What processes do the big commercial guys use to make concentrates?

B

BotanicalBill

Member

• Apr 23, 2014

• #1

Hi folks, I was just wondering if someone could comment on how the big producers out in CO and such are making things like shatter? Everything I've ran across on youtube are fairly small batches.. I'm wondering how people are doing it that have like 10 lbs of trim/popcorn.. I can see how you could make bubble hash pretty easily, but I imagine they must be doing other techniques as well like large QWISO/BHO type things, yea?

Thank you.

 

P

Primalraindrop

Member

• Apr 23, 2014

• #2

People use the same thing as the small guy buddy.. just scaled up.

 

R

rb extractors

Member

• Apr 23, 2014

• #3

we use two of our 12x12 spool setups and can run through 10 to 30lbs a day

 

Gray Wolf

A Posse ad Esse. From Possibility to realization.

Mentor

ICMag Donor

Veteran

• Apr 23, 2014

• #4

The big boys that I've visited or consulted with, use a variety of methods, including ethanol, butane/propane, and CO2.

The fastest and lowest cost per gram method is still butane/propane and as RB notes, a 12" Mk V rips through 10lbs before lunch break, and even a 10 X12 based Mk IV can easily extract that much in a day.

 

V

VonBudí

ヾ(⌐■_■)ノ

Veteran

• Apr 23, 2014

• #5

Primalraindrop said:

People use the same thing as the small guy buddy.. just scaled up.

Click to expand...

 

L

lr3

Member

• Apr 24, 2014

• #6

Gray Wolf said:

The big boys that I've visited or consulted with, use a variety of methods, including ethanol, butane/propane, and CO2.

The fastest and lowest cost per gram method is still butane/propane and as RB notes, a 12" Mk V rips through 10lbs before lunch break, and even a 10 X12 based Mk IV can easily extract that much in a day.

Click to expand...

interesting, i had wondered about using propane as it is more available in bulk than butane which just comes in 300/320g cans.

 

Elite Nugz

Member

• Apr 24, 2014

• #7

Lots of glass tubes and a few vacuum ovens...

5 of my glass tubes hold about a pound of trim. One vac oven with a few racks can do an easy 6 oz of shatter at a time.

Same as the small settup... just more equipment. And having a multiple glass tube holder makes life much easier as well.

 

J

JointOperation

Active member

• Apr 26, 2014

• #8

im loving that setup with tennis balls.. i think im going to steal that idea.. sorry lol.. and thanks for the ideas.

 

R

rb extractors

Member

• Apr 26, 2014

• #9

I think as distillation methods improve, you'll see people processing hundreds of pounds of material at a time in big commercial distillation systems that are already used in other industries and not being worried about what the end product looks like as they will clean it up such as Clear does. It becomes quantity over quality.

 

Elite Nugz

Member

• Apr 27, 2014

• #10

Here's mine... I still have to hold my cans. I insulated the tubes to make them stay colder longer. Plus there easier to hold.

 

inreplyavalon

breathe deep

Veteran

• Apr 28, 2014

• #11

I did 14# today, or at least started. Instead of dealing with so much raw material, I chose to dry ice kief it all, then I will qwet it all. The 14 yielded 800grams of blond kief. It will be interesting to see what the final qwet weight is

 

UNREGISTRD

Active member

• Apr 28, 2014

• #12

inreplyavalon said:

I did 14# today, or at least started. Instead of dealing with so much raw material, I chose to dry ice kief it all, then I will qwet it all. The 14 yielded 800grams of blond kief. It will be interesting to see what the final qwet weight is

Click to expand...

now blast all that Kief!

 

inreplyavalon

breathe deep

Veteran

• Apr 28, 2014

• #13

What's "blast" refer to? Bho?

Got me thinking, can I sandwich a column with kief in between and a little flower on the top and bottom?

 

D

dopecook

Member

• Apr 28, 2014

• #14

blast = squirting butane through the tube.

yes pack that kief tube!!

 

C

CaliGabe

• Apr 28, 2014

• #15

rb extractors said:

I think as distillation methods improve, you'll see people processing hundreds of pounds of material at a time in big commercial distillation systems that are already used in other industries and not being worried about what the end product looks like as they will clean it up such as Clear does. It becomes quantity over quality.

Click to expand...

I keep going back to what Yes4Prop215 posted awhile back regarding results from a poll done in CO soon after recreational canna became available. 80% of the respondents stated they were more interested in price and not quality. Considering the size of the canna market that 20% interested in quality is HUGE. Still though in the long run what would most likely happen is that high quality concentrates would command less of a premium just as indoor herb has lost a lot of its premium over outdoor herb.

What kind of developments in distillation can be made to what already exists that would make that much of a difference in large scale canna extraction? I mean they've been doing extraction and concentration of plant materials for a looong time such as hops.

Terra Tech has contracted with Eden Labs for a custom 20 liter system that's going to get set up in Oakland. It's a 5,000 psi system and they plan to do more than canna. Larger, above board ops, are already happening.

 

L

lr3

Member

• Apr 28, 2014

• #16

seems like industrialization of BHO/honey extraction will likely lead to use of high yielding, medium to high cannabinoid strains as the total cannabinoid yield per crop would determine how much quality BHO is produced. That would be dependent on both bud yield and total cannabinoid content of a crop.

just my $0.02