- Thread starter
- #701
My apartment has the deliciously fragrant overlay of Carnival brownie oil. Mmmmmmmm....... I love what we do. 
Happy birthday week SweetSue! Birthday brownies sounds like a great idea 
. I was really hoping the 90 min/high pressure was going to be perfect but oh well...your quest continues. Is 90 minutes the maximum time setting on the InstaPot?
. I was really hoping the 90 min/high pressure was going to be perfect but oh well...your quest continues. Is 90 minutes the maximum time setting on the InstaPot?
Derbybud
Well-Known Member
Happy Birthday week Sue. Hope you have a great week. Enjoy
Happy birthday week SweetSue!
I was afraid that would be the result; as I said above, we are trading time for temperature.
The 8 quart instant pot can be set to longer processing times - I've frequently used a few hours for processing leftover bones and vegetables to make stock. I'm just at least 6 weeks away from harvest, but then I can try a longer process, if no one else has done so...
Cheers and birthweek wishes from the darkside
I was afraid that would be the result; as I said above, we are trading time for temperature.
The 8 quart instant pot can be set to longer processing times - I've frequently used a few hours for processing leftover bones and vegetables to make stock. I'm just at least 6 weeks away from harvest, but then I can try a longer process, if no one else has done so...
Cheers and birthweek wishes from the darkside
aspiegeek
New Member
Pressure cooker update
PsyCro has adapted this method to use a pressure cooker. It streamlines the process tremendously and apparently presents a more powerful oil than before, which is pretty darned potent, let me tell you.
He starts his discussion of this improvement on the technique on page 11 of his thread and that discussion continues for a page or two. Olive oil extract update
Both of these methods, with or without a pressure cooker, will give you an oil that's much more powerful than you're expecting, even with all of my passion and enthusiasm. Dose thoughtfully.
Let the discussion begin.
Hope you don't mind me asking. I want to make some oil from the trimmings of buds after I've harvested for my mum. Do you have a good guide on doing that? She's never used cannabis before so although my strain is very high in CBD and low THC, I'd like to make a very mellow oil mix for her to start with. (She suffers very badly with chronic back pain).
medmanmike
Well-Known Member
Regarding separation of the oil and water: Someone suggested and posted the following a while ago, so I won't take credit. These are on my list! (not to scale....)
medmanmike
Well-Known Member
How would this work with fresh buds? It's easy to decarb dried buds, but if they're "wet" does that change anything? Just a thought...
That is a great question and I'm eager to hear anyone else's thoughts on this.
After thinking about things for the past day, this is what I came up with:
The chemicals we are interested on are contained in the trichomes and are not water soluble, therefore they contain little, if any, water. The water is in the other parts, which do not contain significant amounts of the chemicals that need to be decarbed. Since these areas are physically separated, and literally air gapped, they should not be limited to the temp of boiling water. So when placed whole in the oven a normal, or more probably slightly extended, decarb cycle should work.
Once the oil and cannabis are blended, an emulsion/suspension is created. Part of this can be thought of in the way that vinegar and oil is mixed for salad dressing. But the other part is fine vegetable particulates floating in the oil, much of which even makes it through the straining process. Because this is all pretty evenly distributed, when the oil is heated it well be kept cooled to 212 until a significant amount of the water has been boiled off.
But these are just thought experiments atm, as I have nothing to test with for another 5 weeks or so.
Cheers from the darkside
Bucudinkydow
Well-Known Member
I think you're right on target, greatwolf. Many feel that exceptions must be taken to decarb fresh weed but I've been unable to find any reliable evidence to sustantiate this thesis. At the ardent nova site they go into some detail to verify that damp weed decarbs in the same manner as dried. While I can't offer lab analysis on my experiences, I've always gotten comparable results no matter the moisture content.
Thanks for the possible empirical evidence, Bucudinkydow (like the moniker, btw). I love when evidence possibly supports theory. Reminds me of my first physics prof, "Theory is all well and good, but theory ain't gotta practice".
I'll have to find my "Schrodinger's cat is immortal" t-shirt before I head...
Back to the darkside
I'll have to find my "Schrodinger's cat is immortal" t-shirt before I head...
Back to the darkside
- Thread starter
- #711
OMG....... I love that! Lol! My favorite shirt read "Why must the chicken's motives be constantly called into question?" Good morning everyone
A happy Sunday to you all. Yesterday I did a harvest of the CBD Critical Cure, the family base meds, and the only plant I consistently turn into FHO.
She's a real good essential oil producer.
I got enough for a full 400 grams of fresh, but since this was my first run with the pressure cooker I only made a half batch. I'm not sure my little Instant Pot would be suitable for a full batch anyway.
Low pressure for 110 minutes.
The first thing I noticed was the difference in smell. It lacks the full-bodied fragrance the stove-top version, and I'm not entirely happy with that. It's also more bitter than the steeped version. The daughter points out that we take these with capsules so taste and smell are incidental, but I loved the smell and taste of the original FHO. I'm hoping it'll cure in the fridge and express the terpenes I'm desiring in the end product.
The mash looks really unappetizing. Very different from the constantly-stirred stove-top oil.
I'd added two cups of water to the mash before closing it off. Next time I'll only add one cup. I used a dosing syringe to pull off most, and a pipette to get down to this point. This jar was too deep to work with so I shifted it into a smaller vessel to get the final drops.
I needed to know how much I'd gotten back.
The leftovers waiting to be extracted from the rest of the water and the addition of the liquid sunflower lecithin gave me an even 200 ml.
I didn't do a hot oil bath this time. My understanding is that the Instant Pot hit about 235 degrees F at the low pressure, and I ran it for the full 110 minutes.
Aside from the taste and smell, this was so easy to do it's going to become a staple method. Maybe the smell and taste will change to something I find irresistable again.
- Thread starter
- #712
I once had to tear the tent down in an emergency and found myself with a large quantity of plant material that had to be processed on the day of harvest. I threw the buds into a roasting bag and did the decarb as normal. Then I took all that material and used it to make oil in the MB2 and cannabutter. It all worked like a charm. It was all potent and effective oils and butters.
Oil and water don't mix. Our challenge is finding ways to seperate them so we can walk off with just the oils, but there are many ways to get there.
FHO is a special breed. There's something going on with this oil that doesn't happen with other infused oils. We all struggle to explain what that difference is, but all who've tried the oil come away shaking their heads in disbelief that it could be having this intense an effect using the very same components, but using them fresh off the plant.
Infused oils are potent and useful. FHO is in its own class, and you won't understand that until you make and use your first batch.
- Thread starter
- #713
Regarding separation of the oil and water: Someone suggested and posted the following a while ago, so I won't take credit. These are on my list! (not to scale....)
Good Lord, I want one of these so bad!
It was all I could think of yesterday. Lol!
OldMedUser
Formerly Known as LabRat
Pour your water/oil mix into a plastic bottle like an empty liquor bottle and put it in the freezer overnight and pour the oil mix off in the morning.
Works like a charm.
Merry Xmas all!
Works like a charm.
Merry Xmas all!
Moonshine17
Well-Known Member
Hello sue and all you other fine folks here. I have some fresh trim (couple weeks old) frozen straight from harvest. What do you guys think is the simplest method for using this frozen fresh trim. And.........my first photo plant .... Christmas cookie (gsc hybrid) was flipped on 12/28 or 29 after popping her head up on halloween night. This dear sweet girl who was born on halloween now has pistils!!!! Woot woot! So stoked. Shes a beautiful plant and her name you ask? Why its "juju" of course. Great day sue and all!
pizzaguy
Active Member
Hi gang! Haven't posted in awhile...don't go on 420mag much during summer...but found this thread while researching how to make cannabutter. Just finished reading the whole thread and want to say thank you to all who contributed. I think oil might be the route I want to go to cut back on my smoking intake...currently about oz. a week. Tried some vapes..arizer solo(did not like at all) and recently bought a plenty. Like that one but still can't bring myself to make the switch. I really like bongs!
Anyway I am going to give this a try. Sweet Sue did you decide that the IP is way to go? I too hate deep frying food in the house..oil smell stays around too long.
Has anyone tried the low and slow oven method in a Nesco oven? Wouldn't use as much energy or heat up house in summer. What about using an electric deep fryer/soup kettle in place of the stovetop? Just a couple of thoughts. Will continue reading and investigating...have a blueberry kush auto ready in about a month...want to make some of that into oil for a try.
Anyway I am going to give this a try. Sweet Sue did you decide that the IP is way to go? I too hate deep frying food in the house..oil smell stays around too long.
Has anyone tried the low and slow oven method in a Nesco oven? Wouldn't use as much energy or heat up house in summer. What about using an electric deep fryer/soup kettle in place of the stovetop? Just a couple of thoughts. Will continue reading and investigating...have a blueberry kush auto ready in about a month...want to make some of that into oil for a try.
AKgramma
Well-Known Member
I think that you can use anything you have handy, as long as you can control the heat to get the product you want. For us casual growers, production is like cooking: each cook has his/her own recipe and method.
- Thread starter
- #718
I went back to the stove-top method. I couldn't stand the smell or taste of the previous batch done in a pressure cooker. Today I harvested a CBD Critical Cure mand tossed her into the stock pot sitting in the oil bath and went old school. 
200 grams of buds and sugar leaves in 250 ml of EVOO, reduced to an indistinguishable mash.
This oil-making process typically takes 30 minutes to get to temperature, and then an additional two hours at around 220-230 degrees F to get complete decarb. Once the water is evaporated you get an immediate spike in temperature inside the pot. What I used to do was lift the pot out of the oil until the temperature dropped, then turn the flame back on and get back to temp.
This time, when I noticed a spike to 270 degrees F I left the stock pot in the overheated oil and stirred like a madwoman to keep the plant material and oil from burning while decarb ramped up dramatically. When temps dropped back down to 230 degrees they stayed there for the most part. As a result the process from flame on to flame off only took 1 hour and 45 minutes. That means it cut 45 minutes out of the process this time.
I was only able to press 150 ml of oil from the mash. That 100 ml of infused oil locked in the plant material will be loaded into capsules and dosed like that. It'll extend the harvest and we might squeek through to the next one.
It was easier when all I had to grow for was getting high. Easier, but not as rewarding.
200 grams of buds and sugar leaves in 250 ml of EVOO, reduced to an indistinguishable mash.
This oil-making process typically takes 30 minutes to get to temperature, and then an additional two hours at around 220-230 degrees F to get complete decarb. Once the water is evaporated you get an immediate spike in temperature inside the pot. What I used to do was lift the pot out of the oil until the temperature dropped, then turn the flame back on and get back to temp.
This time, when I noticed a spike to 270 degrees F I left the stock pot in the overheated oil and stirred like a madwoman to keep the plant material and oil from burning while decarb ramped up dramatically. When temps dropped back down to 230 degrees they stayed there for the most part. As a result the process from flame on to flame off only took 1 hour and 45 minutes. That means it cut 45 minutes out of the process this time.
I was only able to press 150 ml of oil from the mash. That 100 ml of infused oil locked in the plant material will be loaded into capsules and dosed like that. It'll extend the harvest and we might squeek through to the next one.
It was easier when all I had to grow for was getting high. Easier, but not as rewarding.
Bucudinkydow
Well-Known Member
Curious, SweetSue. Does ingesting the fresh harvest plant matter ever cause any digestive discomfort?
I'm curious - when you say you couldn't stand the smell or taste, was that FHO?I went back to the stove-top method. I couldn't stand the smell or taste of the previous batch done in a pressure cooker. Today I harvested a CBD Critical Cure mand tossed her into the stock pot sitting in the oil bath and went old school.
200 grams of buds and sugar leaves in 250 ml of EVOO, reduced to an indistinguishable mash.
This oil-making process typically takes 30 minutes to get to temperature, and then an additional two hours at around 220-230 degrees F to get complete decarb. Once the water is evaporated you get an immediate spike in temperature inside the pot. What I used to do was lift the pot out of the oil until the temperature dropped, then turn the flame back on and get back to temp.
This time, when I noticed a spike to 270 degrees F I left the stock pot in the overheated oil and stirred like a madwoman to keep the plant material and oil from burning while decarb ramped up dramatically. When temps dropped back down to 230 degrees they stayed there for the most part. As a result the process from flame on to flame off only took 1 hour and 45 minutes. That means it cut 45 minutes out of the process this time.
I was only able to press 150 ml of oil from the mash. That 100 ml of infused oil locked in the plant material will be loaded into capsules and dosed like that. It'll extend the harvest and we might squeek through to the next one.
It was easier when all I had to grow for was getting high. Easier, but not as rewarding.
