I make small batches of cartridges for family. I make bho, winterize and reintroduce terps. My goal was to use minimal diluent, my limiting factor is the ability to get the oil into the cartridge. I use ccell M6T so people can’t break them. The website dictates that the M6T carts should be used with 8%< diluted oils. I was using disposable syringes, but the oil would need to be about 25%~ in order to draw the oil into my disposable syringes. Unfortunately I’ve been experiencing leaking issues, especially with the heat, minimal amounts, but too much for my satisfaction. I purchased a 50ml borosilicate syringe with the hopes of being able to dispense more viscous oil. I made a batch of oil with 8% terpens, the oil was too thick to draw into the syringe, so I removed the plunger and poured the oil in. I replaced the plunger, but it’s simply too thick to dispense. I’ve soaked the syringe in a hot water batch around 120’f, but I’m only able to dispense .5~ml before it stops, and it take damn near all my effort to manage that small amount.
At this end pass, I bring the experts my question. What’s the best “budget” friendly solution? I can reasonably spend up to $500. I don’t produce much, maybe 25-50g every few weeks, so masterpieces like a Thompson duke just don’t make sense.
On a side note, how high can I raise the temp without degrading the product?
Well the search option should of been your first step as there is a recent post about this. It’s a good thing that @cyclopath doesn’t mind me borrowing his from time to time as long as I return it. Send @qma a DM as he has the best option for you in the $500 and under category.
I apologize if I missed something, but I did a search for “cartridge filling” and only found stuff related to machines and large scale production. The @qma post from 10 days ago seems like he was gauging interest, it didn’t seem to be a fully flushed out product.
I did just find the fifty shot filler, and a similar looking product on bvv. Anyone have any experience with these type of fillers?
I have a Fifty Shot, I just purchased it last week but have not had an opportunity to use it yet pending some terps arriving.
The build quality and ease of use seems to be on point, especially for $400 I think its a pretty good deal. Ive seen other reviews of this unit and the people that have it say there is some finesse to making sure its filled properly for use but love how it works.
I have one of the “beta” units from qma and could not be more pleased. I already have a larger unit on order and my boy also wants one now that he saw mine. This unit could easily do 50 or 500 units in no time.
The 50 shot is great if you hope to fill up to 1-400 carts a day! Any more and you will be pretty annoyed. No dissing 50 shot, but the design forces you to break down the syringe after every 25ml. Some people (me) get annoyed after just 2 or 3 reloads.
My Cart Farmers are designed for speed. Low residence times on heat makes for clearer oil and better flavors.
The best value vacs filler is similar to the 50 shot, only utilizing a different hsw syringe
Some people go as high as 80-90 Celsius for filling. I do not recommend using a glass syringe at this temperature, as they may (WILL) pop due to differing expansion and heat. I also do not recommend utilizing a plastic syringe at this heat, as it can warp and leach at higher temperatures.
The cheapest way would be to heat your material until it’s thin enough to draw into glass 1ml syringes. I think you’ll find that the problem is your material cooling in such a large syringe. You can fill your carts, two at a time, before it cools down too thick to shoot. I’ve found those M6T05’s can take almost shatter-like viscosity without burning up.
Those glass syringes come in a 10pack for $20 on Amazon, but if you’ve got a little more spending room I’d opt for the filling gun as others have suggested.
+1 on a 1ml glass syringe. I keep a 100ml beaker half full of material on a hot plate set at 65c and just draw from that, 50ml at a time to limit heat exposure. I can get 50 carts done in about an hour right now. I’d like to get the allflex syringe, but I’m worried about ending up with cloudy syringes from the plastic barrel. I’m filling 1ml CBD carts cut with floraplex thickener and 4% terps as to prevent crystallization and I’m not sure how that terpene based diluent plays with plastic at a 50% concentration.
I bought a 50 shot when they barely came out, was drenched of some kind of oil, when I called 420 stock they said it was vegetable oil. I soaked in iso overnight cleaned the shit out of it. Began to use it and fucked up 100x 1ml carts glass ccell carts. most had some kind out contaminant in them. Not sure if it from the plastic or rubber gaskets. I called and complained and they pretty much blew me off, I threw that piece of shit back in the box. Just going to keep filling with my all glass syringe.
I see they put a “note” inside mentioning it was vegetable oil and to clean prior to use. I was thinking of doing a wash in some alconox solution and proper drying before I put it to use. Do you feel like the contamination was from residual oil left over? I think it mentioned that it uses Viton gaskets anywhere that come into contact with material, but I could be wrong.
Thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge. Your system looks amazing, my production rate is minimal, roughly 25-50 carts every few week, so your system would far exceed my current needs.
I actually had tremendous success with my 50ml borosilicate syringe. It’s produced by Wheaton so l it’s a decent quality.
I submerged my glass syringe in a tall cup filled with 160’f~ water. The oil became very thin and manageable, I was able to work relatively quickly. I filled 35 carts in about 30 minutes which easily accommodates my needs. I took my syringe filled with 40ml of oil, got the oil hot, pumped most of it back into my beaker. I left 10ml~ of oil in the syringe along with 20ml of air so the oil can expand. I put the syringe body submerged in water leaving the tip exposed so water doesn’t seep in. After about 60 seconds the oil was ready. The glass syringe does a great job retaining heat and preventing the oil from cooling too rapidly. It got a bit hot, so I wore gloves and it was very manageable. I used a heating pad to raise my beaker temp to 160’f and I was able to draw oil into the syringe, albeit a bit slowly, 60 seconds to draw 10ml~. I cranked out 35 in no time, waiting on more empty carts to finish this batch.
If my needs expand I’ll acquire some new equipment, otherwise this $60 syringe suits my needs rather well. It’s also borosilicate, so no concerns with leeching contaminants.
from time to time as long as I return it. Send 