Experimenting with QWET tek

[OG_BIGB]

I have recently been experimenting with QWET tech as where I am concentrates are near impossible to find, and flower just hasnt been doing the same job lately. I have found several tek's on here and have been trying to get the skunk pharm tek down as it seems that it is seen as the best QWET method.

The issue I have been running into, when I first started I was doing 3 30 second washes and getting ~8-10% yield but it was a dark amber color that was potent and smoked very nice.

I tried using the skunkpharm tech for qwet using the 3 minute wash. And after several attempts, every time I do the 3 minute wash i end up with HULK green liquid. as opposed to the slightly cloudy gold liquid I would get from 30 second washes. and I still only had about 8-10% yield.

The one thing I have been doing, that i am wondering is the cause of the hulk liquid, is the qwiso tek I was using (With ethanol) I have been grinding the buds fairly fine using my space case. I have a batch of small broken buds, not ground that is in the freezer preparing now. My question is, is the green color due to me grinding the buds and releasing more chlorophyll? or is there something else that could cause this?

To simply break down method ive been using.

grind herb and lay out on oven sheet. cure in oven at 180-200F for ~60-90 minutes
place in sealed jar in freezer overnight (ethanol is always in freezer)
pour ethanol in jar with about 3/4 inch above the material
shake jar well and place in freezer for 3 minutes, shaking again at each minute mark.
strain quickly with SS mesh, letting it drip out on its own, not using any pressure.
remaining material is placed back in freezer for later runs. ( I usually will save a few runs together before i do a 2nd wash)

then of course purging the ethanol but I am not having any issues with this part. But I have been unable to do a 3 minute QWET wash without getting SUPER green liquid.


I dont know if this has any bearing, but in my 3 minute runs I have been using a full oz, where as before I would usually only do 7-14g at a time.



I apologize if this is in the wrong section, I have been lurking these forums for some time but was still unsure if this was in the right place lol.

 

[Deleted Member 1643]

Welcome, @OG_BIGB! Still notice some variability in chlorophyll uptake, but first run is always good (second isn't bad).

A relatively light first run.

grind herb and lay out on oven sheet. cure in oven at 180-200F for ~60-90 minutes

No need to grind, and 60-90 minutes is long for removing residual water. Are you sure of the temperature? Use an oven thermometer. Just gently break up (or cut) buds into individual flower clusters. Typically, freeze-dry (which isn't difficult to do) rather than oven dry, but oven-drying should be fine as long as you don't end up with dry powder.

place in sealed jar in freezer overnight (ethanol is always in freezer)

Are you using a deep (chest) freezer? These typically get colder and stay colder than uprights.

shake jar well and place in freezer for 3 minutes, shaking again at each minute mark.

It sounds like you're violently agitating particulates produced from grinding and over-zealous drying. A quick swirl is fine.

strain quickly with SS mesh, letting it drip out on its own, not using any pressure.

Limit draining to about 30 seconds. Will try to improve with coffee press.

remaining material is placed back in freezer for later runs. ( I usually will save a few runs together before i do a 2nd wash)

Big mistake, IME. Second wash will be black and foul-tasting. Do the second wash immediately. As soon as the ethanol drains, put more cold ethanol in. (Keep in jar and use a screen cap to drain.) The result is a second run that yields half-again as much usable concentrate, just not quite as nice as the first run.

 

[OG_BIGB]

I do use an oven thermometer, i said 180-200 because ive tried different temps. how long would you recommend to remove moisture?


i will say when i did small batches i only swirled the material because the container i used at the time didnt have a lid, will def try the gentle swirl (think im just a bit over-zealous) I have material prepped in the freezer for when i get home later, as far as the draining, I pour into a SS vegetable strainer that almost all liquid is out of it almost instantly, I just let it sit and drip for the extra as I was told pressing it would release more unwanted materials like waxes, I then use silk tea bags to filter further and remove the waxes and stuff that got through then an unbleached coffee filter to get the rest.

The only reason I do the second wash at later times at the moment is because I only have one container, I'll pick up a new one today with that advice considering im picking up a rig, been using the youcan atomizer and honestly feel its wasteful


I will update you with results later in the day, thanks for the advice!

 

[Deleted Member 1643]

how long would you recommend to remove moisture?

Haven't done it this way for some time. Seem to recall that SkunkPharm cautions against over-drying. That said, freeze-drying produces very dry material that works well - but without grinding and minimal handling after freeze-drying (break up the buds before freezing).

A Buchner funnel is an inexpensive and worthwhile step up from coffee filters.

 

[OG_BIGB]

glad i was already trying not grinding it up and just doing smaller nugs, this run was so much clearer, most light colored, pretty gold ive had. my 2nd run was about the same color as my most successful first run, kept them separate this time though to see the difference. I really appreciate the advice.

 

[Deleted Member 1643]

So glad it worked out!

 

[Baron23]

So glad it worked out!

This is only my understading and not my first hand experience, but I have gathered that the green is indeed chlorophyll and this may well have resulted from grinding (not necessary) and long wash (my understanding is that the THC will extract in 30-60 seconds.

As I said, this is all second hand info so take it for what its worth.

 

[OG_BIGB]

This is only my understading and not my first hand experience, but I have gathered that the green is indeed chlorophyll and this may well have resulted from grinding (not necessary) and long wash (my understanding is that the THC will extract in 30-60 seconds.

As I said, this is all second hand info so take it for what its worth.

ethanol is not as harsh as qwiso, with iso i do a 30 sec wash, the ethanol wash with 3 mins and minor agitation and no grinding gave me best results. its golden, and 2nd wash was a dark amber. no green whatsoever.

 

[Deleted Member 1643]

ethanol is not as harsh as qwiso, with iso i do a 30 sec wash, the ethanol wash with 3 mins and minor agitation and no grinding gave me best results.

That's right. Check out this post and thread. Recently, did some tests with identical starting material and process, varying only time. Traditional three-minute washes gave best results. Using a cold deep freezer also helps extend the working time. In an upright, slightly less time might be better.