First step in BHO...

[Pyewacket]

Well it has taken me some time to get to this point, but I am willing to attempt BHO extraction. It has taken me a long time to consider the safety aspects of this method-- to come to terms with my abilities to make it safe. My wife is vaping more, since we found a decent way to do it. I have plenty of bud to try this with, and I am willing to toss a bunch of BHO out if I feel I have failed in producing it safely.

I decided to consider extraction tube methods. I had intended to use a SS turkey baster...I may still, but I constructed an extraction tube from a SS keg spear and a pressed ---> silver plumber soldered a 3/4inch copper cap into the end. This may hold an OZ...just a guess. It also has the spring end flange that should assist in clamping the coffee filters at the end.

The cap was snug, so I was able to get a good solder wicking effect and the seal is solid.



I plan to soak in vinegar first....95.5% next....and a trial run with butane so that I make sure i get all the gunk out of the tube. I was hoping someone could tell me what size hole should I drill to fit the butane nozzle? It is my understanding that the butane cans come with fittings for various sizes:



I am considering various purging methods...all this would have to be worked out before I attempt anything. Please let me know if you see a problem with the constructed tube...I can always use the turkey baster. Thanks....

 

[Pyewacket]

I have a couple more questions besides the size of the hole for the butane nozzle. This is rather thin and long...3/4inch by 12inch. How does width vs height influence the evacuation? I notice that some people run the material twice -- They run it once and then they remove the material and allow to dry...grind up the material and run butane through it a second time. I was curious if this is what many of you folks do?

 

[Twitch]

i like skinnier tubes, but i am also using a 2inch width tube now. almost all brand have the fittings in the lid of the butane cans, i would start with a 1/16th bit
sounds like your on the right track

i personally dont like metal tubes, yes guzias i like to watch the butane run down, you have to make sure you get a special kind of steel tube, guzias will chime in i am sure, he uses them because hes a jack ass and breaks his tubes lol but hes gut a pretty cool setup and i think it would answer your question about the effectiveness of the length and width of the tube

 

[qwizoking]

My opinion is the skinnier the better..based on efficiency
I also only ever do one wash

 

[Texas(THC)]

What does soaking in vinegar do?

 

[Pyewacket]

i would start with a 1/16th bit

based on efficiency I also only ever do one wash

Thanks folks, very helpful. I will give this homemade a go. I put an old bike handle on the tube, I am very clutsy. And for some reason I tolerate cold about as well as I tolerate a punch in the Kidney.

 

[Pyewacket]

What does soaking in vinegar do?

Only a consequence of soldering. I need to get all the flux crud etc...rinsed out. Apply various solvent...most importantly the solvent that will be used extensively...butane. It is homemade...I just want to be certain of no contaminates.

 

[blackforest]

The cap of the butane will have different size plastic tips to fit just about any hole. I've run twice a few times and do get some out the second time. It just depends. Run it until the liquid coming out turns from golden to clear. Usually run 1x 300ml can for each oz material. Wear a ski glove for your hand holding the extractor, it gets cold. Water bath until most all butane has evaporated then *winterize, or vac purge and you are golden.

 

[Pyewacket]

Water bath until most all butane has evaporated then *winterize,

I have plenty access to 95.5%ABV alcohol, I think I will give this a try...thanks~

 

[BCOGYODA]

I have to say I don't agree with the small tubes being more effective than large ID tubes. Well I'm not 100% positive on that yet BUT I will do a direct comparison experiment to test this theory.

I say this because since I started doing my BHO my friend just bought a small ID tube to run some of my bud he gets from me. I told him how to run the stuff the exact same way I am and he did so and got back a little less yield with my buds as I am getting with my larger ID tubes.

So I did just a quick experiment with my smaller test tube with a narrower ID myself and I found the same thing; a little less yield with the narrower tube. And same color and quality of product.

This was just a quick test not super controlled so after I post up my recent blendered frozen buds vs lightly broken up frozen buds thread (just finished the second run last night) I will do a thread comparing narrow tubes to wide tubes with the exact same product run etc..

 

[qwizoking]

In theory smaller tube will always be more efficient...the grind and density of the bud in the tube probly had a lot more to do with it...my guess is he messed up somewhere

 

[Pyewacket]

I am going to give the keg spear tube a go. I finished drilling my hole, and I have purchased some cans of butane. I am in the process of doing the final cleaning of the tube to get any residual crap out.

I have a good place to work outside, usually a nice soft breeze and no potential ignition sources. This is the process I will follow:
Approx 1OZ bud run:

1. Weigh the tube.
2. Separate stems and non sugar leaves from my material.
3. Pack the tube tightly and evenly with material.
4. Weigh the tube again and make note of the amount of bud.
5. Plumbers clamp 2 coffee filters on extraction end.
6. Evacuate/extract outside in a pyrex measuring cup....sitting inside warm water at about 160degrees F.
7. Continue to extract until butane runs clear.
8. When water cools, exchange water with another 160degree water bath until primary purge is finished.
9. Add 1.5cups of 190proof grain alcohol slowly.
10. Watch for reaction, allow the mixture to settle for some time.
11. Place in freezer for the night.
12. Next morning, place non-bleached coffee filters around two collection vessels and freeze them along side the mixture.
13. Individually separate/pour the mixture between the two filtering collection vessels and place back in the freezer until all has been filtered.
14. Take one of the filtered mixtures and pour this into a large pyrex baking pan that is sitting on top of a large pot with hot water.
15. Keep the temperature of the water around 175degrees F...allowing for the pyrex to be warmed by the vapors from the pot.
16. Make certain the mixture spreads evenly and very thinly over the bottom of the pyrex pan.
17. Allow the alcohol to completely evaporate off...letting the oil bead up.
18. Take a razor blade and spread beads over the bottom of the pan...uniform even coating.
19. Take additional razor blades and scrape off the oil.
20. Scrape in rows, cleaning the bottom and sides of pan.
21. Allow all collected razorblades to cool, and pray that the oil shatters off...
22. Weigh the yield.
23. REPEAT with second collection mixture-----
24. Flame test shatter to be certain no butane/alcohol remains.

If I get anything like shatter, I will be one happy camper. If this does not look reasonable, please tell me.

 

[qwizoking]

Sounds good to me...more or less
However I would suggest, in the winterizing steps, to not use a set amount and dissolve hot etoh into it until fluid...also I would suggest longer than overnight in the freezer(24hrs)

The rest of my changes would be more subjective

But the steam will make it more likely to wax(if there is any)

 

[Pyewacket]

set amount and dissolve hot etoh into it until fluid...also I would suggest longer than overnight in the freezer

Ok, great suggestions. I will heat the alcohol, and I will plan to leave it in the freezer for a couple days...

 

[Guzias1]

So I did just a quick experiment with my smaller test tube with a narrower ID myself and I found the same thing; a little less yield with the narrower tube. And same color and quality of product.

i personally dont like metal tubes, yes guzias i like to watch the butane run down, you have to make sure you get a special kind of steel tube, guzias will chime in i am sure, he uses them because hes a jack ass and breaks his tubes lol but hes gut a pretty cool setup and i think it would answer your question about the effectiveness of the length and width of the tube

hehe, i think glass are nice and clean.

i dont care to watch my liquid though.. even if i had a glass tube, i would still insulate it.

i got to the point where i pack slowly and evenly.. its very consistent.. as long as my tube is generally perpendicularly level to the ground, i always got a consistent pour all the way down to the end of the tube.. ( i used to watch it happen all the time) well.. its a system that doesnt really change..

i started off with a 2 inch ID glass tube.. I think the glass tube helped then, because i would dray a star pattern with the top of my tube, while keeping the bottom open end of it in pyrex dish. this would make sure my butane soaked every side of the tube as it made its way down.. well, this began to take much of my day away.. i used to have to set aside hoursssss of non stop packing, blasting, twirling in the star pattern, etc: over and over.. i even used to hold my can above tube, god, i think i grew some muscles then..

hehe. well. after many runs, i went to a smaller diameter tube, that let me get rid of the twirling(star pattern) . which then inspired me to build a stand.. well, my stand worked flawlessly for a good long time... i started off with a five ish foot glass tube, which is now about 3 feet long after all the tips and cracks its lived through.. the biggest flaw i encountered then was my tube being made out of glass... sooo, i went and got me some stainless steelies.. and now im building myself a little tube fleet :]

the inner diameter helps for straight down blows, with minimal work...

making sure you have perfect seals where the butane first enters the tube is another crucial factor.. you want ZERO leak.. if you have any gas escaping from where you are inserting can.. you need to stop...

a tight seal makes for the biggest yield and most use of your butane..

near the bottom of my tube, i have just a few big holes for my butane to escape out through.. i say just a few, because i dont use a completely open ended tube now.. im not sure, but i think the pressure of just several holes helps....

i got some 60 inch tubes going, those use about 2.5 cans of butane before it sprays clear..
i want to try some 48 inch tubes. see where that takes me, hoping just to spray 2 cans per tube..

since i got my new tubes, i have been able to re blast much easier, ( i leave my tubes packed, re blast next day)

i got some new fascinating numbers off the og. ran untrimmed buds, got 18.5% absolute first run, and another 6 the reblast absolute.. soooooooooooo my record comes with these tubes, along with material .. 24.5% absolute..



p.s. i used to unpack my tubes directly after spraying, note, its extremely easy to unpack while they stay extremely cold (but can be dangerous with all that butane )

i now unpack when they dry.. this is becoming my next nuisance.. dry tubes are really tough.. no love.. gots to figure that part out now..

 

[Pyewacket]

Guzias1, lot of good info...thanks. You mentioned several outlet holes instead of an open-end...I will experiment with this when I decide to upscale this tube. In the meantime, do you think that running a few more coffee filters at the open end would help?

 

[Guzias1]

Guzias1, lot of good info...thanks. You mentioned several outlet holes instead of an open-end...I will experiment with this when I decide to upscale this tube. In the meantime, do you think that running a few more coffee filters at the open end would help?

i say this with caution.. the more pressure you build up in tube, the more it has to hold up, and not bust open.. tread lightly..

ive backed off on coffee filter layers, i tend to only use a minimum of 5 layers of filter now.. the more you use, the better, but you tend to lose a bit of oil the more filters you use..

try out more filters :] i like pretty oil..

be safe man. its nice to practice on not so important material when breaking in a new tube..

 

[Pyewacket]

try out more filters :] i like pretty oil..

Awesome, will do.

 

[Guzias1]

my first tubes, actually missing the ss turkey baster :]

the latest. about 1.1 inch ID, 60 inches in length

 

[blackforest]

#2 Don't pack too tight. If you are using dry ground up material no need to get real real tight.
#6 You don't need to have your measuring cup in water already, but you can. No need to be specific about the water heat here, just use warm tap water.
#8 You want to make sure there is still some liquid in the measuring cup when you add the everclear. The viscosity should still be liquid water like but almost done
#9 I use 1 oz everclear for every 1g material I expect to extract (I usually get 10-12% return w/ sugar trim) 1 1/2 cups is like 12 oz everclear. WAY too much. For 1oz of bud, I would hope for 15% return which is 4.2g so I would use about 4oz everclear. Adjust accordingly...
#10 after I add the everclear I put in a waterbath to help the reaction, and stir w/ a glass rod. What is happening is the butane is bonding w/ the alcohol. it will 'dance' for about 1 hr.
#11 I freeze for 12 hours, seems to be enough time... larger batches may require longer freezer times though...
#12 I put those unbleached coffee filters in pint glasses and put a rubber band holding the filter in the pint glass then pour ~50ml (about fills up the filter) in each pint glass. put back in freezer for about 20 min or so until it filters. It's transparent and golden color.
#14 I pour into a 9x13 glass dish on a griddle and have a fan gently blowing over the surface. Will thin out any oil and let it sit there for awhile and let it cool down quite a bit. Good shatter should be hard to scrape. I'll use another razor blade to 'flick' off the shatter collected on the first one in a parchment paper 'box' I made. What is nice about this process is that the butane and alcohol bond much better than butane and THC so when you evap off the alcohol, you evap all the butane too making it an 'absolute'.

Good luck, have fun and be SAFE!