Rosin Technique....Easy DIY Solventless

[Quetzalcoatl]

@invertedisdead If flower moisture is beneficial for yield then why don't people press fresh cut flower for a "live" rosin result. Surely everyone would be suggesting this method due to larger yields. I haven't heard/seen of anyone suggesting the latter, please share links if you have any. This would also be highly beneficial due to skipping the curing process of your material and saving a bunch of processing time. I understand there's an optimal moisture/cure level that's beneficial for reasons such as avoiding particle contamination but still not seeing how it would increase yields.

http://fuckcombustion.com/threads/rosin-technique-easy-diy-solventless.17470/page-58#post-857015

http://fuckcombustion.com/threads/rosin-technique-easy-diy-solventless.17470/page-67#post-867233

The problem with making live rosin flower hash is the flower still has too much moisture in it. When you press fresh flower the rosin RUNS because of all the water in it. Then it's a real pain to get it collected because of the water. That's the reason that people make fresh frozen bubble hash and then press the hash into live rosin. With bubble hash you only pull the trichomes and the moisture content doesn't matter because of the process.

 

[JCat]

Almost done my homemade economy press! Here's the progress so far ...

- plates are 3"x4" x 1.25" thick - $45 shipped (actually for 4 plates--I have enough to make another set)
- using 300W, 120V cartridge heaters - $30
- PID Temp Controller w/ thermocouple and - $50
- 8 ton bottle jack - $25
- steel for frame - $40
- hardware for frame (bolts etc) - $20

So all said and done, should be about $210 (Canadian Dollars) ~= $165 USD
Or $125 CAD for the plates and controller and $85 CAD for the press hardware.

Just the actual cage for the press left to build; hopefully tomorrow and Sunday I'll have time since I'm all set with materials. Apart from that need to do a little bit more work finishing the face of the 2 heat plates.

For mounting the heat plates, I've tapped 1/4-20 holes in the 4 corners. The following is the mounting bracket/plate I made for the bottle jack and base heat plate:

I'm anxious to finish up and get pressing

If I feel the need later, I can easily add a 2nd PID controller to add independent control to the plates ... in the meantime, I'll simply pre-heat them together before the press so the temperature will be stabilized between the two plates. (In my initial tests, the aluminum plates have amazing heat retention, and switching the thermocouple from plate to plate I didn't notice any temperature difference to speak of.)

 

[JCat]

Ok ... so here's the final product (well almost ... going to add a couple more springs or tighter springs and maybe a power switch at some point--I just didn't have one here to install when I was putting the electronics together so it's on when you plug it in ... don't think it really matters though)

Frame is rock solid. No give to it at all when cranked to the maximum extent I am capable (frame is built with basic supplies ... grade 5 bolts from cdn tire and 1.5" x 1/8" angle iron). I may at some point replace the bottom oak mounting bracket with an aluminum one if I find myself a 5/8" - 2"x3" piece.

I could also easily upgrade to dual PID controller if feel the need later on (or just add an extra thermocouple and relay and use a Raspberry Pi for the dual PID controller ... that would be more fun but more work and ultimately would accomplish the same thing ... would look so much cooler though with a nice little touchscreen display )

Edit: I'll have to try it out tomorrow ... too late now and have to get up early!

 

[JCat]

First press had a return of .08 for .26 pressed (that's >30%!!!! ... I know a really small amount ... and I did try first w/ >25% THC cannabis ... but I wanted to start with something small to tune in my method. I pressed at 100C (212F) for 1 min.

One question though ... some bled through my parchment paper (was some on the plates when I removed it). Is this normal? Is it something to do with this parchment paper specifically maybe? I'm not using any rosin bags ... just straight parchment paper right now ... don't know if that would make a difference here ...

Edit: Also, slight green tint to it (nice consistency though), so I think I need to do a couple things:

1. Drop the temperature from 212F to 190F (ie. 100C to 88C)
2. Slowly increase the pressure through the press, not all at the start

I'm sure my yield will go down slightly as I dial it in, but that's ok ... I was aiming for 20% return to be happy and my first yield was >50% better than that, so I have some room

Any other tips/advice would be appreciated!

Edit again: Followed above procedure (190F and 1.5 minutes) and results were stellar! .25g yielded .07g of rosin and nice golden colour. Awesome! (Just sampled it and it was very nice ... half of the .07g has me feeling nicely buzzed)

Might try larger (0.5g and 1g) presses later

Very happy w/ my <$200 CAD press

(Still having problem with bleeding through the parchment though that is costing me in yield--since what's on my plates is just getting wiped off with alcohol swabs and thrown out as well as obviously some must be being trapped in the parchment paper itself)

 

[mc]

Nice job! And it's too mush pressure if you are blowing the paper. Also, try stronger paper like OIl Slick. the only issue is it's TOO slick so then you have to use filters, but it's worth it.

 

[JCat]

Nice job! And it's too mush pressure if you are blowing the paper. Also, try stronger paper like OIl Slick. the only issue is it's TOO slick so then you have to use filters, but it's worth it.

Thanks! I'm not blowing out the paper though (no holes or tears in it) ... the rosin has pressed "through" the paper ... you can see a smear of golden rosin on the aluminum plates where the puck was ... also after collecting all rosin there is some discolouration in the paper where the puck was (golden). I think going to a thicker paper (have to order that though) might help and in the meantime on my next press to at least avoid any mess I will double up the paper.

Perhaps pre-pressing will help ... so I built a small pre-press system (little aluminum space case jar, thick block of oak with a hole bored in to about 1/4" from the bottom with an aluminum plate installed at the bottom ... use my bench vice to compress). After I test I'll let you know!

 

[mc]

terps will bleed through paper that's not strong enough, doubling up the paper can lead to creases which will hurt the rosin flow, be careful there. If you relax on the pressure it shouldn't do that.

remember that huge bottle jack is meant for larger things than a tiny .5 inch round puck of flower. You are probably blasting that tiny thing with way more than enough.

 

[tepictoton]

Pre-pressing will help, oil slick papers will help too.

But with oil slick papers you will need a filter or your puck will just expand and slide off the slick side of the paper...

Do not double the paper, it will only leed to more ruptures and rosin running in the folds

 

[matthend]

I can second the Oil Slick Paper. It is the thickest and by far the best that I have come across for collection, but simply cannot be used without bags for pressing as it is just too slick. Since I only press small amounts at a time, I have been using generic Meijer grocery brand parchment for a few years after much trial and error. It seems to be the thickest, much better than any of the name brands I tried.

Here is an illustration:
http://fuckcombustion.com/posts/1098577/

 

[miguelovic]

@JCat

Very nice work! Wish I had seen this earlier, I have been trying to find a home for DIY parts I bought before I broke down (lack of expertise/time) and ordered a ready made unit.

What brand of parchment are you using?

I get less bleed through with Reynolds. Oilslick is expensive to ship, but they do give frequent discounts. As well, if you place an order and close the tab, you'll get an email offering 10% off to complete the order. Shipping to Canada doubles the price. I get 10 or 20 times the square footage with Reynolds for the same price.

Likely too much pressure as well. I apply enough pressure to make a wafer from the puck, wait for the oil to start flowing and then ramp up pressure to 500-1000PSI, roughly measured from squished puck size. Picked it up from Kindasfck on Reddit/IG. Roughly 10-15 seconds per tonne.

I am not versed in hydraulics but you seem rather handy. If possible a pressure guage will help you dial in ideal pressure/temp for differing cultivars.

If you're pressing personal and want a cheap filtre, bleached coffee filtres work well. Might as well add that most paper is bleached with peroxide, before the weenie patrol arrives.

I pressed raw for awhile. If the bits bother you it is easy to wrap the collected rosin in filtre and repress at 80. Didn't bother me until I started branching out. A prepress also helps cut down on contaminate.

 

[Dangus]

Collage from a recent pressing

 

[JCat]

@JCat

Very nice work! Wish I had seen this earlier, I have been trying to find a home for DIY parts I bought before I broke down (lack of expertise/time) and ordered a ready made unit.

What brand of parchment are you using?

I get less bleed through with Reynolds. Oilslick is expensive to ship, but they do give frequent discounts. As well, if you place an order and close the tab, you'll get an email offering 10% off to complete the order. Shipping to Canada doubles the price. I get 10 or 20 times the square footage with Reynolds for the same price.

Likely too much pressure as well. I apply enough pressure to make a wafer from the puck, wait for the oil to start flowing and then ramp up pressure to 500-1000PSI, roughly measured from squished puck size. Picked it up from Kindasfck on Reddit/IG. Roughly 10-15 seconds per tonne.

I am not versed in hydraulics but you seem rather handy. If possible a pressure guage will help you dial in ideal pressure/temp for differing cultivars.

If you're pressing personal and want a cheap filtre, bleached coffee filtres work well. Might as well add that most paper is bleached with peroxide, before the weenie patrol arrives.

I pressed raw for awhile. If the bits bother you it is easy to wrap the collected rosin in filtre and repress at 80. Didn't bother me until I started branching out. A prepress also helps cut down on contaminate.

Thanks everyone for the advice! I've tried the Reynolds, with the same results; just a matter of finding the sweet spot for pressure I imagine. I have been using doubled parchment paper to avoid messing up my plates as it's a pain to wipe them down when their hot! That has been working well. I have been prepressing and that I don't think makes a difference with the bleed through although makes things easier/more manageable maybe.


When I was getting the Reynolds parchment paper at Canadian Tire, I saw this: Cookina Parchminum ... https://cookina.co/products/cookina-parchminum/

Has anyone tried this? What do you think? (I think it's a type of PTFE sheet, and it's good to 550F)


I've added some guides to keep the plates aligned (they can move back and forth and in and out to get things properly aligned, and use a couple bearings to keep things smooth ), and switches for power and heaters (so I can turn off the heaters but still see the current temp reading on the plates)

Here's a picture of what I think is the final setup (for now)

And here's one of my fancy guides

And here's a pic of a small extract as I'm still figuring things out ... this is at 185 for a 1:15 if I remember right ... yield was .12 for .5 in (so 24%). I'm pretty sure there's more to be had in the puck as well if I try ... this is from some Sour OG from Broken Coast ...

 

[psychonaut]

@nosmoking 3x5 is ideal, but I don't think you'll find any full sets in the $200 range (plates, heating elements, PID). Not sure about DHGate/Amazon packages.

Sorry for replying to this old post, but I found this and ordered it on dhgate yesterday, around $225 shipped. Anyone around here using these? It's like half the cost of low temp plates. Gonna give it a whirl and see what happens. Worst case scenario I have a dual enaiil controller and paper weights.

https://www.dhgate.com/product/doub...plate/391450851.html#s1-0-1b;searl|3414095360

 

[JCat]

Sorry for replying to this old post, but I found this and ordered it on dhgate yesterday, around $225 shipped. Anyone around here using these? It's like half the cost of low temp plates. Gonna give it a whirl and see what happens. Worst case scenario I have a dual enaiil controller and paper weights.

https://www.dhgate.com/product/doub...plate/391450851.html#s1-0-1b;searl|3414095360

That's sort of what I was going for w/ my homemade plates and controller ... the one thing I didn't like when I looked at these is the thermocouple must be in w/ the cartridge heaters, which might make it a little close to the heaters and negatively affect the temperature readings ... I could be wrong though as I'm just going by the picture ... the only wires going into the heating plates are the ones connected to the cartridge heaters.

This is what I would have done if I didn't want to play around building it and do it cheap ... mine cost me less than half as much. I can convert to dual PID (I went single PID for now) for an extra $40.

@NewVape420 ... a quick question following up on a post from the flowerpot thread ... you had indicated I should go w/ more pressure, ie. 20 ton instead of the 8 ton; I did decide to go w/ 8 ton for now, and can always go higher if needed in the future (I'm just pressing small amounts). I'm having the issue of rosin bleeding through my parchment paper, and the consensus here seems to be that I'm likely applying too much pressure! lol. I was just wondering if I could get your expert opinion on this ... I'm just squishing 0.5g to 1g right now trying to get a feel, as I obviously don't love that I'm wasting what is coming through onto the plates! Still getting >20% out of some nice Sour OG I have, but the fact that I'm embedding so much into the parchment and pushing so much through definitely bothers me. Any advice would be appreciated

I'll likely go up to 3.5g and 7g presses, but can't really see going much higher than that, and I'm a little hesitant to just jump into that and waste without knowing really what I'm doing!

 

[mc]

I'm having the issue of rosin bleeding through my parchment paper, and the consensus here seems to be that I'm likely applying too much pressure! lol. I was just wondering if I could get your expert opinion on this ... I'm just squishing 0.5g to 1g right now trying to get a feel, as I obviously don't love that I'm wasting what is coming through onto the plates! Still getting >20% out of some nice Sour OG I have, but the fact that I'm embedding so much into the parchment and pushing so much through definitely bothers me. Any advice would be appreciated

I'll likely go up to 3.5g and 7g presses, but can't really see going much higher than that, and I'm a little hesitant to just jump into that and waste without knowing really what I'm doing!

That's 8T, so 16,000 Lbs of pressure Per square inch. So if you are only putting a .5-1 inch diameter puck are you hitting an application pressure between 16,000 - 32,000 pounds... That's WAY too much.

My nugsmasher mini is only 2 T and it'll bleed if I max out on a 1 gram puck. OilSlick doesn't bleed as easily but it's too slick so the puck just slides out into a star pattern and makes a huge mess. So you HAVE to use filters if you use the stronger stuff like OilSlick.

 

[psychonaut]

That's 8T, so 16,000 Lbs of pressure Per square inch.

Isin't that pressure spread across the plates? So a 3x5 is 15 sq/in 16000/15=1066lb sq/in ?

 

[tepictoton]

It is the square inches of the puck itself that matter in this case, not the plates themselves

Or so me thinks...

I have found there is a middle ground to be found in puck size, not so much in how big it is, but in how fat or flat you pre-press them. Pre-press to flat and the first press will yield significantly less (can be easily recovered by a second press however). Maybe this has to do with the previous point? I am confused lol

Another thing I have been wondering. It seems as though when pressing less we get better returns, it seems...

How many of us have scales that can be truly trusted with weights under, let's say, 0,05grams? I believe some of the 'loss' when upscaling is due to the unreliable read-outs we get with very low weights.

Once you start pressing bigger amounts however returns do seem to settle around a certain percentage. A percentage that a lot of times is higher then butane extractions made from the same amount of the same material. This makes me wonder where these extra percentages(2-4%) come from. What is it made up of?

Enjoy your experiments.​

 

[mc]

Isin't that pressure spread across the plates? So a 3x5 is 15 sq/in 16000/15=1066lb sq/in ?

If your plates ever touch during a press you are doing something wrong. All the pressure is on the puck itself since that's the only thing touching the plates. So you need to account for the end squish puck size to determine how much pressure you actually applied during the extraction.

I have found there is a middle ground to be found in puck size, not so much in how big it is, but in how fat or flat you pre-press them. Pre-press to flat and the first press will yield significantly less (can be easily recovered by a second press however). Maybe this has to do with the previous point? I am confused lol

Another thing I have been wondering. It seems as though when pressing less we get better returns, it seems...

How many of us have scales that can be truly trusted with weights under, let's say, 0,05grams? I believe some of the 'loss' when upscaling is due to the unreliable read-outs we get with very low weights.

Once you start pressing bigger amounts however returns do seem to settle around a certain percentage. A percentage that a lot of times is higher then butane extractions made from the same amount of the same material. This makes me wonder where these extra percentages(2-4%) come from. What is it made up of?

Enjoy your experiments.​

You have two points that overlap. First, when it's a bigger and harder pressed puck, it's harder to get the resin to start flowing through it. So you have to press harder and longer. So We don't pre-press, we use bottle-tech. Or gift tech. The verticla filter style NugSmasher shows on their youtube.

SO this also factors in why you get more with smaller amounts, because it's less to push the resin out of but this is diminision returns. It's a very small amount you'd gain pushing 448 1 gram presses vs 16 or 32 larger ones. And also, yes, calculators suck when doing small amounts.. which doesn't help making proper strain adjustments. It's better to hit 10g-14g at a time in my exp.

 

[tepictoton]

Bottle tech seems nice, but I am really trying to prevent filters from ripping, and only way I found to prevent that is to do a pre-pressing.

Maybe I should pre-press with less pressure, just enough so the filter does not expand or rip apart...

Thx for sharing these tips and tricks

 

[JCat]

Here's a pic of a squish of 2g of Sour OG (Ruxton) from Broken Coast. Got 0.51g back! Not bad at all! 0.44 after first squish, 0.5 after second, and 3rd got a measly extra 0.01 (so answers my question about how many squishes it's worth doing if squishing 2g. Two. And that will get me a 25% return from this strain give or take. Very happy with that as it makes rosin relatively affordable

 

[JCat]

Sorry about back-to-back posts, but alas, my time limit to edit has elapsed

Anyways ... just a quick question for you concentrate pros ... one of the biggest problems I have is transferring the concentrate from the parchment into my containers ... it always gets glued to my dabber! ... I'll pick it up touching just by a pin needle, and in my efforts to get it off in the silicone container I inevitably end up with it good and glued to my dabber

 

[psychonaut]

Sorry about back-to-back posts, but alas, my time limit to edit has elapsed

Anyways ... just a quick question for you concentrate pros ... one of the biggest problems I have is transferring the concentrate from the parchment into my containers ... it always gets glued to my dabber! ... I'll pick it up touching just by a pin needle, and in my efforts to get it off in the silicone container I inevitably end up with it good and glued to my dabber

Use parchment to squeeze the rosin off the dabber then put it in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes. At this point it should be less sticky, you can then transfer to the silicone container, you shouldn't have to touch the rosin at all.

 

[JCat]

Use parchment to squeeze the rosin off the dabber then put it in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes. At this point it should be less sticky, you can then transfer to the silicone container, you shouldn't have to touch the rosin at all.

So just transfer direct from the parchment to the silicone container (and avoid the dabber as a transfer tool)? ... yeah ... seems like a good plan just have to make sure what I gather on the parchment is gathered smaller than the container

 

[psychonaut]

So just transfer direct from the parchment to the silicone container (and avoid the dabber as a transfer tool)? ... yeah ... seems like a good plan just have to make sure what I gather on the parchment is gathered smaller than the container

yeah use the parchment to mold the rosin blob with your fingers while it cools down. Cold oil should release from the parchment assuming it doesn't have so much terps it never really freezes =)

 

[psychonaut]

I got my DHgate plates in 3 business days, ordered on Saturday, shipped out from hong kong the next day and had it wednesday. F'n A, FAST!

Here's my setup now, haven't squished anything yet. I think I need a larger ram as the opening in the top of the plate is 2 1/4" inner diameter, and my jack ram is 1" outer diameter. Looking to be about $335 total for this setup (got the press $25 off from harbor freight)

Gonna do a squish tonight, right now I'm just preheating the plates and gonna figure out how off they are from the controller.