What's up - squonk tech ignored on FC?

[windtrader]

Did site-wide search for squonk tech with virtually no results . Why so absent and ignored on FC? It seems no matter the usefulness and effectiveness, there would be chatter about the devices.

Feeding oil directly to the coils without passing through wicking seems possible and could avoid post processing (winterize) pressed flower to remove waxes, lipids, and fats that clog cotton wicks.

Some current atomizer designs direct oil from container directly on top of coils, not feeding wicking that feeds oil up into the coils.

 

[Roth]

Think you're looking for this thread.

No idea what squonking is, all I can think of is Squanchy from Rick and Morty.

 

[Deleted Member 1643]

That page does feature squonking, but only for e-juice in a one-off combo build.

Another adjective is bottom-fed. It's very simple. Juice is fed up into the atty when a soft silicone bottle below it is gently squeezed - the advantages of dripping without the frequent dripping. Most attys just have a hole through the contact pin for the juice. Vandy's Pulse X directs the juice to the top of the coils. Might be worth a try.

 

[invertedisdead]

Feeding oil directly to the coils without passing through wicking seems possible and could avoid post processing (winterize) pressed flower to remove waxes, lipids, and fats that clog cotton wicks.

Rosin isn't an oil though, how are you gonna turn flower rosin into something that is stable and squonkable like thin e-juice without totally ruining it?

I don't see the appeal of squonking more rosin onto a dirty coil, it's gonna continue to thermally degrade that residual plant material every time you load a fresh hit, and taste like it. The same gunk that clogs a cotton wick is the same stuff that crusts up on a coil. Sure unwinterized rosin has more flavor, but by the time you start getting a gunky coil full of a bunch of overcooked plant juices it won't taste like fresh rosin anyways.

IMO by making something ultra fast to reload the compromise is gross hits.

Like I said in your other thread, for what you're trying to do I don't think you're gonna find a better solution than winterizing your rosin. Even if you did want to try and squonk some rosin, it would work a hundred times better with winterized material.

 

[windtrader]

@Accept - "Vandy's Pulse X directs the juice to the top of the coils. Might be worth a try." This is perfect example of what is out there, depositing the oil directly on top of the coils.

@invertedisdead makes the point that fats and waxes in unwinterized rosin/oil fouls the coils requiring some user activity to clean the coils. Maybe winterizing needs to be declared a mandatory step to minimize rosin oil gunking up coils and clogging carts.

I'm nearly completely convinced to abandon pursuing a combination of material, battery, and atomizer providing low user involvement in loading and caring for the vaporization like that of carts in a vape pen.

Rosin isn't an oil though, how are you gonna turn flower rosin into something that is stable and squonkable like thin e-juice without totally ruining it?

I don't see the appeal of squonking more rosin onto a dirty coil, it's gonna continue to thermally degrade that residual plant material every time you load a fresh hit, and taste like it. The same gunk that clogs a cotton wick is the same stuff that crusts up on a coil. Sure unwinterized rosin has more flavor, but by the time you start getting a gunky coil full of a bunch of overcooked plant juices it won't taste like fresh rosin anyways.

IMO by making something ultra fast to reload the compromise is gross hits.

Like I said in your other thread, for what you're trying to do I don't think you're gonna find a better solution than winterizing your rosin. Even if you did want to try and squonk some rosin, it would work a hundred times better with winterized material.

True, the rosin requires dilution for this system, maybe more than desired but unavoidable to make the rosin flow properly.

After excessive amounts of time spent exploring the whole notion of loading unwinterized rosin into a smoking device and listening to the comments, this path is a dead end.

Going forward winterizing is simply part of the SOP. Off to study options for optimizing that process as ethanol recovery is essential to minimizing processing costs.

Squonk mods and atomizers are a niche product but the design seems to offer a viable method for getting oil to the coils.

 

[Deleted Member 1643]

After excessive amounts of time spent exploring the whole notion of loading unwinterized rosin into a smoking device and listening to the comments, this path is a dead end.

Going forward winterizing is simply part of the SOP. Off to study options for optimizing that process as ethanol recovery is essential to minimizing processing costs.

If you're going to winterize rosin, why not do QWET instead? Haven't compared, but the end result should be identical. Unfortunately, even QWET shatter will foul your coils pretty quickly. Usually replace coils every other day.

Have you come across any other attys that work like the Pulse X?

 

[KeroZen]

First, the squonk term sounds pretty lame, so that doesn't help...

Then all implementations I've seen in the e-cig world so far implied having some sort of soft plastic container that you can squeeze to pump the juice out.

Concentrates and plastics don't mix well, unlike you like inhaling various kinds of plasticizers (BPA, phtalates come to mind, but there are many more) as compounds would leach and migrate and redox reactions would occur. Then there's also spalling and sorption likely happening (cf https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12229263)

Yeah a lot of barbaric terms I know. But tl:dr stay away from plastics!

 

[Tranquility]

 

[windtrader]

If you're going to winterize rosin, why not do QWET instead? Haven't compared, but the end result should be identical. Unfortunately, even QWET shatter will foul your coils pretty quickly. Usually replace coils every other day.

Have you come across any other attys that work like the Pulse X?

Yes, one would assume the results should be the same; the experiment results show otherwise.

Following is a summary an experiment done a few days ago. Started with flower and ended up with oil with impurities removed. Main reason of this experiment was to establish the difference in yield and amount of ethanol consumed by winterizing vs QWET.


1) QWET - washed/filtered/evaporated ehtanol and water, collected material and loaded cart.
2) Pressed - winterized(filtered/evap), collected and loaded cart.

5 grams flower sample - Gorilla Glue #4 (21.93%THC) Heady's

Result
QWET produced 1 gram of pure clean oil; the process iis highly efficient at extracting all the cannabinoids from the flower.
Pressed flower was 1 gram (20%). After winterizing, 500mg left. Lost a lot due to no secondary wash, too large filters, etc.

Without ethanol recovery, there is added cost from lost ethanol. Ethanol absolute 200 proof was used, everclear not an option.

Thoughts:
QWET uses more ethanol than just winterizing but another test of winterizing rosin is needed to validate the efficiency and use of ethanol.

With no press, then QWET is the preferred method, less equipment needed.

As to the loss during winterizing. Like nearly all pressing, there is oil left behind in the puck. 20% on second pressing is not unusual, so some loss may have occurred there. Also, lost material due to inefficiencies in filtering and material retained in filters was not washed all out.

Validate amount lost during winterizing process. Run test again, taking measure to minimize lost material during process. I'm sold on QWET going forward so doing this just to have that knowledge.

@KeroZen - It is an odd term; did not hear it before but Google finds plenty of reference to the term. Since deciding on using QWET for flower to cart ready oil, squonk route is less attractive. Also, for the reasons you mention, it is primarily for e-juice and the fact so little mentioned on FC means that is all virgin land to navigate and no reason to do that unless no other alternatives.

Next will be finalizing mods and atomizers that work best on clean oil.

 

[Deleted Member 1643]

I'm sold on QWET going forward so doing this just to have that knowledge.

That 200 proof is food or pharma grade, right? Recall from lab days, the 200 proof we used wasn't meant for consumption.

This short thread is packed with good QWET info. @Monsoon's method using dry sift reduces the amount of ethanol needed. Also posted a prep from flower.

 

[windtrader]

That 200 proof is food or pharma grade, right? Recall from lab days, the 200 proof we used wasn't meant for consumption.

This short thread is packed with good QWET info. @Monsoon's method using dry sift reduces the amount of ethanol needed. Also posted a prep from flower.

The ethanol is pharma/lab grade ethyl alcohol 200 proof, food grade as it gets clobbered with excise tax.

Scanned the link, makes the case for using vacuum during evap and purge steps. Various options available but need to set time aside to research that more mostly for reclaiming ethanol. Air/fan drying works on small volumes but still hate to see that expensive drinkable ethanol disappearing.

Sort of OT now... Any general numbers of amount of terps lost using QWET? Really hoping most are preserved but not adverse to adding some back before loading cart.

 

[Deleted Member 1643]

Nothing quantitative on terps - with vacuum-purged shatter, you'll get enough to sting your nose a little. If you want something thin enough to wick, you'll probably want to heat purge and decarb at the same time, losing all of the terps. You evaporate almost all of the ethanol before you begin purging.