It is. Are you running IE as well?
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No, Iām not.
Any tips on sugar sauce tek ?
Hey whatās up Roji!
One of the original Propane Pioneers!
I remember back on IC Mag when people first started to experiment with propane. This was back in the day when people only wanted stable shatter and anything soft/terpy/crystallized was considered a problem. Back before the crystallization of THCa was widely known about these were some interesting times trying to explain what was happening to our extracts.
I think its was Permacultuure (RIP) who I first saw post something like āPropane extracts all seem to come out super runny, but smell great!ā
It was right around that time that I started running fresh frozen and the guy I was working for said āDo whatever you can to get the most terps.ā
I started running propane and never looked back.
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Iām reviving this thread and tagging some propane heads to help me dial this in. @Slabby @Concentrated_humbold @hashmandu @StoneD @Soxhlet @2terps_roji @Griffin.Labs @Tech1145 sorry for excessive tagging but after reading the propane topics it seems like yall know your paneā¦
Iām running 100% propane and dialing in my recovery to figure out using a pour spout, consistency has been the issue. Iām not expecting to pour liquid (would if possible but chillers cant hit low enough), I am trying to get a soft foam consistently from the spout. I have gotten portions to come out that way but I mostly get the Styrofoam peanuts/cheese puffs/popcorn which is very hard and dry. Itās a lot of work to get this consistency melted down to a whipable form.
I know about adding butane before recovery, I want to stay 100% pane so I wonāt do this. I am trying to keep a light color and not burn terps so a hot melt down isnāt an option either. I have been leaving a lot of solvent in the collection to try to keep the material moist and homogenized but I donāt think itās working. During āpourā I usually get hard popcorn and later soft foam it seems like maybe thca+ has collected at the bottom and the solvent and terps+ are pooled above that. Could thca+ be falling out of solution, collecting at bottom and drying out even though there is solvent in the collection still? How do I prevent that?
Typically I wash multiple columns into collection and recover between washes, but never recover all the way so thereās solvent with the hash the whole time. Collection temps 80-100Ā° (actual temp probably lower in column jacket). During āpourā I have tried more / less solvent, high / low pressure, raising temp and turning off heatā¦ my experiments havenāt made a clear difference and I have only gotten the soft wet foam at random it seems. Any ideas?
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Add a small amount of butane to the collection towards the end of recovery and itāll help you mitigate your issue. Youāre extract will still be a propane extract.
Maybe only 50g.
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We typically use 100% pane and can get a good pour if you simply wait for it to warm up before draining. Put a little heat on it. Pressure will rise then it will come out nice and saucy.
So long as there is pressure in the pot, the terpenes will remain in solution (Henryās law). Vaporized molecules are a gaseous form. Pressure helps keep volatile molecules in solution by forcing the solvent out first.
Otherwise just run 70/30 propane heavy. Then you get a liquid pour every time.
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Trying to avoid butane because it will affect post processing
I do this every time, it sits on heat for half hour or more and pressures get to 125-150. I tried pouring at 125 psi yesterday and got the same popcorn then foam results. In my experiments I have recovered from >125psi to different pressures with different temps and havenāt fixed the issue.
We never pour above 25-50 psi, you had too much solvent remaining when you heated it up. Could have bumped it down within range just before pour. Usually helps prevent the spray foam.
Thatās caused by solvent decompression to atmosphere making itās temperature -44c and instantly freezing the crude as it comes out. Think of it as instant freeze drying.
You are after a ratio of more crude to solvent just before you drain. That way when it comes out, the remaining solvent isnāt enough to cause major decompression and the heat retained by the crude maintains the liquid state.
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I am saying that I have let it sit for half hour up to 125 psi and then tried pouring at a bunch of different pressures. I recovered to 25-50 psi and saw the same issues.
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Once at 25-50 was it stable or keep climbing if you let it sit again? We will pour as low as 15psi, just need enough to push it out. May try overpurge to 0psi then bump some pressure back in to push the final load out once it warms up.
Anything over 50 is pretty much guaranteed to spray foam. If there is too much solvent left during the pour it likes to also cold crash as it comes out at the lower pressure and will spray terp liquid and goop everywhere.
Edit: Could just aim for that result and pour into a bucket so you catch everything. Get terp liquid + cold crash goop all at once.
Pure propane pours can be challenging.
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Pour with zero psi. Butane.
If it effects your post processing, learn how to post process. Getting stuck on propane and never learning how to do anything else, isnāt going to get you a versed as you should be.
Also, listen to @Zack_illuminated heās also giving you excellent info, too.
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Hmmm thats interesting. I have been struggling with this because propane wants to escape as soon as it hits air temp, the pour was too dry, but too much liquid solvent causes cold crash, and leaving on heat causes too much pressure, but recovering pulls vapor which drops tempā¦ I know Iām getting close its just challenging. I think your point about over recovering may do it. I can recover to 5 and then let it sit on heat to 25 which will give it time to melt. Do you have any visual signals I can watch for that leaves the right amount of pane? Or do you just wait until the pressure wonāt climb above 50?
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I usually watch the pressure gauge as we are recovering in our wiped film. Watching the pressure climb rate is the big one. Is it gaining pressure fast or slow or has it stopped? That pretty much tells you where your liquid content is.
Once it stops at a warm temperature but low pressure then you know the solvent content is pretty low and the product should be pretty melted. Feel the bottom where you drain for heat. If its super cold then its iced up still. Heat rises so it may take some time to conduct down. The initial spray out might be dry spray foam but can be followed by good wet foam so it might be worth letting it drain a little to see if the warm section starts coming out.
We will usually stop recovery around 10psi and let it warm up. Once it warms and stops below 50 (usually 15-25) then we will do the drain. If you need more pressure during the drain, just bump some vapor back in to push everything out.
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I have used butane and various blends in the past. I understand your point but Iāve been using pure propane recently and I want to get that figured out since that is my current opportunity. I appreciate everyoneās contributions here.
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if you want to pour liquid with propane it sounds like your two options are to run super terpy material, or pour a substantial amount of liquid at -40 to avoid foam and cold crash.
Is ur CLS rated for 100% pure pane. If not this isnāt the best of ideas anyways
A tri blend basically same to me but easier to use. Pure propane can give more terpene rich extract and if only certain amount is ran u can pull the terp fraction only
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Yep, MeP30
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I would throttle my collection heat til it self cooled and was around 15-25 psi and pour it wet and cold. Mostly only ran pure propane for crumble cause i could stack 2 dozen columns into one honeypot and then pull out a giant turd and easily whip it. Often still had liquid in the middle, last time was anout 85% propane the rest iso so i could pour and yeah had it crash several times in the pot. First couple trays of dinosaur eggs that would be rock solid, the rest were mostly terps.