420engineer
Well-Known Member
how much did you pay for it, and from where did you purchase it?
Discontinued The Firefly Vaporizer
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maxe
Member
Yes, serial number is the same as my original box, I will have to check the actual unit, if its fake why would it have extra verse on the box and the box is exactly the same along with the instructions exactly the same, if its fake its a damn good job of it IMO, does anyone have a FF with the finger grooves over the button, even those counterfeit pictures have the groove in the area below the button, as per my original unit
http://www.australianvaporizers.com.au/store/blog/how-to-identify-counterfeit-firefly/
None of the above seems relevant apart from the slightly less magnetic lid, but sometimes I cant even get my original lid off its so magnetic
http://www.australianvaporizers.com.au/store/blog/how-to-identify-counterfeit-firefly/
None of the above seems relevant apart from the slightly less magnetic lid, but sometimes I cant even get my original lid off its so magnetic
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420engineer
Well-Known Member
the unit on the Firefly site doesn't have that button configuration, it looks just like mine, and it is 14 months old;
http://www.thefirefly.com/firefly-portable-vaporizer.html
http://www.thefirefly.com/firefly-portable-vaporizer.html
maxe
Member
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/111719995135?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
I will take photos of the battery and serial number
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420engineer
Well-Known Member
yeah, that's a fake, that's only £85 in our money, when the units cost £200 here, sorry, dude, but at least it wasn't too expensive...
maxe
Member
Not fantastic photos I know but first the battery writing does not rub off or the writing on the firefly, I don't have my original FF to compare with me right now i'm at a friends place
Don't worry, I will take the unit apart over the weekend and look at the working parts bit by bit, until then Im keeping an open mind.
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mitchgo61
I go where the thrills are
That's the whole point of counterfeits....to look "damn good" and fool people who may not examine closely.
One thing I can tell you for sure.....FF have never produced and sold units that have those features. It's not debatable....there's only one iteration of the Firefly. Period.
There were several earlier prototypes, but none were produced, boxed, and sold to the public. They were only made as prototypes for the engineers.
You almost certainly have a counterfeit. If you don't believe that, you should send your pics to FF, because I'd put serious money on them telling you they did not produce that unit. In the meantime, you would be wise not to use that "FF"...a fake unit may not meet all the safety requirements and it could be risky to use it. And in the future, avoid eBay for FFs...only FF and VapeWorld are authorized sellers. Buying anywhere else will land you with at best an FF that is real but not warrantied, or at worst, well, see your pics....
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Marctraider
Member
The tale of two Fireflies........I just bought myself a second Firefly as I dropped my first one and cracked the bowl, I then further stuffed up by plugging in the wrong charger and blew something internal so I couldn't charge it anymore, it still works BTW even with a chipped bowl and a blown fuse, anyway I purchased a unit fairly cheap off eBay Australia and although they told me it was black it's actually a grey unit which is the same as the one I already own, BUT on close inspection quite a few things are different so I can only assume I have just purchased an original first edition model that was sitting in storage for quite some time as the guy said he purchased a container that had 7 vaporizers in it amongst other things, likely confiscated from customs or something like that IMO.
Notice the packaging is different, registered trademark missing on the new one on the right and symbol missing, also note no glow from inside, also colour is black on box.
Note extra writing on box on right and the sleeves are different with my old one having finger grooves.
My original FF came with a handy hints card unlike my new one, even the foam is slightly different shaped, my original model had 4 spare screens the new one only has two
My original FF has the finger groove to open the magnetic lid here.
New one has the groove over the button instead, also the lid on this one has some play in it near the mouth piece which my other FF doesn't have.
New one has a raised button which feels much better than my old one which was not at all raised as much
My old FF has very shallow button
I didn't get very good photos of the mouth piece but they are also different with the new one I got letting in much less air/vape than my old one which means they perform different, one is wider than the other slightly and the inside area is smaller, also the bowl on my new purchase is slightly in crooked compared to my old unit, I may fix this if I can when I open it up to look inside and or change a screen.
If you look closely my new one on the right has a much smaller hole letting the air/vape through, it almost looks as though its blocked but it does work OK IMO, just a lot more resistance when your toking on it than my original FF, and not only is the hole smaller but the 12 channels on the lid are shallower, again letting less air/vape through.
Even the metal ring encompassing the glass is different, my old one on the left has a bevelled edge and the new one is rounded, ............as you can see on the left my poor original FF has had a hard life!
My original FF came with a FF adapter, the new one came with a generic Chinese one, also they are different power figures, not sure if that means one charges faster than the other, probably does though.
So there you have it, two identical coloured FF's that are "same same but different", also the new one I bought makes a distinct ping noise when the button is pressed down that my old one doesn't make, sounds like the metal heating element to me if I had to bet on it, and again if I had to bet on it I would think the FF I just bought is a quite old first edition original model, I also wish I had some scales as I swear the one I just bought feels a gram or two lighter but I may be wrong on that, also both came with the 750 batteries so no clues there as to which is the earlier model.
Heating the device can make noise, this doesnt ncessarily indicate its a fake. My original FF does it too, its qute logical as the coil expands when heating up, and if it touches the ceramic chamber it will make this noise. Its a bit like a car engine coolng down, tick tick tick. Just different.
mitchgo61
I go where the thrills are
I have heard occasional "tick" noises in various FF's over the past year and a half. Nothing consistent, and in the cases where I did notice those sounds, those FFs did not live very long. (May be entirely coincidental.) BTW the coil shouldn't be touching any of the ceramic rings if it's aligned properly...that can be a recipe for overheating.
But it's not the noises that indicate a fake here. It's almost every other feature...incorrect box graphics, a weird blockage in the mouthpiece (that no designer would put there on purpose), the finger slot in the wrong place, the mouthpiece in a weird spot...
Hi folks, i just purchased myself a new gift, a grey ff. I was wondering if you folks had any pre use tips to give, initial battery charging,techniques,draw resistance if any and anything else i need to know, i do understand there is a lil learning curve. I purchased directly from ff so i hope there will be any issues, any info will be appreciated, thanks
Quetzalcoatl
DEADY GUERRERO/DIRT COBAIN/GEORGE KUSH
mitchgo61
I go where the thrills are
FF actually considers me a "case study". My proudest moment.
Have you tried the Iolite Wispr screen discs? I love them....but they don't fit my more recent FFs. The bowl is too small. But if they do fit your FF bowl, they are a great alternative. Take out the FF screen, drop in the disc....keeps the plate clean. Drops in and out of the bowl easily. Doesn't affect taste or draw or heat level. Just don't push it into the bowl....it'll either drop right in and sit flush on the plate, or it won't fit at all. Pretty binary. Whenever I get a replacement FF I try the Wispr disc. Alas it will not fit my current FFs.
http://www.vapeworld.com/iolite-screens
420engineer
Well-Known Member
Fireflys do not make a noise when heating up or cooling down; the price, the power adapter, the odd manufacturing differences and the fact it came from eBay all suggest it is a fake unit; sorry, dude...
maxe
Member
Above is the original FF serial number and the second is the unit I just bought, it has 11 characters to the first ones 9 character serial number.
I'm beginning to think the weight difference is in the battery with the new one on the right feeling lighter than the FF model, also all three batteries I owned started with FT2014 including the new 770, this new version says FT2015 on the battery, the serial number writing is also slightly larger
The boxes are made of exactly the same cardboard, note the new one doesn't have the serial number above the bar code, the white box is also smaller than my original FF.
Don't worry, if its a counterfeit ill be getting a refund, there is nothing to be sorry about and I will have documented this model here for posterity, having said that though and going back through this thread to the beginning FF's did indeed have the same box without the R registered symbol and also the rounded metal ring and not the bevelled one, this FF also has a brushed looking paint job which indeed I have seen on this thread also , I have the serial number so that should be the final say anyway.
Its also possible BTW a few people on this thread have non genuine units as well without realising it if you haven't got one to compare with, just something to consider anyway, so far It looks very dodgy in so far as the thumb grooves are positioned differently, the serial number is 11 characters long and not 9 and the ebay seller is sounding shifty when I questioned him/her further about the units and there origin.
As I previously mentioned I will be taking this apart to study the internals particularly as they say the grill is very different.
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Marctraider
Member
Lets say hypothetically I do have a counterfeit too, it works marvelous either way. Half a year old now 
770mah bat, i cant remember last time the bat was fully empty
But really, I dont. I double checked the site where i bought it, and its a very reliable site that would never buy cheap look-a-likes. http://azarius.net/
Good luck every1, please order at a genuine reseller like the lads above told ya to!
770mah bat, i cant remember last time the bat was fully empty
But really, I dont. I double checked the site where i bought it, and its a very reliable site that would never buy cheap look-a-likes. http://azarius.net/
Good luck every1, please order at a genuine reseller like the lads above told ya to!
1_gr8_underdog
Trapped in the Astral Planes Back from the dead
Mines authentic, as I bought it directly from firefly in April of '14. Five months after the thread started. Just give FF a ring, e-mail, or live chat and they can put your questions to rest very quickly by looking up the serial #. I hope it is authentic. But it is great that you will be able to obtain a refund if it is not. You should cross post your adventure into the thread I provided the link to if it turns out to be non-authentic. So there will be more evidence for others to compare it to.
maxe
Member
The bad thing about living in Australia is that we pay way over the price for foreign goods especially those priced in US dollars and need a good trusted local site to buy from, but the good thing is we have very comprehensive consumer law, the guy who sold me this counterfeit simply must give a refund, or either paypal/ebay will if he skips town, I have never failed to get a refund yet on an ebay product gone wrong so I'm not concerned I got ripped off at this stage, I have though found this site offering literally hundreds of Fireflies for sale which is quite alarming! note 300 units have been sold to three people from the USA with 100 units each and that's only one seller!
http://www.dhgate.com/wholesale/firefly+vaporizer.html
IMHO the Chinese simply cant help themselves by shaving off things to save money and produce the units cheaper therefore increasing profitability, so they substitute a cheaper less powerful lighter battery for example and shave off some of the magnet as well for starters, also a cheaper charger unit I reckon, that's three things so far and ill know more when I open this thing up.
I purchased this unit thinking the seller bought a container of goods confiscated from customs probably full of smoking implements and paraphernalia, they were confiscated then resold by customs to the public, that's what they do here in many cases when people sneak things in to Australia without properly declaring what they are at the border and or not paying correct duty/taxes.
http://www.dhgate.com/wholesale/firefly+vaporizer.html
IMHO the Chinese simply cant help themselves by shaving off things to save money and produce the units cheaper therefore increasing profitability, so they substitute a cheaper less powerful lighter battery for example and shave off some of the magnet as well for starters, also a cheaper charger unit I reckon, that's three things so far and ill know more when I open this thing up.
I purchased this unit thinking the seller bought a container of goods confiscated from customs probably full of smoking implements and paraphernalia, they were confiscated then resold by customs to the public, that's what they do here in many cases when people sneak things in to Australia without properly declaring what they are at the border and or not paying correct duty/taxes.
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maxe
Member
Ok, so here is the internal breakdown of the two FF's, my original unit on the right is from Namastevape BTW, second unit from Ebay on the left.
First thing that's different between the original FF and the counterfeit is the size of the counterfeits base plate screws being a couple of mm shorter .
Second thing you notice is that the original FF has a large black resister box compared to the counterfeit unit and a lot more going on on the entire circuit board, Im no electronics expert so ill leave this to others to ascertain what's going on.
Firefly from namastevape above
Counterfeit unit seems to have much less electronics going on plus the wires contact the ceramic part unlike the original FF where the wires are out from the ceramic part and are encased in copper I think, also I think the coil looks very slightly smaller on the counterfeit unit and ends are silver not copper.
Original FF element close up above
Counterfeit Unit element above
Ignoring the cracked bowl on my original, even the bowl sizes are slightly different in thickness and rim measurements
No surprise the rubber 0 rings in between the bowl and mesh are different sizes, the counterfeit one is larger, on the left
You guessed it, the washers that go between the bowl and ceramic heat source are different sizes.
If you look very closely you can see a square indentation on the back of the counterfeits battery, if you tap the battery its slightly hollow inside and it also weighs less in the hand, unlike a solid original feel FF battery.
Even the louvres are bigger on the counterfeit which makes it look brighter when being used, I also looked at the grill pieces, the original FF pieces look like they are put in by hand and the counterfeit ones are glued in, not sure if they were also thinner but we may as well assume so given all other cost saving measures so far! This all backs up my claim of the counterfeit feeling a gram or two lighter than the original FF unit, paint job is less sparkly on the counterfeit unit and shows paint strokes, unlike the original FF.
First thing that's different between the original FF and the counterfeit is the size of the counterfeits base plate screws being a couple of mm shorter .
Second thing you notice is that the original FF has a large black resister box compared to the counterfeit unit and a lot more going on on the entire circuit board, Im no electronics expert so ill leave this to others to ascertain what's going on.
Firefly from namastevape above
Counterfeit unit seems to have much less electronics going on plus the wires contact the ceramic part unlike the original FF where the wires are out from the ceramic part and are encased in copper I think, also I think the coil looks very slightly smaller on the counterfeit unit and ends are silver not copper.
Original FF element close up above
Counterfeit Unit element above
Ignoring the cracked bowl on my original, even the bowl sizes are slightly different in thickness and rim measurements
No surprise the rubber 0 rings in between the bowl and mesh are different sizes, the counterfeit one is larger, on the left
You guessed it, the washers that go between the bowl and ceramic heat source are different sizes.
If you look very closely you can see a square indentation on the back of the counterfeits battery, if you tap the battery its slightly hollow inside and it also weighs less in the hand, unlike a solid original feel FF battery.
Even the louvres are bigger on the counterfeit which makes it look brighter when being used, I also looked at the grill pieces, the original FF pieces look like they are put in by hand and the counterfeit ones are glued in, not sure if they were also thinner but we may as well assume so given all other cost saving measures so far! This all backs up my claim of the counterfeit feeling a gram or two lighter than the original FF unit, paint job is less sparkly on the counterfeit unit and shows paint strokes, unlike the original FF.
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brainiac
log wrangler
Well, had my ff two weeks now so time for an initial report.
Read all the thread from page 100.
Took ages but a great source of wit and wisdom. At one stage my wife said:
"Are you reading that Firefly porn again?". I replied, with a studied air of patience:
"Look, my dear, it's research".
Firstly I'd like to say great website, great thread. One of the few I've read that has a
proper community feel to it.
Second.
I'm really getting on well with the ff. It's my first vape so I have nothing with which to compare it
but I love it for what it is and what it does.
Gave up baccy 25 years ago - been pipe-ing
since then but was getting more and more concerned
about what was going into my lungs.
So I've been riding that learning curve. Doing the theory (reading this thread) and doing the practice (firing up the 'fly). It's coming good now. More refinement needed but the basic method that works for
me is:
lightly filled bowl,
little or no preheat (that 10 sec preheat was doing nothing for the hit)
about 15 sec continuous medium pull
continuing to pull for several seconds after releasing heat button
(that last point proved critical for me)
... and repeat.
Clearly, it's all still WIP and probably will remain so being as how the variables are, well .. variable.
Looking forward to a long-term relationship with FC and my ff.
Read all the thread from page 100.
Took ages but a great source of wit and wisdom. At one stage my wife said:
"Are you reading that Firefly porn again?". I replied, with a studied air of patience:
"Look, my dear, it's research".
Firstly I'd like to say great website, great thread. One of the few I've read that has a
proper community feel to it.
Second.
I'm really getting on well with the ff. It's my first vape so I have nothing with which to compare it
but I love it for what it is and what it does.
Gave up baccy 25 years ago - been pipe-ing
since then but was getting more and more concerned about what was going into my lungs.
So I've been riding that learning curve. Doing the theory (reading this thread) and doing the practice (firing up the 'fly). It's coming good now. More refinement needed but the basic method that works for
me is:
lightly filled bowl,
little or no preheat (that 10 sec preheat was doing nothing for the hit)
about 15 sec continuous medium pull
continuing to pull for several seconds after releasing heat button
(that last point proved critical for me)
... and repeat.
Clearly, it's all still WIP and probably will remain so being as how the variables are, well .. variable.
Looking forward to a long-term relationship with FC and my ff.
mitchgo61
I go where the thrills are
If I had any doubts about it being a counterfeit, which I really didn't, those doubts are gone now....that coil material looks different (and the proprietary coil material is at the heart of FF technology)....and the coil wire shielding looks inferior. The most important bit of the FF is clearly a cheap substitute in this fake FF. The grill material is also a classic FF counterfeit sign.
Thanks for posting those. Very interesting.
420engineer
Well-Known Member
Well, had my ff two weeks now so time for an initial report.
Read all the thread from page 100.
Took ages but a great source of wit and wisdom. At one stage my wife said:
"Are you reading that Firefly porn again?". I replied, with a studied air of patience:
"Look, my dear, it's research".
Firstly I'd like to say great website, great thread. One of the few I've read that has a
proper community feel to it.
Second.
I'm really getting on well with the ff. It's my first vape so I have nothing with which to compare it
but I love it for what it is and what it does.
Gave up baccy 25 years ago - been pipe-ing
about what was going into my lungs.
So I've been riding that learning curve. Doing the theory (reading this thread) and doing the practice (firing up the 'fly). It's coming good now. More refinement needed but the basic method that works for
me is:
lightly filled bowl,
little or no preheat (that 10 sec preheat was doing nothing for the hit)
about 15 sec continuous medium pull
continuing to pull for several seconds after releasing heat button
(that last point proved critical for me)
... and repeat.
Clearly, it's all still WIP and probably will remain so being as how the variables are, well .. variable.
Looking forward to a long-term relationship with FC and my ff.
try packing the bowl a bit more
grokit
well-worn member
Thanks for posting this, it's a valuable resource and should be in the best of threadOk, so here is the internal breakdown of the two FF's, my original unit on the right is from Namastevape BTW, second unit from Ebay on the left.
First thing that's different between the original FF and the counterfeit is the size of the counterfeits base plate screws being a couple of mm shorter .
Second thing you notice is that the original FF has a large black resister box compared to the counterfeit unit and a lot more going on on the entire circuit board, Im no electronics expert so ill leave this to others to ascertain what's going on.
Firefly from namastevape above
Counterfeit unit seems to have much less electronics going on plus the wires contact the ceramic part unlike the original FF where the wires are out from the ceramic part and are encased in copper I think, also I think the coil looks very slightly smaller on the counterfeit unit and ends are silver not copper.
Original FF element close up above
Counterfeit Unit element above
Ignoring the cracked bowl on my original, even the bowl sizes are slightly different in thickness and rim measurements
No surprise the rubber 0 rings in between the bowl and mesh are different sizes, the counterfeit one is larger, on the left
You guessed it, the washers that go between the bowl and ceramic heat source are different sizes.
If you look very closely you can see a square indentation on the back of the counterfeits battery, if you tap the battery its slightly hollow inside and it also weighs less in the hand, unlike a solid original feel FF battery.
Even the louvres are bigger on the counterfeit which makes it look brighter when being used, I also looked at the grill pieces, the original FF pieces look like they are put in by hand and the counterfeit ones are glued in, not sure if they were also thinner but we may as well assume so given all other cost saving measures so far! This all backs up my claim of the counterfeit feeling a gram or two lighter than the original FF unit, paint job is less sparkly on the counterfeit unit and shows paint strokes, unlike the original FF.
edit: along with your other post with the box differences etc.
Marctraider
Member
Thx for the pics, my FF looks exactly like the non counterfeit one
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