stiffness and wasn't pushing up on the center pin of the tank enough.
 

georgemeadal

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
Oh wow, glad your OK.

I am on the road a lot so stop by vape shops to feed my addiction. One thing I have noticed is a lot of vape shops have been taking back a lot of Aliens for defects. I haven't asked about it, if I mention has there been a lot of Predator returns they say no, a lot of Alien returns though. One owner even went on to say that Smok has begun using 2nd and 3rd party mfg's to keep up with the demand for the Alien and he has seen a steady decrease in quality.

That is some scary stuff, I am going to take the batteries out of my Alien and just trash it. My Alien sucked from the first day anyway so no loss there.

Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk
@mjag I'll send you the 7 dollars via PayPal if you will ship me that Alien. I'll recycle it for you!
 
Last edited:

georgemeadal

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
Long story short - when you put the BBBeast with RBA back together don't do it like this...
Z7HQ6UW.jpg

where you screw the base on first.

But do it like this...
Wjfd0hf.jpg

where you screw the base on last.

Otherwise you will 'possibly' bridge the pos and neg in the base because only the paint on the base around the 510 is insulating it...
Here you can see a gap at the top of the RBA section because I screwed it in to the base first and it is gone too far in and will cause a short sooner or later when it wears out the paint or expands due to the heat and shorts out. This may be mid-vape as I think it was for both me and @Khassy - which is not a good thing, although I am surprised the Alien didn't just shut itself off at that point.

MjgHHNb.jpg

...yours may not be as exaggerated as mine was - I only have mine to test so I cannot say.

This time the RBA section was screwed in to the top first....
I4a3j7B.jpg

...no gap at the top of the RBA section.

So just be careful re-assembling the atomiser after you build or re-wick the RBA - I still use mine all the time just make sure I re-assemble it the right way round.

:)
Best answer ^^^
I also read (but have not tried it yet) that you can file or grind the base of the RBA coil down on either side of the center, so only the center of the bottom of the coil can possibly touch the center pin of the base/tank. Hope that made sense.
 

mjag

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
Touchee. I haven't entered a contest in a while...I think I stretched my luck too thin so taking a break!
Better yet, I'll send you the 7 bucks if you will ship it to @Khassy !

I was just joshin ya George, no harm in winning bud!

My Alien is so janky I would not give it away to my worst enemy but that is kind of you to think of someone else. If I was certain it was safe I would send it off but it has done enough odd things for me it just sits. Not sure why I haven't just thrown it away, probably take it apart for spare screws and what not.

I am not saying all Alien's are like mine though but it has progressively got worse over time with little use. I think I just got one that was built on a Friday after a 4 cocktail lunch.
 

Matty Vapes

Silver Contributor
Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
I loved my Alien. LOVED it. But just a few minutes ago, I went to take a hit off of it. Nothing came out. I looked at the screen and it read "Ohms too low," then through the vent holes, I saw it sparking then it burst into flames. I immediately ripped the batteries out, took it to the kitchen and covered it with an iron skillet to put the flames out. It's now sitting on my driveway, away from the house, just in case it's still smoldering inside. My house smells like burning plastic now. *sigh*

Thank God I have other mods I can use. I'm afraid to put the same tank (Big Baby Beast rba) on one of the other mods, though, in case that was what caused the problem.

I'm glad you're ok..Hoping it was an isolated case and aliens are in general SAFE..They sold a bunch. I got one myself and now I'm a little leary..
 

VU Sponsors

Top