Man'O'Green
Well-Known Member
Yes I have and it does not work for shit! I have tried all kinds of thinners with rosin and none of them are satisfactory. There is just to much wax in rosin. I have moved to a QWET process for making vape juice. I don't like the idea of any solvent but ethanol would be the best of them as far as toxicity is concerned.
Here is that process from beginning to end:
QWET to VAPE - No PG, VG, or MCT.
Warning: 200 proof Ethanol is highly flammable and it burns with a colorless flame. It can be on fire and you will not know it. Vapors are heavier than air and can pool in an enclosed space and become explosive. Handle in a well ventilated area with no open flames or sources for ignition. The evaporation phase would be the most dangerous.
Inputs:
1L - 200 Proof Ethanol (at least 151 proof).
1 oz. or more good bud or trim.
10 g. CarbonX.
.2 g. Viscosity Terpene Thinner per gram of concentrate.
.1g. to .2 g. of strain specific flavor terpenes per gram of concentrate.
Tools:
Optional distiller (Green Machine Clone) this will pay for itself in 5 runs. Ethanol is about $50 per liter delivered here. $18 worth of cheap vodka 40% (3.5 L) distilled will yield ~1.5 liters of 185 Proof ethanol. A savings of $57 dollars per cycle. Run the vodka through the distiller twice. The first time fill the 1.75 L vodka bottle with distillate. Dump the water in the distiller refill from the first run and run again. The second time fill the 1.75L bottle with distillate to just above the top label ~1.5L.
A Buchner Filter system and #1, and #2 filter papers. I got a disposable one cheap that I was able to modify with sand paper to be an excellent reusable system – cheap.
A vacuum pump. I just use a hand pump for brake lines I already had. An electric one is not expensive.
Small 50 ML borosilicate beaker.
Precision controlled hot plate – no open flames! I use the bottom plate of my rosin press.
A Pyrex pie pan or similar.
A drying box. Just a fan running over your pan covered with panty hose (keeps dust out) will work. DO THIS OUTDOORS!
Scraper (razor blade), Silicone container.
Syringes and 14ga. Dispensing needles.
1ml droppers.
1ml and .5ml Disposable Cartridges. (I like these but I am always trying new ones).
Misc. Strainers, containers etc.
THE METHOD:
This is started with the ingredients at room temperature. Break up the buds into small pieces by hand (do not grind or chop) and put in a mason jar. Trim goes into the jar whole. Pour over the room temperature ethanol enough to cover the buds/trim seal and shake every minute for 5 minutes. Strain through a fine screen into another Mason jar and place in the freezer overnight to winterize it. Next, filter through the Buchner filter with a #1 paper; put back in the Mason jar add 10 g. of CarbonX. Swirl this around occasionally all day. The next day filter out the CarbonX using the Buchner filter with #2 filter papers. I need to run this 3 or 4 times to get all of the CarbonX back. I put the filter papers with CarbonX cake in a bowl and place them outside to dry. We can regenerate the CarbonX later. Put the QWET in the Pyrex pan and evaporate outdoors. When the ethanol and water (water turns white) have evaporated out almost completely scrape out the concentrate and put in the silicone container. Place the container in the freezer for a while. This makes it easier to handle. After frozen just bend the silicone container to break the concentrate into pieces that are easier to weigh out. Measure out into the beaker the amount you want to dilute for the cartridges up to 5 g. max in the 50 ml beaker (this will foam up a lot while decarbing keep your eye on it to prevent overflow). Decarboxylate the concentrate on the hot plate @ 252°F for 27 minutes. Remove the beaker and while still hot add .2g (+or-) of Viscosity per gram of concentrate. Next add .1g to .2g per gram of original weight (or more to your taste) of strain specific terpenes. I use the syringe with the blunt needle to stir with. You want the final consistency to be like cold maple syrup when at room temperature. Have a coffee cup of boiling hot water handy to keep the extract thin while working with it. Just hold the beaker bottom in the hot water and stir. Fill your cartridges and enjoy. Flavored terpenes disperse in better while sitting overnight in the cartridges.
Reclaim your CarbonX: Do this when you are distilling off the vodka for process ethanol. Set up your Buchner filter with a #2 filter. As soon as your vodka finishes the second pass in the distiller and is hot and ~185 proof fill the top of the Buchner filter with hot ethanol start the vacuum and pour in the dirty CarbonX stir well as it filters maybe pour over some more hot ethanol but leave ½ of the bottom container for the water wash. Have some distilled water boiling hot to pour over the CarbonX for a final rinse. Adding this to the top of the Buchner before all of the ethanol drains out keeps the vacuum seal going and the CarbonX will not bypass the filter edges. Wash with the hot water. Filter all of the CarbonX out. It may take several passes depending on how good you are at keeping the filter edges sealed during the process. Put the filter papers in a bowl to dry. The CarbonX is ready to use again. I lose about 1g of CarbonX in this overall process per jar of QWET. Re-distill the ethanol out of the wash and discard the remaining water.
I built a drying box with a cardboard letter storage box. I cut the lid and glued an AC filter to it. Then I put a cardboard flat on top to keep direct sunlight out with holes cut in the side to let air out. Then I attached a fan connected to a filter can I was not using to blow clean air past the QWET in the Pyrex dish. Be sure to blow air in – Do not suck air out. It could explode!
If you do not have a precision hot plate you can decarb in a hot oil bath. Put your extract in a small mason jar and immerse it an inch or so in hot oil @252°F for 27 minutes.
The disposable Buchner filter is supposed to be a use once throw away device. By carefully removing the original filter material after it wore out (3 uses) and sanding a ½” smooth filter seat around the inside bottom edge; I am able to use 90mm round filter papers in it. This makes it reusable and excellent for my purpose. Really CHEAP!
Dark honey red brown is the lightest color I achieved with older cured buds. I got a really light golden extract with fresh frozen LARF but this is just not available all of the time when needed.
