Interesting observation while trying to expedite purging

[jasmiami]

So I am cold purging after extractions like FatherEarth said he was doing. I know it takes a while but people are really caught up on very light colored concentrates and I am trying to do my best to have a light colored finished product. Besides, the way I look at it is why keep the vacuum chamber idle, might as well keep everything under vacuum.

So what I have been doing is running the vacuum pump for about 15 minutes, then I shut off the valve to the vacuum chamber, turn off the vac pump and then release the vacuum in the line. About every 6 hours or so I check on the progress. At this point I open the vac chamber and take each bowl out and using a clean razor blade I checkerboard the concentrate, just crisscross a bunch of lines throughout the concentrate. I then vac again for 15 mins and repeat the whole procedure. It is amazing how releasing the surface tension of the concentrate allows more butane to continue to come out of the end product.

My apologies in advance if this has already been covered here. There is just so much great information given by so many of you that it is hard to take it all in.

Peace

 

[pharmco]

Cold purging? Could you define what you mean by this?

I've already said this, but you will not properly purge your product without heating it up to at least 85 F degrees. You will not darken your product until you get it to 115 degrees, but you will not evacuate any reasonable amount of butane until you crank up the temperature.

As you note, the surface tension and viscosity is literally too much to allow butane to escape. Mildly, breaking the surface with a razor releases a bit of butane, but you are also witnessing a little air being whipped into your extract. You will not remove much butane at room temperature, which, I'll apologize, but is my impression that that is what you are trying to do.

A dark vs light product is only somewhat determined by the temperatures you use while purging. Certainly, you can overheat, but it's the starting material that is the true determinate of color. Running fresh frozen, I've yielded golden clear shatter, that turns to almost white honeycomb. I purge at 120 for the honeycomb, and even then I'm not experiencing darkening, only the honeycombing/buddering. (Keep in mind going above 115 can cause this. I stay at 100 to 105F for shatter.). Running old material almost always gives me a darker product, unless it's been kept cold and dry.

 

[Gray Wolf]

What PC said.

The butane is above its boiling point and desperately charging about trying to get out, but the surface needs to be liquid to efficiently release the butane molecules when they hit it, or it will simply ricochet.

 

[jasmiami]

Understood, I will correct my process.

 

[hairetsu]

RULE number one to clear clean shatter: Never Agitate, be patient and don't touch it.

 

[soysoz]

RULE number one to clear clean shatter: Never Agitate, be patient and don't touch it.

I disagree. If the product is good and you're not in 100 degree weather you can repress it a hundred times before it starts to sugar up. I think the real rule #1 is closer to: no waxes.