This is kind of a historical pastiche of other posts that I tried to paste together to form a narrative. You may find some awkward language in there are a result.
I received my GH back from Hopper about two weeks ago. The damn thing ran cold. I had to put it all the way up to 5 to get any vapor and my AVB is fully green when no more vapor is coming from the device. Put the AVB into my EVO and got a nice huge cloud. Just the one but this is an EVO and it was a really big cloud. Enough that I would be pissed if I had to toss it as spent in the GH.
Before its failure I thought my GH temps were perfect. I would run at 4.2 on the dial and get thick hot vapor and still have up to level 5 to finish off a load if I wanted. AVB was nicely browned.
I, and I believe most other GH fans, love the device because its a hard hitting, can't over power it, vapor engine. I sure as fuck don't need a GH that's a light sipper with green AVB.
THIS ^^ is what took them 13 weeks? sigh
So,this is what I just sent to Hopper about my inadequately repaired GH that runs cold. I'm getting kind of sick of all of the excuses and caveats. These guys are just fucking up, and I don't care how nice and sincere their neighbor thinks they are. This is business and business is about execution.
Dear Hopper Labs CS – I recently received my GH back from a long and languishing RMA process a few days ago and I can hardly express my disappointment in quality of the repair and with Hopper Labs.
This is GH serial number GT001671, and RMA reference number 54514675.
Please understand, I moderate one popular vape forum, curate a sub-forum on another, and am a respected and active member on a third one. Further, I have almost a dozen vapes of all sorts. My point is that I know vapes and I know what should be the expected performance. I also know how to properly dry, prepare, and load my herb and I used the exact same herb that I have very successfully used in my GH before it failed and which I use in all sorts of other vapes. What I’m trying to say here is that lack of knowledge or a bad payload is not the issue here.
Previous to its failure, I would run my GH at slightly over 4 on the temp dial. I could even go down to mid-3’s and get decent vapor but I used it mostly with water and 4-4.2 gave me thick vapor and very nice ABV. Also, this temp setting still gave me head room in case I wanted to push a load very hard by increasing the temp to 5 on the dial. My AVB came out nice and evenly dark brown (not charred, just nice even brown) and the loads were fully extracted as demonstrated by putting the AVB into a desktop like the EVO and finding there was nothing useful there.
NOW, however, with my repaired GH that supposedly came out of your retooled production and test line with your new parts runs VERY cool. Unacceptably cool. I have to turn the temps all the way to 5, anything less and I get absolutely nothing. However, even on temp 5 the performance is substandard and not at all acceptable in a GH or any other vape. What I get with my repaired GH is nothing at all on the first draw (prior to failure I would milk on first draw), slight wisp on second draw, middling vapor on the third draw (meh), and nothing thereafter. And this is with long draws through a water tool which gives the best opportunity for thick vapor.
The resulting AVB was still very green…alarmingly green. I have attached a picture of it but it’s not a good color representation. Between the camera, compression, and monitor display differences the picture looks a lot darker than in actuality. In person, it’s very green. But, I am sending it to you in the spirit of full and honest communication.
Putting that AVB into an EVO resulted in a huge thick draw of visible vapor. As you know, the average load for a GH is about .1 - .12 g and my repaired GH left at least half of the goodness still in the AVB while pushing the unit at its max temp.
I cannot understand how this unit got out of your door with your supposedly improved test lab and processes. This repair is a clear and utter miss and, from looking over the boards, I’m not the only one getting RMA’d GH’s back with disappointing performance. I’m speechless that after all of the delay you put your customer base through for your re-engineering, you still put out a defective product. At this point, Hopper has very little reserve of goodwill among its customer base and even less trust and confidence. With your long history of reliability and testability shortfalls and extraordinary delays, IMO Hopper cannot afford to be sending back GH’s that are not adequately repaired.
I would like to return my GH and have it fixed correctly this time.
I paid to send it to you last time. I think that since this lack of performance is a result of Hopper’s inadequate repair, that Hopper should send me a pre-paid shipping label.
Also, since this is a return of a recently shipped RMA, I do not think I should go back to the end of your RMA queue and have to wait another few months to get it back.
Please reply and let me know what Hopper’s position is on the above and how we should proceed from there.
Oh, by the by.....I may have overstated my bona fides just a bit? Especially the "respected member" part! haha
I received this from Hopper. IMO, polite and responsive. No need to brutalize Drew, he's just trying to do his job and I can't ask more from him. I just want a well functioning GH back.
From Hopper:We sincerely apologize for the trouble with your Hopper. Our upgrade has been a move to start producing the heating element in house as apposed to outsourcing. We admittedly do not catch every issue out of the door, but we are working and developing to improve this phenomena. I will attach a return label so you will not have to pay for shipping again. You will just need to print this out. We will get this fixed up and shipped back to you within several days of its return to us.
USPS shipping label link was here
Thank you,
Hopper Labs
My reply (no use yelling at the guy, right....won't help).
Thank you, Drew. Your response was polite, humble and responsive and I can't ask for anything more (well, except a well functioning GH back, of course).
I recently retired from a long career as a Program Manager in tech. Mostly very high end telecom core network equipment and a LOT of software. I am aware of how hard it is to build in testibility and fault isolation ability and how difficult it can be to find all faults and failures. in a production run. But I also know, from long experience, that doing just that is absolutely essential to success.
Please do ensure my GH comes back with some spring in its step. As I said, it runs very cool even at temp 5. I would FAR prefer it to run hot as I can always roll the temp down. But with it cool at temp 5, there was no place to go up.
Also, when I turn it on, red goes to solid blue as expected but the blue light flickers when I actually draw. I the past that would indicated to me that time to change battery was imminent. I don't know if this is now expected behavior or indicative of the issue with my GH.
My OG GH did indeed work perfectly for almost 18 months. Milk on the first draw at 4.2 through a water pipe and very nicely even AVB after the session.
Not used as a daily driver and definitely babied and kept in the house, but it was a vapor producing machine and was everything a GH should be. I would love to have it back with that type of performance. :-)
Thanks again and try to keep an even strain out there. But I do really hope you guys can get your production and test issues worked out as a reliable and repairable GH would be a killer in the market place.
Please do reach out if you have any questions of me or any confusion/issues once my GH arrives.
And thank you for the shipping label and the promise of a fast turn-around time. I appreciate your fulfilling my requests in those areas.
From Hopper Labs, instead of my sending the whole unit back, they want to now send me a new body (by the by, via very slow USPS but what the hell...they did ship me one)
Thanks for the detailed response. It sounds like we need to replace the body of your unit. Perhaps there is a poor connection in there that came loose during the transit process. We do extensive testing on every unit and I can assure you it was working well when it was here. We have shipped over 1000 of our new units and have not seen many problems. We cannot control every variably but we will do our best to make this right for you.
We will send out a new body for the unit to remedy the problem .
and
From Drew at Hopper:
I'm sorry. That was a communication mess up on our part. We will be sending you a replacement body. You will not need to worry about sending in the whole Hopper. I will be voiding the label that I originally sent you and your body should be shipping out soon.
My Reply - to Hopper on the new body I received to fix my failed Ti Bronze RMA. No need to comment, I believe. Its self-explanatory. :bang::bang::bang::bang::bang::bang::bang:
Drew - I received the new body today in the mail against this RMA.
As is clearly shown in the list of my registered GH, both are "Ti Bronze" and certainly the GH we are dealing with in this RMA is a "Ti Bronze".
Beyond all belief, Hopper sent me a "SS body". I'm flabbergasted.
To review the bidding, My GH failed and was received by Hopper under RMA on 1 Mar '18. ON 8 June it was shipped back to me.
Upon receipt, this "repaired" RMA'd GH was in fact found to still defective and runs VERY cold...unacceptably cold....to the point of non-functional cold.
So, I reopened the RMA and after a bit of communications confusion (with some caused by me), Hopper decided that the issue was the body and that rather than return the entire GH for repair, Hopper would send me a body...a body for my "Ti Bronze".
And you ended up shipping me a "SS body"!!
I'm speechless about this, disappointed in Hopper beyond words, and I cannot understand how this happened. You have the registration info on what type of GH it was, after all.
I have NOT used this new SS body, will gladly return it to you (please send me a shipping label if you want it back) but this "SS body" is NOT an acceptable warranty repair and I hope you would agree that what I deserve is a properly operating "Ti Bronze" body with which to restore my GH.
Drew...brother...this is getting silly.
Please advise as how you would like to proceed.
Well, after three days without a reply from Hopper, I was about to call in the F-35's with cluster bomb unit munitions (or maybe napalm) when an email from Hopper popped up at 8 pm alerting me to an update in my RMA ticket.
They must have heard me talking to the forward air controller and they got to me just in the nick of time.
Here is what they replied
Drew (Hopper Labs)
I'm sorry for the continued trouble. In the miscommunication that the owner and I had a Titanium body was sent to you instead of a Bronze. I just want to confirm that the new body fixed your issue and the only problem is that you received the wrong color. I will be sending you a bronze body immediately. You are welcome to wait to send us the wrong body at a later date with you broken one.
My Reply
Hi Drew - I don't know if the silvery looking body (I thought it was SS but you say its Ti) has fixed the issue as I haven't used it in anticipation of needing to send it back in exchange for a Ti Bronze and I assumed you would want it back in "new" condition.
I understand that you will immediately send the Ti Bronze body to me but that you want me to try the silver body to ensure that fixes the issue.
Tonight, I will try the silver Ti body and see if it resolves the issue and I will advise further.
Ok, further to the saga, I just posted this communications to the RMA ticket:
HI Drew - I just tested with the silver Ti body and my GH is now running well and acceptable. Vapor on first draw through a WP and at the end a nicely extracted AVB.
Maybe a bit cooler than my OG body, but perfectly acceptable and a good performer.
I'm very glad to have a working GH in my hands again. :-)
With this data in hand, I would like to keep this body until I receive the Ti Bronze that you are sending me (PLEASE make sure its a good hot body, yeah...please? haha).
When I receive the new Bronze body, if it works correctly, I will inform you and if you will send me a mailing label then I will return the silver Ti and the poorly performing Ti Bronze body that came back with the initial return of the RMA.
Sound good to you?
Keep an even strain, my friend.
I ran a .1 g load of G6 (Jet Fuel, yeah...same maybe) and pretty much sucked it up through an FC-188 in three draws at 4.25. I took another clean up at 4.25 then tried again at 5.0 and got a bit. My AVB looked just right.
This body does still run a bit cooler than my OG, but its perfectly acceptable.
Wow, I don't do Sativa very much and that one load had me zooming. haha
So, like many/most of us...I'm torn. The GH is so great to have in the house working but its really tottering on the edge of if all of this crap is worth it. I slotted an SB Jr into my GH's role for middle of the night meds and it works great every time! haha
So, I now have a working, is somewhat mismatched, GH and I'm awaiting the proper body to arrive (and hopefully work). Its hard to beleive that they are still in business with this type of execution as all of these back and forths cost money...more than most people thing...it really adds up and my story is not atypical.
Cheers
