~Amsterdam 2005: Hit the Joint or Hit the Road!

[Guest]

Good here,too,Smokey,always busy....
Hopefully even busier this week,lotsa' new things in the pipe,so to speak....

 

[Guest]

Sorry,that info's Private.
I didn't bring it WITH me,that's just not sane :wink:

 

[Chamba]

Rezdog - who taught you the butane method?

 

[Guest]

Happy to give credit where it's due :smile:
I learned about it initially,at erowid,in an older article....
Link:http://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabis/cannabis_info13.shtml

Hash Honey Oil
The Boffo Butane-PVC Hash Oil Extractor

Trash leaf to honey oil in minutes
by Indra - 5/1/99


For those of us who never quite got over the loss when fine-quality hash oil disappeared from the market, and for cannabis connoisseurs of all ages everywhere, it would be my honor to write up what has to be the easiest, highest-yielding and most selective cannabis oil extraction method available to date.

This method has its basis in a fascinating industrial extraction method known as Supercritical Fluid Extraction. It uses totally over-the-counter butane gas (8 oz can, camping supply store, ~US$4.50) as the extraction solvent, and requires nothing even remotely suspicious or difficult to purchase. The only other thing needed is about $2.00 worth of PVC pipe: a section 1.5 (one and a half) feet long and 1 & 3/4" diameter (outer diameter I believe), and two end caps. Threaded PVC is not necessary.

For reasons not yet clear to those of us investigating these things "unofficially," butane (and perhaps other gas/solvents with similar ultra-low-boiling properties) selectively solvate the desirable fraction(s) of cannabis oils, pulling out only a beautiful amber "honey oil" and leaving the undesirable vegetative oils, waxes, chlorophyll, etc. behind in the plant matter. Even unsmokable shade leaves produce a wonderfully clean and potent gold oil with this method. I have every reason to suspect that this would work splendidly to extract a super-strong and tasty oil from gross, unpalatable "schwag" commercial pot too, and of course, the better grade of herb you put it in, the better the resulting oil.

Note that the amount of honey oil resulting is very low. Cannabis leaf and bud varies in THC content from 0.5% to over 10% for extremely high potency bud, with the average for normal quality material in the 1-3% range. With a perfect extraction (this method will not approach 100%), that would mean less than a gram of oil from each ounce of leaf and between 1 and 3 grams of oil from each ounce of high-potency bud. The primary use for this technique is to render leaf into a form more appropriate for medical use by removing other tars and ash-producing material from the psychoactive principals.

METHOD:

1. In one of the PVC end caps, drill a single small hole in the center. This hole should be correctly sized to snugly receive the little outlet nozzle of your butane can.
2. In the other end cap, drill a group of 5 or 6 small holes clustered in the center (like a pepper shaker).
3. After putting a piece of paper towel or coffee filter inside it for filtration, put the end cap with several holes on one end of the pipe. Push it on there real tight. This is the bottom.
4. Fill the pipe up with plant matter that has been pulverized into a coarse powder. You want it filled, but not packed down. (Full pipe estimated at 1.5 oz capacity, but this is a guess. I did not weigh it.)
5. Place the top end cap on the pipe. Again, push it on as securely as you can by hand.
6. Find a location outdoors with a decent breeze. You want these butane fumes to be quickly carried away. Seriously.
1. Mount the pipe (single hole-side up) over a vessel that can hold 300mL+. Beakers are perfect. A lab stand and clamp are ideal for the mounting, but a regular shop clamp or anything that can hold it sturdily is fine. (Avoid metal if you can, to reduce the chance of sparks.) Position the bottom end of the pipe immediately over (1-2") the receiving vessel to eliminate splatter loss.
7. Turn the butane gas can upside down and dispense the gas into the pipe via the single top hole. A whole 8-oz can takes about 10-12 seconds to evacuate. Be brave, swift, and careful. A spark at this moment would spell disaster since you have basically created an incendiary explosive device that is leaking.
8. When you've exhausted the can into the pipe, back off to a nice distance and let it do its thing.

The butane moves down the pipe, extracting the cannabis as it goes. When it gets to the bottom (~30 seconds after dispensing), it begins to drain into the receiving vessel. Notice the pale, glowing yellow-green-gold hue of the extract. It is obvious no chlorophyll was pulled out of the herb.

Over approximately five to eight minutes, the butane extract will finish draining from the pipe to the receiving vessel. Maintain caution with the pipe, however, since there is a lot of residual butane still evaporating from within the pipe (notice the stream of fumes coming from the top hole). When it slows down to a drop every few seconds, you can tap on the top hole with your finger and it will help push the last of the liquid butane out (or one can gently blow into the top hole to do the same thing). Remember, NO SMOKING, unless you wish to immolate yourself in grand fashion.

Being very low-boiling and volatile, the collected butane will likely begin boiling at ambient temperature. The receiving vessel will gradually frost up as the butane cools it down, slowing down its rate of evaporation, but you can speed this up again simply by holding it in your hands. A better way is to set it in a saucepan containing a little bit of warm water. Watch the butane start bubbling madly with the increase in temperature and marvel at its low boiling point. Again, be doing this outdoors with a nice breeze! It takes about 20 minutes or so to allow the butane to evaporate, or quicker if you help it along. You are left with a deep amber, almost orange oil of amazing purity.

The best way to collect and store the oil is probably to let all of the butane evaporate off and then redissolve the oil in some anhydrous or high-% alcohol, and then pour this into a vial and let it sit out for a day or two to allow the alcohol to evaporate. Trying to transfer the oil into a small container while it is still solvated by the butane is too risky. I learned the hard way about this, thanks to the volatile temperament of butane. I had filled a vial almost all the way to the top and was preparing to drop those last couple drops in, so that cleverly, I could let the last of the butane evaporate from the vial and the oil would all be neatly contained. But when the last drop hit the mother lode in the vial, it changed the temperature of the solution in the vial upward by a hair and it all "superboiled" out of the vial and onto my fingers, which of course startled me and caused me to drop the vial. I suggest dissolving it in alcohol as I mentioned above. If you can get pure or 99% isopropanol (isopropyl), use it, because THC's photosensitivity reportedly does not occur in isopropanol.

The final product is a deep yellow-amber oil of the highest quality, incredibly pure and potent. I remember well some of the prime "honey oil" hash oils that hit the market in the late 1970s, and this stuff stands up to (if not exceeds) any of them. It's amazing how this method extracts only the good fraction and leaves the junk in the weed. But that's exactly what it does. Note also that this oil has a somewhat higher melt/vaporization point than traditional hash oils; the traditional dispensing method (dipping a needle or paper clip in, getting some goop on the end, and warming it with a flame to get it to drip off into your bowl) still works with this stuff, but it seems you have to be more careful with it because it doesn't heat to liquid state as quickly or in the same manner, and it can more easily be allowed to burn up on your needle. So be careful.

Those who prefer a tincture-like preparation can of course thin the product a little with a bit of warm high-percentage alcohol like Everclear or 90-whatever-% isopropyl, then drop it onto buds or let a joint absorb some, then let the alcohol evaporate. I also observed that unlike hash oil derived from traditional methods, this product is not immediately soluble in room-temp alcohol; it needed to be warmed before it dissolved fully.

So there it is. Spread the word far and wide: honey oil is BACK!

[Erowid Note: Some concern has been expressed about the possibility of a PVC residue in the final product. This has not been verified, but a possible solution would be to use steel instead. Some reliable chemists have stated that PVC should be resistant to butane, but a preliminary flush of the PVC to remove any residue left from production might be warranted.
by Anonymous

I got into it,and refined the process a bit,along with my pal from Overgrow,Phife.

That's how my experience began.

I spoke to Indra early-on,when we were still in the research stages,and one of the things we did was get rid of pvc as a medium,and use stainless instead....
Flow restrictions,max yield,we really got into it-and the results clearly show that now we've got it down to a science.

Oil's not for lightweights,and it's not to be taken lightly,ever.
It's 'drug cannabis' IF there is such a thing,and needs to be treated with the respecxt it deserves.
Ie. No driving,playing with forklifts,firearms,etc.

Cheers!

 

[Guest]

damn it, I've been hunting around erowid for 2 months and never saw that info, don't know how I missed it. Thanx Rez.

 

[baccas125]

lets go back to Nol's

lets go back to Nol's

I love Nol's place!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[mosca negra]

Hey Phat-- you can pick up the larger butane cans in most pharmacys and walmarts by the lighters.

Rez-- excellent thread and most impressed by your ECSD. HHO is fun to make-- just have to make sure you're sober, outside with plenty of air circulation, and no one around you is hitting a bowl! Mosca

 

[Guest]

What is it that you have to lose by sharing that info with me?

Its not like im asking you where you live or something.

Just because im not a friend of yours, doesnt mean I dont deserve to be able to bring some stuff back home with me.

IMHO, this info should be shared so anyone who goes somewhere, should be able to get some stuff back home with them.

Why the heck not?

The answer is simple.

I don't know you.

Actually,at ALL.
(You just 'popped up' with a specific question regarding potentially illegal importation of controlled substances-you wonder WHY I'm not answering?)

and...

IF I was stupid enough to post and explain The Method,then it's Highly Likely that the Powers-that-Be would start looking for what is,as of now,an airtight dilly.
One fuckup,and I and my friends won't have this around

to remind us of our trips next time,and that'd be a shame.

It's avoidable,and I'm choosing to avoid it.

Simple,again.



Hint:
Be inventive,let others work for you. :wink:

That's ALL I'm saying.

.

 

[Gypsy Nirvana]

;Hint:'be inventive....let others work for you'....lol

;Hint:'be inventive....let others work for you'....lol

....well.....what ya do is just wander into the heavy red illuminated area of town, walk into a place with a name like 'Sex Paradijs' and purchase a prosthetic made out of some shiney-smooth-flexible material......pack it and stash it somewhere intimate either in your girlfriend (which is preferable)..... or if you are really brave kiester it up your own jax..........This method can only be found if one is CAVITY SEARCHED!!....Ekkk!...(run for the hills!)

....If you dont want to go thru all that blood, sweat, pain, drama and tears then just post it to yourself in a pair of cloggs.........cheese anyone?.......Wenslydale?.....Red Leicester?........Patagonian Beaver Cheese?

 

[gaiusmarius]

great thread, realy brings back the memories.

i love that trichome collection. now thats what you call souveniers what else to bring from amsterdam eh?

about geting some smokeables home. the best thing is to think of some cover item that you can hide it in to send. basicly sending is quite good as they have so many packages they can't check them all. you have to chose, all in one or devide it up. you can also stick it up where the sun don't shine. normaly speaking even if they search your bags and pockets they will not search your place where the sun don't shine lol. but still best to send it nowadays. i sent my cup entry triple vacume packed with a blank cd taped to each side in a bubble envelope. but it would be better to realy hide it inside the package too. you can holow out a big fat candle and realy wrap you ganja well, i mean realy well with lots of duct tape and then fill up the space with wax until the candel is filled. then you make a nice even print in the slightly warm wax at the bottom of your candel by pressing it against something with an even patern like a carper or what ever. if your careful your candel will look like new. the best is to think of something yourself.

peace
gm

 

[Harry Gypsna]

Sweet hash collection rez, that locely soft gooey black looks great, i remember that was what the stuff i used to smoke when my 1st teenage Gf used to steal it from her mom and dads stash, lol....mmmmmmm squdgey.....id love to be abl;e to make my hash like that.
looks like a great time was had by all.......

 

[Guest]

I forgot something....

 

[trichomefarmer]

hmmmm very yummy

 

[3legdog]

Nice read & pics' Rez. I also toured with the boys' in the 80s & 90s & no longer partake in the trippies either.

Congrats on placing with your Sour D. a fine looking smoke it has always been. Hope to see ya next year & finally be a part of this wonderful gathering. Peace out 3legs