Terpenation at Terpene Station

[icdog]

Can I remove the column during the can tap procedure and cap the pot with the little metal cap that came with the terp?
All the pics I've seen of the can tap have the terp all setup but I can't see why it would make a difference.

 

[SkyHighLer]

FE, have you tried setting the Wyott at maximum and plugging it into a temperature controller like the Dorkfood DSV with it's temperature sensor placed in the water?

Way too many contacts to arc imo, I'd bypass all the Wyott controls and hardwire an external PID controller with solid state relay and heat sink, again with the sensor in the water. I'm guessing with this the set point would be only slightly higher than the boiling point of your solvent or you'd be attempting to flash the solvent off.

 

[RegisPhilburn1]

Can I remove the column during the can tap procedure and cap the pot with the little metal cap that came with the terp?
All the pics I've seen of the can tap have the terp all setup but I can't see why it would make a difference.

yes, i do it like this Cantap setup

 

[mr. durden]

it probably doesn't hurt, but i usually have my site glass viewable when we loaded cans, and you can't see any liquid. you'll hear the appion make a different sound when it is dealing with liquid

 

[mr. durden]

FE, have you tried setting the Wyott at maximum and plugging it into a temperature controller like the Dorkfood DSV with it's temperature sensor placed in the water?

Way too many contacts to arc imo, I'd bypass all the Wyott controls and hardwire an external PID controller with solid state relay and heat sink, again with the sensor in the water. I'm guessing with this the set point would be only slightly higher than the boiling point of your solvent or you'd be attempting to flash the solvent off.

really, a better way to go if you must use heat would be a much larger pot. the wyott is too small and fluctuates temp wise too much depending on where you are on the run.

i think why it works for GW so well is that he runs his system hotter than most of us.

 

[Gray Wolf]

When I'm running the colder stuff, I have the Terpenator sitting beside the Wyott, not in it, and only occasionally dip it to take off the ice, so I can keep track of how much butane is left.

 

[icdog]

I might have missed this but why are some of you using charcoal when can tapping? Is this something I have to do?

 

[mr. durden]

i used charcoal to help clean the terp when i first assembled it, even after cleaning the crap out of it. some use old material to run through. you don't need to run activated carbon every time you load up the terp. just follow the instructions that GW posted on his blog

 

[FatherEarth]

Yea mine is made of Boro too, Ill have to find the link to the specs on it.. Here is a sight glass made of PTFE's cousin FEP. Rated to -100F...

http://www.rubberfab.com/sites/default/files/products/pdfs/RF-Sight.Gauges_1.pdf

Also I havent looked into it but what temps are the Buna gaskets rated? Seems like -70 ~ -100F is pushing the upper limits for most materials to handle..

Here are some interesting clamps Im considering trying out..

http://www.rubberfab.com/products/torque-rite-smart-clamp


FE

 

[FatherEarth]

Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sight Glass Handbook

Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sight Glass Handbook

Here is a
Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sight Glass Handbook. This has some good info anyone running one of these sight glasses should know and consider before using. Quote from the book:

Sight Glass Design and Application
Because glass is so sensitive to imperfections, there are several factors that will contribute to sight glass failures. First is improper design. A cover flange, or hold-down flange, that is too thin will create a bending load on the glass as the flange bends during bolt tightening. This scenario can crack the glass, which creates a hazard even before the system is in operation. This situation may easily go undetected prior to start-up since the cover flange can hide the cracks. Even too few bolts will create point loads from uneven compression on the glass, which again may result in cracking.
Another design flaw may be a cushion gasket that is too soft
or too thick. Under pressure, this will not create good flat support, similar to lying in a feather bed, and will create a bending load on the glass that will result in a tensile stress on the surface of the glass. Again, an undetectable hazardous situation created even before start-up.

A third and more obvious design flaw is
inadequate glass thickness. This
can lead to failure as the internal pressure exceeds the maximum pressure capability of the glass. This can occur as a result of the use of an incorrect coefficient, improper formula or a miscalculated unsupported glass diameter. Another reason for conventional glass failure is improper installation.
Examples are over-tightening and uneven torquing which produce bending
loads on the glass and can potentially result in cracking. One more common
cause of failure due to improper installation is trapped debris. Even the
smallest dirt particles or product spill build-up can be enough to scratch, pit or bend the glass. Often, gaskets become baked onto the flanges and portions are left behind when removed. Again, this creates a very dangerous situation.
A very difficult flaw to discover is created during the manufacturing of the
sight glass components. The lower and upper flanges, and even the glass,
may not have flat and parallel surfaces as a result of poor or low tolerance
manufacturing. These are difficult to determine since most of these defects
are not visible to the naked eye. A flaw in any of these components will again
result in a bending load on the glass.
One of the most common causes of glass failure is incorrect use and mishandling, such as using the sight port as a handy place to rest a wrench.
Any surface defects,
even those that cannot be seen by the naked eye, create a source for breaks to originate, also known as stress concentrations. Even
though a bending load is required to open these cracks, they significantly
reduce the pressure capabilities of the glass.
Impact from an object will also weaken the glass considerably. Such an
impact can create a pitting, or depression, in the surface, which produces a stress concentration point, resulting in a hazardous situation in pressure applications. This is comparable to making a slight cut or tear on a piece of paper, and then pulling on it. In fact, the same thing is done when glass is cut. A glasscutter is used to score the glass, creating a small depression in the surface, and then a bending moment breaks the glass along the scratched surface. This is similar to a sight glass with a surface scratch and pressure behind it creating a bending moment.
Another misuse of glass often occurs during maintenance and inspection.
Conventional glass discs and gaskets should not be removed from the sight
glass assembly and re-used. Corning Glass Works states this in its Sight Glass Use and Care Manual because compressing the glass between two flanges will create scratches and pitting in the glass.


The last possible cause of failure may result from unknown variables during
processing. There are many situations that may not be realized, understood,
or expected after start-up. One such example is thermal shock, or a quick
or drastic change in temperature. This can occur in various ways. First, and
most common, is when a sight glass is subjected to cold ambient temperatures
and the start-up causes a quick rise in temperature. If the bottom surface
of the glass expands too quickly relative to the top, the surfaces will move against each other until they crack. Another thermal shock scenario happens during external wash down cleaning; a cold liquid directed on the top surface of the glass quickly cools down a hot sight glass. Again, a quick change in temperature on one surface and the glass can fail. Heat generated from a high wattage luminaire can also cause thermal shock.
A less obvious type of thermal shock is called shadowing. The area of glass that
is protected and sealed by the gasket and flanges is not directly exposed to the heat or cold of the processing. This “shadowed” area remains closer to ambient temperature while the exposed viewing area sees temperatures near that of the product.
This extreme temperature difference within the glass will produce opposing
forces that may exceed its limitations. Again, the result is failure.
A second service condition that creates a hazardous situation is over-
pressurization. A miscalculation or an unexpected increase in system pressure
could exceed the design pressure of the sight glass. Often, there are systems in place to relieve this sudden increase in pressure; however, these systems may not eliminate the initial burst of pressure, which is exerted throughout the vessel or pipeline, which includes the glass.
The last service condition that can create a sight glass failure is the
degradation of the glass over time. Chemicals, and even water, will corrode glass. There are several chemical resistance charts that illustrate the loss of weight of glass
when exposed to various chemicals. Another source of degradation is the
continuous friction from an abrasive, and even a non-abrasive, product against the glass, which we call erosion. In both cases, this occurrence will etch the glass and weaken it considerably, to where normal operating conditions may result in catastrophic failure

So after reading the handbook I am going to upgrade my sight glass to something stronger and I wont be using it when I do dry ice runs. If its not rated like my stainless steel hoses or better it seems kinda silly to mess with the chances. I set right next to the terp when its running and the sight glass is overhead. .. yea I wont go there... Just my thoughts on the subject, to each their own

 

[icdog]

What refrigerant tank scale are you guys using?

 

[PenZenMaster]

Wal-Mart digital bathroom scale accurate to .1 pounds http://www.walmart.com/ip/Taylor-Lithium-Electronic-Digital-Bath-Scale/20691548

 

[PenZenMaster]

Controlling Cost in Production - Dry Ice

Controlling Cost in Production - Dry Ice

I wont be using it when I do dry ice runs.

FatherEarth - Seems that you are doing well with your dry ice runs. Have you "done the numbers" on what the cost of a dry ice run is vs other cooling methods and what is the Return on Investment (ROI) is?
Is the yield significantly higher or more potent?

Right now I'm using a 5 CU Ft chest freezer with a 30# bottle in an anti-freeze bath, teflon core stainless steel braid covered hoses and a MT69 CPS Molecular Transformator Recovery Submersible Subcooler in its own anti-freeze bath. Cost me pennies to run the freezer and dry ice is spendy and over an hour away from my lab.

 

[nakadashi]

Don't know if you guys have ever experienced this, I did a nug run recently of very low grade flowers. After the first cycle the butane was completely clear! Usually even when I run trim it never gets 100% clear like that...

 

[furrywall11]

beautiful photo

 

[PenZenMaster]

Single Cycle Wonder

Single Cycle Wonder

Don't know if you guys have ever experienced this, I did a nug run recently of very low grade flowers. After the first cycle the butane was completely clear! Usually even when I run trim it never gets 100% clear like that... View Image

OK, I have to say that I have never seen clear butane on the first run. How long a soak did the spool get and what temperature was the incoming butane?

 

[nakadashi]

OK, I have to say that I have never seen clear butane on the first run. How long a soak did the spool get and what temperature was the incoming butane?

The temp of the incoming butane was high 30's (f). The first two pictures are of the first cycle, and the 3rd picture is the second cycle. The butane sat in the column for less than 2 minutes. What is even more bizzare is I examined the flowers inside with a microscope after the run, and found that there were still balls on top of the trichome stalks. I ran it yet again and it was clear on the first cycle and there was basically no yield. I'm guessing it was something unique to these extra bad flowers..

 

[Hash Man]

The temp of the incoming butane was high 30's (f). The first two pictures are of the first cycle, and the 3rd picture is the second cycle. The butane sat in the column for less than 2 minutes. What is even more bizzare is I examined the flowers inside with a microscope after the run, and found that there were still balls on top of the trichome stalks. I ran it yet again and it was clear on the first cycle and there was basically no yield. I'm guessing it was something unique to these extra bad flowers..

you are not packing tight enough

 

[nakadashi]

you are not packing tight enough

!! Thanks! I didn't realize there was a minimum packing density because the column floods.

 

[Hash Man]

I think Gray Wolf recommends 4.2 grams per square inch... I overpacked the other day and had to abort a run because the solvent couldnt make it through.