so…if you’re IN the woods, POPE’s tech support tends to leave you there.
Or at least did earlier in the game.
Good to know.
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We have a 2" pope but its a pain in the ass to clean but we like it. Looking at a B/R to upgrade to for our second lab
So many complaints in here…
@cyclopath How much are you looking to process? I can easily push out 3-5lb in a 8-10hr shift with startup and breakdown on the 2" and I’m not even running it that fast. Having started with an SPD, I will take the Pope over an SPD any day. Again depending on how much you’re looking to process will determine if you need a dosing pump. I would recommend the Pope dosing pump over the beaker and wrench mostly because the size of the beaker and wrench is so small. If you really want to step up your feed flask, may as well go for one that holds more than 2-4L. With the right attachments you can get 10L stainless steel feed flasks, or i’ve seen even a 100L feed vessel hooked up for continuous output.
Someone else said that it was a pain to clean? I find the exact opposite. Finish the run, swap your flasks and then pour ethanol/solvent through it… Occasionally completely disassemble and clean the whole thing. This is per the instruction manual.
I run the AI Supervac on my 2" and that is MORE than enough vacuum for what you need and only runs $2300.
As for the heat tape, i find it actually quite useful. I have a jacketed one w/ heating fluid but the tape wrapped around different joints can really help with removing volatiles.
I’ve always had good service w/ their tech support also. Several times their engineers have communicated/worked with my personally to optimize my SOP or just there to answer questions. And replacement parts can be overnighted if you need. Nice thing also, if you don’t completely destroy a broken piece, you can clean it up and mail it back and they will repair it for you. If it’s past broken, there is no charge for the service but if it can be repaired it’s substantially cheaper than replacing the part.
I have yet to run into any issues with the Pope that were not caused by myself or someone else though. Never taken a shit on me.
https://www.popecannabisdistillation.com/faq.php
Plenty of info regarding Pope cannabis distillation in the FAQs. Hope this all helps.
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That was awesome! All the info I needed, and in record time.
The POPE may not be a saint, but it gets the job done…
I know of no other forum with a signal to noise ratio as good as this one.
thank you @Future for setting this place up.
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What about solvent recovery? Is the POPE a drinker 
Has anyone used their Wiped Film Evaporator for recovering ethanol?
I wouldn’t expect it to be as fast as a FFE, but it should work yes?
Anyone have data on how well?
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Pope is a great company that makes a great machine. You could call them the Tamisium of the Wiped Film right now. (If they don’t pick make some advancements in their design, they’ll fall behind in due time).
You can crank it out even on the smallest model, it’s all about operator efficiency. Pump choice is crucial too. That said, if you’ve got the budget for a 6" Pope, you should look at the Chemtech/Helderpad unit. They provide a diffusion pump and rotary vane - and have a nicer; more plant-style footprint than the Pope.
Check out this thread:
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thank you.
yep, read that thread thoroughly. Understanding that the POPE was the low end, I figured I’d ask for more specific pro/con on just that unit.
The Tamisium of Wiped Film huh? Maybe I should look at that Helderpad.
I hear Cascade will have their Asahi pricing very soon, and I’ve asked the boss to hold off till I know what the competition looks like.
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Have you seen the hybrid pope? It has more theoretical plates than your run of the mill pope. Diffusion pump can be added on by special order too.
google offers the above, or a white rose.
Does POPE sell it? Or it it put together by a 3rd party?
More than the 1(?) plate on a run of the mill WFE?
Edit: got it. POPE makes it.
And most folks referring to the POPE WFE are actually using what POPE refers to as their WF Molecular Still?!? That’s certainly what the quotes that hit my desk are for.
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I’ve spoken with a couple different reps at Pope about their cannabis products, including the VP of sales. Both of them are claiming that by removing the internal condenser that the unit can be run as a WFE.
I’m new to cannabis wiped film, so no tek for me just yet, but hes claiming 2-4 passes - 2 for solvent removal, 2 for cannabanoids. I’ve asked the reps several times that the unit can do this. One said no problem, one was more hesitant, seems like it might be a pain to keep changing back and forth.
I’ve used their equipment in the past (food industry), ran a small pilot WFMS which worked great. We used fractional vacuum distillation for solvent removal, so no WFE. Had 2 production WFMS as well (8"?), never heard anything bad.
I think I need to get some quotes from VTA and Helderapad before deciding, didn’t know about them before. Thanks everyone.
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@cyclopath just FYI you don’t need any “Pope bits” with my (Beaker & Wrench) pump system; it comes with a glass adapter and feed flask. My glass comes from Adams & Chittenden in Berkeley, its great stuff. Hit me up if you’re still interested.
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Why is that?
I noticed this post was a few months old. Has anyone dealt with Pope recently? I don’t know if they revamped some of their stuff, but looking of their website it seems like their customer service would have no problem pertaining to cannabis… @Dannywarbucks @bucky 10 months later, do y’all still feel the same about your Pope?
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I have been running with my pope and still trying to get a good 2 nd pass… still messing with setting but man it’s frustrating getting that dark red. Perhaps it’s an issue somewhere else in the lab.
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Whats your vac/condenser set at?
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You’re not fully purging your ethanol if you are seeing red streaks- lower your vac and go low and slow- that last 5-10% is stubborn. This advice came directly from the pope rep when I toured the facility a few weeks back, he was very knowledgeable.
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When Running the vac is between 55-80 MTorr
And condenser at 75c with jacket at 155c
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Sorry- I meant raise the pressure- lower the amount of vacuum power on your system- there isn’t enough volatiles in your flask to generate the vapor required to break from the solution- so you’re actually pushing that ethanol back down with deep vacuum- this is the reason we use an elbulliator when we vacuum assist a Soxhlet extractor- boiling chips won’t work in a vacuum but you could also try to finish your ethanol in a short path equipped with an elbulliator. A smaller amount of oil in the roto can also help.
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you should never have ANY ethanol in your crude prior to first pass. If you do youre not decarbing/deterping corretly. First pass is supposed to be a terpene strip pass that removes JUST the volatiles. If youre not doing this youre not getting proper seperation and youre probably getting red from oxidized terpenes lol
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