Discontinued The Firefly Vaporizer

[Stu]

Neither of my FF's get hot enough at the bottom plate to create conduction...not even close. (Put material in the bowl and hold the heat button...does it cook? Mine doesn't.)

I simulated a session with the FF but took no draws as a test. I wanted to see how much conduction and/or radiation was at play or if it was really using true convection. I even shook between "hits" to mimic normal use. My herb came out green afterward and I couldn't detect any degradation at all. I found this surprising as I had expected it to cook at least some.

I have only done this once, so maybe I didn't lean on it hard enough. I would like to hear the results of other FF users if anyone is game. It only takes a few minutes and doesn't waste weed. The only difficult part is forcing yourself to NOT take any draws during the test.

 

[EveryDayAmnesiac]

Just recently bought a used Firefly after trying a friend's and I'm noticing it acts differently than my friend's in a certain way. When heating my friend's FF, the light pulses green. If the unit gets too hot, it flashes red to let you know it is getting too hot. I don't think the heater fully powers down until you actually let off the button, though. Perhaps it lowers to some temp and levels?

The one I have heats up exactly the same way, but instead of ever flashing red at some point, my light simply goes solid green at 20 seconds and the heating element powers down until I let off and repress.

I know this vape typically has a pretty steep learning curve, but is this difference typical or is something amiss?

The one issue I have with my FF is that the button has gotten pretty finicky. Sometimes, my light goes solid green after about 15 seconds, because, I think, the button just isn't making the connection anymore. If I press the button firmly and to the edge closer to the bowl, I can take it to where the button will go red instead of solid green.

Is this perhaps what is happening, or am I reading your question incorrectly?

 

[Mrbinky]

I'm not looking to "upgrade" my version 1.

I'm simply glad there are going to be new options on what I consider an already fantastic vaporizer. I'm glad they're improving what I think is an already great design. Maybe I'd purchase a 2.0 if there are enough differences, I don't know.

I don't think this news is dependent on any upgrade plan that may or may not exist.

So, you'd sooner buy a second firefly than upgrade yours, if they offered you the option?

Personally, I don't think I need two firefly's. If version 2 was a massive improvement over everything else like it, I might buy one. But I'd be pissed that they didn't offer an upgrade. Early adopters should be rewarded, IMHO.

 

[TheDudeNextDoor]

The one issue I have with my FF is that the button has gotten pretty finicky. Sometimes, my light goes solid green after about 15 seconds, because, I think, the button just isn't making the connection anymore. If I press the button firmly and to the edge closer to the bowl, I can take it to where the button will go red instead of solid green.

Is this perhaps what is happening, or am I reading your question incorrectly?

That sounds about right. The only thing is that I used my thumb with a second finger to try to keep the button firmly down, and it did it anyway. And all four times it has been exactly at 20 seconds. I'll try it again on different sides of the button. But that definitely should not be happening, right?

 

[EveryDayAmnesiac]

I simulated a session with the FF but took no draws as a test. I wanted to see how much conduction and/or radiation was at play or if it was really using true convection. I even shook between "hits" to mimic normal use. My herb came out green afterward and I couldn't detect any degradation at all. I found this surprising as I had expected it to cook at least some.

I have only done this once, so maybe I didn't lean on it hard enough. I would like to hear the results of other FF users if anyone is game. It only takes a few minutes and doesn't waste weed. The only difficult part is forcing yourself to NOT take any draws during the test.

Well, I just rode the shit out of my battery, Stu, but tried NOT stirring, and I could see only the very very VERY slightest change in color of my herb - without the spotlight and magnifying glass, I wouldn't have ever noticed it. I could VERY faintly smell herb when opening up the chamber and putting the bowl right up to my nose, but I haven't cleaned my FF in a while. Upon taking a hit, I found it still had that "first toke" taste.

So, you'd sooner buy a second firefly than upgrade yours, if they offered you the option?

Personally, I don't think I need two firefly's. If version 2 was a massive improvement over everything else like it, I might buy one. But I'd be pissed that they didn't offer an upgrade. Early adopters should be rewarded, IMHO.

You know, I'm not sure what I'd do. I love my version 1 so much that I don't know I'd want to trade it in. It would really depend on what is done.

And until we find out just what the plan is here, I suppose we can just vape and wait...

IMO, the FF is a cutting edge vape, and if it wants to remain that way, it'll have to upgrade pretty regularly. But maybe the product is good enough that, like the Solo, many people prefer older versions if it suits their needs?

Early adopters should be rewarded, absolutely, and I sure do hope that they offer a trade-in program.

Considering what this company was able to do on their first try, I am very much looking forward to seeing what changes they are making.

That sounds about right. The only thing is that I used my thumb with a second finger to try to keep the button firmly down, and it did it anyway. And all four times it has been exactly at 20 seconds. I'll try it again on different sides of the button. But that definitely should not be happening, right?

Are you ABSOLUTELY certain it's 20 seconds? I used to think mine was shutting off early before I actually got a stopwatch and timed it. Just asking!

 

[mitchgo61]

I simulated a session with the FF but took no draws as a test. I wanted to see how much conduction and/or radiation was at play or if it was really using true convection. I even shook between "hits" to mimic normal use. My herb came out green afterward and I couldn't detect any degradation at all. I found this surprising as I had expected it to cook at least some.

I have only done this once, so maybe I didn't lean on it hard enough. I would like to hear the results of other FF users if anyone is game. It only takes a few minutes and doesn't waste weed. The only difficult part is forcing yourself to NOT take any draws during the test.

I just did this, again, myself. Same results...I leaned HARD on my Red FF, getting it quite hot, with a packed bowl using the stock screen. I used an entire battery charge, holding the button each time until it stopped heating. I also stirred a few times. No change in color. The material got pretty warm, even quite dry, but no vapor was passively coaxed from it, as far as I could tell. The plate gets plenty hot, too hot to touch, but no conduction appears to be at work.

Yes, it's a bitch not drawing while you hold the button and watch the battery drain. Downright unnatural.

So, you'd sooner buy a second firefly than upgrade yours, if they offered you the option?

Personally, I don't think I need two firefly's. If version 2 was a massive improvement over everything else like it, I might buy one. But I'd be pissed that they didn't offer an upgrade. Early adopters should be rewarded, IMHO.

It's fun having two, and it makes me more Zen about future problems with one of them that might require sending it back....which given the five year warranty and past experience isn't particularly unlikely.

 

[TheDudeNextDoor]

Are you ABSOLUTELY certain it's 20 seconds? I used to think mine was shutting off early before I actually got a stopwatch and timed it. Just asking!

No, would not say absolutely. I will play around with it a bit and see.



Edit:

So I just tested four times in a row doing the "one mississippi, two mississippi..." thing, trying to stay at a consistent rhythm and pushing at different places on the button: The first time was straight on, the second time was toward the bowl, the third time was toward the mouthpiece, and the fourth time I held two fingers tip to tip and pressing down to cover the entire button.

First time: pulsing light went full green/heating element powered down in 17 sec.
Second time: Pulsing light went full green/heating element powered down in 17 sec.
Third time: Pulsing light went green/heating element powered down in 18 sec.
Fourth time: Pulsing light went green/heating element powered down in 18 sec.

Just tried one more time: same thing, 18 sec.

 

[Mynameismud]

The firefly 2.0 will be released sometime this fall. Release date tbd more details to come

@EveryDayAmnesiac @Cashew @mitchgo61 and everyone else. Seriously, my bad. I just got done using the firefly and thought it would be funny to be joke around. I intended to come right back and say just kidding, but I obviously forgot ...

If that wasn't clear, the post above I quoted of myself is NOT true...unless it ends up coming true cause anythings possible. In that case, this is me predicting the future...

 

[Cashew]

@EveryDayAmnesiac @Cashew @mitchgo61 and everyone else. Seriously, my bad. I just got done using the firefly and thought it would be funny to be joke around. I intended to come right back and say just kidding, but I obviously forgot ...

If that wasn't clear, the post above I quoted of myself is NOT true...unless it ends up coming true cause anythings possible. In that case, this is me predicting the future...

Haha it's all good. It didn't affect my decision to order one tonight anyway. Any idea what the real announcement is?

 

[mitchgo61]

No, would not say absolutely. I will play around with it a bit and see.


First time: pulsing light went full green/heating element powered down in 17 sec.
Second time: Pulsing light went full green/heating element powered down in 17 sec.
Third time: Pulsing light went green/heating element powered down in 18 sec.
Fourth time: Pulsing light went green/heating element powered down in 18 sec.

Just tried one more time: same thing, 18 sec.

That's weird. They're supposed to be set to 30 seconds. I would consult a digital timer to be certain....but I'm sure FF would replace it if you were interested, given that calibration.

@EveryDayAmnesiac @Cashew @mitchgo61 and everyone else. Seriously, my bad. I just got done using the firefly and thought it would be funny to be joke around. I intended to come right back and say just kidding, but I obviously forgot ...

If that wasn't clear, the post above I quoted of myself is NOT true...unless it ends up coming true cause anythings possible. In that case, this is me predicting the future...

Hah! Good one. You had me going, but I take everyone at face value.

 

[EveryDayAmnesiac]

@EveryDayAmnesiac @Cashew @mitchgo61 and everyone else. Seriously, my bad. I just got done using the firefly and thought it would be funny to be joke around. I intended to come right back and say just kidding, but I obviously forgot ...

If that wasn't clear, the post above I quoted of myself is NOT true...unless it ends up coming true cause anythings possible. In that case, this is me predicting the future...

I am not proud of you today, @Mynameismud ...

That's weird. They're supposed to be set to 30 seconds. I would consult a digital timer to be certain....but I'm sure FF would replace it if you were interested, given that calibration.

I would second the digital timer. Vaporizing and time don't always mesh too well together...

But yeah, if that's the case, they'll replace it, I'd think. Even if you CAN get 30 seconds out of it, if it's not easy to do unless you're fiddling with that button, I'd think that'd be a warranty issue as well.

 

[TheDudeNextDoor]

I would second the digital timer. Vaporizing and time don't always mesh too well together...

But yeah, if that's the case, they'll replace it, I'd think. Even if you CAN get 30 seconds out of it, if it's not easy to do unless you're fiddling with that button, I'd think that'd be a warranty issue as well.

Just to be clear...is it standard that the FF auto shuts off (heating element off/pulsing light stays green) after thirty seconds holding the button?

Does it indicate anything if the pulsing green light never flashes red before going solid green?

More testing going on today. Just trying to figure out what I should be expecting here.

 

[mitchgo61]

Just to be clear...is it standard that the FF auto shuts off (heating element off/pulsing light stays green) after thirty seconds holding the button?

Does it indicate anything if the pulsing green light never flashes red before going solid green?

More testing going on today. Just trying to figure out what I should be expecting here.

Yes. Standard operation is light flashes green for 30 seconds while the button is held down. It turns solid green when it shuts off automatically or if you release the button. You should only see red when the battery is completely drained. There's also a yellow light that occurs if the device overheats.

 

[TheDudeNextDoor]

Yes. Standard operation is light flashes green for 30 seconds while the button is held down. It turns solid green when it shuts off automatically or if you release the button. You should only see red when the battery is completely drained. There's also a yellow light that occurs if the device overheats.

Excellent. Is it at all unusual to never see the yellow light appear? I have not seen the yellow light yet, but I am wondering if it might have something to do with my herbs, which I know are still too wet for this unit.

 

[mitchgo61]

Excellent. Is it at all unusual to never see the yellow light appear? I have not seen the yellow light yet, but I am wondering if it might have something to do with my herbs, which I know are still too wet for this unit.

I have never seen a yellow light, in six months of daily use over three FF's...not once. And I've gotten all of them pretty damn hot. I think I've only read one user mention seeing a yellow light.

 

[EveryDayAmnesiac]

I don't remember hearing about a yellow light. According to my Quickstart Guide, there is only green, blue, and red, with blinking variations of each.

 

[mitchgo61]

I don't remember hearing about a yellow light. According to my Quickstart Guide, there is only green, blue, and red, with blinking variations of each.

Page 7 of the QuickStart guide....

Solid Amber:

Firefly® is too hot and needs to cool down for a few minutes.

http://www.thefirefly.com/skin/frontend/default/virtualforce/doc/firefly_quickstart_guide.pdf

 

[EveryDayAmnesiac]

Oh yeah! I was thinking amber was red...

Been one of these mornings...

I'll just do one of these now:

Spoiler

 

[fogbank]

Neither of my FF's get hot enough at the bottom plate to create conduction...not even close. (Put material in the bowl and hold the heat button...does it cook? Mine doesn't.)

As for the Wispr screens, I really dig them, but I guess I could see how they could make less dense hits...though the slight additional metal seems to create a bit more thermal mass in the chamber, in my experience. I get pretty huge hits with those screens. (Throw on the top screen late in the session and huge hits are possible until the end of the bowl.)

I don't believe that a Firefly will heat the material through conduction without drawing. I think that's the beauty of the design.

But drawing air past the heater coil and into the bowl sure heats the entire thing up! I believe that the "themal mass" is distributed through much of the unit, and I believe that the metal plate gets hot enough for conduction during a normal session. That, I believe, is why I seem to get most or all of my vapor after I release the button. The heat stored in the unit continues to heat the air being drawn through the bowl, even if the coil is no longer glowing.

Edit to add:

I tried a top screen with the 7 hole Wispr screen in my "hot" Silver Firefly and it produced nice thick vapor with less button press time than usual. Only downside is a little less even browning, but I can live with that. I may just keep my Silver one set up that way. The "cooler" gray unit has the Arizer basket in place. Lots of fun experimenting!

So I just tested four times in a row doing the "one mississippi, two mississippi..." thing, trying to stay at a consistent rhythm and pushing at different places on the button: The first time was straight on, the second time was toward the bowl, the third time was toward the mouthpiece, and the fourth time I held two fingers tip to tip and pressing down to cover the entire button.

FYI - if you look at the dis-assembly pictures on page 81 of this thread you can see the internal power button in the last photo. It's the small white button with "SW2" marked next to it. You can see that it is a pretty small button, without any real angle of engagement. The external button cover is much wider, giving the impression that there are different "areas" to the button, but in reality it is quite small. So no matter where you push on the external button, the internal button engages in the same manner.

 

[TheDudeNextDoor]

Update: Compared my FF with my friend's today and it's working exactly as his, so all good. My counting skills must be lacking.

 

[euph0ric1]

So it's coming cleaning time for the Fly.. After ~2 months of regular use, I've gotten by with iso-wiping the surface areas, including removing the screen and cleaning the plate. This keeps it in seemingly good shape, but I'm wondering if I need to get more thorough.

The manual says that to "clean" the mouthpiece, you simply scrape and poke at it with the handy stir pick that's included.. But logic (and vision) tells me there definitely buildup happening in there that could use a scrubbing.

How deep is everyone cleaning? And how often? I see it takes some hex screws to remove the panel.. Which reminds me I need to go out and pick up an allen wrench set, just in case

 

[mitchgo61]

So it's coming cleaning time for the Fly.. After ~2 months of regular use, I've gotten by with iso-wiping the surface areas, including removing the screen and cleaning the plate. This keeps it in seemingly good shape, but I'm wondering if I need to get more thorough.

The manual says that to "clean" the mouthpiece, you simply scrape and poke at it with the handy stir pick that's included.. But logic (and vision) tells me there definitely buildup happening in there that could use a scrubbing.

How deep is everyone cleaning? And how often? I see it takes some hex screws to remove the panel.. Which reminds me I need to go out and pick up an allen wrench set, just in case

Both of my FF's get cleaned after each day's use (I alternate them, so every other day for each). Basically every three full loads I give it a full iso wipe down and clean every surface. I get the mouthpiece clean by using a pick to get out any visible debris (and blow!), and get a paper towel damp with iso in there by rolling it into a small point. (You can kinda shove it into both the mouth hole and the little exposed top slot.) Honestly, you shouldn't need to remove the top plate to keep the mouthpiece clean...although regularly cleaning that part out, along with the rest of the exposed vapor paths, will make it a lot easier to maintain and keeps the airflow unobstructed.

The screws on the top plate use the Torx 5 or 6, can't remember which one (I think the 6, and the 5 works on the port window assembly). If you get a full set you'll be covered. Just remember once you remove the plate, any malfunction that may occur when you re-assemble technically voids the warranty...and you will have to re-assemble the bowl/ceramic plate/metal plate assembly since it's held in place by the pressure of the top plate...once removed that assembly will move freely and you may have difficulty getting the pieces to re-align correctly.

If you've never looked at the tear-down photos on this page, check em out before you proceed. http://fuckcombustion.com/threads/the-firefly-vaporizer.11365/page-81#post-549916

[URL='http://fuckcombustion.com/threads/best-of-the-firefly-vaporizer-thread.16628/'] [/URL]

 

[Stu]

and you will have to re-assemble the bowl/ceramic plate/metal plate assembly since it's held in place by the pressure of the top plate...once removed that assembly will move freely and you may will for sure have difficulty getting the pieces to re-align correctly.

Fixed that for you.

 

[euph0ric1]

Cool, that explains a lot. I had a pretty good feeling that the top plate was not meant to be removed for routine maintenance.. which makes me glad. I used a little rolled up iso-paper towel and got the inside of the mouthpiece pretty shiny, there wasn't much residue in there. I suppose that's one of the beauties of the thing.. the vapor paths are completely exposed and easily accessible. So if all it takes is giving the mouthpiece a little TLC every now and then.. That's certainly nothing to complain about

 

[FlyingLow]

@mitchgo61 (& anyone else that has 2 Fireflies)

Do both your units experience identical behavior?

I am thinking a v2's major improvement would be consistency, as there appears to be some variation in how dark/light different units vape bud.