4 DNA 200's Dead

[poitee]

DNA 200 #1: Vaporshark DNA 200. Fiuse Blown, Vaporshark replaced the board without issue... Sold it to a friend who was down on his luck for cheap. 2 weeks of use. 

DNA 200 #2: Hammond DIY Box from Nonameboxmods. Went together smoothly, no issues for 2 months then I got a blown fuse. Evolv replaced it.

DNA 200 #3: Blown Fuse same as #3. 1 month of use. 

DNA 200 #4: Wismec DNA 200. 18650 (trying my luck maybe it was lipos causing the issue??) Bought this while waiting on my new board from Evolv.  Just used it and pop no screen.. Blown fuse. I had this for 1 week. 

I have done the battery analyzer properly as described in the manual.
I Always use the exact same batteries married in the Wismec. Charged properly. LG HG2's as suggested in the forums.

The DIY box I use a properly balanced Turnigy Lipo charged seperately on a RC Lipo balancer. (I have seen Lipos go up and pretty purple flames in the RC hobby field)

I use a variety of atomizers. Mostly SS316L in temp control mode. .3-.5 builds...

Any suggestions or comments before I give up on Evolv's hardware?

Thanks

[black lace]

After ive built mine the back is secured shut and it stays shut so no risk of anything falling in and shorting the board out, i would think its mathermaticly impossible to have four boards one after anouther suddenly decide to self destruct and if ime wrong i think youve definatly lowerd the odds for the rest of us. No disrespect to you or anything but i build mods for a few people besides myselfe and its the same one person that comes back for repairs time and time again..

[poitee]

I do not take offense to your statement. I am just trying to figure out the cause of the problem.

The Vaporshark died mid puff and would connect to escribe but would auto-fire with a atomizer connected. Vaporshark was great about replacing it. They said bad solder joint. The replacement lived on in the hands of a friend. he uses it daily without issue. The original had a blown fuse also. 

The Wismec, I did not take it apart. I used the same set of LG HG2's that have been married since I got the device a week or so ago. Mid puff no screen, won't connect to escribe. Fuse is blown.

I can understand the 2 hammond boards, That could easily be my fault in assembly. However they died two similar deaths, mid puff dead.. blown fuses. The first one was a 3d printed enclosure no custom buttons, just a standard mitec switch. silver solder around 370 degrees. nothing special. Second was tactile up and down and a mitec switch.


Vaporshark seems to be a manufacturer issue.. I will accept that.

Wismec IDK.. I ran the same batteries no issues. Date code was from July. 

The two hammond replacement boards looked different. I should have taken pictures. I always have used Turnigy Lipo's and charged outside of the box on a high quality balance charger. 

I am totaly open to ideas or suggestions. 

Thanks again

[retird]

Only a thought..... were you using the same atty on each device when they failed?  I have one atty that worked fine on many mods but not on one particular mod. 

[dl12345]

Not meaning to be trite here, but why not just buy a BGA rework station, some solder paste and a couple of fuses. It would certainly be easier than dealing with the hassle of RMA'ing the devices. Almost certainly cheaper too....

[poitee]

I do have a rework station. I am just concerned it is an underlying issue that is causing the problem. It has been different atomizers as far as I know. I was on the Aromamizer for the Vaporshark and the first failed board and this time I was using my crown. If I do change the fuse myself will it void the warranty?

[dl12345]

Warranty exclusions

• Wear and tear associated with normal use
• Any modification, abuse, accident, disassembly, misapplication, or unauthorized repair
• Any improper operation, including any use not in accordance with any product instructions
• Cracked, broken, or otherwise damaged display (OLED)
• Any other cause which does not relate to a product defect in materials or workmanship

I'm guessing any mod that you assemble yourself would not be covered (although this doesn't seem to be your case with the Hammond boards). It appears that if you replace the fuse, yes you will void you warranty (unauthorized repair).

[mikepetro]

I gotta be honest, I have yet to hear of Evolv denying a warranty. I am aware of literally hundreds of Mods that were home DIY, Evolv never squawked about warranty, and many times it was clearly user error.

I dropped my mod and broke it, Evolv replaced the board anyway, and I was upfront about dropping it.

Throughout this whole forum here, I dont think I have ever heard of a claim being denied.

[dl12345]

Fabulous to hear. I've become so jaded from other companies denying warranty claims that I don't even RMA anymore. It's great to hear that Evolv goes in the other direction....

[black lace]

See on paragraph 3 your continuasly opening the box, to charge the lipo in your hammmond builds, if you didnt have a seperate jst spurred off the board for charging, you would have been continuasly disconnecting, connecting and tugging at the tinny little wires, i wouldnt have given them much time beffor breaking loose and shorting. Also every mod ive had that has auto fired has had a battery short, a posertive gone to ground, i dont believe you will loose warrantie for fitting a fuse because you can buy them from evolv, ..

[poitee]

I use a JST extension from the board to save on wear and to keep from pulling on the board and wires.

[retird]

How about just contacting Evolv using the "contact" Submit a Ticket and let them guide you?

Here is the link....    http://helpdesk.evolvapor.com/index.php?a=add

[poitee]

They have replaced 2 boards. I will contact them this week about the wismec.

[black lace]

poitee said:

I use a JST extension from the board to save on wear and to keep from pulling on the board and wires.

OK.. why??? like what is the point? Why dont you just charge it through the onboard usb?

[poitee]

I have 3 lipos. I use a external charger with a balancer and charge in a Kevlar bag. I have watched a few lipos go up in flames in my Rc hobby I just prefer to charge in a Kevlar bag. Some people put their socks on before their pants.

[blueridgedog]

Some general observations here:
-Evolve has been aggressive in asking for RMAs for failed boards, and just like there were tweaks to the DNA40, there are or even may have been tweaks to the DNA200 based on these early issues.  This forum and their eagerness to accept direct responsibility for mods that feature their product is part of their initial roll out.
-There are folks that have many devices and zero issues.  There are some like the OP here with many devices and many issues.  
-I and others have tried to source the "working normally, then fuse is blown" issue, but thus far it is hard to place a cause to that would help a user avoid it.  I have deliberately put one board in a non-conductive enclosure and another in a conductive one and have a massive "puff count" on each and have subjected each to some pretty rough environments (left out in the rain, drops, juice floods etc).  One has a direct battery solder and the other has a JST battery connection.  There just isn't a "smoking gun" sort of indicator yet on the fuse issue other than grounding of the chip and the 510.

[black lace]

Reply to 15:: It is each to their own i agree, i would recomend a mobile phone charger an original samsung ect ect, not a cheap replacement one, put the whole mod in the kevlar bag, remember its only a short burst discharge battery mod and not a continuas discharge remote car, copter, plane. Back to the original post start, evolve dont comercialy build mods at the moment, only the board, its your mods failing and shorting the board blowing the fuse, the board is tested thousands of times over by evolv and its users every day, i think your issues are self inflicted, removing and replacing the lipo, and for what your saying you wouldnt have needed to have fitted an extra jst extension lead. On a lighter note, if i try and put my socks on while standing up and am hopping about struggling and go head first down the stairs, do i blame the socks..lol

[poitee]

black lace said:

Reply to 15:: It is each to their own i agree, i would recomend a mobile phone charger an original samsung ect ect, not a cheap replacement one, put the whole mod in the kevlar bag, remember its only a short burst discharge battery mod and not a continuas discharge remote car, copter, plane. Back to the original post start, evolve dont comercialy build mods at the moment, only the board, its your mods failing and shorting the board blowing the fuse, the board is tested thousands of times over by evolv and its users every day, i think your issues are self inflicted, removing and replacing the lipo, and for what your saying you wouldnt have needed to have fitted an extra jst extension lead. On a lighter note, if i try and put my socks on while standing up and am hopping about struggling and go head first down the stairs, do i blame the socks..lol

I can see your point on my Hammond devices however, how does that explain the wismec? It's a fuse. It has been The same occurrence in all the mods. I have not had an issue with any other mod. I am trying to troubleshoot the problem. If it's a faulty fuse I'll replace it with a serviceable one. If it's a faulty batch maybe I will luck into a good batch. I'm just trying to figure out the problem. I have built several kits, heathkits smd component kits etc. I have a scope and a good rework station. I'm not a yahoo with a radio shack soldering iron using pipe solder and household wire.

[poitee]

blueridgedog said:

Some general observations here:
-Evolve has been aggressive in asking for RMAs for failed boards, and just like there were tweaks to the DNA40, there are or even may have been tweaks to the DNA200 based on these early issues.  This forum and their eagerness to accept direct responsibility for mods that feature their product is part of their initial roll out.
-There are folks that have many devices and zero issues.  There are some like the OP here with many devices and many issues.  
-I and others have tried to source the "working normally, then fuse is blown" issue, but thus far it is hard to place a cause to that would help a user avoid it.  I have deliberately put one board in a non-conductive enclosure and another in a conductive one and have a massive "puff count" on each and have subjected each to some pretty rough environments (left out in the rain, drops, juice floods etc).  One has a direct battery solder and the other has a JST battery connection.  There just isn't a "smoking gun" sort of indicator yet on the fuse issue other than grounding of the chip and the 510.

I agree. I am trying to troubleshoot the issue. I think it is a wonderful chip and great technology and it is supported in the US. I am not bashing evolv. I am just trying to figure this out.

[blueridgedog]

poitee said:

I agree. I am trying to troubleshoot the issue. I think it is a wonderful chip and great technology and it is supported in the US. I am not bashing evolv. I am just trying to figure this out.

No bashing perceived.  I am just making certain that it is OK to talk about the issue here as most of us really want to add some facts to the discussion.  Right now the only issue at play seems to be either grounding related (board and/or 510) or mounting hardware related (extending too close to other areas of the board).  

[poitee]

blueridgedog said:

No bashing perceived.  I am just making certain that it is OK to talk about the issue here as most of us really want to add some facts to the discussion.  Right now the only issue at play seems to be either grounding related (board and/or 510) or mounting hardware related (extending too close to other areas of the board).  

When I receive my new board I'll post pictures of you don't care to critique. I am very interested and very invested in this project. I do enjoy the board.

[black lace]

poitee said:

I can see your point on my Hammond devices however, how does that explain the wismec? It's a fuse. It has been The same occurrence in all the mods. I have not had an issue with any other mod. I am trying to troubleshoot the problem. If it's a faulty fuse I'll replace it with a serviceable one. If it's a faulty batch maybe I will luck into a good batch. I'm just trying to figure out the problem. I have built several kits, heathkits smd component kits etc. I have a scope and a good rework station. I'm not a yahoo with a radio shack soldering iron using pipe solder and household wire.

Cant help with the wismec i havnt taken one to bits yet, but on an investigative note, different mods same problems, You would have to look at what are they all coming into contact with, from attys to chargers, batteries and even enviroment, water, electro magnetic fields ect even mod bullying, (someones being nasty to it while your not around) lamo

[timeto1953]

I have to agree with mikepetro I' ve  dropped my mod vt200 and did the same told them what really happened and they took it back fixed it and sent it back within a week 

[black lace]

Yes in short if you dont look after it you will break it. Hardly rocket science. How much moor difficult can one make charging a mod.

[poitee]

I got my new board in yesterday. I took everything apart from the old build and checked the continuity of everything to make sure nothing happened while it sat. I found that my FDV v4 had an occasional dead short. I took it apart and found a brass spur the was stuck in the blue insulator and it would occasionally at the perfect angle make contact with the 510 threads. It was a tiny piece I had to use a magnifying glass to see it. I replaced the insulator and everything went together fine. I did order a 50 pack of replaceable fuses (I have a work account through mouser and get a good bulk discount) If anyone needs a fuse and can not obtain one for an affordable price let me know. 

Thanks again,

Chad