I add it once upon opening a fresh bottle then that’s it. I’m not continuously adding more water to it after each round or anything
Sorry, what I mean is, if you dilute it to 190 proof, over time it picks up more water from the air. Being in the northeast it’s likely pretty humid on average. That means that after x amount of time, you have 180 proof, then 170, and so on.
1 Like
And after this extraction is done with this is it better to go straight into winterization?
Ethanol extraction > winterization
or
Ethanol extraction > roto > winterization?
winterize before roto, you could use a 10:1 ethanol:crude ratio when winterizing for optimal results
1 Like
I do need to get a proof guage asap but ideally I’ll reproof every few runs back to 190
2 Likes
Ebay
I got mine there for 10.00 or less. Grab a graduated cylinder to test it. Makes it easier
2 Likes
When I do the bucket tek im using 10 gallons of ethanol for around 20 pounds of trim.
I get back around lets say 8 gallons of ethanol that is dirty. Winterizing those 8 gallons would be alot more than a 10:1 correct?
It would also be a lot to buchner funnel those 8 gallons. Wouldn’t it be easier to roto all that ethanol out after the wash then do the 10:1 ratio and then winterize? Im also limited on freezer space.
I just did a 13lb biomass wash with 20gal of 200 proof. It took me 2 days to rotovap it back out. I’m rotovaping mu last 2 gallons of filtered recovered etoh from the panda now.
If you did a cryo etoh wash, no need to winterize, as cryo winterizes while you work. As long as its kept cold.
This is a 40 minute soak with 200 proof with food grade dry ice to keep cold! Then I use 3x 600ml buchner setups with fritted disc, and a bed of celite 545.
2 Likes
Is that tax included?
To answer your question in a straightforward manner:
Yes, it is fine. Ethanol and heptane will both dissolve cannabinoids fairly well, and the heptane won’t interfere very much with the ethanol. Ethanol is better for dewaxing than heptane, however you should be able to get out enough of the waxes to adequately process with a shortpath. During the decarbing process and/or heads portion of your shortpath operation you will remove all solvent content, ethanol or heptane.
3 Likes
Looks good, how many liters is your roto?
5 liter
I’d assume that would be because the ATF needs to approve any denaturing methods in order to be sold without the tax and they typically only approve methods which are difficult to reverse via distillation and/or are toxic for human consumption. I know isopropyl can be removed relatively easily with a reflux column since it is a minor byproduct of sugar fermentation and found in the tails. But so can methanol, and that’s also sometimes used as a denaturing agent. So… 
The easiest way to find out if that would be a legal way to denature ethanol would be to call the ATF and ask about it for fuel purposes.
1 Like
Yes i am pretty sure it should work as a denaturing agent. My assumption is that in the cannabis space someone early on got a really good deal on alot of denatured ethanol with heptane and from that marketing established a paradigm within this cannabis space that is the solvent of choice
1 Like