Gear The Source by Extract Craft - a closed loop system for alcohol extractions
- Thread starter Monsoon
- Start date
Monsoon
Well-Known Member
Customer service has been good so from, they're pretty responsive. No regrets yet but we'll see how the second unit goes.
Monsoon
Well-Known Member
My replacement unit should be shipping tomorrow with a return label to ship the old one back. When I get it I'll run the same test I did with the first one and report back the results. I spoke briefly with the inventor on the phone and he said it may reach as high as 120F but should settle back down. Worst case if it comes down to a design issue I think they should be able to add a manual on/off switch for the heater in the app, even if you're conservative you should still be able to shave off a load of time with it over open air evaporation.
500 for that? im in the wrong biz. the o-chem set i got cost 30 on ebay and it can vac distill a liter in about an hour but that wouldnt inculde the purge.
if it helps newbies not blow themselves up thats a good thing.
i feel like youd be better off with a distillation apperatus, vac pump, water pump to run a legit condenser and an ochem surival manual for way less than 500.
but what do i know. ive always been a "leave the chemisty to chemists" kinda dude. unless your going to learn how to do it safley yourself
if it helps newbies not blow themselves up thats a good thing.
i feel like youd be better off with a distillation apperatus, vac pump, water pump to run a legit condenser and an ochem surival manual for way less than 500.
but what do i know. ive always been a "leave the chemisty to chemists" kinda dude. unless your going to learn how to do it safley yourself
Hyphy
Karma
I think @Monsoon paid maybe 350? If his replacement works out well I'd consider it when it goes on sale. I doubt I'd spend 500 on it, but there's not a lot of competition for all-in-ones that I know of. Good news is that it collects your grain alcohol during evap so you can reuse it which saves decent $$ in the long run.
IchiBanCrafter
Member
I have been using and testing the source for some time now. I would be happy answer any questions people have about how it's been doing. I found The School of Hard Nugs review was really good. I also have some blog posts about how I've used it and what I've made and you can see on Extractcrafter.com (notice it's extractcrafter not extractcraft). This is a great tread and I'm glad I found you.
koclem
Well-Known Member
- have you tested the crucible at different stages with a digital thermometer and does it stay at the low temperature range of <120F as advertised?
- I saw an post by you last year somewhere that I think said you thought it was not possible to make shatter with this device, is that still your opinion?
IchiBanCrafter
Member
Hi Koclem,
The temp of the crucible during extraction to my experience remains within the advertised range. However, when the alcohol has completely evaporated the temperature definitely begins to rise because the alcohol that allows heat dissipation (evaporation) is no longer present. So, when the cup is dry or close to dry I have seen the cup get hotter but I have never been able to measure. I read somewhere there are safety shut offs built into the machine as well, not sure what they are exactly though.
As for shatter, I have made shatter and wax with the unit many times. The preparation with the wash is very important so not to get all the 'green', including waxes and chlorophyll. Freezing of the alcohol and material, not breaking the cannabis up too much, and separating the plant material and alcohol solution before it gets green is quintessential to achieving a nice smokable end product. If this initial step in preparation is not done well you will get dark and plantlike product. Lastly, you have to let it cook down quite far and using a silicon cupcake cup for the final purge works great. This last part with purge is where the crucible/aluminum cup gets hotter because there is almost no alcohol left but you can use it to your advantage. If you don't want to add the extra heat which can have adverse effect on the terms, instead of putting the early stage oil in the silicone cup and cooking more, you can simply spread it thinly on a silicone mate and let it cure for 12-24 hours.
Hope this makes sense, let me know if there is anything else I can help with!
IchiBanCrafter
Member
I am old school also. I just push the button to start/stop it and don't bother with the app. The app is not necessary, but a neat toy for those that want to dabble with different materials.Seems pretty cool.
Sorry if this is a dumb question, but... For us more old-school cats, how do you control it if you don't have a smart phone or tablet?
Should we just stick to a bho tube and a hotplate?
Monsoon
Well-Known Member
The company I bought my unit from, The Herbal Companion, has now been dissolved as a company and is no longer in business. They sent out an email with the info and ExtractCraft will still support the product under their warranty. There could be a million reasons why they decided to shutdown but it's still worrisome.
IchiBanCrafter
Member
The Herbal Companion was simply an online store or reseller, nothing to do with Extractcraft. I checked and the CEO of Extractcraft said they will stand by all sales made by The Herbal Companion.
Monsoon
Well-Known Member
It was supposed to ship last Wednesday but wasn't for some reason, now it's supposed to ship today. Edit: FedEx is picking it up tomorrow so with any luck it will be here for the weekend.
Side-note: I really wish customer service reps would be more vague with their estimates unless they're 99% sure they can meet them. On the teams I've worked on we've usually either been more vague in our language when giving a timeline or told them 2 days and then usually do it in one. The former can lead to a lot of upset customers while the other has the complete opposite effect in my experience. If they had just told me they'd ship it as soon as they can or within a week then it would have saved me some anguish.
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Don't accuse a member of being a shill as that's not very nice. Warning point issued.
IchiBanCrafter should know. He works for ExtractCraft as a consultant.
IchiBanCrafter
Member
Like I said, I am one of the first people to adopt the source and have used it more than anyone. I am not a consultant. I saw people here had questions and have offered to help out using my experience. I'm not interested in negative vibes.
Monsoon
Well-Known Member
I got my replacement unit today, I ran the same test as last time and recorded a temperature of 146F after pulling the top off which is slightly higher than before. Even if this were considered normal for the device, it's still 50F off from the indicated temperature reading in the app which is pretty bad. In practice I don't know much this will affect the end result of my shatter, I may split my next run and do half in The Source to do a direct comparison and see if there are any differences between the two.
I'll get in touch with support and let you all know how it goes. I'd like to think that it wouldn't be too hard to at least add manual heating switch to the app as a workaround.
I'll get in touch with support and let you all know how it goes. I'd like to think that it wouldn't be too hard to at least add manual heating switch to the app as a workaround.
Swong
Hey Texas - LEGALIZE IT!!
I'm interested to know how your split runs go. I saw this on youtube and then found your reviews here - school of hard nugs showed pictures of wax that looked pretty good, but I haven't seen any other videos yet and I don't know anyone who has one either. Not really interested in buying one until I can see some more good reviews out there.
Anyone know of this being carried in stores so that you can see it in person?
IchiBanCrafter
Member
Hey Monsoon,
Have you tried to run it with the ethanol in it? I haven't had any problem making shatter & wax and the terps have been hanging in there very well. I have noticed toward the end when almost all the alcohol is gone the temp begins to rise, especially when I transfer the oil into a silicone cup to fully purge and avoid it sticking to the aluminum cup. So my question is this, because it is obvious you know what you are talking about, if the temperature stays lower during the entire evaporation phase and only rises in the final purging stages what do you think the max temp tolerance should be and for how long?
I'm going to do another run tomorrow or the next day and try to nail down when the heat begins to rise, then how long it is subjected to the higher heat. I'll try to come back and share what I learn.
Lastly, the temp decoupling from indicated temp on the app is problematic and needs to be addressed.
IchiBanCrafter
Member
I went to there office in Longmont, CO. They do meetups in this area sometimes. My blog has some of the stuff I have been making with it.
Swong
Hey Texas - LEGALIZE IT!!
What's your blog?
IchiBanCrafter
Member
Ah, sorry. Extractcrafter.com
Think I'm the biggest fan.....
Monsoon
Well-Known Member
I did both tests with about 100ml of ethanol and ice on top and ran it for 30 minutes. Results were about the same running it dry.
I currently do both my evaporation and purging at or below 100F which seems to be the standard for a lot of people. Ideally I wouldn't want to see the temp go much higher than that (no more than 110/120F max) and it shouldn't be needed either due to the vac.
IchiBanCrafter
Member
Monsoon,
I have been messing around with my machine, doing the same experiment you have detailed. Much to my surprise I have had the same results as you. I plan on having a word with the guys at the shop today.
Monsoon
Well-Known Member
Cool, let me know what they say (here or via PM)! Been too busy to email them yet but I plan to get to it on the weekend.
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Anyone know how much vacuum this machine produces?
Manual has cutoff temperature listed at 110 F, 117 F and 130 F.
Manual has cutoff temperature listed at 110 F, 117 F and 130 F.