E liquid from plant matter

[uptonogood]

Hey guys,

Been spending the last few days reading alot of infomation on this site and others about making THC e liquid. There is so much info out there, but i have a few questions before i dive in!

Alot of the recipe on this site start with BHO, but unfortunately where i live this is not readily available, and i really do not fancy fucking about with butane in those quantities! Ive also read about using QWISO, but not sure vaping isoalcohol is such a good idea.

Ive then read this http://stuffstonerslike.com/2015/10/how-to-make-thc-e-liquid/ . Seems easy enough, but i have no experience so thougt best ask you guys first? Is that an effective method? Is there a better one that starts with raw plant matter?

Now the other bit im not sure about is using it. For my nic vaping i typically use high watts and large airflows, but dont want this for thc. Was thinking around 20ish watts. Was considering using a nautilus but apparenly wicks are too small, so now considering an atlantis dialed back to 20w with air flow on minimum and smaller drip tip? Any advise here?

Would like to create an experience that emulates a spliff in so much as take 10 or so puffs to get desiree effects rather than 1 or 2 hits. What sort of dilution can you recommend? Ill be starting with reasonable quality buds. The above reciple said 1ml ej mix per 1ml extract.....seems a little strong to me?

 

[uptonogood]

Ive just realised i also have a substantial ammount of "crystal" in my grinder (i think kief is the correct name). Like maybe 3g or more lol. Is there anyway i could use this?

 

[seaofgreens]

Hey @uptonogood

That link is garbage. As you are going to be vaporizing the result, you have no reason to decarboxylate the herb. (Putting it in the oven.) You also have no reason to wash for 48 hours...

I like the use of Ethanol though, it's something I'm familiar with, can freely get 190 proof at any liquor store, and have no personal issues with a residual amount of ethanol remaining in my concentrate, although I do my best to purge regardless.

What you want to do is a quick wash technique though, using either isopropyl or ethanol. I prefer ethanol, as mentioned. This means putting both the alcohol and the herb into a freezer to chill. This is simply to help facilitate resin glands from the plant becoming more brittle, and more easily picked up by the solvent.

After chilled, take the alcohol and just barely cover the herb in whatever vessel it is contained in. Cover, agitate gently (don't go crazy shaking it, but don't need to be real gentle either.) for about 30 seconds, and then strain the alcohol into a separate vessel. Don't squeeze the alcohol out of the herb, just let it strain into a separate vessel. Repeat the wash with a new batch of ethanol once or twice and dump that into the separate vessel, or create several vessels separating each "wash." (I don't like evaporating in multiple vessels, so I don't do this... but I also don't usually do a C wash and I never do a D.)

I like to re-chill that initially strained ethanol, and place it back in the freezer for a few hours.

After that, I like to set up a pan with dry ice and water for the next collection vessel to sit in. This isn't really necessary though. You can just go ahead and put a coffee filter over a wire strainer and start the second filtration process, which is just taking that initial batch of ethanol, and passing it through a filter of some kind, to remove the majority of the contaminants.

After that second filtration, I personally like to take that solution and re-strain it through a 5 micron ss filter I have, but that is just an extra step that isn't necessarily needed if the materials are not available. I like to do this though for a last bit of collection before I drip into a pyrex pan. I throw one of those rectangular air filters that cost $3 at walmart over the top, and a fan over that.

Once it is evaporated to a powder or a sap or whatever it's characteristic is going to be, I scrape it all together and get it onto parchment. Then I just throw that on top of a double boiler because I'm a lazy pos and need to build or buy an oven... Anyways, I just let it do it's thing for a while, sometimes I will agitate the bubbles to get them to pop, sometimes I will take a second parchment and "flip," the patty until I'm satisfied. Bear in mind that without a vac, you will never fully purge. Again, this is something I personally find acceptable, but many likely would not. Personal preference at the end of the day.

That tangent aside, after that process, you have the main component, which is a concentrate that is able to be wicked into an atomizer without clogging it.

After that, it's just thinning it out. Some folks like to use a pg/vg/peg mix like Holy Terps to thin the concentrate into a liquid. (I have only used this so far, the unflavored version anyways, and I think it's alright. Get's the job done certainly.)

Other folks seem to prefer terpene based thinners (connoisseur concentrates for example.)

Any of that stuff will work, just follow the directions on the bottle. Then you have a liquid you can throw into your e-cig tank, dripper, or whatever.

Well... sorry for the essay. Hope it maybe helped a bit? It can seem like a lot of work, but it can also be rewarding/fun work.

 

[ClearBlueLou]

My 'tech' is somewhat different:

Decarbed or not (*), I freeze the ethanol, and the extraction jar (with material already in it), for a minimum of 4 hours, but preferably a full 8 (12 works real nice);

I pour ethanol into the extraction jar, at least a finger over the top of the herb. Experimentation suggests that more works better than less, but some have concerns...

I re-lid the jar tightly, shake pretty good, stick it into the ice hole I made for it in the cube bin, and leave it for a minute or two, reshake, replace, repeat - and again after another couple min...tho like I say, some have concerns, but I prefer to be guided by my experience & not by ideas in a head.

After the 3rd shaking, I tump the whole thing into a mesh coffee filter on top of an upright 8oz jelly jar, press gently, tump the wet herb BACK into the extraction jar, and pop it BACK into the ice hole...and just leave it for later.

Ethanol + extract are now a golden yellow, and the jar holding it drops into an oil bath, which I then raise from ambient to 250F (I use a digital probe therm to test the oil, as my quantities are small).

After the alcohol has evaporated (begins ~160F), then...there's no ethanol left in it, just the remainder of the 5% water and the oil. Once the water's gone, there's just the oil - and any contaminants (none so far w/ EtOH - they show up (only once so far) w/ butane). If you are absolutely sure you do not want to de-carb, now's the time to take it out of the bath. Personally, I'm not certain why you don't want to, unless you will only smoke it and never eat it.

There's a lotta nonsense (sorry) about 'purging the ethanol' at this point, but having already evaporated the alch out, there's just no alch left...if you then bake it (on a hot plate, in the oven, on a mat, under a vacuum, whatever), you're de-carbing it. If you go slow enough, and long enough, you'll get a thick-to-tarry golden solid (until you scrape it, which turns it darker (less translucent)); if you go until there are NO MORE BUBBLES AT ALL, congrats - your material is completely de-carbed: you can now use it as what it is, orally-active hash oil. Smoke it, vape it, make brownies w/ it.

To make a tank-worthy e-juice from here, mix VG, PG, & PEG400 in the ratio of 1:2:3, pull the extraction jar out of the freezer, and add the mix to the jar until herb is covered; shake well, let stand until room temperature. Drop the jar into the oil bath, bring to ~170F and hold, stirring frequently, for 20 minutes; remove from heat, let cool.

Add your oil / wax / shatter / whatever TO the juice; cap & shake well; rest, repeat 3x. If you have an ultrasonic vibrating cleaner, use that to 'agitate' the solids in order to release what remaining 'virtue' resides in the herb; otherwise, just take it thru as many resting/shaking rounds as you can stomach.

At this point, I use a french press (slightly modified) to allow me to drain off enough of the juice, but as long as you want to keep it in your jar ....

 

[uptonogood]

Seaofgreens and clearbluelou - many thanks for those very descriptive replies, i am truly grateful for you taking the time to post them.

I am very interested that you state that decarb is not nessicarily required. All the guides appear to suggest it is critical, however i am inclined to side with yourselves seeing as you both have first hand experience in creating a working e juice.

I think i will start following one of your recipes in the next week (they are very similar). I cant get everclear in the UK so will be using 190% vodka (gotta love the Polish!). I have a significant ammount of kief that ill be using to try this and will post step by step results of what happens!

 

[seaofgreens]

@uptonogood
190 proof is 190 proof, so that is what you want.

As @ClearBlueLou was half correct on, without a vacuum, you can't really purge at a low enough temperature and will perhaps decarboxylate your concentrate. I also agree that once an ethanol extract is simply evaporated, it isn't really all that necessary to purge at all. The same would not be true with butane or isopropyl imo. I also feel that raising the temperature to evaporate ethanol is un-necessary unless you are trying to reclaim the alcohol, and in my opinion, affects the quality of the concentrate. If you are just letting it go, I think a fan over a filter is the easier/tastier means of evaporating.

The reason you are seeing it suggested to decarboxylate though is because that will activate it for oral ingestion. Rick Simpson oil (RSO) would also be another term for that. This will also ruin the flavor if that is something you are looking to preserve. If you do not decarboxylate, you will keep the initial profile of the plant's flavor, but the concentrate can't be eaten. You have to dab/vaporize it to activate the cannabinoids, same as how you would need to smoke/vape a bud, and can't just eat it raw.

 

[ClearBlueLou]

G'day!

(yeah, I know...)

Thanks for the kind words...a couple small points -

Waxing is A LOT like cooking - not surprising, given that cooking is chemistry, time, and temperature...and the right application thereof. Herb is expensive (unless you're growing, and then growing is expensive), so respect for one's pocket and for the medicine itself pretty much requires that you learn not just a single 30-second ethanol rinse, but how to get ALL the goodness out of the plant, and how to make it ALL ACTIVE/bio-available.

Or to stick with the cooking metaphor, best to learn how to cook what you want - and not just how to run the microwave....

Before I go farther, I want to be very clear on this: if you are doing ONLY A SINGLE WASH (as suggested above) - and then discarding the herb, you are throwing away most of what you paid for. If that's what you want to do, and all you care about - and can afford to - then boogie on!

Of course, IF you're a grower, you have so much around (apparently) that saving ANY of it after that first wash may well be redundant. Certainly, the people with the most experience in these matters are folks with seemingly endless supply. If you're like me, OTOH, maybe you can't afford to do it that way. If I knew anyone who adopted that as a practice, I'd do my best to get their herb waste & extract the rest.

I strongly recommend you read these ENTIRE threads (yes, I know - long):

Absolute Amber from Banana Silver Ladyboys
QWET oil extraction

These guys won't teach you everything, and there's things in there I believe are wrong-headed (un-science-y), but you will learn a ton, your imagination will likely get revved up, you'll get a thousand new questions, and you may find yourself with a whole new hobby. Plus, it'll be much easier for us to discuss, after.

===

@uptonogood
190 proof is 190 proof, so that is what you want.

As @ClearBlueLou was half correct on, without a vacuum, you can't really purge at a low enough temperature and will perhaps decarboxylate your concentrate. I also agree that once an ethanol extract is simply evaporated, it isn't really all that necessary to purge at all. The same would not be true with butane or isopropyl imo. I also feel that raising the temperature to evaporate ethanol is un-necessary unless you are trying to reclaim the alcohol, and in my opinion, affects the quality of the concentrate. If you are just letting it go, I think a fan over a filter is the easier/tastier means of evaporating.

The reason you are seeing it suggested to decarboxylate though is because that will activate it for oral ingestion. Rick Simpson oil (RSO) would also be another term for that. This will also ruin the flavor if that is something you are looking to preserve. If you do not decarboxylate, you will keep the initial profile of the plant's flavor, but the concentrate can't be eaten. You have to dab/vaporize it to activate the cannabinoids, same as how you would need to smoke/vape a bud, and can't just eat it raw.

Hey, SoG - here's what you're half-right about (as I see it): the "need" to purge.

Evaporation is about as simple as it gets: once you hit the evaporation point (or conditions - thinking sublimation here), then it goes away - anything remaining after evaporation wasn't part of what evaporated (ie, a solute), and once the process is complete, it's done. No need to keep on trying to evaporate the rest of the already-evaporated, especially volatiles like alcohol (or even water). I understand that I disagree with many on this (and vice versa) so don't take this as a challenge. I'm more than willing to get better science onboard, so let me have it if you've got it - I'll smile and say thank-you!

Vacuum will REDUCE the boiling point of pretty much ANYTHING ("basic physics", I'm told), so applying heat under vacuum is not a way around decarboxylation...tho it may be an important part of keeping a variety's "nose" intact: I'm in no position to run those experiments and so cannot evaluate such claims (except against known science, logic & reason). Most of my

I agree that unless you AIM to de-carb there's no real reason TO de-carb...except, as I pointed out, for the experience and education that come with experimentation & observation - for example, to gain the fullest understanding of both properties and processes, and THAT determines the range of available outcomes - just like with cooking. Personally, I'm still chuffed to know how many different ways I can layer the various final forms to keep myself where I want to be w/ minimum expense: oil/ethanol drops, actual tinctures, butters & oils as ingredients....

[user]uptonogood[/user] - All it "boils down" to is this: read a lot, expose yourself to experience, think about what you want, start with SMALL BATCHES (it's hard to justify the time or effort if you're working with less than an eighth but too painful if you screw up an entire quarter - or more).

 

[seaofgreens]

Not sure if you were implying that I suggest just doing one 30 second rinse, and done, but that isn't what I suggested at all...

2 rinses gets me ~15% returns by weight, 3 gets me closer to 17-20%/weight. You won't be getting a whole lot more with repeated/longer exposure but you will pick up more chlorophyll and lipid material the longer you let it sit with the plant material. So what is your point exactly?

 

[ClearBlueLou]

My apologies: reading too quickly on far to little sleep (as usual, sad to say); I see where my brain went...

So having more ACCURATELY read your first response, the only comment I'd make is in the sharing of those two links...with my apology for the misreading.

 

[uptonogood]

Woah. Again loads of info, truly grateful!

I think i under stand now, follow the qwet process and then blend with ej mix or similar?

What ratio of concentrate to ej mix (or peg/pg/vg) should i mix to? I think the average grass round here is around 17% thc (this is comparing known strengths in dam to potency of stuff here). So a mix of 1 part concentrate to 4 parts e liquid would be about same as a spliff?

Very excited to try this next week!

 

[GuyLeDuche]

So a mix of 1 part concentrate to 4 parts e liquid would be about same as a spliff?

I've used a few bottles of EjMix ( I can post my process for blending if you need pointers) and that sounds decent for a spliff rolled with trim/lower shelf, but for decent flower type result i would go more 3:1 or even 2:1 (I found that close to smoking from a pipe). In a sub-ohm you can go as low as .5:1 IME for cloud chasing, but doesn't sound like you're looking for that....

I do ISO washes with a very similar process to above, though if both are an option I still think QWET is better lol. One thing I'll add is a strong suggestion to pick up some 25micron (some 10micron for finishing is a great idea too ) stainless steel screen like this :
http://www.ebay.com/itm/351611371384?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

It really made my end product much clearer which is important for e-cig use, contaminants and coils/cotton don't play nicely...

 

[uptonogood]

I've used a few bottles of EjMix ( I can post my process for blending if you need pointers) and that sounds decent for a spliff rolled with trim/lower shelf, but for decent flower type result i would go more 3:1 or even 2:1 (I found that close to smoking from a pipe). In a sub-ohm you can go as low as .5:1 IME for cloud chasing, but doesn't sound like you're looking for that....

I do ISO washes with a very similar process to above, though if both are an option I still think QWET is better lol. One thing I'll add is a strong suggestion to pick up some 25micron (some 10micron for finishing is a great idea too ) stainless steel screen like this :
http://www.ebay.com/itm/351611371384?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

It really made my end product much clearer which is important for e-cig use, contaminants and coils/cotton don't play nicely...

Yes please do post your process for mixing. All knowledge is useful!

Do you use straight ej mix or ej + vg? Ive heard the vg will just seperate out?

I plan to be using an atlantis tank with .5ohm heads but only at around 20w. Looking for a similar experience to a spliff in that ill take 10 or so puffs, not one puff and floating away!

At what point do you use the mesh screen? Im assuming this is finer than the coffee filter so im guessing right at the end after youve added the ej mix?

 

[GuyLeDuche]

Yes please do post your process for mixing. All knowledge is useful!

Ok, it's the KISS approach for me..

I like a 2:1 ratio personally, so I use a blunt tip syringe (the angled ones make it a little harder to get all your goodies picked up IMO) to pull 2ml of EjMix up, then shoot it into a shotglass. Then I put the shotglass into the microwave for 2 6sec rounds (12 straight gets too hot IMO) then pull the Ej out of the micro and toss in 1g of oil. If the oil starts melting immediately I start stirring with the syringe until it's all dissolved, if not I give it 1-2 4sec bursts in the micro until it readily dissolves (if you smell the strain terps stop heating immediately and let cool). After it dissolves properly just suck it up with the syringe and jam it in the tank

Do you use straight ej mix or ej + vg? Ive heard the vg will just seperate out?

Yea I've never gotten vg to bind for more than a day or so, tried playing with mixing in ejuice for flavor but always failed...

I plan to be using an atlantis tank with .5ohm heads but only at around 20w. Looking for a similar experience to a spliff in that ill take 10 or so puffs, not one puff and floating away!

That sounds like a good rig for 3:1 or 4:1 mixing, I found it weak for a 1.6ohm Aspire K1, but obviously not vaping nearly as much juice per hit as a sub ohm..

At what point do you use the mesh screen? Im assuming this is finer than the coffee filter so im guessing right at the end after youve added the ej mix?

I use it after the shake step at the beginning. I find it will catch stuff that 2 stacked coffee filters will let thru, and it drains almost instantly. After shaking the herb/alc solution you want to get them separated as quickly as possible, every second draining hurts finished product. I used to dump the herb directly into a strainer to separate them quickly, but all the particulates that stay in the solution are still floating around dumping chlorophyll into your oil.. So I found a small strainer that fits over the mouth of my jar so I can pour the post-shake solution thru the strainer quickly (keeping the herb in the jar for 2nd wash) into the 25micron mesh in a funnel stuck in the mouth of a clean empty alcohol bottle, then it goes in the freezer for 24hrs to de-wax After that I run it thru the 10micron to remove waxes and anything that made it this far, and let it run into my pyrex.

Worth noting that a good rinse under hot water after all the work is done will make your screens last much longer, just let them dry well before using again.

 

[uptonogood]

Hey guys

So i tried the method above using around 4g of kief from my grinder. In addition i also added about 2g of miscelanious bud that was about.

I froze for 24hours, mixed with etanol, shook for about a minute, let sit for a further minute. Strained it through a coffee filter and then 20micron screen.

I then boiled the ethanol off in a bamboree until i was left with a thick black oil. From 2 washes i got around 3ml combined, which i mixed at 3:1 ej mix and a little heisenberg flavouring.

Its a nice puff, and certainly does the biz. However where my returns about right or a bit low?

 

[ClearBlueLou]

sounds like you're doing fine

 

[CrushnDevour]

I've been reading this thread closely, and like uptonogood I am also in UK and wondered if someone could answer just a few quick questions.

I will be using Iso, as it's all I can get hold of, and I'm confident on the process and filtering but wondered about the de carb. I notice you all said it isn't necessary to de carb if you going to vape it, which I intend to do as I'm making some thc eliquid. But then you all went on to show your own processes which you then boil off the alcohol until it bubbles, which if I'm right, is part of the decarb process. what if I don't want to de carb, to keep the full flavour ect, at which point to I stop the evaporating ect? Sorry if this is obvious,I just want to make sure I do it right! If I do de carb does it make a noticeable difference to flavour/potency?

I only intend to vape it, not eat it. Thanks for your replies.

EDIT: I will be using 99.9% Iso. Thanks

EDIT2(lol): I've just re-read seasofgreen's first reply... so you let it all evaporate under a gentle heat, for a period of time and then you have your product. Then you double boiled to decarb. So I just miss that step. As I've not done this before, how can I be sure that it is all evaporated if I'm not double boiling it? Thanks again!

 

[ClearBlueLou]

Ethanol boils @ ~170F; decarb does't become a factor for another ~50º
Ethanol boiling is big, boiling-type bubbles; decarb is small, fizzy-like bubbles

keep your extract right at 170-180ºF, and when it stops roiling and losing volume, STOP.
To 'double-boil' it, you'd have to raise the temperature once the alcohol was gone, & look for the little bubbles

 

[CrushnDevour]

great thanks, makes perfect sense with what I've seen. I'm going to be trying this with 4g of bud, unfortunately it's all I can afford to try it with, was thinking of adding a load of old stems and also using iso on my metal grinder to add to the mix, it's 12 years old, daily use and never had a thorough clean, just picked and scraped a few bits. Will it be worth it for the e juice do you reckon?

 

[ClearBlueLou]

You've got a lot of good stuff caked in that grinder, so yes, soak it good!

 

[Deleted Member 1643]

I notice you all said it isn't necessary to de carb if you going to vape it

Definitely not necessary. Evaporated first-run QWET with no heat, just fan, didn't purge. Fine effects. Flavor almost too pungent at first. While evaporating, took up water, which turned solution cloudy. Evaporating water took a long time. Remaining precipitate dissolved in PEG/PG and mix vaped well.

If I do de carb does it make a noticeable difference to flavour/potency?

Yes. Citrus, pine oil flavors will be mostly lost. Some of these terpenes may also have synergistic effects. Also becomes darker and thinner. Should still taste fine and have good effects, though, maybe a little stony. De-carbed at first because also unsure if it was necessary.

Since been applying gentle heat with silicone mat, to avoid water uptake and cloudiness, then vacuum purge. Never retained terpenes like that first time with no heat or vacuum, though. Sometimes get a little water anyway. Need to try even less heat.

I'm going to be trying this with 4g of bud

On the low end of what's easy to work with, expect about 0.5 g. You'll know when only oil is left. Suggest subtracting weight of empty dish to get yield. Add one or two drops PEG400 directly to dish. Mix evenly, then dilute 1:1 with PG. Pull off in a syringe. Wash with another volume PG. Or use commercially available mix. Gentle heat helps.

To make a tank-worthy e-juice from here, mix VG, PG, & PEG400 in the ratio of 1:2:3, pull the extraction jar out of the freezer, and add the mix to the jar until herb is covered; shake well, let stand until room temperature. Drop the jar into the oil bath, bring to ~170F and hold, stirring frequently, for 20 minutes; remove from heat, let cool.

Add your oil / wax / shatter / whatever TO the juice; cap & shake well; rest, repeat 3x. If you have an ultrasonic vibrating cleaner, use that to 'agitate' the solids in order to release what remaining 'virtue' resides in the herb; otherwise, just take it thru as many resting/shaking rounds as you can stomach.

Cool - briefly re-extract filtrate in glycol mix. What are your typical volumes? Is it easier to filter then straight VG? 50% PEG 400 seems like a lot. How's flavor?

Afraid ultrasonic cleaner might oxidize juice, reducing potency.

 

[ClearBlueLou]

VG is practically impossible to work with, unthinned: convinced now that "glycerin extraction" is wholly inaccurate, as VG has no solvent properties - it also WILL NOT FLOW thru a tank unthinned, so just give up on the idea of smoking VG. VG provides no 'throat hit', no cannabinoid-stripping/absorbing action, no solvency, so use the mix.

As for flavor, I like it - and I've been told it tastes great.

As for filtering, infinitely easier to strain the mix, where VG is like straining cold honey
Current batch volume is 200 ml/7oz; began with a quarter, added another eighth, added about another gram or two of oil/wax & 15ml of Green Dragon. WILL get u high, but takes what seems like a lot: MUCH better for 'altitude adjustment' once you're up.

Part of how I came to conclusion that if you want the oil from the herb, take the oil from the herb, then do something with it.

Amusing idea that sonic vibrations would raise the temp to 212 and above. By all means, don't use one. just remember, glycerin can't absorb or extract: all you can really do is knock goo off the herb, so vibration: possibly as effective to strap it to a rock tumbler or diesel engine or something, but there are trade-offs.

 

[Deleted Member 1643]

Apologies if slightly off-topic. Maybe more suited to Advanced THC e-Juice / mods / tanks / coils / builds / recipes. Intrigued by extraction of QWET filtrate in glycol mix.

VG has no solvent properties

Have extracted flowers successfully in VG, estimate about 1/3 solubility of EtOH. Mild effects possible with vaping (RDA), but more effective as oral tincture (if de-carbed). Concentration impossible, filtration practically impossible (maybe with tincture press, haven't tried). Curious about extracting in PEG400. Dislike PEG400 flavor. Maybe possible to mix separate VG, PG, and PEG400 tinctures for palatable and effective e-liquid?

Amusing idea that sonic vibrations would raise the temp to 212 and above.

Not necessarily temps - ultrasonic oxidation appears to be a well-known phenomenon, probably responsible for accelerated steeping of e-liquids. Undesirable oxidation of cannabinoids may be similarly accelerated. Unconfirmed.

 

[ClearBlueLou]

Apologies if slightly off-topic. Maybe more suited to Advanced THC e-Juice / mods / tanks / coils / builds / recipes. Intrigued by extraction of QWET filtrate in glycol mix.

Have extracted flowers successfully in VG, estimate about 1/3 solubility of EtOH. Mild effects possible with vaping (RDA), but more effective as oral tincture (if de-carbed). Concentration impossible, filtration practically impossible (maybe with tincture press, haven't tried). Curious about extracting in PEG400. Dislike PEG400 flavor. Maybe possible to mix separate VG, PG, and PEG400 tinctures for palatable and effective e-liquid?

Not necessarily temps - ultrasonic oxidation appears to be a well-known phenomenon, probably responsible for accelerated steeping of e-liquids. Undesirable oxidation of cannabinoids may be similarly accelerated. Unconfirmed.

If I gave the impression that I was doing a QWET extract and then soaking the post-QWET herb in VG, let me correct that immediately. I used the Skunk Pharm glycerin tincture tech (multiple temp cycles); was disappointed with the results, created the VG/PG/PEG mix and RE-soaked/cooked the original herb in the mix, as stated, without temp-cycling. Much happier w/ the mix performance than w/ plain VG

I likewise dislike the 'flavor' of PEG400 - fortunately, I can't taste it in what I have.

I have heard that one can "get" as much as 1/3 of the goods into VG via a soak; this seems to be governed more by vibration/shaking than by any other means (particulate transfer), and I fail to find anything so far that assigns solvent action to glycerin by any tech. No opinion on who's supposedly right or wrong

 

[Deleted Member 1643]

Excellent idea to re-extract QWET filtrate in what you'll eventually dilute the QWET oil from. First-run QWET with no or very little heat preserves terpenes in addition to extracting THC-rich oil from trichomes. Extracting filtrate with glycols gets remaining cannabinoids. So, you're reconstituting terpenes and complete cannabinoids for full flavor and effect.

Have you tried other ratios for glycol mix? A variation might be to re-extract filtrate in PG alone (instead of glycol mix), dissolve first-run QWET oil in just a few drops PEG400, then dilute to desired strength with PG tincture. With no VG, much less PEG400 likely needed. Can't say which method woul produce tastier results.

Also used Skunk Pharm method for glycerin extract with good results. Didn't try to vape, but delicious and effective orally. MagicalButter (MB2e) machine also makes reliable tinctures easily and is reasonably priced. Impeller agitates plant material very effectively at controlled temps.