I wasn't sure where to put this thread. After making my first cart from some store bought concentrate, I will definitely be making many more! I know my successes but especially my failures will help others.

If this is the wrong spot for this thread admins...well you know... do your thing and stuff.

A serious shout out to @PeakSupplyCo for being one of our site sponsors and for having an amazing sale recently! Picked up a few things last week to give a try. Well...I'm sold after this first cart. I just placed another order during their Halloween Sale!

For this cart, I used the Peak Supply XL G.A.S. Cartridge, a touch of Gelato terpenes, and another touch of the Viscosity Booster

Cool little gadget to hook up my pen to a bong. Also, a pic of the cart and oil.



I started with a local "premium" concentrate that I can get consistently for $20-25 per gram. End goal of course is to make it from my own home grown pressed rosin. GSC presses and vape carts will most definitely be coming up soon!

My First DIY Vape Cart Recipe:
I used the glass container the rosin came in for the heating and prep process.
I used a hot plate to heat up the concentrate and started stirring slowly when it began to melt. I stopped stirring a few times until it was just about to bubble, then remove from the heat, and keep stirring while it cooled. I was doing my best to keep the temps below 190°. I used an infrared thermometer to watch it and had to do a few pulls off and on the hot plate to keep it close.

When I got a good runny viscosity, I added a couple drops of the booster and 3 of the Gelato. I turned off my hot plate and I stirred continually while the hot plate cooled down. At least 3-5 minutes is what I did. As soon as I had a good mixture (got impatient and wrists were hurting), I used a glass pipette to fill the cartridge.

After it was filled, I left it wick side down to settle for about 10 minutes. Then I screwed on the mouthpiece. I let it sit in my DIY cart filler/holder thingy overnight to soak into the wick. The next morning I turned it over and left it that way all day. Did that a few times over the next couple days. All done and ready to use!

Along the way, I did a few taste tests of course!! Every day, the flavor melded together more and more. In total, I left the cart to settle for 3.5 days. It tasted better than most cartridges I have purchased. It also got me properly baked right out of the gate! Stronger than the other carts I have.
Could it be the added terpenes and entourage affect?!?
It rivaled the terpene profile of the Gelato Stizzy pod. Leftcoast Extracts makes very good carts/pods too with strong terpene profiles. I would put this cart up against theirs for taste tests. Not exaggerating. I decided to add a little bit of Gelato because I felt that I was burning off terps during the warming and stirring process. I should have just added the terps and left out the booster. After a few days, the oil is just slightly more runny than I would prefer. I have been puffing on it several times a day for the past few days and it's still going strong. No clogs and no issues. Strong deep rips without a problem from the cartridge too. Plenty of airflow to really get that coil heated up. Full of flavor and intensity. I was able to preserve some of that sweet and peppery aroma from the Death Star Cherry Pie I think. The added Gelato
kept some sweetness and added the pungent ending tones to the puff.

I will be making many more cart recipes and I will document them along the way. I believe it would benefit us all.

Any questions, please ask. I'm new to this but will help as best as I can. If you have wisdom to share, please do so. The more we share, the better we become.

I would recommend not doing what I did and just get their Alchemy Starter Kit. It has samples of all the products you would need to make some carts. I spent more than necessary to test my theory of making my own premium carts. Should have just got the kit.

The hot plate magnetic stirrer I used was much too inconsistent. The return process has already been started!

Anyway...I personally think a magnetic stirrer is NOT a needed piece of equipment. If making large batches, then I would say it would be a convenient addition. Otherwise, I think your best bet would be to get the DapPress Sauce Plate. It has a MUCH better temp controller. The only thing it doesn't do is stir for you. It gives you the added bonus of making some THC Diamonds too!


I hope this thread picks up momentum amongst everyone with experience making carts and those of us that want to learn more!
BLESSINGS!
 
:bravo:, :welldone:, and :thanks: Baked!
I used the Peak Supply XL G.A.S. Cartridge,
Terrific use of our sponsors! And a ceramic coil too. :)
I used a hot plate to heat up the concentrate and started stirring slowly when it began to melt. I stopped stirring a few times until it was just about to bubble, then remove from the heat, and keep stirring while it cooled. I was doing my best to keep the temps below 190°.
Does their concentrate come decarbed? You would need to decarb your pressed rosin before mixing your ingredients as I'm pretty sure store-bought carts are decarbed.
It rivaled the terpene profile of the Gelato Stizzy pod. Leftcoast Extracts makes very good carts/pods too with strong terpene profiles. I would put this cart up against theirs for taste tests. Not exaggerating. I decided to add a little bit of Gelato because I felt that I was burning off terps during the warming and stirring process.
What an excellent result!
No clogs and no issues.
:yahoo:
I will be making many more cart recipes and I will document them along the way. I believe it would benefit us all.
Mos' def. Much appreciated!
I hope this thread picks up momentum amongst everyone with experience making carts and those of us that want to learn more!
Great idea to create this thread as a hangout place for folks making their own carts. Put a link in your threads and GT's squishing thread too. I think it will gain some traction once folks find out it's here!
 
Thanks Shed!
Does their concentrate come decarbed? You would need to decarb your pressed rosin before mixing your ingredients as I'm pretty sure store-bought carts are decarbed.
It is not decarbed. The heated coil and action of creating the vapor ultimately accomplishes that task.

I personally think you decrease its effectiveness if you decarb ahead of time. That's why it was important to keep the temps below 200°. I found my plate wanting to push the temps too much. The back and forth of temps is likely not the best thing for the oil. Even with that inconsistent part of my first cart, it came out excellent. That said, I am fairly certain I lost terps and THCa to the heating process.

Terrific use of our sponsors! And a ceramic coil too. :)
Oh yeah...the cotton/ceramic question. See, I thought of ya. Just made you look for it is all...
 
I'll probably never make a vape cartridge but this pic has me thinking of a better way to use a vape pen, which is sometimes too harsh for me.

Thanks, Baked.
Hey HG! It was super smooth. I like it. I don't use it much personally though. It is nice to have though.
 
Wanted to share a new cart I made. Actually made a few. Here is a pic of one of them.

See anything wrong with it at first glance?

It was a ZMO live resin sauce. I added some @PeakSupplyCo viscosity booster at roughly 10% by volume. But I calculated incorrectly and made it slightly too runny. Not horrible since the booster doesn't seem to negate the terpene profile. It does dilute your final solution though. Keep that in mind. The sauce also had a lot of micro crystals which made for a very long stir time. The @DabPress hot plate made easy work of the heating process! Stable temps throughout!


 
It was a ZMO live resin sauce. I added some @PeakSupplyCo viscosity booster at roughly 10% by volume. But I calculated incorrectly and made it slightly too runny. Not horrible since the booster doesn't seem to negate the terpene profile. It does dilute your final solution though. Keep that in mind. The sauce also had a lot of micro crystals which made for a very long stir time. The @DabPress hot plate made easy work of the heating process! Stable temps throughout!
I'm confused...you poured it out and heated it to evaporate some of the liquid? Or you vaped it as is but used the plate beforehand to soften the mix before putting it in the cart?
 
I'm confused...you poured it out and heated it to evaporate some of the liquid? Or you vaped it as is but used the plate beforehand to soften the mix before putting it in the cart?
Sorry...I was typing and posted it in a hurry. I heated the sauce in the glass container it came in. I heated it at 190° for probably an hour to help break down the micro "diamonds" but they didn't end completely breaking down. After being heated for 20 or 30 minutes, I added the Viscosity Booster and kept stirring it up until I thought I had a runny enough sauce. Sucked it up into a glass syringe and loaded the cart.
 
Good stuff!
Thanks Gramps! I need to get my ass into the garage and do some more pressing. I haven't made a new cart in quite some time. I really just need to kick the lazy out of my mind because I sure could use some puffs throughout the day.
 
I like baked but i've never done a dab before could i get a low thc strain and use it make vape juice for work? and I mean pain nods
It was such a clean method to smoke and enjoy. I prefer taking a dab than to smoke a joint or bowl (pipe or bong). Takes a little more effort but the flavor and potency simply cannot be compared. Apples and oranges in my opinion. You can basically make your own vape carts from just about any rosin I think. Just takes some tinkering.
 
With a partial decarboxylation you should be good to flow.
Hey :ciao: So I've done the "hot" plate method too and that indeed helps. I prefer not to get anywhere near decarb temps though. The act of the vaporization will do that for me. If I decarb before, then I'm potentially losing the THC potency. That's my understanding of it anyway. When I use the hot plate, it is meant to remove air bubbles primarily which can cause unnecessary oxidation and can harden the rosin more than it should. It dissolves out the remaining fats & lipids too if I remember correctly. Another key component to minimize the need for viscosity boosters is an approach I wanted to try. Specifically because Shed wanted to have a rosin only cart. Without all the fancy lab grade equipment and processes to accomplish that of course.

How do you prep your carts? Always good to see other approaches and successful ventures!
 
are you making carts from your own plants @BakedARea ?

something seems a little off. my understanding is they suspend a rosin in vegetable glycerin and something else to make a cart commercially. wish i could remember the second liquid. pretty sure that's the basis of what is in those proprietary bottles.

a lot of folk are interested in how to make their own carts without resorting to buying a marketed system. that's where folk want to get to. they want to be independent.

there's also loads of rosin only vape pens, that do not require carts, but they come with their own drawbacks.
 
are you making carts from your own plants @BakedARea ?

something seems a little off. my understanding is they suspend a rosin in vegetable glycerin and something else to make a cart commercially. wish i could remember the second liquid. pretty sure that's the basis of what is in those proprietary bottles.

a lot of folk are interested in how to make their own carts without resorting to buying a marketed system. that's where folk want to get to. they want to be independent.

there's also loads of rosin only vape pens, that do not require carts, but they come with their own drawbacks.
I think they use propylene glycol
 
I think they use propylene glycol


that's it. so the recipe is x amount of heat press rosin, x amount of vegetable glycerine, and x amount of propylene glycol.

just need to determine the x's.
 
are you making carts from your own plants @BakedARea ?
I have made them with my own rosin, that I pressed from flower and also from rosin I purchased from the dispensary.
something seems a little off.
Not sure I understand what you mean by it being a little off. Just heat, rosin, and a tiny bit of terps or viscosity booster in them so far. Maybe @PeakSupplyCo could comment on their proprietary ingredients. It is possible to make carts without them if you don't want to use anything. They are smoother and can add flavor for carts that may not have any left from a bad dry or cure. Or to just boost the flavor some more if you desire that. I feel safe using their products in my carts but I understand the reservations some folks may have.
a lot of folk are interested in how to make their own carts without resorting to buying a marketed system
That's why I made some for myself. To avoid having to spend a bunch of $ on store purchased carts.
that's it. so the recipe is x amount of heat press rosin, x amount of vegetable glycerine, and x amount of propylene glycol.

just need to determine the x's.
I am fairly certain that they did not use vegetable glycerine in their products. But I cannot say for sure.

Sorry for the late responses folks. Hopefully I can make some more carts soon. I have plans to make a bunch of rosin soon, so making carts is getting worked in there somehow. I'll be sure to document my recipes. Thanks for chiming in.
 
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