SweetSue's Cannabis Oil Study Hall

medmanmike said:
I thought I would share this - perhaps some of you have seen it. It's another method for testing THC, CBD, etc. This was in an email from Ardent, who makes the Ardent Nova decarboxilaytor (sic) machine. Decarboxylation Made Easy - Ardent Cannabis

"Hi Ardent Fam,

We know that dosing your edibles is complicated. The first step is proper decarboxylation, but what about when you then infuse or extract? Knowing the final dose of your oil or butter is key to preparing enough medicine for your needs. It will also help you avoid "super dosing" incidents that, while not physically dangerous, can be uncomfortable and scary.

There are 3 ways to figure out the strength of your edibles: The taste test. The lab test. The new tCheck.

1. The Taste Test

Taste testing to check the potency of your edibles is the tried and (un)true method. With many medicines, the effects are felt quickly, making it easy for a patient to determine whether they need to administer more. With edibles, it’s a little different.
It often takes an hour or more for edibles to take effect. An excessive dose can lead to an unpleasant feeling that can last for hours. Several trials or guesses may be required to find the perfect amount. This process is repeated with every batch of edibles you make.

2. The Lab Test

Labs use equipment such as chromatographers and spectrometers to achieve the most accurate measurements of all molecular compounds in your edible.
For the home baker, the cost for a test can be prohibitive, and it can take several ways to receive your results. Most patients don't have access to labs, but still need a reliable method for dosing products made at home.

3. The At Home Potency Test - tCheck

tCheck measures the strength of your infusions. Using just a few drops of butter, coconut oil, olive oil, or alcohol, you can accurately measure the potency in about 45 seconds. With this information, you can adjust your recipe to dose your edibles consistently every time.
Under the hood, tCheck is a revolutionary spectrometer that uses light technology to accurately measure cannabinoids your infusions so you can consume the exact amount you need. Every time. No waiting. No guessing.

To learn more or get a tCheck in your kitchen, click below. Discount code: ARDENT30 will save you $30 .ARDENT30 Discount Code

tCheck.me | The First Home Infusion Potency Tester
Click to expand...

Thank you Mike. We do know of this one, and in fact Canyon and Kicknitup1 will be testing out a unit next month. We started a thread to gather any information anyone has on decarbing and any questions we feel need pinning down to make this part of the process feel more controlled than it sometimes does. You might have something valuable stored away in that beautiful and curious brain of yours to share with us. Please stop by.

Decoding the Holy Grail: Terpene and Cannabinoid Retention - Decarb to Extraction

We'll be sharing all the lab results. It'll be a great brainstorming session start to finish. :slide:
 
CCO - Olive Oil Or Other

Hi all,

long time lurker, but recent joiner.
I have been reading lots about CCO and Psycro's olive oil method.
I have never made cco as I cannot get hold of enough food grade ethanol, so unfortunately cannot make lots.

I have a small 500ml bottle and want to try making some, and had a few questions for you.
I have done the quick wash, and heated much of it off in a rice cooker, got to a small amount left(still bubbles) and now moving to the decarboxylation stage.

my question is, can i put this in non sealed mason jar inside my pressure cooker which is filled with a few inches of water (works at 15psi) so will heat to 250f and leave there for two hours to decarboxylate? is it dangerous to do as there will still be solvent in the cco (in mason jar) I am making? or is this okay to do or should i continue to heat on my induction plate in a small pan to when the bubbles are no longer there (and decarb is done?)

In addition, I have more material i would like to infuse into olive oil as per psycro's olive oil method, however this is already dried material, can i put this into a sealed mason jar with the olive oil, and put into pressure cooker which has few inches of water in, and let it sit for 2 hours? - this should decarboxylate and be the same as his method?


finally after reading sue's method on olive oil infused fresh material, i then looked at the pressure cooker method for it..

The thread above got me thinking, so i found as much info as i could, and guess what.. PRESSURE friggin' COOKER!!!

Hooked up a pressure gauge to my old pressure cooker and found it to be the low pressure type.. with low heat 4.5psi.. which translates to about 106-107 degrees Celsius.

Filled it up a quarter way with water, threw in the grass, used the immersion blender to grind it all up. Put the olive oil in, brought it to a boil and blended it all some more. Closed it up, and left it for just under 2 hours.. end result:

- not neeeaarly as much smell as usual.
- from one liter of oil got back just under 0.9L ( as opposed to 8.5).
- the two points above indicate on very important thing, MUCH less evaporation loss = more complete oil.
- color of the oil in the end is much more 'normal', a nice green color, as opposed to the dark color i get with the original method.
- potency, well its at least as potent as before, no problem there. Used a new strain so its a bit new to me and different, but yeah, potency is definitely there.-

All in all, pressure cooker for me from now on.

One great thing about this method is the possibility to make a more concentrated oil.. but i wouldn't recommend over 3 times the strength.. for eg. 400 grams fresh material to 0.3L olive oil. Any more than that gets tricky to dose for low tolerance patients.

the bit in bold from the above will this oil that comes out be free of water, as it will all have evaporated?

thanks for all the help!!
 
i would purge the rest of the solvent out first open, an option for this would be to just leave it in an uncovered mason jar in a controled environment for a night or two. the pressure cooker method is designed to minimize the conversion of thc but also to retain terpenes. lower temp and increased pressure. then when done decarbing, you let the oil cool down before opening the sealed jar. this allows the evaoprated terpenes to reabsorb into the oil again. but you wouldnt be able to do this is trying to finish a purge as the solvent would be reabsorbed too.
 
i would purge the rest of the solvent out first open, an option for this would be to just leave it in an uncovered mason jar in a controled environment for a night or two. the pressure cooker method is designed to minimize the conversion of thc but also to retain terpenes. lower temp and increased pressure. then when done decarbing, you let the oil cool down before opening the sealed jar. this allows the evaoprated terpenes to reabsorb into the oil again. but you wouldnt be able to do this is trying to finish a purge as the solvent would be reabsorbed too.
 
I8myweedie5 said:
sweet sue, here is a link to all of gw pharmacuticals patents and case studies. one of the best compilations of info on cannabis period from a lab setting!

GW PHARMA LIMITED - Patent applications
Click to expand...

Oh, you'll get +reps for that, so brace yourself, but it deserves more than that.

:hugs::hugs::hugs::hugs::hugs:

That comes close to expressing my appreciation. :battingeyelashes: :Love: Lots to dig into, and now I'll understand what I'm reading.
 
Have subscribed in. A new member but long time visitor (since about 2014) and avid learner. Where I come from none of this is legal (even hemp oil here has to be sold as an external product) so my engagement is currently purely theoretical, research based and for the recreation of my mind :battingeyelashes:. I have chronic pain to manage + PTSD and a neuroimmune condition. I hoping to learn a lot about making oil here so that when I can, I can - if you know what I mean.

So far I've only read the first few pages of this thread - it's going to take me a long time to catch up! I've spent a lot of time perusing grow journals too (so inspired and envious!) so once I settle down there i'll have more time to study here. Am also reading heaps of other posts about different health conditions and treatment approaches. In time hopefully i'll be less overwhelmed by all the amazing info and able to engage more - my cognitive capacity is a bit limited somedays (but I have a scholarly background so I know I've got a good brain, it's just really compromised atm by whatever is 'wrong' in my 'systems' - lack of homeostasis). Hopefully, as I make my way through this thread there'll be moments where one of you awesome contributors will 'nutshell' some of the info and discovery so far.

Anyway, just saying 'hi' and :thanks: for such an amazing resource! 420 has been such a thing for a long time I know, but it's amazing and wonderful to me how the scope of material and discussion and shared experimenting that is able to go on now (now that so many places have favourable laws), has just skyrocketed over the last 4-5years.

Wish me luck, I have a lot of reading to do - and not just this thread either!

SweetSue, you are my new hero-ine! :circle-of-love:
 
Been trying to keep up with the FHO, just pulled a Blueberry Kush Auto out of the ground. It's had too much sun and a few bugs and I believe it has been pollinated from the local ditch weed. Looks like I'm going to make some fresh harvest oil. Where do I get the latest, greatest recipe at for making it. I'm off to the store for a few items and want to start the process very soon.
 
Amy Gardner said:
Have subscribed in. A new member but long time visitor (since about 2014) and avid learner. Where I come from none of this is legal (even hemp oil here has to be sold as an external product) so my engagement is currently purely theoretical, research based and for the recreation of my mind :battingeyelashes:. I have chronic pain to manage + PTSD and a neuroimmune condition. I hoping to learn a lot about making oil here so that when I can, I can - if you know what I mean.

So far I've only read the first few pages of this thread - it's going to take me a long time to catch up! I've spent a lot of time perusing grow journals too (so inspired and envious!) so once I settle down there i'll have more time to study here. Am also reading heaps of other posts about different health conditions and treatment approaches. In time hopefully i'll be less overwhelmed by all the amazing info and able to engage more - my cognitive capacity is a bit limited somedays (but I have a scholarly background so I know I've got a good brain, it's just really compromised atm by whatever is 'wrong' in my 'systems' - lack of homeostasis). Hopefully, as I make my way through this thread there'll be moments where one of you awesome contributors will 'nutshell' some of the info and discovery so far.

Anyway, just saying 'hi' and :thanks: for such an amazing resource! 420 has been such a thing for a long time I know, but it's amazing and wonderful to me how the scope of material and discussion and shared experimenting that is able to go on now (now that so many places have favourable laws), has just skyrocketed over the last 4-5years.

Wish me luck, I have a lot of reading to do - and not just this thread either!

SweetSue, you are my new hero-ine! :circle-of-love:
Click to expand...

Let us know what we can do for you. We are here to help.
 
Anyway, just saying 'hi' and :thanks: for such an amazing resource! 420 has been such a thing for a long time I know, but it's amazing and wonderful to me how the scope of material and discussion and shared experimenting that is able to go on now (now that so many places have favourable laws), has just skyrocketed over the last 4-5years.

Wish me luck, I have a lot of reading to do - and not just this thread either!

SweetSue, you are my new hero-ine! :circle-of-love:[/QUOTE]

Let us know what we can do for you. We are here to help.
 
nira said:
CCO - Olive Oil Or Other

Hi all,

long time lurker, but recent joiner.
I have been reading lots about CCO and Psycro's olive oil method.
I have never made cco as I cannot get hold of enough food grade ethanol, so unfortunately cannot make lots.

I have a small 500ml bottle and want to try making some, and had a few questions for you.
I have done the quick wash, and heated much of it off in a rice cooker, got to a small amount left(still bubbles) and now moving to the decarboxylation stage.

my question is, can i put this in non sealed mason jar inside my pressure cooker which is filled with a few inches of water (works at 15psi) so will heat to 250f and leave there for two hours to decarboxylate? is it dangerous to do as there will still be solvent in the cco (in mason jar) I am making? or is this okay to do or should i continue to heat on my induction plate in a small pan to when the bubbles are no longer there (and decarb is done?)

In addition, I have more material i would like to infuse into olive oil as per psycro's olive oil method, however this is already dried material, can i put this into a sealed mason jar with the olive oil, and put into pressure cooker which has few inches of water in, and let it sit for 2 hours? - this should decarboxylate and be the same as his method?


finally after reading sue's method on olive oil infused fresh material, i then looked at the pressure cooker method for it..

The thread above got me thinking, so i found as much info as i could, and guess what.. PRESSURE friggin' COOKER!!!

Hooked up a pressure gauge to my old pressure cooker and found it to be the low pressure type.. with low heat 4.5psi.. which translates to about 106-107 degrees Celsius.

Filled it up a quarter way with water, threw in the grass, used the immersion blender to grind it all up. Put the olive oil in, brought it to a boil and blended it all some more. Closed it up, and left it for just under 2 hours.. end result:

- not neeeaarly as much smell as usual.
- from one liter of oil got back just under 0.9L ( as opposed to 8.5).
- the two points above indicate on very important thing, MUCH less evaporation loss = more complete oil.
- color of the oil in the end is much more 'normal', a nice green color, as opposed to the dark color i get with the original method.
- potency, well its at least as potent as before, no problem there. Used a new strain so its a bit new to me and different, but yeah, potency is definitely there.-

All in all, pressure cooker for me from now on.

One great thing about this method is the possibility to make a more concentrated oil.. but i wouldn't recommend over 3 times the strength.. for eg. 400 grams fresh material to 0.3L olive oil. Any more than that gets tricky to dose for low tolerance patients.

the bit in bold from the above will this oil that comes out be free of water, as it will all have evaporated?

thanks for all the help!!
Click to expand...

Sorry nira, I missed this yesterday. :welcome: to our brainstorming room and to the :420: community. :hugs:

Ok, first off, yes, you can indeed use dry buds for the olive oil infusion with the measurements PsyCro defines, but it won't be FHO, it'll just be excellent infused oil.

If you decide to decarb in the pressure cooker I'd recommend you follow ShiggityFlip's method rather than what PsyCro worked out, because Shiggity's method didn't add any water to the mix.

ShiggityFlip decarbs in the pressure cooker

Don't seal the jars when you decarb in the pressure cooker. The CO2 needs some way to escape, so you loosely cap them.

As for the CCO, purge the ethanol the way you were doing. You're done with that now, I'm sure. It'd be dangerous to do that in the pressure cooker. You're better using a simple double boiler and a non-stick ceramic pan, or purging in a small container set into an oil bath.

Incidentally, it isn't my FHO method. I'm just the loud voice you all can't ignore encouraging you to try something new that I can see will revolutionize the way we process. PsyCro gets the credit for this brilliance.
 
Amy Gardner said:
Have subscribed in. A new member but long time visitor (since about 2014) and avid learner. Where I come from none of this is legal (even hemp oil here has to be sold as an external product) so my engagement is currently purely theoretical, research based and for the recreation of my mind :battingeyelashes:. I have chronic pain to manage + PTSD and a neuroimmune condition. I hoping to learn a lot about making oil here so that when I can, I can - if you know what I mean.

So far I've only read the first few pages of this thread - it's going to take me a long time to catch up! I've spent a lot of time perusing grow journals too (so inspired and envious!) so once I settle down there i'll have more time to study here. Am also reading heaps of other posts about different health conditions and treatment approaches. In time hopefully i'll be less overwhelmed by all the amazing info and able to engage more - my cognitive capacity is a bit limited somedays (but I have a scholarly background so I know I've got a good brain, it's just really compromised atm by whatever is 'wrong' in my 'systems' - lack of homeostasis). Hopefully, as I make my way through this thread there'll be moments where one of you awesome contributors will 'nutshell' some of the info and discovery so far.

Anyway, just saying 'hi' and :thanks: for such an amazing resource! 420 has been such a thing for a long time I know, but it's amazing and wonderful to me how the scope of material and discussion and shared experimenting that is able to go on now (now that so many places have favourable laws), has just skyrocketed over the last 4-5years.

Wish me luck, I have a lot of reading to do - and not just this thread either!

SweetSue, you are my new hero-ine! :circle-of-love:
Click to expand...

:welcome: Amy. :hugs: We're always happy to welcome another curious brain. While you're reading along, please don't hesitate to stop here and ask any questions that may come up. This thread is all about brainstorming, so a lot of what got posted is highly technical, and our chief purpose is to make it more easily digestible.

Every time someone decides to finally step out and become an active member I have to smile a little bit as I think "Rob's army of cannabis warriors just increased by one more passionate mind."

I look forward to getting to know you better in the years ahead. :battingeyelashes: :Love:
 
Good morning, Sue. I'm still here - finally got some trim from the young man who is growing some Cannatoic for me. The trim isn't from the Cannatonic - I don't know what it is, but I did make some infused oil (Coconut & grapeseed w sunflower lecithin) and it is helping with my all over pain. I do get a buzz from it, which I don't particularly need, so have to be careful when I take it, so I can function well. I'm using it as a salve also - don't know if it's doing much, but it can't hurt. What has really surprised me is that almost anyone I mention using cannabis to, is using also! I'm here in Colorado, so it's fine, but it just amazes me how many are involved! Cowboys, members of my garden club, P.O. employees, knitting class members. Where have I been all these years?
 
SweetSue said:
Sorry nira, I missed this yesterday. :welcome: to our brainstorming room and to the :420: community. :hugs:

Ok, first off, yes, you can indeed use dry buds for the olive oil infusion with the measurements PsyCro defines, but it won't be FHO, it'll just be excellent infused oil.

If you decide to decarb in the pressure cooker I'd recommend you follow ShiggityFlip's method rather than what PsyCro worked out, because Shiggity's method didn't add any water to the mix.

ShiggityFlip decarbs in the pressure cooker

Don't seal the jars when you decarb in the pressure cooker. The CO2 needs some way to escape, so you loosely cap them.

As for the CCO, purge the ethanol the way you were doing. You're done with that now, I'm sure. It'd be dangerous to do that in the pressure cooker. You're better using a simple double boiler and a non-stick ceramic pan, or purging in a small container set into an oil bath.

Incidentally, it isn't my FHO method. I'm just the loud voice you all can't ignore encouraging you to try something new that I can see will revolutionize the way we process. PsyCro gets the credit for this brilliance.
Click to expand...

Thanks Sue both for the welcome and the answers!

I have a quick question on Psycro's method.
My pressure cooker runs at 14.5psi (around 250f)

So first off I should really only leave in for 27 mins max?

Secondly when I add in the water with the material in the pressure cooker, will the 27 mins be enough time to evaporate all the water out and decarboxylate?

Or will my resultant oil still have water in it?

Does that matter?

I can adjust my pressure cooker to 8 psi (237f ish) is that better? And then leave for 2 hours instead?

Thanks
 
nira said:
Thanks Sue both for the welcome and the answers!

I have a quick question on Psycro's method.
My pressure cooker runs at 14.5psi (around 250f)

So first off I should really only leave in for 27 mins max?

Secondly when I add in the water with the material in the pressure cooker, will the 27 mins be enough time to evaporate all the water out and decarboxylate?

Or will my resultant oil still have water in it?

Does that matter?

I can adjust my pressure cooker to 8 psi (237f ish) is that better? And then leave for 2 hours instead?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Hi Nira and welcome!

Definitely reduce the pressure/temp on pressure cooker as low as you can. At 237F you would want to shorten the cook time a little to include the cool down time in the 2 hours. Maybe 90 minutes, I don't know the precise timing, but it's not a huge deal if you go over a little at that temp. At 250F it would be a much bigger deal to cook too long. If there is still water in the oil you can let it settle out in tall narrow container for day or so and suck clean oil off with syringe.
 
KingstonRabbi said:
Hi Nira and welcome!

Definitely reduce the pressure/temp on pressure cooker as low as you can. At 237F you would want to shorten the cook time a little to include the cool down time in the 2 hours. Maybe 90 minutes, I don't know the precise timing, but it's not a huge deal if you go over a little at that temp. At 250F it would be a much bigger deal to cook too long. If there is still water in the oil you can let it settle out in tall narrow container for day or so and suck clean oil off with syringe.
Click to expand...

Hi thank you!

Would you recommend it easier to do a roasting bag oven decarb instead first, whether it be for cco or infused ?
 
Cowbelle said:
Good morning, Sue. I'm still here - finally got some trim from the young man who is growing some Cannatoic for me. The trim isn't from the Cannatonic - I don't know what it is, but I did make some infused oil (Coconut & grapeseed w sunflower lecithin) and it is helping with my all over pain. I do get a buzz from it, which I don't particularly need, so have to be careful when I take it, so I can function well. I'm using it as a salve also - don't know if it's doing much, but it can't hurt. What has really surprised me is that almost anyone I mention using cannabis to, is using also! I'm here in Colorado, so it's fine, but it just amazes me how many are involved! Cowboys, members of my garden club, P.O. employees, knitting class members. Where have I been all these years?
Click to expand...

It's a brand new cannabis world Cowbelle. In time the whole world will have access to this marvelous herb. It's going to impact every area of our lives in the end.

I'm so pleased that you've been able to find relief. How blessed you are to be living in Colorado. :green_heart:

nira said:
Hi thank you!

Would you recommend it easier to do a roasting bag oven decarb instead first, whether it be for cco or infused ?
Click to expand...

If you're going to use the pressure cooker it'll be decarbed when it's done. If you decarb in the oven we do recommend the roasting bag, if for no other reason than to control odors. I toss my bag into the freezer for an hour in hopes of retaining some of those volitile terpenes, but we have no real assurance that's doing anything other than make us feel hopeful. :laughtwo:

When I make CCO I always decarb in the oven first. With PsyCro's fresh harvest infused oil the idea is to decarb in the oil, so cooking the cannabis before that counters the intent of the process.
 
SweetSue said:
I look forward to getting to know you better in the years ahead. :battingeyelashes: :Love:
Click to expand...

Thanks SweetSue :hugs: You too!

Although I feel a little like i know a little of you from my readings here. I decided to go back a bit and am reading your grow journals. Am a bit over halfway through your first (you just decided another week or 2 to harvest the Bomb) and am loving it like a good book. Full of brilliance, joy, passion, love, tears and laughter! :thanks: I'm absolutely about to become an LOS proponent. Those pots are like their very own forest floor, yum.

It'll take me longer to get back to this thread now - i'm not supposed to spend too much time reading & researching stuff (any activity, mental or physical compromises my health status - can cause a 'crash') and i've been pushing the envelope here a bit the last few days!

Anyway - without having read nearly enough about it, may I ask someone to clarify for me that one can simply make an infused oil to consume using olive oil and dried herb? If so (yay!), what ratio would one try? Can it be done with a small amount of herb (like a gram)? and how long should it infuse? Sorry to just ask for the quick easy answer, but I've limited time on the computer and still over 50 pages of SweetSue's first novel to read :bravo:

:Namaste:
 
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