Concentrates for Noobs - Q&A

FLskwat

VAPOLITICS!
it will help dissipate the butane in this way, but it will not actually complete a winterization.
to complete the winterization you would still have to freeze it and filter it again.

of course boss, winterization is the separation of lipids by weight deposit through freezing...! I'm always going to fast in my explanations... ;-)
 

Caligula

Maximus
No more guessing at to if my nail is the proper temp! 20 bucks on Amazon with free Prime shipping.

20140523_125347_zpszs7zcvcb.jpg
 

jdee

Well-Known Member
Getting an accurate reading across all the different types of metals/materials using an IR thermometer requires one with adjustable emissivity setting and those are expensive. A type k thermometer with wire bead probe is $20 and will give accurate readings across any material.

Finding the right temp without a thermometer should be simple enough...if its harsh and makes you die = too hot, if its vaping so slowly that it doesn't completely vape and stays liquid = too cold. I get tasty dabs by torching it until it barely glows a faint red then letting it cool 5secs.
 
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Caligula

Maximus
It doesn't need to be accurate. It needs to give me repeatable numbers from which to go off of. Could say a billion degrees Kelvin and that's fine as long as it always says that when I get the temp where I want... and it's pretty consistent so far I must say.

I got tired of guessing with my quartz nail. Its been literally hit or miss his even when timing things exactly.

This temp sensor fits the bill for what I wanted, and works aces so far! It gives me a reading if around 700°F, I dab and it tastes great with little to no wasted material. Did that 3 in a row. Cant argue with it IMO... Although I guess I could just be getting lucky?

Heres my first test run. Id say it was successful! Feel free to turn the resolution up too.

20140523_154209_zpstatt0ncq.jpg~original


 
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mvapes

Scratchin' Glass!
Accessory Maker
You're still getting residue in the nail. What I find best with quartz is the temp range to be between 575 and 625. I use a crab cap at the lower tem and the terps will dance in your mouth. Even with an enail, I run her around 650.

Decent quartz will glow, it's faint but it's there. Get it to glow and count quickly to 10 letting it cool. If you're left with residue that looks like honey - you're good to go. Black char, not so much!

@Caligula - you were super close. A carb cap would make all the difference.

And @Enchantre - I read your post much earlier, I have to agree with you on the shatter comment. When I run shatter I run my vac at 100 degrees for about 8 to 10 hours whereas honeycomb I run at 117 for about 6 hours.

My theory for shatter has always been low and slow!
 

Caligula

Maximus
@mvapes Super close to what? What can I do to better refine this technique? Also I was using a carb cap... no?

As for getting the nail hot enough, thats a non-issue. I always heat until you can see the orange glow in the quartz. Its letting it cool enough thats always the issue/guessing game for me. Ill try even lower temps next time! Gotta say that dab was mighty tasty tho.

Also I get a white ash covering my nail after its heated and the black shit from the lasy dab burns off (see pic below). From what Ive read/seen this is a sign of proper seasoning. What do you mean "honey" like residue?

20140523_141701_RichtoneHDR_zps5bqnslww.jpg~original
 
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mvapes

Scratchin' Glass!
Accessory Maker
I gotta take a pick - yes, that ashie residue is unavoidable - never heard it meant it properly seasoned but even my Halen H3 discolored. With that said, when I said you were close I meant because in your video you had residue left in the nail. Most of the time I clear it. If there is residue left over and you've properly heated and cooled it should be a golden honey like liquid left. If it sticks to the glass (quartz) it was too hot.

Now, I forgot to mention earlier - I agree with you, quartz can be a bitch. Taste is great but there's technique to it. It's like the MFLB of nails!

Have you tried Hive Ceramic Nails? Awesome taste, somewhat self cleaning, much easier than quartz.
 

2clicker

Observer
@mvapes Super close to what? What can I do to better refine this technique? Also I was using a carb cap... no?

As for getting the nail hot enough, thats a non-issue. I always heat until you can see the orange glow in the quartz. Its letting it cool enough thats always the issue/guessing game for me. Ill try even lower temps next time! Gotta say that dab was mighty tasty tho.

Also I get a white ash covering my nail after its heated and the black shit from the lasy dab burns off (see pic below). From what Ive read/seen this is a sign of proper seasoning. What do you mean "honey" like residue?

20140523_141701_RichtoneHDR_zps5bqnslww.jpg~original

what mat is your glass sitting on in this pic?
 

herbivore21

Well-Known Member
So I just went to make qwiso using frozen nugs/leaf and frozen ISO (6 hours in the freezer for both). Then I did a 20 second wash, filtering through a fine ss sieve and then coffee filter.

The ISO didn't go yellow, if I hold it to the light it is yellowish green... I gave it another 10 seconds but didn't wanna go any longer. Will evap down tomorrow morning and see what comes... But any ideas?

The bud is gringo, a superskunk indica dominant hybrid. Thick with trichs, even on the leaves!
 
herbivore21,
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farscaper

Well-Known Member
So I just went to make qwiso using frozen nugs/leaf and frozen ISO (6 hours in the freezer for both). Then I did a 20 second wash, filtering through a fine ss sieve and then coffee filter.

The ISO didn't go yellow, if I hold it to the light it is yellowish green... I gave it another 10 seconds but didn't wanna go any longer. Will evap down tomorrow morning and see what comes... But any ideas?

The bud is gringo, a superskunk indica dominant hybrid. Thick with trichs, even on the leaves!

it early so if i miss something let me know...

i think it is because you froze you bud it is likely you need more than a 10 sec soak.... see the outside of a trichome is kinda like one of those wax soda bottles candies from back in the day if your familiar. so when you lower its overall temp and the temp of your solvent is decreased it takes longer for the waxes to be dissolved and thus leaves some of the oil you wish to collect behind leaving your wash "clearer"

now, another possibility might be the age/cure of your starting bud. if it is fresher... say well dried to 1 month old... you will likely end up collecting some residual chlorophyll with any polar solvent... evwn with an overuse of non-polar solvent will collect chlorophyll... which will turn your wash green...

continuing with the idea that perhaps the buds are what I like to call young buds... or they have not been cured for very long... this is where say all the chlorophyll has broken down.. but oxidation of thc-a has not yet occured. in this scenario your wash will be clear and your end concentrate will likely have a light buttery color as opposed to that honey brown.... not a bad thing for flavor chasers as it is heavily loaded with terpenes.

finally... strain can cause a color varience... darker strains tend to make darker oils... I notice sativas will some times make lighter oil and indicas darker.... but all the other factors you can work with. strain is strain...

so if you are working with your "usual" bud and got a different result its probably your technique that needs some fine tuning... if the bud is new but the tech is the same.... perhaps its strain or cure related....

hope that helpful and not confusing ... its early on shatterday an I gotta oil my pistons!

:science:
 

herbivore21

Well-Known Member
hahaha man that made perfect sense. To be honest, it's my first time with this bud doing QWISO. I am gonna just evap and see what happens. The power of the dab compels me!
 

farscaper

Well-Known Member
Cut open some empty vector cans and found a weird inconsistency. One was normal stainless steel and the other was painted, basically a mirror of the can exterior:

4ll7eCm.jpg
thats what happens when the can manufacturer decided to flip that missprinted sheet over and re-run it..... cause they were not about to waste that bale of sheeting...

I switched to Capital butane for a good reason.... people will bicker with me over the fine points, but this drives home my point that vector is far from the best... on fact . they are just as mediocre as most lighter fluid... and bull shit if you think they dont know what their product is used for... but people keep on buying it
 

farscaper

Well-Known Member
I figured I'd contribute this for everyone who ever said QWISO was not worth doing.

These are my first run results from a QWISO wash with nugs/leaf/stem from a superskunk indica dom hybrid called Gringo.

30c0xe9.jpg
what was your in and out weight out of curiosity?

looks nice for some iso!
 
farscaper,

herbivore21

Well-Known Member
10g of bud, .6g of shatter. That was my first run. There will be a second and maybe third!
 
herbivore21,
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