Highest extraction yeild

SkyHighLer said:

Below are some results using the Mason jar quick soak method.

A sealed quart Mason jar along with a couple of cans of butane are placed in the freezer overnight.

The nuggs are ground in a herb grinder or at least fully broken up so they have less volume requiring less butane to soak them.

A Mason jar lid with a hole in the middle for injection, and some holes to allow excess butane vapor/air to escape is placed on the jar.

Liquid butane is injected into the jar. If doing a single soak it takes about a single 300ml can to an ounce of herb. I do multiple five minute soaks, one right after another. The first soak is with a little over half a can per ounce (I measure using the volume markings on the side of the jar - this takes some experience or you can use a small scale.) Once the herb is wet from the first soak, you can easily soak with only half a can during the ensuing soaks. Two soaks is enough, three soaks, (which I do) gets nearly all of the cannabinoids, and four soaks is a waste of time, and you get more 'mystery oil' (non-volatile residue) in the final product.

The herb is dumped into the liquid butane in the jar, and filter paper is placed over the top and secured with the Mason jar sealing ring. Two standard coffee filters per soak works fine, I use a single round sheet of 18cm 2.5 micron lab filter paper per soak. You need to very carefully screw the ring on straight to get a liquid tight seal, but keep in mind you've got to be able to unscrew it when it's wet and sticky.

After securing the filter paper, the jar is swished around, the butane will climb the walls and soak everything thoroughly. After five minutes of on and off swishing, the jar is inverted over an evaporation dish. Be sure the filter paper is completely wetted so the vapor pressure in the jar forces the liquid butane/oil out.

The sealing ring is removed while holding the filter paper in place with your other hand, and the filter paper is carefully pushed down into the jar.

The lid with the holes is again used to inject more butane for the next soak, and then the process is repeated. With vigorous swishing all the pieces of filter paper pushed down into the jar will be washed with liquid butane.

Never seal butane in a Mason jar, neither the sealing ring or the glass can take the pressure.

Sorry for the long description, they took down the original video of how to do a Mason jar soak at YouTube.

I vacuum purge the result in a thin film at about 115F and down to -29.5" Hg just until the bubbling slows to a crawl.


The nuggs mentioned are commercial SoCal MMJ.


Sour Tangie
$99/oz
42.0g nuggs
41.2g ground
8.2g product
19.5% return (using the nuggs weight)
19.9% return (if figured with the ground weight)
$18.29/g


Original Glue
$150/oz
28.4g nuggs
6.0g product
21% return
$25/g


Lil Dragon
$300/oz
27.9g nuggs
27.3g ground
9.90g product
35.48% return (nuggs)
36.26% return (ground)
$30/g


Sage N Sour
$280/oz
28.17g nuggs
27.3g ground
8.81g product
31.27% return (nuggs)
32.27% return (ground)
$32/g


Paris OG
$150/oz
28.3g nuggs
27.4g ground
7.3g product
26.01% return (nuggs)
26.86% return (ground)
$21/g


Super Lemon Diesel
$99/oz
42.0g nuggs
41.6g ground
7.40g product
17.62% return (nuggs)
17.79% return (ground)
$21/g


Sour Diesel
$99/oz
38.96g nuggs
38.1g ground
9.18g product
23.56% return (nuggs)
24.09% return (ground)
$17/g


Orange Dynamite
$99/oz
27.8g nuggs
27.1g ground
4.02g product
14.8% return (ground)
$25/g


God Father OG
$99/oz
26.8g ground
3.55g product
13.25% return
$28/g


Pre '91 Sweet Kush
$99/oz
28.0g nuggs
26.4g ground (lot of seeds and stems removed)
5.17g product
18.46% (nuggs)
19.58% (ground)
$19/g


Gogi OG
$220/oz
56.3g nuggs
54.8g ground
14.04g product
29.94% return (nuggs)
25.62% return (ground)
$32/g

Click to expand...

SkyHighLer said:

Below are some results using the Mason jar quick soak method.

A sealed quart Mason jar along with a couple of cans of butane are placed in the freezer overnight.

The nuggs are ground in a herb grinder or at least fully broken up so they have less volume requiring less butane to soak them.

A Mason jar lid with a hole in the middle for injection, and some holes to allow excess butane vapor/air to escape is placed on the jar.

Liquid butane is injected into the jar. If doing a single soak it takes about a single 300ml can to an ounce of herb. I do multiple five minute soaks, one right after another. The first soak is with a little over half a can per ounce (I measure using the volume markings on the side of the jar - this takes some experience or you can use a small scale.) Once the herb is wet from the first soak, you can easily soak with only half a can during the ensuing soaks. Two soaks is enough, three soaks, (which I do) gets nearly all of the cannabinoids, and four soaks is a waste of time, and you get more 'mystery oil' (non-volatile residue) in the final product.

The herb is dumped into the liquid butane in the jar, and filter paper is placed over the top and secured with the Mason jar sealing ring. Two standard coffee filters per soak works fine, I use a single round sheet of 18cm 2.5 micron lab filter paper per soak. You need to very carefully screw the ring on straight to get a liquid tight seal, but keep in mind you've got to be able to unscrew it when it's wet and sticky.

After securing the filter paper, the jar is swished around, the butane will climb the walls and soak everything thoroughly. After five minutes of on and off swishing, the jar is inverted over an evaporation dish. Be sure the filter paper is completely wetted so the vapor pressure in the jar forces the liquid butane/oil out.

The sealing ring is removed while holding the filter paper in place with your other hand, and the filter paper is carefully pushed down into the jar.

The lid with the holes is again used to inject more butane for the next soak, and then the process is repeated. With vigorous swishing all the pieces of filter paper pushed down into the jar will be washed with liquid butane.

Never seal butane in a Mason jar, neither the sealing ring or the glass can take the pressure.

Sorry for the long description, they took down the original video of how to do a Mason jar soak at YouTube.

I vacuum purge the result in a thin film at about 115F and down to -29.5" Hg just until the bubbling slows to a crawl.


The nuggs mentioned are commercial SoCal MMJ.


Sour Tangie
$99/oz
42.0g nuggs
41.2g ground
8.2g product
19.5% return (using the nuggs weight)
19.9% return (if figured with the ground weight)
$18.29/g


Original Glue
$150/oz
28.4g nuggs
6.0g product
21% return
$25/g


Lil Dragon
$300/oz
27.9g nuggs
27.3g ground
9.90g product
35.48% return (nuggs)
36.26% return (ground)
$30/g


Sage N Sour
$280/oz
28.17g nuggs
27.3g ground
8.81g product
31.27% return (nuggs)
32.27% return (ground)
$32/g


Paris OG
$150/oz
28.3g nuggs
27.4g ground
7.3g product
26.01% return (nuggs)
26.86% return (ground)
$21/g


Super Lemon Diesel
$99/oz
42.0g nuggs
41.6g ground
7.40g product
17.62% return (nuggs)
17.79% return (ground)
$21/g


Sour Diesel
$99/oz
38.96g nuggs
38.1g ground
9.18g product
23.56% return (nuggs)
24.09% return (ground)
$17/g


Orange Dynamite
$99/oz
27.8g nuggs
27.1g ground
4.02g product
14.8% return (ground)
$25/g


God Father OG
$99/oz
26.8g ground
3.55g product
13.25% return
$28/g


Pre '91 Sweet Kush
$99/oz
28.0g nuggs
26.4g ground (lot of seeds and stems removed)
5.17g product
18.46% (nuggs)
19.58% (ground)
$19/g


Gogi OG
$220/oz
56.3g nuggs
54.8g ground
14.04g product
29.94% return (nuggs)
25.62% return (ground)
$32/g

Click to expand...

PDX Dopesmoker said:

Now thats some real numbers.
SkyHighLer's insatiable curiosity about pot and hash oil is a consistent source of quality info for the rest of us, wtg dude! Thanks for the report.
Whatever the hell that Lil Dragon was, it looks like it was worth the price, thats was some dank stuff. Sage n Sour put up big numbers too and the GG4 didn't get ground looks like.
Your stash must be pretty awesome with all that in it is all I can say and that it looks like from your yield numbers that the quality of the input material makes a big difference on the output volume. From your description it sounds like the rest of the operation was somewhat consistent and bud quality is the main variable in what you're working with. Those cash numbers just make it look like Sour D is cheap or at least a hell of a deal. Man between the Sour D per $ cost and the high numbers on the Sage n Sour cross really helps to reiterate what an asskicker Sour D is. Hermie power!

Click to expand...

killa12345 said:

Is it me or is the math off on most of the $99 strains. Wouldnt the sour Tangie be $12 a g; Sour d at like 11g; super lemon haze at like 13 a g.

Most of the other number work out.

On another note. I WILL Not buy nugs if the sample doesnt come out about 25% or above. If im running someones elses shit....i dont care. But if its nugs im buying to run for concentrates....I will test it....if it comes out above 25%. Im up for purchase....otherwise lets negotiate.

I run a number of closed loops from 1oz to 2.5lbs with and without dewaxing columns. will only dewax if its necessary. My Highest is 28% with Goji OG and Cheese but ive gotten 25%+ from a ton of strains.

Click to expand...

SkyHighLer said:

Thank you, you got it. What I didn't mention is the top shelf nuggs produce better oil, slightly stronger with a much more heady exotic fragrance, and which usually tends to come out as rock hard shatter.



The $/g figures are correct, you just didn't notice those were one and a half ounce purchases. I have some SCLabs test results for some of them and will edit the post with the numbers.

I'm happy with a 20% return as long as I didn't pay top shelf pricing for the nuggs. Imo with top shelf nuggs you should be getting around 25% return or better unless the nuggs were purchased for a limited availability exotic terpene profile.

Complete agreement that dewaxing is unnecessary with decent nuggs. I also agree that your own test runs are more trustworthy than lab test results.

Click to expand...