100% Decarb With The NOVA
- Thread starter Ganja O
- Start date
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- decarboxylation
HYB
Diamond Dog
Nice, I will probably need to look up dosages and such though. Gotta start looking stuff up in the forum, there's so much good info here. Luckily baking and cooking has always been a strong point for me, I really want to get down and experiment with flavors etc. I haven't tried before since my medication at 2g a day just about covers my dosage when I vaporize and Bedrocan is just super expensive here (60g can cost anywhere from 640-1600e depending on the pharmacy and if they import it themselves, and other strains from Bedrocan are even more expensive). So if I were to mess anything up it would be so bad, my wallet would cry and so would my joints. If the Nova wasn't available I would probably give up on making medibles entirely, because I just don't have the time to watch an oven for 40 minutes
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Barry Garcia
New Member
Bought one of these, current coupon is the best I’ve seen. Have a feeling I will regret choosing the free shipping.
kcmochris
Well-Known Member
Made my coupon'd purchase -- couldn't beat that deal (like you said, best yet) -- a few days ago. Might regret the shipping, too, but felt good about dropping $165, all in. Patience is a virtue lol
Question for the owners: should I grind my flowers before decarb? Aside from de-stemming, seems most folks are using small buds. Follow up question: is it recommended to grind the buds once decarbed for better extraction/infusion? Would like to use the MCT oil or Everclear route of edible/tinctures.
Thanks for all the information shared -- read the thread from start to finish! Very helpful in making decision.
For me, his thing seemed to work better than the sous vide method.
That was some time ago. Haven’t used in a quite a while but holy shit the edibles were fucking strong. I made three dozen sugar cookies out of 1/4 stick of butter (added lecithin) and 1/3 of a cookie knocked me for a loop.
Edit: sous vide did a good job. However, the difference between these cookies and my Death Star crispies was night and day.
That was some time ago. Haven’t used in a quite a while but holy shit the edibles were fucking strong. I made three dozen sugar cookies out of 1/4 stick of butter (added lecithin) and 1/3 of a cookie knocked me for a loop.
Edit: sous vide did a good job. However, the difference between these cookies and my Death Star crispies was night and day.
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after decarbing, the buds are pretty crispy (frangible) - i just pour the Everclear into the NOVA container and mash with a wooden spoon handle - soak for 120 seconds before straining the Everclear solution into a Pyrex pie pan. i use 4 oz of Everclear for 8 grams of bud. takes about 24 hours for the Everclear to evaporate.
kcmochris
Well-Known Member
Bought mine same day (or close) to your purchase date--my order just sent the tracking info by email.
@Hippie Dickie 4 oz of tincture -- w/ that ratio, how's the dosage? I'm assuming you evaporate down to syrup-consistency for using a dropper...LMK! very excited to start decarbing.
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@kcmochris - i get about .8g of tincture from my 8gm/4oz mix. it evaporates to a sticky solid that has to be scraped from the pyrex pie plate with a warm single-edge razor blade. i divide into 50mg "dabs". Very effective. takes about 45 minutes to come on.
i'm guessing i have too much plant wax in the final result extract. next time i get enough herb i will get this process nailed down better. i would like to be able to load a syringe or dropper.
i'm guessing i have too much plant wax in the final result extract. next time i get enough herb i will get this process nailed down better. i would like to be able to load a syringe or dropper.
the inner silicone cap (covers the aluminum herb container) smells ... i stopped using it and replaced it with a cap made of aluminum foil.
not much odor from the herb during or after decarboxylation.
Difference between NO smell and "effectively no smell" or "99.9% oder free".
In my experience in the desert running a full container of already fairly dry meds? Opening the container after decarbing puts out less smell than breaking up a small bud or vaping a single small hit. Doing so by a kitchen of bathroom fan should alleviate even that.
As mentioned above the silicone lid will absorb some smell over time but is dishwasherable.
In my experience in the desert running a full container of already fairly dry meds? Opening the container after decarbing puts out less smell than breaking up a small bud or vaping a single small hit. Doing so by a kitchen of bathroom fan should alleviate even that.
As mentioned above the silicone lid will absorb some smell over time but is dishwasherable.
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While decarbing it is effectively oderless.
So no: it will not stink up the house.
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I used mine to destruction. Running back to back to back capacity runs with no cool down time. Eventually I cooked the thermostat and THEN had a run go hot, where it was effectively vaping the contents rather than decarbing, lol.
To the best of my knowledge I'm the only one that has experienced this. And you could have the misfortune of a thermostat dying while decarbing with any appliance.
I don't blame the device. And very much DO recommend it oderless decarbing on the DL.
So no: it will not stink up the house.
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I used mine to destruction. Running back to back to back capacity runs with no cool down time. Eventually I cooked the thermostat and THEN had a run go hot, where it was effectively vaping the contents rather than decarbing, lol.
To the best of my knowledge I'm the only one that has experienced this. And you could have the misfortune of a thermostat dying while decarbing with any appliance.
I don't blame the device. And very much DO recommend it oderless decarbing on the DL.
Not in my experience. I did notice some odor though.
kcmochris
Well-Known Member
It will not.
Whitewabit
New Member
No there is only a very light smell if you allow it to cool down completely .. Have used it 3 times for weed .. has any one tried to decarb wax or shatter by putting it in a glass container in the Nova ??
Whitewabit
New Member
Trying to make edibles on and off for 40 some years and the Nova is the best thing I have found to decarb marijuana !! You'll find a noticeably stronger medicinal high when use with the NOVA which makes it pay for its self .. you'll need to ingest less for the same medicinal relief .. making the meds last longer ..
When you get one make 2 batches one using it and the other your oven ,, make your cookies or brownies one batch with the marijuana from the oven the other using the NOVA .. You'll see or rather you'll feel the difference ..
Then come back then and tell the forum your experience ..
I'm pretty sure it has been reported on in this thread but don't remember which page.
Folks.... We aren't using the card catalog system any longer.
Search engines are incredibly useful and powerful tools.
Search engines are incredibly useful and powerful tools.
stoned-chihuahua
New Member
I purchased the Lift back in January, and so far so good. I think the build quality has improved, based on what I have read so far. It’s not an Apple product (I’m sure I will get some heat for saying Apple makes quality devices), but it isn’t completely chintzy either.
I am not fond of how the top plastic cap fits on the device. On one run, I didn’t get it on all the way, but it didn’t make a difference. It is just that even Shanel seems to have problems putting it on in the videos. It takes some fiddling. This is such a minor complaint and I understand that it can’t be an airtight fit. Decarboxylation releases water vapor and carbon dioxide and these must vent out.
Between the silicone and plastic lids, the unit is able to vent water vapor and gasses without stinking up my condo. I live in the Bay Area and I don’t really care about the smell. It always smells like weed in the hallway and it is not just from me.
If you need to be discrete, however, the Lift is pretty much odor free. I decarbed in the oven before this, and it stunk up my place for days. I mean, even decarbing a few grams in an oven will create strong odors. If you seal it tight, water vapor may prevent the material from reaching the right temp.
There is a lot of confusion over decarb times and mine are not constant. The manual that came with my unit says that the complete cycle should take 90 minutes to two hours. All of my cycles take 2 to 2.5 hours to complete, but I don’t think my unit is defective. If I put more herb in, it takes longer. Denser buds take longer. Higher potency herb will probably take longer too, as the H2O from decarb will have some cooling effect.
I get cannabis from an excellent medical dispensary and their buds are very well manicured and super dense. I notice a lot of people in this thread are using home grown, and the one photo shows something quite a bit more airy than what I am using. (Not a knock — it’s so much smarter to grow your own.)
Yesterday I ran two batches. The first one was 14g of very dense (rock hard buds) and potent AC/DC (it filled the container only about 1/3 of the way). It took 2 hours and 15 minutes until I saw the green light. Even though it is high CBD cannabis, I just ran the single cycle. I vape it, so it doesn’t need to be 100% decarbed. I just want to get trapped H20 and CO2 out of the herb, which I believe is what makes vaping decarbed herb more potent.
I waited a little over an hour and did the second batch — 6 g of very dense, very potent Do-Si-Dos. This took 2 hours and 40 minutes, but it came out looking much like the photo in the previous post. It looked just like all of the other herb that only took 2 hours. I put some in my vape and had one massive puff... bang, zoom, straight to the moon. I have vaped this same strain from the same purchase without it being decarbed. Without a doubt, it is way more potent now, and it doesn’t make me sleepy either. So I don’t find that this overcooked the herb at all. My theory is that the cool down time was longer because the thermal blanket was still warm from the prior run, which completed 75 minutes before the Do-Si-Do run.
The other possibility is that the bottom sensor may experience latency, because I put the device on a smooth cooktop. Smooth cooktops are designed to hold in heat. Next time, I will put it on my stainless steel countertop, which should dissipate heat.
My point is, there are so many factors as to why one batch may take 120 minutes and another may go for 150 minutes. The Lift isn’t running on a timer. It uses sensors and an algorithm. Everything from the material to room temperature to batch frequency to device placement can influence the time. It seems like the one that took 2.5 hours just had an extended cool down time, which shouldn’t be harmful. If it stays on for 3 hours or overnight, then you probably have a defective unit. If you crammed 3 oz of material in it, it’s time to RTFM. The manual recommends a max of 7g to 14g. This is weight, not volume.
Keep in mind, people are replacing the silicone cap with aluminum foil. This will shorten the cycle, because aluminum dissipates heat much faster than silicone. The cool down will happen faster. These are the people who seem to get 90 minute cycles. The older silicone cap also seems to have had a looser fit.
I would personally recommend using the silicone cap, because the thermodynamics will be consistent with Ardent’s testing. The Nova/Lift is a system, so I personally wouldn’t hack it. I haven’t found that the silicone cap fouls my herb. Perhaps they improved it.
As for vaping, there seems to be confusion as to why decarbing improves vaping and smoking. (Fatty’s, makers of prerolls for CA dispensaries, decarb all of their herb for their prerolls, which are supposedly quite da bomb. Never tried, not a fan of smoking and I also found plastic pieces in a dispensary’s house preroll, which forever ruined them for me. The hot dogs of the cannabis world, they are!)
https://www.researchgate.net/public...nabinoid_content_of_vaporised_Cannabis_sativa
(Beyond the THCa conversion rates, the study above blew my mind about vape temps. 230° C is optimal. Most self-appointed vape experts are vaping at 170° C, because of some ubiquitous yet unsubstantiated vape temperature chart that has been circulating as the ultimate vape gospel. They will even go so far as to say anything above 200° C is combustion. Just like that Ray Bradbury novel Fahrenheit 392. Your ABV should not still be green! ABV color depends on so many factors, it won’t always look the same. If you see ash, you are combusting. Vape until you get no more vapor!)
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0147286
When you vape or smoke, virtually all of the THCa is converted to THC instantaneously. You may get 1% more by prior decarbing, but that is not the main benefit. When you vape regular herb, decarb happens on the fly. Your vapor will have water vapor and carbon dioxide. This dilutes the potency of your vapor. I haven’t calculated the atomic weights, but since every THC and CBD molecule has a carboxyl group, you get a fair amount of H2O and CO2 when you smoke or vape non-decarbed weed. Also, bone dry herb will produce super thick and remarkably smooth vapor. I can’t believe the clouds I am blowing out of my good ol’ Arizer Extreme (the original one from ten years ago, still tickin’!).
Based on my research and experience, I think the main benefit of smoking or vaping decarbed herb is that it has more THC because there is less H2O and CO2. The actual composition of smoke or vapor has more THC because of this. Don’t expect miracles, but you will probably notice a difference. It feels like my herb is 20-30% stronger and I use much less. The Lift should pay for itself in a few years.
As for the CBN theory, I haven’t experienced a sedative effect with any cannabis decarbed with the Lift. In fact, even couch-lock Indica dominant strains (like Do-Si-Do) turned very psychoactive, but didn’t make me overly sleepy. I even stayed up late and watched Das Boot last night. OK, not all of it. But I didn’t fall asleep on the sofa and wake up at 3am with a sore neck and unbrushed teeth. I hate that!
I haven’t found that the terps are preserved that well, however. It was comparable to my oven decarb, and I put that herb in an uncovered ramekin. I really don’t care about terps. I think they are oversold as part of present day cannabis hype. “Let’s be just like wine snobs”. You can legally buy all of those terps if you want to, or better yet, get a Christmas tree and a pet skunk. I look forward to all the testing that legal cannabis is bringing to CA. I can do without all of the new age mythology. Listening to Steve Roach obsessively is about as new age as I get (and I think he is wrongfully pigeonholed as new age). There is some evidence that terps have medical effects, but they are pretty weak. If terps are important to you, decarbing is probably not the best path. Living in the Bay Area for 20 years and Southern California for almost 10, I have yet to meet a stoner who gives a hoot about terps... even in Humboldt county. In my experience, people obsessed with terps tend to be weed newbies...
Anyway, to make a long story slightly longer, I like my Lift and I’m a satisfied customer. Just don’t totally freak out if it takes 2 hours and 15 minutes or whatever to complete the cycle. The Do-Si-Do that ran for 2h 40m is so stoney, it can’t be overcooked.
And yes, decarbing weed makes it more potent for vaping and smoking. No doubt about it. You also kill any mold or bacteria. So many benefits, but it does mute the terps. I think the tradeoff is more than worth it.
I am not fond of how the top plastic cap fits on the device. On one run, I didn’t get it on all the way, but it didn’t make a difference. It is just that even Shanel seems to have problems putting it on in the videos. It takes some fiddling. This is such a minor complaint and I understand that it can’t be an airtight fit. Decarboxylation releases water vapor and carbon dioxide and these must vent out.
Between the silicone and plastic lids, the unit is able to vent water vapor and gasses without stinking up my condo. I live in the Bay Area and I don’t really care about the smell. It always smells like weed in the hallway and it is not just from me.
If you need to be discrete, however, the Lift is pretty much odor free. I decarbed in the oven before this, and it stunk up my place for days. I mean, even decarbing a few grams in an oven will create strong odors. If you seal it tight, water vapor may prevent the material from reaching the right temp.
There is a lot of confusion over decarb times and mine are not constant. The manual that came with my unit says that the complete cycle should take 90 minutes to two hours. All of my cycles take 2 to 2.5 hours to complete, but I don’t think my unit is defective. If I put more herb in, it takes longer. Denser buds take longer. Higher potency herb will probably take longer too, as the H2O from decarb will have some cooling effect.
I get cannabis from an excellent medical dispensary and their buds are very well manicured and super dense. I notice a lot of people in this thread are using home grown, and the one photo shows something quite a bit more airy than what I am using. (Not a knock — it’s so much smarter to grow your own.)
Yesterday I ran two batches. The first one was 14g of very dense (rock hard buds) and potent AC/DC (it filled the container only about 1/3 of the way). It took 2 hours and 15 minutes until I saw the green light. Even though it is high CBD cannabis, I just ran the single cycle. I vape it, so it doesn’t need to be 100% decarbed. I just want to get trapped H20 and CO2 out of the herb, which I believe is what makes vaping decarbed herb more potent.
I waited a little over an hour and did the second batch — 6 g of very dense, very potent Do-Si-Dos. This took 2 hours and 40 minutes, but it came out looking much like the photo in the previous post. It looked just like all of the other herb that only took 2 hours. I put some in my vape and had one massive puff... bang, zoom, straight to the moon. I have vaped this same strain from the same purchase without it being decarbed. Without a doubt, it is way more potent now, and it doesn’t make me sleepy either. So I don’t find that this overcooked the herb at all. My theory is that the cool down time was longer because the thermal blanket was still warm from the prior run, which completed 75 minutes before the Do-Si-Do run.
The other possibility is that the bottom sensor may experience latency, because I put the device on a smooth cooktop. Smooth cooktops are designed to hold in heat. Next time, I will put it on my stainless steel countertop, which should dissipate heat.
My point is, there are so many factors as to why one batch may take 120 minutes and another may go for 150 minutes. The Lift isn’t running on a timer. It uses sensors and an algorithm. Everything from the material to room temperature to batch frequency to device placement can influence the time. It seems like the one that took 2.5 hours just had an extended cool down time, which shouldn’t be harmful. If it stays on for 3 hours or overnight, then you probably have a defective unit. If you crammed 3 oz of material in it, it’s time to RTFM. The manual recommends a max of 7g to 14g. This is weight, not volume.
Keep in mind, people are replacing the silicone cap with aluminum foil. This will shorten the cycle, because aluminum dissipates heat much faster than silicone. The cool down will happen faster. These are the people who seem to get 90 minute cycles. The older silicone cap also seems to have had a looser fit.
I would personally recommend using the silicone cap, because the thermodynamics will be consistent with Ardent’s testing. The Nova/Lift is a system, so I personally wouldn’t hack it. I haven’t found that the silicone cap fouls my herb. Perhaps they improved it.
As for vaping, there seems to be confusion as to why decarbing improves vaping and smoking. (Fatty’s, makers of prerolls for CA dispensaries, decarb all of their herb for their prerolls, which are supposedly quite da bomb. Never tried, not a fan of smoking and I also found plastic pieces in a dispensary’s house preroll, which forever ruined them for me. The hot dogs of the cannabis world, they are!)
https://www.researchgate.net/public...nabinoid_content_of_vaporised_Cannabis_sativa
(Beyond the THCa conversion rates, the study above blew my mind about vape temps. 230° C is optimal. Most self-appointed vape experts are vaping at 170° C, because of some ubiquitous yet unsubstantiated vape temperature chart that has been circulating as the ultimate vape gospel. They will even go so far as to say anything above 200° C is combustion. Just like that Ray Bradbury novel Fahrenheit 392. Your ABV should not still be green! ABV color depends on so many factors, it won’t always look the same. If you see ash, you are combusting. Vape until you get no more vapor!)
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0147286
When you vape or smoke, virtually all of the THCa is converted to THC instantaneously. You may get 1% more by prior decarbing, but that is not the main benefit. When you vape regular herb, decarb happens on the fly. Your vapor will have water vapor and carbon dioxide. This dilutes the potency of your vapor. I haven’t calculated the atomic weights, but since every THC and CBD molecule has a carboxyl group, you get a fair amount of H2O and CO2 when you smoke or vape non-decarbed weed. Also, bone dry herb will produce super thick and remarkably smooth vapor. I can’t believe the clouds I am blowing out of my good ol’ Arizer Extreme (the original one from ten years ago, still tickin’!).
Based on my research and experience, I think the main benefit of smoking or vaping decarbed herb is that it has more THC because there is less H2O and CO2. The actual composition of smoke or vapor has more THC because of this. Don’t expect miracles, but you will probably notice a difference. It feels like my herb is 20-30% stronger and I use much less. The Lift should pay for itself in a few years.
As for the CBN theory, I haven’t experienced a sedative effect with any cannabis decarbed with the Lift. In fact, even couch-lock Indica dominant strains (like Do-Si-Do) turned very psychoactive, but didn’t make me overly sleepy. I even stayed up late and watched Das Boot last night. OK, not all of it. But I didn’t fall asleep on the sofa and wake up at 3am with a sore neck and unbrushed teeth. I hate that!
I haven’t found that the terps are preserved that well, however. It was comparable to my oven decarb, and I put that herb in an uncovered ramekin. I really don’t care about terps. I think they are oversold as part of present day cannabis hype. “Let’s be just like wine snobs”. You can legally buy all of those terps if you want to, or better yet, get a Christmas tree and a pet skunk. I look forward to all the testing that legal cannabis is bringing to CA. I can do without all of the new age mythology. Listening to Steve Roach obsessively is about as new age as I get (and I think he is wrongfully pigeonholed as new age). There is some evidence that terps have medical effects, but they are pretty weak. If terps are important to you, decarbing is probably not the best path. Living in the Bay Area for 20 years and Southern California for almost 10, I have yet to meet a stoner who gives a hoot about terps... even in Humboldt county. In my experience, people obsessed with terps tend to be weed newbies...
Anyway, to make a long story slightly longer, I like my Lift and I’m a satisfied customer. Just don’t totally freak out if it takes 2 hours and 15 minutes or whatever to complete the cycle. The Do-Si-Do that ran for 2h 40m is so stoney, it can’t be overcooked.
And yes, decarbing weed makes it more potent for vaping and smoking. No doubt about it. You also kill any mold or bacteria. So many benefits, but it does mute the terps. I think the tradeoff is more than worth it.
HYB
Diamond Dog
I still haven't gotten to buying this, and I don't know if I ever will because once again I can't reach anyone from CS. Back in January when I noticed the 230v was available, I went back and searched for a private discount code I got for all the ordering troubles last year back when they had a problem with the payment system, and it wouldnt let me order. Only the code doesn't work anymore, because the 230v missed the original launch window of 3 months by a long shot (originally this was supposed to be launched June-July last year, it wasn't and I stopped checking back sometime around oct-nov). If I had known the 230v was taking such a long time, I would have ordered the US version. I reached out to CS to know if they can reactivate it, and expected at least an answering telling me why they can't or something, but since January nothing.
I'm not so worried about getting the discount to work, but as someone living in a different country to the manufacturer, having to pay the steep shipping fees all I'd ask is that I'd receive an answer if I ran into any problems on my product. I can't trust that I'd receive a response from CS right now and it's really bumming me out, since I really want to buy this thing even without the discount but I can't trust a company with such consistently bad CS.
Has anyone had trouble with the CS lately or have they gone and changed their CS mail address? Because I definitely don't want to bash the company and I'm thinking if it's a wrong address I e-mailed and such. I did use the contact form on their site too though.
I'm not so worried about getting the discount to work, but as someone living in a different country to the manufacturer, having to pay the steep shipping fees all I'd ask is that I'd receive an answer if I ran into any problems on my product. I can't trust that I'd receive a response from CS right now and it's really bumming me out, since I really want to buy this thing even without the discount but I can't trust a company with such consistently bad CS.
Has anyone had trouble with the CS lately or have they gone and changed their CS mail address? Because I definitely don't want to bash the company and I'm thinking if it's a wrong address I e-mailed and such. I did use the contact form on their site too though.
aj0125
Well-Known Member
I went ahead and ordered one as I’ve never had good luck decarbing my oil in the oven and hope this method will work better. I ordered it three days ago and got a shipping notice today, very surprised as I went with the free shipping. I’m really curious when it will actually end up here. I called them and left them a message with a question that same day and Ive still never heard a response so it is clear where their priorities are...
I am thinking about ordering some of these (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KWTGAVQ/ref=sspa_mw_detail_1?psc=1 ) for decarbing and making some edibles, seem pretty versatile and same price as a silicone shot glass.
I am thinking about ordering some of these (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KWTGAVQ/ref=sspa_mw_detail_1?psc=1 ) for decarbing and making some edibles, seem pretty versatile and same price as a silicone shot glass.