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QWET oil extraction

Gray Wolf

Gray Wolf

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StinkyGreen said:
Is there something about the additional evaporation/remixing step that causes waxes to precipitate out the second time?

Edit: BTW, I got 2g of great looking (to me) light amber oil out of this. 20% yield. I dissolved it in 30mL of 95% Everclear.
Click to expand...

The first pull dealt with both the 5% water in the Everclear and the remaining plant moisture. After that has been evaporated away, , using only a 5% water solution will dissolve less polar material.

Sounds like you are on the right track! 20% amber yield is respectable. My best using quick wash was 21.6%, and although I have seen higher yields using alcohol reflux, they were chock full of inactive ingredients.

Good job! Have fun!
 
2000pm

2000pm

Member
Sorry to dredge this old thread but thought I'd keep it all in one informative thread, and it doesn't seem like there is a whole lot of QWET discussion out there.

First thanks for the guide - what if I may ask are you adding to the oil to lower viscosity to limit film clinging to the container walls? It seems like you are also making the QWET primarily for oral/ingested meds - would one want to avoid this additive if planning on vaporizing/smoking the oil?

This looks like a great way to achieve a fairly pure product without the need for vacuuming purging and harsher solvents which seem to be the case these days. I have access to a hotplate/190proof so I am planning on trying this soon.

I am also planning on using less starting material - but keeping with the "inch above the material" strategy for general volume guidelines. Would this be a waste of my time to try it with a smaller jar of bud/trim?
 
Gray Wolf

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2000pm said:
Sorry to dredge this old thread but thought I'd keep it all in one informative thread, and it doesn't seem like there is a whole lot of QWET discussion out there.

First thanks for the guide - what if I may ask are you adding to the oil to lower viscosity to limit film clinging to the container walls? It seems like you are also making the QWET primarily for oral/ingested meds - would one want to avoid this additive if planning on vaporizing/smoking the oil?

This looks like a great way to achieve a fairly pure product without the need for vacuuming purging and harsher solvents which seem to be the case these days. I have access to a hotplate/190proof so I am planning on trying this soon.

I am also planning on using less starting material - but keeping with the "inch above the material" strategy for general volume guidelines. Would this be a waste of my time to try it with a smaller jar of bud/trim?
Click to expand...

We add coconut oil to our oral meds.

It will work with any volume. About 20% of starting weight in oil from prime bud
 
G

Good_KarmA

Member
Great writeup gray wolf! I love your method of refreezing to get rid of waxes.

a few Qs:


I'm having trouble obtaining 190 proof alcohol here. Would using these steps using 99% ISO be fine? Or would would suggest any alterations.

Have you experimented with less time then 3 minutes? That seems long for quick wash. Your oil speaks for itself I suppose lol.

also I noticed in picture 7 you are recovering alcohol. I'm assuming these is just to be economical and has nothing to do with making the oil?

What do you add to lower viscosity?
 
Gray Wolf

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Good_KarmA said:
Great writeup gray wolf! I love your method of refreezing to get rid of waxes.

a few Qs:


I'm having trouble obtaining 190 proof alcohol here. Would using these steps using 99% ISO be fine? Or would would suggest any alterations.

Have you experimented with less time then 3 minutes? That seems long for quick wash. Your oil speaks for itself I suppose lol.

also I noticed in picture 7 you are recovering alcohol. I'm assuming these is just to be economical and has nothing to do with making the oil?

What do you add to lower viscosity?
Click to expand...

99% ISO is a good second choice for removal, but winterizing techniques won't work as well. You might be able to extract with ISO and winterize with a lower proof ethanol. What proof Ethanol can you get?

Three minutes on frozen material isn't excessive with ethanol, where 25/20 seconds will do the same thing with ISO.

Yes, the alcohol recovery was to reduce costs and adds nothing to the oil.

Decarboxylating the oil drops the viscosity some. We drop it further for oral meds by adding another oil and other ingredients.

For instance coconut oil and cinnamon oils in HAO Oral or Holy Shit.
 
G

Good_KarmA

Member
151 proof is the highest I can buy locally. I figured that was too diluted. Online sources all seemed ridiculously expensive.

Here's what I'm thinking. Do a 20 second quick wash with very light stirring, and use some 151 to winterize. Sound good? <---Nevermind

Whats an average time for baking material that is at about jarring moisture content.

also, when you strain after removal from the material. Do you like to squeeze it to maximize yield or do you save that for the second run? I have a coffee press (with a screen filter) I can pour it into and squeeze it out of quickly.


edit: after some more searching online I found some 190 everclear that will ship here.
 
Gray Wolf

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Good_KarmA said:
151 proof is the highest I can buy locally. I figured that was too diluted. Online sources all seemed ridiculously expensive.

Here's what I'm thinking. Do a 20 second quick wash with very light stirring, and use some 151 to winterize. Sound good? <---Nevermind

Whats an average time for baking material that is at about jarring moisture content.

also, when you strain after removal from the material. Do you like to squeeze it to maximize yield or do you save that for the second run? I have a coffee press (with a screen filter) I can pour it into and squeeze it out of quickly.


edit: after some more searching online I found some 190 everclear that will ship here.
Click to expand...

Baking time varies enough that average is probably not a good number. I dry it all until it is just frangible when rolled between my finger and thumb. Dry and brittle is too dry.

I have never been able to squeeze the material fast enough to save much alcohol, but if you can, it is always worth a shot.

Good job on finding the 190 proof. That is what I use to winterize.

I have never tried it with 151 proof, but it might very well work for removing the waxes, but possibly less water solubles.
 
G

Good_KarmA

Member
thx guys, and one last Q (hopefully)

is this what you mean when you say pipette?
PIPETTE,%20GRADUATED.jpg
 
Gray Wolf

Gray Wolf

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Good_KarmA said:
thx guys, and one last Q (hopefully)

is this what you mean when you say pipette?



PIPETTE,%20GRADUATED.jpg
Click to expand...

That is an example of one style of pipette. I use that type sometimes and they work OK.


A pipette can be as simple as a glass tube with one end reduced down. The flow is controled by covering the other end with your thumb.
 
2000pm

2000pm

Member
What is the big difference between running BHO and cleaning up with ethanol as an absolute versus just running QWET as the primary concentrate/solvent?

Also, is it necessary/does it work the same to vacuum purge an ethanol extract as it does BHO? Seeing as how it doesn't dissipate away as a gas under normal conditions, how does it act under pressure?
 
Gray Wolf

Gray Wolf

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2000pm said:
What is the big difference between running BHO and cleaning up with ethanol as an absolute versus just running QWET as the primary concentrate/solvent?

Also, is it necessary/does it work the same to vacuum purge an ethanol extract as it does BHO? Seeing as how it doesn't dissipate away as a gas under normal conditions, how does it act under pressure?
Click to expand...

The butane is non polar, so it leaves behind more of the non desirables, but takes some of the waxes that alcohol leaves behind. By using both, you end up with a cleaner end product.

Alcohol will boil off under vacuum, just not as fast. The vacuum just lowers its boiling point.

A vacuum will also overcome the azeotropic balance of the alcohol, if it has some water in it, and will extract the alcohol first and then the water.
 
G

Good_KarmA

Member
Interesting, makes me wonder why more people aren't cleaning their bho.


I'm a pretty big noob in the oil world. I'm just sticking to making alcohol oils for now, but I recently got and invite (friend of a friend type thing) to come watch bho being made.

I'm going to make sure he is following all the safety procedures in learned on this site and well as bringing up an ethanol clean up.
 
2000pm

2000pm

Member
I'm just worried that I will lose more of the flavor and scent after another ethanol wash. While I do like qwet quite a bit there is a freshness to bho that I really enjoy as well and I wonder how much of that is retained after a subsequent wash.
 
Gray Wolf

Gray Wolf

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2000pm said:
I'm just worried that I will lose more of the flavor and scent after another ethanol wash. While I do like qwet quite a bit there is a freshness to bho that I really enjoy as well and I wonder how much of that is retained after a subsequent wash.
Click to expand...

You do lose some of the flavors, both when you remove the inactive waxes, et al, and because more of the aromatic turpenoids will have been lost, even keeping the process below their boiling points.

Predictably, the purer you make a cannabis extraction, the less unique and provocative flavors it will have besides cannabis but let me say that it is still damn fresh and tasty.

One of the attributes that I like is that besides being more concentrated and potent per unit volume, is that BHOA is smoother when vaporized, as well as making a tastier oral.

PS: It doesn't take much to run it one time and compare and you probably owe it to your senses to compare them!
 
Last edited:
2000pm

2000pm

Member
Yea I've had many a straight BHO and I've run QWET a few times now (doing another run tonight!) but haven't yet done the BHO-ethanol yet. Will post up when I get to that, which will be my next run.

Are there any solvents that are easy to purge that somehow take more of the waxes, turpenoids, etc more selectively? I've always thought that would be nice to pull then re-mix with the more purified absolute.
 
Gray Wolf

Gray Wolf

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Good question, but I don't have the answer. Anybody else have that answer?
 
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