Waters SFC 5L CO2 Machine

We have a Waters SFC 5L CO2 machine we need to find a buyer for. The machine was about $180k new. Machine currently runs for about 1hour and faults out. Make offer.

Oof, mind if I ask what you think the problem is?

I run 2 of them, I’m not interested in buying it, just curious.

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Well, it runs for about an hour and then throws a pump starvation fault. We are working to get it running again. Our next step is to replace the filter on the machine after the recycler, which is a common problem. Most likely an issue due to carry over from the recycler.

What is the throughput on these machines?

Depends on the setup and method. The 2 I run both have 2 5L extraction vessels, I’ve heard several people say that they run 3 lbs in 24 hours. I run 3 lbs in 6 hours, averaging 20% crude and 10%+ on distillate, not including terpenes. That’s from trim, obviously I get higher numbers on bud.

It has 5L columns that fit about 3.5lbs and a run for 24hrs @180bar 50c gets you about 12% yield, 190g of crude per day, that further needs to be processed. It’s fixed now and runs.

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Did my suggestion help? Or did you find the true culprit elsewhere?

Yea. I cleaned out that section on the recycler, made sure it ran and boxed her up.

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Cheers! Glad I could help, I’m sure you’ll get significantly more from an operational unit rather than the opposite.

How are people making money with CO2? It seems that to purchase, run and maintain the machines the costs are really high. They must be in a state where the price of oil is much higher?

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I’m able to pull way more than that, I don’t decarb material either. So, I’m getting around 800g+ of crude per machine per day. If there was a night shift I could get closer to 1100g per day.

Beyond that, I get what I think are very nice terpene fractions, especially on bud.

Edit: Also, I’m in CO, stuff’s pretty cheap here…

I’m in Nevada. The company had the machine long before I arrived. The Waters machine wasn’t build for cannabis. I experienced considerable downtime due to clogging issue. Furthermore, Waters doesn’t want you to have parts on hand to fix the machine yourself, they’d much rather charge you for an onsite visit ($5k). There are better machines out there but it does seem that after co2 the extraction you will only be making sweet sweet hotdog water pens.

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So funny that you’re downplaying a machine you’re trying to sell, none of my business per se.

However, I do feel the need to convey that the machine is capable of much more than that. Although post-processing is required, one can make wax, shatter, sugar wax, and crystalline with this machine. In my opinion, the extracts are superior to ethanol extracted concentrates based on the fact that one can retain much more of the terpenes that would otherwise be lost in azeotrope with the ethanol.

The only downfall is throughput, which, notably, cannot compete with ethanol/hydrocarbon extraction.

Me personally, I’m a quality over quantity kinda guy. I’m no business owner though, so I imagine priorities aren’t going to match up with mine.

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So funny that your all over my thread touting how great you are at running a waters machine. Please, in the collaborative nature of this website, do tell us? Any data to show your claimed yields? I’ve been to your Instagram and have seen your small amount of shatter. Have you been to mine?

You said it "

My job is production, I need to produce product. Me personally, I’m a keep the company in business kinda guy.

My apologies if I’ve offended you. I’m not at liberty to explain specific parameters. The shatter posted on my instagram was not CO2, it was BHO. The stuff I’ve produced in R&D has not been posted aside from the crystalline, because it’s not going to be a product. I have loads of data showing my input/output with the machine, which I would be willing to share.

I have been to your instagram, the shatter you post looks great. I meant no offense I assure you, if anything I was trying to help you sell the thing, which is exactly why I told you how to fix it.

In all honesty it’s in my best interest if people use Waters because my knowledge is so extensive with it, I hope to one day consult people with them. We both know Waters knows nothing about processing cannabis with them. So, forgive me, just trying to help the community.

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I understand you want to consult and that’s why you can’t or won’t share parameters. Dont give away what you’re trying to sell, right? Yea, I got 300g out of it too, but its hardly an average. I’m trying to be honest with people that want to look into this machine, while you’re stalking this thread to see who buys it so you can try to sell them your services. Start your own thread for that don’t hijack mine. Thank you again for giving me some direction on how to fix it. However, I’m not the business owner either and I’m not the one that’s out the $200k for it. It’s my recommendation that the waters machine isnt nearly as efficient or effective as hydrocarbons. I’ve decommissioned the machine and it can sit in some raiders of the lost ark style warehouse for all I care.

Whoops, my bad.

Good luck selling something people think is useless in this market.

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Good luck consulting for a something that people think is useless in this market.

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I have a Waters SFE w 2 5L vessels. Those are amazing results! What flow, pressures, and temps are you using?

Unfortunately, those are one of the company I work for’s few “proprietary” aspects of the process. So, I’m unable to specify.