I'm hoping that is the case. BTW, FedEx guy just showed up a day early, so it was only twenty days from when they charged my card. Popped two grams in it and kicked it on and will see how long it runs.
100% Decarb With The NOVA
- Thread starter Ganja O
- Start date
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- decarboxylation
trichome_renaissance
Well-Known Member
Well I just received an update stating FedEx left my package at my front door about an hour ago. It would have been nice of ardent to have sent me an update/tracking number when they shipped the unit. Hopefully nobody randomly swipes the box off of my front step btw 2 hours ago and when I get home from work tonight. Fingers crossed
GreenHopper
20 going on 60
What's your address, I'll go check up on it for ya, keep it safe
*a few hours later* nope definately not there
trichome_renaissance
Well-Known Member
Well it looks like Ardent did send me a tracking # / your unit just shipped email. They sent it to me this morning, shipped the unit this morning, and it arrived safely at my house this afternoon! So, despite not responding to my email, the unit arrived just within the quoted time.
Did a maiden voyage of 14g (unground) small buds and it took 1h 43m for the light to turn green. I did not find this run to be 100% smell free. Definitely less smelly than most of my oven runs (foil pack sealed in a turkey roaster bag) but certainly not smell proof. Resulting material looked promising. Very consistent and a touch darker than my normal oven decarb (240F for 40 minutes) which I've long suspected wasn't giving me enough of a decarb (never double checked the temp with an oven thermometer). The material from the lift definetely looks more decarb'd.
Did a second run (same specifications) and it took 1h 40m while producing consistent looking results.
FOR THOSE WHO ALREADY HAVE THIS UNIT:
1. What are your experiences using it with unground botanicals vs. ground?
I like the idea of decarbing unground smaller buds since I think you do some damage / lose some trichomes via grinding. But I'm also worried the unit won't hold much volume if I don't grind.
2. Whats the max you've packed in the Lift/Nova (please specify ground or not ground) and been 100% satisfied with your decarb? I know the instructions say 7-14g depending on density. 14g (smaller buds) of the botanicals currently available fills the cup about 33% of the way. Wondering if anybody has pushed it further than 14g and what your results were like..... Early in this thread, @macbill mentioned running 3oz in 3 runs, so 28g per run. Were you happy with the results from that run? I think I'm going to try that for run #3 so that I have 2 zips in total to make a couple of cups of medicated mct oil out of.
3. Due to it's limited capacity (usually put 56g into 2 cups of coconut oil and run it in an mbm2e), has anybody done multiple back to back runs with the device? Naturally, I'm concerned about potentially shortening the life of the unit by doing so.
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Unit arrived on time, packaged well with everything in order. My first decarb was with a mid range fairly pungent material and I made firecrackers with both oven and Lift decarbing. The first most obvious observation is the lack of smell while the unit is operating. When the Lift is opened after the cycle is complete you do get a bit of a whiff but nothing like taking the foil off your oven container.
Lack of smell - as advertised.
I made the Lift decarbed firecrackers with roughly 20-25% less material than the oven version, and tested each on back to back days under similar conditions. The Lift solution was undoubtedly more potent and lasted much longer. In fact, more potent than I was expecting.
Full potency - as advertised.
To say I'm ecstatic is an understatement. It's rare that a product actually delivers on it's promises. Ardent sure did.
Lack of smell - as advertised.
I made the Lift decarbed firecrackers with roughly 20-25% less material than the oven version, and tested each on back to back days under similar conditions. The Lift solution was undoubtedly more potent and lasted much longer. In fact, more potent than I was expecting.
Full potency - as advertised.
To say I'm ecstatic is an understatement. It's rare that a product actually delivers on it's promises. Ardent sure did.
right at 1 hour 40 minutes
The only time you should grind your material is when your attempting to account for uneven heat distribution.
28g
I purchased three for when the MBM is being used. Giving me my sweet spot of 1.5oz per cup of oil.
I will have actual results soon. I'm currently out of state taking care of a family member, and do not have access to my new toy, the CannaDx. Anecdotally I'm satisfied.
When I first received the first unit I performed three back-to-back 'dry' runs.
The next day I ran three ounces of material, one ounce at a time, with no more than fifteen minutes in-between.
The true test will be when I'm finally back home. I have a number of people who rely on me for assistance. I'll be quite busy playing catch-up.
GreenHopper
20 going on 60
It's awesome seeing people getting along with this device. If there was a 240v UK version I'd have snapped it up by now. I'm on the fence though about getting a step down converter at this point but I suppose I could use it with the Lyft and the MBM (still yet to get one of these too).
Regarding the CannaDX, I'm really curious to see what you have to say about this device. I have a tCheck on order which should be arriving in about a month, it has less functionality than the CannaDX but doesn't need to have the sensor replaced every 6 months so I figured for cooking it would cover my needs.
Thanks for all the feedback bud.
Take it easy.
trichome_renaissance
Well-Known Member
Cool thanks for taking the time to respond. I wound up doing 3 back to back runs (14g, 14g, and 28g) all with unground botanicals so far. All three took 1h 40m and all three came out looking consistent. The decarb was definitely more thorough / botanicals looked a touch darker than my old method (oven decarb @ 240F for 40 minutes).
Curious to hear that you like 1.5oz per cup. What dosage do you like to take when you use that much?
I was thinking about bumping up my 1oz per cup to that amount, but I definitely got a 25% (or more) increase in potency btw using the lift and switching from standard coconut oil to C8/C10 MCT oil. So I might just stick with the 1oz per cup. My satisfactory dosage with 1oz per cup is 1.6ml (1/3 teaspoon) (for 5-6 hours of fun) or 2.46ml (1/2 teaspoon) for 10 hours of treatment.
HYB
Diamond Dog
Eagerly awaiting my unit, the payment bugged out on me when I was completing the checkout and so far payment hasn't gone through. Let's see if I have to try ordering the unit for the 3rd time.
Now as for the other reason why I made an account here, is if anyone would have the technical specs of the unit and or knows what I'd need to have to use it safely in Finland? Our voltage is 230/60hz I believe so a step-down converter is obviously needed, but I was wondering about the 50/60hz thing and if it affects the unit in any way, as I believe it affects the MBM2 if I would run it with a step-down converter (or so they say). That's why I'm planning to order my MBM2 from the AU site, but the whole voltage conversion thing never crossed my mind when I ordered my Nova, so if anyone would have any suggestions or can check the tech specs on their unit that would be great!
Now as for the other reason why I made an account here, is if anyone would have the technical specs of the unit and or knows what I'd need to have to use it safely in Finland? Our voltage is 230/60hz I believe so a step-down converter is obviously needed, but I was wondering about the 50/60hz thing and if it affects the unit in any way, as I believe it affects the MBM2 if I would run it with a step-down converter (or so they say). That's why I'm planning to order my MBM2 from the AU site, but the whole voltage conversion thing never crossed my mind when I ordered my Nova, so if anyone would have any suggestions or can check the tech specs on their unit that would be great!
GreenHopper
20 going on 60
I have an email conversation with Shanel from Ardent regarding this.
Basically the Lyft/Nova requires 110v and 90 watts so for myself requires a 240v 50Hz @ minimum 90watt step down converter.
I don't think it's a good idea to max out a step down converter so when I was looking I didn't bother investigating anything under 200watts.
What I found was the best bang (well hopefully no bang) for buck was:
Rockstone Power 500 Watt Heavy Duty Step Up/Down Voltage Transformer Converter - Step Up/Down 110/120/220/240 Volt - 5V USB Port - CE Certified
A unit like this should cover your power requirements. I don't believe it converts the hz 50/60 but this shouldn't affect the NOVA/Lyft as usually the hz rating only affect sensitive electronics or motors if they get their timing from the mains supply.
However if you want to be 100% you would have to ask Ardent themselves.
Goldsource ST-500 500 Watt Step Down/Up Voltage Converter seems to be another brand name for the same thing.
YouTube Review of : Goldsource ST Step Up and Step Down Voltage Converter
HYB
Diamond Dog
Thanks a bunch, you saved me a ton of time and effort I would have had to put into researching this. And I'm not so good with these kind of electrical things. I'd probably e-mail Ardent and ask about it but I haven't had either of my e-mails or FB messages answered yet, boo. So I'm not expecting them to help anytime soon, with the payment issues they've been having. I've been lurking here for a while in relation to everything I've had to buy lately so I figured there must be someone smarter than me here, haha.
Actually got the hz wrong since Finland/AU are 50hz and US is 60hz, oops.
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GreenHopper
20 going on 60
Glad I could help fella.
jabnolimit
New Member
Hi, where can I find a milling jar for under $600 USD? Also will stainless work on an induction cooktop?
turtle360
Well-Known Member
Past the issues of deliveries and all that, anyone help me out with this here thing. I've asked the Ardent people but no one will give me an answer. And SHANEL is always OTL.
On decarbing cbd. Certainly the Nova is optimized to decarb thc. The sweet spot for converting cbd-a to cbd differs from thc. Does anyone know how best to use the Nova to decarb cbd? If cbd requires a longer/hotter decarb how do we use the Nova to get this done?
Come on, folks. Help me out with this one.
On decarbing cbd. Certainly the Nova is optimized to decarb thc. The sweet spot for converting cbd-a to cbd differs from thc. Does anyone know how best to use the Nova to decarb cbd? If cbd requires a longer/hotter decarb how do we use the Nova to get this done?
Come on, folks. Help me out with this one.
+1
I did many back to back runs at full capacity for the same reasons, and without the cool down period. All within the product guidelines; but still. After 40 runs the temp control went out (UP!) and I effectively vaped rather than decarbing a load, lol. Not a big deal for me with free meds but potentially catastrophic for a poor person in a non legal state.
HOWEVER: I was knowingly pushing it within the stated guidelines to see how it held up.
(doctor, doctor, it hurts when I do this...).By the end of it all I had decarbed, oiled, and fudged enough meds for all my people to have a 1/2 year minimum medicine back up. I will probably get another Nova in 1/2 a year. My future usage will be slightly below capacity and have a cool off period between batches.
GreenHopper
20 going on 60
+1
I did many back to back runs at full capacity for the same reasons, and without the cool down period. All within the product guidelines; but still. After 40 runs the temp control went out (UP!) and I effectively vaped rather than decarbing a load, lol. Not a big deal for me with free meds but potentially catastrophic for a poor person in a non legal state.
HOWEVER: I was knowingly pushing it within the stated guidelines to see how it held up.
By the end of it all I had decarbed, oiled, and fudged enough meds for all my people to have a 1/2 year minimum medicine back up. I will probably get another Nova in 1/2 a year. My future usage will be slightly below capacity and have a cool off period between batches.
40 runs back to back?
If so you are true to your namesake @Krazy
Actually all joking aside, thats a good number of runs and I'm actually quite impressed.
I have tried both oven and Ardent decarb and thought the Ardent tasted better but did not think I noticed any difference. Of course my tolerance is out of sight.
So I'm probably a bad person to comment. I will take a break soon and retry the experiment, minus the oven version. Although, I know some that swear by it when done in the Ardent and claim they get a deeper high which lasts longer. Placebo effect? I don't know for sure, but this topic came up on another forum and there were at least a couple stoners that did it regularly.
Gavmar
Member
I got a replacement Lift today the first one I received was taking around 2 hours 30 minutes to complete the cycle my new Lift is taking 1 hour 45 minutes to finish.
I am new to decarbing and was wondering as you can manually switch off the Lift is there a perfect time for me to manually switch it off for a better decarb result instead of letting it go for 105 minutes.
I am new to decarbing and was wondering as you can manually switch off the Lift is there a perfect time for me to manually switch it off for a better decarb result instead of letting it go for 105 minutes.
turtle360
Well-Known Member
1 hour 45 seems to be the number. 1 hour and 30 must have been the early marketing number to make it sound a little speedier without being fraudulent. After all you can decarb a quarter pound in an oven in half an hour while the Nova would take you 7 1/2 hours.
Pertaining your q, Gavmar, I can't imagine getting better results pulling the plug prematurely. That would render the device null and void the whole point being the Nova is supposed to be perfectly optimized (for thc). What are those 2 sensors doing after all? Do they detect the differences between large buds and kief or moist bud from dried out bud? If not the device is not all that smart. If decarb times vary from an hour and 25 to an hour and 55 depending on material that would be impressive.
The question I have pondered is the other way time wise. If cbd material needs extended time, let's say 2 cycles instead of one, or 1 1/2 cycles calling for the manual switch off half way through the second cycle.
Pertaining your q, Gavmar, I can't imagine getting better results pulling the plug prematurely. That would render the device null and void the whole point being the Nova is supposed to be perfectly optimized (for thc). What are those 2 sensors doing after all? Do they detect the differences between large buds and kief or moist bud from dried out bud? If not the device is not all that smart. If decarb times vary from an hour and 25 to an hour and 55 depending on material that would be impressive.
The question I have pondered is the other way time wise. If cbd material needs extended time, let's say 2 cycles instead of one, or 1 1/2 cycles calling for the manual switch off half way through the second cycle.
According to the company they already did all the lab tests and they seem to have the correct combination of time, temp, and size for maximum conversion of THC-a to THC. So, it would be counterproductive to open it early. Somewhere I read you should not even take a peek while it's working. Just let it do what it was designed to do.I got a replacement Lift today the first one I received was taking around 2 hours 30 minutes to complete the cycle my new Lift is taking 1 hour 45 minutes to finish.
I am new to decarbing and was wondering as you can manually switch off the Lift is there a perfect time for me to manually switch it off for a better decarb result instead of letting it go for 105 minutes.