Smoktech Telescope Safety Issues!

[Perpetua]

I'll amend my post Macca . . . that response is quite unbelievable!

[maccafan]

And there's more:

www.vapersforum.com/showthread.php?t=41019

[Perpetua]

Oh dear . . .

[alanfinal]

So glad I am here on the AAEC and so pleased with all the vendors I have used,but was totally shocked by the going-ons with totally wicked the other week and now seeing this,I wonder if there is an evil side in the vaping community lol

[lunerdog]

Aug 10, 2012 22:04:08 GMT alanfinal said:

So glad I am here on the AAEC and so pleased with all the vendors I have used,but was totally shocked by the going-ons with totally wicked the other week and now seeing this,I wonder if there is an evil side in the vaping community lol

Theres not an evil side Alan, but it appears there is a greedy and eff everybody else side as there is in every other money driven industry.

In the best possible way that I can put this, with the utmost respect to the way that things are done here on this forum, there is a term named "Panty Hamster" and the guy that made that statement in Perpy's post unfortunately falls into that catagorie.

What a dismal responce when the shortcomings of a mod are brought to light.

Shame I say.

[jayjay]

It will be a gerald ratner moment I think. Opens his mouth and ends his buisness. Very risky anyway considering the industry gets alot from internet sales.

[maccafan]

Gotvapes have issued a recall of the bottom tube to be replaced with tubes with milled vent holes:

Important Announcement Regarding the SMOKtech Telescope Battery Mod

Because of the voiced safety concerns, whether we differ or not to what level these should be raised, I certainly respect the rationale of anyone bringing them up - it has gotten to the point of a bit of hysteria. On another venue, very distasteful and malevolent statements and ill will were expressed that quite frankly alarmed me that someone may stage something or do something to drive home a point.

So at this point I am in contact with SMOKtech (it is their weekend so I may be waiting all weekend) to see what their answer is to the concerns. In the meantime I have zeroed out the inventory. Any Telescope orders placed today will not be fulfilled and anyone who has purchased a Telescope we would like you to return and we will provide you a credit for any other product in our store equal to the amount you paid for your mod plus an additional $25.00 for the inconvenience. If you would rather have a credit card refund we will do that also and you will still be issued the store credit of $25.00 for any inconvenince and hassle in sending the item back, plus whatever shipping charges you may have incurred (I'd ask you to please do not send your unit back express mail : )

I was assured, as well as Chris, the fully threaded tube provides more than enough venting and that the firing pin where it enters the tube also provides space to vent as heat generated in a breakdown of a battery would liquify any glue that is at the base and provide a large vent hole. I was also under the impression the catch was a hard plastic but this is not what SMOKtech told me, I came to that conclusion from eyeballing it, but I was wrong.

I do not believe a balloon test entirely is an adequate simulation of what kind of venting would occur, room temperature versus the force of a thermal breakdown. But that is a moot point at this stage. Enough concern has been raised. This is probably a good thing, many people are becoming much more educated on battery safety whether some of us feel it may have been overblown a bit much.

For those of you who have purchased this item please return to:

GotVapes - Daniel
10715 Buckeye Furnace
Sugar Land, TX 77498

Once received I will issue you a store credit or credit card refund (your choice). You will also be given a $25.00 store credit for your inconvenice and to that will be added your cost of shipping the unit back.

Unless SMOKtech provides us redress in either modifying the tubes or sending us tubes that aleviate any saftey concerns we will probably have to count this as a loss and that is plenty ok. Chris and I DO care ALOT about everyone and we want you completely comfortable about making purchases at GotVapes.com.

I will keep everyone informed as to SMOKtech's response as soon as I find out.

Thanks much to everyone and to the wonderful ECF community and it is meant from my heart and I am sure Chris also.

[Perpetua]

They should have done that in the first instance and saved a lot of grief Macca . . . although in the very first instance, as experienced Vendors of ecig ephemera, they should have realized there would have been safety concerns and addressed those with Smoktech before it came to this state of affairs.

[Bluefish]

First well done to dugie for the vid, second I agree with perps last post, and I don't know the, timeline between the vendor becoming aware of the problem and their last response, but it seems decent and reasonable, unlike the manufacturers who have acted it appears like complete morons and should be avoided at all costs.

[lunerdog]

Aug 11, 2012 8:43:20 GMT Perpetua said:

although in the very first instance, as experienced Vendors of ecig ephemera, they should have realized there would have been safety concerns and addressed those with Smoktech before it came to this state of affairs.

Well said Perps and very accurate, these guys have been in the business long enough to know the score and should have voiced concerns as soon as they received the shipment.

Got a feeling its about damage control now rather than safety and customers come first.

Hey ho.

[Brian]

I logged onto gotvapes site yesterday when i saw Maccas link to it. Put 2 T-shirts in basket and thought bugger it, im getting me one of these beauties too, but by the time i`d figured out how to get the discounts registered and shipping sorted, it was time to go out for me poker. So thought id go through it all this morning, being weekend, and posting wont happen until monday anyway....... thank god i did!

[maccafan]

I think their response was quite quick and kudos to those recognised the issue and took them to task..It wasn't helped by that bloke's comments in VF..

Maybe they thought that it would vent via x, y or z and there wasn't an issue. The onus of safety falls on manufacturers and even companies like Toyota have sold dangerous products on the market..Remember the sticky accelerator pedal?

The recompense for those inconvenienced is quite generous too regardless of GV's intentions and if it is only to maintain their name in the market, so be it.

[alanfinal]

I hope they are going to e mail or contact all those that have bought them,not just rely on people seeing this on the forums,there are people with what could be a potential tube bomb in their hands or pockets,even if this could be a extreme its cause for concern that a product could cause serious injury

[camperman]

i bet he will struggle getting any joy from smoktech as these companys dont like admitting liabilaty at all for their products, i was ripped off last year by bauway with the dismal 510N mod kits and their crappy power button after purchasing 50 units from them and so many of them overheating and melting, i ended up giving full refunds to everyone and sucking up a huge loss as they would not refund or replace any of the units i bought from them.
with all the safety devices built into VV products these days im very supprised that something like a small vent hole was over looked on a simple tube mod like this

[dugie]

Aug 11, 2012 9:01:27 GMT Bluefish said:

First well done to dugie for the vid

Just to note thats not me in the vid, its one i found on a site i visit and thought i would share.

Glad Gotvapes has done a recall, will be interesting to see what SmokTech come back with, if anything at all.

Dugie