Dabpress Rosin Plates

[pxl_jockey]

@Hackerman Thank you sir, you explain things very well and thoroughly. After reading of your method, I immediately thought of my wife’s “Instant Pot” which can hold temperatures precisely. Put the rosin in a small jar with lid, add water to machine. It comes with a little trivet that keeps jars upright and off the bottom. They make a sous vide attachment that circulates the water but I don’t have it, I’m not sure it’s needed for this purpose? I thought that was only necessary for doing meats. I will have to look into this further!

I still need to get some of that sunflower lecithin, I’ve heard it really does increase bioavailability. TY!

 

[Hackerman]

Nice method @Hackerman I also like the sous vide idea, I wonder if it's in a vacuum sealed bag if it will retain those terpenes?

Yeah, it sure seems to. I have horrible tolerance problems and since I have been using sous vide to decarb and infuse, I am actually getting high again after many years. And, with doses that are in the realm of reality.

For the longest time, my dose was 2 grams of rosin. That's like 1500 to 1700 mg of THC. A buddy at a bar offered me a 10mg gummy last week. I just said, "You got a hundred of 'em?" LOL

I am dosing today with some sous vide experiments.

But, to answer your question, yes, absolutely. And, for me, so far, it seems to be making a huge difference.

You can simulate sous vide with a pot of water and a technique to use regulas ziplock baggies. But, you need a watchful eye to keep the temperature consistant. And, the cheap sous vide units are all under 100 bux. Cheap experiment, I figured. It sure paid off for me.

It worked so fucking well for my pot...... I'm actually going to try it on some chicken. LOL

 

[Alexis]

Thanks guys for sharing this great wealth of knowledge with us (relatively to us that is of course).
@psychonaut Again so simply and clearly explained is your rosin decarb method. Everytime you describe a technical process I actually feel full confidence about being able to go about it myself, and your method above I could see myself having a crack at seeing as we have a new oven with a nice big glass door and light.

Reading that reminded me I wanted to ask about my one and only press last week (Im waiting on suitable usage hardware still and no energy to spend time exploring my less ideal options here), when it bubbled and fizzed at the end- is this a good sign? Bad sign? To be avoided, as in overcooking, too much heat too long (I followed @invertedisdead 's approach of 220, went just over 2 mins I think.)

But I kind of felt at the time and was certain afterwards that I could have used a good bit more pressure the first press of the puck. So I didn't know if the bubbling and fizzing which suddenly came to life in the last 10 seconds or so was due to the fact I needed more pressure and therefore a little more time was needed even at that temperature for an increased yield in which case I possibly pulled out slightly too early?

Or the other way and you generally want to avoid reaching that kind of audible level of activity?

Just curious because I saw it mentioned elsewhere about avoiding this fizzy sound. So I have a better idea how to interpret this feedback. So just a simple word would be plenty to go on.
Thanks guys, splendid evenings to you all.

 

[invertedisdead]

I'm not sure but I think the bubbling is pretty normal. Did it look like this?

 

[Alexis]

I'm not sure but I think the bubbling is pretty normal. Did it look like this?

There wasnt enough rosin to be visible like that. I showed the "flow" in my post in one pic. Just a dark rosin visible between the plates. I mean, it's no issue at all. Just curiosity really.
That volcanic activity meant something though, so I just hope to learn about timing and other variables to use that feedback. Plenty of time to figure this out though. And you know me, always focused on the little things that hardly matter to everybody else.

This year's crop is really beginning to cure and gain potency now. And it is all quite dense and big nugs too. Like the majority of it could be pressed without a filter- pick your bud, we do all sizes hehe.
So Im looking forward to not being restricted and tied to using filters. I could freely use any strain any size nug I think but let's get me some experience first and I'll have a better idea.

Hope you have been fully enjoying your AMAZING Cali flower rosin this weekend.

 

[psychonaut]

I get the sizzling and bubbling with my flower presses. If you can position the puck closer to the edge of the plates (not too close!) you can get an idea how the flow is going by watching the bubbling and flow since most of it should be oozing out the front. During my presses the majority of rosin comes out in the first half of the press, then it sort of trickles out for the last half. I've gone anywhere between 2-4 mins on a 220F press, watching the flow to make the determination on if it's done or not.

@invertedisdead that is some great looking rosin, very clear and clean! Nice squish Was that flower?

 

[ACitizenOfCo]

A few last questions.

First, when the screws are screwed in, do they actually penetrate the rod? Or are they just used to center the plates?

Second, assuming they are not screwed in, am I correct in deducing that the rod would make contact with the plate? Or some type of thermal pad? Is the bottom of the rod a flat circle or at all concave?

Third, for those that have mentioned aligning the 3x3 plates, assuming the plates are flat and even, are we talking about rotational alignment? As in, as the piston presses down, perhaps because of the way the piston moves or rotates, are we talking about aligning the rotation of the plates during the squeeze? I've heard I'll need thermal gloves, is that so?

To inform those that have contributed, I am leaning towards the 3x3 due to bubble or, eventually, sift pressing.

I know I've asked before, but is there a consensus between bubble and sift concerning cost of entry, ease of production, and quality?

Again, I really appreciate those that can shed light on this.

To further inform, I'm about to get a press to make rosin, but I'm worried I over dried. (legal, personal Colorado grow, where humidity is tough given my set up).

Is it better to make bubble or sift with dry stuff? If I over dried a bit, is it possible to make bubble or sift and still press it?

You all are like batman x superman. Otherwise ordinary people behind computers, maybe at a campus or coffee shop.

I keep my tabs open in lecture. I look at other people's tabs. If rollitup or FC were there, I'd see them.

Consider this my bat signal.

 

[superdang9000]

Well, I harvested one of my outdoor Sunset Sherbet plants over the weekend. I decided to use this one purely for processing so I lopped off all the buds, did some light trimming, and threw them in the freezer. Got about 9 oz of dry ice sift and started pressing it with my dp-bj6t35 late yesterday evening.

I've never pressed hash or kief before so it was a bit of a learning experience. I had a few blowouts, even when applying pressure very gradually, and relatively low. After a few rounds, I started packing the bags with muuuuch less material (the first run was 25g for reference). Now I'm sitting closer to about 10g per run with some room in the bag leftover so it can spread and fill the gaps before applying more pressure.

I've had significantly better results with that technique but I'm wondering what others are having good success with? I'm using 37u bags resting horizontally on the 3x5 plates, temp on PID @ 175 (closer to 165 on the plates themselves).

Also curious what others might be doing for storage in this type of scenario? I'm planning to finish pressing the rest today, but I threw it back in the freezer overnight so there's less of a chance for mold. I'm sure it'll affect terpenes to a certain extent, but I figured that's probably better than risking any mold.

 

[Alexis]

Well, I harvested one of my outdoor Sunset Sherbet plants over the weekend. I decided to use this one purely for processing so I lopped off all the buds, did some light trimming, and threw them in the freezer. Got about 9 oz of dry ice sift and started pressing it with my dp-bj6t35 late yesterday evening.

I've never pressed hash or kief before so it was a bit of a learning experience. I had a few blowouts, even when applying pressure very gradually, and relatively low. After a few rounds, I started packing the bags with muuuuch less material (the first run was 25g for reference). Now I'm sitting closer to about 10g per run with some room in the bag leftover so it can spread and fill the gaps before applying more pressure.

I've had significantly better results with that technique but I'm wondering what others are having good success with? I'm using 37u bags resting horizontally on the 3x5 plates, temp on PID @ 175 (closer to 165 on the plates themselves).

Also curious what others might be doing for storage in this type of scenario? I'm planning to finish pressing the rest today, but I threw it back in the freezer overnight so there's less of a chance for mold. I'm sure it'll affect terpenes to a certain extent, but I figured that's probably better than risking any mold.

Woah, 9 OZ of sift? What sort of monstrous yield do you think you may have had, dry bud wise?
Like 50 OZ or more? Just curious that's all, you really dont need to answer. But I did have to re-read that a few times.

 

[superdang9000]

Woah, 9 OZ of sift? What sort of monstrous yield do you think you may have had, dry bud wise?
Like 50 OZ or more? Just curious that's all, you really dont need to answer. But I did have to re-read that a few times.

Haha, I was in shock too! Hard to gauge from wet weight, but the plant was in a 100 gallon pot and was quite a bit taller than me (I'm 6'5"), and nearly as wide.

Admittedly, I pushed the sifting a little farther than I normally would, started getting a bit of plant matter toward the end of the run.

 

[greenstatevt]

This thread has my brain spinning... just got thru all 55 pages... damn... buying a press has moved quickly to the top of things to buy list... Now... what to sell.

 

[psychonaut]

@ACitizenOfCo

1. The screws do not penetrate the ram, they just tighten against it to hold itself in place.

2. The bottom of the ram on the shop press will be flat, so it will make good contact to the inside of the top platen when mounted. This is why I suggest a piece of hardwood cut to fit inside the top platen before securing to the ram to reduce heat draining into the shop press.

3. The plate can twist around on the axis where the screws mount it to the top ram. Some thermal gloves can help to prevent burning your fingers on the 200F+ heated plates, but you should only need to make any adjustments prior to applying pressure as it should maintain it's position once the pressure is applied and no longer have that twisting on it's axis ability.

Bubblehash is going to have a higher risk as you have a LOT more material being ran at once potentially, and also the issue of blowouts. Pressing hash and sift requires a bit of finesse but those who are doing it love it. It's a great way to squish out a lot of rosin at once, but there's the added time and effort of processing it into hash first. I'm a flower squisher myself but not for lack of trying, my yields on hash haven't been the best so I've avoided it!

If your material is over dried, sure, you can hash or sift it, my understanding is the humidity levels of hash are not a big help when compared to pressing flowers. There are videos out there of processing hash using bubble hash bags with dry ice, it's a very quick process compared to ice-water hashing or dry sifting using screens and ground bud.

I wouldn't be worrying about mold at all unless you are pressing very wet material without filters. If you dab the pressed rosin and there's no sizzling and popping, I would assume there's little to no water moisture in the rosin. Storing it in the fridge or freezer is fine, I would just suggest to have it in a sealed container AND also inside a ziplock bag for storage.

@greenstatevt Welcome to the thread! We occasionally also have some of models as refurbished sold on ebay, seller name "dabpresscom" if you don't mind this type of product, it can help you save money.

 

[ACitizenOfCo]

@ACitizenOfCo

1. The screws do not penetrate the ram, they just tighten against it to hold itself in place.

2. The bottom of the ram on the shop press will be flat, so it will make good contact to the inside of the top platen when mounted. This is why I suggest a piece of hardwood cut to fit inside the top platen before securing to the ram to reduce heat draining into the shop press.

3. The plate can twist around on the axis where the screws mount it to the top ram. Some thermal gloves can help to prevent burning your fingers on the 200F+ heated plates, but you should only need to make any adjustments prior to applying pressure as it should maintain it's position once the pressure is applied and no longer have that twisting on it's axis ability.

Bubblehash is going to have a higher risk as you have a LOT more material being ran at once potentially, and also the issue of blowouts. Pressing hash and sift requires a bit of finesse but those who are doing it love it. It's a great way to squish out a lot of rosin at once, but there's the added time and effort of processing it into hash first. I'm a flower squisher myself but not for lack of trying, my yields on hash haven't been the best so I've avoided it!

If your material is over dried, sure, you can hash or sift it, my understanding is the humidity levels of hash are not a big help when compared to pressing flowers. There are videos out there of processing hash using bubble hash bags with dry ice, it's a very quick process compared to ice-water hashing or dry sifting using screens and ground bud.

I wouldn't be worrying about mold at all unless you are pressing very wet material without filters. If you dab the pressed rosin and there's no sizzling and popping, I would assume there's little to no water moisture in the rosin. Storing it in the fridge or freezer is fine, I would just suggest to have it in a sealed container AND also inside a ziplock bag for storage.

@greenstatevt Welcome to the thread! We occasionally also have some of models as refurbished sold on ebay, seller name "dabpresscom" if you don't mind this type of product, it can help you save money.

I found a psychonaut on youtube. The name being quite rare, am I correct in assuming that that's you?

 

[psychonaut]

I found a psychonaut on youtube. The name being quite rare, am I correct in assuming that that's you?

Yep that's me! I dont publish much on there anymore mostly due to lack of time but I have a number of squish videos and jams for viewers entertainment, or not =)

 

[invertedisdead]

Purple Punch flower rosin, ran this through the 50u bag @psychonaut

 

[ACitizenOfCo]

@psychonaut, Thank you!

I'm going to get a dake b 10 with the 3x3s to start. I really want to start small scale and, if the need ever arises, get a 3x5 or 3x7 caged. It's also about cost of entry. I saw the 3x3s on ebay for 179. I'll probably just get from dabpress for 199.

Regarding hash, I have a good amount of trim and some larf that I'd like to try making hash with. I'm not worried about losing any of that material.

Can everyone recommend the essentials for starting? What type of parchment paper? Should I get and keep the rosin in small 1-2 g containers? Do I need a non- slip mat or a base of some sort from amazon?

Thank you to everyone that helped me make this decision.

After putting some bovedas in my jars, I think the humidity isn't too bad. The flowers are still gooey, spongy, etc. Though there is a bit of snap to the small branches.

 

[ACitizenOfCo]

Yep that's me! I dont publish much on there anymore mostly due to lack of time but I have a number of squish videos and jams for viewers entertainment, or not =)

Man... you were the first videos I watched at the start of this rosin experiment.

I noticed you transitioned from 3x3 to 3x7, right?

I know you've already talked about it, but just to recap, you didn't notice much of a decrease in quality of rosin produced, correct?

Would you mind explaining your logic again, now that I can put your online profiles together.

Was the 3x3 undersized? You mentioned in the videos that twisting was only a minor issue.

I can't thank you enough for your contributions. This forum needs an awards party. Call it the FC-dundees. (The office reference, to those who haven't seen it). We can host it at the local neighborhood chilis.

 

[invertedisdead]

@psychonaut, Thank you!

I'm going to get a dake b 10 with the 3x3s to start. I really want to start small scale and, if the need ever arises, get a 3x5 or 3x7 caged. It's also about cost of entry. I saw the 3x3s on ebay for 179. I'll probably just get from dabpress for 199.

Regarding hash, I have a good amount of trim and some larf that I'd like to try making hash with. I'm not worried about losing any of that material.

Can everyone recommend the essentials for starting? What type of parchment paper? Should I get and keep the rosin in small 1-2 g containers? Do I need a non- slip mat or a base of some sort from amazon?

Thank you to everyone that helped me make this decision.

After putting some bovedas in my jars, I think the humidity isn't too bad. The flowers are still gooey, spongy, etc. Though there is a bit of snap to the small branches.

A lot of people do bubble hash with their larf but I would be tempted to try a dry sift since it just seems a lot easier and I'm a lazy river. Been wanting to rig up or pick up a used tumbler or something to xperiment with... it's all getting filtered into a full melt anyways I figure. But for some reason the pros tend to go bubble hash first so perhaps there's something there that I'm missing.

I've heard of some people running dry sift tumblers in scientific chest freezers so it freezes the trichome stalks and the heads fall off, just like bubble hash. but without any of the water so no fiddly drying is required.

I like Reynolds. Kirkland is alright too. I'm still wanting to try that professional 35 lb parchment paper though. Been using the unbleached If You Care parchment, I squished a 1g test nug the other day and it was so hard to see if I had collected it.

Your setup sounds dope to me, would be great for 7g bottle tech bags. I'd grab the cylindrical pre press, IMO essential part of the tool box. I always suggest storing in glass containers. I don't think size matters that much but what does matter is the less filled your jar is, the more room there will be for oxygen to oxidize so something to keep in mind.

I would also recommend nitrile gloves, something my buddy @psychonaut got me into. I like wearing these when I prepare rosin now, keeps everything clean and easy to work with, especially when processing larger amounts and fresher material.

 

[psychonaut]

@psychonaut, Thank you!

I'm going to get a dake b 10 with the 3x3s to start. I really want to start small scale and, if the need ever arises, get a 3x5 or 3x7 caged. It's also about cost of entry. I saw the 3x3s on ebay for 179. I'll probably just get from dabpress for 199.

Regarding hash, I have a good amount of trim and some larf that I'd like to try making hash with. I'm not worried about losing any of that material.

Can everyone recommend the essentials for starting? What type of parchment paper? Should I get and keep the rosin in small 1-2 g containers? Do I need a non- slip mat or a base of some sort from amazon?

Thank you to everyone that helped me make this decision.

After putting some bovedas in my jars, I think the humidity isn't too bad. The flowers are still gooey, spongy, etc. Though there is a bit of snap to the small branches.

That's a great path! Dake b10 is a fantastic press and the gauge is the tits

3x3 is great for pressing 7-10g at once with a pre-press mold and filters, I think it's a great option to start out with. I'm not a huge fan of recommending to go small and step your way up, it can cost you more down the road (or it can save you as it may be all you need?)

I like reynolds parchment myself, but others like RAW. Just make sure it's not thin cheap stuff, you want it a little on the heavier side or else you need to use layers of parchment which may end up costing you more down the road. I like the small glass containers you get dabs at the caregiver or dispensary. Silicone containers are my second recommendation. You probably only need half a dozen of 'em, and they're easy to re-use and clean.

Grab a good hygrometer if you dont already, to make sure the buds stay above 55% RH for pressing =) Use the salt water method to check your hygrometer calibration. This is important, I cant stress it enough!

Man... you were the first videos I watched at the start of this rosin experiment.

I noticed you transitioned from 3x3 to 3x7, right?

I know you've already talked about it, but just to recap, you didn't notice much of a decrease in quality of rosin produced, correct?

Would you mind explaining your logic again, now that I can put your online profiles together.

Was the 3x3 undersized? You mentioned in the videos that twisting was only a minor issue.

I can't thank you enough for your contributions. This forum needs an awards party. Call it the FC-dundees. (The office reference, to those who haven't seen it). We can host it at the local neighborhood chilis.

Thank you for the kind words, that is humbling and I would prefer no award and just ask that rosineers pay knowledge forward. I learned a lot from FC's @invertedisdead @shredder @JCat, John Berfelo and Marcus Bubbleman on YT, not to mention all those other rosin pioneers across the web! They are the folks who need the biggest up's!

I went from 3x7 -> 3x5 ->3x3->2.5x7 (quad plates)->3x5 =)

I press 5-14g of buds at once on this setup using the hr10t35 (10 ton unit). I could probably do 21g at once but I dont need that much rosin to fill my tank.

3x3" is probably fine for me but I like having a small AIO unit without a shop press in my rosin room, gives me more space for bongs and other accessories. Just a personal preference, the shop press is still the heavy duty king of pressing IMO! Also a very affordable path.

 

[JCat]

That's a great path! Dake b10 is a fantastic press and the gauge is the tits

3x3 is great for pressing 7-10g at once with a pre-press mold and filters, I think it's a great option to start out with. I'm not a huge fan of recommending to go small and step your way up, it can cost you more down the road (or it can save you as it may be all you need?)

I like reynolds parchment myself, but others like RAW. Just make sure it's not thin cheap stuff, you want it a little on the heavier side or else you need to use layers of parchment which may end up costing you more down the road. I like the small glass containers you get dabs at the caregiver or dispensary. Silicone containers are my second recommendation. You probably only need half a dozen of 'em, and they're easy to re-use and clean.

Grab a good hygrometer if you dont already, to make sure the buds stay above 55% RH for pressing =) Use the salt water method to check your hygrometer calibration. This is important, I cant stress it enough!




Thank you for the kind words, that is humbling and I would prefer no award and just ask that rosineers pay knowledge forward. I learned a lot from FC's @invertedisdead @shredder @JCat, John Berfelo and Marcus Bubbleman on YT, not to mention all those other rosin pioneers across the web! They are the folks who need the biggest up's!

I went from 3x7 -> 3x5 ->3x3->2.5x7 (quad plates)->3x5 =)

I press 5-14g of buds at once on this setup using the hr10t35 (10 ton unit). I could probably do 21g at once but I dont need that much rosin to fill my tank.

3x3" is probably fine for me but I like having a small AIO unit without a shop press in my rosin room, gives me more space for bongs and other accessories. Just a personal preference, the shop press is still the heavy duty king of pressing IMO! Also a very affordable path.

I'm still learning ... thanks for the kind words @psychonaut but I'm not sure how much of a pioneer I am ... I'm learning with the rest of you (I'm a quick learner though )

 

[psychonaut]

I'm still learning ... thanks for the kind words @psychonaut but I'm not sure how much of a pioneer I am ... I'm learning with the rest of you (I'm a quick learner though )

You build your own rosin press, like @Hackerman ya'll are HUGE contributors IMO! TY =)

 

[superdang9000]

My dry ice sift experiment worked out okay, but I do think a large amount of what I collected ended up being plant material (and residual moisture, since it was fresh frozen).

Because it was my first time both dry ice sifting AND pressing hash/kief, I'm positive there were lots of errors. Ended up with a little over 2 ounces of rosin from 9 oz of hash, pressing at 175 degrees on the PID. However, I had blowouts for the first 5 or 6 attempts, which totaled to around 75 grams of hash that I didn't bother collecting and set aside to either re-press or use for edibles.

I think I finally got the hang of pressing the hash in 37u bags, it's definitely different than flower and requires a lot more finesse and "feel" of the product. Even halfway through the entire run, I don't think I was even close to maximizing my pressing efficiency. I feel a bit more confident now... of course at the end of the entire run... but just in time to harvest my second plant!

I'm not too worried about the efficiency, since I'll be using it one way or another. But it'd be nice to get my process down. Back to studying and watching YouTube videos, I guess.

If anybody has any resources or advice, I'd sure appreciate it. There's a lot of info out there, but it's not always easy to sort out what the current tech or best methods are.

 

[psychonaut]

@superdang9000 this video was helpful when I was doing research on dry ice sift -> rosin. It's not a quick view but good none the less. About half of the video is dedicated to the dry ice sifting, the other half is for pressing the sift. He's using a pure pressure commercial grade unit with pneumatic but I think the general gist of it should be applicable to your press. Seems the key is to go slow.

EDIT: Actually he's using a hydraulic press for this.

 

[invertedisdead]

If anybody has any resources or advice, I'd sure appreciate it. There's a lot of info out there, but it's not always easy to sort out what the current tech or best methods are.

Best tip I know for squishing hash is to apply very gentle pressure at first and let it sort of turn into an old school hash brick first and then ease into it slowly to melt those oils out.

Depending on the starting material consistency just with hand pressure, I sometimes like to kind of puck it out a bit so the corners are packed well and the load is condensed a bit already so there's not a bunch of dead space as soon as I give it two cranks.

 

[superdang9000]

@superdang9000 this video was helpful when I was doing research on dry ice sift -> rosin. It's not a quick view but good none the less. About half of the video is dedicated to the dry ice sifting, the other half is for pressing the sift. He's using a pure pressure commercial grade unit with pneumatic but I think the general gist of it should be applicable to your press. Seems the key is to go slow.

EDIT: Actually he's using a hydraulic press for this.

So, I did actually watch that video before doing my runs. The part that that seemed off for me is the amount of time it took to get a nice flow going. Pedro is showing some good flow @ about the 1 minute mark. Whereas mine took a good 3 or 4 minutes at times for the rosin to start steadily seeping away from the plates. I had to apply pressure EXTREMELY gradually to avoid blowouts. Some of my presses even hit the 6 minute mark or more. Maybe it's because my starting material wasn't as high quality? But I feel like I'm still doing something wrong. I don't know if he mentions how much he's pressing in each bag, mine varied from about 10g to 12g after that first 25g incident.