BHO: My Experiences

[JJ Bones]

Well I did my fourth run of BHO and this time I actually had about 56 grams of bubble hash so I decided to try that out.

Went well, ended up getting 4 grams of some very nice hash oil. Did about 80 minutes of heat purging with the water at 100F and then did about 40 minutes of a vaccum purge with a pump, while it was also being heat purged.

Took a rip off my glass nail tonight, and boy it did it's job with that one hit. Very nice stuff!

 

[Twelve12]

That looked great. Do you use a special water pipe to smoke the BHO like a skillet? I have yet to try making BHO, something about fuel mixed with THC scares me...you did a great job!

 

[JJ Bones]

I have an HBG Bong with a glass nail, not the skillet.

I'm totally with you on fearing butane in BHO. That's why I like to take things into my own hands. Many people don't take the time to thoroughly learn proper technique.

A solid heat purge + a heated vacuum purge will get rid of any butane.

Plus there is the fire test, if your dab sparkles or crackles there is still tane in it. Mine just drips off the dabber, if it stays lit thats okay too as it produced a candle wicking effect. Just be weary of crackles.

 

[SauronBlue]

DAMN! 56g reduced down to 4?! I was hoping to make some BHO from the trim bubble hash from my upcoming crop, but I doubt I'll get enough to make it worthwhile with that ratio. I gotta say, though, that looks sticky delicious!! Is there any way you could post your method? Do you just spray the butane on top of the powdery hash, or is there a tube, like when using buds? How do you do that 2-step purge, and can I do a vacuum purge without industrial materials? What butane do you use? Thanks for posting this!

 

[JJ Bones]

Did a small run again, over the weekend. I got a really low yield, I'm thinking it's due to my friend grinding up the nugs, its better to leave them intact.

We did 54 grams, just 2 shy of two ounces and only got about 2.4 grams.

A normal ratio is 3-6 grams per high quality oz of bud.

It came out very nice though, it's amber glass.

I recently purchased a BHO tube that comes with a stand, 50 micron filter and it stainless still. I expect better ratios with this.

Here are some pictures of my latest batch.

 

[JJ Bones]

DAMN! 56g reduced down to 4?! I was hoping to make some BHO from the trim bubble hash from my upcoming crop, but I doubt I'll get enough to make it worthwhile with that ratio. I gotta say, though, that looks sticky delicious!! Is there any way you could post your method? Do you just spray the butane on top of the powdery hash, or is there a tube, like when using buds? How do you do that 2-step purge, and can I do a vacuum purge without industrial materials? What butane do you use? Thanks for posting this!

BHO is purely for one hitter quitter status. You will never get a bit ratio, it's usually 3-6 grams per oz on average. However it will only take 0.1 to get you ripped most of the time; considering you have the proper tools to hit it, and are not putting it on top of bowls (which still does the job!).

Load an extraction tube, use one can of Vector butane per oz of product then heat purge. For vacuum purge you can use a mason jar and a brake bleeder pump. However I recommend spending money on a good vacuum pump, makes things way easier.

 

[SauronBlue]

I actually don't want to smoke it, I was thinking of making a tincture to either take in drops, or vaporize. Is there any benefit to going though all that trouble, just to smoke it? You could just smoke the buds, so why do you exert so much effort? EVERYWHERE that I've looked says that you should grind and thoroughly dry all buds before extracting, yet you say that reduced your yield? How can having more access to the surface of the material reduce the amount of trichomes removed? Is it that he didn't add the keif the he extracted during grinding? Any idea why a 50 mircon screen is the norm, while 170-190 is the basic mesh for extracting the same trichomes from water? Wouldn't you get much more, yet slightly lower quality if you used a mesh closer to 100-150? 25 micron is too small for most useful stuff to pass through, so why are we cutting it so close? If anything, why not a second wash with bigger screen, which I have yet to see.
Sorry for bombarding you with Q's, but you're the first experienced person I've been able to ask these of. Thanks!

 

[JJ Bones]

Is there any benefit to going though all that trouble, just to smoke it? You could just smoke the buds, so why do you exert so much effort?

It's somewhat like growing, you could just get some from somewhere else however it's the experience and ownership that makes it all worthwhile. Smoking buds will rarely get you as stoned as smoking BHO. Typically one hit of BHO and you're blown out of your mind. The experience of creating your own plus the potency makes it worth it, for myself anyway.

EVERYWHERE that I've looked says that you should grind and thoroughly dry all buds before extracting, yet you say that reduced your yield? How can having more access to the surface of the material reduce the amount of trichomes removed? Is it that he didn't add the keif the he extracted during grinding?

Everywhere I've looked and a majority of the folks I've talked to about this process recommend not grinding up the buds. For one you typically lose a lot during the grinding process, also some people will do a run with full buds intact, then grind them and do another run which gives more yield.

Any idea why a 50 mircon screen is the norm, while 170-190 is the basic mesh for extracting the same trichomes from water? Wouldn't you get much more, yet slightly lower quality if you used a mesh closer to 100-150? 25 micron is too small for most useful stuff to pass through, so why are we cutting it so close?

The most common I've seen is either 50, 90 or 120. Obviously with the 90-120 you'll get an increase in yield. I went with (or am going to go with) 50 micron to get the highest quality I can. Nothing but liquid will pass through that. I feel bubble hash is far inferior to BHO.

No problem with the questions, while I may have some experience I definitely am no expert. I've been studying and practicing at this for the past 3 months now, and it's taken a while to get solid information, so I am more than happy to pass on what I've experienced and read to others.

 

[SauronBlue]

Thanks for the advice! I'm hope you don't take offense to my questions, I'm not trying to challenge you, just trying to find common-sense answers to some questions as to why people say "this is the best way", or "that way doesn't work". I don't understand why leaving buds whole(with trichomes and thc stuck in the center of the bud, that"s not getting much exposure to the liquid butane) would be beneficial - but not everything that works makes sense, or is easily explainable. I just happened upon a friend getting rid of some hash, so I grabbed a couple grams. I ordered some vector, and plan on trying my hand at making some honey myself.

Everywhere I've looked and a majority of the folks I've talked to about this process recommend not grinding up the buds. For one you typically lose a lot during the grinding process, also some people will do a run with full buds intact, then grind them and do another run which gives more yield.

Once again, are you saying you lose a lot of keif? And if so, can't you just empty that from the grinder into the extraction tube?

The most common I've seen is either 50, 90 or 120. Obviously with the 90-120 you'll get an increase in yield. I went with (or am going to go with) 50 micron to get the highest quality I can. Nothing but liquid will pass through that. I feel bubble hash is far inferior to BHO.

Is this due to the larger particles getting though the average bubble hash process, or are you saying that even BH made with a 50 micron screen would be better than BHO? If so, why? Once again, I have never tried BHO, so I'm just trying to get your opinion so that I can learn. A friend just told me that he makes an oil from just soaking the leaves in oil, heating, and straining. I know nothing about oil, BH or BHO, so I'm just trying to learn what others like and why, so that I can try to decide what makes the most sense for me. If only consumer Reports would come out with a "Cannabis medicating and cultivation products" guide, then I wouldn't have to bug you!lol

 

[JJ Bones]

You're not bugging me at all mate. I welcome any questions, and like I said I'm still a student of the process so we can learn together.

You could pour the kief into the tube, however it also has to do with how the pressure builds up in the tube. When it's more of a grinded or fine material the pressure from the butane bottle pushes all of it towards the bottom and then you lose a lot of butane to the actually sides of the tube rather then going directly through the buds.

When the buds are intact it helps to counteract the pressure because they're still dense enough to stay put for the most part.

I'd say 50 micron is better for BHO. Bubble is only using water, however BHO obviously uses butane, which is really 100% butane, there are other ingredients involved.

 

[SauronBlue]

I get what you're saying about the pressure, now. This is gonna be hard to experiment with, because the materials are so hard to come by with a grow of my size, that I can't run test after test to find my favorite. I'm thinking grind/keif on the bottom, buds on top would give me the best of both worlds. I'll try using the full strength butane to extract the buds first, since they need more penetration, and to weigh the whole mess down. Then as the butane gets full of thc, and less effective, it hits a "screen" of ground weed, that will slow the butane's exit, and pull the more easily dislodged crystals from that, just before hitting the 50micron screen. What do you think? Also, since 200-220 is considered the biggest screen for usable hash particles, I will either use a higher initial screen(maybe 100 or 150)- or change screens, then do a second run - So as to not waste the vast majority of the active ingredients.
You should do a youtube search for "bubble hash" or "bubble bags", and watch what comes out of each grade of screen. Although 50 micron is very nice quality, look at how much good stuff never makes it through that screen. The 175 bag has like 5-10 times the yield, don't waste it! If you want "only the best", then save the second run for your buddies when they come over, right? I mean, maybe I'm missing something, and the mesh of a BHO extractor doesn't equate to a BH bag, but that's why I'm asking Q's. Maybe some OG growers will jump in and clear up the confusion?

 

[WoCha]

What i do : Use the honey bee extractor tube wich is a pvc tube with holes in the cap, put two layers of coffee filter in the cap as a screen. Grind it fine, butane it, wait till gas is out, shake it, doing it again...work in small batches, better for yield...but youll never "yield" with bho...at least without the super 1000 $ extractor wich saves the butane i guess

 

[SauronBlue]

A little worried about using pvc to extract, since the tane can rip paint off of a metal tube. I've seen the material sheets that say pvc1 is okay chemically(ONLY PVC 1!!!), but it still feels sketchy. I think I'd feel safest with glass. Have you ever tried a steel/brass screen, and if so, what makes you prefer coffee filters? Don't the filters absorb some of the oil? With such a small yield of such a concentrated oil, I don't want to lose a drop! How does your second run compare to the first? 1/2 the 1st run? 1/4?

 

[WoCha]

Coffee filter for ease of use, pretty much the same as the ones who camed with the tube...i dont do multiple runs just shake the tube, after the butane is all evaporated

My friend got a one hitter glass pipe and used it for a tube for a few runs and did great

I had the best results by using high quality pot, never did any from trim tought the yield would be too small, got bubbleator for that. The best quality in the best out...in my experiences

 

[SauronBlue]

Okay, I read "doing it again" as 2nd run, not refill tube. What you say makes sense to me, with grinding, and using good quality. both seem to give more access to thc/trichs, so I don't understand the reasoning behind using low-qual bud, or big, whole buds. I wish someone would explain the advantages of these approaches. I can only see a small reduction in plant matter getting through by not grinding, but the increase in potency/yield would seem well worth it. I've read that pressing more gently on the can will reduce the "wind tunnel" effect that anti-grinders say is the big problem with ground bud. Why not use good quality is a mystery.
A one-hitter as an extraction tube?! How much bud fits in there? I could see maybe using to blow kief, but I don't think I've ever gotten more than a gram of bud in one.

 

[Android]

I tried using 10cc syringe with kief in in and it works fine, except that the tip is too small- I will use a 60cc syringe next time I run BHO

 

[JJ Bones]

50 micron gives really low yields, I'm going to be testing 120 next, and possibly 90.

Never use PVC, period, is my motto with this.

 

[SauronBlue]

I gotta go with JJ here. I've searched, and can only find 60cc syringes in cheap plastic. This stuff will leach all kinds of stuff into the butane, along with your thc. When the tane vapes off, all you want left is the sticky weed sap. All mixed in with that, you're gonna have plastic coating. It's pushing the limits with certain kinds of pvc(there are material safety data sheets that show that pvc-1 does not breakdown significantly due to butane expose, while all other pvc and plastic does - but I personally wouldn't risk it) , but what you're talking about is not safe. You might not fall over dead from one toke, but who knows how much of that you have to smoke to get lung issues? Would you smoke out of a pipe from the same material you're thinking of extracting with?


On this chart, you see that the reaction of pvc type-1 to butane is listed as "A." Scroll to the bottom, and it says A= no reaction/excellent:
Chemical Resistance Chart

This one shows different grades of pvc, and butane(cut in half at the top of page 2, but you can still read it) is only R, or recommended for use with type-1:
Harringtonplastics.com

 

[WoCha]

I fit about a quarter once of bud per run...a bit more then half a regular butane bottle through it...i only use buds because i only make small batches and use it like champagne, too much of that stuff build tolerence quite fast

Def someone has a better technique, but i get a good amount and works everytime, i dont intend to make money when i run bho...

 

[WoCha]

My tube is store bought for bho btw....i will sure sue those fuckers if anything happen to me so im pretty sure its a plastic that its legit...solvents in general are dangerous and i wouldnt use pvc after reading what you posted

The tube seems much stronger and stiffer than pvc, and its made in quebec! Said they are the first in their bizness...lol