I would recommend taking it to a lab and testing it. There could be some sort of cutting agent. 91% is suspect
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your distillate has got to be funky
ive never seen this before, what kind of terps are you using?
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that 91% did you test yourself? would you mind sharing the test
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Hey Daz, are you certain you are mixing the distillate in a clean beaker. Iāve seen this happen to distillate mixed in beakers with trace amounts of isopropyl or ethanol.
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Something is wrong with your distillate. What your describing simply does not happen without some sort of containment. Is this black market (no shame, just wondering)? How well do you know your supplier?
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I have encountered this issue, it usually occurs when the syringe being used too load the carts still has oil/lube deposits in the syringe. Run warm ethonal through the syringe first then warm water after but make sure too thoroughly dry before loading oil. I am only speaking from experience hope this helps.
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I have owned the same microscope now for at least 20 years. Lab grade and as I recall not that much money. I even have the same box of slides and the same slip covers from the purchase all those years ago. When in doubt I used to dab a small dab onto a slide or later I began using glass petri dishes to look at it under power.
@Soxhlet is likely correct and air bubbles will cloud up the stuff but also be aware that those bubbles might not be just air either given the description that they form over heat. Any gas will do this and it is highly suspect that this happened while heating because unless gas is forming inside the compound because of heating then normally heating will allow the trapped bubbles to escape. Of course working off a text description is tough but a microscope will absolutely reveal bubbles or not.
How they get there is a different story. Even at 91% pure that still leaves a lot of room for stuff to foul up things. A photo of the stuff if permitted would assist.
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Hey guys, thanks for all the input I really appreciate the advice.
I did another test batch today and the distillate came out clear as day. The distillate I am using comes pre-loaded in a syringe, and is necessary to heat up so I can dispense it. This time I made sure to heat it up enough so it came out extremely easily, which resulted in using little force to dispense. Since it is thick distillate I had to use a lot of pressure initially to get it out, and I think that is ultimately what caused the cloudiness.
Thanks again everyone!
Hi Daz,
I just made a batch of Cherry Pie sticks using the process you mentioned and it did cloud until I stirred it on my plate. It seems that when your syringe cooled the liquid thickened and the squeezing pressure caused a separation within the concentrate. Itās similar to when shatter nucleates, just in liquid form. Warming cleared it up.
Spockās SOP for vape sticks:
Plate at 150F, stirrer off.
Wipe beaker and tools with clean alcohol, set on plate to warm and dry.
Measure concentrate onto parchment using lab scale (not needed for syringes, warm those with the beaker).
Measure PEG400 with a dispensing syringe and blunt luer-lock needle.
Check plate temp, $10 IR thermometer gun works good.
Remove beaker from plate with hands, blow out dust upside down, add concentrate (needle helps), return beaker to plate. No stirrer bar yet.
Check temp on concentrate in beaker, add PEG at 120F or when melting starts. Add stirrer bar, donāt turn on yet.
When mixture hits 130F you should hold the beaker with your hand, turn stirrer on lowest setting, and hold the beaker centered. (A gob can stick to your bar and fling the beaker off the plate. I cover beaker with a small heavy glass jar, prevents tipping and insulates well.)
Mixture will clarify as it warms past 135F. Sometimes fats will solidify into tiny beads or granules. Continued heating does not remove them, color gets worse.
When liquid clarity is good turn off plate and remove beaker, ignore fat granules or beads.
Put your little parchment paper on the side of the beaker and use a magnet or another stirrer bar to slide the gooey stirrer bar up from inside the beaker up the side wall and into the parchment. Wrap and clean later.
If you have any fat granules or beads then rip the top half of the cotton off a Q tip, fluff it into a ball and drop it into your hot mixture. It will act as a filter for your syringe. Use a fluffy ball no bigger than a pea or pencil eraser.
Suck up all of your mixture, through the cotton if needed, through the blunt needle into the syringe.
Dispense into cartridges while still warm to retain best clarity.
Clean up.
End of SOP.
TIPS:
Only ONLY use Kosher food-grade PEG400. Not 300 or 600, not pharmaceutical or lab grade, not PG/VG. Only use Kosher PolyEthyleneGlycol400. I like Texas Lab Supply.
1g of concentrate liquifies to about 1mL when hot.
1g can be diluted with as little as 0.2mL of PEG but most cartridges canāt handle this thickness. 1g with 0.5mL is the thickest I ever go (need good carts), and usually 1g with 1.0-2.0mL for standard dollar cartridges. You can go as thin as 1g with 3.0mL for lightweights and noobies.
PG (PropyleneGlycol) can be used but is harsh and not recommended. Much more is needed to dilute. VG only makes a separating goop, stay away.
Adding any sort of natural or artificial terpenes will increase cough or throat tickle. If you must add terps only 1 drop per 5mL mixture, and while stirring just as you remove the beaker at the end. Terps evaporate quickly.
Luer-lock syringes and blunt needles needed. Oil causes non-locking tips to fall off, no matter how hard you jam them on.
Work on top of paper towels. Oil finds its way out somehow. Have a roll handy in case.
My $10 IR thermo gun works just as good as my $50 one for these purposes.
-Spock
(LL&P)
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This happened to me today. I think it could have been that I added to much viscosity to the distillate? Iām not sure though.
how do you feel about MCT oil vs the PEG400?
i use peg at 25% and it binds nicely to the distillate while making it a bit more fluid not to get dry hits from your carts and no
it doesnt change color or has an effect.