Emptying material safely

[Gtir]

So I run my system, then pull my material columns down into a vacuum w my recovery pump and heat.

How do I know when all the butane is gone and it's safe to remove the material?

If I leave the columns overnight, the pressure raises in them again to around 10-20 psi even after being in a vacuum w heat the night before?

I have been passing co2 through the columns and venting that outside to remove and residual butane but I'm still concerned it is being released into my room when I open the columns?

 

[Gray Wolf]

We heat the columns to 150F while under vacuum and back fill with N2. They don't flash when touched to a flame after opening.

 

[Gtir]

Even w my heat jacketed material column, I am removing butane so fast that I think it's feeezing in the middle of the column, allowing me to pull to -15, then if I come back later pressure is up again. So I'm unable to push all the butane out. Any tips?

 

[Gray Wolf]

Even w my heat jacketed material column, I am removing butane so fast that I think it's feeezing in the middle of the column, allowing me to pull to -15, then if I come back later pressure is up again. So I'm unable to push all the butane out. Any tips?

Hot hot and how low are you vacuuming them?

 

[Gtir]

It gets to like -15 w my recovery pump, the jacket is def 150 bit the column is about 12 inches thick so I'm wondering if the heat in penetrating

 

[Gray Wolf]

It gets to like -15 w my recovery pump, the jacket is def 150 bit the column is about 12 inches thick so I'm wondering if the heat in penetrating

I only run 4" columns. A 6" would take longer and I run mine to -29.5" Hg.

 

[Gtir]

https://static.wixstatic.com/media/...v2.jpg/v1/fill/w_498,h_452,al_c,q_90/file.jpg



Using one of those... any ideas on blasting or any tane trapped in its deep core

 

[Gray Wolf]

https://static.wixstatic.com/media/...v2.jpg/v1/fill/w_498,h_452,al_c,q_90/file.jpg



Using one of those... any ideas on blasting or any tane trapped in its deep core

Deeper vacuum for one. Hard to reach -29.5 with butane outgassing, without a big pump.

Perhaps a hot "cold finger" in the middle of the pot might help.

 

[Gtir]

What is a cold finger?

 

[Gray Wolf]

What is a cold finger?

Here is an example. https://www.edenlabs.com/extraction-equipment/coldfinger

It is a chilling tube inserted into the center of the mass. In your case it would be a hot finger.

 

[Gtir]

I've been experimenting w sending the hot recovery pump exhaust through material column to heat anything that's getting cold in the middle. I'm just wondering what is the best procedure for this. Should I have the pump exhaust T off to the recovery tank and also to the material column, or shit off the recovery tank, and do I let my collection pot recover during this or should I shut that off too? Trying to flow hot vapor through the tank but not sure how the recovery tank and collection pot affect this.

 

[Gray Wolf]

I've been experimenting w sending the hot recovery pump exhaust through material column to heat anything that's getting cold in the middle. I'm just wondering what is the best procedure for this. Should I have the pump exhaust T off to the recovery tank and also to the material column, or shit off the recovery tank, and do I let my collection pot recover during this or should I shut that off too? Trying to flow hot vapor through the tank but not sure how the recovery tank and collection pot affect this.

Unless you recover directly from your column, diverting the hot gas through our recovery pot will affect the properties of the extraction.

Ostensibly you would want to isolate the column and protect the pump from any liquid discharge on the intake side.

Running the gas in a circle through the column briefly should heat it up enough to vaporize the LPG present, at which point you can divert the pump discharge back to the recovery tank.

 

[Gtir]

I can't get the butane out of this thing she is too big... even w co2 or nitrogen the material still flashes, thinking off running an air compressor through it for 20 minutes or so to get this deep ice cold tane out... any thoughts on that ?

 

[Gray Wolf]

I can't get the butane out of this thing she is too big... even w co2 or nitrogen the material still flashes, thinking off running an air compressor through it for 20 minutes or so to get this deep ice cold tane out... any thoughts on that ?

That would probably do it as long as you were mindful of the exhaust and ignition sources. N2 would be better, but that would be an expensive solution.

Do you have spare columns, so you could let the spent one sit and cook awhile?

 

[Gtir]

I think that's where I'm headed, they are selling these units for $15,000 though... I'll pay that price to unbolt one triclamp instead of 20+

 

[Gtir]

Ran a compressor through it for 30 minutes... still flashed! Wow this is some stubborn tane!

 

[Old Gold]

Heat + vacuum. Warm the column, and draw vapors off the top....The same way you could recover your collection pot down to a full vacuum.... And backfill with N2 before opening up. See if that works?

How big is the column?

 

[Gtir]

This column is quite large, maybe a foot in diameter it is jacketed and heated, recovering w he gc5000 Precision's huge recovery pump

https://www.purgelabs.com/product-page/atlas-30lb

Even if I bring it down to -15 using the recovery pumpandthenswnd large amounts of co2, nitrogen, or compressed air, it still is highly flammable and cold in the middle when I remove the material!

 

[Old Gold]

f*ck that company, very unsafe . . . .

But you are bringing it down to -15" Hg at what temperature?

Maybe send the nitrogen gas through a hot water heat exchanger (coil in a bath is fine), as to warm it up and dry from the inside.

 

[Gray Wolf]

f*ck that company, very unsafe . . . .

But you are bringing it down to -15" Hg at what temperature?

Maybe send the nitrogen gas through a hot water heat exchanger (coil in a bath is fine), as to warm it up and dry from the inside.

There in lies the problem of course. Boiling it at -15" Hg creates refrigeration, which lowers the core temperature even lower.