First time making Bubble Hash - 74G total yield!

[ilovereggae]

I would not recommend a machine. To me it would be akin to shopping for an "ass wiping machine." There's simply no need to complicate the process with a poorly manufactured electronic device to solve a problem that doesn't exist. Put your big boy pants on, get a $26 30 gallon Brute trash can from home depot, get 2 oars from amazon for $14.99, get the same 2 taps I got from amazon for $8.99, and work those forearms like you got some balls sir

All kidding aside I almost bought one until I realized what a waste of money it is. They really just spin the wad of material back and forth and are manufactured to about the poorest standards imaginable. Then when the machine breaks what do you do? Order another $70-$100 machine. The agitation process is really not a big deal and produces a higher yield than any of those machines will produce, because the boat paddle provides more agitation. Also, working the material from inside a 30 gallon trash can gives you considerable leverage to really work the material. To each their own though. Nothing in my system is really breakable other than the mesh bubble bags. I'll counter my opinion with a buddy of mine's preference. He has a grow about twice the size of mine and uses the machines exclusively, because he's a lazy prick But he does like them.

Unfortunately I am in an apartment with limited work space. Probably could find room for the boat paddle but I definitely don't have anywhere to stick a 30 gal trash can inside at the moment, and leaving it outdoors would get gross.

I definitely was not gonna get one of the "bubble machine" style ones with moving parts. The washer I linked to is an old school hand crank style for $58 shipped that just seemed like it would be a little more compact and get the same effect for what it would cost me to buy that other stuff. Maybe could stick a racquetball or something in with the bubblebag to get some more agitation. I wound up finding 4 or 5 posts last night where people had the same idea but no one followed up to say if it worked or not.

 

[vitalsine]

Looking forward to doing some bubble when my first grow is done. Thanks for the step-by-step brother!

 

[HydroKid239]

Unfortunately I am in an apartment with limited work space. Probably could find room for the boat paddle but I definitely don't have anywhere to stick a 30 gal trash can inside at the moment, and leaving it outdoors would get gross.

I definitely was not gonna get one of the "bubble machine" style ones with moving parts. The washer I linked to is an old school hand crank style for $58 shipped that just seemed like it would be a little more compact and get the same effect for what it would cost me to buy that other stuff. Maybe could stick a racquetball or something in with the bubblebag to get some more agitation. I wound up finding 4 or 5 posts last night where people had the same idea but no one followed up to say if it worked or not.

Why would you pay $58 to STILL have to use you're arm in a cranking motion? Far that just use a smaller setup. Maybe a shorter plastic storage tote? That will run you about $8 lol And just get a rounded 2x4 to agitate.

 

[ilovereggae]

Why would you pay $58 to STILL have to use you're arm in a cranking motion? Far that just use a smaller setup. Maybe a shorter plastic storage tote? That will run you about $8 lol And just get a rounded 2x4 to agitate.

Very good point. Was overthinking it. I'll just try to find a rubbermaid tote that I can work with. Thanks for the idea.

 

[Keesje]

What's worse is when one is stacked into the other the yield from the next bag sticks to the bottom of the bag you just pulled out. The result is that you're scraping hash from the bottom of the bag and it is not a pretty process. When I reduced to 2 bags (the ones that collected 95% of the yield mind you) that issue was no longer a problem.

What some people do: They buy extra buckets and cut off the top part. So that you are left with a ring of about 20 cm.
They fold 1 bag over 1 ring.
In the bucket you first place a loose bag (with the smallest mess, for example 25).
Then you put the ring + bag (with a slightly larger mess, for example 70) in the bucket.
Then another ring + bag (with a slightly larger mess, for example 120) on top.
That way the bags can hardly touch each other.

Buckets like this one, with rims, are good for it

 

[nunyabidness420]

How doe the stem hash compare to the flower hash?
Thank you for posting this!

 

[jonnynobody]

Unfortunately I am in an apartment with limited work space. Probably could find room for the boat paddle but I definitely don't have anywhere to stick a 30 gal trash can inside at the moment, and leaving it outdoors would get gross.

I definitely was not gonna get one of the "bubble machine" style ones with moving parts. The washer I linked to is an old school hand crank style for $58 shipped that just seemed like it would be a little more compact and get the same effect for what it would cost me to buy that other stuff. Maybe could stick a racquetball or something in with the bubblebag to get some more agitation. I wound up finding 4 or 5 posts last night where people had the same idea but no one followed up to say if it worked or not.

Brother let me save you a lot of frustration, wasted time, and money. Apartment? No problem. I grew for over 4 years in my 2 bedroom apartment with management sniffing around with "random inspections" all the time. Covert ops are my specialty. I would not recommend a tote. Why? The walls are not tall enough. You're going to splash water everywhere. What do you do when space is limited? Scale down dude. Instead of a 30 gallon trash can grab a kitchen sized can from wally world for $10. Instead of a boat paddle use a broom handle. You just need a long piece of hard wood. No broom handle? Go to home depot and head to the lumber aisle. Ask for or find a $6 or $7 long piece of pressure treated wood to use as an agitation stick. You can set up the small kitchen trash can the same way I setup my 30 gallon brute. Grab the 2 tap kit off amazon for $8 and install them in the bottom of the trash can. When you're done agitating the material with your stick just raise the trash can up on a chair or table to elevate it. I'd recommend doing this in your bathroom ideally. Place the filter bucket inside your bath tub. Place your kitchen trash can on a chair elevating the trash can. Position the drain spouts over the 5 gallon bucket inside the bath tub. Let the 2 spouts drain right into the 5 gallon bucket lined with your 120 micron mesh and 73 micron mesh. Waste water drains right down the tub drain. Easy peezy lemony squeezy. Pull your bags and collect your hash. I'd suggest loading a large cooler or tote with all the ice you can fit. Place that near your work area while you're processing. You don't want to have to make an ice run in the middle of processing. Good luck

 

[jonnynobody]

How doe the stem hash compare to the flower hash?
Thank you for posting this!

To be fair I did not really process flowers. It was high quality trim with lots of small larfy pop corn sized flowers. There was no difference between the quality of the stem hash versus the quality of the has extracted from the trim material. Both turned out blonde and beautiful.

 

[jonnynobody]

What some people do: They buy extra buckets and cut off the top part. So that you are left with a ring of about 20 cm.
They fold 1 bag over 1 ring.
In the bucket you first place a loose bag (with the smallest mess, for example 25).
Then you put the ring + bag (with a slightly larger mess, for example 70) in the bucket.
Then another ring + bag (with a slightly larger mess, for example 120) on top.
That way the bags can hardly touch each other.

Buckets like this one, with rims, are good for it

View attachment 4679476

Excellent tip. My feeling is the additional bags are of little to no use and only serve to complicate and add labor to the process. However, if I chose to run all the bags this is the best method for addressing the hash sticking issue. This is a fantastic idea I never would have come up with on my own

 

[jonnynobody]

As a side note I will say this is incredibly potent. So potent that I had trouble waking up this morning. I smoked a lot of it last night I broke it up really fine and mixed with a small amount of weed, because hash on it's own burns very poorly. Bong rips of high grade bubble hash had my dick in the dirt. I could hardly hold my eyes open and I haven't had cotton mouth like that since I was in the 7th grade. Wow! I'm not smoking any for a few days. Shit just makes me absolutely retarded and it lasts a very long time. I literally woke up still high in the morning from last night. I think bubble hash is far superior to any solvent based extract in both flavor and potency. Plus you're not smoking something that may have residual solvents and god knows what other contaminants that may remain from the chemical extraction process. To each their own though

 

[principlesarelife]

super badass guide. thank you

 

[jonnynobody]

There are a couple errors I want to correct. The total yield after drying is approximately 35 grams. That's about 39 grams of loss to evaporation. My total yield estimate with the 2nd batch and evaporation factored in will be about 70 grams of high quality hash. Not bad at all

The 2nd error I want to correct is the micron bags I used to collect my yields. If you look at the photos above in one of the photos I'm using the red and yellow bags. The red bag is 160 micron and the yellow bag is 73 micron. I made a mistake. The bottom bag should have been the 25 micron purple bag, and it was omitted. So what happened? Because I failed to include the 25 micron bag I let a lot of full melt hash less than 75 micron go down the drain. Don't do what I did there. I felt like my stomach about fell through my asshole as I was reviewing the photos and realized the mistake. It will not occur again. To correct my previous recommendation I would suggest using the 25 micron, 73 micron, and 120 micron bags. I will be running the 2nd batch tomorrow. I'll take additional pictures showing the yield that comes out of each bag - properly this time

 

[Keesje]

So the right order for bags is 120 - 73 - 25.
An the right order for work is Putting bags in bucket - wash - smoke. And not 'smoke - Putting bags in bucket - wash'

 

[jonnynobody]

So the right order for bags is 120 - 73 - 25.
An the right order for work is Putting bags in bucket - wash - smoke. And not 'smoke - Putting bags in bucket - wash'

That is correct. 120, 73, and 25 micron bags are the best ones to use. My apologies for the mix up. I did get high before I started. Post work smoke out's are highly recommended. Fewer mistakes occur that way

 

[NukaKola]

I used 220u,120u, 73u, 45u, 25u. The 73u is the winner for most strains and is the most blonde and melty. Sometimes the 120u was killer as well. I would heat it up and make a thin patty in parchment paper and then dab it on a nail like BHO or Rosin. The 45u was darker and not as melty but still made for some decent smoke. The 25u came out really dark and was only suitable for edibles IMO.

To really get the product next level and more of an icewax instead of bubble hash you want to collect the hash out of the bubble bags and place it on a 25u drying screen on top of cardboard. This allows the moisture to actually seep out instead of just setting it on parchment paper. After 24 hours stick the blobs of hash into a freezer until rock solid and then microplane it to a powder on top of parchment paper and stick in a drying room.

This will leave you with a product that is full melt and completely moisture free. Ice wax > bubble hash.

 

[jonnynobody]

I used 220u,120u, 73u, 45u, 25u. The 73u is the winner for most strains and is the most blonde and melty. Sometimes the 120u was killer as well. I would heat it up and make a thin patty in parchment paper and then dab it on a nail like BHO or Rosin. The 45u was darker and not as melty but still made for some decent smoke. The 25u came out really dark and was only suitable for edibles IMO.

To really get the product next level and more of an icewax instead of bubble hash you want to collect the hash out of the bubble bags and place it on a 25u drying screen on top of cardboard. This allows the moisture to actually seep out instead of just setting it on parchment paper. After 24 hours stick the blobs of hash into a freezer until rock solid and then microplane it to a powder on top of parchment paper and stick in a drying room.

This will leave you with a product that is full melt and completely moisture free. Ice wax > bubble hash.

I do not like the idea of rupturing the glands with a grater. Breaking the patty up into small pieces after pressing the moisture will allow for efficient drying while preserving terpenes. By grinding the glands into dust like that you're rupturing them causing evaporation of terpenes degrading the quality of the finished product. Would you ever do this with your dried flowers? No? Why is that? For the same reason you should not do it with your hash. Exposing the glands to air and light immediately accelerates the degradation process which is why we generally break up our flowers right before we consume them unless you're packing a dugout or something. Press the moisture out with the screen included with the bubble bags, break the patty into small pieces, and allow to dry for 3-4 days in a cool dark place with relatively low humidity and good air flow. Leave the grater in the kitchen cabinet. I would also advise others to avoid the hash press for the same reason I suggest avoiding the grater. Pressing the glands with force into a small puck ruptures the glands. It doesn't completely ruin the product, but it's not going to be as flavorful as it would have been without pressing and the exterior of the puck will have considerably less flavor the the interior due to oxidation.

 

[NukaKola]

I do not like the idea of rupturing the glands with a grater. Breaking the patty up into small pieces after pressing the moisture will allow for efficient drying while preserving terpenes. By grinding the glands into dust like that you're rupturing them causing evaporation of terpenes degrading the quality of the finished product. Would you ever do this with your dried flowers? No? Why is that? For the same reason you should not do it with your hash. Exposing the glands to air and light immediately accelerates the degradation process which is why we generally break up our flowers right before we consume them unless you're packing a dugout or something. Press the moisture out with the screen included with the bubble bags, break the patty into small pieces, and allow to dry for 3-4 days in a cool dark place with relatively low humidity and good air flow. Leave the grater in the kitchen cabinet. I would also advise others to avoid the hash press for the same reason I suggest avoiding the grater. Pressing the glands with force into a small puck ruptures the glands. It doesn't completely ruin the product, but it's not going to be as flavorful as it would have been without pressing and the exterior of the puck will have considerably less flavor the the interior due to oxidation.

This is a technique used by the most well known hash makers. It was first made popular by Matt Rize and is how all the top shelf ice wax is processed which can cost upwards of $100/gram and wins cups. The ice wax has been inspected under microscopes after micro planing and the glands are still intact. The quality and flavor profile is much better using the micro planing method. Give it a shot man I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

I turn the powder into dabs by lightly heating a piece of titanium and rolling it over folded parchment paper until the powder turns into a nice thin dab similar to rosin consistency.

I mean think about quality rosin, it has some of the best terps and you are literally using 10-20ton presses.

 

[jonnynobody]

This is a technique used by the most well known hash makers. It was first made popular by Matt Rize and is how all the top shelf ice wax is processed which can cost upwards of $100/gram and wins cups. The ice wax has been inspected under microscopes after micro planing and the glands are still intact. The quality and flavor profile is much better using the micro planing method. Give it a shot man I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

I turn the powder into dabs by lightly heating a piece of titanium and rolling it over folded parchment paper until the powder turns into a nice thin dab similar to rosin consistency.

It's great to hear you found a method that meets your needs. The hash dried without issue in under 3 days broken into small pieces. The grating thing seems cool, but wholly unnecessary. The press in the photo below looks really cool, but it's most likely never going to be used again. The hash has a tendency to stick to the metal on the press itself. The total loss to the press was .1. Not a big deal, but completely unnecessary to the process of making, collecting, and storing hash. It'll make a great paper weight

The small pressed puck you see in the photo is low grade crap material which is the only reason it compressed like that. Full melt doesn't do that. Save your money on a press or you'll use it once then discover you have a new $17 paper weight like I did

 

[youraveragehorticulturist]

Great write up Jonny, thanks for taking the time.

I think it's really cool that you used the sticks and showed the results separately. Like a little mini side experiment.

 

[DarkWeb]

I found that being gentle makes better hash. I also have a press similar to that and a few throwaway hand warmers wrapped around it and keeping it warm helps compress and aids in removal. This last time I also tried the slightest bit of olive oil and that helped tremendously. And I don't wash more than twice... even the second wash has more plant material in it. I make it almost identical to you but instead of 30gal I just use another 5. Oh and one more thing a spray bottle or something like it gets so much more off the sides of the bags and helps get it all together. Last run I used the sprayer on the kitchen sink.