Discontinued The Firefly Vaporizer

muddyfunster said:

Hey no worries. FWIW I did contact both my vendor and then FF with polite requests first, only to be told of the 30 day warranty and no they won't help. When challenged on their 30 day warranty policy, both companies refused further communications, hence my frustration

If the FF was advertised as having 30 day warranty on the battery on the manufacturer or retailer website when I bought it, I would have no issue. A 30 day warranty would have made me choose something else to start with.

And congrats to everyone who has got a free replacement battery/batteries, I would be interested to hear of any UK users who got theirs replaced.

Also, what is the expected lifespan of the 770 battery?

Thanks

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I'm in the UK and got mine from vapefiend (always found them very helpful and willing to go that extra mile ) got mine in about February with 770 battery in box and ordered a spare also 770 both are still going as strong as the day I got them.

The battery thing is standard when talking about a device that is user changeable (like car tyres wear and tear item), IMO the way I would look at it is you got around 6 month use for £24 so £4 a month (almost disposable ) if you liked or still like the firefly I would suggest going for a 770 and hope to get another 6 months or longer.

I would also always advice phoning in general rather than e-mail as you normally get a better response not just a standard mail response, more of a human touch if you like.

It's good to know you tried the honey approach before vinegar and I can understand your frustration, I would like to think even in the UK (with a good retailer) they could work something out with firefly, I can understand firefly not wanting to deal overseas but surely the retailer could arrange something where they could supply the battery then get credit on their next order, in an ideal world anyways.

Good luck, and hope you get back to a happy place (even if you have to buy a battery yourself)

muddyfunster said:

Hey no worries. FWIW I did contact both my vendor and then FF with polite requests first, only to be told of the 30 day warranty and no they won't help. When challenged on their 30 day warranty policy, both companies refused further communications, hence my frustration

If the FF was advertised as having 30 day warranty on the battery on the manufacturer or retailer website when I bought it, I would have no issue. A 30 day warranty would have made me choose something else to start with.

And congrats to everyone who has got a free replacement battery/batteries, I would be interested to hear of any UK users who got theirs replaced.

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Still unsure of what their UK policy is. If you like, I am happy to try and give FF a call for you. It's free for me since I'm in the states, I know those guys pretty well (and they know me, from, like, all of my returns!) and maybe at the very least I can get some advice from them on the best path for you to get a free 770 to replace your bad battery. Shoot me a PM with your details and I will call them tomorrow for you, if you are interested.

muddyfunster said:

Also, what is the expected lifespan of the 770 battery?

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As darkrom says, it's a little early to know for sure. I expect that like the first gen 750s from 2013 (which were pretty good, and definitely non-faulty) the new 770s will last for at least 350-400 full cycles.

mieff said:

What does solid blue, green, blinking blue mean? Almost done charging?

After about an hour of that pattern it had a solid blue light. Just tried the ff and it is definitely working.

Always charging with battery in unit. Always charging with unit off. 750 mah battery

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Nobody else has a firefly that goes blue-green-blue while off and charging? Everyone just keeps quoting the led patterns specified in the manual. I already know what the manual says.. blue-green-blue while off and charging is clearly not one of the defined patterns. Either way my FF seems to work fine.



How do I know when my herbs are used up and it's time for a new bowl? I'm new to this whole no-combustion thing.

mieff said:

Nobody else has a firefly that goes blue-green-blue while off and charging? Everyone just keeps quoting the led patterns specified in the manual. I already know what the manual says.. blue-green-blue while off and charging is clearly not one of the defined patterns. Either way my FF seems to work fine.

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Mine only has a blue light. It fades in and out while charging. Do new units have a green light as well?

mieff said:

How do I know when my herbs are used up and it's time for a new bowl? I'm new to this whole no-combustion thing.

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It's time to move on to a new bowl when you're no longer satisfied with the last bowl. It's your call.

mieff said:

Nobody else has a firefly that goes blue-green-blue while off and charging? Everyone just keeps quoting the led patterns specified in the manual. I already know what the manual says.. blue-green-blue while off and charging is clearly not one of the defined patterns. Either way my FF seems to work fine.
.

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What Stu says. I've only seen blue, flashing or solid, while charging. Never green. If your FF is charging and working OK, I say let it slide. Till you have an issue, anyway.

mieff said:

How do I know when my herbs are used up and it's time for a new bowl? I'm new to this whole no-combustion thing.

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When you stop pulling vapor...but with the FF, make sure you stir (or shake) and maybe iteratively re-grind a few times. You'll get the final vapor shots that way.

You can also pull a bit more vapor with that same herb if you put it in a high-temp desktop. Truthfully...how you know when you are done is almost more of a personal judgment. Again, like Stu says, your call. Practice will teach you a lot about what you like, and plus, it's fun.

Thanks for the replies.

Right after posting I got a NEW led color from this unit. It was doing it's normal blue-green-blue-blinking blue-blue-green-blue and then the led turned RED. Only for about 2 seconds and then the led went solid blue, and stayed solid blue, to signify that it was done charging. The firefly does work, so I'm not quite sure what these colors could mean. I don't use it that often, it's only been through 5 bowls in 2 weeks.

I made a list of items and called Firefly. They told me again that I shouldn't be seeing those colors. I should only be seeing the colors in the manual, same as those listed in this thread. I told them the unit does work and gave them all the same info. I mentioned the 750 battery and they are sending me a 770 battery and want me to respond with the results. I will let them know and I will reply here.

I stir every 2 draws, 3 at most, and try to put the greenest pieces on the bottom. I understand every bowl is unique so it's hard to pinpoint exactly when to change it. Some people may try to get every last bit whereas other people always want fresh material. What I was trying to ask was when I discard the contents should it be green, brown, or black lol. From what I've gathered, black signifies combustion and too much heat, and green/brown is a bit vague but to also look at how dried and crumbly it is. The plant should be cooked, without being burned.

When you say high-temp desktop I assume you are talking about a Volcano or similar vaporizer?

mieff said:

Thanks for the replies.

Right after posting I got a NEW led color from this unit. It was doing it's normal blue-green-blue-blinking blue-blue-green-blue and then the led turned RED. Only for about 2 seconds and then the led went solid blue, and stayed solid blue, to signify that it was done charging. The firefly does work, so I'm not quite sure what these colors could mean. I don't use it that often, it's only been through 5 bowls in 2 weeks.

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You have a regular Laser Floyd show going on there, my friend. All I ever get is blue (story of my life). Sounds like it's charging properly. And working fine...so far.

mieff said:

I made a list of items and called Firefly. They told me again that I shouldn't be seeing those colors. I should only be seeing the colors in the manual, same as those listed in this thread. I told them the unit does work and gave them all the same info. I mentioned the 750 battery and they are sending me a 770 battery and want me to respond with the results. I will let them know and I will reply here.

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They have been very good about sending folks the new batteries. I am sure like the rest of us you'll be very impressed. (Oh, and it's quite plausible that your weird light show will be rectified by the 770 battery. Wouldn't surprise me.)

mieff said:

What I was trying to ask was when I discard the contents should it be green, brown, or black lol. From what I've gathered, black signifies combustion and too much heat, and green/brown is a bit vague but to also look at how dried and crumbly it is. The plant should be cooked, without being burned.

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Right, but "cooked" is a squishy, personal concept when vaping. Basically, the darkest I can get weed in the FF is a very very dark brown. (Black can be combustion, but also just garden-variety pyrolysis, or charring, that state that occurs before combustion, usually when material is oxygen-starved...it's not uncommon to find charred bits in the FF if you pack tight, don't stir enough, etc. In general a common occurrence in convection vaping depending on how you pack.)

Here's how I know the FF is done with my material: I cannot get any more visible vapor from the load, even when pulsing the button (which makes it hotter), and stirring/re-grinding, and putting on a top screen...no more vapor after all those measures means it's done. Usually it's dark dark brown at this point but not always. Sometimes it seems the FF extracts more thoroughly than other times...depends on moisture in the weed, humidity in the air, how much juice the battery is throwing at that moment...a dozen variables affect the process.

So back to the original point: it's a judgment call. Some folks don't like the higher temp vapor and thus are "done" much earlier than other people. You'll figure out at what point you are ready to move on. Different strokes.

mieff said:

When you say high-temp desktop I assume you are talking about a Volcano or similar vaporizer?

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Yes, any AC-powered vape that gets hotter than the 400F that the Firefly theoretically tops out at. You simply cannot extract the entire spectrum of pre-combustion vapor from the FF (and many other portables, btw)...it doesn't have the power and isn't designed to run at high temps. I usually get another three or four fairly large hits from a "spent" FF bowl in my E-Nano.

And there are a whole slew of great desktop vapes that are simpler and cheaper than bag vapes like the Volcano, but that's a whole other .

Yeah that happened with my first firefly, flashing blue to green while charging, turned out to be the battery which started failing and not retaining a charge shortly thereafter.

Ofcourse since then that firefly was replaced as well, along with another failing battery. Now I've got a spare 770 that's still working great (3-4 bowls is accurate, why I'm fine with the grasshoppers seeming battery life too, its a solid number for pure convection especially with replaceable batteries...) and the 750 that came with my replacement ff (they let me keep the dud 750s too, but I never need to use them) is still working well, actually seems to retain a full charge a little longer than the 770 somehow, but only gets 2-3 bowls instead...

Firefly service has been wonderful for me, haven't needed them in a while but I will be for my current one which recently got a loose mouthpiece as the silicone began moving and hearing away. Im just waiting for my Grasshoppers and Zion10 before I ask to send it in, (hopefully only a week or two more for both). I've just asked them polietely after explaining my issue, or sometimes they even offer to just send something right out with me asking, but I'm never complaining or confrontational with them, they're there and ready to help any way they can... I don't know if UK makes it different, isn't it US only even or did they expand recently?

They hve official retailers in Europe now.

So got my fully loaded Firefly and a "Ryot Smell Safe Head Case" a few weeks back. I was on the fence because I have a Grasshopper on order, just got an Alfa, and my Lotus broke/needs replacement. Firefly is great; I love it!

This is my second Firefly the First was a knockoff that was beautiful but didn't work very well.

Initial impression was meh. Finish on the metallic portion of the cover is really bad and there was a lot of initial off gassing. Neither of these things were issues with the counterfeit. Similarly the vapor production sucked.

Charged up the batteries and it made a huge difference. Lots of vapor. After the first 6 bowls of off gassing the flavor is better. Still not as good as the Lotus imo but the low temp flavors are neat! Excited to someday use it for concentrates.

It fits great in the case. I was worried it would be too large but it's perfect and I like the fuzzy inside. Matches the vape well.

The thing I love most about the firefly is the fairly easy to swap battery. I leave the second in the car plugged in and it's always ready to go!

pjwalm said:

... there was a lot of initial off gassing. Neither of these things were issues with the counterfeit. Similarly the vapor production sucked. Charged up the batteries and it made a huge difference. Lots of vapor. After the first 6 bowls of off gassing the flavor is better.

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That is odd. I never had any off-gassing with any of my FFs.

Glad to hear it's going well otherwise.

mitchgo61 said:

That is odd. I never had any off-gassing with any of my FFs.

Glad to hear it's going well otherwise.

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I agree. What is there to offgas in the firefly design in the first place.

mitchgo61 said:

What Stu says. I've only seen blue, flashing or solid, while charging. Never green. If your FF is charging and working OK, I say let it slide. Till you have an issue, anyway.



When you stop pulling vapor...but with the FF, make sure you stir (or shake) and maybe iteratively re-grind a few times. You'll get the final vapor shots that way.

You can also pull a bit more vapor with that same herb if you put it in a high-temp desktop. Truthfully...how you know when you are done is almost more of a personal judgment. Again, like Stu says, your call. Practice will teach you a lot about what you like, and plus, it's fun.

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I usually finish off my ff bowls in my Hammer since I don't have a desk top. I can get about 5 more thick his that are good just before bed.

Ive been using an arizer air for months and it crapped out on me, after reading and hearing so much about the firefly, i decided to pull the trigger. I read through the best of and most of the past 20ish pages. I've had 3 bows on this since i got it and cant seem to get it right still lol. I preheat like 8 seconds and let go, then push the button again and draw but dont seem to be getting decent clouds. im definitely getting high but i know this thing can get more out of this. Just need to figure it out.

Also, should i have wiped this thing down with iso first? i read in many places that this was considered the best tasting vape but it seems to be leaving a weird aftertaste in my mouth. same strains tasted wonderful on tha air. gonna finish up charging, wipe it down and try again. hopefully i get it right lol.

You should cut down the preheating time in half to about 4 secs or when you see the orange glow. Don't let go of the button after, but start inhaling slow for however long you need then let go of the button and draw for a few more seconds. You should get huge clouds this way. How much herb you pack will have different results when it comes to performance. Too little and you'll finish too quick, and too much will give you uneven cooking. I wipe the lid and bowl with a napkin and haven't had any foreign aftertaste though.

TNT_error said:

You should cut down the preheating time in half to about 4 secs or when you see the orange glow. Don't let go of the button after, but start inhaling slow for however long you need then let go of the button and draw for a few more seconds. You should get huge clouds this way. How much herb you pack will have different results when it comes to performance. Too little and you'll finish too quick, and too much will give you uneven cooking. I wipe the lid and bowl with a napkin and haven't had any foreign aftertaste though.

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Just finished wiping it with iso. I did notice however in my three bowls there was some uneven burning as well as a few parts that were very dark brown/black. I guess some of it scorched a little which mightve caused the weird taste. Bout to load up some purple kush and try ur method above. Thanks man

Yeah that tends to happen with convection vapes, and a simple stir will solve the problem or putting in a smaller amount then just shaking it to mix it up mflb style. Good luck man!

shawn0223 said:

Ive been using an arizer air for months and it crapped out on me, after reading and hearing so much about the firefly, i decided to pull the trigger. I read through the best of and most of the past 20ish pages. I've had 3 bows on this since i got it and cant seem to get it right still lol. I preheat like 8 seconds and let go, then push the button again and draw but dont seem to be getting decent clouds. im definitely getting high but i know this thing can get more out of this. Just need to figure it out.

Also, should i have wiped this thing down with iso first? i read in many places that this was considered the best tasting vape but it seems to be leaving a weird aftertaste in my mouth. same strains tasted wonderful on tha air. gonna finish up charging, wipe it down and try again. hopefully i get it right lol.

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The FF can be fickle. Even after mastering the learning curve you'll have times where vapor is better than others. Everyone seems to have a different route to their FF sweet spot. For me...

1. Pack the bowl densely.
2. Hold the heat button for a four count. Start hitting.
3. Draw steadily just up to the point of resistance. Hold the button until you feel vapor. Let go and draw for another couple of seconds.

If vapor is light, increase the heat by pulsing the heat button on and off a few times....this restarts the hottest part of the heat cycle. Be careful though....this can make things much hotter very fast.

You shouldn't taste anything odd, or need any ISO wipe prior to first use.

Play around with all the variables and you'll get there. And at least the flavor is always amazing! Good luck!

mitchgo61 said:

The FF can be fickle. Even after mastering the learning curve you'll have times where vapor is better than others. Everyone seems to have a different route to their FF sweet spot. For me...

1. Pack the bowl densely.
2. Hold the heat button for a four count. Start hitting.
3. Draw steadily just up to the point of resistance. Hold the button until you feel vapor. Let go and draw for another couple of seconds.

If vapor is light, increase the heat by pulsing the heat button on and off a few times....this restarts the hottest part of the heat cycle. Be careful though....this can make things much hotter very fast.

You shouldn't taste anything odd, or need any ISO wipe prior to first use.

Play around with all the variables and you'll get there. And at least the flavor is always amazing! Good luck!

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Thanks man. I got it going pretty decently last night. But couldn't get it to produce vapor as heavy as the air does. Definitely got baked tho lol. I was getting frustrated at one point because I knOw this thing can hit better. Lol. I think the funny taste might be from burning because its not there in the first few hits and seems better after I stir the load lol.

shawn0223 said:

Thanks man. I got it going pretty decently last night. But couldn't get it to produce vapor as heavy as the air does. Definitely got baked tho lol. I was getting frustrated at one point because I knOw this thing can hit better. Lol. I think the funny taste might be from burning because its not there in the first few hits and seems better after I stir the load lol.

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Yep, convection, especially in a packed-ish bowl, will cause charring due to the lack of oxygen in parts of the load, and the way convection works. I have to stir my FF every three or four hits, and even then, you get some uneven charring or cooking. If you stir after every hit you can probably avoid it, but otherwise, occupational hazard.

Keep practicing. The FF gets better over time as you find your way with it. It's personal, definitely fickle, but worth it once you unlock its secrets. For sure there is no vape, portable or desktop, that can match the FF's ability to deliver true, natural, amazing flavor, at least in my experience.

mitchgo61 said:

Yep, convection, especially in a packed-ish bowl, will cause charring due to the lack of oxygen in parts of the load, and the way convection works. I have to stir my FF every three or four hits, and even then, you get some uneven charring or cooking. If you stir after every hit you can probably avoid it, but otherwise, occupational hazard.

Keep practicing. The FF gets better over time as you find your way with it. It's personal, definitely fickle, but worth it once you unlock its secrets. For sure there is no vape, portable or desktop, that can match the FF's ability to deliver true, natural, amazing flavor, at least in my experience.

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Not trying to derail but have you tried the arizer air? It's ridiculous. Tastes almost as good if not better. I love the fact that you don't have to stir for an even burn. just put about .2g in stem and go. No trick or anything. The FF requiring stirring kinda takes away from its portability. Was a pain in the ass to vape while driving a stick lol. Might make it my primary home vape, who knows what I'll decide once I get it working right. I'm gonna play with it more after work because I'm stubborn and will make my $300 FF perform better than if not similar to my $170 air lol

shawn0223 said:

The FF requiring stirring kinda takes away from its portability.

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The firefly does not require stirring. I always get complete extraction, and never stir mine because I don't pack it very tight. If I go too fast this can result in a dark spot in the center, which doesn't bother me a bit. Especially when compared to sucking on a phallic-shaped milkshake, but we all have our preferences.

shawn0223 said:

Not trying to derail but have you tried the arizer air? It's ridiculous. Tastes almost as good if not better. I love the fact that you don't have to stir for an even burn. just put about .2g in stem and go. No trick or anything.

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I have not. I have the Solo, which I like a lot, but haven't touched in the 18 months I've had my FFs. Both the Solo and the Air use a lot of conduction and radiant heat to cook herb, so while to your taste they may be close to the FF, for a lot of folks, the combination of pure convection and the stainless-steel, fully-exposed air path give FF a flavor that is unmatched by other portables. (Or even desktops, for me.)

grokit said:

The firefly does not require stirring. I always get complete extraction, and never stir mine because I don't pack it very tight. If I go too fast this can result in a dark spot in the center, which doesn't bother me a bit. Especially when compared to sucking on a phallic-shaped milkshake, but we all have our preferences.

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Hey, back on topic! I agree with Grokit....if "not stirring" is a huge benefit to you, put less in the FF, make sure it's ground to at least a medium grind, and leave enough room for it to be shaken (or just for the herb to kinda spin around in the bowl when you hit it). Voila. No stirring. Personally this doesn't work as well for me as a packed, must-be-stirred load, but to each his own....like Grokit lots of FF users do it this way, quite satisfactorily.

My Firefly batteries seem to die really quick. The first one stopped holding a charge after ~50 charge cycles and they sent me a replacement (this was back in November). Now, it's been maybe 20 charge cycles since I got the replacement (haven't been using the unit very often), and the fully charged battery lasted just 7 hits last night (10 second button press per hit). I e-mailed FF about possibly getting a replacement 770 mAh battery, but they're claiming that it sounds like an issue with the unit itself, that it is drawing too much power from the batteries and making them drain quicker. Has anyone else had to send their unit in for this type of issue? I really think it's just the fact that the 750 mAh batteries suck, but CS is insisting that I send it in. Should I? Do they pay shipping both ways? The unit is performing the same as day one, but I've never been able to coax more than 20-25 10 second hits from a fresh 750 mAh battery...

Sounds like what i get out of a battery too. im gonna grab some new batteries and see if its any better