How can you tell if wax is too taney/under-purged?

[california burrito]

I recently picked up some wax from my friend/street dealer. It looked and smelled legit, like dispensary legit. However, when I dabbed it, it had a burning feel in the back of my mouth/going down. This isn't the first wax I've had that felt like this, but I'm wondering why it feels like that. Not all concentrates have that burning feel, the one that can creep up and cause coughing fits and a few breathless moments. Is it residual solvents that weren't fully purged?

What are some other signs that you may have an inferior product, besides the sizzle on the skillet?

Here is a pic of the wax (ignore the black thing that landed in it just as I was taking a pic): http://i.imgur.com/Kn2dVAZ.jpg

 

[Abysmal Vapor]

I recently picked up some wax from my friend/street dealer. It looked and smelled legit, like dispensary legit. However, when I dabbed it, it had a burning feel in the back of my mouth/going down. This isn't the first wax I've had that felt like this, but I'm wondering why it feels like that. Not all concentrates have that burning feel, the one that can creep up and cause coughing fits and a few breathless moments. Is it residual solvents that weren't fully purged?

What are some other signs that you may have an inferior product, besides the sizzle on the skillet?

Here is a pic of the wax (ignore the black thing that landed in it just as I was taking a pic): http://i.imgur.com/Kn2dVAZ.jpg

I would warm it up so it melts.. and see if it bubbles too much and after it melts.. if it is not transparent or there are some weird dark "strings" like petrol in water.. It must be even color and transparent.. otherwise there is shit inside.. my winterized extracts are easy too see trough when melted although look smth like your stuff when cold

 

[Bouldorado]

My guess is they let the purge get too hot and it autobuddered on them, trapping some butane. I've had the same thing happen to me and the only way to fix it is to dissolve the wax in ethanol and then filter and purge.

IMO heating it further won't have much of an effect- I think the waxy structure will prevent it from melting down.

 

[kingtut106]

You can turn budder into sap without dissolving in ethanol, you just need heat around 140-180 F. Yes you will be sacrificing terpenes if you do this, but it is up to you.

 

[Bouldorado]

You can turn budder into sap without dissolving in ethanol, you just need heat around 140-180 F. Yes you will be sacrificing terpenes if you do this, but it is up to you.

It's kinda hard to tell from the picture but in my experience, once oil reaches that stage it won't typically turn back into sap unless a solvent is used. It's prob worth trying though- worst case is you lose a little flavor.

 

[farscaper]

all these fucking slang names! im confused.

maybe @kingtut106 means that you can decarb the wax and it will remove any remaining tain... I have returned "wax" to a "sappy" state by fully decarbing it.

but as @Bouldorado said, dissolving it in ethanol and re-purging is the easy and tastiest bet. imo you dont have to winterize, but if your going to dissolve it anyway. Your only a coffee filter and a few hours in the freezer ftom making absolute. which yup. its absolute.

although I have heard this called shatter, winterized, ive even heard that called sapp...

 

[Bouldorado]

The terms are definitely ambiguous but I think of sap as a clear, soft hash. This could be melted shatter, or it could be stable at room temp, like this stuff:

 

[DieHard]

all these fucking slang names! im confused.

maybe @kingtut106 means that you can decarb the wax and it will remove any remaining tain... I have returned "wax" to a "sappy" state by fully decarbing it...

Decarb or Decarboxylation is the process in which heat is used to chemically alter THCA into psychoactive THC. This is necessary to create edibles and sublingual tinctures.
Temperatures high enough for decarb are not necessary for purging butane. Only enough heat is necessary to make the oil less viscous thus releasing the butane.

 

[Caligula]

You can always send a small piece to one of the many labs here in CA that test for butane residuals (among other things).

Only way to know for sure. Good news is that they dint require a huge sample and cost has come down quite a bit in recent years.

You can try SC Labs or Steep Hill Halent for starters.

Bonus, you'll also find out how much THC and CBDs are in there.

 

[tepictoton]

@Abysmal Vapor if your winterized extracts look like that you are probably scraping it too fast...my winterized extracts always have come out crystal clear and with a consistency like glass...