How To Make Concentrated Cannabis Oil

[Radogast]

Wow, reclaiming/making your own carrier Is the everclear 151 proof an acceptable carrier? I could not tell what proof he was using in the start of the thread. I have gathered all the items required and am just about ready for my first try at making oil as described by Re: How To Make Concentrated Cannabis Oil. And could the dosing be as easy as adding proper dose to most any type beverage ?

151 is good
everclear 180 is very good
anything stronger and the alcohol absorbs water from the air.
The main difference between 151 and 180 is that it might take a couple more minutes to evaporate water as steam.

 

[CCOiler]

Look for the sponsor "Extractohol" on this site. Everclear 191 proof or the 200 proof Extractohol will pull the least amount of plant mater.


Hey Rado, if we use Everclear 151 proof its best to winterize it a couple of times to get as much plant matter out as possible?

Do you know what proof the 151 proof turns into after it is reclaimed once?

 

[Radogast]

Look for the sponsor "Extractohol" on this site. Everclear 191 proof or the 200 proof Extractohol will pull the least amount of plant mater.


Hey Rado, if we use Everclear 151 proof its best to winterize it a couple of times to get as much plant matter out as possible?

Do you know what proof the 151 proof turns into after it is reclaimed once?

When I posted my reply I thought "Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut "

Now that you ask the question, I gotta think that woulkd have been a good plan


Wouldn't everything recovered be in the "more distilled" category - at least somewhat stronger - probably closer to 180 than 151?

 

[CCOiler]

When I posted my reply I thought "Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut "

Now that you ask the question, I gotta think that woulkd have been a good plan


Wouldn't everything recovered be in the "more distilled" category - at least somewhat stronger - probably closer to 180 than 151?

I believe your right Rado, some where between 170 & 180? If I remember right it won't go much higher if you do it again. Best to start with 191 Everclear or 200 proof Extractohol. I hope this helps somebody

 

[KingstonRabbi]

I've started with Everclear 190 and also tried distilling cheap vodka up. Both end up about 170 proof if I leave about 20% in the still and recover 80%. If I try to recover more than 80% the proof drops to 160 which is too low for clean extractions IMO. And distilling up doesn't end up saving money, just more work. Vodka took 2 distillations to get it to 160 proof. Either way about $32 / liter of alcohol.

 

[KingstonRabbi]

observations on decarb time (Junior Scientist at Play)

I made a low temp infusion for some hand cream, 24 hours at 170F or slightly lower but never higher. After straining but before mixing hand cream I tested for conversion by heating to 240F like I would for standard decarb. I saw maybe two tiny bubbles, so decarb was very nearly 100%. Charts never extend data below 220F so thought it would be nice to have confirmation of full decarb at 170F. More fun for this junior scientist to play with. Maybe time can be even shorter, or maybe I can get temp lower. Maybe use my wife's Instant Pot on yogurt mode (or maybe think about what happened last time I used her Instant Pot for cannabis oil. Hmm... I've gotten away with worse )

BTW - I found that a dry cast iron pan diffuses heat and holds even temp as well as hot oil bath, actually easier for me to monitor temp, and no splatters when a bubble pops in the decarbing oil, and easier to clean up. Only one time it started to get too hot I just dripped a little water to cool pan down.

 

[SweetSue]

Thank you, you brilliantly curious junior scientist.

I wonder if I could get away with using the Dutch Oven like that instead of filling it with oil when I make FHO? I cook the material in a stainless pot.

You may have found another piece to the puzzle. What inspired you to try it this way?

 

[SweetSue]

Thank you, you brilliantly curious junior scientist.

I wonder if I could get away with using the Dutch Oven like that instead of filling it with oil when I make FHO? I cook the material in a stainless pot.

You may have found another piece to the puzzle. What inspired you to try it this way?

I'm thinking it'd be too much time on the fire. It might damage the cast iron.

 

[KingstonRabbi]

You can't damage cast iron. Worst that can happen is I have to re-season it. Stainless steel doesn't have the mass of cast iron so you would still need oil to diffuse the heat and keep temp stable.

This was just for a quick test so I decided to be lazy. Turns out it worked better than I expected. For infused oil I still would need pot for the infusion oil, not directly in pan. I need to measure heat at bottom of pot. With infusion I can only measure temp on top of herb/oil mixture, risk of burning the oil on bottom without the extra layer.

 

[SweetSue]

You can't damage cast iron. Worst that can happen is I have to re-season it. Stainless steel doesn't have the mass of cast iron so you would still need oil to diffuse the heat and keep temp stable.

This was just for a quick test so I decided to be lazy. Turns out it worked better than I expected. For infused oil I still would need pot for the infusion oil, not directly in pan. I need to measure heat at bottom of pot. With infusion I can only measure temp on top of herb/oil mixture, risk of burning the oil on bottom without the extra layer.

Yeah...I use a stainless set inside the cast iron, which holds the oil bath. I don't know what kind of heat I'd have building up at the bottom of the stainless pot. I might do a small batch sometime to see. I can certainly test it with water in the stainless, set into the cast iron. I'll give it a go this weekend.

 

[VerdantSpires]

BTW - I found that a dry cast iron pan diffuses heat and holds even temp as well as hot oil bath, actually easier for me to monitor temp, and no splatters when a bubble pops in the decarbing oil, and easier to clean up. Only one time it started to get too hot I just dripped a little water to cool pan down.

I think you could use clean dry sand in place of the oil. Cheaper, safer, and easier to clean up and store.

 

[SweetSue]

I think you could use clean dry sand in place of the oil. Cheaper, safer, and easier to clean up and store.

Ok....this never even occurred to me, but OMG! What a brilliant idea. I'll pick up some sand when I'm out next.

You know VerdantSpires, if you epwere standing beside me I'd have turned and wrapped you up in a big hug accompanied by a squeal of delight.

This will have to do. Engage your imagination

 

[KingstonRabbi]

It's an interesting idea. The problem I see is that sand is an insulator. It holds heat but doesn't distribute heat evenly or efficiently. Iron is good conductor, oil circulates the heat. Sand would be much hotter on bottom than top, meaning bottom pan would have to be even hotter.

It could work once it reached stable temp, but that could take a while, and you'd have to find the right settings to hold that temp throughout because sand would be very slow to respond to changes in burner.

 

[SweetSue]

It's an interesting idea. The problem I see is that sand is an insulator. It holds heat but doesn't distribute heat evenly or efficiently. Iron is good conductor, oil circulates the heat. Sand would be much hotter on bottom than top, meaning bottom pan would have to be even hotter.

It could work once it reached stable temp, but that could take a while, and you'd have to find the right settings to hold that temp throughout because sand would be very slow to respond to changes in burner.

But if you could get the temperature set with accuracy it should stay there, wouldn't you think? How about using an induction cooktop? Might that be easier to control?

 

[ShiggityFlip]

You can actually damage cast iron through overheating. It changes the cast iron so it no longer will season correctly.

As far as the sand thing, in the lab we often use a dry heat bath with small glass beads as the "sand"

There can be some discrepancy between the bottom and top of the bead bath.

 

[SweetSue]

You can actually damage cast iron through overheating. It changes the cast iron so it no longer will season correctly.

As far as the sand thing, in the lab we often use a dry heat bath with small glass beads as the "sand"

There can be some discrepancy between the bottom and top of the bead bath.

I don't use this pot to cook with anymore, so that wouldn't be a concern for me. I'll give it a go sometime in the next week and see how the sand heats. Those glass beads sound fun.

 

[KingstonRabbi]

Thanks for input Shiggity. How hot does glass bead bath get and how long does it take to get there? And how deep is it? It strikes me as something that would work well if left set up all day (like ones I see in exam rooms) but may not be practical for single batch of oil. I think it would be too slow to respond to temp settings adjustments, it would have to be 'pre-set' to maintain set temp.

On the other hand, for a longer decarb at lower temps, like 170F for 24 hours, it would make it possible to leave it running without constant monitoring.

As far as damaging pan seasoning, my cast iron pan never got above 280F for my 'dry bath' batch, so no long term damage. I have a cast iron griddle that I use just for blackening fish over open fire. That one is beyond hope for most foods, but with a thick enough layer of butter no problems.

 

[ShiggityFlip]

The dry baths we used were typically always on and small capacity like 1/2 liter. We usually had them at important specific temperatures 37C (body temp), 42C (heat shock), 65C, 100C.

So I agree not practical for what we would want the bath would take too long to heat up.

 

[crasher]

Hi, I am newbie and I wanna know the differences between cannabis oil and normal one?

Thanks

 

[Radogast]

Hi, I am newbie and I wanna know the differences between cannabis oil and normal one?

Thanks

I guess that depends on what you call normal. Concentrated Cannabis Oil(CCO) is the extracted oil from the trichomes of cannabis leaves and buds. The active ingredients in cannabis (mainly THC and CBD) are concentrated compared to the whole cannabis plant.

If 'normal' oil is cannabis oil sold at a dispensary, that oil will have a concentration of THC and CBD listed on the label. It will be more or less concentrated than CCO.

If 'normal' is heat and pressure extracted oil, what one gets from squeezing a bud in a straight iron, then CCO is a more pure form without as much chlorophyl and other 'green stuff.'

If 'normal' is the oil made with a Magical Butter machine(MB2), then CCO is MUCH more concentrated than MB2 oil.

For treating cancer and other serious illnesses, CCO is a 'pure' concentrate. If made from carefully grown small batches of marijuana, especially if organically grown, it is free from mold, bud rot and toxic chemicals that may be found in commericial oil. Dispensary marijuana is vey often not as healthy a product as quality homegrown. CBD oils, especially imported CBD oils and oils sold in places like gas stations, have especially poor quality controls and cleanliness standards - so the main reason to make your own CCO, (besides price,) is that one can produce a known high quality cannabis oil from known high quality cannabis.