Grinder Cleaning...Results. ;D

I brushed out my grinder today...its never been done before... I found lots of delicious kief hiding away in the grooves and blades n such.
I decided to try some macro shots..

Just out of curiousity, do people ISO soak their grinders to extract/clean the goodies that remain further?


Photo Album Link

You can do that for sure if you want

Drop it in a test tube, add some ISO and pour it through a filter

let that evap and you would have a few really potent hits for sure

I believe he is talking about cleaning the entire grinder with ISO, and yes, I do just that. Usually I put my 4 piece grinder, taken apart, into a bag or container and clean it like I would with a dirty piece. Only difference is no salt. I have to say though I much more fequently just clean the screen with ISO and just pour it down the drain. I feel like it would take many cleanings to build up any real amount of QWISO. Unless it is really clogged

@rotax, I love that pic. it looks delicious!

I don't soak my grinder; I brush it like you did here, but there is no real reason why you shouldn't. I know a lot of people on here do it.

Question for the pros: the iso will not react with the teflon seal will it?

I gotta disagree with you there! I made a batch of oil from iso that i have been saving from cleaning all my vape parts.I had been saving that bottle for most of the year. made some really nice oil. I started a new bottle probably about a month ago maybe a lil longer. long story short I am moving and didn't want o\to bring the bottle with me. so I filtered it beforehand and evaporated it yesterday. to my surprise i got about a gram of oil! it's worth holding on to your "dirty" iso imo!

this all depends on what your daily driver is and if the parts are cleanable. (most vapes are cleanable of course) and your amount of consumption.

That is such a pretty picture

the plastic ring may be teflon or just plastic, so it may release nasties into the ISO or not, I wouldn't include any ISO that touched the plastic ring with that being recovered, but you can clean it safely.

(i'm not an expert, but think that's correct)

some have reported their grinder corroded after cleaning with ISO, but i think that's due to cheap machining or not real aluminum, I don't really know. (it aluminum is smooth the oxide layer is somewhat self-limiting, so if it was real aluminum and had a smoothly machined or sanded surface that wasn't being disturbed it would form a thin oxide layer and stop, but if it has a "wound" it can have difficulty forming that protective oxide layer...? is this right?)

I have a cheaper 2 pc grinder that I soak in iso about once a month. i dont usually save the leftovers tho. i scrape the shit out of it first. the metal (?) ring fell off a few months ago. it still works fine. no signs of corroding

When i clean the outside of my grinder where the ring meets the metal, i use a knife to chip the hash flakes off (be very careful not to scrape the metal while doing this though.) then i just toss em in with my ground up buds that im working with for the day.

what sounds logical to me, thanks for weighing in on the subject.

grinder flakes, mmmmm

yeah, my concern is the teflon ring i guess. not sure how that will hold up to an iso soak.
but thats also what is all gummed up and makes grinding tougher atm.

it also appears that the label "Chromium Crusher" on the top of mine is ink that could dissolve in a soak..
i guess i could just clean up the teflon ring and keep on grindin.

if at all possible remove the teflon ring and clean it separately.

no. the writing on top of your CC will hold up fine. it's laser etched. [if it's the non aluminum version]

thanks, i think i'll just iso soak it in a baggy then.

You just inspired me to do the same but unfortunately I had to combust it, my MFLB is still in the mail! It had some serious buildup, got a full bowl out of it. Man am I ripped.

Shoulda saved that for the 'box'. It'll last days longer. Or maybe thats just the Zap.

Was thinking the same thing, but honestly I am so ripped it doesn't matter. I'll have a fresh stash to toke on monday when it arrives.

I always clean my grinders with ISO. On average I would say I get about .5g of QWISO per run. I don't have a set amount of time I clean my grinder, just when it starts to not spin as well and becomes a little challenge. Maybe every couple months? I just get a bowl and swish it around use my hands a little. I also have put it in a bag. Both work about the same, just depends on the supplies. The most I ever got from 1 grinder was about 1.2g and that was a heavily dirty mendo mulcher, the 3 inch one.

i reclaim my grinder goodies every other month or so, and get a decent little piece of errl. sometimes i will save my stems and run them at the same time as my grinder for a little extra yield.

Can someone explain in a little more detail how to clean with iso? After soaking do you clean with a brush and just let the herb dry out?

I often give my grinder a quick clean after a night out, my jointsmoking friends often use my grinder, but because of their different view on amounts, they often leave some in my grinder, some stuff that's stuck to the sides. to them it isn't worty salvaging, but for me it's a longlasting bowl in my VG, since it's almost kief.
so that way I always have a nice surprise wake&bake after a good night out

my present grinder I further only cleaned the ridge of, don't know how to call it in english... but I mean I clean that stuff away that gets between the 2 parts and makes the turning less smooth. discovered a pipecleaner dipped in ckeaning alcohol did wonders to make it turn really smooth again.
I can't stand it of my grinder doesn't turn smooothly, wich is why I also don't like the grinders of most of my friends since they never clean them. and then they're wondering why mine goes so smooth... such a little effort with such a big difference

Definitely would plan on removing the o-ring.

Anyone had bad results doing an iso-wash on a titanium space case? I don't see why, because the anodizing process doesn't actually form another "layer" that would come off. Just wanted to double check

Its ISO safe, Longbones

I mean, as long as your grinder was cleaned before being used the first time, which EVERY tool should be.

After reading this thread, i Did my first cleaning on my 4 pc Ssv grinder this weekend. i did a cleaning in 91 Iso and qtips as my tools. My grinder has never been cleaned in nearly two years of heavy, daily use and the grindng was not smooth, often got stuck. So did the second chamber where the goodies go, the walls of this chamber were well caked with goodness. I didnt do any soaking. I put about a half inch worth of iso in a dish, each piece went in for a quick bath, a quick qtipping, and a rinse and they were sparkling. As for the second chamber, which didnt really submerge in the half inch of iso, i just dunked the bottom so the screen got a iso bath and gave the screen and inner walls a scrub and it was perfect. About a half hour air dry. (should have pre ground more as this is my only grinder and had to hand grind during the dry) I actually like it better than the day it was new cause the threads arent as tight, but its just as clean.

I evaped my iso and Had a lil chunk of reclaim after. I didnt know if i should strain or not and didnt this time. Anyway i tried vaping the reclaim and even combusted a bit snd wasnt impressed with the results. Reminded me of that resin high that lasts two minutes and just gives you a nasty taste in your mouth.

Overall, satisfied with the cleaning. Disappointed with the reclaim.

Usually i just brush my grinder. but yesterday i isoed the top two pieces cause they were getting pretty gummed up. I let it sit overnight and scrapped it this morning. I got .3 of some decent looking and smelling qwiso hash. worth it in my opinion. FYI: the magnet on one side of my grinder came out in the iso process. I super glued it back in an it seems to be fine.