so you were sure 
no if needed.
(and apparently I only read as far as ānot sureā¦ā. DOH!)
We use a dust cyclone and a shop vac for our Apeks. Works super well, easy to set up, and relatively low cost
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The ole dog stake is fastest way if u dont use socks. Sxrew them in by hand then pull it outā¦turn it over do the other side. If anything left ur packer will knock it right out now instead packing more
pool cue is what i use. but Iām gonna swicth to my shopvac. i honestly dont know why i wasnt doing that in the first place.
donāt use a shop vac to empty your tube if youāre using hydrocarbons. Works great for CO2. itās probably not safe to empty your fuge with one either, but Iāll go on record as having performed that trick for months without issue. Iāve used an LEL meter on mine, and the exhaust is kosher. the inside of the vac after you switch it off is not. so either you empty it immediately or youāre risking an explosion on restart.
edit: link to an explosion proof vac system is in above thread.
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Iām gonna give this a try, thanks!
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On my hydrocarbon system I can take off the filter stack hook up nitrogen to the top of the column and shoot the material into a garbage bag. Probably not as compacted as your column thoughā¦
Interesting. Thanks for sharing! What brand socks are you using? Iām skeptical that a 48 inch tall cloth sock will withstand repeated yanks out of my columns without ripping. Worth a shot?
Youāll be back to thank me later to. Works on frozen columns. Screw it in by hand and pull It out. Do it from both sides. I clean out in under 1min per column vs 15min beating it on thru with packer
I canāt take credit picked the trick up from someone here.
I got tired trying to beat my columns out with my packing rod. Which would only makes things worse .
This is so fast now I was shocked
I was thinking wait a day or two until itās all vapor free before I do regular shopvac to the column but yes I will look into an explosion proof one.
you had me wondering with that 5 day lagā¦
thought you might have run into trouble trying to experimentally verify @Phoenixlabs710ās flame-throwing mascot.
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Nahhhh, lol. I donāt empty my columns for at least 3 days after an extraction anyways cause I usually like to make sure the material is solvent/vapor free before I unpack my material. I vacuum the column down after I release the vapors initially after extraction and then I wait two days to make sure no pressure builds back up in the column and vacuum down both sides of the column with a manifold before I open the column up to empty it.
Tbh if you keep your material under vac in just the column for a day itāll compress into a puck and you can push it out with a pool cue. I just liked the vacuum idea so I didnāt have to hold a column upside down over a cardboard box.
How are any of these recently mentioned methods any easier than opening the top and pulling a sleeve out? You can pack as hard as you want within your column but its just in a sleeve. After extraction, raffinate can be removed as easy as unscrewing the top of your column and pulling a sleeve out. There may be a little that floats down but our columns stay pretty clean. As far as sleeves tearing in the vessel I have only seen it happen if it gets stuck in the threads as the cap is being applied. I used stainless steel baskets on another instrument for years before recently trying the socks and I really donāt see the downsides that people are claiming with extraction socks/sleeves.
I second the weed bazooka.
Just open the bottom, put a bin under, then open the valve. Weed will come out in seconds.
I have actually done this with a 6.5" ID column jammed packed with pelletized hops. It was hilarious. I would not suggest it for anything other than entertainment purposes though
just donāt point it at the investors.
especially not from behind a vehicle that looks like it belongs to DPW
they were NOT amused 
edit: not to be confused with the Hemp CannonTM
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We have a solution for you called the Iron Fist! The Iron Fist solves the problems with packing and unpacking columns. It also increases productions by speeding up the processes, increasing the amount of material you can load per column, and producing higher % yields due to fact you get an even tighter pack.(Less channeling). Check it on our website/IG/YT
My name is Jason hit me up any time with any questions.
ww.scientific710.com
IG: @Scientific710
YT: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa-tFoxapj04JLFKIO67g4Q/videos
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Thatās my guy!
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What size are you columns?