Should I be concerned?

So I just noticed something when I removed my Nautilus tank on the bottom connector. It seems to be a very small raised bubble of sorts with a dimple in the middle? So I looked on my mod to notice an extremely small pin sized “hole” in the surface of the metal?
I use an eleaf 50watt only for my 2 nautilus tanks and my other tank does not have this blemish. Has anyone seen or heard of this before? Should I be worried? It almost looks like the contact slightly bubbled the metal on the tank.
Again it is very small but nonetheless it is there. The tank works just like it always has and I would be pretty upset if this means the end

I tried my best to get a pic of both so you guys can see what I mean. I keep all my equipment VERY clean and I have never once had any juice in the 510 connector


The tank picture I can not see anything from the picture. On the mod it appears there is a rough spot on the edge (BOTTOM) and a small white dot to the left. Does anything appear to be melted metal? Does it appear to be a Flaking such as a Plated metal on top of another metal. In the case of a flaking top metal from plating there is nothing to worry about since the only effect should be a slight drop in conductivity. Doubtful to be noticeable. In the case of melted metal, though no guarantee, it most likely is not a problem unless melted to extreme. It is easy to have a temporary bad connection from your tank being loose and creating a ARC of electricity (More know term, SPARK) when you hit the fire button and the tank is being wiggled at the same time. This ARC, or Spark can be enough to melt metal. From your pictures I would say there is not enough damage to worry but keep in mind we can not see the damage very well. Just keep your eye on it and pay attention to the temperature of your mod. If it is getting hot to excess then you damn well better start worrying. If it does not then I’d say you are ok using it…

PS: it is also a possibility of a defective cast from the factory (Bubble in the metal) Once you wear through the thin layer of metal hiding the bubble it becomes visible. Again not necessarily something to worry about unless the bubble encompasses nearly the whole contact pin and and the pin breaks. This does not appear there is any damage anywhere near the stem of the contact pin…

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I should of put my other naut next to it so you can see the difference between them in the picture. If you look at the picture dead center in the middle of the spring connector you can see its now raised and yes flacky unlike it should be completely smooth.
Also the spring copper looking metal used to be smooth but if you can see in the picture there is now a dot (hole) dead center of the copper looking “disk” (sorry I dont know the actual technical name of all the parts)
Both used to be smooth and as of today are no longer-

There has been no change in performance or output which leads me to think it will be ok…I hope…
It def was from the electricity causing it to dimple/flake in the middle I’m just concerned why. I have had both the mod and tanks for a year+ no issue
I’ll try taking a pic of both the normal one and the messed up one and maybe it will come through better in a picture

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The one on the right is the bubbled/cracked/flaked one, MUCH better picture here

As for the mod I think the white spot was a piece of paper towel or dust or somethin reflecting in the pic hehe sorry
The only issue there is the new pin hole in center pin on the mod

I’ll keep an eye on it and if it starts doing it to the other tank then it’s probably my mod? idk but so far no differnce in anything and I only found this out today when I switched tanks

thanks @ringling

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I can now definitely see what you are saying. Unfortunately that appears to be the beginnings of a separation of the stem and the upper disc. It could possibly break tomorrow or last a good long time. Guess that depends on the abuse it gets…The nautilus is getting pretty cheap now should you want to get another. I wonder if you can buy parts like the contact pin for those. I doubt it is very hard to replace should you be able to get them…

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Damn I wasnt hopin to hear that but I had a feeling. I handle my equipment like an egg and probably take better care of it than my children (kidding…sorta;-)
Now I’m wondering if the eleaf has anything to do with it? Cause it’s showing that pin hole in the same spot? Guess Ill keep an eye on my other naut and if it starts to happen on that one to, I have my answer…

The damaged tank is my first tank and my other naut I received months and months later so theres a chance its the tank being older as well…damn this sucks. Ill look around for parts on the naut but Im comcerned about this mod now to since there is that tiny hole in the surface it means there is a gap in the connection even though it’s microscopic

Actually my guess is (If I’m Correct that the stem is actually 2 parts) that the tank took a good knock from the side. Could also have been worked side to side over time and started separating the two parts. The mod should not be the problem UNLESS the contact pin in the mod is sitting crooked and thus working the tank back and forth (as you screw it on to the mod) till it finally started separating…

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Well thats somewhat good news;-)
I wonder if maybe the wife knocked it over today or somethin then. …haha sounds like Im blaming her, im just sayin I know I’ve never knocked it or dropped it and she could of accidentally done it when she was putting papers on my desk/lab…either way Im happier knowing its probably not the mod!
All I know is it started today cause I clean/inspect my equipment on a daily and noticed it this evening.
If it grows I’ll stop using it
For now I can’t find any parts outside of the pyrex but I also need to get to bed soon so I’ll search in the am

As always thanks @ringling I appreciate ya taking the time and give some thought to the speed dial thing :wink:

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I’ve stated in a few threads that my istick50 has been through battle zones. I have outright dropped it on my tile floor numerous times. I’m embarrassed to say how many. I have a 140 pound Great Dane who comes up on me while I’m reading and pushes her affection my way. My mod has slipped from my hand. It has been dropped in 3 inches of water, shut down manually in the blink of an eye. After taking it apart and careful drying it fired up like new. It takes a licking.

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I think I would pick up a new tank… now you have a reason to buy something new for urself!!! haha I’ll b waiting for ur vapemail post soon!! lol

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The aspire website has the center contact pins for sale. I think they’re under 1.00 each. It’s been awhile since I saw them. You can buy the base as a whole for about 10.00 from Kidney Puncher or an aftermarket from evape.us.
The evape model is not authentic and it shows. I bought two of them and when the airholes didn’t align I just drilled them out to 2 x 2mm and the airflow improved quite a bit.

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Mine has taken it’s share of abuse as well and aside from a few scratches it’s fine. My MVP 20W has been dropped from a moving car, fallen into my dogs water bowl and fallen numerous times on cement. Not a damn thing wrong with it and still looks good.
They should make cars the same way.

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http://online.aspirecig.com/aspire-nautilus-accessories-p-74.html

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Thank you!! I haven’t had time to look yet and this is great news! I wonder how hard it is to remove the pin? I never tried because I didn’t think it was really possible/easy and I didn’t want to damage it further-
Hopefully the pin replacement is the way to go!

**purchased! Now to figure out how the hell to take the base apart without causing further damage~

Thanks A LOT @Lostmarbles for taking the time to link all that info!

**looks like it basically pulls right out, simple enough, sorry @quitter1 no vape mail pics…yet;)

I looked at the webpage too. Honestly being you can get the whole base for just $9.00 it truly think it would be best to go that route. Mainly because being one part is wearing out, there’s a good change others are also. No sense getting into a hairball when it’s so easily avoided…

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Yeah I thought about it and agree but for only a buck I just got the pin. I took the pin out and the rubber ring that holds it in place is breaking down and stained with juice.
The tank was given to my by a friend ages ago who really didn’t take care of his shit the way I do. I compared it to the other naut that I have, which I won from a local vape shop at the same time my friend gave up vaping, and this thing is still new looking and the rubber ring is clean and solid.
Now this may not have anything to do with my original issue but I’m confident with how extremely anal I am about cleaning it, it’ll be fine moving forward.
Also if I purchased the base plus shipping I could just spend another $15 and get a whole new tank

The pin and gasket come out very very easily. Just take tweezers, needle nose pliers or a small screw driver and gently pry it out. Just be sure you don’t tear into the rubber gasket seal. when you pull the pin, pull it out straight so the little spring doesn’t get bent. To install, put the gasket in first, then push the pin through and make sure it seats properly. My suggestion would be to buy the entire base and replace it then play around with the old base and replace the pin. You’ll have a spare base which you can add a hollowed tank to and have two complete nautili.

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And buying a few more items will help tone down shipping costs per item. If it were me, I think I would be ordering 6-10 bases if it was something I wanted to keep around for a while. After all, we still have no idea if we will, or if we will not be able to buy equipment next year…

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Yeah I agree with you guys, it really just came down to a $ issue. I already didn’t have anything in the budget this week for my vape addiction but I bought some flavors anyways hehe
Now that I know I can buy parts like this, I plan on buying a few more parts soon. Especially since I have a couple extra pyrex tanks, I can snag a few more parts for under $20 and have another tank or two :slight_smile:

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I will say I am impressed that for a big company and manufacturer like Aspire, they were faster than most of the little independent shops I’ve dealt with. Within 2 hours of ordering the pin I received a confirmation email AND a shipped status email with a tracking code. Granted it will take a little more time to get to the states but damn they got it out fast!

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