Condenser is truth. Wfe settings

Percentages?

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Whatā€™s your feed vs output cannabanoid content.

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Ahh thats material dependent but also it changes depending on what your condenser temp is. Thats part of what were working on. Thc is clear in volumeā€¦ so color removal via condenser temp is only a benefit

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wow thatā€™s going so quick!!!

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Such a pretty machineā€¦ good job @densoneā€¦

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Thanks man. I love this machine, but itā€™s leaky. I canā€™t get vac below 4.0E-2 at the cold trap. The guys that run it are an awesome crew from Indiana learning their way into the biz. The coil thing is one of them is very mechanically inclined and can fix stuff quick:

Iā€™m working with 2 companies that have the same machine, so itā€™s a blast getting them both dialed in.

I think the biggest challenge I have right now is the temp of the oil when it hits open air.

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Maybe a nitrogen stream gently flowing near the outlet could mediate any heat related issues

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Thanks for sharing your information @anon42519203!
Iā€™m about to venture into ethanol or heptane/hexane extraction.
Kinda intimidating making the switch over from butaneā€¦
Iā€™m kinda leaning towards starting with SPD hot condenser before moving into a wiper because my current situation doesnā€™t justify the additional expenses of a wiper. Only because I can get a roto and spd cheaper than a wiperā€¦
But again thankful for people who openly share! So glad I found this website!!!
Looking forward to seeing the pictures and videosā€¦

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Ooh lala, I should try that or maybe argon into the jar while itā€™s dripping .

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Both seem like good ideas

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Ethanol yields suck if youā€™re making eho and disty unless you have a fuge, youā€™re better off doing a butane run, winterizing with ethanol then go for disty from there. Honestly if you have a butane system just winterize with etoh and then go thru the steps to get to disty.

I heard you can use the crc to get lighter stuff and strip some terps prior to making disty.

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There are a couple of reasons why I am leaning towards ethanol or hexane/heptane extractions.

First, my butane extractor is labor intensive and Iā€™m still nervous every time I use it because of the flammability/explosive nature of the solvent and nervous about operating it inside my home (my old house had a shed out back). Itā€™s a CLS Bi-directional BVV 1lb unit. It was purchased when I lived in a green-friendly state and Iā€™ve relocated since then and itā€™s very unfriendly here. Also, due to having to purchase dry ice, and distill the Solvents, is kind of a factor as well. Thereā€™s gotta be a way to make it more efficient. Even though Iā€™ve operated it several times, I feel Iā€™m still kinda green at this and have several questions regarding itā€™s useā€¦

Secondly, I have access to ethanol, heptane, and hexane for free. The downside is Iā€™ll need to purchase an SPD set up, pumps, chillers, and a rotovap. I feel kinda lost as to what size SPD to go with, what pumps to buy, what chiller Iā€™ll need, and what size rotovap Iā€™ll need? Like most people I do not have an infinite amount of money to spend or experience with chemistry type projects. But Iā€™m intelligent enough, college educated (business management degree) and learn quickly.

Looking to move to whatever is less labor intensive. If I am able to modify my current CLS setup by fully making it fully jacketed (column, base, and platter) maybe it would not be so much lifting, eliminating the dry ice factor, involving the circulation of hot water for recovery, and maybe even a nitrogen push? I feel would also be beneficial in working towards achieving my goals of being more efficient and less labor intensive. Additionally, Iā€™ve never felt like my CLS completely saturates the biomass, it seems almost like itā€™s channeling and not a complete saturation? I have so many questions LOLā€¦

Like most people I do not have an infinite amount of money to spend or experience with chemistry type projects. But Iā€™m intelligent enough, college educated (business management degree) and learn quickly.

Additionally, hemp is being grown locally by a close personal friend, and would love to be able to help him by being able to process it for him. Heā€™s got around 80 acres of it. And unfortunately was ripped off by his current processor, they have never paid him for the 2019 biomass harvest. But thatā€™s a totally different creatureā€¦

Cool, but letā€™s keep it on topic. Maybe start a new post to ask these questions

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Depending on the system, i typically run butane material directly into my wiper. Do 2 passes, one for terps/heads second for mains removalā€¦ then i winterize. Then chromatography. Then second pass. Great results. Just clean the wiper with limonene/ethanol before second pass

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Might have missed this earlier, do you decarb first?

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No, as stated before. The decarb is part of it

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So after having some tests done on a wiper woth the lower port i think all around the numbers are lower for how everything works. Its really hard not to have distillate end up in the cold trap. The problem with this is we need a very low viscosity to allow lower boiling points to fully express themselves out. To combat the need for lower temps on a wiper with a lower port, using slightly lower vacuum, meaning higher pressure, would help. But where to draw that line, i dont know yet.

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Iā€™m not sure what system youā€™re running but with my experience with SPE they will leak from the cold trap bc of vacuum grease and water moisture mixing before you pull vacuum. Once they mix you will need to wipe out any mixture and wait for your cold trap to defrost. My suggestion. Clean off the male and female connection of the flask. Once bone dry apply a light amount of vacuum grease on the male end. Twist the flask clockwise inside the female end and hold that position once fully inside. Elevate your jack stand to snug tight fit. Add your coolant half level. If you have a valve right before the vacuum. You need to open this slowly. Once vacuum is pulled fully readjust jack stand and clamp together. You wonā€™t ever get a leak again.

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At the time this post was made, we were literally doing a similar study on condenser temperature and effects on yield vs potency. We tested from 95c down to 60c in 5-10c increments and saw exactly what youā€™re describing here. 95c was highest potency 90-95% TAC range. TAC numbers went steadily down as we decreased condenser temperature, down to 60c and ~80% TAC.

For informational purposes, this was Butane extracted CBD crude.

Edit: also our WFE is a Chemtech KDT-6 with stainless evaporator and glass feed tank.

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Yes! These were the tests im looking for! Thank you.

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