Discontinued The Firefly Vaporizer

[darkrom]

How many bowls are you getting out of the FF max?

5-6 including another user who has developed very little technique. I'm guessing I could pull 6 bowls per battery every time if I had them all solo.

 

[natural farmer]

5-6 including another user who has developed very little technique. I'm guessing I could pull 6 bowls per battery every time if I had them all solo.

6 bowls and dark ABV or a lighter tone?

 

[EveryDayAmnesiac]

I am expecting my FF today. I have read the full 102 pages and am pretty excited to be part of the community. I presently own a Solo and Pinnacle Pro and lastly Persei Core Bender combo.

We're going to need to hear some comparisons when you get the chance.

I'm currently living dangerously by having only one vaporizer. I had to send my Ascent back (I"ll be on my fourth when they send me a new one. )

Damn good thing the one vape I have left is a Firefly.

 

[Tickdickler]

Wow. I changed my technique and am getting amazing results. 2-4 second preheat for first one or 2 draws. For the rest of the draws until the end no preheat. I hit the button half a second before Inhale. At the end to extract the most I can I pre heat for 5-7 and lean on the button and that gets it to an even light brown with some dark brown areas.

I also just use my grinder (sharp shredder) and fill the bowl just under the glass and give it a light tamp. The clouds i've been getting are very satisfying.

 

[darkrom]

6 bowls and dark ABV or a lighter tone?

Pretty dark. I like the higher temp stuff. Definitely not a THC only kinda guy.

 

[NYC5IKH5jabi]

So what's the vape signature on this? Is it similar to a pinnacle pro

 

[fireinthefly21]

Hello everybody! Longtime toker, first time poster. I am excited to be a part of the community here! I purchased the FF a few weeks ago and have been catching up on this thread and working on my technique since, I just finally finished the thread and thought it was time to share my experiences as well. First let me start out by saying I have been smoking in the traditional fashion for over 15 years out of a waterpipe. It broke a few weeks ago while cleaning and I took a ride to a few local headshops to check out the selection. One of the dealers highly recommended the FF. I had never used a vaporizer in my life, my wife kind of talked me into it because it was so cool looking. I made the impulse buy and have had it about 3 weeks now, using it pretty much as my only toking device the entire time. So we have really gotten to know each other!

I have to say the FF is truly amazing and I am very impressed with it. It is very fancy/elegant...when using it, it is more of an experience--a very enjoyable one! The look and feel of this machine is very luxurious. Here is my review on the performance:

1. Luckily I have been able to produce clouds since my first bowl out of the box. My wife as well, and neither of us have had any experience with a vaporizer previously. Smoking only.

2. I use a medium/fine finger grind, occasionally use a grinder. Preheat the first draw for 2-4 seconds until it fully glows and immediately begin to draw for 8-12 seconds (longer for the last few draws). Let off the button and continue to draw for another 5 seconds or so until the unit cools down. I typically get about 5-8 draws when putting in about .1 of herbs. Loosely packed and a little less than a full bowl.

3. My unit seems to be very consistent in terms of results, I get a pretty large cloud right from the first draw. (For me it is surprisingly one of the bigger ones in each bowl). The next 2 draws produce huge clouds that usually take me off to a happy place . But after those first few clouds, I have noticed the last the last 3-4 draws are whispy at best. They are usually pretty disappointing and I feel do not add much to the end result.

4. I have never had an issue w/ combustion. But I am having a problem with charring. Charring begins on the very first hit for me. And the herb is pretty significantly charred by the second and third draws. I do tap between draws and also stir halfway through. (But I have noticed by the time I need to stir, I no longer produce clouds anyways and herbs are pretty spent (or charred)

I know draw speed and technique has a lot to do with this. I start off very slow, gradually increase speed, and then gradually decrease speed to very slow again, then when I let off the button I slightly increase speed again. I have been trying different techniques, this one has been working best for me. Although all of them seem to end with the same charring result.

I am worried about the charring I am experiencing. When I see pics of other peoples ABV they are a completely different ballgame, some are still green and very light brown. My ABV are pretty dam close to black. The first few draws makes the bottom half of the bowl charred, and then after stirring the entire bowl is pretty much charred by the end. I am wondering if others are experiencing this as well? And if this charring is impacting the the potential results I could be getting if it didn't char? Such as more vapor? I don't have much experiencing vaping so please keep in mind I am a rookie vaper. Thanks and keep the fire burning baby!

 

[Tickdickler]

Hello everybody! Longtime toker, first time poster. I am excited to be a part of the community here! I purchased the FF a few weeks ago and have been catching up on this thread and working on my technique since, I just finally finished the thread and thought it was time to share my experiences as well. First let me start out by saying I have been smoking in the traditional fashion for over 15 years out of a waterpipe. It broke a few weeks ago while cleaning and I took a ride to a few local headshops to check out the selection. One of the dealers highly recommended the FF. I had never used a vaporizer in my life, my wife kind of talked me into it because it was so cool looking. I made the impulse buy and have had it about 3 weeks now, using it pretty much as my only toking device the entire time. So we have really gotten to know each other!

I have to say the FF is truly amazing and I am very impressed with it. It is very fancy/elegant...when using it, it is more of an experience--a very enjoyable one! The look and feel of this machine is very luxurious. Here is my review on the performance:

1. Luckily I have been able to produce clouds since my first bowl out of the box. My wife as well, and neither of us have had any experience with a vaporizer previously. Smoking only.

2. I use a medium/fine finger grind, occasionally use a grinder. Preheat the first draw for 2-4 seconds until it fully glows and immediately begin to draw for 8-12 seconds (longer for the last few draws). Let off the button and continue to draw for another 5 seconds or so until the unit cools down. I typically get about 5-8 draws when putting in about .1 of herbs. Loosely packed and a little less than a full bowl.

3. My unit seems to be very consistent in terms of results, I get a pretty large cloud right from the first draw. (For me it is surprisingly one of the bigger ones in each bowl). The next 2 draws produce huge clouds that usually take me off to a happy place . But after those first few clouds, I have noticed the last the last 3-4 draws are whispy at best. They are usually pretty disappointing and I feel do not add much to the end result.

4. I have never had an issue w/ combustion. But I am having a problem with charring. Charring begins on the very first hit for me. And the herb is pretty significantly charred by the second and third draws. I do tap between draws and also stir halfway through. (But I have noticed by the time I need to stir, I no longer produce clouds anyways and herbs are pretty spent (or charred)

I know draw speed and technique has a lot to do with this. I start off very slow, gradually increase speed, and then gradually decrease speed to very slow again, then when I let off the button I slightly increase speed again. I have been trying different techniques, this one has been working best for me. Although all of them seem to end with the same charring result.

I am worried about the charring I am experiencing. When I see pics of other peoples ABV they are a completely different ballgame, some are still green and very light brown. My ABV are pretty dam close to black. The first few draws makes the bottom half of the bowl charred, and then after stirring the entire bowl is pretty much charred by the end. I am wondering if others are experiencing this as well? And if this charring is impacting the the potential results I could be getting if it didn't char? Such as more vapor? I don't have much experiencing vaping so please keep in mind I am a rookie vaper. Thanks and keep the fire burning baby!

Try pre heating less or not at all. I've found this to work well.

 

[mitchgo61]

3. My unit seems to be very consistent in terms of results, I get a pretty large cloud right from the first draw. (For me it is surprisingly one of the bigger ones in each bowl). The next 2 draws produce huge clouds that usually take me off to a happy place . But after those first few clouds, I have noticed the last the last 3-4 draws are whispy at best. They are usually pretty disappointing and I feel do not add much to the end result.

4. I have never had an issue w/ combustion. But I am having a problem with charring. Charring begins on the very first hit for me. And the herb is pretty significantly charred by the second and third draws. I do tap between draws and also stir halfway through. (But I have noticed by the time I need to stir, I no longer produce clouds anyways and herbs are pretty spent (or charred)

I know draw speed and technique has a lot to do with this. I start off very slow, gradually increase speed, and then gradually decrease speed to very slow again, then when I let off the button I slightly increase speed again. I have been trying different techniques, this one has been working best for me. Although all of them seem to end with the same charring result.

I am worried about the charring I am experiencing. When I see pics of other peoples ABV they are a completely different ballgame, some are still green and very light brown. My ABV are pretty dam close to black. The first few draws makes the bottom half of the bowl charred, and then after stirring the entire bowl is pretty much charred by the end.

Welcome to FC and the FF!

Charring may be occurring due to too much heat or a too-slow draw. On a fresh bowl try....

1. Pre heat for a four count.
2. Draw while holding the button but as fast as you can until you feel resistance, and no faster. IE a draw fast enough that you feel like you cannot draw faster or harder without real effort. That's as fast as you should draw.
3. Let up on the button mid hit, maybe 10-12 seconds in.

I suspect you are drawing too slowly. Experiment with draw speed and button times and you should eliminate or minimize charring. Keep at it and you will find the sweet spot, but it takes practice. Good luck and let us know how you fare...and welcome again!

 

[fireinthefly21]

Thank you very much for the tips. I did just do a bowl trying a faster draw technique and had much less success that way. I did not get any good hits at all. It started off with a really bad first hit, followed by a couple slightly better and the last few were really bad. The disappointing part of this was that the herbs still got charred. I got the same amount of hits that I normally would have, just not as big. About 5-6 and the whole bowl was charred.

The technique I am currently having success with gives me a few huge clouds that are very satisfying, but as I mentioned serious charring is occurring so I feel like my bowls are being cut short. The draw that is working for me is starting from a slow draw, building up to a medium draw (I guess you could say when the FF tells me to stop) and slowly back down again. Only a 2 second preheat on the first hit only and no preheat after. Draw time is fairly quick, on the first few hits my draw time is only about 8-10 seconds and I get huge satisfying clouds. The last few hits I do hold the button longer to extract as much as I can, but just as much charring occurs in the first few hits so it is not because of that.

I have read that others are getting charring on the bottom center as well. I am wondering if others are experiencing this right away after the first hit as well? I will post pictures of my next session to let you guys see exactly what is going on. Thanks again!

 

[2 Paces]

I have read that others are getting charring on the bottom center as well. I am wondering if others are experiencing this right away after the first hit as well?

I hesitate to agree with the word 'charring', but the bottom center definitely gets very dark colored after one or two hits on mine. Very, very dark brown, but not black (no combustion).

I always stir the bowl after every 2 hits because the herb at the bottom is completely spent and starting to taste nasty, while the herb on top is still untouched green.

I seem to have about the same results as you per bowl: 3 great hits, then 3 lesser hits for about six total.

 

[mitchgo61]

I seem to have about the same results as you per bowl: 3 great hits, then 3 lesser hits for about six total.

Except in his first post he says he's using a nearly full bowl. You aren't only getting 6 hits with a full bowl, are you? I fill pretty full, maybe .1 to .13 grams. I get nearly 15 hits per bowl, and the first ten or so are large clouds.

Thank you very much for the tips. I did just do a bowl trying a faster draw technique and had much less success that way. I did not get any good hits at all. It started off with a really bad first hit, followed by a couple slightly better and the last few were really bad. The disappointing part of this was that the herbs still got charred. I got the same amount of hits that I normally would have, just not as big. About 5-6 and the whole bowl was charred.

Hmm. I'm starting to wonder if your FF isn't operating dysfunctionally hot. With the amount of button-pushing you're describing, you really shouldn't see outright charring on your first hit. (In fact your first hit should be a bit cooler/weaker than hits 2 and 3.) You definitely shouldn't see the entire bowl charred after five hits. I see almost no charring after 15-20 hits with button pushes so long the cutoff time is reached.

For sure, some FF's are hotter than others; my silver would leave me with some charring. Nothing to the extent that you're describing. I know you said you don't have combustion, but it sounds like you are getting close. You really shouldn't have an entire charred bowl after 5 or even 10 hits.

Might be worth giving FF a call (talk to Shelby) and tell them of your experience and see what they think. It's just possible you could use a replacement FF if this excessive, quick charring continues. Good luck and keep us in the loop.

 

[2 Paces]

Except in his first post he says he's using a nearly full bowl. You aren't only getting 6 hits with a full bowl, are you? I fill pretty full, maybe .1 to .13 grams. I get nearly 15 hits per bowl, and the first ten or so are large clouds.

Yep. Six hits off a full bowl. Actually a little overfull because I tamp it down to get it even with the rim.

I have never understood how you guys are getting so many hits out of a bowl.

To be honest I'm glad it doesn't take me that many to deplete a bowl. I don't consider it a very big bowl, so if it took me 15 hits to get that amount of goodies in me I would enjoy the FF a lot less. I like the fact that I can power through a bowl quickly in a half dozen hits. My tolerance is high, so I don't enjoy 'sipping' so to speak.

In case anyone is wondering, it is fully depleted after 6 hits. I have put the ABV in an EVO and a Nano and neither one can pull any more vapor out of it.

 

[Mynameismud]

Yep. Six hits off a full bowl. Actually a little overfull because I tamp it down to get it even with the rim.

I have never understood how you guys are getting so many hits out of a bowl.

To be honest I'm glad it doesn't take me that many to deplete a bowl. I don't consider it a very big bowl, so if it took me 15 hits to get that amount of goodies in me I would enjoy the FF a lot less. I like the fact that I can power through a bowl quickly in a half dozen hits. My tolerance is high, so I don't enjoy 'sipping' so to speak.

In case anyone is wondering, it is fully depleted after 6 hits. I have put the ABV in an EVO and a Nano and neither one can pull any more vapor out of it.

I get about 10 maybe 15 hits off a bowl if im lucky now. My first firefly ran way too hot and was burning/charring. I had it replaced and new one works much better.

My first couple bowls with the new replacement, i was breaking it up by hand, and filling to the top without pushing it down. It wasnt vaping evenly and the bottom/middle was basically black.

So i started grinding it with my space case. I still fill it to the top of the glass lining, but im getting much better results. Much more even and i cant even get it to turn black if i tried.

Ive tried loading less, but i only get a few hits out of it and found it pointless to constantly reload.

So basically if your getting dark/black abv at the bottom or middle and your breaking it up by hand try to grind it and see how that works. Also dont pack it down, just fill it up and place the top back on because if you pack it down you wont get great airflow.

I have not attempted to try it whole for a few hits then hand grind but ill give that a shot.

 

[mitchgo61]

Yep. Six hits off a full bowl. Actually a little overfull because I tamp it down to get it even with the rim.

I have never understood how you guys are getting so many hits out of a bowl.

To be honest I'm glad it doesn't take me that many to deplete a bowl. I don't consider it a very big bowl, so if it took me 15 hits to get that amount of goodies in me I would enjoy the FF a lot less. I like the fact that I can power through a bowl quickly in a half dozen hits. My tolerance is high, so I don't enjoy 'sipping' so to speak.

In case anyone is wondering, it is fully depleted after 6 hits. I have put the ABV in an EVO and a Nano and neither one can pull any more vapor out of it.

You must be getting some massive hits! Truthfully I get huge hits...the first 8-10 are quite large. I cannot imagine compressing all that vapor into five or six hits. I would need an ambulance!

Have you weighed a full load? Would love to know if we are talking apples/apples. I pack a pretty large bowl, so that may explain some of the difference.

 

[2 Paces]

So basically if your getting dark/black abv at the bottom or middle and your breaking it up by hand try to grind it and see how that works. Also dont pack it down, just fill it up and place the top back on because if you pack it down you wont get great airflow.

I always grind. I didn't like the results I got with whole nugs or breaking it up by hand. Also, when I say I tamp it down, I'm not packing it tight, just a little tap to make it flat on the top.

Just to be clear, I love the way it works. I am not looking to change my results, just reporting them. My ABV isn't black, it's nice & dark the way I like it. Having to stir a couple of times per bowl isn't surprising to me either.

Have you weighed a full load? Would love to know if we are talking apples/apples. I pack a pretty large bowl, so that may explain some of the difference.

Unfortunately I don't have a scale capable of small measurements. I tend to get as much in there as I can without having to compress it, but that doesn't really tell you much


It would be great to get together with other Firefly owners. Everyone's experience, technique, and results vary so much. A bunch of us hanging out for a day could be a hell of a learning experience

 

[Vitolo]

Yep. Six hits off a full bowl. .....In case anyone is wondering, it is fully depleted after 6 hits.

Same here, every time.
Never a char.
depleted.
5-6 hits

 

[mitchgo61]

Unfortunately I don't have a scale capable of small measurements. I tend to get as much in there as I can without having to compress it, but that doesn't really tell you much


It would be great to get together with other Firefly owners. Everyone's experience, technique, and results vary so much. A bunch of us hanging out for a day could be a hell of a learning experience

Sounds like you are using less than I am, but maybe not all that much. Weird how much FF experiences differ. (Some bowls, I can't believe how long they go on! )

We are in adjacent states, so we could make an FF outing happen if we tried really hard.

 

[fernand]

@fireinthefly21 if you are the tinkering kind, you could try the laying on of hands by opening the unit and looking at your coil, maybe very delicately randomly repositioning it. Then try it again. The little fella seems to enjoy the attention, and tries to please.

 

[fireinthefly21]

I just finished up another session and took pictures as I mentioned to determine the charring situation. I should mention this particular bowl went pretty poorly all around.

Here is a picture of the bowl before vaped

Here is a picture of the bowl after only 2 draws. Note the charring at this point has covered the bottom layer and is making its way through the top side in the center.

This pic is after flipping and toward the end of the bowl after 5 draws.

My ABV after 6-7 draws.

I have had better results with a finer grind too. I started hand grinding (like the pics above) to get it slightly courser because I thought the bud would not char as easy because of the density, but it does still char just the same and you also do not get as big of a hit.

 

[Tickdickler]

I stop getting vapor around 6-8 hits as well. I keep trying different methods of loading it but that doesn't affect it really.



edit: I'm going to give hand grinding another go. Maybe that will give me more hits.

 

[Stu]

I just finished up another session and took pictures as I mentioned to determine the charring situation. I should mention this particular bowl went pretty poorly all around.

Here is a picture of the bowl before vaped

Here is a picture of the bowl after only 2 draws. Note the charring at this point has covered the bottom layer and is making its way through the top side in the center.

This pic is after flipping and toward the end of the bowl after 5 draws.

My ABV after 6-7 draws.

I have had better results with a finer grind too. I started hand grinding (like the pics above) to get it slightly courser because I thought the bud would not char as easy because of the density, but it does still char just the same and you also do not get as big of a hit.

@fireinthefly21 I cannot see your pictures. You will need to upload them to an image hosting site such as imgur, photobucket, or tinypic and then load the image url here. It looks like you tried to use images from your gmail which only you can see.

 

[fernand]

Further evidence for the FireFly being an alien entity. It cannot be photographed by the user until he has "bonded with it".

 

[Volteric]

Here's what I'm hoping/imagining as the FF2.

The ship of the imagination from COSMOS...(If you're not watching that show what are you doing? )

 

[fernand]

Not to come down to earth, but here's my wake and bake FireFly load. 50 milligrams. It vapes really really nice. It swirls around, no need to stir. I get one light perfumy (and head) toke, and then a couple of thicker, heavier hits. The ABV is dark camelhair, it goes in The Jar.