Short path distillation vs liquidizers/solventsMay just save the time and buy the set

Please bear with me as I am new to the process and terminology, hoping to find some stickies on the subject tho.

So , i’ve been making carts, buying packaging, etc... Except I’ve been using BHO and liquidizers like WAX and shatter batter which are PG based. Not the same as other carts. Now, I’ve been told all the best carts come from short path distillation Which gives you an almost pure product, 90-98% compared to my old method.

I guess I’m really just looking for some opinions and some more information on this.

I have an engineering degree and I honestly want to go back to school to be a doctor but I find chemistry also intriguing it is probably more of a viable option too...

Anyways lol, this chemistry sets look like a chiller a vacuum pump and a crockpot/hotplate with the glassware. At 3600$ I could buy a set but I already have a spare chiller and vaccum pump. The glassware is $900. I have confidence I could build this but it’s quite a diy task. Is it viable? I May just save the time and buy the set but is it worth it? The process in general.

Any opinions or information is greatly appreciated .

Thanks guys.

Got any links to this gear?

No degree but a diploma in environmental chemistry and that helps for a lot of stuff I play around with. Built a still for solvents or booze and used 2 1L boiling balls, coil of copper tubing and the deep freeze to distill butane to reuse it making BHO. Stuff like that. The new laws in Canada here can get you 14 years in the can for messing with flammable solvents to make oil but they would have to walk in in the middle of a project to get me. 17 years doing stuff like that in this house and they haven't showed up yet so I'm not too worried.

I'm planning on making my own vape juice from a bunch of kief I've got saved up and not sure whether to just cook it up in VG and maybe add a bit of PG to thin it out if needed or make it into oil first then dissolve it into VG. Just one of many projects floating around the back of my head.

It's a motherfucker to filter VG well enough to not mess up most vapes.
I'll sometimes drip it with my RDA as it is pretty easy to just swap in some fresh cotton afterwards.

I have lab grade filters and can use a vacuum flask to pull it thru if I need to. My aerator pumps can be used for vacuum and I can DIY up something to do the job. Thinking of cooking up a small batch using 50ml of VG and 5g of keif. Would be plenty to see how well it works to catch a buzz.

Things to keep in mind. VG holds only about a third as much cannabinoids as alcohol per volume, so you need to take 3mls for eevery1 you would normally.
Make sure to agitate it often to prevent a supersaturated layer just next to your weed which slows further uptake. Something that would work a treat is a simple gem polisher rig that spins a bottle or two slowly around all day long. Slow extracted VG is in another league to quick heat extractions, both in flavour and action.

You don't really keep much of the strain profile unless you do slow extract. For quick extract, you can just use whatever is cheapest on hand.

It’s china glass too.... beware.

Bhoman here I looked into a China set was told dont bother several times. Pump doesn't pull enough and glass isn't strong enough for better pump. You need real equipment to make distillate.

That China set would work if you have time to spare shipping parts back and forth .
It's so cheap just buy distillate. Imo properly filtered bho is the way to go just use more sauce. Mmmm sauce

I have bought china glass two times.The first time the shipping took a month.Other than that,I havent had any complaints. I'm going on year 3 of making my own distillate with it.Of course someday I'd like to get some better quality glass,but for now,it works just fine

I think I’m going to try this one first... I already have a vaccum pump, hvac for my mini split installs lol . I got a lot of reading up to do. I’ll get by tho. Thanks guys

jayjay777 said:

I think I’m going to try this one first... I already have a vaccum pump, hvac for my mini split installs lol . I got a lot of reading up to do. I’ll get by tho. Thanks guysView attachment 4271168

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Looks like a good price.i just priced out a 500ml heating mantel/stirrer @$300 (going up from a 250ml set up)It's just a hobby for me,I like to be able to make my own gummies with my distillate.Im going to make my own carts just for fun soon.I still have research to do on that myself and I dont really have a great pump to do a vac distill,so I'm doing a simple distillation and not completely convinced I'm 100% solvent free.gl man,I'd like to know how you make out.

Your HVAC vac pump is not gonna cut it for spd. You need to be -100 micron for any decent run.

Im about to process about 750ml of primo etoh crude (purged/decaebd) thru my spd in the next week or so.

Rotovap+SPD setup=

jayjay777 said:

Please bear with me as I am new to the process and terminology, hoping to find some stickies on the subject tho.

So , i’ve been making carts, buying packaging, etc... Except I’ve been using BHO and liquidizers like WAX and shatter batter which are PG based. Not the same as other carts. Now, I’ve been told all the best carts come from short path distillation Which gives you an almost pure product, 90-98% compared to my old method.

I guess I’m really just looking for some opinions and some more information on this.

I have an engineering degree and I honestly want to go back to school to be a doctor but I find chemistry also intriguing it is probably more of a viable option too...

Anyways lol, this chemistry sets look like a chiller a vacuum pump and a crockpot/hotplate with the glassware. At 3600$ I could buy a set but I already have a spare chiller and vaccum pump. The glassware is $900. I have confidence I could build this but it’s quite a diy task. Is it viable? I May just save the time and buy the set but is it worth it? The process in general.

Any opinions or information is greatly appreciated .

Thanks guys.

Click to expand...

Let me call in @cannabineer he has a PhD in organic chem. CN does a lovely double distillation using similar equipment. He'll be along shortly to give you his information on this path.

Until then here's something he produced for me. Double distilled pure THC oil cut with nothing



PS I did your route the opposite way. I went to med school and went through a windshield in my residency and became an engineer. I highly recommend staying out of medicine right now. My son is a Ph.D. EE (I have an MSCS). He's perfectly happy and it's a widely expanding field. Medicine is controlled by the MBA's and diminishing as they bring the software algorithms online.

jayjay777 said:

I think I’m going to try this one first... I already have a vaccum pump, hvac for my mini split installs lol . I got a lot of reading up to do. I’ll get by tho. Thanks guysView attachment 4271168

Click to expand...

My experience distilling cannabinoids tells me that the path on that still might be too long unless you're aggressive with vacuum. I would like to try a very similar setup, but my pump isn't up to it. I'm ambivalent about getting an old Welch Duo-Seal pump for that specific trial.

With ordinary vacuum what works best is a "molecular distillation" in which the still path is shorter than the mean free travel of a vapor molecule. The Germans do a molecular still called a Kugelrohr (ball oven). Here's a diagram. I use the Kugelrohr to distill my extracts.

Now that we have the cartridge technology, my extracts (which were a pain to use) are now convenient and very tasty. If I left anything unanswered, please ping me.

Translations:
Cooling with water
Kugelrohr oven
Rotate
To the vacuum pump

WeedFreak78 said:

Rotovap+SPD setup=

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~sigh~ I'd like a Rotavap but don't have anywhere to put it.

cannabineer said:

~sigh~ I'd like a Rotavap but don't have anywhere to put it.

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How big of a unit do you want? Lol. The 5L models I've seen in videos only take up what looks like a 4x4 area, maybe 4x6? If I could afford it, I'd find room, I don't really need a couch or dining room set, lol.

WeedFreak78 said:

How big of a unit do you want? Lol. The 5L models I've seen in videos only take up what looks like a 4x4 area, maybe 4x6? If I could afford it, I'd find room, I don't really need a couch or dining room set, lol.

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The classic Büchi Rotavapor in the 2-liter size.

I have way too much heavy bulky shit. I'm leery of collecting more at this time. I need but don't want to sell some of my heavy bulky shit.