Inexpensive, Wet/Dry, Veg/Flower, 8-Minute CBD Test You Can Do At Home!

[clearheaded]

muriatic acid IS HCL so its not a substitution. muriatic/hcl is dangerous so be very careful with concentrated acids, especially with strong bases. keep aluminum away!

Also at least around me DRANO etc often has alot of additives including dies metals etc so cant be used. If you can get pure white "drano" product then thats ok, but I think because of meth they made changes to the formula in many areas.

please dont attempt if you dont have basic knowledge of chemistry safety cover those eyes and hands! heat created by acids bases can cause sealed containers to spray or explode causing injury from chemical burns or heat burns or from glass. reactions and accidents happen fast/instantly, strong acids turn flesh into carbon!

 

[frostqueen]

Great information! I'm breeding Charlotte's Web with AC/DC and Harle-Tsu next and this will come in very handy for selecting offspring.

I just want to clarify something: your amounts say '35mg dried material', but it looks like you have 350mg (.35g) of material in your vials... 1000mg being 1 gram. Are we talking .35 gram here?

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

The lye (100% sodium hydroxide, I've listed 2 brands which have zero additives) is 350mg, the cannabis sample in the photo is 35mg, or on the digi scale .035 on the g setting.

The amounts I've listed are completely safe, as long as you have water to rinse spills with. The 1 dram vial makes things really simple and easy to work with.

As for the charcoal, the granules are still showing the fastest reaction time. Coming up with the exact details shouldn't take much longer and, for now, they're plenty accurate enough for an individual. Should the accuracy reach a color chart status for %'s, I'll be super happy.

Perhaps a work up on the procedures to make standardized extracts for testing would help? How does one make a standardized extract solution from cannabis? One drop from one is equal to the drop from another? Would a standardized test solution do the trick at this point?

 

[Ringodoggie]

I have a ton of questions about the THC test posted in that other thread but I don't think the OP wants his thread to become a science lesson.

I started messing with that a little tonight and all kinds of questions came up. I have everything but the vanillin. I tried and artificial vanilla flavoring made from vanillin but I got zero results so far.

I have the denatured alcohol and the muriatic acid but I won't have the pure vanillin until Friday.

Still, even as I was doing the extraction, the instructions call for 0.5 grams of pot added to 5 grams of alcohol. WTF!! Grams? Of alcohol? How about milliliters. LOL Best I could figure 5 grams of alcohol is about 12 ml but I there are a number of questions like this. And, accurate quantities in these tests are pretty important.

I like combining both methods, As someone said, there's more than one way to skin a cat. One method for extraction says let the alcohol and pot sit for 1/2 hour. The other says, shake for 2 minutes. I'm sure both do about the same thing. One retained the sample. One used the extract.

Once the bugs are worked out and the details are ironed out, I think this is going to provide a nice little home test for THC and CBD for home growers. Not a lab test. But a great ruler with which to measure.

 

[bigbadbiddy]

Actually listing in different units is misleading and can lead to inaccurate results.

If you talk to wine someliers, people who know their stuff with wine, they will often talk about "grams" instead of ml/l.

Reason being that speaking in ml/l only gives information about the volume while speaking in grams also gives information about the liquid itself, mainly its density.

If you want to be exact, it is usually advisable to measure everything in weight.

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

I'm so slammed with things which need done it's ridiculous. I'm definitely working on this some more when I get the chance. You meet the craziest people in life, and usually you can walk away from them. Not so easy this time, lol!

Anyway, the THC test has me very interested as well. I definitely don't like the half gram sample idea though. That's the first thing I want to focus on. lol

As long as we nail down the way to consistently get an 8 minute result time, with both wet and dry samples, I'm good with the CBD test. The color chart would be great, yet being able to reliably compare my own plants is still huge.

 

[Ringodoggie]

The half gram sample is also misleading. Once you soak that 1/2 gram sample in alcohol, that is enough for a zillion tests. If 5 grams of alcohol is approximately 12 ml and you only use 3 drops of the 12 ml for each test, how long will it last?

Again.... how much is 3 drops? 3 drops from a pipette is different than 3 drops from my 1 ounce dropper where each drop is about1 ml. LOL

One thing I do remember reading in one of the old 1040's patents is that the THC test won't work unless the pot is decarb'd. I'll try to find that reference but meanwhile, I decarb'd a quarter ounce of assorted flavors so I can test with decarb'd pot.

The CBD test seems to work fine with fresh, dried and decarb'd.

 

[Ringodoggie]

I have run a dozen of the THC tests and I'm coming up zero every time.

The only variable I have loose is the vanillin.

I am using denatured alcohol. That should be fine in lieu of ethenol. It's just ethenol and methanol (I think).

And, as ch pointed out, the Muriatic acid is the same as the hydrochloric. If it's the same, why do they call it muriatic? Because it's a weaker solution? Brand name?

I am waiting for usp 98% vanillin to arrive this week https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vanillin-9...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
but meanwhile I went to the grocery store and got some artificial vanilla flavoring. The ingredients are listed as water, alcohol (13%) and vanillin. It is a clear liquid.

I tried this vanillin at varying concentrations with the alcohol as well as straight out of the bottle.

I get zero color change. Since the other stuff is pretty well in line I believe the vanillin is my culprit.

I have also tried varying amounts of everything else and still don't seem to get anything.

I am starting with a 1 month cured, very frosty pot. Decarb for 40m at 240F. I put .5 grams in 12 ml denatured alcohol and I draw my samples from that.

Hopefully, the vanillin will bring about better results.

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

I don't want to do a zillion tests, of only one plant. lol I want to use a small sized sample for economic reasons, from many different plants. THC instructions did say 95% or higher concentration of alcohol/ethanol, or it wouldn't work right.

No idea on the Muriatic/Hcl thing, but they are indeed the same. Be VERY careful with that stuff, and remember to keep all containers closed tightly. The fumes, as you can imagine, are highly corrosive Hcl fumes. lol

 

[Mystic Funk]

I have a ton of questions about the THC test posted in that other thread but I don't think the OP wants his thread to become a science lesson.

I started messing with that a little tonight and all kinds of questions came up. I have everything but the vanillin. I tried and artificial vanilla flavoring made from vanillin but I got zero results so far.

I have the denatured alcohol and the muriatic acid but I won't have the pure vanillin until Friday.

Still, even as I was doing the extraction, the instructions call for 0.5 grams of pot added to 5 grams of alcohol. WTF!! Grams? Of alcohol? How about milliliters. LOL Best I could figure 5 grams of alcohol is about 12 ml but I there are a number of questions like this. And, accurate quantities in these tests are pretty important.

I like combining both methods, As someone said, there's more than one way to skin a cat. One method for extraction says let the alcohol and pot sit for 1/2 hour. The other says, shake for 2 minutes. I'm sure both do about the same thing. One retained the sample. One used the extract.

Once the bugs are worked out and the details are ironed out, I think this is going to provide a nice little home test for THC and CBD for home growers. Not a lab test. But a great ruler with which to measure.

the reason i use weight with the ingredients is due to how accurate a digital scale is.... let me explain: unless you have a super accurate measuring devise that can measure down to one thousandths of a ml then use that, but if you don't like most people, you can buy a cheap digital scale that WILL measure down to a thousandth. in other words, you CAN clearly see ONE drop of alcohol on a scale and you CAN'T in a measuring devise of your choosing.... get what i'm saying???
also Bigbadbiddy is right on too with what he said below.

Actually listing in different units is misleading and can lead to inaccurate results.

If you talk to wine someliers, people who know their stuff with wine, they will often talk about "grams" instead of ml/l.

Reason being that speaking in ml/l only gives information about the volume while speaking in grams also gives information about the liquid itself, mainly its density.

If you want to be exact, it is usually advisable to measure everything in weight.

peace!
-mystic

 

[Mystic Funk]

The half gram sample is also misleading. Once you soak that 1/2 gram sample in alcohol, that is enough for a zillion tests. If 5 grams of alcohol is approximately 12 ml and you only use 3 drops of the 12 ml for each test, how long will it last?

Again.... how much is 3 drops? 3 drops from a pipette is different than 3 drops from my 1 ounce dropper where each drop is about1 ml. LOL

One thing I do remember reading in one of the old 1040's patents is that the THC test won't work unless the pot is decarb'd. I'll try to find that reference but meanwhile, I decarb'd a quarter ounce of assorted flavors so I can test with decarb'd pot.

The CBD test seems to work fine with fresh, dried and decarb'd.

it doesn't matter what size dropper you use as long as its the SAME dropper for each ingredient... that way you'll end up with the SAME ratio in each test. again, it doesn't matter. you could scale it up to 1ml or a gallon as long as you use the same measuring devise.


also, i have found if you use less than a half gram which is not even a bowl pack in my book, the test side by side are skewed due to the fact that on a given plant part, cannabinoids vary on the plant and you could get a high or low reading compared to the bud being tested next to it. in other words, using a slightly larger sample size, makes the test that much more accurate.... isn't that what we want???



peace!
-mystic

 

[Ringodoggie]

Dude.... you have an answer for everything. And, after you answer, it all seems to make sense. LOL

Thanks for the patience and thanks for the dumbed down explanations for me.

 

[Gr33nSanta]

might be a very stupid question, can I do the math and simply add water to my 91% isopropyl acohol to make it 50% for the third step? Because I think I have all the ingredients at home, except the vial, also none of my scale are very accurate.

I do have some high CBD cultivars that were already tested in lab so I could play around.

This could be a game changer for me, now you say it can be done with vegging plants as well? WOW! simply use fan leaves? does the plant have to be somewhat mature?

Thanks so much, great great thread.

 

[Gr33nSanta]

another stupid question, is old carbon from carbon filter still considered activated?

 

[Gr33nSanta]

it doesn't matter what size dropper you use as long as its the SAME dropper for each ingredient... that way you'll end up with the SAME ratio in each test. again, it doesn't matter. you could scale it up to 1ml or a gallon as long as you use the same measuring devise.


also, i have found if you use less than a half gram which is not even a bowl pack in my book, the test side by side are skewed due to the fact that on a given plant part, cannabinoids vary on the plant and you could get a high or low reading compared to the bud being tested next to it. in other words, using a slightly larger sample size, makes the test that much more accurate.... isn't that what we want???
peace!
-mystic

since its relatively cheap, say I want to re-run some samples or get a more accurate idea, I could simply x10 the recipe, use more than vial something like a small mason jar?

 

[Mystic Funk]

Dude.... you have an answer for everything. And, after you answer, it all seems to make sense. LOL

Thanks for the patience and thanks for the dumbed down explanations for me.

no problem man!
also, i think you mentioned mixing and matching mine and Doug's recipes together if that's what you meant??? if so please don't do that because, one it won't work and i've spent countless hours getting everything right and two if you mix chemicals together and don't know the outcome beforehand it might go badly. example: don't try and put a piece of charcoal in the acid base test or it will bubble over and could burn you due to the fact that the charcoal is alkaline and and the hydrochloric acid is well.... acidic!..... it's like baking soda and vinegar times ten!

all i can say about mine test is, just follow the instructions to the letter and don't substitute any ingredient for another trying to save money because everything in the test is already as cheap and simple as it can be to work right.


Sorry Doug for clogging up your thread but i felt it necessary to comment back before Ringo blew himself and others up with his backyard chem set. hehehe!
just kidding Ringo...

1. Not sure if he means sodium hydroxide, instead of potassium hydroxide. He mentions lye, yet all the lye I've found is sodium hydroxide.
2. No mention of using activated carbon to speed up the reaction, leaving it a "wait and see" type test.

Almost the same info clearheaded posted in the original thread I read. The thread which started this journey to create a quicker and more accurate test.

So yeah, sort of...

@Douglas
to answer you questions or comment rather... i call for using (potassium hydroxide) or (pure Lye) or (potash Lye) in my recipe and not (sodium hydroxide) or (salt Lye) because it is cut with salts for making hard soaps and things. the reason behind this is, i wanted to use the most pure ingredients as possible to get the most accurate home test as possible...
so anyway, sodium hydroxide IS potassium hydroxide just without added salts.

also with my test the color change happens in a few minutes just like yours but some take a little added time to reach full color, that's why i say to wait up to a half hour, plus it gives me time to go smoke a fatty and get the others ready for the next round...

BTW. great thread man and good luck with your finding!



peace!
-mystic

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

Greatly appreciate any safety advice! Thanks for dropping some info in here, it all helps us get done what we need to get done. The clarifications are really appreciated.

 

[Mystic Funk]

since its relatively cheap, say I want to re-run some samples or get a more accurate idea, I could simply x10 the recipe, use more than vial something like a small mason jar?

i'm not sure what your trying to ask???
you want to increase the concentrations by 10x or you want to test with a large sample in a mason jar size test???



peace!
-mystic

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

Yes, you can multiply everything by 10 or another number and store it in a larger container.

 

[Ringodoggie]

@Douglas
to answer you questions or comment rather... i call for using (potassium hydroxide) or (pure Lye) or (potash Lye) in my recipe and not (sodium hydroxide) or (salt Lye) because it is cut with salts for making hard soaps and things. the reason behind this is, i wanted to use the most pure ingredients as possible to get the most accurate home test as possible...
so anyway, sodium hydroxide IS potassium hydroxide just without added salts.


Sorry Doug for clogging up your thread but i felt it necessary to comment back before Ringo blew himself and others up with his backyard chem set. hehehe!

just kidding Ringo...

Couple things...... getting ready to order some KOH. It is available in flakes and beads. Would you recommend one form over the other? The NaOH I have is beads and it's very convenient to work with in these tiny quantities. The 'beads' are very small. More like round grains of salt.

Getting ready to order so I can have both and I was just wondering if flakes are better or worse than beads.

And, another thing Mr. Funk. Don't underestimate the knowledge we little people have. At 65 years old, I know what to mix and what not to mix........

You can mix whiskey and beer.

But, you can't mix whiskey and wine.

You can mix beer and wine but you have to drink the beer first (kind of like acid and water).

See. I know what to mix and what not to mix.

LMAO

As always, thanks to both the thread leaders for all your sharing.