To grind, or not to grind... For BHO

[eloquentsoution]

Im wondering if the answer should be split: if fresh - yes, if dry - no. Here's my reasoning, I think if you grind dry or cold brittle plant material, your more likely to pulverize the plant matter into fine particles, which would make for a bad extraction material (even with fine sieves, your still left with the problem of too much surface area???). If its fresh, then the plant can be chopped into pieces of the right size without being pulverized.

if you chop the fresh, you will release clorophyll into the mix.

 

[Gray Wolf]

lol

how long until somebody figures out a way to inject oil directly into their brain stem?

Joe is working on water soluble and injectable. I'll let you know what he comes up with.

Did they ever figure out why the human brain has neural receptors that are just right for receiving cannaboids?

The human body is controlled by its own endocannabinoid system and the phytocannabinoids just happen to fit.

i imagine running 6oz+ of buds thru a sieve is gonna take some time (which is fine sometimes theres no avoiding labor). is there any dissandvantage to running the product thru the sieve a day or two before the extraction, or is freshly sieved material going to be the best.

No disadvantage to running early, but I seal the material in a ziploc bag or glass jar after reducing, to keep out atmospheric moisture

I think that if the material is too packed it restricts the flow and some product will be lost.

.

Grinding exposes more surface area to the solvent, but must be packed evenly to prevent the solvent from finding an easy path through the material and continuing to follow that path, in a process called channeling.

If its fresh, then the plant can be chopped into pieces of the right size without being pulverized.

Chopping fresh ruptures plant cells and releases water solubles. I either cut it up with scissors before freezing, or freeze in a ziploc and pulverize in the bag frozen. It is important not to freeze a coating of ice over the top of the trichomes that we are trying to extract and relative humidity may dictate your process for you.

 

[SpinLover1]

I would trust Gray Wolf's advise. He seems to really know his shit.

If you had a choice over dry or fresh, what would you choose? Also, cant you clean up chlorophyll somehow? Like with activated carbon?

 

[jump117]

Grinding exposes more surface area to the solvent.

Grinding provides not only good but also bad surface.
The solvent is acting on them extracts lipophilic dirt.

It is impossible for one run to get both quality and quantity.

Divide the process into two stages and the problem will be solved easily.
Do not grind for the first wash to get pure, then chop and decarboxylate and rinse a second time.

 

[SpinLover1]

Good thinking. I like.

 

[eloquentsoution]

Grinding provides not only good but also bad surface.
The solvent is acting on them extracts lipophilic dirt.

It is impossible for one run to get both quality and quantity.

Divide the process into two stages and the problem will be solved easily.
Do not grind for the first wash to get pure, then chop and decarboxylate and rinse a second time.

nice. i've gotten a little lazy. been thinking about this very idea.

 

[Gray Wolf]

Grinding provides not only good but also bad surface.
The solvent is acting on them extracts lipophilic dirt.

It is impossible for one run to get both quality and quantity.

Divide the process into two stages and the problem will be solved easily.
Do not grind for the first wash to get pure, then chop and decarboxylate and rinse a second time.

Excellent point! If I am going for a pristine oil for vaporization, I break up the buds by hand, slightly coarser than if I was rolling a joint and leave it un-decarboxylated.

If I need it so, I subsequently decarboxylate oil following extraction, instead of the plant material, but do further reduce the material for the second extraction, which typically produces a more sedative oil than the first.

For producing an oil to be used orally, I just scrub it through a sieve for even the first run, as subsequent processing will remove the fines. I don't use a food processor for this step, as it produces excessive fines.

 

[budlover123]

...the holy annoitting oil recipe lifted from the book of exodus in the bible...

Where can these hash oil directions be found in the Bible? That's pretty cool.

 

[Smunk]

my 2cents... lightly break it apart by hand like what Gray Wolf was saying.

I'm wondering, if you reduced the quantity of herb used in each extraction run would you end up with more of the high quality oil per/z when all is said and done?

My thinking is with less amount per run there would be fewer inconsistencies in the chamber and theoretically a more efficient extraction.

More labor intensive for sure, and your butane cost could go double, but if you're using a good amount of high quality bud, plus considering it's ultimate use, getting every last gram of the good stuff may be worth the more cost and time.

then grind the remainder for baking

 

[Sour Deez]

Grinding provides not only good but also bad surface.
The solvent is acting on them extracts lipophilic dirt.

It is impossible for one run to get both quality and quantity.

Divide the process into two stages and the problem will be solved easily.
Do not grind for the first wash to get pure, then chop and decarboxylate and rinse a second time.

why decarb before running the material again?

 

[eloquentsoution]

why decarb before running the material again?

first run to vaporize, so no decarboxylation. the second to ingest so it needs to be decarboxylated.

 

[Greyskull]

Where can these hash oil directions be found in the Bible? That's pretty cool.

i read this information in a thread made by graywolf here: https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=140269

 

[jump117]

why decarb before running the material again?

Decarbed dissolves easier, it helps to make the final step more complete.

 

[athomewithkyle]

Threads a little old and one of my buddies that I know decides to blend his nugs before processing them. I figured this would add more fats and lipids to your recovery, but if you're dewaxing then it shouldn't be a problem, right? However, I'm one who prefers taste over yield, so should I just pack the nugs or slightly break them up by hand?

 

[gholladay]

Threads a little old and one of my buddies that I know decides to blend his nugs before processing them. I figured this would add more fats and lipids to your recovery, but if you're dewaxing then it shouldn't be a problem, right? However, I'm one who prefers taste over yield, so should I just pack the nugs or slightly break them up by hand?

Check out the material prep section here at skunk pharm!

http://skunkpharmresearch.com/bho-extraction/

G

 

[Rotel]

Grinding definitely improves yield. Particulate is stopped by UNBLEACHED coffee filters. I use a food ninja.

 

[BrainChild]

I have experimented with whole buds, lightly breaking them up by hand, rough chop in the ninja, coarse and fine grind...

I like somewhere in between a rough chop and coarsly ground, which is easily done in a ninja. This makes for a nice uniform material to pack, and you can fit more in the tubes which is a plus for me. Easy way to prep the material too...

If anything I feel this method extracts a more terpene rich oil on some buds that are super dense.

 

[deadkndys]

Good stuff. I use to break up the buds by putting them in a food processor with a chopping blade for a few seconds. But next time I make bho I'll use scissors or my fingers.

 

[TerpChild]

I break everything up with my fingers over parchment paper till its slightly larger than joint rolling size. Triches that fall off during break-up dont stick to the parchment so they can be poured off into the column during packing. This seems to give me the best yield without risking exposing tons of chlorohyll or damage the triches with the grinder. With trim i ninja it all though cuz it improves yield and i dont care if the taste is not pristine clean terps.
And i dont repack and grind between runs, i jusy refreeze the tube. Repacking would be too much work and i dont get enough increase in yield to warrant the time it takes to unpack/grind/repack.