Best Dry Ice Extraction Technique for Keif

[gerrit]

After my arms cramped up from shaking my bucket with dry ice and flower, having to stop and start because of this and condensation starting to build all along (time is of the essence with dry ice extraction), I thought why not let my 12" orbital polisher do the shaking for me. Well WOW, what a difference. It not only does the work it does it so much better (easily). it also leaves the "grind" just right not letting much green leaf material thru the sieve. Let me take you through it; Take your dry ice and break it into small pieces with a rubber or plastic with lead beads inside a sledgehammer. Mine is plastic and has a bunch of lead beads trapped inside. It adds power to your stroke with less muscle. Take about an ounce of flower (breaking off the stems and discarding those. Don't break up the flowers, the dry ice will do it much more efficiently especially using an orbital polisher. Place in your bucket. (I use a home depot standard orange one. I like the height giving me room to embrace it with my arms and chest. Let is sit for a few minutes to freeze the flowers. Then place your screen bag (160 is what I usually use) over the bucket and place ONTOP of your orbital polisher. (I put a polishing cloth on the wheel to cushion the bucket and to help hold it on the vibrating polisher. Now place the bucket on top of the polisher between your legs, wrap your arms around it and turn it on. HANG ON as the bucket will want to dance away from you and off the vibrating disc. Use a robust pressure at first, holding the polisher and bucket together while pressing the bucket onto the polisher for about 45 sec. to a minute. Then let up on the pressure slowly. I don't put the strainer bag on the top so I can keep my eye on the batch to see how it is going. If the flowers are still mostly whole keep the pressure on until they start to disappear into the mix you are cutting. Remember Dry Ice is SHARP and it's the cutting of its edges you are using to create a blend a little finer than you would use to roll a joint with. You will see the mix whirlpooling and dancing in the bottom when getting near perfect. Stop the polisher to check the grind and continue if not fine enough for you. NOW most of the hard work is done and much better than you can shake by hand which can be too rough breaking the flower pieces into a powder that then will get into your mix. Remember you only want to jar the kief off the flower leaving the flower pieces into nothing smaller than "medium ground" so they will not pass thru the sieve. Then you're ready to place the screen bag over the bucket, turn upside down over your large mirror (I use a four by four), and start the shaking. I have not used the orbital for this shaking, Partly because I haven't been able to figure out how to hold the orbital polisher and the bag at the same time. Lately, I've used a small orbital sander in one hand and the bag together with the other to do this part mechanically as well. As usual, the first shakes will yield the highest quality kief. it will turn a little darker as you continue to shake. BUT by using the orbital polisher correctly you haven't cut much green matter into the small enough pieces to pass thru the filter in the first place. Mine doesn't change color much so I don't bother separating it. You're choice! But your yield I promise is going to be better and higher quality in the first place while not having to ice your cramped up arms after!! Especially important for a 7 decader like myself!! I have started with about 2 oz's of flower and gotten a soup bowl of prime creamy kief! "Try it you'll like it!" So Bill, how did I do?

 

[Bill284]

After my arms cramped up from shaking my bucket with dry ice and flower, having to stop and start because of this and condensation starting to build all along (time is of the essence with dry ice extraction), I thought why not let my 12" orbital polisher do the shaking for me. Well WOW, what a difference. It not only does the work it does it so much better (easily). it also leaves the "grind" just right not letting much green leaf material thru the sieve. Let me take you through it; Take your dry ice and break it into small pieces with a rubber or plastic with lead beads inside a sledgehammer. Mine is plastic and has a bunch of lead beads trapped inside. It adds power to your stroke with less muscle. Take about an ounce of flower (breaking off the stems and discarding those. Don't break up the flowers, the dry ice will do it much more efficiently especially using an orbital polisher. Place in your bucket. (I use a home depot standard orange one. I like the height giving me room to embrace it with my arms and chest. Let is sit for a few minutes to freeze the flowers. Then place your screen bag (160 is what I usually use) over the bucket and place ONTOP of your orbital polisher. (I put a polishing cloth on the wheel to cushion the bucket and to help hold it on the vibrating polisher. Now place the bucket on top of the polisher between your legs, wrap your arms around it and turn it on. HANG ON as the bucket will want to dance away from you and off the vibrating disc. Use a robust pressure at first, holding the polisher and bucket together while pressing the bucket onto the polisher for about 45 sec. to a minute. Then let up on the pressure slowly. I don't put the strainer bag on the top so I can keep my eye on the batch to see how it is going. If the flowers are still mostly whole keep the pressure on until they start to disappear into the mix you are cutting. Remember Dry Ice is SHARP and it's the cutting of its edges you are using to create a blend a little finer than you would use to roll a joint with. You will see the mix whirlpooling and dancing in the bottom when getting near perfect. Stop the polisher to check the grind and continue if not fine enough for you. NOW most of the hard work is done and much better than you can shake by hand which can be too rough breaking the flower pieces into a powder that then will get into your mix. Remember you only want to jar the kief off the flower leaving the flower pieces into nothing smaller than "medium ground" so they will not pass thru the sieve. Then you're ready to place the screen bag over the bucket, turn upside down over your large mirror (I use a four by four), and start the shaking. I have not used the orbital for this shaking, Partly because I haven't been able to figure out how to hold the orbital polisher and the bag at the same time. Lately, I've used a small orbital sander in one hand and the bag together with the other to do this part mechanically as well. As usual, the first shakes will yield the highest quality kief. it will turn a little darker as you continue to shake. BUT by using the orbital polisher correctly you haven't cut much green matter into the small enough pieces to pass thru the filter in the first place. Mine doesn't change color much so I don't bother separating it. You're choice! But your yield I promise is going to be better and higher quality in the first place while not having to ice your cramped up arms after!! Especially important for a 7 decader like myself!! I have started with about 2 oz's of flower and gotten a soup bowl of prime creamy kief! "Try it you'll like it!" So Bill, how did I do?

Excellent tutorial my friend.
Thank you so much for taking the time to explain everything I appreciate it.

Stay safe
Bill