tjfisher3

Member
So I had a run of about 20 grams of wax that I ran with butane, water bath, and vac pump/chamber. I did a full purge but I couldn’t get this stuff to harden up for some reason. So I winterized with 190 proof ever clear. Everything looked great at first in the water bath at 95 Fahrenheit. I went inside for a little bit came back out and there was this white substance. From what Ive read this is water. So what im asking is how do i evaporate the alcohol off because it seems to be taking abnormally long and can I remove the water?
 

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Fadedawg

Well-Known Member
Yup, that's the heartbreak of water/alcohol/essential oil emulsion.

It will go away if it sits there long enough for it to evaporate away. You can remove it with heat and vacuum. I use 125F @ 10,000 microns/-29.5" HG.

A trick I've used when I didn't have heat and vacuum available was to stick it in a freezer until the oil hardened but the water/alcohol antifreeze mixture didn't freeze, and then pour off/blot most of the water away. I then placed it on the rack of my oven set at 250F, but left the door open and the rack pulled out, so as to speed up evaporation of the balance.
 

tjfisher3

Member
Yup, that's the heartbreak of water/alcohol/essential oil emulsion.

It will go away if it sits there long enough for it to evaporate away. You can remove it with heat and vacuum. I use 125F @ 10,000 microns/-29.5" HG.

A trick I've used when I didn't have heat and vacuum available was to stick it in a freezer until the oil hardened but the water/alcohol antifreeze mixture didn't freeze, and then pour off/blot most of the water away. I then placed it on the rack of my oven set at 250F, but left the door open and the rack pulled out, so as to speed up evaporation of the balance.
Thank you for the reply FadeDawg. Just curious, can I still produce shatter at 125F? I have vac so purging it off that way isnt an issue. Really looking for something stable enough to at least handle. Before winterization this stuff was so sticky you couldnt touch it at all after a 72 hr purge in the vac at 105F.
 

tjfisher3

Member
Man, who still does BHO?
I haven’t really researched what other options are out there as Ive been trying to perfect the BHO craft first. I know Co2 is an option but I dont have the equipment for that. This is all for personal use. I grew 3 plants this year and just want to use as much of the plant as possible.
 

JoeBlow5823

Well-Known Member
I haven’t really researched what other options are out there as Ive been trying to perfect the BHO craft first. I know Co2 is an option but I dont have the equipment for that. This is all for personal use. I grew 3 plants this year and just want to use as much of the plant as possible.
I only extract with alcohol. Dry ice hash is the best option in my opinion. Maybe look into a rosin press?
 

JoeBlow5823

Well-Known Member
I am going to look into extraction with alcohol. Not a fan of rosin Press personally but I appreciate your reply brother.
Yeah its easy to do. Mix your product with alcohol, strain with cheese cloth or an old (clean) t shirt. Then filter through coffee filter. Then put in a flat dish, cover with a screen of some sort (to keep dust and shit out) and put it on a hot plate at like 150 degrees to evaporate it off. It takes a lot longer than bho but its a lot safer and less "mad scientist". Still need to be in a ventilated area but nothing like butane.
 

Fadedawg

Well-Known Member
Thank you for the reply FadeDawg. Just curious, can I still produce shatter at 125F? I have vac so purging it off that way isnt an issue. Really looking for something stable enough to at least handle. Before winterization this stuff was so sticky you couldnt touch it at all after a 72 hr purge in the vac at 105F.
Decarboxylation at 125F slow. Alcohol and essential oil love each other, so the alcohol leaves slowly. You can purge it at a lower temperature, but it will take a long time.
 

tjfisher3

Member
Extreme progress being made on this batch so I thank you for all of your help. Today I took out of the vac and let sit at room temp for 30 minutes. It was way more stable than it was prior to winterization but its still that pull and snap consistency. Im looking to make some straight glass that i can pick up and handle without the worry of it getting too sticky. If I keep purging should I get there? The picture attached is my oil under vac right now. Small bubbles but not too much going on.
 

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Star Dog

Well-Known Member
Never in my experience have I been able handle bho it's sticky as, I'm not that fond of oil so its not worth the hassle for me, I'd rather just shake the trim fresh out of the freezer.
 

JoeBlow5823

Well-Known Member
Never in my experience have I been able handle bho it's sticky as, I'm not that fond of oil so its not worth the hassle for me, I'd rather just shake the trim fresh out of the freezer.
Yeah dry ice and a 150 micron screen is all I need.
 
BHO needs proper temperature control of solvent and sample matrix as well as filtration. I start with the sample matrix in a 150 micron filter-sock then chilled to -70C which then passes through a wad of stainless steel scrub-pad then 20 micron mesh then paper 20 micron, 10micron mesh 5 micron mesh then 2 micron mesh 2 micron paper a typical set up. PPPPPP proper planning prevents piss poor performance.
 
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