freezing materials before production

[billy_big_bud!]

can anyone explain to me the theory behind freezing the shake and the iso before starting. what is the difference in the end result? thanks amigos

 

[HashoftheTitans]

By freezing your material it makes it harder for you to pick up water and chlorophyll, in turn giving you a cleaner product.

 

[billy_big_bud!]

thanks for the input. is that in reference to freezing the trim or both the trim and iso? for some reason i recall there is some danger involved with freezing iso? any truth to that?

 

[Bulldog420]

Thanks, answered a question for me as well.

 

[C'Ya]

Billy I cant see the sense of freezing material and not freezing the solvent.
And you freeze(chill) solvent to winterize, so I also don't see the danger there.
The closer you get to the boiling point the more dangerous most solvents become, so freezing them should be safer.

 

[gaiusmarius]

it seems that the butane might give off gas for a while till it's frozen and if enough collects some place and is exposed to a spark, say from a freezer motor turning on it could potentially cause an explosion. i read in one of the bho explosion articles that cops find a lot of explosions starting at the fridge and some inside it. so do be careful, you don't want your story to be posted in the bho explosions sticky.

 

[BagAppeal]

It is not the product you want to chill.
You want to chill the solvent before it enters the column with the material in it.
This should help you to make a one solvent extraction, with little to no wax and lipids left behind, without the need of winterization.
You need a deep freezer to get this done(chill the solvent enough), if not you will be risking your freezer blowing out once it gets cold enough. I think the cryo freezers are in the right ball park for this.
Correct me if I am wrong..

All the best

BagAppeal

 

[Sextracts]

@bagappeal you could use dry ice

 

[HashoftheTitans]

You want to chill all components. Material, equipment, and solvent. Anything that is not chilled will quickly transfer it's heat to the other components in the extraction. and be counterproductive. There will indeed be less lipids picked up the colder you keep the process.

 

[gaiusmarius]

indeed, dry ice would be one way to be sure your source of cold will not also give off sparks. i have no knowledge about cryo freezers. but it is logical that everything should be frozen including the extraction column and the material. i suppose if you put cans of butane or closed containers of other solvents in the freezer they should be ok, but they need to be shut air tight.

 

[BagAppeal]

I heard that its a big no no with dry ice in normal freezers.If they become too cold, you will have problems. Other containers might work better, any suggestions?

All the best

BagAppeal

 

[rb extractors]

I think the issue with dry ice in normal freezers is that it needs to vent off evaporating gasses and also messes with the thermostat.

We try to store as much of our butane tanks in freezers as possible as it makes the butane more stable. I think some of the explosions I've heard of recently were due to someone putting open containers of butane in a freezer in order to dewax, but don't quote me on that.

 

[Sextracts]

@bagappeal I keep mine in a large igloo ice chests works fine and no spark!
@rb yes I do believe ive heard of this happening a few times lately.

 

[gaiusmarius]

i wouldn't put it in the freezer anyway due to the spark potential, unless sealed air tight. but yeah if you are using the freezer you won't need the dry ice. i was talking about using it to cool your material and extraction column instead of a freezer.

good job mentioning the incompatibility of dry ice in a freezer.

what rb said is true though, the most dangerous part is the freezing of open containers of butane or ethanol for winterization.

 

[SkyHighLer]

The head post inquired about iso...

I place a can or two of butane in the freezer for a few hours before extraction, I seal the cans in a ziplock bag with the air mostly sucked out to provide indication of leakage. I never store canned butane in the freezer/fridge.

Using a home freezer (non-explosion proof) to chill bulk butane in tanks while connected up for extraction seems like an accident waiting to happen, someone's already had a major leak, and as I recall it wasn't even the hoses.

Never, ever place an open, or semi-sealed container of butane in a home freezer. I used to seal butane in a Mason jar, but found it's right at the burst strength of the glass, and that the sealing rings aren't designed to keep the lid on under pressure.

What's the going opinion on alcohol in an unsealed jar in the freezer? I wouldn't, easy enough to use a Mason jar with the lid on, but I've seen pictures of guys letting the winterization solution filter while exposed to the air in the freezer.

 

[rb extractors]

I should have clarified... our butane is in 50lb storage tanks. You really need to be careful how much butane you put in the tanks. Too much and as pressure builds I've smelled a little butane from the vent. By freezing, there is hardly any pressure in the tank.

Although our freezer isn't explosion proof, it is a chest type and basically sealed for anything kept in it. I live in a warmer region and feel like you trade one risk for another.

 

[Daub Marley]

The theory behind it is quite simple. The hotter the solvent is the more aggressive that it will dissolve the solute. When you wash your hands the hot water will dissolves the soap much faster than cold. Same thing with the iso. You are trading quantity for quality because iso will dissolve almost everything including the unwanted stuff like chlorophyll.

 

[redlaser]

When I was trying extended butane soaks in a mason jar it would be in a cooler with water and Ice for about six hours and not evaporate very much. I'd rather chill the butane cans that way as well, takes the guess work out of the freezer method for me.