In a Nutshell:
I was discussing rosin presses and heated plates at the local hydro store. Another brand they carried suffers from chronic plate failures. The plates are a little thinner, and break along the length of the heating element. These competitor's plates had the same general construction as the Dabpress plates, in that they have holes bored the length of the plates for the heating element. Dabpress uses thicker material for the heated plates, and they don't suffer these failures.
Many of the other rosin press plates and presses sold through the big on-line retailers seem to be poor imitations of Dabpress products. The prices for these imitaions were on par with the Dabpress products. I decided on Dabpress, but which product?
I evaluated the Dabpress offerings of Rosin Press Plates, Caged Rosin Plates, and Hydraulic Rosin Presses. The uncaged plates do have what I see as an advantage over their caged cousins and pre-built presses. As the dentist says, "Open wide." You can separate the plates further and squeeze in a taller puck. The caged plates have an advantage as they will maintain their alignment. The caged plates also offer an extra layer of support for the heated plates. These caged plates do not have to be bolted to the press. They just slip right in. This is a nice feature for those with a press.
Not having a hydraulic press in my shop, and no other use for one, I decided on a pre-built rosin press. I appreciated being able to buy one for less than a set of plates, and a separate hydraulic press. It seems only their pre-built presses have a layer of insulation between the press and the heated plates. I like that feature as well. I eliminated the presses with a bottle jack. I prefer a pressure gauge so that I can repeat successful pressings. These thoughts sold me on the Dabpress dp-hr10t35v 10-Ton Portable Tabletop Driptech Hydraulic Heat Press Kit.
There is a local place where I can buy hydraulic hand pumps. Not knowing the size of the piston in the ram, I contacted Dabpress through their website. I received a response within two days of 38mm. this corresponds to a surface area of approximately 1.75 sq in. To achieve 10 tons of force, a pressure of 11,428 PSI is required. The 10 ton hand pump available locally is only rated at 8000 PSI so the press would only develop seven tons of force. I noticed Dabpress had a hydraulic hand pump available, and asked about it. Once again I received a quick reply indicating that the pump was for another model and not suited to the dp-hr10t35v. They also sent a link to Northern Tool for the recommended Strongway pump with the hose and pressure gauge. It happened to be on sale, so I ordered it immediately. Note that this pump has a maximum working pressure of 8,939 PSI, limiting the press to 7.8 tons.
I delayed ordering the press until they activated their 4/20 sale. At that time I ordered their bundle of the dp-hr10t35v hydraulic rosin press, dp-pm3015r 30mm pre-press mold, and dp-bt160ns 40 pcs 160 micron 2" X 4" filter bags. I also ordered the PM40R 40mm pre-press mold, and BT160N2524 25 pcs 160 micron 2.5" X 4.5" filter bags.
Arrivals:
My order from Dabpress had to be shipped from China, as they had no Canadian stock. As compensation they included BT90N24 25 pcs 90 micron 2" X 4" filter bags. I incurred an extra charge of $47.32 CDN for customs clearance on this order. The order from China arrived before my order from Northern Tool in the USA, so for a few days I had a nice sculpture, and bric-a-brac to admire.
A Nice Sculpture, and Bric-a-Brac
Four o-rings, and two Allen bolts were included, but not on the packing list. I contacted Dabpress, and they quickly replied that these were spares. A week later my Strongway pump arrived. It was time to squeeze some flower.
All That's Needed to Press Flower For Rosin
Before I go on there are a few other items I needed:
I did two test pressings with Nighingale flower. This was harvested in September 2018, cured, and stored in 2 quart Mason jars with a 67gm 62% Boveda Humidity pack. The results were disappointing. I recovered 0.55 gm of rosin from 7 gm of flower. That was only 7.8% This can partly be attributed to the parchment paper soaking up some of the rosin. The rest is probably due to using poor quality flowers.
Wrap up:
If you regularly press rosin for personal use, I highly recommend this product. The dp-hr10t35v is of high quality, and well made. It operates smoothly, and is easy to set up and use. I checked the temperature settings with an infared thermometer, and it was accurate within a degree or two. There is a learning curve associated with any rosin press, and I look forward to the journey with my Dabpress dp-hr10t35v 10-Ton Portable Tabletop Driptech Hydraulic Heat Press.
- The dp-hr10t35v 10-Ton Portable Tabletop Driptech Hydraulic Heat Press Kit is well worth the investment; and
- Dabpress provides excellent pre, and post sales support, making them a good company to do business with.
I was discussing rosin presses and heated plates at the local hydro store. Another brand they carried suffers from chronic plate failures. The plates are a little thinner, and break along the length of the heating element. These competitor's plates had the same general construction as the Dabpress plates, in that they have holes bored the length of the plates for the heating element. Dabpress uses thicker material for the heated plates, and they don't suffer these failures.
Many of the other rosin press plates and presses sold through the big on-line retailers seem to be poor imitations of Dabpress products. The prices for these imitaions were on par with the Dabpress products. I decided on Dabpress, but which product?
I evaluated the Dabpress offerings of Rosin Press Plates, Caged Rosin Plates, and Hydraulic Rosin Presses. The uncaged plates do have what I see as an advantage over their caged cousins and pre-built presses. As the dentist says, "Open wide." You can separate the plates further and squeeze in a taller puck. The caged plates have an advantage as they will maintain their alignment. The caged plates also offer an extra layer of support for the heated plates. These caged plates do not have to be bolted to the press. They just slip right in. This is a nice feature for those with a press.
Not having a hydraulic press in my shop, and no other use for one, I decided on a pre-built rosin press. I appreciated being able to buy one for less than a set of plates, and a separate hydraulic press. It seems only their pre-built presses have a layer of insulation between the press and the heated plates. I like that feature as well. I eliminated the presses with a bottle jack. I prefer a pressure gauge so that I can repeat successful pressings. These thoughts sold me on the Dabpress dp-hr10t35v 10-Ton Portable Tabletop Driptech Hydraulic Heat Press Kit.
There is a local place where I can buy hydraulic hand pumps. Not knowing the size of the piston in the ram, I contacted Dabpress through their website. I received a response within two days of 38mm. this corresponds to a surface area of approximately 1.75 sq in. To achieve 10 tons of force, a pressure of 11,428 PSI is required. The 10 ton hand pump available locally is only rated at 8000 PSI so the press would only develop seven tons of force. I noticed Dabpress had a hydraulic hand pump available, and asked about it. Once again I received a quick reply indicating that the pump was for another model and not suited to the dp-hr10t35v. They also sent a link to Northern Tool for the recommended Strongway pump with the hose and pressure gauge. It happened to be on sale, so I ordered it immediately. Note that this pump has a maximum working pressure of 8,939 PSI, limiting the press to 7.8 tons.
I delayed ordering the press until they activated their 4/20 sale. At that time I ordered their bundle of the dp-hr10t35v hydraulic rosin press, dp-pm3015r 30mm pre-press mold, and dp-bt160ns 40 pcs 160 micron 2" X 4" filter bags. I also ordered the PM40R 40mm pre-press mold, and BT160N2524 25 pcs 160 micron 2.5" X 4.5" filter bags.
Arrivals:
My order from Dabpress had to be shipped from China, as they had no Canadian stock. As compensation they included BT90N24 25 pcs 90 micron 2" X 4" filter bags. I incurred an extra charge of $47.32 CDN for customs clearance on this order. The order from China arrived before my order from Northern Tool in the USA, so for a few days I had a nice sculpture, and bric-a-brac to admire.
A Nice Sculpture, and Bric-a-Brac
Four o-rings, and two Allen bolts were included, but not on the packing list. I contacted Dabpress, and they quickly replied that these were spares. A week later my Strongway pump arrived. It was time to squeeze some flower.
All That's Needed to Press Flower For Rosin
Before I go on there are a few other items I needed:
- Parchment paper - I robbed my wife's baking supplies;
- Dab Tools, or Clay / Dental / Wax Modeling Tools - local shop, on-line retailer;
- Silicone Storage containers - local shop, on-line retailer;
- Scale (100 X 0.01gm) - on-hand, also used for nutrients; and
- Clamp - from my workshop
I did two test pressings with Nighingale flower. This was harvested in September 2018, cured, and stored in 2 quart Mason jars with a 67gm 62% Boveda Humidity pack. The results were disappointing. I recovered 0.55 gm of rosin from 7 gm of flower. That was only 7.8% This can partly be attributed to the parchment paper soaking up some of the rosin. The rest is probably due to using poor quality flowers.
Wrap up:
If you regularly press rosin for personal use, I highly recommend this product. The dp-hr10t35v is of high quality, and well made. It operates smoothly, and is easy to set up and use. I checked the temperature settings with an infared thermometer, and it was accurate within a degree or two. There is a learning curve associated with any rosin press, and I look forward to the journey with my Dabpress dp-hr10t35v 10-Ton Portable Tabletop Driptech Hydraulic Heat Press.
