# Hot oil bath and decarbing



## henryy24 (Jan 15, 2015)

so I've been making edibles with bho and up till now all my edibles consisted of some type of oil so I have been decarbing my bho in coconut oil and then just adding it into the recipe.. I'm looking to make vegan hard candies and I want to decarb my oil without anything added to it

I know the real true way to decarb is to conduct a hot oil bath, but what i can't seem to find the answer to is the utensils needed to decarb with this method...I understand completely what the procedure is and what it consists of... I'm just really confused as to what kind of beaker or bowl or cup my bho should be in when giving it a hot oil bath.. Any help will help a lot.!!!!. THANKS ROI


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## skepler (Jan 19, 2015)

I like the 2.5 oz stainless condiment containers City Market has. City Market and King Soopers are both Kroger brands so the latter may have them as well. I put it in a one cup pyrex measuring cup that has 2oz of oil, and I slip a temperature probe into the oil next to the container.


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## skepler (Jan 20, 2015)

henryy24 said:


> so I've been making edibles with bho and up till now all my edibles consisted of some type of oil so I have been decarbing my bho in coconut oil and then just adding it into the recipe.. I'm looking to make vegan hard candies and I want to decarb my oil without anything added to it
> 
> I know the real true way to decarb is to conduct a hot oil bath, but what i can't seem to find the answer to is the utensils needed to decarb with this method...I understand completely what the procedure is and what it consists of... I'm just really confused as to what kind of beaker or bowl or cup my bho should be in when giving it a hot oil bath.. Any help will help a lot.!!!!. THANKS ROI


See my decarbing pics on the Post: Decarbing 2.5 month old bud.


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## DemonTrich (Jan 20, 2015)

skunkfarm says 285* for 9 mins to fully decarb and utilize the most available activated thc. fully seal container and place in oven. I do this for any of my decarbing needs (shatter, keif, bubble hash, qwet, qwiso, ect).

you cant reach a 285* in a double broiler application. you cant get the water hot enough w/o super heating it in a sealed container, then you run the risk of a pressure explosion.


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## skepler (Jan 20, 2015)

DemonTrich said:


> skunkfarm says 285* for 9 mins to fully decarb and utilize the most available activated thc. fully seal container and place in oven. I do this for any of my decarbing needs (shatter, keif, bubble hash, qwet, qwiso, ect).
> 
> you cant reach a 285* in a double broiler application. you cant get the water hot enough w/o super heating it in a sealed container, then you run the risk of a pressure explosion.


If you look at my pictures, I'm decarbing in an oil bath. How long does it take for your material to reach 285°? If you are decarbing dry material, it will take 10-20 minutes to get up to temperature, because the air does not conduct heat well. I just baked a batch of brownies. Some people believe decarbing happens during baking, and some does, but with a temperature probe in the baking tray, baking at 350° for 25 minutes, the brownies got up to 220° by the end, and probably not quite that hot as the probe was partially exposed on top of the cooked brownies, so not much decarbing during baking. I have found nothing to contradict this graph:


Well into decarbing in the 250° range:


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## Texas(THC) (Jan 26, 2015)

DemonTrich said:


> skunkfarm says 285* for 9 mins to fully decarb and utilize the most available activated thc. fully seal container and place in oven. I do this for any of my decarbing needs (shatter, keif, bubble hash, qwet, qwiso, ect).
> 
> you cant reach a 285* in a double broiler application. you cant get the water hot enough w/o super heating it in a sealed container, then you run the risk of a pressure explosion.


where does skunkpharm refer to using a sealed oven decarb? or did I misread your post?
the graph states that the extract was decarbed in an open reactor via double boiler as skepler posted

also that graph was from 1990, id love to see an updated graph with a* bho* extract instead of a *n-hexane* extract
but until then ill be doing mine at 250 till bubbles stop

ive never done it at 293, im to worried about how quick it degrades after that peak


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## skepler (Jan 27, 2015)

Texas(THC) said:


> where does skunkpharm refer to using a sealed oven decarb? or did I misread your post?
> the graph states that the extract was decarbed in an open reactor via double boiler as skepler posted
> 
> also that graph was from 1990, id love to see an updated graph with a* bho* extract instead of a *n-hexane* extract
> ...


Technically, it shouldn't matter how the THC was extracted, BHO, hexane or just QWISO or RSO, the THC molecule should decarb the same, assuming previous heating was identical. I like 250° because it is easy to get to quickly and the degradation comes off a wide peak over time making it easier to maintain highest yield. The lower temperature decarbs break down the THC as fast or faster than it decarbs, so the THC yield is lower. It might be interesting to see the 223° curve at an hour and beyond, but why take all that time?


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## fumble (Jan 28, 2015)

I still haven't done the de-carb on the butter. I got a pyrex measuring cup though  baby steps


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## skepler (Jan 28, 2015)

fumble said:


> I still haven't done the de-carb on the butter. I got a pyrex measuring cup though  baby steps


Cool, I was wondering how it had turned out.


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## Trowbridge (Jan 30, 2015)

I decarboxylate and extract into coconut oil in one step.

I use a mason jar (guaranteed heat proof, but only use a wooden stirrer!) inside a small stainless steel container with a perforated spacer at the bottom for the oil bath. (I found it at a thrift store for a couple of bucks.) 

*I do NOT recommend using a glass container for the oil bath*; if it breaks while heated you'll have a nasty fire involving oil at a higher temperature than the melting point of human beings! Get a used metal saucepan at a thrift store. (Aside from the "flames of hell" wok burner I use as a heat source, my total cost for "hardware" was less than ten bucks.)

The outer container is filled up to the same level as the coconut oil in the mason jar. I use a candy thermometer in the coconut oil, not in the outer oil: there is appreciable delay heating something in a glass container, and the temperature of the coconut oil is what matters. (That's another reason to not use glass for the oil bath container.)

To obtain maximum decarboxylation per the graph, I first heat the coconut oil to 122C/252F and stabilize it there. Go any higher and you will start boiling off the terpenes that have synergistic effects with the cannabinoids, starting with beta-carophyllene, one of the few (perhaps the only) CB2-specific agonists found in pot. A higher temperature also means a sharper inflection point on the THC graph and unless you start with cannabis whose chemical profile is known, you don't know where you're starting. Thus, the choice of 122 C, where the THC content graph is fairly flat at a high concentration. More wiggle room.

Then I add the dried bud (1 gram per tbsp coconut oil, approximately), and cook for about 25 minutes. One can see the bubbles as the CO2 escapes. This is not only TCH-A turning into THC, but cannabidiolic acid into cannabidiol and cannabichromenic acid into cannabichromene, two other important active ingredients. It won't stop in 25 minutes, but the graph shows what happens if you keep going: the THC increasingly degrades into cannabinol.

I then decant into a tin can (not a lined one) frozen into a container of water to cool it down as quickly as possible. The result is a pale green solid with a pleasant scent and a very smooth onset. Seems to have a nicer effect than butter extractions, and certainly neater and more versatile. The whole process takes about two hours; most of that is heating up the oil and stabilizing the temperature. One of these days I'll invest in a metal hot plate/stirrer combo; they're less than $200 and afford precise temperature control.


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## fumble (Jan 30, 2015)

Thanks for the info Trowbridge. Sounds like you have been at this a while.


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## Trowbridge (Jan 30, 2015)

Not as long as many, but I majored in organic chemistry (no degree), so I approached this in the same spirit. I'm going to be working with adding various terpenes (using essential oils) to the finished oil to see if I can change the effect. I've already verified that lemongrass oil taken orally (not safe) makes the high appreciably different: calmer. This is based on the old stoner legend about mangos and dope, which is true. Mangoes, lemongrass oil, and hops all have beta-myrcene in them, a sedative terpene also found in cannabis.


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## fumble (Jan 31, 2015)

That's awesome  I would be hella interested in herbs like rosemary, thyme, and oregano...they have very good medicinal properties.

@skepler ...I need one more item then it's on


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## Trowbridge (Jan 31, 2015)

Soon, possibly today, I'm going to try an extraction with MCT Oil, which consists entirely of Medium-Chain Triglycerides. These do not go through the main digestive process. but are small enough to pass directly into the bloodstream and thus to the liver, which does all sorts of wonderful things with them: thermogenesis, brain-boost, energy-boost, satiety. My hypothesis in this case is that MCT Oil will carry some of the substances dissolved in them, like THC, along with them. Quick-onset edibles with superpowers? I hope so, because MCT Oil is really cheap: about $20/quart on Amazon. That's less than virgin coconut oil, and only 2.5X the cost of cheap butter at Costco. So, basically, for an extra $3.00 per 6+ ounces medicine, I get...? I'll let you know.


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## fumble (Feb 1, 2015)

I have been wanting to try that MCT oil myself, but thought it would be too pricey. $20 for 32 oz isn't too bad though. 

speaking of Costco...thought I had found a killer deal on butter there. But come to find out, butter isn't just butter...which I found out while clarifying Costco's unsalted butter. You would think butter is all the same, but it is not. Unsalted butter should just have cream listed in the ingredients, as salted butter is just cream and salt. But there are 'other natural flavorings' in their (and other brands as well) 'unsalted butter'. I lost a lot more in the clarification process with their butter, due to the other natural flavorings. There was at least a cup more watery, citrus-y tasting, separation by-product. 

I buy unsalted butter because salt is a preservative and can sit around on the shelves longer at the store. Unsalted butter should be just that...not with other natural flavorings that render a less than favorable butter return


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## Texas(THC) (Feb 2, 2015)

Trowbridge said:


> Not as long as many, but I majored in organic chemistry (no degree), so I approached this in the same spirit. I'm going to be working with adding various terpenes (using essential oils) to the finished oil to see if I can change the effect. I've already verified that lemongrass oil taken orally (not safe) makes the high appreciably different: calmer. This is based on the old stoner legend about mangos and dope, which is true. Mangoes, lemongrass oil, and hops all have beta-myrcene in them, a sedative terpene also found in cannabis.


this is why I drink IPA's and Mango smoothies


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## Trowbridge (Feb 3, 2015)

I didn't realize that Costco butter wasn't "pure." No big deal--I've not experienced the degree of loss you did--but good to know. I'm liking coconut oil a lot better, anyway, and today I'm finally going to make some MCT oil-based edibles.

As for IPA and mangoes, I'm not a fan of alcohol (can't metabolize it worth a damn anymore), and mangoes are expensive. And I like experimenting!

As far as expense goes:

Costco virgin coconut oil (6-pack x 42.3 oz) = $0.35/oz
NOW MCT oil (32 oz) = $0.31/oz
Costco butter (4 lbs) = $0.13/oz

That's not quite accurate, since it conflates fluid oz with weight oz, but close enough. Even with the loss, Costco butter is cheapest by far.


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## Texas(THC) (Feb 3, 2015)

look forward to seeing how it works out
please post results


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## fumble (Feb 3, 2015)

I love the coconut oil too...I get the 64 oz container at Costco. I would like to switch over to that completely. Looking forward to the results with the MCT


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## Texas(THC) (Mar 4, 2015)

@Trowbridge 
any results on the MCT oil?


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## Trowbridge (Mar 4, 2015)

No. Between then and now I decided to quit using cannabis completely for a while. The withdrawal was pretty fierce: much worse than the SSRI Withdrawal Syndrome I'm dealing with now. It just seemed time to clear as many chemicals as possible out of my body, esp. since I have a medicine journey coming, and both cannabis and SSRIs blunt the effect of mushrooms. I will probably try the MCT oil some time later this year.

I did make some cannabis-infused red palm oil, but I don't like the way it tastes. Otherwise, it was pretty successful, although not what I was aiming at. I cooked it too long and it could couch-lock Godzilla. In fact, that's what I call it.


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