Is it safe to use the pump provided with the washer? If not, what is the most cost-effective solution to a pump that is appropriate for the ethanol recovery? or a general plumbing solution for the ethanol recovery with the washer tek?
your endpoint is distillate yes?
Are you doing residual solvent testing on the crude?
Our current endpoint is tinctures or edibles. I’m driving my recovery still at only 90C, so I’d have to pull the heptane out separately in the rotovap (until I can upgrade the still to vac assist).
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Yeah, all into distillate. Haven’t had any residual solvents due to the nature of making distillate.
As always, end product dictates your route of action.
I’ve got several washing machines that have been in use over 12 months now and still pump great!
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I agree that the Hobart is not the best tool for the job, especially for the price.
I haven’t seen the Panda’s before but I hope they work like you say they do. I just ordered one up to try out. 98% return is great and they have a very compact footprint as well. 3200RPM is pretty quick for that little thing!
I use the 5 gallon, 220 micron, growsun bags from amazon. I usually fit about 3-4lbs of unmilled trim into each one.
I can fit 5 of those bags in one of my Pinnacle 100L vessels at a time.
The Hobart is my current bottleneck. I laugh at myself for buying that thing. I am hoping an array of 5 Panda’s can be setup until I can afford the Pinnacle centrifuge. Then I can setup a winch to just move the mesh baskets that come with the Pinnacle system right into the spinner. That will be a great day.
@Future How much weigh in damp, post-extraction material are you typically fitting in a washer at a time? Are you using mesh bags to hold the material?
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I recommend popping the top off the panda. There are like 3 screws on the side and one (which needs an hex key) on the handle. Makes it a little easier to fit bags inside.
I too feel like a fool for buying the Hobart. Oh well… some mistakes are expensive.
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You got pictures of the Hobart drive setup? If you’ve written it off already, then you’ve got little to loose by trying to over-drive it.
you could also use it for something different: fill it with silica, get it up to speed, then flow your crude in EtOH through the spinning filter bed…continuous flow style.
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Just got off the phone with North Star.
They have definitely seen a spike in inquiries.
Ballpark is $39k for the big one, $36k for the medium, and $31k for the “little” one (3x CUP 15). Lead times are going to be a little problematic, if you’re serious, I recommend getting in line now. They are a little wary about our industry, so feel free not to tell them what you’re up to, or use “hemp” 
I did suggest they owe me a beer if you guys order a dozen of these things in the next couple of weeks.
Edit: engineer confirmed that North Star is what became of BOCK, so the used BOCKs you see out there are essentially the same critters. He also mentioned that their biggest client for these is the military, and that a 20year working lifespan is not unreasonable.
Edit: 
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Wow… Something that can keep up with the Panda but on a mass scale. May invest into this if it seems to work for other people.
Does anyone know the cubic foot of this washing machine?
which washing machine?
The Panda is a spin dryer.
Domestic washers vary in size, and that data is presumably available from the manufacturer on a per machine basis.
use it for filtration.
Photon’s explanation didn’t make much sense to me. I wouldn’t mind doing that though…
Lol! 
I am genuinely sorry about that, but it’s typical I do not make it across to everyone with one iteration of a subject. Can you tell me what in particular you need rephrased?
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Your intelligence certainly shows! There wasn’t necessarily anything in particular that I did not understand. I currently have a 20 gallon Hobart Salad Spinner and I am struggling to think of how to apply this knowledge. The basket is rather large and no filter paper (that I am aware of) will cover it in the manner you described. I am considering buying various filter cloths and sewing them into bags that will fit over the lip of the inner basket.
Another issue I have is that the spinner is rather unstable and even more unstable with the top off. Ideally, I’d like to stabilize it and pour in buckets of ethanol:trim solution to remove residual plant matter after extraction.
I received the Panda spinner the other day.
The basket is definitely too small at about 8" wide to fit a packed 5 gallon mesh bag.
While looking at other cheap laundry spinners I found and ordered the Mega Spin dryer from The Laundry Alternative. The literature says it is the largest unit of its kind and has a basket that is pretty much the same dimensions as a five gallon bucket at 11" wide and 14" deep. That’s about perfect to fit one of my mesh bags.
The unit spins at 1600 RPM and has an RCF of 401 (1600RPM and 140mm radius). Much less than the Panda but I’m hoping it’ll fit the bill until I can afford a real centrifuge. I was getting semi-decent recovery from the Hobart while spinning one 5 gallon mesh bag at a time and it only has an RCF of 37 (406RPM and 198mm). I’m hoping a ten fold increase will be sufficient.
The Mega spinner, like the Panda, is also cheap enough at $230 to buy several so I don’t have to spin up one bag at a time and can regain some efficiency in my process. By contrast the Hobart costs around 2.5k, requires me to keep an eye on it and I usually have to keep my weight on it to control the wobble and make sure my collection container stays lined up. I could take the casters off and secure it to a raised platform, but I think I may just save my time and cut my losses. Also, space is at a premium in my shop and 2 mega spinners will fit in the footprint of the Hobart.
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thanks @Tech1145 for the data point. and doing the math for us too.
Yeah, the Hobart lettuce disorienter isn’t the right tool for the job.
NSEP have one that puts it to shame…
Edit: Note that while this is an NSEP machine, this half-assed demo is not their work. Who demos a machine with 100lb capacity by throwing two handfuls of lettuce in there?!? The vodka bottle is a nice touch 
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so badass man
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I started with laundry alternatives smaller version. Broke it the first night. That’s why i got the panda.
Also, as an extra precaution put your bag into a 25 or 45 micron full mesh bag before it goes into the spin dryer. That will help keep unwanted particles out of it.