I’m proud to announce the availability of a new type of short path system for the cannabis market. To my knowledge this is the first of its kind glass/steel hybrid system.
Developed by myself and @pdxcanna, Better Flange Short Path Designs (Better Flange SPD) are built to make distilling cannabis oil a consistent and cost-effective endeavor. We’ve attempted to remove the “art” from distillation so that everyone can focus on the science.
This system is designed to gently distill vape-grade terpenes as well as cannabinoids.
Benefits
Fast – Main body generally complete in 3-4 hours
Easy to use – consistently use the system every day
Durable – will not break or require expensive pieces No grease contamination – grease contamination is a shame. No grease is used in the interior of the system
Lowest vacuum levels – few chances for leaks exist in kf-25 fittings. Focus on other things other than leaks.
Inexpensive – comparable price to same sized systems without the depreciation or breaking parts.
No isomerization – Little to no CBN formed when operating the short path as directed.
Shown here is a rendering of the system. For anyone interested in more information please reach out here!
The base price of the 5L system is $6000 plus tax and shipping.
The base price of the 10L system is $7000 plus tax and shipping.
That only includes the items shown in the above image ie no mantle, pump, or vacuum gauge included, though I can recommend something for each of these.
The head can be sold alone and I can help you figure out how to best attach it to the system you are using, whatever that may be. I think the head design is one of the best things about this system. Rendering in a comment below
Here you go. This is a low quality video for the upload but the rendering is by @pdxcanna. The inside is patent pending.
The design allows the operator to pick from any of 4 speeds depending on the needs of the operator. It rejects liquids in the head and recycles them back down into the boiling flask. Other systems on the market use ridges which essentially guarantee that crap is going to be splashed into the condenser and final product.
The head is fabricated in America at a few different locations to test the market a bit. Most recently I picked up a head from @Indofab and its shown here. Even though it looks simple the welding is no joke and is not the source of cost reduction by any means.
I can’t say I’m really sold on your head design I guess in time people will attest to it. I can definitely see the condenser getting clogged up with distillate because of lack of a heating jacket (easy fix)… Now having said that, just between us and don’t tell anyone, if I had the money from every piece of glassware I ever broke I could afford a nice house in Texas or maybe even a deposit on a porta potty in LA.
When @AlexSiegel came and ran it for me the head got hot as fuck. We were blowing a fan on it too cool it down. No issues with disty traffic jam that I saw.
Overall I loved the system and will have one as soon as I get the budget approved.
Great question. Clogging would be mostly an issue in the first part of the distillation when the condenser is heating up. Picture second pass heads freezing inside the condenser in a cold room. For that situation and others like it I would always have a standard heating gun present. After the initial “heat up” you won’t have any issues.
The condenser tends to heat itself over the course of the distillation enough to avoid clogging. We usually have to use a table fan to cool it down a bit.
My understanding and correct me if I’m wrong @AlexSiegel but the main value proposition is that all the connections are KF25, he figured out a pretty nifty way to go from glass to metal. That seems to work pretty well and consistently hit ultimate pump vacuum.
The gasket material is a combination of stainless steel and viton. The system will come with instructions on the tolerances. I’ve observed no evidence that the viton is reaching temperatures where it will warp or degrade
I need to get this out there and demo it to you all! In California I can come demo the unit with either a 5L or 10L system. Anyone as far south as Fresno or as far north as Sacramento/Santa Rosa is easy to get to for me.
