Herboven Decarboxylator

BabyFacedFinster

Anything worth doing, is worth overdoing.
I just ordered one of these off Amazon for $100.


I read a shit ton of threads on Ardent, pressure cookers, Instapots, temperature probes and decided to give this thing a try. The Ardent FX is too big and expensive for my needs. I only need to decarb 1-2g of concentrate or maybe 5-7g of herb at any time and don't plan on making my edibles in it. While there seems to be mixed reports on the build quality of the Nova (Lift), most say it does the job. However this Herboven is half the price and seems to have similar technology in terms of the probes and heating, plus it has 3 temp settings so I can decarb at 250F and infuse oil at 180F (if I want). Using concentrates, I don't see the need to infuse as much as simply mixing the decarb concentrate with oil or melted chocolate, etc.

All the other DIY stuff is just more of a pain than I want to bother with. My home oven works shitty at maintaining 240F. I just want to properly decarb a little shatter and not create a whole 'nother world to my hobbies.

So here goes. I'll update my experiences as I go. If it sucks I'll have 30 days to return it.
 
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BabyFacedFinster

Anything worth doing, is worth overdoing.
Ok, it's been a while, but I wanted to put several runs though it before commenting.

I must state that I have not decarbed buds with it yet, only concentrates. But using shatter in edibles is just so easy.

So far here is my feeling... It works pretty well. To make things less messy I picked up a tiny 50ml pyrex beaker which I place in the heating chamber and decarb my shatter in that. I notice that after 25-30 min @ 250F the bubbling is pretty much over. I have then added coconut oil and lecithin to the beaker, using the heat to dissolve the shatter easily. Successful attempts (not stupid human error) have produced some enjoyable medicine. So do I know the percent of THCA converted over time?...no, but for at least half the price of a Nova the thing does what it's supposed to. Using an IR probe, the heating chamber seems to get pretty close to the set temps.

My only brief and initial findings so far are:

Pros-
Cheap alternative to Ardent Nova
Three heat settings to choose from (but decarbing at 250F)
Works as advertised- my shatter is active
easy to program and set
not odor proof, but not much odor until you open the lid in the house

Cons-
Heating chamber is non-removable for cleaning
more for decarbing only - not for all in one baking like the FX
Odor resistant not odor proof
can't set timer shorter than 30 min
cannot core a apple

That's it for now. I'm very happy with my purchase. I just needed a dependable and fairly accurate decarber and it does that well, at least with concentrates. Looking forward to some others experiences with decarbing flower.
 
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shredder

Well-Known Member
Ok, it's been a while, but I wanted to put several runs though it before commenting.

I must state that I have not decarbed buds with it yet, only concentrates. But using shatter in edibles is just so easy.

So far here is my feeling... It works pretty well. To make things less messy I picked up a tiny 50ml pyrex beaker which I place in the heating chamber and decarb my shatter in that. I notice that after 25-30 min @ 250F the bubbling is pretty much over. I have then added coconut oil and lecithin to the beaker, using the heat to dissolve the shatter easily. Successful attempts (not stupid human error) have produced some enjoyable medicine. So do I know the percent of THCA converted over time?...no, but for at least half the price of a Nova the thing does what it's supposed to. Using an IR probe, the heating chamber seems to get pretty close to the set temps.

My only brief and initial findings so far are:

Pros-
Cheap alternative to Ardent Nova
Three heat settings to choose from (but decarbing at 250F)
Works as advertised- my shatter is active
easy to program and set
not odor proof, but not much odor until you open the lid in the house

Cons-
Heating chamber is non-removable for cleaning
more for decarbing only - not for all in one baking like the FX
Odor resistant not odor proof
can't set timer shorter than 30 min
cannot core a apple

That's it for now. I'm very happy with my purchase. I just needed a dependable and fairly accurate decarber and it does that well, at least with concentrates. Looking forward to some others experiences with decarbing flower.

Thanks for the review. How much does it hold?

I use a shot glass or a 50ml beaker for concentrates as well. (Nova fx)I usually cover the containers with a piece of foil to try to retain terpenes, no idea if it does, lol.

I decarb rosin in the cbd mode. It goes longer in that mode. I'd love to see testing with these things with concentrates. I do quite a bit of sift hash too.

Ime it's pretty hard to over decarb rosin or feco. Over decarbing does change the effects though. It becomes more couchlock with a racy headbuzz. At least for my wife and I.
 

BabyFacedFinster

Anything worth doing, is worth overdoing.
Thanks for the review. How much does it hold?

I use a shot glass or a 50ml beaker for concentrates as well. (Nova fx)I usually cover the containers with a piece of foil to try to retain terpenes, no idea if it does, lol.

I decarb rosin in the cbd mode. It goes longer in that mode. I'd love to see testing with these things with concentrates. I do quite a bit of sift hash too.

Ime it's pretty hard to over decarb rosin or feco. Over decarbing does change the effects though. It becomes more couchlock with a racy headbuzz. At least for my wife and I.
I've not tried to load it up with flower yet, but the diameter of the chamber is around 2.5in and 4in deep. Several reviews say that you can fit an ounce of herb.

I have been experiencing some new types of high from these edibles. Actually some times I'll make edibles but other times I've made a alcohol or mct oil based tincture and just add whatever to my drink. I have one everclear tincture that came from a sativa shatter. I only decarbed it for 30 minutes which I suspect increased the already heady high. That shit will send you on a magic carpet ride, and if you take it on an empty stomach you're on a long journey. But using an indica with a 45 min decarb you can make some nice sleep medicine.

I don't like opening the lid very much during the decarb, but I bet most bubbles are gone from my shatter after 20 minutes or so.

I'll also say that I like the controls on the unit. Unlike a lot of electronics where you have to really press each button with some force, this has more of a touch screen interface. It seems to be well made with durable construction.
 

Twizzy

Member
Hello, my herboven just arrived. I'm going to try 1g of shatter at 250* for 30ish minutes. After, I want to add MCT and lecithin for another 20 minutes at 180*. How much of each would you recommend? This mixture will be added to simple syrup for drinking.
 

BabyFacedFinster

Anything worth doing, is worth overdoing.
Hello, my herboven just arrived. I'm going to try 1g of shatter at 250* for 30ish minutes. After, I want to add MCT and lecithin for another 20 minutes at 180*. How much of each would you recommend? This mixture will be added to simple syrup for drinking.

Based on my readings here I use a 1:1 ratio. For a gram of shatter I weigh out a gram of sunflower lecithin.

The amount of mct would be based on how dilute you want it. For 1g of shatter, using 30ml of mct oil gives me around 20mg of THC per 1ml of tincture, but you could dissolve the shatter in much less if you wanted a more concentrated tincture.
 

Cheebsy

Microbe minion
I've just discovered there is now a 240v version on Amazon UK. It's pretty tempting but I do find a jar in the oven works pretty well for me, and I never really bother cleaning the jar, I just put it in the cupboard until I need to use it again. It's quite extravagant to run the oven just for a jar of bud though.
 

mnocito

New Member
Being new to edibles I got tired of DYI methods for decarbing, mainly because I sucked at it. Finally I broke down and bought a decarber on Amazon. Sweet baby Jesus this was much better. Set it for 1 of 3 temps and forget it. I paid about $100 for it and I know I wasted more than that trying to learn to decarb.

I was also surprised that it does a kick ass job of infusing oil-based food like butter, or coconut oil). Similar to how a crockpot would. It fits about 1/2 an ounce, which is perfect for me because I cook in small batches. Of all my gear this is one of my favorites.

My main product has been infused coconut oil in this machine. I pour it into some butter molds (they have the dosage lines on the side) and add it to either coffee, or I have found heating it up in water and dumping some MIO in it works. Get the refined version of less coconut flavor.
 
mnocito,
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RustyOldNail

SEARCH for the treasure...
I just ordered one of these off Amazon for $100.


I read a shit ton of threads on Ardent, pressure cookers, Instapots, temperature probes and decided to give this thing a try. The Ardent FX is too big and expensive for my needs. I only need to decarb 1-2g of concentrate or maybe 5-7g of herb at any time and don't plan on making my edibles in it. While there seems to be mixed reports on the build quality of the Nova (Lift), most say it does the job. However this Herboven is half the price and seems to have similar technology in terms of the probes and heating, plus it has 3 temp settings so I can decarb at 250F and infuse oil at 180F (if I want). Using concentrates, I don't see the need to infuse as much as simply mixing the decarb concentrate with oil or melted chocolate, etc.

All the other DIY stuff is just more of a pain than I want to bother with. My home oven works shitty at maintaining 240F. I just want to properly decarb a little shatter and not create a whole 'nother world to my hobbies.

So here goes. I'll update my experiences as I go. If it sucks I'll have 30 days to return it.

Bummer, I was looking into this for EXACTLY the reasons you bought it. NO LONGER being sold on Amazon, and hard to find online. eBay has one from Europe, for $140. I live in US. Wondering if the company is or going out of business. I live the really small size. Bummer....
 

BabyFacedFinster

Anything worth doing, is worth overdoing.
Bummer, I was looking into this for EXACTLY the reasons you bought it. NO LONGER being sold on Amazon, and hard to find online. eBay has one from Europe, for $140. I live in US. Wondering if the company is or going out of business. I live the really small size. Bummer....
I noticed a few weeks ago that they're not on Amazon anymore. It is a shame because they do work well. The only con was the chamber sleeve is not removable for cleaning.

I do see that they are selling the Nova on Amazon for around $155, which is much cheaper than in the past. I understand they just discontinued making them, but not a bad price for a similar functioning device. It doesn't have heat settings, but it's supposed to somehow adjust temps when decarbing.
 
BabyFacedFinster,

RustyOldNail

SEARCH for the treasure...
I noticed a few weeks ago that they're not on Amazon anymore. It is a shame because they do work well. The only con was the chamber sleeve is not removable for cleaning.

I do see that they are selling the Nova on Amazon for around $155, which is much cheaper than in the past. I understand they just discontinued making them, but not a bad price for a similar functioning device. It doesn't have heat settings, but it's supposed to somehow adjust temps when decarbing.

Yeah, I wanted the heat settings. Oh well, at least on a hot plate, I could watch bubbles and stir, and know exactly when bubbles are done. Thanks.
 

OG-lkv

New Member
I just ordered one of these off Amazon for $100.


I read a shit ton of threads on Ardent, pressure cookers, Instapots, temperature probes and decided to give this thing a try. The Ardent FX is too big and expensive for my needs. I only need to decarb 1-2g of concentrate or maybe 5-7g of herb at any time and don't plan on making my edibles in it. While there seems to be mixed reports on the build quality of the Nova (Lift), most say it does the job. However this Herboven is half the price and seems to have similar technology in terms of the probes and heating, plus it has 3 temp settings so I can decarb at 250F and infuse oil at 180F (if I want). Using concentrates, I don't see the need to infuse as much as simply mixing the decarb concentrate with oil or melted chocolate, etc.

All the other DIY stuff is just more of a pain than I want to bother with. My home oven works shitty at maintaining 240F. I just want to properly decarb a little shatter and not create a whole 'nother world to my hobbies.

So here goes. I'll update my experiences as I go. If it sucks I'll have 30 days to return it.
Y'all be careful with these machines that have aluminum inside. Baking with alminium foil for almunim products causes Alzheimers and Dementia! You want glass or stainless steel inside your baking devices!

Modnote: If you have a question or comment regarding material safety, post it in General Discussion. Do not post it in a model thread.

Preferring glass or steel is fine, however, controversial claims not backed by sound research are dangerous and we don't wan't to spread misinformation here.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

shredder

Well-Known Member

Twizzy

Member
I usually decarb 1 g of shatter for 28 minutes until there are no more bubbles. The effects are felt after 2 hours in both head and body and are similar to smoking.

Yesterday I attempted to decarb 2 grams and there were still plenty of bubbles at 30m.

I let it ride for another 12 minutes and when I turned off the herb oven there were lots of wispy bubbles on top. The effects are more akin to the CB family, which is fine before bed.

So for anyone who's had success decarbing multiple grams, what am I missing here?
 

BabyFacedFinster

Anything worth doing, is worth overdoing.
My understanding is if there is still significant bubbling then the decarb isn't over yet. I always set mine for 50 min to account for heat up time. I decarb in a 50ml pyrex beaker that I place in the unit. If I over-decarb a little it's fine. I use edibles for sleep so extra stoney medicine is good for me. Never had a sample look like it was still actively bubbling (and not just a few bubbles) after 50 min.
Are you sure you had it set on 250F and not the 180F setting?
 

macbill

Oh No! Mr macbill!!
Staff member
I've found the more grams I'm decarbing the more time it takes to decarb. I often decarb 7 to 14 grams of concentrate in the Herboven. I set it at 300 for 45 minutes. It seems I still have to finish on a 300 degree hot plate as large bubbles still occur as I stir the bottom of my 25 ml beaker. Eventually, the large bubbles subside. I suggest a few minutes before time is up, open the top of the Herboven (or Ardent) and scratch the bottom of your concentrate container with a skewer to see if large bubbles occur. If you are still getting a lot of bubbles, give it another 15 minutes and check again if you don't have a hot plate to finish. I just unplug the unit and plug it back in to restart.
 
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RustyOldNail

SEARCH for the treasure...
I can buy the Herboven on Alibaba, the maker is “greenfiretech.com”, and he wrote me back, as Amazon no longer sells it. Buy then I was curious about a newer, slightly larger unit he makes. (Link below). Don’t see it offered anywhere other then Alibaba.

COMPARISON of newer “HERBABILITY” to OG HERBOVEN:

It has a larger capacity of 550ml versus 280ml.
140 watts versus 110watts.
5 temperature presets versus 3, (F= 130-180-225-250-290)
Stainless Steel 304 oven versus Aluminum
Glass top versus silicone

A few bucks more though negligible to me.
It’s certainly a bit larger as expected, but not huge.
Seems like a lot of potential upgrades over the OG Herboven.

My man hesitation is the OG Herboven has been out and obviously used by members here with good feedback, this newer unit has NO reviews that I could find. Some of that may be because it’s newer, and not sold in any online shops from what I can tell. The Chinese made so many competing products its had to get though the weeds....

Here is the link if anyone is interested, or may have heard or looked at it before?

 

shredder

Well-Known Member
Same. Works well with the mini deluxe mixer from Amazon


Crucial step!

Thanks as always. I'm going to re-decarb what I have for some extra sleepy stuff and try again.

In my experiments it's actually hard to degrade concentrates enough to make cbn by degrading thc. I haven't found that reliable way to make cbn in the kitchen. I've baked feco at 305F for an hour and made capsules from that at a fairly strong amount. They capsules get you ridiculously high and couch locked but not good for sleep. Your mind just races and sleep is impossible until it wears off, and you can't do anything cause your too high.

I still have most of the capsules. Im saving them for severe pain, but haven't really used them much after trying them.

A double decarb ( I use a nova fx for decarbing and use 2 cycles at the cbd setting) with herb or dry sift hash in capsules seems to be better for me for sleep.

I use feco for food type edibles or infusing mct oil, but not for sleep.
 

RustyOldNail

SEARCH for the treasure...
I can buy the Herboven on Alibaba, the maker is “greenfiretech.com”, and he wrote me back, as Amazon no longer sells it. Buy then I was curious about a newer, slightly larger unit he makes. (Link below). Don’t see it offered anywhere other then Alibaba.

COMPARISON of newer “HERBABILITY” to OG HERBOVEN:

It has a larger capacity of 550ml versus 280ml.
140 watts versus 110watts.
5 temperature presets versus 3, (F= 130-180-225-250-290)
Stainless Steel 304 oven versus Aluminum
Glass top versus silicone

A few bucks more though negligible to me.
It’s certainly a bit larger as expected, but not huge.
Seems like a lot of potential upgrades over the OG Herboven.

My man hesitation is the OG Herboven has been out and obviously used by members here with good feedback, this newer unit has NO reviews that I could find. Some of that may be because it’s newer, and not sold in any online shops from what I can tell. The Chinese made so many competing products its had to get though the weeds....

Here is the link if anyone is interested, or may have heard or looked at it before?


Found out the NEW model “HerbAbility”, is being carried by Amazon (link below).
There is a $10 OFF coupon, making the unit $108.00, I just ordered one.
Also found out, the temperature can be set anywhere between: 130f-290f (not 5 presets, as I thought from product photos).

 

BabyFacedFinster

Anything worth doing, is worth overdoing.
I can buy the Herboven on Alibaba, the maker is “greenfiretech.com”, and he wrote me back, as Amazon no longer sells it. Buy then I was curious about a newer, slightly larger unit he makes. (Link below). Don’t see it offered anywhere other then Alibaba.

COMPARISON of newer “HERBABILITY” to OG HERBOVEN:

It has a larger capacity of 550ml versus 280ml.
140 watts versus 110watts.
5 temperature presets versus 3, (F= 130-180-225-250-290)
Stainless Steel 304 oven versus Aluminum
Glass top versus silicone

A few bucks more though negligible to me.
It’s certainly a bit larger as expected, but not huge.
Seems like a lot of potential upgrades over the OG Herboven.

My man hesitation is the OG Herboven has been out and obviously used by members here with good feedback, this newer unit has NO reviews that I could find. Some of that may be because it’s newer, and not sold in any online shops from what I can tell. The Chinese made so many competing products its had to get though the weeds....

Here is the link if anyone is interested, or may have heard or looked at it before?


It definitely has a lot of promise and I like the new features. I wish they would have made the new ss chamber removable. The increased capacity is great for those decarbing those larger amounts.

Edit: Just read @RustyOldNail's post above. That's great that you can set temp increments. That's a big improvement. Let us know how she goes.
 

Annieareyouok

New Member
It's a big thumbs up from me👍
I used mine for the first time recently, my edibles are significantly stronger and the odour is significantly reduced😎
Nina, does there seem to be a minimum amount for the liquid level? I just got mine and the manual is a little sparse. Ideally I'd like do less than 2 cups at a time.
 
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