Discontinued The Firefly Vaporizer

[VaPeD&CoNfUsEd]

It's a plug charger and it cannot be used while charging.
I may pickup the extra battery and external charger after I've decided whether or not the firefly is a keeper for me.

 

[mitchgo61]

Can this thing be used while charging? Sorry if it has been mentioned, I haven't noticed yet... Does it have a plug charger? or do you have to remove the battery and charge it separately?

No, can't use it while plugged in. Yes, plug charger included, no need to remove the battery.

 

[stickstones]

I may pickup the extra battery and external charger after I've decided whether or not the firefly is a keeper for me.

My money says it won't be...you have lived up to your avatar name here by buying and selling every portable released in the last year!

 

[VaPeD&CoNfUsEd]

My money says it won't be...you have lived up to your avatar name here by buying and selling every portable released in the last year!

This is true! But some lucky forum members always get sweet deals whenever I get a new portable! There's gotta be 10 or so of my sweet portables floating around these forums. Lol I will say that as far as vapes overall go though, I have held on to my e-nano and will never ever let her go. Hands down my favorite vape ever! I'm a convection whore so MAYBE the firefly will be my portable keeper. I try to stay optimistic when awaiting a new portable. I also have my eye on the grasshopper but, not gonna take the leap until I see it in some forum members hands first. Then I'll happily pay retail. Fingers crossed! It's a bold new world for vaporization going into the new year.

 

[Musicslv]

Anyone else still waiting for the ..."Once your package ships we will send an email with a link to track your order"... memo to arrive? I hadn't heard anything so I went online into my account with FF and was able to see that my order had indeed been shipped and that I should be receiving it next Thursday. Yea!

 

[mitchgo61]

Well, despite my positive early impressions, i'm now wondering if I have a faulty unit, or some kind of weirdness with hearing control. Three times today i inadvertently achieved combustion. Two of the three times happened really quickly, within ten seconds of holding the button down on a fresh load. Both of these two times, I could swear (not in a court of law, but i'm pretty sure it happened) that i heard an audible "click" right before i started getting burn taste and clearly the beginning of combustion. The third time was less dramatic, and occurred while holding the button down for at least 15 seconds on a partially-vaped load. but i clearly saw a couple of small black pieces in the bowl.

Ironically last night i was unable to get a load past a certain level of darkness, basically what i expected from a unit that doesn't exceed 400f. So i think the top screen thing wasn't the culprit of too much heat, but rather the unit has some issue with the regulation of the heating element. I emailed the FF folks, so I'll let you guys know what they say.

 

[lwien]

Well, despite my positive early impressions, i'm now thinking i have a faulty unit. Three times today i inadvertently achieved combustion. Two of the three times happened really quickly, within ten seconds of holding the button down on a fresh load. Both of these two times, I could swear (not in a court of law, but i'm pretty sure it happened) that i heard an audible "click" right before i started getting burn taste and clearly the beginning of combustion. The third time was less dramatic, and occurred while holding the button down for at least 15 seconds on a partially-vaped load. but i clearly saw a couple of small black pieces in the bowl.

Ironically last night i was unable to get a load past a certain level of darkness, basically what i expected from a unit that doesn't exceed 400f. So i think the top screen thing wasn't the culprit of too much heat, but rather the unit has some issue with the regulation of the heating element. I emailed the FF folks, so I'll let you guys know what they say. For now, though, caveat emptor and all that. What i get for being an early adopter!

Could the added heat from putting in that extra screen on top caused any damage to the heat sensors, etc?

 

[marduk]

Both of these two times, I could swear (not in a court of law, but i'm pretty sure it happened) that i heard an audible "click" right before i started getting burn taste and clearly the beginning of combustion.

They might be using a thermal switch to limit the temp to 400F, which would explain the clicks you heard.

 

[mitchgo61]

no idea. doubt the extra screen really added any heat though.

They might be using a thermal switch to limit the temp to 400F, which would explain the clicks you heard.

interesting. so i wonder what is causing the heat to spike? just did another session and it worked fine, so i'm puzzled by the erratic behavior.

 

[toros23]

interesting. so i wonder what is causing the heat to spike? just did another session and it worked fine, so i'm puzzled by the erratic behavior.

Are you using a consistent pull? Most of my experience with convection is using log vapes and if you pull too slow and long, combustion can occur. Perhaps your are unconsciously pulling slower sometimes and that could be causing the combustion by letting too much heat build up??

I can easily combust with my HI (log vape) set to somewhere between what I think is 380 and 400 - hard to know for sure since I don't have proper tools to measure temp.

 

[mitchgo61]

Are you using a consistent pull? Most of my experience with convection is using log vapes and if you pull too slow and long, combustion can occur. Perhaps your are unconsciously pulling slower sometimes and that could be causing the combustion by letting too much heat build up??

I can easily combust with my HI (log vape) set to somewhere between what I think is 380 and 400 - hard to know for sure since I don't have proper tools to measure temp.

I don't really think so. I have pretty good technique with convection vapes, though i agree you can get combustion by drawing too slowly. Seems like the times it's happened with the FF has been kind of sudden, like BAM a heat spike that caused combustion to begin.

Definitely puzzled.

 

[lwien]

no idea. doubt the extra screen really added any heat though.

What could be happening is that the extra screen, being metal, conducts heat, and in this instance, could conduct heat away from the herb causing the vape to rise the temp even higher to compensate. Just guessing here though.........

 

[toros23]

What could be happening is that the extra screen, being metal, conducts heat, and in this instance, could conduct heat away from the herb causing the vape to rise the temp even higher to compensate. Just guessing here though.........

Could be a very good point. The chamber needs to heat the herb and the screen, which would likely need more power/heat.

 

[mitchgo61]

What could be happening is that the extra screen, being metal, conducts heat, and in this instance, could conduct heat away from the herb causing the vape to rise the temp even higher to compensate. Just guessing here though.........

Right, makes sense. But it's happening, erratically, without the second screen too.

 

[lwien]

Right, makes sense. But it's happening, erratically, without the second screen too.

Right, but this issue didn't show up until after you put in that extra screen. You're not using it now, but having the vape having to compensate due to lost heat when you did have that extra screen in there may have thrown the internal heat sensor off.

 

[mitchgo61]

Right, but this issue didn't show up until after you put in that extra screen. You're not using it now, but having the vape having to compensate due to lost heat when you did have that extra screen in there may have thrown the internal heat sensor off.

That would suck. Wonder if there's a way to reset it...otherwise I'm screwed.

 

[lwien]

That would suck. Wonder if there's a way to reset it...otherwise I'm screwed.

I have no idea if that is what happened, but considering the timing of all this, it's certainly plausible.
As far as resetting it, I have no idea.

 

[grokit]

That would suck. Wonder if there's a way to reset it...otherwise I'm screwed.

I doubt you're screwed, easy enough to take the screen out and check though.

The heat is only on when the momentary switch is activated right? Try pulsing the heating switch so it's not on all the time, that should cool it off enough to avoid combustion. The firefly's heaviness lets it hold its heat, so power probably doesn't have to be constantly applied once the unit's up to temp.

 

[mitchgo61]

I have no idea if that is what happened, but considering the timing of all this, it's certainly plausible.
As far as resetting it, I have no idea.

I took the battery out and replaced it. Worth a try.

I doubt you're screwed, easy enough to take the screen out and check though.

The heat is only on when the momentary switch is activated right? Try pulsing the heating switch so it's not on all the time, that should cool it off enough to avoid combustion. The firefly's heaviness lets it hold its heat, so power probably doesn't have to be constantly applied once the unit's up to temp.

Correct. You have to hold it down. It's just hard to develop a technique if the amount of heat activated isn't consistent. (To be clear, it's been almost entirely consistent except for the three times it got too hot too quick.)

 

[lwien]

I took the battery out and replaced it. Worth a try.

Yup. Kinda like a hard reboot. Let us know if it helped.

 

[mitchgo61]

Yup. Kinda like a hard reboot. Let us know if it helped.

Nada. Just had a heat surge that caused a burn. You can hold down the button forever most of the time and be in no danger of combustion...but every X time, there's some kind of spike. Clearly something isn't right. I went from "love" to "can't use it" in 24 hours. Love really does stink!

 

[toros23]

That sucks man, I wish the mfg was here to help out.

I am curious, how much are you loading? Do you have a scale that can measure down to a .10? I find it pretty much impossible to combust with a very small amount of material, maybe you could try tiny loads around or less than .10?

 

[mitchgo61]

That sucks man, I wish the mfg was here to help out.

I am curious, how much are you loading? Do you have a scale that can measure down to a .10? I find it pretty much impossible to combust with a very small amount of material, maybe you could try tiny loads around or less than .10?

I have not used a load that small. I will give it a try. What's happening, though, seems unrelated to technique, draw, bowl size/grind, etc. It's a random, sharp spike in heat that causes an immediate burn. The last time it happened, the unit was cold, and about five or six seconds into the first draw and button push i got an immediate moment of burn. I even saw a spark through the little porthole glass. Now, extra screen or not, heat sensor issues, or not, that kind of thing just shouldn't happen.

Got an email into FF, but likely won't hear from them before Monday.

 

[toros23]

How much are you loading? Can you load a normal bowl and then weigh it? Also, what kind of grinder (what brand) are you using, if any?

 

[mitchgo61]

How much are you loading? Can you load a normal bowl and then weigh it? Also, what kind of grinder (what brand) are you using, if any?

I've used loads from around .25 to as small as <.1. Also used various grinds...from barely broken pieces to finer powder. Yesterday i got the "burn" event with a load of fine dry grounds...today it happened on a chunkier load. Again, doesn't seem to have any relation to the load size or grind. I wish it did...then i could control it, eventually