FENiX Mini

The Fenix Mini holds only about 0.15g of herb under a screen that sits in a silicone seal, and the vapour path from that screen to your lips is a couple of centimetres long. Resin that would condense in a long stem on a bigger vaporizer instead collects on the screen and inside the snap-on mouthpiece, which is why airflow tightens up long before the outside of the device looks dirty.

1. Empty the chamber once it has cooled: Push the mouthpiece out of its slot, tip out the spent herb, and use the included tweezers for anything packed into the corners. Do not dig into a hot chamber; wait for it to cool, but do not leave the load sitting overnight either, because cooling herb sheds resin onto the chamber walls.

2. Brush after each session: The wire brush in the kit is the only tool FENiX asks for in its own routine. Sweep the loose residue out of the stainless steel chamber and off the screen above it, then knock the debris out rather than pushing it deeper.

3. Wipe with isopropyl every ten to fifteen sessions: FENiX allows isopropyl alcohol on the chamber, mouthpiece and screens, applied with a small brush or a cotton bud, and asks that every part is fully dry before reassembly. Use the bud damp, not dripping. Alcohol pooled in the chamber can run past the screen into the heater underneath.

4. Treat the mouthpiece gently: It is a plastic snap-on part, and isopropyl attacks it. Wipe it with a lightly moistened bud instead of soaking it, rinse it under lukewarm water, and dry it completely before clipping it back on. Prolonged alcohol contact discolours the plastic, and the part wears out and loosens with normal use.

5. Replace the screen and seal as a set: The screen comes fitted in its silicone seal and is sold that way, so a spare is worth keeping to swap in while the dirty one soaks. The silicone ring on the mouthpiece pulls off and presses back on as a separate replaceable part.

6. Concentrate tank: Pull the silicone cap off the quartz cup, clean the cup on its own, and let it dry before it goes back in the device.

7. Burn off and battery care: After a wet clean, and before the very first load, run the Mini empty at 220C. The four minute auto shutoff means restarting it several times. Charge over micro USB at 5V/1A, do not use it while charging, avoid running the internal 1600mAh cell flat, and store it somewhere dry.