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Passive Butane Extractor and Reclaimer

Gray Wolf

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What if you want to make your own BHO and reclaim your butane, but don't have the money to assemble a Skunk Pharm Terpenator?

What if you have lots of time, but limited financial resources?

A simple system like the Tamisium Essential Oils Extractor comes to mind, but while of quality design and manufacture, they certainly aren't cheap.

I started looking at passive butane recovery, which simply requires that the extraction pot be in hot water, and the recovery pot in an ice bath. I even designed a simple minded system from scratch, so as to get the price down, but alas, local machine shop costs still made it expensive and outside the resources of most maw and pa patients on fixed income.

Hee, hee, hee, a serendipitous order mistake at Glacier tank almost gave me a wet leg, because I had previously asked for 6" diameter sanitary spools, and was told that they were not available.

The spools are 12" long, so one is enough material to make the two tanks required, simply by cutting them in two pieces and welding on new bottoms.

I also grabbed two end plates, and tri-clamps, so that the two tanks will have tops, as well as a 1 1/2" tri-clamp ferrule, and a 1 1/2" tri-clamp to 1/4" female NPT adapter, plus the two 1 1/2" tri-clamps.

I grabbed a 1 1/2" spool 6" long for the column, which should about an ounce of dried prime bud, that has been sized and the sticks removed, by passing it through a 10 mesh sieve.

I picked up three 1/4" stainless ball valves at Paramount Supply, along with two 1/4" NPT 304 stainless half couplings.

For bottoms to the tanks, I ordered 1/2" X 6.5" diameter 304 blanks laser cut from plate, and dropped the parts off at a retired friends machine shop to have them machined to shape, as well as mill the holes in the 6" end plates for the 1 1/2" ferrule and the two 1/4" half couplings.

Pictures when those return, but until then, here is my simple minded conceptual:

Taken from:http://skunkpharmresearch.com/passive-butane-extractor-and-reclaimer/
 

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krunchbubble

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THIS is sick!!!

Are you going to fix the problem that the Tamisium had, with to small of a hole in one of the tanks?
 

Gray Wolf

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THIS is sick!!!

Are you going to fix the problem that the Tamisium had, with to small of a hole in one of the tanks?

6" Opening and 5" deep. Hee, hee, hee.............................
 

Gray Wolf

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Thanks for the good thoughts ya'll! Here is the parts list:
 

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Gray Wolf

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Lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I picked up the parts for the new passive butane recovery system from the machine shop today and will drop them off at the welders tomorrow.

Couldn't resist mocking up some shots of the components stuck together, before actual welding. As you can see from the pictures, the tanks are both made from the same 6" X 12" sanitary spool, which I scored from Glacier Tank. I had them cut into two pieces, to make the wrappers and triclamp closures for both tanks.

The bottoms were laser cut from 1/2" 304SS By BBC Steel in Canby, and were machined by Moody Machining in Milwaukie. Besides a clean up cut on all exposed surfaces, the bottoms were grooved to accept the tank wrappers.

The collection tank lid has two holes cut in it, to receive a 1/4" 304SS half coupling and a 1 1/2" Triclamp weld coupling. The butane recovery tank lid was machined to receive a 1/4" 304SS half coupling.

The rest are all screw together parts! Hee, hee, hee....................

More after welding and a test run!
 

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SneakySneaky

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Nice, that machine shop made my custom 18" hemostats that I use for feeding my larger venomous snakes. That contraption looks awesone!!! Feel free to come to my house and put my freezer of trim in that thing, jk but seriously..... Lol
 

Gray Wolf

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Lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu!!!!!!!!!! Hee, hee, hee, the welded parts are back and Gibson aerospace welding did a gorgeous job as usual!

Once a weld engineer for a metal fabrication company, I was certified as a ASTME Section IX boiler code welder, but with a cataract on one eye, I have no fine depth perception, and eschew welding until I get it fixed.

The collection tank is welded inside and outside, so there are no internal seams or cracks, but the butane recovery tank is welded only on the outside. None of the other welds actually required outside welds, but we welded both sides, to give them a more finished appearance.

Even though Gibson's is not certified to Section IX boiler code, he is certified to numerous aerospace welding specifications that are as restrictive, or more so, and one of the best TIG welders that I met in my professional career. He sure does purdy work too!

He did note that the material welded exceedingly clean and was a pleasure using 309SS wire, to join the two 304 SS components. Lookee at the pictures:

I bolted it all together and will boil the system in hot water and detergent today, to get it ready for when the backordered 6" clamp arrives, so I can try it out. Probably play with the extractor half using a pump until then, snicker, snark, snort.............
 

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abellguy

Member
That looks really nice GW, especially the screen on the material tube! That definitely takes care of the problem with the small holes on the tami :rasta:
 

Gray Wolf

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That looks really nice GW, especially the screen on the material tube! That definitely takes care of the problem with the small holes on the tami :rasta:

Yeah, those did workout slick. The screen and the santitary gaskets are made into one piece and available in various materials. I use Buna N or Viton for this application.

I think the best part, outside the price, is that it is easier to clean the oil out of than the Tami.
 

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This is great. Since I'm capable of doing my own tig work it really makes this a pretty reasonable project. Is there a reason not to make the material tube hold more?
 
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