Please help; how to vacuum purge

Macarrao

Member
All right so I have a few grams of QWISO I made a month ago, now I'm ready to vacuum purge it but I can't get a clear idea of the detailed steps involved. I just ordered a 3CFM single stage vacuum setup from BestValueVacs and I read the Skunk Pharm entries and I'm a bit overwhelmed.
My questions are:

  1. I want to purge my solvent, isopropyl alcohol, so I assume that I need to heat my chamber to the boiling point of ISO, but that boiling point changes when I lower the pressure, so that I only boil off the solvent and not the good stuff. If THC has a lower boiling point than ISO, I won't be able boil off the iso before it... If not then I'm fine? So what exactly are those temperatures and partial pressures I need to work with for ISO?
  2. What is cold boiling? Can I just pull a vacuum at room temp and purge the ISO?
  3. Am I supposed to let the vacuum pull all the way down as low as it goes? I read that below 100 microns of pressure (29.916 on the inches of mercury gauge), THC starts to boil around room temp. Obviously I don't want that, so how can I control the amount the pressure is lowered? Or does the vac always pull to that level. I live very close to sea level elevation wise, so I don't have to account for that, right?
  4. Do I really need a cold trap? Is it hard to change the pump oil during the purge?
Thanks so much for your help. I probably have more questions but I've made it this far so I know I can figure this out, but browsing the forums alone is not enough.
 
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Macarrao,

amberevil

Well-Known Member
1. Its more about what consistency you want and how much patience you have. 29 inches of mercury(or whatever that gauge reads in) and anywhere for 90 to 120 for some shatter. Its more of a flavor thing, you will cook of your terps long before you start downgrading your thc.
2. Its best to at least use some heat to make your oil viscous to alow the vac to pull out the iso, but all thinks are possible with time.
3. No you dont have to worry about change from altitude. I have that same vacuum and you will only get it to 29, 29.5 if your luck sometimes, but thats all you need. Ps if you get sick of oil spilling out of the oil cap they make a fabricated black one that works great. Just call and ask.
4. Stick to only putting residual iso in you camber and no liquid. Im no expert but it will work. I have even boiled the alcohol out on a pot on my stove. This could maybe shorten thr lifespan of your pumb but again im no expert.

Vacuums are great, its nice to know your medicating safe.

Keep Calm Vac On
 

Macarrao

Member
4. Stick to only putting residual iso in you camber and no liquid. Im no expert but it will work. I have even boiled the alcohol out on a pot on my stove. This could maybe shorten thr lifespan of your pumb but again im no expert.

can you explain what you meant here?

Everything else you said has definitely reassured me. Thanks so much for your guidance.

I intend to combine my product with pg/vg and use it in my vapor pen, a Nautilus Mini, which uses replaceable cartomizers. I read a good thread on here explaining how to mix it up, seems straightforward, but from what I understand I also need to winterize my concentrate to siphon off the fats and waxes which will clog up the cartomizer. Do you think that the winterization process should be done before or after the vacuum purge? I have access to Everclear but I don't know if it matters that I should purge it as well before mixing it into my pg/vg solution and ingesting it.
 
Macarrao,

matthend

Well-Known Member
just a question before you go through all of this, have you tried concentrates in an Ecig before? Just FYI, I read that same thread and proceeded to go buy a new nautilus to use just for this purpose. Mixed up with EJmix and filled er up. It works, but the taste seems strange to me after adding the ejmix. That nautilus is still sitting in a drawer, about 70% full >6 months later. I use my dabbler more than anything for on the go, it just stinks loading a bit at a time.

Again this is JMHO, and lots of people swear by the ecig route...
 

amberevil

Well-Known Member
@matthend The dabbler by the vapor brothers is awesome(the new ones called 11) I also like to vape like this but to be honest I have never used a viscous soultion before.

@Macarrao What I ment by that was let all the liquid iso evaporate so that what is left is a solid (it might still be runny but not viscous) before it goes into the chamber.

If you just want to winterize with the iso do it before you evaporate, just stick the strained soultion in the freezer to do the rest. If you want to winterize with everclear, evaporate till its just residual iso then mix in your everclear, then winterize.
 

Macarrao

Member
@amberevil I understand now. I have completely finished the concentrate extraction process months ago so it has evaporated and solidified.

So now I am going to winterize, then purge as a solid, using heat... So I run the pump until the maximum is reached, shut the valve off and stop the pump, then a few hours later, burp the chamber and run the pump again, close off the chamber and let it rest for another period for a total of 24 hrs. Does that sound right?

Anything else I should know before going into this? Is there a way to throttle the vacuum to remove the pressure slowly, or does that not matter? I also read that the pump oil needs to be changed so as not to have it contaminate the product?

Sorry for all the questions. I probably can just consult the manual, but I want to know everything before it gets shipped to my door next week. Thanks so much!
 
Macarrao,

matthend

Well-Known Member
@amberevil yeah i much prefer the load as you go with just pure concentrate over a viscous blend with EJMix, which is why the nautilus is gathering dust while i use the dabbler pretty much daily
 
matthend,

amberevil

Well-Known Member
@Macarrao Time, heat, and pressure are like three points of a triangle, the more of one thing you have the less of the other two you need. You will find your personal sweet spot that is easy for you and the equipment you are using. If you have trouble with one compensate with another. It sound like you have the right idea though and are ready to see for yourself.

You can throttle the valve by only opening it slightly. this si practical when you still have a lot of solvent in your concentrate. When you first start the vacuum your concentrate might do what people call muffin. You just don want it to pop on the walls or side of your chamber. Also if you let air in to fast you can blow your concentrate around. Remember to always only let air in threw the valve hucked up to the air filter, other wise you will get dust in it . You should only open your pump valve while your pump is running or you can have back flow of pump oil get in your concentrate.

Im probably slacking on the pumps oil change. Works great still though.
 

Macarrao

Member
just a question before you go through all of this, have you tried concentrates in an Ecig before? Just FYI, I read that same thread and proceeded to go buy a new nautilus to use just for this purpose. Mixed up with EJmix and filled er up. It works, but the taste seems strange to me after adding the ejmix. That nautilus is still sitting in a drawer, about 70% full >6 months later. I use my dabbler more than anything for on the go, it just stinks loading a bit at a time.

Again this is JMHO, and lots of people swear by the ecig route...

I totally understand that, I loved dabbing on my Da Buddha (before I shorted it out by using a bubbler connected to its hose and having the water back up into it... twice. RIP little buddy).

I thought about that taste being a problem, and my idea is to just add nicotine-free flavored juices to my pg/vg. My solution is premixed 50%/50 :: pg/vg. I plan on just going to my local vapor shop and asking the guy (who is a concentrate enthusiast) what works best. However, I really miss my Da Buddha and I miss vaping regular flowers, but for now I am too heavily invested in the Ecig to turn around! $$$:ugh:
 
Macarrao,

VapourHaze

Rexcornish on IG, Vaping since '02
I totally understand that, I loved dabbing on my Da Buddha (before I shorted it out by using a bubbler connected to its hose and having the water back up into it... twice. RIP little buddy).

I thought about that taste being a problem, and my idea is to just add nicotine-free flavored juices to my pg/vg. My solution is premixed 50%/50 :: pg/vg. I plan on just going to my local vapor shop and asking the guy (who is a concentrate enthusiast) what works best. However, I really miss my Da Buddha and I miss vaping regular flowers, but for now I am too heavily invested in the Ecig to turn around! $$$:ugh:

I know your post is old ish but dont mix vg use only pg.
 
VapourHaze,
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