Storage and Preservation of Concentrated Cannabis

[JRR22611]

Firstly - don't do what i did.
I ruined a beautiful 10g example of concentrate by using ISO to sterilize the platinum cured silicone container that would hold the extract.
I only used small amounts of ISO, heavily rinsed, and waited a day before loading the container.
Next day, assuming all ISO would have left the container completely, I filled it with concentrate but the stinging "chemically" smell of ISO still lingered and eventually leeched into the concentrate itself over time.

My recommendation for cleaning your silicone is as simple as warm water and a soft brush.
A mild degreaser/dishwashing gel should be used to rid the silicone of oils and chemical that accumulates in the production factories.

To take things to the next level of sterility, one could place their platinum cured silicone in boiling water for roughly 30 seconds (increment of time should be judged based on thickness and grade of silicone).

I use the latter method and have had success as it seems to eliminate the whitish "filmy" residue you'll see on a slab of shatter after its sat on the surface of normal silicone for a period of time.

Preservation of concentrate is another story as in my experience I found the quality of concentrate will degrade over time even in controlled temp environments.
Input for preserving that extra special batch of concentrate would be appreciated.

Input for keeping clean/sterile containers will be appreciated.


Thanks for your time.

 

[herbivore21]

Firstly - don't do what i did.
I ruined a beautiful 10g example of concentrate by using ISO to sterilize the platinum cured silicone container that would hold the extract.
I only used small amounts of ISO, heavily rinsed, and waited a day before loading the container.
Next day, assuming all ISO would have left the container completely, I filled it with concentrate but the stinging "chemically" smell of ISO still lingered and eventually leeched into the concentrate itself over time.

My recommendation for cleaning your silicone is as simple as warm water and a soft brush.
A mild degreaser/dishwashing gel should be used to rid the silicone of oils and chemical that accumulates in the production factories.

To take things to the next level of sterility, one could place their platinum cured silicone in boiling water for roughly 30 seconds (increment of time should be judged based on thickness and grade of silicone).

I use the latter method and have had success as it seems to eliminate the whitish "filmy" residue you'll see on a slab of shatter after its sat on the surface of normal silicone for a period of time.

Preservation of concentrate is another story as in my experience I found the quality of concentrate will degrade over time even in controlled temp environments.
Input for preserving that extra special batch of concentrate would be appreciated.

Input for keeping clean/sterile containers will be appreciated.


Thanks for your time.

This is a good thread man, also welcome to FC!

I tend to vary my choices here depending on the material.

First of all, I have said it before but I'll say it again - we need to get conclusive testing done to find out what the white residue you mention is (I have noticed it many times too!) that gets onto shatter left in a silicone container for too long. It scares the living christ out of me.

To clean silicone containers, I will usually soak the container in clean, new iso for a few hours, then in water overnight, then I will leave it to dry out for at least a few days. This avoids the swelling of silicone with solvents (which silicone is very well known to do, as you sadly experienced!).

However, as I predominately dab solventless these days (rosin and full melt bubble hash generally).

I am more likely to keep the full melt in glass. This shit is so sticky that it'll pull the top layer off of parchment even when it is a silicone/cellulose matrix with no separate outer layer to get stuck to!). I am not sticking that into a silicone container, fuck that.

I am less and less trusting of silicone containers as time goes on, I tend to try and squish out my day's rosin the same day to avoid long term storage in silicone containers, also replace all containers very frequently (never hang onto them longer than a month or so).

I use mason jars for less than full melt hashes and flowers, with boveda packs

 

[wildything]

On parchment paper in a vacuum sealed bag. I started using parchment after noticing the white film from my silicone containers.

 

[iDRINKBLEACH]

Currently silicone But I'm switching to cannaline glass jars soon

 

[JRR22611]

First of all, I have said it before but I'll say it again - we need to get conclusive testing done to find out what the white residue you mention is (I have noticed it many times too!) that gets onto shatter left in a silicone container for too long. It scares the living christ out of me.

I'd love to conclusively learn what the white residue is but I'm sure it's nothing more ill natured than inhaling everyday pollution, toxins and chemical.

It's not my opinion silicone is to blame for the whiteness. With nothing less than medical grade platinum cured silicone, I think they're great for containment but this depends on many variables mostly including proper cleaning.

Much, if not all cannabis accessory/paraphernalia is totally unregulated so it seems people take advantage of this by using lesser quality of silicone or any material like metals. Don't quote me on it but I've heard the FDA allows a certain ppm of formaldehyde in the "food grade" silicone which is what some companies use for their product.
Until the cannabis industry transitions from the "rock shop" attitude to a medical standard, one must be very careful of what they purchase.
I hear people buying Ti/quartz nails and other products from China to save money and this also scares the living christ out of me.

 

[JRR22611]

Currently silicone But I'm switching to cannaline glass jars soon

Just placed an order they have awesome stuff. I love this input, thank you.

 

[iDRINKBLEACH]

Just placed an order they have awesome stuff. I love this input, thank you.

some of the best storage I really like how they do their oil jars, no problem. Every one should look into them seem safe and clean

 

[NorVape]

Since I'm one of two people I know who dab on the reg (the other one is my friend who started under a month ago, and yeah, my GF does some derbz), I've been very curious about this, and really have no one to compare concentrates with, that differ from mine.

I've been using NoGoo's for a while now, and they seem to work very well, but I've been contemplating getting some Jyarz because of glass being awesome.

 

[Enchantre]

Jyarz.
American boro liners, recycled plastic shells, as close to breakproof as you could be, while keeping stuff absolutely pristine.

There's a thread....

 

[seaofgreens]

I just have maybe 3 or 4 parchment bundles of various runs that I keep inside a mason jar. I just open the jar and pick the parchment depending on what flavor/effect I'm shooting for. Not very elegant though, so perhaps I could make things more organized and visually appealing at some point.

 

[JRR22611]

After discussion with heads and patients of 2 local dispensaries, my opinion is the whitish translucent film on the bottom of your shatter slabs is not to be blamed on silicone itself but other factors including:
1. Grade of silicone - fuck food grade - store your valuable medicine in certified medical grade platinum cured silicone.

2. How you clean the silicone - degrease the factory oils using a more natural alternative to generic dish soaps that contain toxic shit and dyes like dawn.
This is my conclusion for now: silicone container producers don't wash their products - want it done right? Do it yourself.
In addition, dispensary employees (one might assume cleaning containers to be the duty of "the new guy" per se), are cutting corners cleaning their containers which leaves a non-ideal (hate to say toxic) surface for containment.