Faulty “Blu-Packs” To Be Replaced By Electronic Cigarette Company at No Expense to Customers

Posted by Sparky

I just got an e-mail from Blu Cigs, a U.S. supplier of electronic cigarettes that seems pretty urgent.

Yes, I know I haven’t reviewed them yet, but I am on their e-mail list as a customer because I bought their starter kit and some cartridges a short time ago and just haven’t got around to a review yet. I was actually going to start working on it this week. Now, I am not so sure.

Anyway, the e-mail is a “recall” on their heavily touted “Blu-Pack.”

The Blu-Pack as seen in the picture above (retails for $9.95) is an carrying case for Blu electronic cigarette batteries and cartridges that doubles as a mobile battery charger. This Blu pack was definitely a novel idea and I have talked to a couple people that have used it and they really like it.

In a nutshell, their e-mail to customers states that the lithium polymer battery in the Blu-Pack could rupture the battery case and that the customer should discontinue use of the faulty Blu-Packs and dispose of them as instructed until replacement Blu-Packs can be shipped to customers.

As a valued Blu customer, we will replace your current Blu Pack at no expense to you

Sony, Dell and many other laptop and cell phone manufacturers have had similar problems with lithium battery packs.

This is a shame because Blu electronic cigarettes have really been on the rise in popularity and I was really looking forward to reviewing it. I may risk it and review it anyway with my faulty Blu-Pack.

Further details of Blu’s promise to replace all the faulty Blue-Packs out there with new ones are in the e-mail to all their customers which I have published in full below.

Kudos to the folks at Blu for promptly attempting to resolve this issue. Hopefully they will follow through with the replacement of all the units and this won’t cause them to go out of business in the process.

Here is the e-mail I got from Blu:

—————————————————————————————

IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTICE

Dear Blu Customer:

Our battery manufacturer has identified a potential safety issue that could lead to the overcharging and rupture of the Lithium Polymer battery incorporated in your Blu Pack battery charger. This potential safety issue could cause the Blu Pack to overheat and rupture the battery case. If the battery case ruptures, it could result in combustion of the gases and create a fire hazard.

WARNING!

IMMEDIATELY STOP USING YOUR BLU PACK AND DO NOT PLUG IT IN TO THE WALL CHARGER.

YOU MAY STILL CHARGE YOUR INDIVIDUAL BLU CIG BATTERY BY USING THE WALL CHARGER AND USB CHARGER PROVIDED IN YOUR STARTER KIT.

To charge your individual Blu Cig Battery using a wall outlet, simply plug your individual Blu Cig Battery into the USB Charger, plug the USB Charger into the Wall Charger, and plug the Wall Charger into the wall outlet.

You may also charge your individual Blu Cig Battery by plugging your individual Blu Cig Battery into the USB Charger, and then plugging the USB Charger directly into your computer’s USB Outlet.

DO NOT CHARGE YOUR INDIVIDUAL BLU ECIG BATTERIES WITH THE BLU PACK.

The battery manufacturer has implemented changes to the current design that will eliminate the risk of overcharging. We anticipate receiving the newly designed Blu Packs within 4 – 6 weeks. As a valued Blu customer, we will replace your current Blu Pack at no expense to you. A new Blu Pack will be shipped to you when replacement units are received from the manufacturer.

Although the risk of an overcharging event may be limited, you are instructed to immediately stop using your existing Blu Pack. We will replace your current Blu Pack with the new, improved Blu Pack and instruct you on how to properly dispose of your current Blu Pack. We apologize for any inconvenience.

IN ORDER TO PROPERLY DISPOSE OF YOUR CURRENT BLU PACK:

Go to: http://72.3.227.101/drop-off-your-old-batteries.php?c=142&w=9100&r=Y

Enter your zip code to find a recycling center where you can drop off your Blu Pack.

Alternatively, if you want to dispose of the Lithium Polymer battery in the Blu Pack yourself, please follow these instructions:

Blu Pack must be cool to start process.
Submerse the Blu Pack into a 5 gallon plastic bucket or tub of salt water (do not use metal). This container should have a lid, but it does not need to be airtight. Fill the plastic container with 3 – 5 gallons of cold water and mix in 1/2 cup of salt per gallon of water. Be sure to mix the salt water before you add your Blu Pack. Drop the Blu Pack into the salt water. DO NOT USE REGULAR WATER WITHOUT SALT ADDED, OR IT COULD CAUSE A CHEMICAL REACTION.
Allow the Blu Pack to remain in the tub of salt water for at least 2 weeks.
Remove the Blu Pack from the salt water, wrap it in newspaper or paper towels, and place it in the normal trash. They are landfill safe.

CONTINUED USE OF YOUR BLU PACK MAY BE HAZARDOUS. IMMEDIATELY STOP USING YOUR BLU PACK AND DISPOSE AS DIRECTED ABOVE.

YOU MAY STILL CHARGE YOUR INDIVIDUAL BLU ECIG BATTERIES BY USING THE WALL CHARGER AND USB CHARGER PROVIDED IN YOUR STARTER KIT.

CARTRIDGES AND ACCESSORIES MAY STILL BE ORDERED PENDING AVAILABLE INVENTORY.

Customer Service

Email: customerservice@blucigs.com

Toll Free: 1-888-207-4588

Sincerely,

blucigs.com

If you feel that you have received this notice in error, you may request to be removed from the mailing list by unsubscribing here.

blu
P.O. Box 12711
Charlotte, NC 28220-2711

News

7 Comments

Eric says:

September 29, 2009 at 9:39 pm

I ordered the starter kit. A day later I got the “unexpected delays” e-mail telling me that rather than 5 days to 2 weeks it would be 4 to 6 weeks before they’d have inventory. I wrote and told them to cancel the order. I hope I don’t see a charge on my credit card bill, but my bank is good about processing disputed charges, so I’m not too concerned.

Reply
- Eric says:
  
  October 2, 2009 at 3:56 pm
  
  Just a follow-up on this: I’ll give them credit for not charging my credit card.
  
  I ended up ordering a 510 kit and some supplies from cignot.com at a great price. They mailed it the next day, and I expect it to arrive either tomorrow or October 5. Can’t wait to get vaping on this e-cig.
  
  Reply
Paul Brownstone says:

September 29, 2009 at 11:03 pm

I recently had the misfortune to order from this company. The concept looked very nice and I was looking forward to it. I waited almost 2 weeks and still hadn’t received anything, so I decided to check on the status of my order on their website. I then saw that this “problem” had suddenly arisen (lithium battery issues have been around for years now) and that my order had been canceled. No email, notice, or anything whatsoever. (Hopefully obtaining a refund on my credit card)
Very unprofessional conduct in my opinion, and makes me wonder what kind of service they would (have) provided in the future, since I’ll order somewhere else.

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- Sparky says:
  
  September 30, 2009 at 12:56 pm
  
  Just curious, but if they didn’t send an e-mail or something how did you determine your order was canceled?
  
  It has actually been a little while since I ordered mine, but I am still surprised they canceled your order.
  
  A friend of mine and I ordered ours at the same time and immediately got the “delays due to inventory” e-mail. Since we both have numerous other e cigs we decided to wait it out and eventually got our shipment at the same time which was 3-4 weeks later.
  
  My friend loves hers and I haven’t actually opened mine yet
  
  Reply
  - PRCUSN says:
    
    November 15, 2009 at 12:27 pm
    
    I fully support JdgM3NT4L’s version of BLU currently i was 3+pks a day and on sept18 my starter kit plus 2 additional ordered cartons arrived i charged the pack and it is all i have used since didnt even get a celebritory last smoke.. ther have been some parts failure which as with anything these are being used and do breakdown after use? but planning for failure i ordered xtra batteries atomizers and i order cartridge a few weeks out and do well. The Blu pack is doing fine and i am sure as with any product failure, as a precaution recalling the masses of a lot/batch and replacing all is just good business but mine is charged everynite on a non flammable or destructive surface and i believe it will be fine 2 solid months of use 58 days and counting. all pieces ordered separately are shipped sometimes next day some times shipped 10 days out i m assuming its a supply issue but preparing for 3 weeks shipping is reasonable as there are no shipping charges yet. some cartridges last longer than others.currently i am doing no more than 5 a day and some days as little as 2. i am using the full and have started ordering the light to see if there is a cartridge use increase or if its just a habit vice addiction use that is breakable. i have half my work force trying to order itsome are just ordering the pieces and starting off just fine but they arent fully committed to quiting and/or preparing for the failures. Overall i think it is a good system although i have not tested others. i have seen a few others and they seemed bulky and a bit clownish with excessive smoke build up. i have not received my replacement pack going on 7 weeks now which is not in there 4-6 week timeframe. Still give it an A for now
    
    Reply
JdgM3NT4L says:

October 8, 2009 at 5:45 pm

Hi guys.
I’ve been using the Blu system for a little over a month. First things first. The Order/Delay process is more than a little annoying. I order my refills 2-3 weeks in advance and everything goes pretty smoothly once you accept the way it is. Period.
That said and out of the way.
Everyone should know the a little more about Blu than just that. In my experience the Vapor quality is more than reasonable. I am a pack and a half a day kinda guy. I went on a business trip last week and was gone for six days. I only smoked a days worth of ‘real cigs’ the whole trip. They seem to give 5 or 6 smokes per cartridge, and can usually get a whole cartridges worth out of each battery.
The pack is also really handy. There could be an extra place for another assembled cigarette to store in my opinion. That isn’t much of a downside when you consider how great being able to charge the cigarette batteries on the run really is. Too cool really.
I do hope that they improve the pack in more ways than the battery. F.y.i. my battery pack seems fine. After the warning and until I get the replacement I will definetly not charge that thing overnight anymore.
This is kind of silly. When you put the cigarette battery into the pack and it gets a full charge, the pack then shuts off. It seems that the cigarette battery will discharge a little. Which then prompts the pack to initiate a charge. Then the process repeats itself with one minor difference… The battery in the pack gets lower and lower as does the cig battery. A viscious cycle that leads to both being totally dead if left unsupervised. Hopefully a solution can be found.
The flavors are mostly as described. I really enjoy their Classic Tobacco flavor. And my Family and Friends that have tasted it agree about the taste. Sometimes when I am working with my Blu hanging out of my mouth I actually taste/smell burning paper and tobacco. The first time it happened was a great moment. I realized how darn close that they actually nailed the best part of the cigarette flavor.
The other flavors are all true to the name and descriptions provided at the website. A brief breakdown. The Vivid Vanilla is intensely vanilla flavored. The Magnificent Menthol is the only one that doesn’t really match it’s description. It is more of a spearmint than it is menthol. As someone who smoked Salem 100′s for years… These are not menthol. But they are ok. The Cherry Crush is much like a cherry pipe tobacco flavor. Kind of nice. The Java Jolt is pretty tasty too. There is a hint of a nutty coffee that goes down nicely. I do recommend to anyone who orders a Starter Pack to get a box of the Classic Tobacco. The flavors are ok for fun. But when you really want a smoke, candy just won’t do.
Overall I have to say that once you get past the terrible logistic problems that are more than obvious, they are certainly worth the time and trouble. I’ve never used any other brand and have no idea how they perform. For $80 there were 2 cartons worth of smokes and all of the equipment necessary. Not too bad for me. Thanks for reading. -Scott, a.k.a. JdgM3NT4L.

Reply
Jon says:

January 20, 2010 at 7:27 pm

Volcanocigs.com. COMPLETELY THE SAME AS BLU. Carts work too if you dont refill your own…

Reply