I am a project manager working to open a new manufacturing facility in San Diego.
I am looking into ETS, Precision Extraction, Luna Tech. If you have another recommendation please tell us more about it. Throughput, yield, cost, maintenance requirements, specs, pros/cons versus other systems.
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Well you could say im a bit bias 
ETS makes a good quality unit also, nothing bad to say about them. The Haskelâs are a bit (really) loud and need to be rebuilt often, I know they were working on switching that, im not sure if that is the case.
I think our units operate to lower temps and are better for things like Live, Sauce, etc. We are also quite a bit larger as a company (more dedicated field and service techs âbandwidthâ) and can offer end to end solutions including lab design, C1D1 walk in rooms, pumps, wiped film, etc. Our newest series will come turn key GMP compliant starting April 1, so that helps with coming regs. We also have an office in SoCal to support parts etc.
I havenât honestly heard much about the Luna. The design is elegant, but complexed. For the throughput, the price is high. Im not sure the size of their company but you should assess their resources to support you long term (2-5 year plan).
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Im not sure if there is a âbestâ out there. Its more the operator of the equipment. I run a second gen. Sub zero with many mods to make it the best i can. Now its more of a Frankenstein than a subzero. I know every nuance of it. I do pretty good with it. It seems like this field is always in a state of flux. Always something bigger and beter in 6 months
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Donât forget about
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Thanks for the kind words Nick, although I may have to argue with some of the content. If we are being perfectly honest almost all machines on the market are designed and built to go âcoldâ nowadays, including ETS equipment.
We also support and service all extraction equipment throughout the States, Canada, Central/South America and the EU. If you look at the reviews and references on all of our companies in the space, ETS is recognized as the leader in service and support. Itâs great that you have brick and mortar in California, but service comes down to far more than a single retail location on the West Coast. We continue to maintain the best lead times (2 weeks) in the industry; this hasnât changed in the last 9 years.
ETS also manufactures our units using US fabricated steel and components, most companies in the space donât share this commitment to domestic manufacturing. âAsembled in the U.S.â is a huge step down from Manufactured in the U.S when it comes to crafstmanship. We also offer full facility services, C1D1 booths, post-processs, ethanol solutions and a wide variety of Recovery Pump options Haskel being one of those options. As far as company size, we didnât rush to take funding but we have bootstrapped this company in a way that allows us the resources for contiunued growth without sacrificing quality or our high level of service.
Any client in the extraction industry should properly investigate all their options for equipment. Our team at ETS takes an incredible amount of pride in what we have built in our company and what we do for the industry!
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Are these systems certified?
Yes BG, the ETS, Precision and Bizzy machines should meet the requirements for âcertificationâ in all active Cannabis markets. Speaking to the ETS units, we guarantee compliance within our contracts protecting our clients regardless of where their operation is located.
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Historically, the fire departments have not been big fans of automating the Hydrocarbon process for obvious reasons. We should have a 300 Liter out this year that will include full automation due to the scale of operation.
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i have reached out to a couple automated equipment manufacturers. Luna Equipement and Delta 9
both are expensive, but come with all ancillary devices (heaters/chillers/vacs) and can reduce staffing.
has anyone come across these in the wild? i will be going to see them in person in the coming months. We are planning on being a smaller scale processor, working with small legal craft grows (where their legal max is couple thousand square feet), so no need for massive through puts.
@ETSgang where have you seen fire departments not want automated systems? i work in a highly volatile industry now (oil and gas) and automation with redundancy back ups is always the go to move for activities.
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not in the biz
But after viewing both the pages it seems like Delta9 is like BHOgart.
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First and foremost is Denver County Fire, the truth is many of todayâs industry designs are non-compliant in the Denver market with any modifications or automation. The biggest problem with many of the automated solutions today (outside of regulation) is their throughputs are typically unimpressive related to a âmanualâ design. Layer the low throughput with the higher cost of automation and many of these designs fall off considerably.
Whether itâs an ETS, Precision, Bizzy etc. design, most hydrocarbon machines will run with a team of one or two individuals. Outside of very large crude manufacturers, automating these 2 positions do little to increase effecincy. This is usually due to the loading and turn-over processes not being fully automated. I know at ETS we have replaced quite a few of these newer designs in the field with a solution that actually backs the marketing. Be careful looking at any automated solutions and triple check with your AHJ before committing to any design; automated or not!
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oh iâll 100% check with AHJ prior to drop hundreds of thousands of dollars on steel. and the majority of marketing for extractors seems super hyped up.
i was drawn to the automation so that we could run several different types of material with ease (due to the recipe for that specific extraction) on the PLC. and it wouldnt âF it upâ as easilyâŚ
i get the through puts are terrible⌠the luna only holds 18 pounds per run⌠but i dont need an âextraction guruâ as much as an extraction tech to run the initial extraction.
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Do restaurants automate chefs? Do factories automate food production? I would be wary of automating high value product. Great for crude imo
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The Luna will not average an 18 pound run size at 28L of material capacity without grinding to a level that would risk serious channeling. Also the art of extraction typically has more to do with understanding the material you are working with over the machine operation itself. Of course some of this is dependant on the functionality of the design of the equipment itself. You can pull a trailer with a 10-speed technically, but why not use a pickup truck to complete the job â if that makes sense.
Also, I have to question the idea of STRAIN SPECIFIC RECIPE OPTIMIZATION regardless of data logging. Although this is an excepted process in distillation, any toll-processor can tell you there are MANY variables within the same strains that may not be properly managed using a PLC. This is what makes the operators on this and other boards so valuable to the industry as it currently stands. Automation for crude sure, Automation for quality is a different story - My 2c
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i get that totally. A crude machine does make much more sense to have automated. or a mcdonalds style end product⌠not the nicely aged scotches or other aged liquors.
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i saw the PLC initially as a PIA⌠but i do data logging/monitoring in other industries, and the data there is crucial/critical to day to day processes, where i guess for cannabis processing it requires more of an eye/skill to understand what the âinâ product can make successfully.
and the size of luna seems TINY⌠for what they want for it.
and to be far, i have looked at all solvent types of extraction and would love the utilize them all at some point for their own usefulness.
The MeP has always been on the list as well. one of the first extractors i ever saw in action in a dark basement.
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I think there are so many variables that automation of anything but large scale crude production is really not needed. I have to say I would love one of those hemp plants, but for the 3 million etc and the coming price drops. I will try and get equipment that can be used for cannabis and hemp, so I donât get stuck with no exit⌠Automation can be great, but sometimes the price is not worth it, and sometimes its a mustâŚ
All the companies named here will do well. Ironfists are ok too. Just know not to try and go too cheap when looking, but know the value of what you are paying for.
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I havenât used it, but one thing I liked about the Luna when I saw it at a convention is that itâs way easier to load and unload than the typical tri-clamp column design.
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I am not planning on cheaping out, to an extent. This will be in GMP facility once the project is complete. So it makes no sense to put some rust prone cheap stuff into it.
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