Rosin Press: Information Thread

My two heaters arrived yesterday. Hopefully I can get them installed and wired up. I can't wait to give this a REAL test.
Trimming is getting in my way. :thedoubletake: :cheesygrinsmiley:
 
Can any of you who use a hydraulic press give me a guesstimate of how much herb is a good amount to press with a 12 ton press?
I don't want to process a pound, 1 gram at a time, if at all possible. :rofl:
 
We have lift off! :thumb:

I got the heaters wired up and installed in my plates.
Heaters.jpg

Ready_to_Press.jpg


For my initial test I used 2.25 grams of year-old Pit Bull bud. Without the stem, I'm guessing it NETed right at 2 grams, maybe a little less.

I made a "Puck-O-rator" TM from a piece of 3/4" pipe. Put the bud in the pipe. Put the pipe in my 100 year old vice for stability and hit it good with a 4# hammer. Puck-O-rator v2.0 is in R&D. :cheesygrinsmiley: I want a larger piece of pipe so I end up with about a 1" puck, but this is what I could put my hands on this afternoon.
Puckerator-1.jpg

Puckerator-2.jpg


This is a well pucked bud. :rofl:
Puckerator-3.jpg


I set the PID to 130C = 266F. A little on the hot side, but I'll dial in the temp that works best for me.
PID_130C.jpg


This is the result. The razor blade looks rusty but it has never been used for anything except cannabis. The "rust" is caked on kief and resin. The yield was 0.44 grams for roughly 22%, depending on the exact weight of the bud minus stem.
Dab12.jpg
Dab22.jpg


Total cost, if you buy everything new is about $160. That includes the plates, PID, heaters, 12 ton press and misc' hardware.
 
Bravo Major. Very nicely done.
 
Taste major! I need a taste assessment!

I'll try Shiggity.
I don't have a decent rig for this stuff. I want to make sure I like it as much as I think I will before I invest in something.
I have been throwing early tests into a cheap vape pen and like it a lot. So far the rosin I've tried was VERY tasty. I'll report back once I've tried this batch but don't hold your breath for a great description. :cheesygrinsmiley: I'm not good at describing flavors and tastes.
I've seen the future and it is good!
 
I'm starting to get the hang of this process and developing some technique. I'd have to say that first pressing resulted in rosin with unimpressive flavor. It was still very potent, but I had the temp too high. I am now pressing at 225F and it tastes great! I did some Gorilla Glue this morning. The flavor begins with a hint of the lemon I smell when I'm working in the garden or trimming it. It quickly moves to a hash oil taste, but smooth as silk and very fresh tasting. I'd say it is a mixture of earthy and spicy, maybe like fresh-brewed coffee with a little cinnamon in it.

It turns out this is also a great way to get rid of larf and other junk I'd normally throw out. I started with 5 grams of junk. The yield was only 10% but this 1/2 gram of rosin is enough for me to dab for a while.

5g_LARF.jpg
LARF_Pucked.jpg
Pressed.jpg
0_55g_Rosin.jpg
Collected2.jpg


Not only is it quick to process, but it tastes great and it is FIRE! :thumb:
 
Recently found a new press made by RosinPressNY. The following is off their website:

Features:

-Adjustable pressure ( manually increase or decrease the tension of the spring arms increasing or decreasing pressure)

-5" x 5" Dual Heating Plates

-Dual Touch Screen Temperature Controls. Adjust Each Plate Independently, 0-400 Degrees Fahrenheit

-0-999 Second Programmable Alarm. (Alarm sounds when your programmed squeeze time is finished)

-110V Operation

Dimensions: 8"W x 17"D x 12"H

RosinPressNY Offers An Industry Leading Warranty! Each Rosin Press Comes With A 1 Year Warranty!


Currently looks to be 348USD. I'm curious what other people might think?
Does have pretty big plates which would be nice but also makes me wonder about the pressure / if the manual lever arm can generate enough force etc..

Seems overall like a pretty solid competitor for the High5.
I'm also curious if anyone has found other presses being sold for this purpose? So far I've only found these two actually in stock.
 
Gods that is the tee shirt press mind and will not give you very much pressure for that size plate. The high5 would be a better choice for a personal press.

Big thanks, lol!
Sucks to see this false advertising. I sure would like to see some worthy competitors.

So Shiggs and others, with your DIY presses, based on your experience is pressure an exponentially beneficial factor?
In other words, do you just max out the pressure to get highest return? Or not?
Basically, I'm curious as to the benefits between having a huge heavy press that is a pain to move, or this manual press that would be more convenient but maybe also less efficient?
 
Like the girl at the picnic said, "Bigger really is better." :rofl:

I think the amount of pressure that is useful depends on the amount of herb you want to process. I'm using 12 tons and wish I had 20. I press 5-10 grams at a time with 6" plates. I wouldn't try that amount with much smaller plates. If I was only pressing 1 gram at a time, 2" plates and 1-2 tons of pressure might be fine.

Bigger can be a pain, but once you've done a few batches, it gets to be a quick procedure while portability is a non-benefit for me. I can press a week's worth rosin in a few minutes. I leave mine set up in a corner of the garage so I can make more anytime. The entire operation from cutting parchment, warming up the plates, pressing and gathering the rosin, all takes about 15 minutes.
 
I think Major is spot on here. Right now I have a 6ton press with 2" circular plates. I press small amounts twice a week. I have noticed a super difference in yield from the 1 ton press and same plates. With my setup I am getting more pressure than Major is getting though I am not sure I am maxing it out. I will say that I limit myself to .7g presses because otherwise some of the bud actually gets pressed outside the plates. I prefer this siZe for personal because it pushes the rosin outside the plates. None of it stays inside the plate area. This means I can extract for a long time as the rosin will migrate outside the heated area.

Major, you are ruined now. There's no going back, you are a rosin man for life!
 
Heheh, keep in mind that I'm reading, and now posting, with a good solid fresh buzz ... :bongrip: ...

And I'm thinking, aha, I could put one in the garage ... :hmmmm: ... 'course it's gonna be cold in there for the winter ... but it's only 15 minutes and the plates are the hot part ... wonder if the temp change would be hard on them ...

Then it occurred to me that the rosin would cool pretty darned fast ... :laugh: ... I wonder if that might be helpful ... :hmmmm:

Any thoughts? A rosin press in a sub-zero freezer.

I don't really have a place in the house to put a 10 ton press.
 
Back
Top Bottom