PROTOVAPOR

Posted on August 7, 2014August 8, 2014 by Protovapor — 1 Comment

Status 8/7: Getting ‘caned

Current estimated lead time for XPV orders

10-15 business days from payment. See this page for details on how the lead time works.

XPV ordering is: OPEN

As of this posting, XPV ordering is open.

A bit of rain

Well, As Seen On TV™, Hawaii is currently under a hurricane warning as not one, but two hurricanes have decided to pay a visit. While we do expect to close the shop at least one day, we do not anticipate any delays to shipments, at least originating shipments. Depending on how the weather affects the islands, it’s possible mail could move a bit slower once with USPS. Hopefully we emerge unscathed and none the worse for wear.

Local news links:

Hawaii News Now

KITV Honolulu

KHON Honolulu

Honolulu Star-Advertiser

FDA comment deadline imminent

All vapers should be filing comments with the FDA on the impending regulations on the vaping industry. Please take a minute to do so if you have not already. Any comment helps. See the following links for information:

CASAA streamlined comment information

CASAA call to action (full info)

Posted on July 26, 2014July 26, 2014 by Protovapor — 2 Comments

Status 7/26: 510 upgrade available

Current estimated lead time for XPV orders

12-18 business days from payment. See this page for details on how the lead time works.

XPV ordering is: OPEN

As of this posting, XPV ordering is open.

510 upgrade now available for purchase

We have launched the 510 upgrade as an ala carte product. You can now purchase it for your older XPV mods. Please read the descriptions well for how the arrangements work. We intend to keep these continuously available, however we do have a set number we will sell at a time, so we can manage the turnaround times.

510 Connector Upgrade – USA

510 Connector Upgrade – International

Posted on July 16, 2014July 16, 2014 by Protovapor

Status 7/16: On the case

Current estimated lead time for XPV orders

15-20 business days from payment. See this page for details on how the lead time works.

Additional delay update

At this time the additional delay is resolved and there is no additional delay beyond the lead time estimate.

XPV ordering is: OPEN

As of this posting, XPV ordering is open.

New cases in!

We have received a new shipment of cases. These are designed to work natively with the new 510 connector, so we are back to the standard-thickness upper spacers and clip spacers. Case length remains 110mm.

We restocked all colors except silver, which we will be phasing out. We believe grey is close enough to silver that we do not need to stock both colors, and we did not receive feedback from anyone wanting to keep both. Any silver cases on order are of the older design and will continue to ship with the thicker top spacer. As usual, we will accept color change requests, please try to let us know by the end of this week.

Gloss black now available

We have added gloss black (left in photo) to the color options. All cases prior to this addition have had a matte finish; gloss black is a smooth, polished finish. It is a handsome finish. For cases already ordered with black color, we will assume matte black unless you contact us to change.

The new new blue

The current batch of blue cases is closer to the original lighter blue. In order to make sure the distinction is understood, we are calling this color “Ice Blue” (top in image) as opposed to the immediately previous “Royal Blue” (bottom). We are completely out of royal blue cases, so any blue case that has not been shipped yet will be ice blue. If you would like to change colors, contact us with the change request.

Black screws now shipping

We have finally secured black screws that are designed correctly for our cases and are now using them standard on all cases with black trim. Going forward we will use black screws with black trim mods, silver screws with alumide trim mods. If you have a specific request to get the other color on your order, please write the request in the comment section of your order. For already-placed orders, contact us.

For existing mod owners, black screw sets can be ordered.

More about screws

For any mods with the new 510 connector that shipped prior to 7/15, we have been using a variety of different top screws in an effort to find the best match, as the original batch of screws we received from our vendor were very poor quality. We have finally received matching, good quality screws from our vendor. For these specific orders, we will ship a new set of screws free if you do not like the screws your mod came with. Contact us with requests.

About the new 510 connector

So far we have heard of relatively few issues with the new 510 connector. We hope it is working well for everyone. The connector has a depth range of approx. 3.5mm to 5mm. The relevant measurement on an atomizer is from the shoulder above the atomizer’s 510 threading to the tip of the atomizer’s positive contact (see image). This covers a wide range of atomizers, but atomizers with very long connection depth, especially those with long positive contact pins, may not screw down all the way until the shoulder contacts the connector. It is best if the shoulder does bottom on the connector, so you may want to adjust the center pin on the atomizer if it is possible. If it is not adjustable, it may be possible to reduce pin stick-out by filing down the pin itself or the insulator beneath the pin (usually delrin). Or you may want to use a different atomizer.

Posted on July 2, 2014July 3, 2014 by Protovapor — 4 Comments

Status 7/2: De feet!

Current estimated lead time for XPV orders

20-25 business days from payment. See the FAQ for details on how the lead time works.

Additional delay update

The past couple of weeks have been difficult as we dealt with transitioning our design to the new connector, which so happened to coincide with a large spike in orders in the production queue. Through this week the additional delay is 4-5 days. At the end of this week, we expect the additional delay to be eliminated as there was a lead time update which accounted for the additional order volume at the time.

XPV ordering is: OPEN

As of this posting, XPV ordering is open.

Announcing ModFeet!

Today we launch a new accessory for XPV mods, the ModFoot. It is meant to provide a more stable base for XPV mods when placed on desktops or other flat surfaces. There are two options, a 3-pack of plain feet and a BigFoot model. Click here.

Posted on June 18, 2014 by Protovapor

Status 6/18

Current estimated lead time

25-30 business days from payment. See the FAQ for details on how the lead time works.

Additional delay updated

The transition to the new 510 was not as smooth as hoped, so unfortunately we’re back up to 3-4 days additional delay. We think this will be resolved fairly quickly but for mods that were hitting the far end of the lead time window this week, there may be a couple extra days of delay.

XPV ordering is: OPEN

As of this posting, XPV ordering is open.

Not much else to report; production is proceeding at full speed.

Posted on June 12, 2014June 13, 2014 by Protovapor — 1 Comment

Status 6/12: New 510 connector launch

Current estimated lead time

25-30 business days from payment. See the FAQ for details on how the lead time works.

Additional delay remains in effect

Due to the pending launch of the new connector, we are leaving the 1-2 day additional delay in place for now to account for any issues.

XPV ordering is: CLOSED

As of this posting, XPV ordering is open. EDIT 6/13: XPV ordering is closed. Ordering will reopen next week.

New 510 connector launch

As of today we expect to begin shipping the new 510 connectors full-time. We have worked quite a bit on the details of implementation as this is not quite a drop-in change. All currently shipping orders are getting an additional spacer placed on top of the unit which makes the required room for the new connector. Example photo below. This spacer will be phased out in 2-3 weeks when we receive new, larger spacers that take up the room in a single piece. We have ordered new cases that are redesigned to eliminate the need for the large additional spacer, so in 3-4 weeks we expect to start phasing out the wide spacers entirely.

If anyone would like to opt to hold their order until either the new spacers or new cases come in, please contact us via the support form. At this time we are not taking in mods for retrofitting with the 510 or shipping the 510 for user installation. We want to get up to speed on incorporating the connector into production before we announce those options.

Opt-in queue processing starts

Building of the mods that are opted-in for the new 510 connector begins today. We expect to clear the queue in about a week. There is no need to request the connector anymore as all future mods will be built with it.

Colors restocking

As mentioned, we have ordered new cases and replenished several of the sold-out colors, including black, green and blue. As usual if you would like to change color to one of those, contact us via the support form.

Posted on June 5, 2014June 5, 2014 by Protovapor

Status 6/5: Connector preview, update on delay

Current lead time

27-32 business days from payment. See the FAQ for details on how the lead time works.

Shipping delay shortened

As of today we have actually caught up on the 3-4 day shipping delay incurred in the last board shipment. However since we are still right at the edge, we will keep a 1-2 day delay announced; we will hopefully be able to do away with this entirely as of the next update.

XPV ordering is: OPEN

Shortly after this post goes up, XPV ordering will be open.

Free shipping on DNA-30D boards

For a limited time, shipping is FREE on DNA-30D boards (retail box)! See listing for coupon code.

Connector preview

We have secured the deal on our new connectors and are very excited to get them integrated into the product. As mentioned this is one of the most significant improvements in the design we have ever been able to do, and we are hoping it might help with production rate as well. It should also reduce warranty/service inquiries and repairs.

Here is a preview of the new connector in a testbed installation. As you can see it is a stainless, low-profile main body, and it uses a brass spring-loaded center pin. In our testing all of our atomizers connected and fired with no adjustment needed. This connector is a collaboration with another well-known — or soon to be well-known — producer, and is exclusive to Protovapor.

510conn_preview

We hope to be installing this connector by sometime next week. It is not 100% drop-in so we have to do a little figuring before we can release it.

Connector opt-in update

We have received quite a few opt-ins from people who are far outside the affected dates. Again, only if your mod was ordered around April 20th or earlier (certainly no later than April 25th), do you need to opt-in for the connector. After that, we are confident every mod will be having the connector installed by default. If we need to update the cutoff date, we will announce, but for now, if you ordered for example any time in May or later, you DO NOT have to opt-in, you will get the new connector by default.

Case reordering

We are running low on several case colors so we are working on securing the next batch. We hope to add another color to the lineup if possible, though we may phase out either grey or silver from the lineup as they are very close to each other. Comment on this post if you feel strongly about that.

Posted on May 30, 2014June 1, 2014 by Protovapor — 7 Comments

Status 5/30: Moving ahead

Current lead time

30-35 business days from payment. See the FAQ for details on how the lead time works. See below for an update.

Shipping delay still in effect

The 3-4 day lead time delay announced in the last status post remains in effect for orders currently shipping.

Progress on lead time

The board sourcing delay set us back, but simply not taking orders automatically lowered the lead time. Going forward we will be running ordering in a way that will lower the lead time as we go along, meaning we will take fewer orders in a week than we ship in a week. That means mod ordering will open and close on a weekly basis. We will announce the opening of ordering, and edit the post with notice of closing.

Ordering will open for this week shortly after this posting. EDIT 6/1: Ordering is now closed for this order period. Ordering will open again later this week with the next status post.

Connector upgrade

Our mods are in a constant state of development and improvement, and we are currently working on probably the most significant update to the design in the history of the mod. We are in the process of sourcing a new, vastly improved 510 connector for XPV mods. This connector will have a stainless body, delrin insulator and spring-loaded pin, and be all-around a huge improvement over the basic 510 the mod has used since the introduction of the 510 option.

For those of you who may not have been following us since the early days, we have never been very happy with the 510 connectors available for our use. The mod was released with a native Ego connector for that reason, but the market demanded the 510. So, we sourced the best one we could find and developed a process — quite complicated and labor-intensive — that would make it as reliable as possible. However, it is still a very plain unadjustable connector and we have been constantly looking for a better connector to use.

We have finally found one. Early testing shows tremendous improvement in connector performance. We conservatively estimate release in 2 weeks, and we are working to make sure existing mods can be retrofitted. However due to the costs involved, this will not be a free upgrade. We will announce availability and pricing as soon as we make a few final decisions.

Opt-in for the new connector

By default, we will continue to make and ship mods that have already been ordered with the standard connector until the new connector is released. Then, all mods will be made with the new connector. Starting today, people who have ordered mods that are expected to ship during the pre-release period can request to have their mods built with the new connector — that means we will hold them in the queue until we have the new connectors ready, then they will be built in order. This applies to orders which have not been shipped, which were ordered before April 20. Contact us via the support form. After those mods are built, production will proceed as normal using the new connector.

To recap:

Orders due to ship before the connector is released (before April 20 orders) can request to have their mods held and built with the new connector when it is ready. There is no charge.
Orders due to ship before the connector is released (before April 20 orders) that do not opt-in for the new connector will be built with the standard connector as planned. Depending on the number of opt-ins, these mods may end up shipping ahead of schedule. There is no charge.
Orders built after the connector is released will have the new connector installed. We are transitioning our production to use this new connector exclusively. There is no additional charge for orders that have already been placed.
Existing mods can be upgraded to the new connector once it is released. Customer is responsible for shipping and there will be a nominal charge for the upgrade.

The April 20 cutoff date is a moving target and could change depending on how many opt-ins there are. We will post any updates to this date as necessary. We do not foresee this process causing additional delays.

New product listings

We are starting to stock other products for purchase via our website. First up are DNA 30D boards and Sony VTC5 batteries. These products are sold independently of mod production and have no effect on lead times or possible delays. They are in stock for immediate shipment.

XPV accessories development

We are working on a few new accessories for XPV mods, and will be releasing them shortly. First on the list is a “foot” for the bottom of XPV mods, which widens the base and makes them more stable on flat surfaces such as desktops. ETA for these is 2 weeks.

Posted on May 15, 2014May 17, 2014 by Protovapor — 16 Comments

Status 5/15: We’re back! But …

Current estimated lead time

40-45 business days from payment. See the FAQ for details on how the lead time works. See below for an update.

We’re back in!

We made it home relatively unscathed, and are back taking care of business.

But …

Ohio, we have a problem. You may be aware that Evolv has been having some problems keeping up with demand for the DNA 30D. Our boards we ordered in early April were supposed to be here by last week at latest (3-5 weeks lead time) but should instead be arriving by the end of this week. We are completely out of DNA 30D boards, so as of right now we cannot build and ship any orders. We anticipate we will lose 3-4 planned build days due to this delay, so unfortunately we must now announce a 3-4 day delay in the listed lead times. So if your mod has not shipped yet, add 3-4 days to the lead time window. We will be looking for ways to make up this delay time over the next few weeks.

Non-DNA board repairs will be processed as usual.

EDIT 5/17: We did receive our shipment of boards and are building again. The delay still applies, but we are working to catch up.

Ordering on hold

In the meantime, XPV mod ordering remains on hold. We would like to reduce the lead time substantially and as mentioned earlier will make some changes to ordering to help reach this goal. We will announce when ordering reopens.

Thank you for your ongoing patience! We are chomping at the bit to get building again and will do our best to get back on schedule ASAP.

Posted on May 5, 2014 by Protovapor — 5 Comments

Status 5/5: Protovapor on vacation

Current estimated lead time

40-45 business days from payment. See the FAQ for details on how the lead time works.

We’re off

We’re on vacation through early next week, as mentioned in the last post. Mod and other shipments are on hold, however email support will still be provided. Responses may be a little delayed, please bear with us.

XPV ordering pause

As mentioned previously, we have temporarily turned off XPV ordering while we are out of the office and will resume it some time after we return. We will be working out some new organization to hopefully help with our lead time; we will resume building and shipping mods late next week. Again, we did account for this time off in the lead times, and intend to remain on schedule by the published lead times.

VTC5 followup

There have been several inquiries, so for the record, any mod ordered with a Sony VTC4 battery after (and including) Order 397 has been/will be automatically upgraded to a VTC5 battery.