This thread is a spin-off from some posts in another thread.
Daub Marley's first post in the "How to make shatter/amber glass" thread.
Second One
These are really good posts. Thanks to Daub Marley!
We are all familiar with the "WTF, this batch is a totally different consistency, and I did everything the same as I always do!" complaint. The web is full of people going nuts trying to figure out what went wrong.
We also are all familiar the "How does (insert name of oil maker) get those crystal clear, rock hard slabs?" sentiment expressed all over the web.
My experiments lead me to believe that the answers will be revealed by a study of butane's properies as a solvent as temperature and pressure are manipulated.
As in CO2 extractions, you can pick a spot on butane's phase diagram and ask yourself "What kind of solvent is it here?". I am starting to think that there are some spots on butane's diagram where the properties can vary quite a bit in a small area. I think Daub's observations go to this point. I too have noticed a big difference between soaks and other kinds of contact with the herb, where temp/pressure/phase state change during the extraction.
I think that it won't be long until we figure out how to fine tune butane extractions with precision.
What do you think?
Daub Marley's first post in the "How to make shatter/amber glass" thread.
The problem with cooling it with dry ice is that it will reduce the temperature below butane's boiling point. This keeps it in liquid form and changes the process from a super critical extraction to liquid flow through extraction. This can be compared to the thermos method, but instead of the solvent sitting in the same container with the herbs for a while it just flows through. It is not efficient but, that is the extreme end of cold though, and somewhere in between ambient and dry ice temperature is the sweet spot.
Second One
What's up sirdabsalot!
I think you might be confusing the pressures/heat of butane and CO2, and there is a great difference in the pressures required to reach supercrital state between the two. If you have ever not packed your material down enough you'll notice that the extraction hardly works at all. Then you pack it in a little more and the extraction works like a charm. The reason is that the pressure was not great enough in the loosely packed material for the butane to reach supercritical pressure. I could be wrong though, and my feeling certainly aren't going to be hurt if you prove that.
These are really good posts. Thanks to Daub Marley!
We are all familiar with the "WTF, this batch is a totally different consistency, and I did everything the same as I always do!" complaint. The web is full of people going nuts trying to figure out what went wrong.
We also are all familiar the "How does (insert name of oil maker) get those crystal clear, rock hard slabs?" sentiment expressed all over the web.
My experiments lead me to believe that the answers will be revealed by a study of butane's properies as a solvent as temperature and pressure are manipulated.
As in CO2 extractions, you can pick a spot on butane's phase diagram and ask yourself "What kind of solvent is it here?". I am starting to think that there are some spots on butane's diagram where the properties can vary quite a bit in a small area. I think Daub's observations go to this point. I too have noticed a big difference between soaks and other kinds of contact with the herb, where temp/pressure/phase state change during the extraction.
I think that it won't be long until we figure out how to fine tune butane extractions with precision.
What do you think?