A lot of success is based on research! The u-tube is a perfect example of why I so love research and development..................
BUTANE EXTRACTION AND RECOVERY SYSTEM
- Thread starter Gray Wolf
- Start date
A lot of success is based on research! The u-tube is a perfect example of why I so love research and development..................
meltybubble
Member
Excellent GW,
gone a long way from the ol bottle,blow up ya self stuff I used to do.
Its amazing how refined your method is,K+.
Gonna chuck the plastic bottles,lol.
gone a long way from the ol bottle,blow up ya self stuff I used to do.
Its amazing how refined your method is,K+.
Gonna chuck the plastic bottles,lol.
Behind_The_Mask
Member
Gray_Wolf your projects are inspiring
you are the Walter White of concentrates
you are the Walter White of concentrates
In this case, there is no solvent present the first vacuum and the last only has 25% of the volume of the collection chamber, as I only use it to pull from -22"hg, to -29.5hg. Crankcase dillution is almost nil.
I use a cold trap when I am doing thin film extraction, but also use a MASH oilless vane pump for roughing, to preserve the high vacuum pump. A faucet vacuum aspirator will do the same thing.
LilMissPuffIt
New member
Thanks so much for posting this!
Hee, hee, hee, one of the joys of sharing designs, is watching what other free spirits tweak, when they make their own.
Here's Sean's design, that I helped shake out, and which adds some nice twists. It is well made and generally follows the Mk II design, but uses a different paint pot, column heater, control enclosure, and other features.
He has also cart mounted his for outdoor use, where we are installing ours in an indoor exhaust cabinet.
Excellent job Sean! Lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Here's Sean's design, that I helped shake out, and which adds some nice twists. It is well made and generally follows the Mk II design, but uses a different paint pot, column heater, control enclosure, and other features.
He has also cart mounted his for outdoor use, where we are installing ours in an indoor exhaust cabinet.
Excellent job Sean! Lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
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Flying High
Member
Since my Terp is in the backyard running as I type, I figured this was a perfect time to give a quick update....
Every time I run my Terp, I love it more and more!!! In all seriousness, I couldn't have asked for a more perfectly running system; Grey Wolf has so generously detailed the making of what I feel is one of the best extraction systems out there, right here in this thread... I can't wait to get my myriad of 6" TC spools and parts for the mkiii, Rotovape, Enabler, and VacOven options.
In the mean time, I will hopefully have some 24" long Tri-clamp spools in 3" and 4" on the way shortly in order to experiment with the effects of volume, on efficiency and quality of the finished product, using the three spool sizes I will have. I currently only run the six 2"x24" spools I have, each holding approximately 300g...
Some pics from the first shakedown, as well as the current run as the first cycle is ending, just before refreshing water to 130F...
I am typing this between cycle three and four
Every time I run my Terp, I love it more and more!!! In all seriousness, I couldn't have asked for a more perfectly running system; Grey Wolf has so generously detailed the making of what I feel is one of the best extraction systems out there, right here in this thread... I can't wait to get my myriad of 6" TC spools and parts for the mkiii, Rotovape, Enabler, and VacOven options.
In the mean time, I will hopefully have some 24" long Tri-clamp spools in 3" and 4" on the way shortly in order to experiment with the effects of volume, on efficiency and quality of the finished product, using the three spool sizes I will have. I currently only run the six 2"x24" spools I have, each holding approximately 300g...
Some pics from the first shakedown, as well as the current run as the first cycle is ending, just before refreshing water to 130F...
I am typing this between cycle three and four
Attachments
Since my Terp is in the backyard running as I type, I figured this was a perfect time to give a quick update....
Every time I run my Terp, I love it more and more!!! In all seriousness, I couldn't have asked for a more perfectly running system; Grey Wolf has so generously detailed the making of what I feel is one of the best extraction systems out there, right here in this thread... I can't wait to get my myriad of 6" TC spools and parts for the mkiii, Rotovape, Enabler, and VacOven options.
In the mean time, I will hopefully have some 24" long Tri-clamp spools in 3" and 4" on the way shortly in order to experiment with the effects of volume, on efficiency and quality of the finished product, using the three spool sizes I will have. I currently only run the six 2"x24" spools I have, each holding approximately 300g...
Some pics from the first shakedown, as well as the current run as the first cycle is ending, just before refreshing water to 130F...
I am typing this between cycle three and four
Hee, hee, hee, awhoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!1
Good job putting it together & nice insturmentation!
Did they say why they felt that way? I can think of no reason.
Flying High
Member
While I have ran the machine with nothing but a compound pressure gauge,I do find the Refridgerant Scale, Micron Vacuum Gauge, and multiple Thermocouples useful for various applications.
Being able to verify full recovery by tank weight is great peace of mind, as is the micron vacuum gauge if I am in a hurry and need to do a full purge in the Terp oof a small single column run.
In hindsight, the micron vacuum gauge is basically useless on this sized Terp, for all but the smallest runs; I say that because the oil forms pools over 1/4" deep, which in my opinion is not conducive to a complete vacuum purge at the sub-120F temps I strive to maintain. Although my system maintains micron level vacuum for over an hour after as little as a one hour hard purge, once the oil is transfered to another chamber in a thinner film under vacuum, I am notiicing significant bubblling. While I am confiident the bubbles are not a sign of residual butane, I do like to remove as much of the water as I can if I intend on vaporizing via Ti.
The thermocouples are in my opinion the most important instruments on the machine for making top quality material for vaporization. Knowing the temperature of my column, thermowell extending to the bottom of the pot, water bath, and surface of the Pressure Pot bottom is what allows me to maintain the oil as close to 120F as I can without going over.
I will be replacing the Micron gauge with an 11/4" ips Sight Glass with reflector in the hopes off being able to watch the action in the pot. I will also be installing a nicer compund Pressuure/Vacuum gauge on the machine, along with mounting the nice Vacuum only gauge I have sitting here, all will screw into the 11/4" cross on the paint fill port of my Binks 5galllon SS pot. Another addition will be a pressure gauge on the Refridgerant tank, and posibly a check valve on the butane inlet if the tank gauge indicates back pressure.
A quick response to the reuse of Butane question; I'm not sure where your friend gets his information, but some simple chemistry and physics are all you need to analyze the processes involved in Butane extraction and Recovery for yourself. Don't take anyone's word for it, just do a little research and thinking.
Being able to verify full recovery by tank weight is great peace of mind, as is the micron vacuum gauge if I am in a hurry and need to do a full purge in the Terp oof a small single column run.
In hindsight, the micron vacuum gauge is basically useless on this sized Terp, for all but the smallest runs; I say that because the oil forms pools over 1/4" deep, which in my opinion is not conducive to a complete vacuum purge at the sub-120F temps I strive to maintain. Although my system maintains micron level vacuum for over an hour after as little as a one hour hard purge, once the oil is transfered to another chamber in a thinner film under vacuum, I am notiicing significant bubblling. While I am confiident the bubbles are not a sign of residual butane, I do like to remove as much of the water as I can if I intend on vaporizing via Ti.
The thermocouples are in my opinion the most important instruments on the machine for making top quality material for vaporization. Knowing the temperature of my column, thermowell extending to the bottom of the pot, water bath, and surface of the Pressure Pot bottom is what allows me to maintain the oil as close to 120F as I can without going over.
I will be replacing the Micron gauge with an 11/4" ips Sight Glass with reflector in the hopes off being able to watch the action in the pot. I will also be installing a nicer compund Pressuure/Vacuum gauge on the machine, along with mounting the nice Vacuum only gauge I have sitting here, all will screw into the 11/4" cross on the paint fill port of my Binks 5galllon SS pot. Another addition will be a pressure gauge on the Refridgerant tank, and posibly a check valve on the butane inlet if the tank gauge indicates back pressure.
A quick response to the reuse of Butane question; I'm not sure where your friend gets his information, but some simple chemistry and physics are all you need to analyze the processes involved in Butane extraction and Recovery for yourself. Don't take anyone's word for it, just do a little research and thinking.
I had a hippy I picked up hitchhiking tell me that the butane chemically changes the THC and that's why it is illegal to make in Cali. A chemist told him when he was there, a CHEMIST dude!
I said "Yeah, it has nothing to do with fuckers lighting a cigarette after making a couple cases in their apartment".
If ya'll liked these puppies, check out the Mk III, which is a compact little hot rod that you can build yourself with less than $500 in parts.
Holding only about 150 grams of prepared material, it uses the same pumps and 50# refrigerant recovery tank as the Mk IA, which pull the Mk III down to -29.5hg, does three flood and soak cycles, recovers the butane and returns to =29.5hg, in under 15 minutes.
With only a 198 cubic inch recovery tank, vis a vis closer to 800 cubic inches in the Mk IA, the pumps are able to maintain higher vacuum levels and faster boiling, resulting in faster recovery.
The loose end yet to be established, is yield at that production rate. As it cycles so fast, soak time is reduced and we may have to add cycles to extract the same amount of material as the Mk I or II. We will get weights after winterization is complete.
We also used the same Wyott soup pot to heat the recovery vessel while pumping, to keep the refrigeration's boiling under vacuum from slowing down or stopping the process by dropping the temperature below boiling point at even reduced pressure.
We did not use column heat, and even on the warm dry day, they iced up lightly, so column heat will no doubt be required this winter to keep the speed up.
We also kept the 50# refrigerant recovery tank in an ice bath, with only about four pounds of butane in it. That provides more than enough butane for the process and significant condensing surface for the butane vapors being pumped into the tank by the recovery pump.
I mention in passing, that with a simple hose connection to the butane storage tank, and one in a heated bath and the other in an ice bath, even without the pumps, the Mk III will transfer the butane back to the original storage tank, leaving the oil behind and so will the Mk I, IA, and Mk II, it just takes longer without the pumps. Since I need them earlier in this process anyway, and enjoy the speed, I use them.
The Mk III processes twice as much material in a 15 minute cycle, as the passive recovery Lil Terp does in 1 hour 45 minutes without pumping.
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=245953
Holding only about 150 grams of prepared material, it uses the same pumps and 50# refrigerant recovery tank as the Mk IA, which pull the Mk III down to -29.5hg, does three flood and soak cycles, recovers the butane and returns to =29.5hg, in under 15 minutes.
With only a 198 cubic inch recovery tank, vis a vis closer to 800 cubic inches in the Mk IA, the pumps are able to maintain higher vacuum levels and faster boiling, resulting in faster recovery.
The loose end yet to be established, is yield at that production rate. As it cycles so fast, soak time is reduced and we may have to add cycles to extract the same amount of material as the Mk I or II. We will get weights after winterization is complete.
We also used the same Wyott soup pot to heat the recovery vessel while pumping, to keep the refrigeration's boiling under vacuum from slowing down or stopping the process by dropping the temperature below boiling point at even reduced pressure.
We did not use column heat, and even on the warm dry day, they iced up lightly, so column heat will no doubt be required this winter to keep the speed up.
We also kept the 50# refrigerant recovery tank in an ice bath, with only about four pounds of butane in it. That provides more than enough butane for the process and significant condensing surface for the butane vapors being pumped into the tank by the recovery pump.
I mention in passing, that with a simple hose connection to the butane storage tank, and one in a heated bath and the other in an ice bath, even without the pumps, the Mk III will transfer the butane back to the original storage tank, leaving the oil behind and so will the Mk I, IA, and Mk II, it just takes longer without the pumps. Since I need them earlier in this process anyway, and enjoy the speed, I use them.
The Mk III processes twice as much material in a 15 minute cycle, as the passive recovery Lil Terp does in 1 hour 45 minutes without pumping.
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=245953
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