Issues with clones?

Pretty sure a good number of you have decided to go out and buy clones of some of the more popular mods out there. What are some of the issues (common or otherwise) that you have come across?

This thread isn't to debate weather or not you should buy clones or not.

 

Clone manufacturers often miss the all important "bottom fed" part of an rda clone. I don't have a drill press, so this has mostly limited me to the big boys RDAs

:smiley8O:

 

If ordering from China direct, they take to dam long to get here!!

 

Nemesis clone, the button was really bad when got it, it was crunchy and was catching on the tube itself, so was sticking on, luckily Sawlight doesn't live from me, so took it around to him and he sorted it out for me, as I don't have hardly any experience with mechs, but now it is sorted, really liking the nemesis, simple but slick.

I also got a trident v2 clone last week, the screw would not screw down properly on the center pin for the coils, and last night while trying to fight to get it screw down on my coils, part of the center coil pin broke off, guess you get what you paid for

 

Chi you clone and no complaints.

 

I have a couple of Chi You clones one is older bought 2nd hand (bronze) and the other brand new (stainless) both have some issues manly the quality of the threads. The threads are not untidy but are just out of spec so it makes them loose. This does not make them unusable and it is the sort of thing that you can expect from a cheap item. The adjusting screw for the attie contact is nice and tight in the insulator on both but the adjusting screw for the battery is to loose again it doesn't stop it working it is just annoying and will strip out eventually.
Over all they are great for what they are and what I paid for them but they could be better with a little more attention paid in manufacture and it wouldn't add to the cost.
The threads on the Chi You's are 13/16 x 24 not 20 x 1

I have also recently got a Kayfun light clone. I don't know who the manufacturer was but it is very well made all of the threads are very good. They was no burrs any where and no sign of machine oil. The over all quality of the workmanship is top notch and the finish is near perfect other than the polish could have been a little better to really make it a mirror finish but the level of finish matches my Chi You so its all good.

The only other thing that I have noticed with this clone is when they machined the channels they plunged straight down with an end mill like all of them but instead of coming back in from the face to do the face channel the just fed straight out. So instead of having both the vertical and the horizontal channels with rounded bottoms you end up with the horizontal channel being square. I cant see any reason that this is a bad thing it is just easier to machine as it takes one setup to do the channels rather than two.

The only things that made me say why did you do that was the way it was wicked from the factory (wicks in the channels) and there was an O ring on the base over the channels to seal the chimney. But they were easy fixes as I was putting a new coil and wick in anyway and I just removed the O ring and it vapes perfectly.

Cheers
Midlife

 

Threads piss me off the most on clones, I have been a little spoilt with things like the Provari but some of the threads that clones come out with are just shitful. Surely it can't be that hard to tap a half decent thread. Also clean the bloody thing, I hate getting chinese clones full of machine oil - genuine stuff doesn't have it so can't be that hard to wash it.

 

I love mine, but there doesn't seem to be any way to fit an 18650 w/ a kick in it. I probably need to buy some magnets or something, but that scares me a bit and I'm not sure where to buy them from anyways.
For reference, this is the one I got... http://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10005381/1617900-chi-you-style-mechanical-mod

also, I'm not crazy about the button, but it works fine and was cheap, so whatever...

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I have 2 chi you clones. One works great with just the 18650. The other has to have a kick in it to make connection. Dunno.

 

I have clones and I have 'authentics'. They drippers (clones) and the IgoW (authentic) are all machined well. Threads are clean and crisp, no burrs and no problems. The Vamo is aluminum and authentic. The treads are very delicate and I can foresee stipping easily. I figured it was just due to the aluminum. I have the Kayfun 3.1 clone and so far, so good.

I guess I would say that I have had good luck with clones. I can also say that the Hcigar black Stingray is wonderfully made. Had the guys at the local B&M drooling. The ones they stock are more expensive (clones) and not nearly as well made.

 

I have heaps of clones .
With mods it is usually the switch that can be the biggest problem ( usually easily solved,google is your friend ) Or if it has 2 adjustments in the top cap one usually is too loose. I am yet to figure out a good cure for this but still trying things.
With atties my main concern is the screws are usually not stainless steel. It just means you find the correct size screws ( and type ) and order some from a good S/S shop. They are not that expensive and always order more than you need. Especially if your eyesight is as bad as mine and you drop the lil buggers frequently
Oh and always ,always give them a bloody good clean before using that machine oil that is often left on/in the atties will put you off if you vape the crap.

 

2x Atom - good. New one has 20x1 threads for top cap. Old was 21x1

Astro All ss - good. Needed -ve insulator sanded down so I could fully tighten -ve pin. Switch has a little sideways play which sometimes results in poor contact.

2x Nemesis - good. Needed little stick in -ve pin to fully tighten and not come undone. Solved crunchy problem

3x Kraken. Good. One perfect. Others had issues with tolerances of o-ring seats. Fixed with better o-ring sizes. All needed bottom o-ring removed on AFC.

3x Kayfun lite (R91 from FT) Good. 2 needed to grind juice channels wider. KFL V2 is perfect.

Hammer - good. Needed braided copper in 510 spring to solve poor conductivity.

chi you - good ? used only for tubes

vamo v5 - Not exactly clone. Needed braided copper in -ve spring to improve conductivity and stop heating of spring

 

Maybe [MENTION=12093]Sawlight[/MENTION] can help me out with this, but my Chi-you clone button is all fucked up. Is there supposed to be a spring? cause I either lost mine or never got one. I can't set the thing down at all without it firing, so it's almost useless to take out and about.

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Yes, there is supposed to be a spring in the switch! Mine had a problem with the screw coming out, same as my Nemi clone, some red loctite fixed both of them from that issue!
But as it is now, can set my Chi You down, no matter the battery or topper, and it doesn't fire on me!
If you aren't in a dirty environment maybe look for the magnets to replace the spring? I tried this on my Hades and all was good until I set it down on my welding table! Two hours of cleaning an the magnets came out!

 

I would imagine that there was just a bit of profanity involved with that cleaning session sir.

 

Just a whole lot! I learned that day that I shouldn't own magnetic switches!

 

well, I guess I lost the spring then.

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My working environment isn't the best for magnets ether so I have to clean them on a regular basis. I was sitting in my office the other day with a switch pulled apart cleaning the metal dust off my magnets when I dropped one on the floor (carpet in a engineering workshop) after crawling around under my desk for a few minutes I found a tiny little metal porcupine and in the middle of this mass of metal filings and metal dust was my magnet
My quick clean turned into a game of chasing metal particles round and around a tiny magnet. :angrypul:

Cheers
Midlife

 

So I got some magnets, but can't get them to work worth a shit ! If I only put 1 on each side then it works, but can't set it down at all without it constantly firing. If I add more than that though, there is little to no throw at all in the button !! Anyone have an idea of what spring it is, and where I could get a replacement?

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OK, so I hate replying to my own posts, but...
I figured out how to use the magnets in this clone. The vids I watched had them putting one or 2 of the magnets on the top of the button, under the post. I now have 2 magnets fed in from the bottom of the "buttton part", and then 2 more magnets facing opposite of them right on the button itself, and it's working beautifully. I know that is hard to read, but if anyone wants pics of how I did it, let me know. It works, and I can stand it up without it firing, so I'm happy.


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