Concentrates for Noobs - Q&A

Are you sure this thread is for newbies or you experts. Recently, I received some nug run shatter, but it seems to have a lot of plant waxes. The reason for the assumption was that it dirtied my Quartz nail in one hit, while my other stuff doesn't leave much behind.

Is that plant wax? Should I still dab or maybe use it ontop of flowers?

That is not plant waxes but could be a few different things. The waxes melt down to nothing too.

It could be plant material, but you could probably see it if there was any just by looking close for anything green.

I am no expert but I have been told the back crap that doesnt melt down can be caused from nutrients and other additives used while growning that were not flushed out. With that being said, you dont know what it is unless you know how it was grown.

Using it on top of flowers wont avoid you inhaling it, again IM NO EXPERT and im not telling you is safe or unsafe to inhale. Yea your nail wont built up crap, but depending on the nail it can be very wasy to clean.

If there is this stuff in the concentrate, it was in the flowers so you wont be avoiding it. A concentrate is just that, a concentrate of the starting materials.

Been doin' some serious Brain Lernin' here (@NickDlow ;-) and I sure appreciate all the great info in this thread.

Some questions:

High altitude:

@Bouldorado or anyone living at high altitude and using pump purge: As Boulderado mentioned, air pumps (compressors or pressure delta - aka 'vacuum' pumps) just like engines lose a lot as altitude goes up. [it's why I drive a "pressure cooked" car up here]. 1" HG per 1000 is probably in the ballpark for vac pumping losses as already stated by Boulderado. I live at 7500 so:

Is a 2 stage 'vacuum' pump required or highly recommended at this sort of altitude? Are these true 2 piston (large piston/small piston or large rotor/small rotor) 2 stage pumps or are they just referencing twin sets of reed valve box asys? For small batches, is cfm rating an issue at very high altitude or is that more of a time/convenience thing for reaching max possible pressure delta?

Aside: In physics, we're taught that nature abhors a vacuum. I know this for a fact since my Hoover Wind Tunnel is constantly on the fritz and I live out in the sticks or in nature... so...

Back to seriously:

Thermos w/QWET, etc?:

Thermos for QWET/QWISO/LWET??: I saw that there is a thermos method for blasting BHO and that got me thinking: While freezing separate materials for QWISO, QWET or LWET (solvent, strainer, etc): Why not freeze a thermos at the same time... the thermal deflection of the thermos seems like it should allow a significantly longer wash time safely without thawing water solubles like chlorophyll... no? IOW, freeze the weed in the thermos. 24 or 48 hours later (longer freeze due to TD), pour the cold EC190 or KX or ISO into the thermos... due to beneficial thermal deflection of the thermos, longer agitation time is safe without thawing the water solubles like the Chloro.

I'm a lazy bastard, so I was just wondering if this might increase yield and/or get it down to a one pass solution (double entendere entirely intentional).

If yes, then as NickDlow suggests, it would then probably be even more important to swirl the solvent/material mix gently versus hard shaking since the glass sleeve in most Thermos are pretty delicate and easy to break.

The downside to the Thermos idea may be this?: If'n I let it warm even a bit too much, it would take hours or more to remove the excess BTU's due to then-NON-beneficial thermal deflection, so the mix would then be sat'd with Chloro and a botched batch.

So I'm not saying go from 20 secs for ISO to 10 minutes or anything... just maybe extend it to a minute or something?? Then cold strain or in my case, frozen Aeropress.

I'm a newb so there is probably some clear reason why this isn't done. Just askin'.

I could blast outdoors all day long as my nearest neighbor is wayinthefuck away (like over a quarter mile) but it is so danged dry here, I'd be 'askirt' even with a ground strap due to a lot of static spark problems here. And just like the last time I fried a hard drive, it never happens when you're expecting it - much less, never when I'm near a Halon fire extinguisher!

I did a run of GD last month with EC190; got too much chloro in it but due to this thread, I darn sure know why! Even so, it was good enough so my brain was properly cooked a few times. Again seriously, it worked miracles for my asthma and allergies!

Ok, 15 pages more to go... back to larnin'..

Thanks again,

M

I have been doing qwet for about a month. I like my process but I'm wondering if there's a way to know which strains yield higher. Example mob boss always gives .3 higher then others. Flow is low yielding but a wee bit stronger. Any place some of this is found? I know each run can vary but I'm seeing some patterns. Thanks

fogvalley said:

I have been doing qwet for about a month. I like my process but I'm wondering if there's a way to know which strains yield higher. Example mob boss always gives .3 higher then others. Flow is low yielding but a wee bit stronger. Any place some of this is found? I know each run can vary but I'm seeing some patterns. Thanks

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Strain definitely plays a big part but the same strain from one grower to another I'm sure will differ. But yes the yields should be similar using the same stain.

Yup no two samples of material will be the same, even if they came from the same plant! Remember that this is organic material we are working with here so distribution of actives will not be balanced, even in the same plant.

Still, you can definitely see the amount of crystalline trichome heads to get a good idea of the resin content of a given plant. If you have a decent jewellers magnifier or such you can get a good look at the trich coverage of your material. This is the best indicator of what will get you great results. Strain can play a part but I think the more relevant questions are the source of the material and their skill and then other factors of the grow.

Extracting the goods is only half of the game. Cultivating the goods in the original material is quite another - one I'm not myself familiar with.

I finally have product in quantity that is about ready to go. I have been trying to decide on qwiso, qwet, bho/qwet combo.

I do have a vac pump and a purge can so I guess I need a warming plate and some pans. I have some SS 50,25,10 micron screens coming and I need to decide on a solvent.

1 gal of 99.9 iso is about $40 delivered
1 gal of kleenxtract is $121.95 delivered
1 gal of 191 is about 70ish at liquor store i think?
Butane is about a $1 an ounce.

Iso makes me nervous at it's very aggressive i have read. kleenxtract is new to me so I have no idea. I have blasted before ok but but am torn on what to do.

I have a friend that does 191 qwet, so I may go there for my first lesson unless you guys can convince me to try it on my own in one direction over another...

Joel W. said:

I finally have product in quantity that is about ready to go. I have been trying to decide on qwiso, qwet, bho/qwet combo.

I do have a vac pump and a purge can so I guess I need a warming plate and some pans. I have some SS 50,25,10 micron screens coming and I need to decide on a solvent.

1 gal of 99.9 iso is about $40 delivered
1 gal of kleenxtract is $121.95 delivered
1 gal of 191 is about 70ish at liquor store i think?
Butane is about a $1 an ounce.

Iso makes me nervous at it's very aggressive i have read. kleenxtract is new to me so I have no idea. I have blasted before ok but but am torn on what to do.

I have a friend that does 191 qwet, so I may go there for my first lesson unless you guys can convince me to try it on my own in one direction over another...

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With any solvent extraction it must be said.
Safety first! Devastating accidents can happen in a flash! (Pun intended)
Having done both bho and Kleen Extract, I prefer the bho. The KX is very forgiving because is is not as aggressive as ISO. Longer washes are possible, and preferred, with KX. That said, I feel that my bho tek is pretty sound and reliable. I am happy with my method and results, I don't compromise safety. I can run 14g with 1/2 can of tane and get +/- 25%. (Depending on strain). I don't even do a second run. How much more can really be in there than that?

Thanks, Yes, I agree, I was getting set up to build a open loop super critical co2 extractor with sch 160 stainless but heating up something that already is under extreme pressure, well, I think I can do it safely, but I don't know that I can, so I scrapped that idea and here I am now trying to figure this out.

My buddy sent me a picture of some of his work in progress from qwet. It's a small picture though. He said it was his biggest run yet, 1/4lb wash i think he said. Does color look right? I think he has it on a double boiler there? Guess I will see what the final product looks like later..

This is my 1st post in this thread so here goes......... I have been vaping now for about 3 years. I have been on and off for the most part until I got my crafty about 3 months ago, I now only smoke every now and then when around friends just to be cordial but I believe do to the huge differences in taste and discomfort, I will probably be cutting even that out soon. As I stated earlier I bought a crafty some months ago and have been saving my reclaim in a glass jar of alcohol I have been reusing to clean my crafty since purchase. Last week I finally poured that alcohol on a Pyrex pie dish and let sit for about 3 days. I did not filter or anything just poured from glass jar to dish. I know I probably did not make the best oil,wax, shatter (sorry but I do not know the correct terminology yet) but this was my first experience with concentrates of any kind. Around 1:00 yesterday I loaded some in my pinnacle pro and hit it through the shower tool for 4 straight sessions (I did not want to leave any oil in the bullet) about an hr later I was fast asleep. I woke up around 5:30 and a buddy and myself hit the crafty two full bowls of some very tasty OG kush. Now taste wise the flower was significantly better than the concentrate, but it did not seem to get me back to the level I was earlier. I then went and took the pinnacle off the charger and added more wax. After two pulls my buddy had enough and I finished the pinnacles 8 minute session before automatic shut off kicks in. This was about 9:00 at night. I fell asleep around 10:00-10:30 and woke up 1/2 later than normal for work (which is around 6:45am) and STILL HIGH!!!!!!! I came down around 11:00 this morning but this was the longest high I had ever experienced. If this is what concentrates have to offer I am all in!!!!!

Hey what's up I have been doing qwets for about a month I'd guess. My best results have been air evaping overnight. My question is can I take my pie plate with ec/oil and put that in a good cableas dehydrator at say 100 degree for a couple hours to speed things up? Anyone tried this?

fogvalley said:

Hey what's up I have been doing qwets for about a month I'd guess. My best results have been air evaping overnight. My question is can I take my pie plate with ec/oil and put that in a good cableas dehydrator at say 100 degree for a couple hours to speed things up? Anyone tried this?

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I have not done this but I've had good results placing my Pyrex that I'm evaporating on (after most of the Everclear has evaporated under a fan for 2 hours) on top of a simple double boil setup using wooden chopsticks to keep the bottom of the Pyrex dish from being in direct contact with the iron skillet I use to make my bacon in the morning. Key is the keep the water level low (enough to cover a third to a half of the Pyrex dish that sits on top of the wooden chopsticks) and temp below 140F (i ususally do 115F-125F using an inexpensive thermometer to test water temperature). Works like a charm. I've also heard electric pan cake griddles are awesome too. Might invest in one of those here soon.

Does anyone Evap using an electric heating pad outside? I've read that direct sunlight helps to rid the final product of excess chlorophyll. Don't take my word on that as I have not personally purged this way. If I do attempt this, I'll be using a fine cheesecloth affixed on top of the Pyrex dish using a rubber band to keep any dust particles from settling inside my Pyrex dish.

Excuse my ignorance but what is the purpose of purging???

MoneyVapeTheWorldGoRound said:

Excuse my ignorance but what is the purpose of purging???

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To get rid of the solvent you have used.

Even with room temp evaporation over as long as term as you can reasonably take, some of that solvent will get trapped in your oil and you need to use heat/alter pressure to remove it.

Purging is this process. Please use it - no hydrocarbon solvent should be willfully inhaled in any concentration.

By the way guys, here's some more cluster bomb live resin. Scrumptious shards of fresh terp delight!

I did not purge the batch that I made and I vaped it so should I be worried? Should I throw it away? Or should I just purge in the future

BlueTeam#11 said:

I've read that direct sunlight helps to rid the final product of excess chlorophyll. Don't take my word on that as I have not personally purged this way. If I do attempt this, I'll be using a fine cheesecloth affixed on top of the Pyrex dish using a rubber band to keep any dust particles from settling inside my Pyrex dish.

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yep sunlight will indeed remove chlorophyll from a wash. basically once the wash is done... if its green you can take the jar or whatever the wash is in and stick it in a window or outside. the sun will remove the green after a couple/few hours. i have never done this either, but it has been discussed here before and others have confirmed that it works.

MoneyVapeTheWorldGoRound said:

I did not purge the batch that I made and I vaped it so should I be worried? Should I throw it away? Or should I just purge in the future

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no you will be fine. just dont keep vaping underpurged errl regularly. or at all really.

what solvent did you use? vaping underpurged errl extracted with EC is not likely as harmful as butane (no studies done on this that i am aware of). i know its not a good idea, but i wouldnt worry about it as much as butane. and if your not continuing to vape underpurged errl then you are fine. a very small amount is not going to hurt you. its when its a regular thing that it becomes dangerous.

the best way to ensure you are purging fully is to use a vac set up.

MoneyVapeTheWorldGoRound said:

I did not purge the batch that I made and I vaped it so should I be worried? Should I throw it away? Or should I just purge in the future

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Just purge in future bro, don't want any of our fellow FC people breathing in unnecessary asphyxiants (all hydrocarbon solvents are asphyxiants just the same to breathe in, for example, ethanol releases ethylene - a known asphyxiant in the initial water release reaction when heated).

It is the same for every hydrocarbon solvent, thermal degradation byproducts (or in some cases, the solvent itself if gaseous ie: Butane) displace oxygen in your airways when inhaled and should not be breathed in.

You should be alright though given that it has only been your first time with concentrates I'm sure we all accidentally did the same getting started lol

Im sick of paying 40 dollars after s/h for a gallon of 99 iso. So tell me, where do you get 99 iso for and how much does it cost you?

i use
from local liquor store

I wish I was so lucky. The best I can do on ethanol is and 80 dollar gallon fron the internet.

I have been producing BHO for a few months. It has been a learning experience but I think I now have a technique which works quite well.

Yesterday I took 50g of my well dried home grown bud.
I break the bud up to the same sort of consistency I would put in a joint.
Then into the freezer for at least 4 hours together with the tube (stainless steel) and the butane.
My tube holds about 25 grams so I had enough for 2 runs.
I pack the tube with the first 25 grams and blast (outside of course!) almost one can on butane, until the butane is coming out clear. I blast into a Pyrex dish which is in a bath of hot water. I line the pyrex dish with Oil Slick sheet.
I then empty the tube and repack it and blast it again until it runs clear.

I process the second 25 grams directly into the same dish.

I then leave it (outside with a cheesecloth lid) in the warm water until all the bubbling stops and until the big bubbles have collapsed. Then I bring it inside and let it "dry out" a little.
To get the BHO off the oilslick sheet I use a small piece of oil slick sheet and dab it on the BHO. If the BHO is sticky enough it starts to stick. Once it starts to stick it is easy to pickup the BHO (this need a bit of practice but works great!).

When I have removed the first half of the BHO I transfer it to a Oil Slick pad that fits in my vac chamber. The vac chamber is on a skillet which is at its lowest temp. I vac until the bubbles stop (the big ones not the tiny ones).

From 50 grams I got 11 grams of beautiful BHO. This is the largest return I have ever achieved. The BHO is very light in colour (light yellow) and very fragrant.

I am now using the W9tech Hercules cart (SR74x) which allows me to load up enough for a couple of days in one go. The taste is fantastic and there is no residue.

This is enough to keep my wife and myself happy for at least another month.

90% of the knowledge needed to do all this I picked up on this forum so many thanks to all the contributors.

A little sumptin I whipped up in the DieHard kitchen.


The greener one is NYC Diesel, the gold is Sour Purple Diesel.

DieHard said:

A little sumptin I whipped up in the DieHard kitchen.

The greener one is NYC Diesel, the gold is Sour Purple Diesel.

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That looks really good.

Does your shatter remain stable for any period of time? I have managed to make some nice looking shatter a few times but after a few days it turn into a more crumbly consistency.

DrRishi said:

That looks really good.

Does your shatter remain stable for any period of time? I have managed to make some nice looking shatter a few times but after a few days it turn into a more crumbly consistency.

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Thanks.
That does tend to happen sometimes. Depending on strain, purge temperature, humidity, lipid content, nutrients, etc.. Too many factors. If you are confident in your purge then don't worry about it. If it is lipids/plant wax you could winterize for a cleaner result.

amberevil said:

Im sick of paying 40 dollars after s/h for a gallon of 99 iso. So tell me, where do you get 99 iso for and how much does it cost you?

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Hey amberevil!!
New to the forum, and loving it ...

Do you have a grocery store named Safeway around?
They carry 99% Small bottle for about 4$

Also, most all Ace Hardware stores carry gallon jugs of 99% in the Cleaning Aisle.
And if I recall correctly, it's only 15$ or less.

Hope this helps.
-46&2