Best of the Firefly Vaporizer thread

[mitchgo61]

1. .15 is probably a bit much. Take medium-ground, or even unground material and pack the FF bowl fairly densely, even with the top edge of the glass bowl. That will measure around .11-.13 in my experience. This is plenty, and a bigger bowl than many users like. Just fill the bowl as much as you like and see what results you get.

2. Whatever works for you. If you are getting good results with 20 second hits, you don't necessarily need to work up to 30, unless you explicitly want larger hits. Sounds like you are doing fine.

3. If your material is black (ie charred) and spent in so few 20 second hits, I am guessing you aren't putting much in the bowl. Try using more and stirring every three hits. But yes, if your material is dark brown or even black, and tasting not so great, you are pretty much at the end. The FF won't vape at high temps, and if you're getting charring you are probably extracting everything of value and then some. I keep going until I can't pull anymore vapor. Sometimes the material is darker than others...but when long button pushes and stirring won't produce more vapor, I'm done. There are things you can do with the ABV, even put it in a high temp vape to get the last bits, but for all FF purposes you are done.

4. Your battery sounds bad. 6 twenty second hits is not normal. You should be getting four times that. Call FF and get a new one.

5. Personal preference, mood, time of day, strain (obviously)...no one answer here. Sometimes I'm fine with one or two hits. Sometimes it takes ten. So many variables affect it.

Get a new battery and maybe try to use more material in the bowl to prevent charring and give yourself more hits per bowl but otherwise you sound like you're off to an excellent start. Have fun, experiment, let us know how you get on.

 

[EveryDayAmnesiac]

with the bottom layer almost black

Yikes. Even on my slowest inhales, my material doesn't end up looking almost black but only a good roasted dark brown. Might also be an issue of the level and steadiness of your inhale.

Only if I use unground herb do I ever end up with charring - because in that case, I must inhale much faster and briefer for the first few hits and sometimes I forget. Especially with a leafy piece in there does that happen.

With a little more practice you should start to get a feel for the heater and the right inhalation for you.

 

[fernand]

@rendar1970 People are so different. But for me anyway, I stopped getting any benefit or interest from the crap weed we used to get around Calif decades ago. For one thing I had interesting work to do and the lousy weed just scrambled my head. And it was totally unpredictable. Useless.

Now, with the immensely specialized and much more resin-rich strains, with detailed terpene and cannabinoid content analysis available, and sites like Leafly with excellent and accurate "reviews", we can sample and read to figure out what we need. I can find strains of flowers now that will push exactly the right buttons for me, and it only takes 2 or 3 hits -- of a light transparent vapor that's loaded with actives. I hope you live in a MMJ-tolerant state.

There are people who blossom on much larger amounts, and smaller, and the specific different strains are very very important, so you really gotta feel your way. And that's not cork-sniffing. It's not like some people guzzle rotgut and some select unblended scotches. Because aside from a little healthy blood pumping, and some unhealthy effects, alcohol just doesn't have the broad range of potential benefits that Cannabis has. It's like comparing a hammer and a workshop full of tools. Or a cabinet full of medications.

But it helps to define what exactly you want from it. In my case I need help with very painful sciatica, and I'd rather take less of the Rx stuff. I'm not keen on heavy sedation, but a little looser is better than stiffer. I also want more focus in my life, better ability to appreciate the here and now, my family, try to better use my talents. So those are my "intentions", what I look for, in the magnificent Cannabis plant.

This is about 0.050g or 1/20th of a gram.

It's a 20% THC strain, so it contains about 10mg of THC + other cannabinoids, which for most people is a noticeable dose. We can break the flower up more or not. But I'd rather vape up 0.050g at once than pack the bowl and come back to vape some half-used dregs. All the compounds I like are in the first lower temp fractions, the back end has more of the heavier and more sedating cannabinoids & terpenes.

I can see the point that a Crafty is more of an automatic delivery machine. But, how does it go?
Some say it's habitual,
But I think it's a ritual.

Oh, and it's like when they invented cigarettes which were so easy to use, so efficient, that people become really dependent on tobacco ;-)

 

[EveryDayAmnesiac]

Seems clear as day that Firefly 2.0 must address battery issues. Amount of time they last, of course, but just as importantly, a gauge / readout that shows what charge they're at, and maybe even that they are in good standing or need replacing? At this point, we just pretty much have to guess, unless you have a battery that you know is a "good one." And even then, I guess it's a guess, just an easier one.

Based on the last few weeks of FC, it would seem that they had a big ol' load of bad batteries, or at least not perfect batteries.

I have been lucky with mine. My initial batteries from late last year or early this year still work well, but certainly not as long. My newer 2014 batts are doing just fine.

I do like how they at least make it obvious what year the batts are from in the battery serial number.

I think most would agree that battery reliability should be priority #1 in the 2.0.

After that would be a retractable mouthpiece... for me, at least.

I doubt we'll ever see a FF that can be used while charging, but we can always dream...

And more colors! Only 3 is not acceptable for something as cool as the FF.

Slimmer, lighter, sleeker, etc, yeah yeah yeah. But I still find the FF to be the sexiest portable vape on the market.

 

[mitchgo61]

Three Firefly questions:

Is there supposed to be draw resistance? I find mine has none.

The flavor is good but much more subtle than the Arizer solo or MFLB. The flavor is not as noticeable or tastes more "watered down". It is definetely cooler vapor though.

My Avb has been very uneven - dark black spots next to green spots. I've not been stirring so I will try that. My grind is medium (Santa Cruz Shredder); fill bowl to top, don't pack down.

I've read almost this whole thread and I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong. I follow the techniques others have posted.

Thanks!

Yes, there should be resistance. Make sure the lid is on properly. If it's misaligned at all, even if the magnet makes a seal, you may not make a tight enough seal to create proper airflow. As for black spots etc, yes, try stirring every few hits.

There should be resistance. Try sqeezing the edges of the lid to goet a tighter seal.
When everything is dialed in this unit rips.

A properly-functioning and aligned lid shouldn't need to be squeezed to work. (It's a good test actually...if the lid is on right, and you have to squeeze it to get a good seal and/or hit, then your lid magnet isn't strong enough and it should be replaced.)

I find there's a little draw resistance especially if you draw fast

The FF has some of the tastiest vapor I've tried. It destroys the mflb and I think it has a slight edge over the solo from what I read.

This is interesting...because I've noticed differences in draw among the several FF's I've used. Even now, my Silver has more resistance (at any speed) than my Red which feels "airier". In general though it's a good idea to throttle back on your draw speed once you feel resistance.

I agree with you on the taste...the FF is, IMO, hands-down the tastiest, coolest vapor I've encountered in a portable.

Thanks for the help - I purchased it from Vapeworld so it should be authentic.

A few days after I got it, when cleaning the bowl with a paper towel and iso, I think I pushed down a little too much. It seems like there's a little more gap at the bottom now. Could this effect it? I know there's a rubber gasket in there so I wouldn't think it would matter.

It seems unlikely that you've actually moved the steel plate, but I guess anything is possible. It sits on top of a ceramic platform that in turn sits directly on the bottom of the device. I doubt you've done any damage...and as long as the FF performs, I wouldn't sweat it. (But in the future be gentle when pushing on the plate for cleaning purposes.)

It might help to check out the tear-down photos on page 81...gives you a good idea of how it's all pieced together, without having to void your warranty and open it yourself.

http://fuckcombustion.com/threads/the-firefly-vaporizer.11365/page-81#post-549916

 

[mitchgo61]

Maybe I'm doing it wrong, but once I load up the bowl with coarsely ground material I hold down the power button and wait 10 seconds before drawing, but there's very little, if any vapour. I'm finding I need to keep pulsing the power button just to get some basic vapour production going.

My battery appears to charge okay, taking just over 45mins to do so, and was able to vape a couple of bowls on a full charge (I vape until it's a very, very dark brown).

I also found, that after releasing the power button, vapour would continue to get produced for a good 30seconds afterwards, not a huge issue but I was under the impression the Firefly operated in a similar 'on demand' fashion to the MFLB.

Does it sound like I've got a dud unit/battery or do I just need to practise a little? Any day 1 tips?

Too soon to tell, but trying some technique adjustments will determine how your unit is working. Try the following...

1. Use a coarse grind but pack the bowl very densely.
2. Hold button for four seconds, just till you see the orange glow.
3. Make sure your lips make a tight seal on the mouthpiece.
4. Draw as fast as you can till you hit resistance and no faster. (Not as fast as you'd smoke, but maybe a touch faster than you would normally hit a vape. If you feel resistance, pull back a bit.)
5. Draw until you feel vapor. This may be longer than you think, 10 seconds minimum.
6. Once you feel like you're getting vapor, release the button and keep drawing to carb out the rest of the vapor.

I get large hits this way. Give it a try and see how it works...if this doesn't help there may be other techniques you can try before we conclude there's a problem with your FF. Good luck!

I'm getting good charge out of my unit; at least 3 bowls before recharge required. However mine switches to the yellow overheat light every bowl if I go for frequent long hits- is this normal & do I just need to ease up on the frequency of hits? Unit gets pretty hot pretty easy though...

Another new one on me, Mr Angry. I've gotten several FF's very hot to the touch, but still have never seen a yellow light. Unclear if it's normal, but if you are able to use the FF effectively and the overheating resolves fast, you are probably fine.

From reading the forums it seems to me that the FF has a higher failure rate than other vapes in it's price range. Of course this could be due to more people on FC having one.

That being said, is there any official word from FF on the host of battery issues (poor battery life, good batteries dying after a few months, battery status lights not reading correctly, etc) and the combustion issues that some were having? Any idea if they are redesigning the battery or is it simply a case of them sending out new ones to those who complain about the issue?

They have not issued official "failure rate" stats and I suspect they never will. It's impossible to extrapolate from our experiences. I myself have bought two but been through four of each color...in my experience, 3 out of four FFs have a fatal failure in the first six months. Now, that can't be right, I'm sure it's not (some here have used the same FF for a year with no problems). But that's my one-data-point experience. I do think the FF has a high first-gen failure rate, but I have no idea what it is, and maybe I'm wrong, since I'm basing it on my own, admittedly pretty failure-laden 13 months with the FFs.

 

[Mike M]

He never mentioned where he bought it. If it's from FF or Vapeworld, it's not a fake.

Agree to that. This info is on the FF Site, if it helps


Q:
How can I identify a counterfeit Firefly?

A:
Since the launch of the Firefly, counterfeit vaporizers have surfaced on the market. Here are some tips for identifying a fake:

1. Off-center logo on inside face
2. Off-center mouthpiece
3. Visible glue around mouthpiece
4. Magnetic lid not as strong
5. Battery sticker upside down
6. Writing on battery scratches off
7. Unit doesn't work at all - turns green then flashes red and dies

- See more at: http://www.thefirefly.com/faq-device-questions/?fid=14#sthash.Mww8tKVO.dpuf

 

[EveryDayAmnesiac]

Ok, I've had my FF for a couple of weeks now & I'm getting the yellow overheating light on nearly every bowl. Is anyone else experiencing this? My seller has offered to replace the unit for me but just wanted some feedback from you guys to see if I'm going to get the same again with a new unit.

I've never seen the yellow light on my unit. It seems to have come up a couple times in this thread, but I don't recall it being a common thing. I'd get a replacement.

Sorry to hear about you guys having trouble lately. I've certainly been there when it comes to portables (haven't we all?) but my FF has offered me more than a year of consistency of performance. The only issue I've had was a semi-dud battery that has been replaced.

I've gone back to using it away from home the past couple weeks and it's been working well. I find that it sits rather comfortably in my back pocket. Although, it helps that I never sit down at work!

For me, it is pretty practical for away from home. Since I only want 1 or 2 tokes and need to take them fast, I just want to duck away from everyone for a minute then pop back in. I still tend to only need one bowl and one battery to get me through the day since I'm such a lightweight. No stirring, no waiting, no surprises, and very, very little smell. And that flavor always makes me feel better instantly. It's like aromatherapy for your mouth.

For some, I think the FF can be a fantastic portable even when not at home.

The only problem for me away from home is that when people do see it, they sure want to look more closely at it and know what it is. It's an attention-grabber when out in the open. Everybody wants to hold it.

The Firefly continues to be the second-best vaporizer EVER () .... in my world. After the legendary Heat Island, of course...

 

[BRAND1SH]

Hey folks,
This is my first post in fc and I just want to give my personal opinion and tips on the firefly without stepping on any toes.
I'm new to handheld vaporizers, well I had a vapor genie a few years ago but that lung powered monster lost my interest after I rediscovered quality glassware.
A friend introduced me to the pax and I was immediately hooked! After researching online I decided to get the firefly for these three main reasons: convection taste, efficiency and easy maintenance.
I tried all the recommended methods suggested here and finally got it down to where I get 4-5 quality hits out of a measly .15 g. No disrespect to everyone else's method, but mine might help noobs like myself to get massive tasty rips from the firefly. Especially considering how much results can vary with the ff, specifically for a novice like myself.
Start with a .3 nug, grind it to a fluffy/shredded consistency. If it's too nuggy your lungs will have to work harder then necessary and if it's too fine you'll have un-vaped particles in your airways, in addition to wasting your expensive medicine.
Take your. 3 g pile of shredded herb and divide in half. Take one of the .15 piles and tightly roll it into a ball with your thumb, pointer and middle finger. Drop it into the ff bowl and give it one nice soft pat down. It will be the perfect pack; not too loose, so it stays in place and not to tight where you can't get good airflow.
For a first hit/cold start, preheat for 10 seconds, release and hold 3-5 seconds until the chamber lights up, then comes the most important part IMO... Don't "pull", "toke" or "take a drag", SIMPLY "BREATH" THROUGH THE FIREFLY. You'll get smooth, delicious results every time. Any harder and you do get a hit, but I believe it is counter productive as the air may be going through the heating element too fast to provide accurate and sufficiently heated air. I just breath/inhale like I do normally, albeit for a sustained 20-25 seconds, which the mouthpieces orifice makes easier.

This method sat my ass down ! Especially the first two hits. My God!!

Please try this and let me know what you guys think. I hope it helps.

PS: this method is also extremely clean, haven't had any escaped particles in my airpath so they stay nice and clear. And gunk free as well.

PSS: a quick stir after the second hit helps A LOT!

CHEERS

 

[Marctraider]

Hi Marc. Welcome to FC.

Well there are three choices...1. Your lid magnet is too weak, as TNT suggests (not uncommon); 2. Your lid is seated incorrectly (user error, super common, happens to me five times a day!); 3. Your lid is defective.

If it's number 3, it's covered. If you purchased from FF they will send you a new lid. If you purchased somewhere else, contact them.



This is a new one to me. (Oh FF, you never bore.) If you are sure the mouthpiece is leaking, you might wanna request a replacement for the unit.



Now that I read your last sentence I'm guessing you didn't buy from FF. Again contact whomever you bought it from and see about a lid or entire FF replacement if you are unhappy with the mouthpiece. It's all covered by warranty and you should have a device that works correctly, which it sounds like yours does not, at the moment.

Good luck and let us know what happens.

Thanks for the response.

Today I received a new Firefly cover for free! No RMA or anything.

It seems to have solved the issue. Also, for the mouthpiece I bought a few torx bits to see if i could get the mouthpiece out, but it seems way to complicated to get it out without totally breaking the device or damaging it.

Instead, I cleaned the outer side of the mouthpiece where it starts connecting with the device itself, and where the leak is coming from. I used some greenish Bison glue around the mouthpiece to see if it helped, waited an hour and the green glue started to become totally transparent!

So visually its barely noticable, and did it fix the problem? Yep
I can now put my thumb on the air inlet and suck on the device but there is zero air leaking now

I can finally see some big clouds coming off my vapour. I wasnt really satisfied with the taste of my usual tobacco and it wasnt as moist as I'd like it to be, so I combined the firefly with some nice Pipe Tobacco sweet vanilla

It's just tasty! I'm really satisfied now



Who knows if im satisfied enough to buy another pair of batteries too Thats the only downside on this thing as i can see.

No wait. I have another issue that sometimes I can barely get any cloud/vapour out. It happens sometimes, not always. The heating element seems to be working consistently so I dont think that is the problem. Perhaps I just havent practiced enough with the technique yet?
I dont seem to be filling up the chamber too much either.


Cheers!

 

[EveryDayAmnesiac]

My replacement battery is slightly different from any battery I've used - at least, cosmetically.

The replacement says "Rechargeable Li-polymer Battery Pack" above the specs.

The new batt also says "5.7 Wh," as opposed to the "5.55 Wh" on the others.

Above the UL symbol, the new one says, "43LJ," instead of "3JKH" on the others.

It also has an extra symbol, the " C E " one.

Also, the bar code numbers are smaller and bolder, and begin with "FM." All my other batts start with "FT."

Too early to tell if the battery is any different, but it's certainly working better than the one it replaced.



This mean anything to anyone?

 

[EveryDayAmnesiac]

Can you post a picture of the battery? All those numbers are important!

I can tell you what some of them mean. I was just thinking about getting a second battery, wondering if they had been updated.

This is the best my camera can do...

Just noticing now that the mAh is 770 on the new and 750 on the old...

 

[Stu]

Im going to have to see video before I believe you a 100% lol

Here's' a video. The ABV at the end looks like it has dark spots, but it's just the shitty camera and lighting. It was all green still.

 

[mitchgo61]

Only one thing could cheer me up after a week of massive snowfall: a phone chat with Firefly co-founder and CTO Sasha Robinson. Sasha contacted me in email a few days ago because he'd heard I had experienced a disproportionate amount of problems with my FFs and he wanted to get more details and some feedback. Like any respectable FF fan I quickly compiled a list of my own questions. He was kind enough to spend about 40 minutes talking with me yesterday and after I detailed my various FF failures we covered a variety of FF-related topics. Here's my random sequence brain dump...hopefully I've remembered everything...

Failure rate: despite my high rate of FF issues, he said the overall failure rate was 3%.

Batteries: The first batch of batteries were all fine, but due to an issue with the manufacturer, the last bunch were inferior, as some of us have discovered. The newer batteries (like the one EDA posted a pic of) are from a different manufacturer and supposedly have longer life and longer charges. I don't own one, so I can't confirm.

Screens: Funny that this topic just came up...Sasha mentioned that he doesn't even think of the screens as replaceable parts, and they debated even using a removable screen. They were designed to be left in as long as possible (but, he said "people really like getting extra screens"...because, I assume, they like to change them or think they need to). I did share with him my feeling that the screens are a bit too small and provide insufficient coverage when removed and reinstalled.

FF 2.0: They are indeed working on a Firefly 2.0. He said he couldn't give any dates or real details about it, but I gather they are well into the effort (my inference). Good news. (I said "can I give you my credit card number now and be first on the pre-order list??" )

Retractable mouthpiece: This one's for EDA ("I have to ask you for a friend of mine..."). He said the FF would have to be larger...there's currently no room with the battery and electronics to retract the mouthpiece into the FF body. He mentioned the Pax as a device where a lot of thought went into the mouthpiece action but at FF they focused on keeping it simpler. (Given all the Pax issues surrounding the mouthpiece, good move.)

FC: They seem to read the thread here regularly, but it's unlikely that anyone from FF will be participating. I think he's worried about it becoming a huge time sink for someone, as they would be responding to all kinds of customer support issues, and they are a pretty small operation. I think he's also well aware of some of the less pleasant aspects, for a manufacturer, of being on the forum.

Changing over time: I noted that it seems like my FFs have changed over time, i.e. my current red FF seemed hotter two months ago than it does now. Sasha said it's possible subtle changes can occur as the resistor ages. I'm still not sure if it's real or my imagination but I wanted to ask about it.

Colors: it's unlikely new colors will be added due to the cost given the small unit runs per color...they wouldn't sell enough, say, metallic gold (my choice), to pay for manufacturing without the price being too high. But they will be adding some lid choices...(see below) ...

Challenges: Sasha talked a lot about the various challenges they face, in two categories...one, the challenges of the FF (Sasha is the designer of all the FF technical aspects), and two, the corporate challenges. The latter are typical of a small company...hard to achieve economies of scale with small product runs, difficult manufacturing relationships again related to company size, etc. The former are all the things we are aware of as users...the size of the FF (Sasha said they would like to get it smaller and lighter but given the heat generated it needs a certain mass), the battery life given how much power it needs, etc. Like any small company in this space it's a two-front battle.

QC/Testing: another big challenge, obviously one that affects us as users. They can't test every unit, and Sasha himself has stood at the end of the assembly line in China doing spot-testing of units, but since they cannot test them all themselves they rely on the manufacturer to do testing as well. (My feeling is if they've really gotten the failure rate down to 3% they are doing quite well in this space...I also suggested that if you take my 300% failure rate out of the equation, FF is probably more like 2% failure rate. He said they should send all their new products to me first so I can absorb the failures...I'm cool with that! )

Competition: I asked him about most of the current portables, and he's not only familiar with them but has taken most of them apart and gotten good looks at them. Like any good businessperson he had nothing negative to say about any of them, but obviously they've taken a different path from most of their competition. Emphasis has always been on flavor, convection, simplicity, and on-demand rather than session-based vaping. He said "taste is more important than some other aspects like stealth". But he also asserted that some vapes, like the Pax, may seem more stealthy, but thanks to their conduction/passive cooking, tend to throw more odor. "If you sit next to someone with a Firefly, and someone with a Pax, you're going to know what the Pax person is doing, but not what the Firefly user is doing." Anyway my takeaway is they are super-aware of their competitors and they think that building a quality device (no plastic, for example) that hews closely to certain key values and is supported by a great team is the way to win in the crowded portable space.

Upcoming goodies: concentrate pads; a mother-of-pearl lid; and a cherry-wood lid (Sasha has wanted a wood FF since that old prototype FF that used wood). Sounds like all of these are coming in the near future, but no dates yet. The future of cosmetic enhancements appears to be in the lid space.

Overall these guys have had a vision of the FF that focuses on several core priorities...flavor, on-demand vaping, simplicity of use and maintenance. They think of the FF as one of the few devices that stands apart from the plethora of portables that are both conduction and session-based (though he did express admiration for the MFLB's on-demand approach). They didn't make a device that's designed to pump out huge clouds (though it's easy to get 'em), but rather one that maximizes flavor and delivers, as Sasha put it, "the entire temperature range in every hit"...as opposed to a vape that sets a static temp and maintains it. (I thought this was really interesting...all this time with the FF and I had never really thought of it that way.)

Finally I told him to give the support folks a big virtual hug from me...their commitment to the customer is the thing that's kept me around when the devices fail. They understand our lifetime value...I wish I could say that about all manufacturers.

I'm sure I missed some obvious questions. Hopefully I'll get to pick his brain again in the near future so I'll try to keep a running list. In the meantime I'm psyched for that cherry lid.