Schwaggy P
Well-Known Member
Relevant past posts:
View attachment 4312409
I decided to try out Terpinator for a current run and have found that it really improves the intensity of the smell. It is something that I would like to incorporate into my nutrient regimen. Unfortunately, the required dosage and relatively steep price has me hesitant to commit.
The label reads: Soluble Potash (K2O)……4.0%, Derived from Potassium Sulfate
Add 5-10mL/gal in veg
Add 10-30mL/gal in flower
So I have decided to try to replicate this additive by mixing my own Potassium Sulfate solution and testing it on a run of the same cut that has responded well to Terpinator.
I have done some calculations and found that in order to create the same concentration of Soluble Potash derived from Potassium Sulfate, I will need to add 300g of Potassium Sulfate per gallon of water (The math is included below).
PLEASE NOTE: I have yet to apply this to plants. I will be testing this mixture and making notes of any issues/successes and suggestions for possible further adjustment. Do not try this at home (yet). Neither Schwaggy P, nor any Schwaggy P subsidiaries are responsible for any grower attempting this recipe or the results thereof.
MATERIALS
View attachment 4312410
One gallon distilled water
Potassium Sulfate
Container for the solution
Scale
Gloves
Flask (optional for smaller mixed solutions)
PROCEDURE
View attachment 4312411
Wearing gloves, mass the Potassium Sulfate (pic 1).
Carefully transfer the Potassium Sulfate into your container (pic 2).
Pour about half of the distilled water into the container (pic3).
Shake the container vigorously (pic 4), then fill the container with the remaining half of distilled water. At this point you have a one-gallon terpene-enhancing additive for less than 1/10th the cost of the store bought version.
TESTING
View attachment 4312412
I decided to see what the TDS contribution would be of both solutions. I added 0.5mL of each solution to their own sample of distilled water and measured the increase in TDS. The dosage is equivalent to the median recommended feeding dosage of 20mL/gallon.
In Series A, the Terp Enhancinator contributed an increase of 251.5ppm(0.5 scale)
In series B, the Terpinator contributed an increase of 379.9ppm
The DIY mix is a colorless and odorless solution, while the Terpinator has a yellowish color with a smell. These additions may explain the slight increased TDS contribution of the Terpinator. The take-away for me is that my DIY mix is not an astronomical overshoot of something like 2,600ppm. The relatively closeness of the ppm suggests the solution is not going to severely alter my reservoir chemistry.
View attachment 4312413
I took a sample of nutrient solution from a reservoir to test possible precipitate formation upon addition of the DIY mix. There was no visible precipitate formation when a 10ml/gal equivalent dosage was applied. The reservoir nutrient solution had a starting concentration of 635ppm (pic 5) and finished with a 730ppm (pic 6) concentration after the DIY mix was added.
Since the final DIY mix had a slightly lower concentration contribution than the Terpinator (expected since there are more non nutritive additions) and there was friendly interaction with nutrient solution, I feel this will be okay to try on my plants. I will use begin using this mix as directed to best replicate the Terpinator and assess the performance. I will update as things progress.
REFERENCE
Potassium Sulfate MSDS
https://n.b5z.net/i/u/10066364/f/Potassium_Sulfate_-_MSDS.pdf
Potassium Sulfate Spec Sheet
https://alphachemicals.com/i/u/10066364/f/Potassium_Sulfate_-_Spec.pdf
MATH
View attachment 4312415 View attachment 4312416
View attachment 4312417
View attachment 4312418
After growing out a clone in 3 separate runs: No terp additive, Terpinator, and Terp Enhancinator, I have smelled and tasted the resulting buds for comparison.Thank you
So far the Terp Enhancinator as been in the rez for 3 weeks and the Green Crack S1 are putting off more intense smell than runs without any terp additive. The difference I'm observing between the Terpinator vs. Terp E. is that where the Terpinator really augmented the fruit/guava profile first, the Terp Enhancinator has brought out the onion/B.O./astringent terps strong.
The GC terp profile is: Astringent/Sour/Garlic/Guava
The Terpinator crop did finish with the smell profile "rounding out" with the other components of the GC smell, but the Guava aspect seemed more prominent than other GC runs. The Terpinator produced a more pronounced smell to the crop, so it seemed to do what it claimed.
The Terp Enhancinator has really turned up the more offensive parts of the smell. I'd assume the final smell will also round out with the other usual terps. If the pattern of what comes on strong first remains accentuated, then it seems Terp Enhancinator may be a better choice for the more skunky funky terp boost. I put a couple Chocolate Covered Strawberries on the tray to see how fruity/sweeter terps are affected, and they don't seem to be showing as much of a kick in intensity.
The dosage as calculated seems to be just fine, the ppm boost is no problem (as seen in the testing) and the plants are not expressing any nutrient issues. The Terp E. crop still has some time to go, but I'm feeling pretty good about what I'm seeing so far.
View attachment 4323373
SMELL COMPARISON
The Terpinator sample had a more intense overall smell. It is as if the smell profile I’m familiar with was turned up a couple notches. There was no noticeably featured notes to the smell, nothing was either augmented or diminished in the smell palette to detract from the usual bouquet. There was a bit of sweetness to the smell that is not usually found in this bud.
The Terp Enhancinator (TE) did not have similar results. The TE sample was only marginally more intense of an overall smell when compared to the sample without any terp additive. The noteworthy effect was that the TE seems to accentuate a pinesol-esque segment of the bouquet. There was a detectable increase in a nostril-stinging astringent note. The sample usually has a solvent-like aspect to her smell, but the TE seems to have highlighted a piney/lemony tone that is usually very subtle if present at all. Also, the TE sample was less sweet than the Terpinator sample. The subtle sweetness of the Terpinator sample was not present with the TE sample, but instead a sharper finish that could be attributed to the accentuated lemon pinesol note. Unfortunately, the TE did not seem to increase the intensity of the smell, only rearrange the priorities of featured aspects to the smell profile.
TASTE COMPARISON
The Terpinator sample had mixed reviews during taste testing that I could attribute to the testers’ taste preferences. One person found the taste to be a slightly muted version of the non-additive sample and preferred the unadulterated control bud. Another person found an increased sweetness to the taste and preferred the Terpinator sample to the control.
The Terp Enhancinator fared better in the taste testing. One tester stated that the taste was a more evenly increased flavor to either the control or Terpinator buds. Another tester found the TE sample to be more flavorful than the control, but only slightly lagging the Terpinator sample.
HONORABLE MENTION
I used the Terp Enhancinator on a round of H.A.OG to see how the additive interacts with a different plant. The lemon pinesol was dramatically increased in the resulting bud. Being that this is an OG and these terp notes are synonymous, this was a fitting addition to the final samples. The H.A.OG tends to the earthy fuel expression without terp additive, but the fuel aspect has been refined to include the hints of lemon and pine to the usual sting. These added notes are by no means drowning out the usual flavor, but have accented the underlying bouquet in a very pleasing way. I would say that I enjoy the Terp Enhancinator buds more than those without.
. I'm excited to see how they perform, thanks for updating.
.
