Noob looking for the best way to extract oil and resin

Hello everybody.

Since 2019 I have been training to grow beautiful plants. Today I think I have reached the best I can do: obtaining beautiful plants very rich in trichromes and terpenes. The flowers look like they have been dipped in glitter.

Now it is time for me to take a big step forward: extraction.
I am looking to do oil/resin extractions.

I would like to get a medical grade extraction for pain, anxiety and depression. It’s only for myself and for my own health. I don’t need to do big extractions.

So I want to know what is the best way to get a high quality extract rich in THC and terpene.

There are so many machines to do an extraction…

Please can you help me out and tell me which process is the best to get an extract that looks like “honey” and obtain a medical-grade extract ?

« Honey » : That is to say with the same viscosity as honey and a Yellow color that can go green or brown depending on the bio mass used.

There are so many that are easily affordable: BHO, Soxhlet, Rotovape, Closed Loop Extractor, Short Way Extractor, …. And there are also new means of extraction: CO2 and sonic for example. But what is the most suitable machine to make the extract I am looking for?

During my studies I carried out many distillations and extractions on classic devices: Rotovape, Soxhlet, Closed Loop, Short Way Extractor, Still, …. I know this stuff.

But I know absolutely nothing about the extraction of oil and resin from Marijuana.

About solvents, my question is the same; there are so many so which one to use and with which device to get the result I’m looking for?

Here are some solvents that I know of and which have low toxicity for humans (but ethane is the only solvent with 0% risk. CO2 is too recent to know its degree of toxicity; because it is used under pressure to achieve a extraction it could slightly modify a molecule and make it toxic) ;

  • 97% pure ethane (the remaining 3% = water;
  • cryo-ethane,
  • propane (or iso-propanol),
  • butane,
  • hexane, … and others.

I do not wish to extract large quantities; it is only for my own medical consumption So a device that can process a maximum of 1 pound of organic mass is more than enough (1 pound of organic mass = 1 gallon of solvent I think) I want to get an extract that looks like honey and not that look like Rosin

Rosin is made with high pressure and high heat because the oil / resin.
But an oil or resin who looks like Honey is much more liquid, rich in terpenes and the molecules against stress, anxiety and depression are not destroyed, unlike the process used to make Rosin. The “gentle” extraction has many advantages in addition to those mentioned above: it dissolves easily in food, especially in oil for making a cake and works for a long time (but takes several hours to assimilate by the body) And it also allows smoking with a very fast effect but which does not last long: smoke of the extract with an atomizer or a vaporizer or diluted in liquid for electronic cigaret.

I am very grateful to anyone who can help me in my research and who will advise me on the right device and the right solvent to obtain the extract that I would like to obtain. Below I put a photo found on this site. That’s what I’m trying to achieve but a little more liquid and yellow. Because I think that this resin whose photo is below that subsequently give “diamonds”. I wish to obtain something more liquid; less viscous.

Good day to you all.

Ethane? Or ethanol? The latter is considerably more common as a cannabinoid extraction solvent. The former is unlikely to exist with 3% water content.

Ethyl hydride vs ethyl hydrate…

Propane is not equivalent to isopropanol. Same number of carbons. Totally different solvent profile.

Same error as ethane/ethanol imo.

CO2 is simply not in the average home users budget. your concerns about toxic byproducts are almost certainly unfounded.

Rosin is probably your safest option, and can absolutely produce the extract you are describing. It’s lower yield than solvent based extraction methods, but sells as a premium product in many markets.

Ethanol is another decent option.

Short path is not an extraction method, but rather a post extraction process that can be performed on essentially any extract (CO2, butane, ethanol, rosin…).

Is English your primary language?
Where are you performing this?
What is your regulatory environment ?

How much are you hoping to invest?

And no, that extract you pictured won’t crystallize, as it has been distilled via a short path and is 100% decarbed.

8 Likes

@SubstituteCreature, care to tell our noob what you got here?!?

If you’re not looking to vaporize your extract, you might also consider direct oil infusion.

4 Likes

That thurrrrrrrrrr is a rosin cart! Made out of hash rosin - as in it is derived first from making bubble hash, then freeze dried and then the rosin process is done to it. If the color is important than the freeze drying process is something you shouldn’t skip, as it also saves massive amounts of terpenes. The one advantage of rosin I can see for a noob is when making carts you don’t have to do a massive amount of experimentation with terpene percentages and the like since it’s already a part of what you’re filling the cart with. It also can be made into different formats that are more suited for being dabbed on quartz as the kids are known to do these days also with (in my opinion) a much better taste which is not to discount the taste of a really well made rosin cart because they kick ass

To me, if you’re not counting the amount of time it takes to get technique down and what have you - rosin is probably one of the cheapest ways to make a SOLID extract from very very basic gear that won’t cost you a ton

4 Likes

One can also achieve BHO with not much gear….

But it’s much harder to kill/maim yourself with a rosin press than with ANY solvent based process. Including water…You Can Use Espresso Machines To Make Marijuana Extracts

I recommend the books section in the Data Dump! (Scientific Papers) and supplementing that with a couple of books off Amazon.

2 Likes

Really curious about your take on rosin. It’s not one I’ve encountered.

Lots of folks with religious (ie not based on scientific evidence) objections to pretty much any solvent you can name.

Never encountered “CO2 might make poison” nor “rosin is damaged goods because: heat & pressure”. Can you offer any sources for folks who might share your opinion and/or want to dig deeper?

are you willing to explore the possibility that you’re wrong about rosin?

what temps do you imagine rosin is subjected to? Can you compare that to the temperatures used in any of the other methods you mention?

Check out I make terrible distillate....why? vs Rosin press go brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

3 Likes

A post was merged into an existing topic: Lawson’s creek cart spam

Hello. You have guessed that English is not my native language. I actually live in Europe. The regulatory environment is difficult because the law of my country prohibits the cultivation of cannabis. But EU law allows it. Explaining the legal environment in Europe would take a very long time. In my country Clinical trials for therapeutic cannabis just started a few months ago. I am eligible for these clinical trials. But this is all a bit too complicated. I prefer to do this myself. In practice the police do nothing against people who grow cannabis for medical reasons. Justice “tolerates” this. It is the resale that is severely punished with prison sentences.

To answer you I would like to use Ethanol (Ethane-1-OL) to do my distillation.

I already have a press 4 tons / 250 degrees maximum to make Rosin. But the Rosin does not suit me. I would like to create a better quality product without distorting the extract: with the Rosin press I heat to at least 120 degrees which distorts the initial product. The terpenes but also the medical effects are lost.

I think fine Ethanol it is a good product to do an extraction; because the extract will still contain the terpenes and the molecules will not be denatured. Gas scares me a bit more because of its volatility. I make my preparations under a laboratory hood which immediately evacuates the vapors thanks to a powerful suction. But I could totally go outside. I live in a quiet place.

Thanks for your help. Cordially, Dorian.

1 Like

I like this guy.

But, unfortunately it is not the best for terpene retention, either. It’s high BP and relatively standard methods of evaporation will dramatically reduce the terpene comtent.

If you had a small closed loop system. You could drastically reduce the risks at hand. Butane may be the best way to make what you are looking for.

Then again, you very well can make something fairly decent with 200 proof ethanol. You will have to get your ethanol beyond -40c for this, as well. Butane you can and could get away with warmer temperatures, but it just like ethanol, has less impurities in the end product when used cold.

Hello. So could you please tell me which device to use to obtain the best possible quality oil with a good yield? That is to say rich in terpenes and THC? CBD doesn’t really matter. The Swiss-CBD company sells extracts of all types of extraction. Just consume it after consuming the THC. I don’t like to smoke. The electronic cigarette is a way to smoke when I am not at home. My favorite thing is vaporizing the oil with a vaporizer. And especially consume the extract in food rich in fats. For example in homemade cookies it is perfect.

6 months ago I was able to attend a distillation in a laboratory located in the Netherlands. The extraction was done with iso-propanol as solvent and the device used was a Roto-Vap. The end result did not really want to be eaten given its almost black color. On the other hand, there was 82% THC in the extract with a very good yield. This laboratory was then the subject of a report on Netflix (The subject was how to exactly dose the amount of THC). But I’m not sure if it’s available in the US.

We started out with the ethanol bucket tek. This is suitable for oil extraction suitable for edibles and most needs:

2 Likes

Cannabis contains very rich and complex fragrances (terpenes) just like olive, rose, or jasmine. So I compare cannabis to what I know… How to extract oil from the olive? With very strong cold pressing. When hot pressed, the oil becomes toxic. It is therefore used to grease certain mechanisms, but not to be eaten. The rose should never be crushed. Otherwise it will rot very quickly. It must be constantly oxygenated then the perfume is extracted with a giant still; and the solvent used is ethanol. And jasmine (one of the most difficult plants to extract its fragrance from) must be extracted with a CO2 extractor. Or with fat because its fragrance is lipophilic.

Isn’t it the same for cannabis?

But at the same time there is a yield problem because I don’t grow much; only 3 cannabis plants at the same time.

**So I would like a solution that meets the following criteria: **
**- Extract rich in terpenes **
**- Extract rich in THC **
- High yield.

I don’t need a big extractor. An extractor that can treat 250 grams of organic mass is more than enough. And I haven’t really set a budget because all the devices that can process such a small amount of material are affordable. Except the CO2 extract which is very expensive and beyond my means.

Thanks.

Hello.

So you think that closed loop BHO extraction is the best way to get the product I want and have a quality oil rich in THC, terpenes and with a good yield ???

I can do this setup. But outside. I guess the closed loop is for keeping a certain amount of gas; isn’it ?

Thank you for your help.

2 Likes

For edibles, ethanol is perfect for that. Does require a roto evaporator.

Isopropyl is used frequently for extraction because it doesn’t pick up plant fats, not needing to be chilled for extraction to avoid vegetable oils. But, it does have an affinity for chlorophyll, hence the dark appearance. It is not recommended for vape or edible products. At all!

Quality stainless parts is the best place to get a small lp gas hydrocarbon system. He ships internationally and provides great service.

This would be the easiest and most efficient way for you to get your home medicine into a vapeable product.

3 Likes

You may be distilling the ethanol to get it back, but you are not distilling the cannabinoids.

So we refer to it as solvent recovery to distinguish it from using an spd.

See: The Glossary / Ideas and chat

2 Likes

Did you press flower?

Isolate kiff first. then you can probably lower your temps a smidge (guessing your temps were in C?)

See eg: (70C!)

If you’re looking for edibles with terpenes, dig into direct infusion into edible oils (linked up thread)

If you’re looking for inhaleables, then hydrocarbons (propane,butane,pentane) will yield better than rosin
…But with increased risk.

Ethanol is a decent solvent for both edibles and inhaled medications, but it’s not gonna get you the monoterpenes.

3 Likes

Still kills terpenes upon recovery. Better, but highly meh.

2 Likes

No argument there. “Better yield than squish”

Just pointers to Has anyone tried running cold pentane in a centrifuge designed for ethanol?

Undoubtedly

1 Like