Concentrates for Noobs - Q&A

herbivore21 said:

I had to share this one with you guys.

QWISO shatter, so clear that you can see the colour of the oil slick container underneath it! Apologies for the light reflecting back, should not have used flash photography on a white marble benchtop lol.

1 oz run of top shelf cured THC bomb buds, straight out of the baggie. 2.1g of beautiful lemon shatter from first run.

There are LOADS of trichs left on those suckers still, can't wait to do a second run!

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wow. I'll be over in 10hrs!

canj00digit? said:

wow. I'll be over in 10hrs!

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I'll start warming up the nail in about 9 hours and 58 mins then

herbivore21 said:

1 oz run of top shelf cured THC bomb buds, straight out of the baggie. 2.1g of beautiful lemon shatter from first run.

There are LOADS of trichs left on those suckers still, can't wait to do a second run!

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How many runs do you have to do to get 20+%?

Also do you have a write-up of your tek somewhere on here? I might be interested in trying it out on a large run

I want that.

Bouldorado said:

How would you know that though? If your oil has 1000 ppm of butane, that means it's 99.999% clean. You would need a laboratory grade scale to detect that .001%.

Let's say you run a lb of primo nugs. A 20% yield would give you 89.6g of oil. @ 1000ppm, there is only .090g of butane left in the oil.

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I think the math is deceiving in this case. As a frame of reference, Colorado law requires concentrates to be less than 50ppm butane. If 1000ppm was safe, I hardly think they'd set the legal threshold at 50.

Edit: WA sets the legal limit at less than 500ppm, so the theoretical 1000 is in the ballpark. Guess if I had to choose, I hear Boulder is nice.

Hopefully one day I'll be able to vac purge in my house like you guys.. I want to know where my medicine is derived from.

I'm still having concerns trusting dispensaries on their word and buying concentrates off of pure look/prices. (the only dispensaries that lab test their concentrates here charge a ridiculous amount)

slvelocity said:

Hopefully one day I'll be able to vac purge in my house like you guys.. I want to know where my medicine is derived from.

I'm still having concerns trusting dispensaries on their word and buying concentrates off of pure look/prices. (the only dispensaries that lab test their concentrates here charge a ridiculous amount)

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Find a dispensary and extract artist you like and can get in the regular. Buy some and send a sample (or a few samples to save time I guess) to a lab like SC Labs or Steep Hill Halent to have tested. If it comes back clean you can be pretty sure it's being made properly.

Caligula said:

Find a dispensary and extract artist you like and can get in the regular. Buy some and send a sample (or a few samples to save time I guess) to a lab like SC Labs or Steep Hill Halent to have tested. If it comes back clean you can be pretty sure it's being made properly.

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Thats a pretty good idea. I think ill get on that.

Just by researching extract artists and their reputations in the local area/dispensaries, I feel pretty comfortable using a few without independently testing their meds. The good ones publish their lab results anyway when they announce new runs on IG or wherever. I believe in not being complacent, and checking out new artists' product. Keeps everyone on their toes.

This is also true. If it came from someone like Prime or Rump or Brutal Bee then I have no qualms dabbing it, tests unseen.

Not sure how I would deal with that issue. Who do you trust? How much concentrate is required for testing? Mine is ALL DIY ALL DAY. Since nothing is available legally here. Flowers come from a trusted source but sometimes quality is not the best. (I'm pretty picky). Sometimes it is outstanding (like recently.) At least I know what is going into my concentrates.

I just gave two labs which are very highly regarded. Each has been chosen as the official testing facilities for cannabis and secret cup competition.

Not sure how much the cost is, but it's reported to be relatively reasonable. Also not a huge amount is needed to send in.

I suggest contacting them for more detail.

http://steephilllab.com/faq/

http://sclabs.com/

Caligula said:

I just gave two labs which are very highly regarded. Each has been chosen as the official testing facilities for cannabis and secret cup competition.

Not sure how much the cost is, but it's reported to be relatively reasonable. Also not a huge amount is needed to send in.

If suggest contacting them for more detail.

http://steephilllab.com/faq/

http://sclabs.com/

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About $40, if my information is still correct.

I'd say that's reasonable

I'm hesitant to send in to a lab given the legality issues in my state.

If you read the FAQ youd see that they won't accept samples from non MMJ states. Looks like that's a no go for ya.

jdee said:

The oil should be spread as thin as possible when purging. If you hold the parchment up to the light and see any cloudy spots it needs further purging. The picture you posted looks like too much heat was used and the terps are all gone. What brand of butane are you using for the extractions? some are cleaner than others. Also do you know your grower, was pesticide used, that could be in your concentrate. If the flowers are good and the oil is bad I'm gonna go ahead and say your vape pen is to blame for the off taste based on your picture that shows fully purged (partially decarbed) oil.

in summary, possible culprits of bad tasting oil
- overpurged oil/no terps
- underpurged oil/tane soup
- poor quality butane (full of contaminants)
- improperly flushed crop/pesticide ridden crop
- china made vape pen of questionable materials offgasing in the airway

"really amazing how the bho smells when I start" this is the smell of all your terpenes boiling out of your oil during purge. I vape reclaim all the time (terp free oil) and it does not taste bad. The only thing that ever gives an off taste is a dirty nail/skillet, of course with a wick/coil type pen vape you really can't clean a dirty wick.

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The oil shouldn't be spread as thin as possible. That what a lot of noobs to to creat the illusion of shatter. When to thin if in a vac at let's say 95 - 100 degrees the erl will soften and become a bit viscous. You'll start to see bubbles like crazy which in turn leaks out terps. I run in methods similar to @DieHard and I agree it's all about patience and the flip. I flip mine at the 30 minute mark and then every hour or so to try and avoid big bubbles. Next time anyone run erl in a vac take a second to look at the bubbles. At their base (the bottom of the bub where it meets the oil) it should be darkened material. That darkness is the terps we try so hard to keep. (you can go a little higher heat in the vac as long that you did'nt let your initial purge get above 95 to 100 degrees.

When I see a large bubble I release my pressure a few HG's and flip that fucker like it's my job. Even if that hole just flattens out and harden the yellow tint will eventually turn clear as you remove the reminisce of tane.

I also found a new method from my friend Knotty for spraying. Instead of running your whole can at once to extract - leave about a half inch of space at the top of your extraction tube. Run your spray at intervals of 2 seconds shooting to 5 seconds waiting, another 2 seconds shooting so on and so for till your about 3 quarters to half way through your can and then blast it fully! You'll increase your yield and by letting some tane sit in the herb it gets to cold boil deeper.

Last but not least, overpurged oil won't taste bad. Over cooked oiled taste like dirty ass. Chances are if it taste like shit, it's tane soup!

Thanks for the insight. I am sick and tired of smoking bong and hacking up a lung every time to barely get high lol .Just ordered a sublimator but its not here yet. I am probably going to try another small scale run tomorrow. I will post back with the details. I am going to try grinding the bud less, letting it dry out before I run it and freezing it to see if that makes any difference. I am also going to purge it longer before I put it in vac chamber to avoid more big bubbles(I wasn't releasing pressure when I saw big bubbles I was just letting them collapse on themselves). Last thing I am going to change is the temperature. I got a new, better heat gun and I am going to try to not let the stuff get over 110f and be super patient. Point form details
half oz of medium ground bud (hand grinder) aaa green crack kush, flushed proper
london butane
blasting through pyrex into pyrex plate
heat purge without vac still on plate using double boiler
after activity stops transfer to parchment
throw in vac, watch bubble, and lower pressure if bubbles get to big
keep an eye on heat, flip every once in awhile and wait till activity stops?


The problem I've had with my last runs is that even long after the stuff stopped bubbling and remained liquid, it still had a plastic taste. If this run doesn't work out I am going to change my butane and try blasting into a shallow container with 99 iso or ethanol (expensive here) and evaporating that.

any more tips would be appreciated and i am anxious to blast soon.

No, on that initial heat purge never let it get it above 95°. It's ok if there's bubbles in it, that's why we vac it. Once that stuff gets above 110 it would start turning darker and bubbling much more aggressively which in turn burps terps.

Once you've scraped that onto your parchment and somewhat even it out it can go in a vac between 105 and 115 if your ultimate goal is shatter. Your blast will first go through what's known as the muffin stage in which the vacuum turns your slime into a giant Styrofoam ball. This is absolutely normal and will eventually lower to what looks like vomit... Lol

That exactly when I pull it for it's first flip. Keepibg the vacuum at the same temp I let her go for about 2 hours and flip it again. By this time the oil shouldn't be sticky anymore. Unless it's fucking blue dream, that stuff runs like glue! Quickly flip and another hour.

Now keep in mind that all bubbles are not created equal. Just because it bubbles doesn't always mean its tane. Some of those are nothing more than airpockets stuck between the parchment and the gooey. My theory is after I see zero movement I generally go an extra hour at about 95°.

Good luck mate, please keep us posted.

So I have a tupperware mostly filled with AVB and I am considering doing a QWISO run with it. I have tried this in the past but wasn't thrilled with the results...but since it is AVB I feel like nothing ventured nothing gained right?
I have seen what look like some pretty good results from folks on here. I'm just wondering what tips everyone has? I think in the past I let the material sit in the ISO too long, and possibly applied too much heat during the purge. As of now controlling these two variables is my biggest concern.
First question to get the ball rolling: is it necessary to freeze the material and the ISO beforehand? I know this is recommended with fresher goods but is there any reason to do this with AVB?

Yes, it is crucial for taste purposes to freeze your material, preferably overnight. Please also freeze iso overnight!

herbivore21 said:

Yes, it is crucial for taste purposes to freeze your material, preferably overnight. Please also freeze iso overnight!

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Duly noted. You are actually one of the people i wanted to hear from. Any other advice to offer?

Make sure to keep that wash time super short man, no more than 20 seconds, no matter the material (this includes kief runs!)

ISO is as aggressive as Russell Crowe.

Remember also that filter time is part of the wash!

Hope this helps man

herbivore21 said:

ISO is as aggressive as Russell Crowe.

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My plan is no more than 15 seconds if I can manage it. Still trying to figure out the best way to keep a low steady temp during purge. After dinner I am going to test out a few things. Thanks for the advice. If it turns out half as good looking as yours I will be pretty damn happy. If it doesn't. ..fuck it. Its ABV.

Perfect brother! Man, seriously just do the skunk pharm method of almost completely letting it air evap (overnight or 1.5 days for 1-2oz) under a fan covered with a cheesecloth, then heat purge the end of it after there is no visible or smellable ISO there. Use a baine marie type setup to use water to ensure the heat of the stuff doesn't get too hot, or you won't get shatter!

Post your results!