Has anyone used more than one type of distillation equipment and can tell me the plus and minuses? I will be processing approximately 100 pounds an hour via cold ethanol extraction - FFE - decarb - -and into distillation. I would love any feedback on the various systems out there.
Many thanks in advance!
https://future4200.com/search?q=chemtech
https://future4200.com/search?q=vta
https://future4200.com/search?q=beaker%20and%20wrench
Thanks guys, I had read most of that, but it is still hard to tease out what is the best. overall it seems VTA has the best reputation, but I don’t see anyone talking about it that has used it and other systems specifically for hemp and verifying that the CBD recovery is as good as root sciences claims.
Thanks again
Yeah, it’s a tough question:
Getting hands on experience with multiple brands is non-trivial with the price of admission on a WFE. Unless you’re a consultant spending someone else’s cash…,
As such, I would posit that most folks that have the experience to set up essentially any WFE are not as likely to have long term production experience with any particular machine.
Although one should gather such data from clients…assuming they’ll provide it. Which still not a given in this industry
Cts ftw
My tiny vote for Chemtech.
I’ve never heard anything bad about a VTA, except for the price. I’ve worked with Pope in the past and they certainly have both pros and cons. This is what I have now: https://www.hvevaporators.com/ and I love it. It’s efficient, rugged, and set up very well for maintenance and modification.
For scaling, Chem tech all day. For most scales, the VTA is the most turnkey, user friend WFE available from that list.
One can do better then all three from China but it’s not as straight forward
Dabatronicus - have you used chemtech and VTA on CBD by any chance? Just wondering on the efficiency of each. Thank you
And I will look into hvevaporators as well, thanks Cannabuiler!
VTA Root Sciences. 
I have to say… I am heavily leaning towards Root, but it is 2x the price as what I originally planned… meaning I will likely get one rather than two which will make the processing more of a hassle, but I am starting to think it will be worth it
thanks all
Thc for both but Cbd only on the vta but I’m sure the chemtech would would well though.
They are both pricey but are as turnkey as it gets.
I have experiences in runing KD10, from Chemtech, and set up multiple Chinese brand WFD.
Chemtech has great unit, it give out same result everytime after you dail in to the right setting.
Their price are high and lead time are too long. Chinese brand is a good starter machine but their vacuum cannot hold at same level over time. Once you have different vacuum level, you need to change your setting again. But their price is great. I am currently looking for reliable oversea supplier that has good design and reliability.
What more can you tell me about HVE? I just got off the phone with them, and I really liked what I heard. But I had not heard of them before… Pope, Chemtech and VTA are more commonly used.
How consistent does it run? Can you get it to run with out much cannabinoid loss?
Anyone else tried them?
Thanks!
Here’s the thing, if you know what you’re doing they’re all going to give you essentially the same results. All the other big brands were designed and built for chemical processing. HVE was designed and built specifically for refining cannabis extracts, by people that have been doing it for a very long time. It shows in it’s layout, operation, and ease of maintenance.
thank you for the feedback, much appreciated!
I would never get the HVE, my friend has one and cant get the dam thing to stop spewing these black particles out. They have no idea where it’s coming from too.
The thing about heating bands is they can heat unevenly causing uneven evaporation which will kill your yields.
@kilolabs, you ever get your HVE working right for CBD?
Yes, heat bands aren’t great on a glass body, especially if the heating capacity of the bands is too low. I know, i’ve run a banded glass body Pope. The steel body HVE heats just fine (note: wrap the body with a fiberglass heat wrap). The dynamic that’s different about the HVE is the still body is much longer relative to other systems. Get you vacuum as low as possible, temps in a mid-high range, and keep the flow rate up. I’ve only gotten the black specks from gummy crude with the flow rate too low.
Even on steel wipers with bands I’ve had this problem.
Heat bands just dont have the thermo conductivity of hot oil, heat can transfer much easier and more efficiently through a liquid then with bands
Oil has much more thermo mass where as a band doesnt.
Its alot harder to cool oil at 170c then a steel band at 170c