A friend hooked me up with this website and told me to come here and poke around the forums about CO2 Extraction information and so here I am.
Having read a lot of the posts here including equipment listings, etc. my friend definitely sent me to the right place. You guys are wicked smart and know this stuff better than I ever could.
A little background, I’m in the east coast looking to get into the Cannabis CO2 Extraction business. I’m somewhat looking for a mentor / “guide” to help me with what I need to know before I proceed. If there is a written guide that I didn’t find on the forum, I would love to take a look. I’ve done the readings and know how the process works, but this is a new venture for me and it’s a little daunting, so I’m looking for some clarity!
Feel free to PM me and if you’re interested in helping me, we can exchange emails, etc.
I like to help but first i would liike to hear your busniss concept
Why co2
What size rig you have in mind ?
Wat sort of biomass you will extract
Yust to get a general idea of what it is you are trying to achieve
If you just have more generalized questions about equipment recommendations, how to streamline the process and suit it to your needs I can provide some assistance. I run a CO2 extraction lab in Washington State and have spent a lot of time around a variety of CO2 extraction equipment.
I would echo @Roguelab in asking why you are choosing CO2 though? What needs/products do you have in mind that made you decide CO2 was the best idea? It is probably the most expensive and complex way to extract cannabinoids that is conventionally used right now.
@Roguelab@SauceBossNW@cyclopath I’m here to educate myself on the topic before I proceed with anything! Thank you for those questions. I’m not knowledgeable on this topic at all. I don’t even know where to start! That’s why I’m here. Basic premise: I want to start a cannabis extraction business. Aside from that, I’m still doing research and this site is one of my stops!
Why CO2?
The choice was solely based on what I was told by a friend of mine who first told me about the cannabis extraction business. I am now finding out that CO2 equipment is expensive and there seems to be a false sense of “safety” associated with CO2 extraction compared to others like ethanol. My decision in the end will be based on what can produce the most efficient and clean product.
What size rig you have in mind?
I’m not quite sure what size rig, but it will be a business. It won’t be something done as a hobby out of a basement or anything like that.
What sort of biomass you will extract?
Cannabis is what I was told was the most lucrative. Are there any other things people go for? Again, I’m so sorry for sounding like an idiot. I’m ignorant on this topic and here to learn!
@SauceBossNW To counter, what made you go CO2 over other choices? Just curious! I watched the video and read up on what @cyclopath mentioned. It’d be awesome to hear from a real life example.
Man if I had 10 bucks every-time I see one of these kinds of posts.
Seriously, how is it that you green-rush entrepreneurs have the money yet no practical-knowledge or experience come here and start asking “show me how to start extracting the marijuanas!!!” yet very little in the way of initiative to start teaching yourself or learn enough to know what questions to ask.
Use the search bar. It is your best friend here.
If you wanna be spoon-fed, be ready to cough up some dough for one of the many consultants here.
I’m with you on that one. Not to knock people for wanting to learn, but you say you want to start a cannabis business, but you seem to have absolutely no experience in this field. Unless this your true passion like 90% of us on this website, your better off paying for a consultant who can bottle feed you.
@anon81723932@FicklePickle I’m learning. I’m learning a lot, man. What’s wrong with just posting something while I do all that?
I understand how you can feel that way and I’m sorry to come off like that. I totally didn’t mean it and if a post like this is against the rules of the site, I’ll delete it right now.
I didn’t come here to step on anyone’s toes. I’m familiar with the concept, just not familiar on how to break ground.
Sorry, guys.
EDIT #1: I mostly need a starting point and that’s why I’m here asking what everyone else is doing. Some people that posted above you raised some great questions about CO2 vs other forms of extraction that I didn’t consider. Once I get my foot in the door, I promise you I will be doing a shit ton more research than I already am.
I’m not trying to be a dick man, and I’m sorry for coming off that way. Just spend time reading and doing research. Familiarize yourself more with everything and people like myself won’t bust your balls when you ask funny questions. This website has all the content you could ever need. Read read read
As someone who just finally got my Co2 lab up and running after 3 years, I can tell you there are so many questions to answer before you even consider moving forward. What products are you making? Where are you sourcing material? What licenses are needed? How will you sell finished goods?
Start by researching the entire extraction process. Once you understand how you get from biomass to extract, then you can start piecing together the fine details like equipment. Id be glad to offer baseline guidance but am in no way a true consultant.
I can tell you, you have stumbled upon a goldmine of information here at Future4200 though. I wish I would’ve found it sooner, many things would of been done differently…but you live and learn. Good Luck!
What made me go CO2? Well to be perfectly honest it was not my choice - I took over as the Lab Director of my operation after it had the doors open for 2 years. I could tell you about the benefits of using CO2 over other methods - better terpene extraction, “safe” solvent to use, etc but I think honestly it would be a disservice. Yeah we make great terpenes and full spectrum oils, but there isn’t a huge market for that currently ESPECIALLY when made with CO2. Washington does seem to have a general dislike of CO2 oil in general though so I could have a bias from the markets out here.
BIGGEST REASON TO NOT RUN CO2: TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE EXTRACTION TIMES.
I’m not joking. We run Eden Labs machines, so we can load 2-3 lbs in our 5L Hi-Flo extraction system and 9-10 lbs in our 20L. Runtime on the 5L is advertised as 3-5 hours, in reality if you want a full extraction of your source material you need to run it 6-7 hours and even then you are leaving 3-5% total cannabinoid content behind. The 20L is roughly a pound per hour. So we get through a single run on the 20L with a swing shift setup from 6AM-6PM. So about 15 lbs of material extracted per 12 hour shift, with ~$260k of extraction machines (MSRP).
I can go buy three 5 gallon buckets from Home Depot and extract the same oil (and not leave behind 3-5% cannabinoids) in 20 minutes, then its just recovering the alcohol in a rotovap. Sure you can’t create more specialized, fractionated end products but it doesn’t matter if the majority of it is going to distillate anyways.
Ethanol and liquid hydrocarbons are both strong options. I do consulting on facility setups for both of those and have got plans for anything from 10 lb/day to several thousand. Co2 is really bad and compressed hydrocarbons aren’t my favorite either (at least if distillate is the goal)
Don’t I fucking know it my man. Also literally the worst customer service in the industry hands down. Never answer their phones and take multiple days/weeks to respond to tech support/any issues at all. I swear their automated support response should say this:
“If this is an urgent or time-sensitive matter, please contact us directly at XXX-XXX-XXXX Monday through Friday between 9am and 5pm PT and we will duly ignore that phone til it stops ringing.”
Get an apeks and then at least you can bust through the ridiculous extraction times overnight without having to pay a tech to stand in front of it the whole time.
