Rosin Technique....Easy DIY Solventless

[invertedisdead]

I did my first press today, having never done this before I was pretty excited. Actually I'm completely new to concentrates too so that was even more exciting

Anyway weighed 2.0 g of cured flower, pressed into into a puck, popped it into a fine mesh bag and then inbetween raw parchment.

My DabPress plates were heated to 200 and then a gradual increase of pressure applied till 6T for about 1 min.

Results were a golden brittle yet sticky rosin, weight 0.15 so not that great a yield but very pleasant in use.

I've ended up what seems like a lot of extra stuck to the mesh bags....I don't know how to get the sticky stuff unstuck off the mesh and think for the next one I'll give the bags a miss.

Does this sound like I'm on the right track? Any further advice for a newbie squisher.

Thank you all

You probably didn't squish long enough, try more like 2-3 minutes at that temperature, maybe even a bit longer. I tend to stay around 220F for best (IMO) combo of yield and flavor. The plates are probably ~10 degrees cooler than the PID reading anyways. There are a lot of videos online demonstrating lower temp flower presses to yield less oils, simply as a result of temperature.

If it's actually rosin stuck to the bags, you can just press it again and it will release those oils. If the bag is just stained yellow, that's just what they do.

 

[Hogni]

Got this from Lowtemp Plates. Guess it's interesting enough for sharing:

"Is this good rosin?"
We all love the look of a clear, white, or golden rosin. But what exactly is color's role on solventless hash?

Here are a few factors to consider when looking at different colors of hash:

• High heat rosin extraction
• Maturity of trichome heads
• Strain
• Contaminants and plant material
• Age/Oxidization

High Heat Rosin Extraction
There is a reason we went with the name Lowtemp 3 years ago. Heat is both our friend and enemy. Not enough heat, and your yields will typically suffer. Too much heat, and you will degrade your oil, supporting the "burnt popcorn rosin" stigma from years and thousands of hair straighteners' lives ago.

Maturity of Trichome heads
As a plant is allowed to mature longer, the trichomes tend to become cloudier and amber. This typically brings a more sedative effect, as well as a darker end rosin. This isn't necessarily a bad thing in either direction, as different people prefer different effects!

Strain
Different strains can come out lighter or darker depending on the lineage and genetic profile of that plant. This has a smaller effect than the other listed factors.

Contaminants & Plant Material
This has a pretty huge role in color and clarity. If a hash rosin is clear, likely it means that there is virtually no plant material in the oil.

Age/Oxidization
If a plant has been harvested for an extended period of time, and has had the chance to oxidize, the resin will inevitably turn darker. Again, this isn't necessarily a bad thing! Generally speaking, the fresher the material, the higher the quality. Anything solventless over 4-7 months or so, will actually see a decrease in quality.
Oxidization is one huge reason behind Fresh Frozen Live Rosin being so aesthetically pleasing. The freeze dryer doesn't allow the heads to oxidize as they normally would during air drying.
The Truth
The truth is, color and clarity should not be the only judge of quality when it comes to Rosin/Solventless hash. It's important to keep in mind that many of us were turned off of darker resin because of poorly made BHO from years ago. A darker hash can actually mean a more developed flavor or more sedative effects. Lighter clear oils are typically extremely delicious and clean, but more of a cerebral high than a body high.

If you are a cannaisseur, color is an impossible thing to judge a book by. We highly recommend getting in there, and testing the flavors for yourself!

 

[Lozo]

@invertedisdead that's very helpful thank you very much, I'll raise the temp slightly and try another press but will leave them for a touch longer as suggested.

@Hackerman thank you too for the great advice

@Hogni that's a great read, thank you

What a great place FC is

Update: Did a second press using 2g and hotter plates at 220 and 3 mins at 6T, got better results but I noticed there was rosin seeping through to the external side of the parchment and now it's on both top and bottom surface of the plates. Was that too much pressure ? Should I double or triple layer the parchment paper? What was I doing wrong ?

Also collection is not an issue and I'm storing using tiny silicon tubs but with such sticky stuff what do you guys use to get it our from storage for use? Kinda lost what to do here, sounds silly buy it's true.

 

[gunmetalshark]

Yeah, if the rosin bleeds trough the parchment it was a bit too much pressure (6to @ 2g IS too much if fully applied )

Happened too me aswell and i guess pretty everyone that presses at some point aswell

I clean my plates with iso if it happens, works like a charm when plates r still warm

 

[invertedisdead]

Bleed through means either too much pressure or bad parchment paper. If the issue is the parchment paper, I don't find doubling the paper is really a good solution. Realistically if its weak parchment paper and starts bleeding early, it can compromise your squishes by making you think you are pressing too hard.

But its also pretty common to press too hard at first also, as you press more you will start to notice the PSI sweet spot that it takes for the rosin to start flowing.

I keep all my rosin in glass jars and use glass or titanium dabbers to scoop it out and dab it. How are you consuming the rosin? Are you using in a dry herb vaporizer or dabbing it?

 

[Lozo]

Thanks @invertedisdead makes sense, thank you. I bought raw parchment paper and ramped up the press to 6 tonne. I'll reduce this and work up if needed, my gauge is only in tonne not psi but I guess I'll find a sweet spot for it.

Thanks too @gunmetalshark, reckon I'll start at 3 T and see how I go, sound OK?

I'm using a Vrod, and titanium dabbers but just feel incompetent in trying to separate small dabs off, as it's collected (perhaps wrongly) in one go, so the rosin has lumped together but does stretch then snap too...just sticky.

 

[MinnBobber]

I bought raw parchment paper and ramped up the press to 6 tonne

...................................................
So your last press was 2 grams? At 6 tons?
What sq inches was your squished puck?
When you say pressed into a puck, was that just with fingers OR pressed with a real pre-press into firm small puck?

One needs to figure out the tons per sq inch figure, as that's the key for consistent presses-----with enough pressure BUT not too much pressure that gives blowouts.

 

[Alexis]

@Lozo thabks a lot for sharing your intial experiences. I will be joining you soon with equally green Fingers may be a little greener. I haven't given much conscious thought to exactly how I will go about my first press but I'm kind of leaning now towards just checking in a little bird at a time to get some practice, like 1 grams not pre-pressed and no filter to get a feel for it. But I also expect I will play with bigger amounts early on as well pre pressed and with a filter.

I have over an ounce of White Widow and Durban poison left from 2016. I only had 3 plants that year to last me a whole year and they all got infested with bugs. I had no other supply of herb for at least 12 months so I was meticulously picking out the bugs from the better buds one by one with tweezers and a lens, to "free up" some more fuel a few grams at a time.

Last year's harvest arrived before I needed to carry on with that venture and I still have that weed in jars so I don't see why I can't use that as practice for filtered presses.

And there is a load of last year's stuff left as well way more than that, not bad Herb at all but will pale in comparison to this year's crop when it has cured a bit. So I have plenty of less than appealing herb which may never be needed in herb vape form, depending on future harvests and current stock life, as in this years crop could last easily 12 months even if there was nothing left over from last year.

So if we harvest again next time around...you get me anyway Im sure.
So lots of 2017 material to practice with, although it does have a very high leaf ratio.

I'm actually not going to worry too much about trimming down to finally because our auto flowers are generally very leafy and we are leaving the heavily crystalised sugar leaves which are tight to the buds on there.

I realise it would be better to press with very well trimmed dense nuggets for numerous reasons. But I also feel like in the long run I will get more out of my material by pressing that extra ton of sugar leaves which could be removed during the trim, even if it makes pre pressing puks a little trickier, and I understand the issue also the extra plant matter for the rosin to get caught in as it is pressed.

Still got to read through some above posts, but this stood out at me:

Anything solventless over 4-7 months or so, will actually see a decrease in quality.

An interesting concept but not one I like so much. So my beautiful bids this year, as they cure better with time...will become less suitable/potent/effective for pressing into rosin after only 4-7 months? This does make me think. Last 2 years material is past that so I will see how it goes.

Maybe I will look at getting oxygen absorbing packs in the curing jars a little earlier maybe by that time, to slow down the oxidation of the heads after the 4-7 month period.
Just a few thoughts for the day. Have been so preoccupied recently I haven't even giving pressing any real thought yet. But as you can see I am beginning to.

 

[Baron23]

I just read the last 70 – 80 pages of this thread (god help me, LOL!!) so I think I’m fairly up to date with the state of the thread and I feel a bit more confident about posting the following.

The Press

I bought a VERY slightly used NewVape Micro 20 press. I have no idea where the micro comes from as this sucker weight a TON! But it is very petite for the size of the plates and pressure capability. The frame is made of surgical stainless steel (austenitic stainless, that is non-magnetic). Its build like a T-72 tank, is solid as hell, and the unit really is a brick of a build. Very nice.

Here is the press and hydros.

So, What’s the Pressure

So, this is a 10 ton, BVA jack with an appropriate hydraulic pump. The pressure gauge is just downstream of the pump so line pressure to the press (note, there is a ball check valve in the connectors...as is usual so as to be able to take it apart without hydro fluid getting everywhere).

How exactly this line pressure in PSI relates to pressure on the platens or on the load (the flower) was a bit of a question to me. I thought I knew, but the more I read the less confident I was in my understanding (because there is sooooo much erroneous or half-baked info on the net, yeah).

So, I reached out to NewVape’s engineer and got some clarification and found I was putting WAY more pressure on the pucks than I thought.

It goes like this, the pressure seen on the gauge is line pressure (in psi so per square inch) that is being applied to each square inch of the hydraulic jack cylinder. The area of this particular jack cylinder is 4.37 square inches.

So, for example, let’s take pumping it up to 8k psi on the gauge (80% of the pump’s max capability). The actual force being applied to the plates (or to the load of flower if it’s in there) is 8 x 4.37 = 34,962 lbs of pressure total.

Take that and divide it up over the area of your load....let's say it’s a 2 x 3 rosin bag with 6 square inches of area. 34,962/6 = 5,827 psi on the load. This is WAY high, higher than I thought I was applying, and I don't think i really need anything higher than 2,000 psi or so, right? If the load is smaller (say a single large nug naked on parchment), it would be even higher (unless you are squishing one of Ataxian’s famous Hawaiian colas J).


But, all of this pressure is great if you are a busy caregiver or commercial operation that will routinely squish larger loads. Let's say you load and ounce into a 2.5 x 9 bag. That's 22.5 square inches. With the same 8k on the gauge it’s now its 34,962/16 = 1,553 which is much more reasonable.


This chart is perhaps illustrative:

Squishes so Far

I have only done three squishes so far. I did buy a strain, Virgin OG, on sale to experiment with. $25/eighth and I bought a ¼ to start with. Its not bad but not top drawer. 17% THC and this is how the inside of the nug looks. Again, not bad but note that many of the trichomes have no head or a partial head which makes me wonder whether it was harvested a bit prematurely.

Below is the log that I’m keeping. You can see that I’m not getting high yields but I do believe that is mostly due to the flower quality. But, I also have no experience, blew out the bag on my one bottle tech attempt, proper pressure, etc. so I believe that better yield will come with better flower and more experience.

I plan to again go through different techniques with the same strain and see if I can come to some conclusion for myself. I suspect that bottle tech

This is the result of the first squish (actual color is lighter, more peanut butter color). My yields are not that great, but the rosin is. LOVE IT! Strength of concentrates but with the well-rounded, full spectrum, effect of flower. THAT’S why I want to squish!

Below was my one attempt at bottle tech. Blew the hell out of the bag with too much pressure but I think this is promising. I doubled the puck up and pressed again and got some decent return.

Also, since then I have gotten some seamless 160 micron bags and I think that will help also.

Below is the result of my bottle tech, first and second squish. Again, actual color is lighter than it appears in the pictures.

Then I tried to pre-press my flower and use a flat bag. I fracked it up. I pressed the buds naked in the press and then tried to insert it into the bag. Not the way to go, I don’t believe. I will try again with stuffing the flower into the bag and pre-pressing the whole bag. I think that will work out better. I’m sure I lost a good bit to voids in the load within the bag. But the rosin was indeed delicious.

So, guys…I am more than open to input, suggestions, and guidance.


I do have one question…while I understand that it is far more desirable to press whole nugs and not be bashing the trichomes with grinding before pressing; I do have some ground bud that…well, it’s not my favorite to vape as dry herb. So, do you see any issues in pressing ground herb in a 90 micron bag?

Thanks for reading. I look forward to any replies, comments, corrections.

 

[invertedisdead]

Right on @Baron23 nice to see more people getting their own solventless slot machines!

IMO at that recorded temp around ~200F you might consider going for 3-4 minutes and compare yield. You might also try 220F at the plates (if the flower relatively fresh and higher in RH) for 2-3 minutes.

Here's a video from Nugsmasher I posted in the Dabpress thread recently.

You might try a smaller micron bag for that ground flower if it's a real fine grind.

 

[Baron23]

IMO at that recorded temp around ~200F you might consider going for 3-4 minutes and compare yield. You might also try 220F at the plates (if the flower relatively fresh and higher in RH) for 2-3 minutes.

Thanks for the reply. I found that my initial squish, with measured plate temp of 210, came out pretty dang sticky and harder to collect than when run at 195 or so.

But, I certainly will experiment and also try longer heat soak times as the rosin I did get was no where near over heated. Good terps still in there based on taste.

I'll check out the vid later...got to go cook din-din for GF! haha Went fishing on Tues and we caught a mess of striped bass (rockfish here in MD for some reason). So, fresh fish tonight.

Cheers

 

[MegaMan2k]

I think the vaping/dabbing of the resin can tell us a little about which temp a certain strain would "prefer" to be rosined at aswell,
Just my personal opinon/experience ofcourse but i have seen this to be true a few time now,

Like some Cinderella99 i just pressed at 210
, this particular resin when i dab it also comes across the best tasting/best effects on a pretty low temp dab, and chazzes easily on a just slightly too hot dab,

Where as some of the kushes i have tried pressing so far just seem to do pretty well on 210, and when i dab them i get the feel that this is a type of resin that is a little more rough in its texture and then that roughness translates to the melt, in a sense that it is able to withstand just slightly more heat and thus is a little less prone to chazzing,

i guess this is just my little theory, i would assume the landraces used for the breeding of the hazes and the kushes originates from two different corners of the world,

i did a video on the cinderella here::

 

[Baron23]

Well, I made a heck of a mess this time. I squished some old, CA sun grown, Cherry OG that I have had for a couple of years. It was kept always in a mason jar with 62% Boveda in a closed cabinet away from light. It was pretty good (not great but...) vaping flower but it was hell squishing it.

This herb...as was all of the sun grown that I was getting at that time...was a dark brownish color. No indoor mint green here. I suspect that it was also allowed to mature before harvesting as the rosin was very dark and that was not from over heating it or pressing too long (I think).

I had an 18th of it left and wanted to try bottle tech again so I figured this old weed was a pretty good candidate for sacrifice in the name of science! haha

I used a 90 micron, seamless bag and I'm pretty sure that I got the bottle tech right this time.

I ran at a measured 195, same as before, but the rosin is an oily mess. Reminds me most of the old hash oil we would get in '69 or so (and that stuff was probably deadly from residual solvent!)

Pre-heated for 30 seconds and squished for 2:30 minutes and went up to about 4k psi on the gauge...gradually. Most of press was at 2k psi.

I expected a fairly low yield

Now, I knew this was old flower, this was mostly just another "throw away experiment" to try to hone my bottle tech skills before trying it with premium weed, so I expected dark rosin and low yields (and got one at 6.7%).

But my real issue is that the stuff was just un-collectable. It didn't stick to itself, it didn't fly off, it just smeared around on the parchment. That, I didn't. Stuff is much like the hash oil we got in '69 (with probably enough residual solvents to kill an elephant! haha).

What little I could collect, I put in the fridge and it has solidified a bit...enough to dab it, I believe. The pressing parchment, in the freezer, no joy...still just a mess. I think I will boil it in tea. haha

 

[invertedisdead]

@Baron23 it probably has a lot of terpenes if it's that runny. Instead of putting the rosin in the freezer try using a cold pack from the freezer underneath the parchment, it should collect right up.

 

[Baron23]

a cold pack from the freezer underneath the parchment, it should collect right up.

actually have an aluminum cold plate I put in fridge and then used....won't come up.

Just old weed, I suppose and I have never found this Cherry OG to be highly terpy.

The consistency was certainly a LOT different than what I got at same temps with other flower.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

 

[Grifo]

@Baron23 had the same experience with some flower my buddy had me press for him. The flower was old not a year old but old and improperly cured when it was first harvested. It was also his buddys outdoor grow who is not very experienced.

 

[invertedisdead]

actually have an aluminum cold plate I put in fridge and then used....won't come up.

Just old weed, I suppose and I have never found this Cherry OG to be highly terpy.

The consistency was certainly a LOT different than what I got at same temps with other flower.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

Have you tried putting the plate in the freezer? I'm not sure a plate from the fridge is cold enough, sometimes a plate from the freezer is barely cold enough if it's super gooey. I squished two ounces of hash the other day and the rosin is so sticky even using an ice cream maker bowl from the freezer it's a real challenge to collect.

Not too sure what could make it so runny if it's not terpenes, older material is usually much easier to collect. I've squished a lot of older material lately and haven't even needed my cold plate, except for the re-presses I do at 250F for cooking which come out a bit more decarboxylated.

Sometimes even weaker tasting flower can come out pretty tasty when concentrated, especially off a rosin press versus other extraction methods.

 

[Hackerman]

Here is how I do it.....

I place the parchment with the runny, sticky on it FACE DOWN on a piece of glass or mirror. Rub it real good so it's nice and adhered to the glass and then RIP the parchment off.

The rosin sticks to the glass and is easily scraped up with a straight razor blade.

Or, spread it thin on the parchment and just let it dry for a few days. Seems a shame to loose the terps but I left some sitting out of neglect and a few days later it was much easier to collect.

Just tossing out a couple things that worked for me.

 

[miguelovic]

Nice tip with the glass.



I've pressed a few types that will produce a light less flavourable cream at 86-90C and a darker but higher terpene sap at 105. I pick the middle of the road.

 

[Baron23]

Thanks guys....given that I have run this press this exact way at these temps/pressures and got very nice pull-not quite snap but close. Nice peanut butter looking rosin.

So, I'm marking it up to the flower.

Have you tried putting the plate in the freezer? I'm not sure a plate from the fridge is cold enough, sometimes a plate from the freezer is barely cold enough if it's super gooey. I squished two ounces of hash the other day and the rosin is so sticky even using an ice cream maker bowl from the freezer it's a real challenge to collect.

Not too sure what could make it so runny if it's not terpenes, older material is usually much easier to collect. I've squished a lot of older material lately and haven't even needed my cold plate, except for the re-presses I do at 250F for cooking which come out a bit more decarboxylated.

Sometimes even weaker tasting flower can come out pretty tasty when concentrated, especially off a rosin press versus other extraction methods.

I will try the freezer, thanks!

Here is how I do it.....

I place the parchment with the runny, sticky on it FACE DOWN on a piece of glass or mirror. Rub it real good so it's nice and adhered to the glass and then RIP the parchment off.

The rosin sticks to the glass and is easily scraped up with a straight razor blade.

Or, spread it thin on the parchment and just let it dry for a few days. Seems a shame to loose the terps but I left some sitting out of neglect and a few days later it was much easier to collect.

Just tossing out a couple things that worked for me.

That might do it, thanks for the idea!

 

[psychonaut]

@Baron23 THC-a maintains a crystalline structure in it's pure form, THC will not. I think the fact that the material was so old, it was likely fully decarboxylated thus it being less stable.

 

[Baron23]

@Baron23 THC-a maintains a crystalline structure in it's pure form, THC will not. I think the fact that the material was so old, it was likely fully decarboxylated thus it being less stable.

Maybe....maybe indeed. thanks...def food for thought there.

 

[pxl_jockey]

I’ve only ever tried squishing with the missus’ straightener once, I was too afraid of breaking it LOL to use crazy pressure. I got a yield and the knowledge that I wasn’t going to bother making diy clamps. So I’ll just be reading and saving for nice Dabpress solution that will be much easier on my old geezer hands !

But I love this thread and its contributors, so much science and smarts to be found here! And laugh-out-loud-and-shake-the-bed hilarious stuff too! Like the above from @miguelovic one of our resident geniuses.

Really excited and glad to be following along with @Baron23 in his entry into Rosineering. I was so stoked when you announced your new baby’s arrival! I’m very appreciative that you’re documenting it for my own and others’ edification. I still marvel at this amazing resource and the knowledge freely shared!

 

[Baron23]

I’ve only ever tried squishing with the missus’ straightener once, I was too afraid of breaking it LOL to use crazy pressure. I got a yield and the knowledge that I wasn’t going to bother making diy clamps. So I’ll just be reading and saving for nice Dabpress solution that will be much easier on my old geezer hands !

But I love this thread and its contributors, so much science and smarts to be found here! And laugh-out-loud-and-shake-the-bed hilarious stuff too! Like the above from @miguelovic one of our resident geniuses.

Really excited and glad to be following along with @Baron23 in his entry into Rosineering. I was so stoked when you announced your new baby’s arrival! I’m very appreciative that you’re documenting it for my own and others’ edification. I still marvel at this amazing resource and the knowledge freely shared!

Thanks, man!! So glad that someone likes my sharing my journey here with rosin.

By the by, the Vape Critic got a press from this guy and seems to like it a lot. Its more in that Dabpress type home category. I don't know how they compare but you might want to check it ou:

https://www.rosinpressny.com/

 

[mrbonsai420]

Thanks, man!! So glad that someone likes my sharing my journey here with rosin.

By the by, the Vape Critic got a press from this guy and seems to like it a lot. Its more in that Dabpress type home category. I don't know how they compare but you might want to check it ou:

https://www.rosinpressny.com/

Those look nice @Baron23 , While I still prefer extractions there are some products that rosin very well. For those, I would like to get a good press that doesn't break the bank. I have a small compressor, but I have a feeling I would be better off with hydraulic versions like the one you posted above or something like the Nugsmasher mini. Out of all of the presses out today under $1k what is the best bang for your buck? I will only be doing small amounts at a time, not big runs. And I will most likely extract my pucks with a solvent, possibly everclear for edibles instead of doing second presses, but I will play around with yields.

What is the smallest recommended compressor for the Pneumatic presses? Do you guys think there is an advantage to pneumatic over hydraulic, other than air is much faster? Seems like you would have much better pressure control over your squish with the hydraulic press version over the air actually.