Gee_Grover
Active Member
So many portable vapes have this feature, unless you mean removable battery vapes?
Discontinued The Firefly Vaporizer
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So many portable vapes have this feature, unless you mean removable battery vapes?
Besides the MFLB and the Minivap, I can't think of any others. The rest may allow for use while charging, but the heater uses juice faster than the charger can replentish, so it's just a slower drain on the battery than usual.
fernand
Well-Known Member
I just want to say, wow I looooove this vape. Sorry about the battery issues some people are having, don't let them jack you around, appeal to their common sense and commercial instincts. Tel 'em they tout a five year warranty, that's nice, so you need working gear pronto, or you will tell everyone they're bringing you down!
Once you have a spare battery, things are a little easier diagnostically too. But as far as doing the job, and FLAVOR, this device is tops.
For newcomers: a technique that works well for me (and is worth trying) is:
Small loads, herb just crushed a bit. No grinding. No more than 1/3 bowl, loose. Let's say 0.1g. It's better to do two small bowls smoothly than fighting one packed bowl. No screen. No liquid pad (except for concentrates). Preheat, then draw slowly. Let the stuff fly around like popcorn in a hot air machine if it wants. If your lid has a little oil in the channels, no particles ever get through. Or draw slow enough for it to stay in place.
Now temp control:
No opening and stirring needed because a couple of shakes is all it takes to prevent hot spots. You can finger crush the remnants for a last toke. Pretty simple.
And with the FireFly I don't even find it necessary to set an exact temp, using an app on a smartphone yet. It's done with how you let the herb get heated. How long you heat the air up, and how you draw. Temp control becomes second nature. And because it's hot air and not a hot conduction screen, it's not really a "glorified MFLB" except that it's similarly intuitive once you "get it". And from experience I only use two temps: low temp, and all the way. That's like 380 deg F and 410.
Allow me to say, IMHO, the whole "milky clouds" thing is a holdover from combustion. I can dig the aesthetic, but do we really NEED thick opaque clouds? I want the oils from the trichomes, that's not like smoke, it's not heating the vegetable matter until it 'f'ing ROASTS! If the ABV looks like French Roast, that's what's happening, isn't it? But, hey, to each his own. You can get the FF hot enough to roast, and give off smoke-like clouds.
Once you have a spare battery, things are a little easier diagnostically too. But as far as doing the job, and FLAVOR, this device is tops.
For newcomers: a technique that works well for me (and is worth trying) is:
Small loads, herb just crushed a bit. No grinding. No more than 1/3 bowl, loose. Let's say 0.1g. It's better to do two small bowls smoothly than fighting one packed bowl. No screen. No liquid pad (except for concentrates). Preheat, then draw slowly. Let the stuff fly around like popcorn in a hot air machine if it wants. If your lid has a little oil in the channels, no particles ever get through. Or draw slow enough for it to stay in place.
Now temp control:
- you can draw out the last of the hot air of your toke with the button off. That takes temp down, since you draw some cold air in, OR
- stop sucking when you release the button to retain the highest temp air available for when you press the button again. That's how to raise the temp.
No opening and stirring needed because a couple of shakes is all it takes to prevent hot spots. You can finger crush the remnants for a last toke. Pretty simple.
And with the FireFly I don't even find it necessary to set an exact temp, using an app on a smartphone yet. It's done with how you let the herb get heated. How long you heat the air up, and how you draw. Temp control becomes second nature. And because it's hot air and not a hot conduction screen, it's not really a "glorified MFLB" except that it's similarly intuitive once you "get it". And from experience I only use two temps: low temp, and all the way. That's like 380 deg F and 410.
Allow me to say, IMHO, the whole "milky clouds" thing is a holdover from combustion. I can dig the aesthetic, but do we really NEED thick opaque clouds? I want the oils from the trichomes, that's not like smoke, it's not heating the vegetable matter until it 'f'ing ROASTS! If the ABV looks like French Roast, that's what's happening, isn't it? But, hey, to each his own. You can get the FF hot enough to roast, and give off smoke-like clouds.
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Mike M
Well-Known Member
Fernand, great post. I love the FF, but I am having a hard time getting the ABV to dark at the end. I'm a little confused here, to make the temp higher, do I draw harder and thus provide more oxygen to the heat, or do I draw slowly as to give the air more time to get hotter as it goes over the bowl? I guess the answer is, at the end to increase heat, do I draw slow or fast?
z9
Well-Known Member
Well there's no fire so oxygen isn't needed. But you have the right idea, a slower draw will allow more heat to be transferred to the air allowing for a darker finished product. A gentle pack or screen placed over the bowl towards the end of the session will also aid in achieving a darker roast. I always had better results when I waited for the heater to glow red before starting to draw hard.
Gee_Grover
Active Member
Well I tried arguing my case and the fact that I should just get a replacement for it as its only been 4 days since I purchased but some of the reps even tried forwarding me to Vapeworld, which I wasn't having so I demanded a refund and thats when they even agreed to send the battery and charger. I'm hoping this fixes it as I am seriously starting to dislike the Solo now. Its flavour just seems crap all of a sudden, its vapour too harsh, its effect too 'eyes closing', for the lack of a better word.
The only reason I wouldn't sell my Solo though is its very reliable, both performance and battery wise. FF has been great but its battery and reliability made me thank the ebay app for not working the day I tried putting my Solo up for sale.
I only used the unit a handful of times and just can't imagine myself liking another vape, especially conduction now. The best part about the convection for me is NO SMELL, ok well less smell.
No point having a small unit when its reaking out the whole area around you. I hit my FF on a train station platform with ease, not a single second look, thats what I call stealth.
Battery and charger has been shipped, two more days till it gets here. I'm kicking myself for not waiting till Vapefiend in the UK got some stock instead of dealing with these lying scumbags who claim 'we'll send the stock from wherever its available' which always happens to be from USA, well obviously because they're not even a UK company. Ah well its done now. Just want the vape to work and I'll be done with it.
The only reason I wouldn't sell my Solo though is its very reliable, both performance and battery wise. FF has been great but its battery and reliability made me thank the ebay app for not working the day I tried putting my Solo up for sale.
I only used the unit a handful of times and just can't imagine myself liking another vape, especially conduction now. The best part about the convection for me is NO SMELL, ok well less smell.
No point having a small unit when its reaking out the whole area around you. I hit my FF on a train station platform with ease, not a single second look, thats what I call stealth.
Battery and charger has been shipped, two more days till it gets here. I'm kicking myself for not waiting till Vapefiend in the UK got some stock instead of dealing with these lying scumbags who claim 'we'll send the stock from wherever its available' which always happens to be from USA, well obviously because they're not even a UK company. Ah well its done now. Just want the vape to work and I'll be done with it.
fernand
Well-Known Member
@Gee_Grover, I still think the Solo and the Air look too "tactical". Every paranoid from SF to Poughkeepsie will look to check it out. That's exactly what we don't need. The Firefly just looks like an iThing. Nobody notices it. It's downright strange (and great). But I get pretty good vapor on a Solo at setting 4.
I hear so much about two "desirables", namely Milky Clouds, and Dark Abv. But let's think this over.
If you vaporize purified cannabinoids at a temp just sufficient to evaporate, as in "it's no longer on the plate, it's gone", do you see huge milky clouds? I would guess that to get opaque fumes you need to overheat enough to decompose some of the terpenes. IMHO It makes little sense to insist on opaque milky clouds if the intact canbabinoids and terpenes are what we want. Decarboxylation is a form of breakdown - at low temp, and it's desirable. I doubt that higher temp breakdown is beneficial. If you overheat vegetable oil, it smokes. I rather think that the good stuff can probably be carried as a nearly transparent vapor, and pushing to get thick smoke-like vapor is not an optimal vape.
It's different with a Glycerine-Propylene Glycol mix with nicotine. That atomizer causes VG to evaporate as humoungous clouds of tiny particles of glycerin. It's not decomposing the glycerin, it's what they use in theatrical smoke machines.
The second one we hear is "dark ABV". Same issue. To get very dark ABV, you gotta roast it. People who consume ABV mostly report very heavy sleepy effects, hardly a lift. All the good stuff is long gone. Maybe there is no advantage to dark roasting. That's the way it seems to me, but I'm open to hearing other views.
As to the temp effect on the FireFly, to build up hot air just don't clear the bowl by sucking with the button off. That "clearing" pulls in unheated air and drops the temp - you will want that for a low temp vape but not if you want to raise the temp - keep it hot for heat ;-)
I hear so much about two "desirables", namely Milky Clouds, and Dark Abv. But let's think this over.
If you vaporize purified cannabinoids at a temp just sufficient to evaporate, as in "it's no longer on the plate, it's gone", do you see huge milky clouds? I would guess that to get opaque fumes you need to overheat enough to decompose some of the terpenes. IMHO It makes little sense to insist on opaque milky clouds if the intact canbabinoids and terpenes are what we want. Decarboxylation is a form of breakdown - at low temp, and it's desirable. I doubt that higher temp breakdown is beneficial. If you overheat vegetable oil, it smokes. I rather think that the good stuff can probably be carried as a nearly transparent vapor, and pushing to get thick smoke-like vapor is not an optimal vape.
It's different with a Glycerine-Propylene Glycol mix with nicotine. That atomizer causes VG to evaporate as humoungous clouds of tiny particles of glycerin. It's not decomposing the glycerin, it's what they use in theatrical smoke machines.
The second one we hear is "dark ABV". Same issue. To get very dark ABV, you gotta roast it. People who consume ABV mostly report very heavy sleepy effects, hardly a lift. All the good stuff is long gone. Maybe there is no advantage to dark roasting. That's the way it seems to me, but I'm open to hearing other views.
As to the temp effect on the FireFly, to build up hot air just don't clear the bowl by sucking with the button off. That "clearing" pulls in unheated air and drops the temp - you will want that for a low temp vape but not if you want to raise the temp - keep it hot for heat ;-)
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CarbonFiberGuy
Well-Known Member
I can pack a good half bowl or just a pinch to cover the screen . It actually seems to work better with a finer grind . The pad is nice and thick and fills up the bowl nicely with plenty of airflow . Makes a small bowl act like a the first few pulls of a fully packed one , this unit seems to work better with a full load , and the pad adds that and adds a lil bit of retained heat to finish the bowl off . I loosely place herb in chamber no pack then place pad on and let the lid compress it a little when it gets closed . Everything comes out dark dark brown no black at all and no stir, like solo on 7 crafty on 410 . Prob 3-10 hits depending on how much is put in . Hope this helps
Gee_Grover
Active Member
Completely agree with the whole dark ABV thing being overrated. My bowl was no where near as dark as the Solo in my FF, but I used 3/4 of what I would use in a Solo and got so much more high. Its the effect that matters not the darkness I guess.
mitchgo61
I go where the thrills are
Happy First Birthday to the Firefly! The first units shipped out on 12/12 last year, mine among them. I ordered on 12/10 and received on 12/14.
Been an interesting year with the FF(s)...many ups, a few downs...and it's still my favorite portable ever.
Party on FF lovers....
Been an interesting year with the FF(s)...many ups, a few downs...and it's still my favorite portable ever.
Party on FF lovers....
grokit
well-worn member
I was right behind you @mitchgo61, registered on the 10th and ordered on the 12th 
EveryDayAmnesiac
Well-Known Member
I guess that makes me a newbie - I didn't get mine until the 30 of December, if I recall correctly.
And I'm still using mine and loving mine every damn day. Waiting for a vaporizer to warm up has become very unappealing to me these days.
And I'm still using mine and loving mine every damn day. Waiting for a vaporizer to warm up has become very unappealing to me these days.
kube
cosmic sun
It seems my battery is being drained by my firefly when it is stored awaiting use. When I turn it on the green light comes on and then when i fire it up the light turns off. I have two extra batteries and a charger so its no big deal but has anyone else noticed this? I'm hoping this doesn't mean its defective as i am really happy with it. Just curious to know if this is normal. I can always just remove the battery when I'm not using it but if this shouldn't be happening I'd like to know.
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slick
Well-Known Member
Was it in the "on"position when stored? Accidentally stored it "on" and it seemed to start up ok, but die needing a charge as soon as I fired it up.
mitchgo61
I go where the thrills are
The batteries tend to drain while idle, in or out of their respective devices (so don't bother removing it). I usually "top off" the charge prior to using it...seems like if I don't, no matter what state I think I left the battery in, it goes red fairly quickly.
BizzMarkie
Unapproved commercial account.
I'm the manager of greenvapes.co.uk and I'm as English as you can get mate. Again I'm sorry that you had problems with your FF after just a few days. I did tell you on the phone that I'll personally take care of any problems you have whether that be now or in 4 1/2 years from now. My whole intention is to have happy customers and not unhappy ones. Just so you know a little about me, I've been working as a powerseller with multiple accounts shipping from multiple countries on Ebay now for over 10 years with 100% positive feedback. I've got less than 20 negative reviews in 5 years because the customer will always be king in my eyes. I don't believe in the modern day cash up and disappear business model that lots of other companies use. That includes quite a few manufactures as well. Now I don't need to prove myself as time will tell and the people who have bad experiences will post more often than customers who are happy, that's life and part of having an online business. I will personally do my best to make each and every customer happy no matter how difficult or pissed of they might be. However we are human, mistakes can happen and when I spot a mistake I take note and make sure that it gets changed. In your case, it's a product issue, a product that I don't make. Now if you were complaining about an apple computer, you would be asked to send the computer back and to wait for it to be inspected and eventually repaired. In fact the same would apply to any product. That is the standard procedure in almost any country. I however based on my golden old fashioned rule "The customer is King" said I'll send you a new charger and new batteries free of charge. That was regardless of the fact that I had already read that you had dropped your firefly on the second day (yes I've been a passive reader of this forum since almost day one!). Now with all that said I would also like you to be aware that no matter from which warehouse I ship it from, meaning USA, Italy or the UK. I am personally paying for the items the shipping and the customs duties. I'm doing all that to make you a happy customer. So in exchange I would really be thrilled if you didn't call me and my team "lying scumbags" like you've written above. Don't let your feelings, which I understand fully and I would be angry too if it happened to me as well. Don't let them get in the way of the facts because I don't know many companies on this earth any more that go that extra mile like I do and always will do. My message has really, less to do with my company, as being an ebay and amazon seller I could write a book about nutty buyers over the years who have given negative feedback after just 5 minutes of ordering. No I'm not a youtube star, I don't even post anywhere. But I am passionate about vaping and making people happy. I only decided to write a post because "lying scumbags" is a very bad trigger word that harms all the good work I'm doing as it signals the wrong impression and that's the reason why I decided to help others and you by answering to your comment. No harm done though, and if you need anything simply write me a mail and I'll do my best to call you back personally or write a mail depending on where I am, as you know I called you this week from Italy where we've just opened shop. Tomorrow I leave for NY again and Wednesday it's down to south America for 3 weeks where I'll be opening another warehouse to take on s.American orders in the near future. Sounds flash but it's 3:55 am here in Italy and I've been working since 8am! Life is most definitely not a beach!
kube
cosmic sun
LOL, no I put it away in the off position. I have noticed this a handful of times so after posting, I charged my original battery fully and then turned off my firefly and stored it. I just powered it on and vaped some hash with no problems so its possible I've neglected to charge it a couple times in the past before putting it away.
I actually haven't noticed any drain on any of the extra batteries, even a defective one that vapeworld replaced. When I have noticed the battery drain on the one in the firefly, I have checked the extras and they are completely full every time. The drained battery will not work when I power on but seems to charge much faster than usual.
I will need to pay closer attention to make sure this is really happening and not a mistaken observation after storing it on empty or close to it. I hope to hear from anyone experiencing anything similar.
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IAmKrazy2
Darth Vapor
Ive had my FF for a little over a week and its been my daily driver. It sure is nice to have something to walk around with, thats ready to go this quick. This morning i switched back on my Evo for the first time in a week and i did miss it, but the ff will still keep a strong rotation because of how quick and easy it is. Leaving an already packed FF for when you get home is always nice. Expecially if youre home quick and need to leave again, but want to medicate quick as you change clothes or grab a fee items before heading back out the door. If you have a few batteries ready, its perfect for those always on the move.
I may be having an issue with the FF light going to solid blue more quick then it should when charging any of my 3 batteries. But seems to keep charging, despite the light going solid after 15 minutes or so.
Maintenance is fairly easy, but a constant battle. I also hate to go back to having to stir a load with the ff after years of basicly only using the VXC or Evo, which i never stir. The need for using tools to constantly clear the load and stir along with size also deminishes it as a true portable.
Bottom line is its quick if you got batteries ready, and the smoothness of the vapor is better then any other portable ive ever tried, although taste is diminished as a sacrifice. Its actually smoother then almost all desktop vapes. I like it, but would love to see a similar design that requires less maintenance. Constantly keeping track of the tools sucks. Battery issues are a bummer, but tolerable. Overall a very good vape.
Krazy out.
I may be having an issue with the FF light going to solid blue more quick then it should when charging any of my 3 batteries. But seems to keep charging, despite the light going solid after 15 minutes or so.
Maintenance is fairly easy, but a constant battle. I also hate to go back to having to stir a load with the ff after years of basicly only using the VXC or Evo, which i never stir. The need for using tools to constantly clear the load and stir along with size also deminishes it as a true portable.
Bottom line is its quick if you got batteries ready, and the smoothness of the vapor is better then any other portable ive ever tried, although taste is diminished as a sacrifice. Its actually smoother then almost all desktop vapes. I like it, but would love to see a similar design that requires less maintenance. Constantly keeping track of the tools sucks. Battery issues are a bummer, but tolerable. Overall a very good vape.
Krazy out.
kube
cosmic sun
I never stir, when i stop getting vapor i just dump and reload. I keep my abv in a protein powder scoop and when it gets halfway full I grind it pretty fine and reuse it, I get quite a bit more vapor this way and then dump it into another protein powder scoop, when its full I put it into a container with alcohol and extract whatever is left.
As far as cleaning the firefly; I use a little paintbrush with a fan shaped tip to wipe down the bowl before reloading it and I feel like i get plenty of use before having to wipe it down with alcohol. It took me a while to figure out a hassle free teqnique but now I actually think its a breeze to use the firefly.
Stirring the contents of such a little bowl after every few puffs wasn't working for me either. I seem to get more vapor out of a full bowl if I put a screen on top. When I'm done the abv looks darker too than without. I love how versatile the firefly is, you can use it in a variety of ways depending on your preference and really dial down your technique.
As far as cleaning the firefly; I use a little paintbrush with a fan shaped tip to wipe down the bowl before reloading it and I feel like i get plenty of use before having to wipe it down with alcohol. It took me a while to figure out a hassle free teqnique but now I actually think its a breeze to use the firefly.
Stirring the contents of such a little bowl after every few puffs wasn't working for me either. I seem to get more vapor out of a full bowl if I put a screen on top. When I'm done the abv looks darker too than without. I love how versatile the firefly is, you can use it in a variety of ways depending on your preference and really dial down your technique.
Vinman
Well-Known Member
My FF didn't used to do this, but a couple months ago it started needing daily recharge before use. I thought the battery was starting to die and ordered a spare, but so far the old one keeps going fine. I just have to charge it earlier on the day I use it.
I can live with that, and hopefully postpone the day it goes bad, to the distant future.
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