Just picked up an 8oz. open CO2 extraction machine (up to 4000psi) to play around with ! There seems to be little information available regarding CO2 extraction on here so I'd like to dedicate this thread to document and discuss the processes to achieve various forms of extract.
My goal with this unit is mainly to create a runny terpene rich oil that will work well in e-pens with little to no dilution, but will also experiment with shatter and wax.
At room temperature, when filled, the psi reads ~1200psi. The suggested psi to start with from the instructions that came with the machine is 1800psi. I've read that good terpene retention can be had at ~850psi. I plan to initially test the unit with runs from 850-1800psi to see how effective the yields will be before adventuring up to ~3800psi.
I'm not sure exactly how much CO2 will be required, but will document how many pounds were used for each extraction and at what psi.
Per instructions, the CO2 tank can be heated up to 120F in a water bath to obtain 1800psi, then heat is added to the extraction chamber if a higher psi is required.
As expected, the machine will only be ran in a well ventilated/open environment.