And don’t waste your money on an Etoh Pro, or Source Turbo! Buy a rotovap if you’re going to spend the money on something to reclaim your etho…It’s cheaper, and better than their options (IMO)
Or a Panda spinner
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Would like to learn the chemistry,are there any books that could help me?
Will check out the panda spinner,seen that on here a few times.
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Start with general Organic Chemistry
O K
Thanks,looks like a long road.
Will get myself some books on it.
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Check out Zubrick’s Organic Chemistry Survival Guide, it’s a winner:
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Is on order,have plenty to read if I catch COVID
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Hi Belch, am also looking at the ETOH pro or the Medxtractor Disruptor 21. Can’t seem to find anybody online who uses the Medxtractor units, have you made your decision yet? If so, which one and why?
Thx.
Essential Alcohol-based Extractor Operating Video – MedXtractor Looks neat
But I’ll always say just get a 2L rotovap and learn how to filter directly into it
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Read the Zubrick’s thanks,slowly getting the idea…
Thinking the Medxtractor as they also do bigger units.
I haven’t run a Medxtractor before, but I own a Turbo and have just finished running fifteen (15) ½ gallon runs through an EtOH Pro. It looks like they are both vacuum stills, operating on the same principles.
Both are also designed with the home user in mind, so are much simpler to operate than a rotovape which performs the same function. Also easier to harvest finished product than from a rotovape, though on both I typically pour early to reduce the residual film left in the container and finish elsewhere.
Clean up on the EtOH was easy with the wide open container, and involved just wiping the wetted surfaces with a an ethanol wetted towel.
Rotovapes are more versatile in what they will run and how deep a vacuum they may pull with the right pump, but with more details to manage than essentially setting a dial and pushing a button and the glass is more fragile. Especially if you buy a cheap import with thin glass that hasn’t been fully annealed after forming.
Below are links to our tests of the quality Heidolph rotovap, as well as our Extract Craft Turbo tests, but I’m still working on my EtOH test article, so I will summarize.
The EtOH operated as represented for 15 runs without malfunction and ethanol losses were minimal. I early poured some into shallow dishes to evaporate away the balance before finishing it on parchment using the EtOH boiling chamber as a heated vacuum purge chamber.
That step required using the auxiliary vacuum lid they supplied and I used my own vacuum pump, while controlling the heat using the EtOH dial settings. A nice feature in that it saves the cost of an additional vacuum purge chamber with heating and controls.
Does the Medxtractor also have that feature?
The balance I finished as a MCT oil tincture by removing the alcohol in the EtOH and replacing it with MCT oil directly in the recovery pot, before decanting into dropper bottles and adding cinnamon flavoring oil.
As for recovery efficiency, I dumped the spit jar and did a couple false starts on the EtOH pro to clear any alcohol out of its condenser, before pouring in 1500 ml of 190 proof measured with the meniscus at the exact top of the line on the ½ gallon jar. I then cycled that through the EtOH Pro and finished with a couple false starts to clear the condenser, dumped the spit jar, and the recovered alcohols meniscus was at the bottom of the line on the same ½ gallon jar, so losses are minimal.
You might check that on the Medxtract, as the picture doesn’t appear to show room for the same sized heat exchanger as the EtOH Pro.
For a home unit whose operation involves setting a dial and pushing a button, as well as its ability to be used to vacuum purge concentrates, the EtOH Pro a good choice.
As important, is that Extract Craft is a solid company with good technical support should you need it.
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Great review,found another site to read up on…
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If I am absorbing the forum information right, the EtOH Pro could replace a 2-5L Rotary Evaporator for reclaiming solvent after doing something like the Bucket Tek w/ Hemp CBD Biomass.
Bucket Tek → Etoh Pro → Fully decarb in SPD → SPD ?
Am I on the right track here?
Do you mind if I change the title to “best at home ethanol extractor” ?
Feels more fitting since the words “ethanol extractor” are probably some of the most used terms on the site
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I still think a Chinese 2L rotovap is the better choice. I’m still rocking my lanphan glassware but you’re right on the give and takes, like how yeah you can get a cheap roto but you might end up with wiring issues. A roto imo is more versatile and you can distill more chemicals than just etoh.
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@Belch several years ago when I decided to get back involved in the cannabis space I found myself with an ever increasing amount of trim and larfy smalls. My GF researched and decided to make topicals, they were and still are very effective. Problem is, with the addition of patients and an increasing plant count the biomass started to back up. I knew absolutely zero about extraction.
After researching options I decided that I was not to a level to actually jump directly into the purchase of a rotovap. I chose to buy the extractcraft. It was simple and I figured it would suffice…and it did…until I maxed out my patients and plant count. I was also very limited in what products I could produce.
Long story short…it was in my opinion a great place to start for some one with zero knowledge. Jump ahead a few years and I now have a 1lb cls with a vac oven for purging, but I still use that little extractcraft to reclaim ethanol…and it still works
When you are a newbie like me with no experience, there are so many different directions the path can take that it is difficult to know where to begin. We have to learn how to walk before we can run. The extractcraft was a great place to learn to walk. Their customer service is top notch. They always answered the phone and took the time to answer my questions. They even replaced the unit when a heating element malfunctioned
Good luck in whatever path you choose, but stay safe and don’t let enthusiasm to learn get you in over your head. Read, research, and then read some more
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Thanks for the advice,everyone has to start somewhere.
Just reading and reading but can end up twisting your own melon🥴
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The EtOH Pro is for reclaiming ethanol and is not NEMA 7 or suitable for hydrocarbons like pentane, hexane, heptane, etc.
You can decarb the material before extraction or the concentrate afterwards. Afterwards you have the conventional means or an insitu decarb like this:
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Thanks for the 
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