Infusing Terpenes Using an Ultrasonic Bath

I was watching YouTube when I discovered a way to quickly age whiskey using barrel wood chips in a mason jar. The guy placed the mason jar in a warm ultrasonic bath and was able to produce an aged whiskey in under an hour.

I started playing around with our ultrasonic bath and realized that I could place my distillate and terpenes into a capped GL45 media bottle. I could then place that bottle into a lightly warmed ultrasonic bath for a shorter period of time and achieve homogenization at lower temps than needed using the hot plate method.

Has anyone played around with this? Does the ultrasonic vibration have any negative effects on the terpenes?

I’ve noticed that the oil thins out at much lower temps using this method and retains that consistency until after I’ve filled carts which makes the filling process a lot easier.

We have used this tech for small orders and haven’t run into any issues so far. It seems to be doing a great job.

13 Likes

Probably a match made in heaven. I was gonna use that for my next batches.

I’d recommend putting in nitrogen/argon generously into it to replace oxygen. That would be my only tweak.

3 Likes

Does work.

7 Likes

Crazy this sounds super promising, lower temperatures to mix the terpenes would help prevent them from getting burnt or degrading correct just like in extraction? And plus if it mixes faster and your able to fill carts faster it sounds like it boost production times so productivity boost and that is always a winner

2 Likes

Bro, if this works, I can finally stop recommending homogenizers!!!

What volumes have you tried @WestCoastTerpenes?

How long did it take?

Did you heat your solution first, and if so, what temperature?

7 Likes

Why not put a spining magnet below the bath, so u can have stirring with a pill aswell as the ultrasonic transducers. That will do the job

1 Like

Our ultrasonic bath has a setting where you can heat it to your desired temp. I put water into the bath and heat it to around 90-100 degrees f~ and set it to “full sweep” mode. I then let it sit for about 30 mins to an hour. No mixing necessary. Within 30 mins our distillate is a nice runny consistency and it seems that the terps have infused properly.

I let it run for an additional 30 mins to ensure that it has fully homogenized to avoid thick spots. By that time it’s ready to fill into carts. You could run it for longer if that’s your preference.

I’ve had trouble in the past with the overhead homogenizers getting too hot during back to back use. It slows down production and the terps evaporate off more easily as the solution is exposed to an open environment inside of the beaker.

3 Likes

What ultrasonic bath are you using?

1 Like

How can i acheive a ultrasonic bath, like using a ultrasonic cleaner?

Yeah just a cleaner

1 Like

So like this?

https://www.amazon.com/CO-Z-Professional-Ultrasonic-Instrument-Commercial/dp/B075FTFD3R/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=Ultrasonic+Bath&qid=1613941464&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyTVVEM0szQkVLWlhSJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNDU4NDg1M1RXTVM2TVcxTTRUMiZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMDAzNzc4MVFZT1I4NDZGRjlBMiZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX3Bob25lX3NlYXJjaF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl

Edit: Probably want a bigger one…

3 Likes

Get it gurl

Would this method work for infusing tinctures for better homogenization?

The hunt continues :cry:

1 Like

Makes mct taste weird according to many. At least if you’re homogenizing with it. A mild sonication might do it, but also… Just stir it. It forms a solution very easily

It’s definitely not as quick as the homogenizer but it’s a lot quicker and retains terps better than the traditional heating and stirring on a hot plate method. It’s a good alternative option for those who don’t have the current available capital for a homogenizer. I’d say both methods definitely have their pros and cons.

This tech takes longer than homogenizers, but the terpenes also aren’t exposed to an open environment since the solution is inside of the media bottle.

This is very interesting because I have heard of people sonicating to remove terps/bad smells from their distillate. Since I always had that thought in my head I never really thought to do the opposite and use one to infuse terps into distillate.

Do you pre mix before sonication?

Whats the terp percentage you have been using?

Does the mixture pass the flashlight test?

I would for sure back fill with Nitrogen or Argon as so wisely suggested by @tweedledew.

2 Likes

Ideally you’d probably want to do it under light pressure as to keep the volitailes in. But that’s likely unnecessary

1 Like

Would it make sense to pour the distillate into the media bottle first, backfill with nitrogen second and then quickly dispense terpenes into the jar before immediately capping? Does that seem like a viable method?

@tweedledew