Fraction Finder reviews/thoughts

Hey everyone, I am looking for some anecdotal reviews or thoughts on the fraction finder (that summit is pushing with their current distillation setups. I used to run a 2L SPD and had quite a while to become comfortable with distillation.

The new summit setups come WITHOUT a vapor temperature probe, and instead only utilizes the fraction finder. I have only done 2 runs on our new 5L setup, and to me the fraction finder seems a bit unnecessary. I am not so much interested in the spectral data from the fraction finder, more just trying to get a good idea when main body is coming so i can prepare to swap flasks.

I guess what I want to know is, do you use a fraction finder? If so, do you use it in conjunction with a vapor temp probe, or alone? what are your thoughts? Thanks for any input

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:thinking: great question!

I don’t understand why anyone would remove that temp probe, even to implement a fraction finder…haven’t used one. need to get my hands on one for testing.

sticking around to watch… :beer::popcorn:

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Haven’t used a fraction finder, but I like the ability to datalog and view temp Delta trends over time, comes in handy a lot in a lab setting. Imho the fraction finder offers slightly more functionality at 10x the cost of some wonderful datalogging and display products from OMEGA Corp.

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I agree with what was said above.
Never had the chance to use one of these yet.
Regardless, I’d never want to distil anything without monitoring both pressure and temperature,
period.

However, I saw a preliminary model of the fraction finder at a convention last year, talked
to the developer and I do think it has a lot of potential. If they combine uv data of compounds
in question from file, sufficient measurements at different wavelengths and the right math
they could output percentages in (almost) realtime. Certainly useful information to have.

Can anyone tell if the currently built fraction finders are doing that though ?

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From what i have gathered from using it a couple times, it seems like the spectra it shows are better as a qualitative measure rather than a quantitative one. This is how it is portrayed in the manual that it comes with as well. I think that you could possibly come up with a method for calculating the concentration in real time, but I dont think it is stable enough for the result to be reliable.

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rtfm… least that’s where I’m going next.

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Mary had crude CBD
she wanted white as snow
she put it in her SPD
now where’d the fuck it go?

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From page 3 of above manual:

“The Fraction Finder is not a quantitative measure. It cannot replace good laboratory
practice and experience. It is a qualitative means that directly tracks relative concentration
of cannabinoids. Fraction Finder’s data in combination with temperature, vacuum, good
laboratory practice an(d) experience will help the experienced distillation scientist further
perfect their craft for the purist distillate.”

Then they continue on page 4:

“It is Arometrix’s goal to amass enough spectral data from the fraction finder
to eventually be able to determine quantitative potency in the future”

Soon!

Last year we interviewed a long-time Fraction Finder user to collect some thoughts on how it’s helped him.

Read the transcript of our interview by clicking this link right here.

We’re going to get collect more anecdotes this year.

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You are also able to use vapor temps. Just ask us we can help you out.

If anyone has any questions please shoot em here, I’m more than happy to share how customers are using them in thier labs.

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Have gotten to use the Fraction Finder a few times thus far, we are getting an adapter for use with larger diameter glassware before we are able to use it regularly. My experience so far has been awesome. Even if you know what to look for when watching for the switch to the main body, this device allows even the most novice distiller the ability to create a clean first pass. Haven’t had any issues with inaccuracy of the readings, the system is well tuned for recognition of heads, body and tails!

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Got to use a fraction finder during a consultation and it was pretty awesome. I’ve always looked for visual cues like color, temp, and vac depth change to signify a new fraction, but not everyone has the experience to make that determination so this piece of equipment will basically do it for you. It’s an excellent learning/teaching tool, and it’s a small price to pay to help confirm the distillate purity, in real time, when dealing with valuable product!

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I’ve been pretty stoked on this unit, I know it works well with Across’s short path from a couple of end users.

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Thank you for your review! @mferjonesy

P.S. The new software update is out.

You can download the latest firmware software update here: Firmware 1.2.2

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Anybody try using a fraction finder on their crc?

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