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Why is my hash oil always very dark?

Nickog

Member
Every batch I make comes out dark green or brown.
I don't use butane ever, but try all the other solvents.
What is the trick?
 

love?

Member
You are letting the solvent be in contact with the material too long.

Try a 15 second wash..
 

Gray Wolf

A Posse ad Esse. From Possibility to realization.
Mentor
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Not sure what process you are using, but heat darkens cannabis oil, as do contaminants.

GW
 

Gray Wolf

A Posse ad Esse. From Possibility to realization.
Mentor
ICMag Donor
Veteran
How are you preparing the material, what alcohol are you using, how long are you soaking it, and how are you removing the alcohol?
 

Nickog

Member
How are you preparing the material, what alcohol are you using, how long are you soaking it, and how are you removing the alcohol?

I use alcohol and yesterday, I tried acetone for the first time. I normally put the trim in a jar, add the solvent, and shake for 30 seconds. Strain, and repeat with more solvent. I let it air dry in a flat pan.
With the alcohol, I get an oil that sticks to everything! The batch with the acetone looked just as green in the liquid form but once dried, was easy to roll in a sticky ball. The ball looks green, but not black!
Do you have any experience with naptha? I am not sure what the difference is.
From what I can tell, there is a lot of heated discussion over solvents and what is safe or not.
In my mind, acetone, mineral spirits and lacquer thinner are all the same!
I really appreciate your input!
 
M

mrred

try doing it like the BHO guys do it and put it in a tube and dump the alcohol down the tube, i do it twice, i hang the tube over the bowl and let it drip over night
 

Gray Wolf

A Posse ad Esse. From Possibility to realization.
Mentor
ICMag Donor
Veteran
I use alcohol and yesterday, I tried acetone for the first time. I notmally put the trim in a jar, add the solvent, and shake for 30 seconds. Strain, and repeat with more solvent. I let it air dry in a flat pan.
With the alcohol, I get an oil that sticks to everything! The batch with the acetone looked just as green in the liquid form but once dried, was easy to roll in a sticky ball. The ball looks green, but not black!
Do you have any experience with naptha? I am not sure what the difference is.
From what I can tell, there is a lot of heated discussion over solvents and what is safe or not.
In my mind, acetone, mineral spirits and lacquer thinner are all the same!
I really appreciate your input!

You didn't say how you were preparing your material, but I suggest doing trim whole and lightly packed for QWISO.

30 seconds is pushing it. I would try 15 to 20.

Alcohol extract is sticky. I've never done acetone.

I have never used naptha (white gas) either, because it is hard to purge, but it a mix of hexane and heptane, both of which I have used.

Acetone, Mineral spirits, and lacquer thinner are different chemicals.

Hexane is a lot easier to remove than heptane or ostensibly naptha.

I usually use butane, hexane, ethanol, or isopropanol for oil extractions.

I also extract the concrete using one of the other solvents, and wash it in ethanol to clean it up into an absolute.

Jump 117 has published a couple tutorials on producing amber with alcohol that you might check out in this forum.

GW
 

Nickog

Member
I used whole trim and ground up trim. I have read that it is better to grind it up and use a large screen to strain through. This last batch was ground up. I am doing small batches of 5 gms of trim at a time to test each solvent and trick! I will post my results when I am done for whatever it is worth.
 

jd4083

Active member
Veteran
yup


you should also stop crushing up the erb into a dust, small particles or etc.

I gotta say crushed/ground up flowers do not produce the same quality as whole buds. As an example, you will find it very difficult to get an oil of this quality with anything but whole, well-trimmed buds:

url.jpg



30 seconds (especially with vigorous shaking) is way too long for anything you actually want to smoke, imo. Maybe if you're cooking with it that would be alright. IMO the only way to get QWISO or other quick-washed extractions to be on the same level as BHO is by literally pouring the solvent over whole buds in a permanent coffee filter with no soaking or shaking whatsoever. After that first run of top quality you can chop the buds up or shake them for 5-10 seconds and then strain. Anything past 15 seconds when you're shaking it or 20-25 seconds if just sitting in the solvent is going to pull out chlorophyll and other nasties and leave you with black tar oil.

peace
 

Nickog

Member
Isn't there a lot of thc left in the buds/trim if you pour over it just once? Can you do anything with the material aftere a one time use?
 

jd4083

Active member
Veteran
Isn't there a lot of thc left in the buds/trim if you pour over it just once? Can you do anything with the material aftere a one time use?

I do the first run as I described and keep the high quality (and low yield) stuff to smoke, then do a second run where I shake vigorously for around 15 seconds before straining. This stuff is what I cook with or roll big snakes of to put into joints, but not the top quality I prefer to smoke outright in a glass piece like the first run.

15 seconds seems to be the turning point from quality to tar in my experience. If you want the best overall quality/yield ratio in one run rather than doing 2+ to get the remainder, I would recommend a very vigorous 10-12 second shake followed by the straining which should round up to about 15sec. peace
 

Buju09

Active member
Take the stuff you think is black...... And stretch it thin like a pizza dough and hold it up to some light what does it look like. My stuff is always a clear .. but dark amber all the way through this is from 30 second iso washes. If its black i'd be scared. Mine as well seems black or brown in ball form however always clear when stretched thin. The smoke never comes off to harsh so I'm willing to sacrifice the awesome color Jd4083 is producing ( wowie those pics make me wanna give up ISO :D ) for now.
 
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