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I use those PTC heaters in my setup. I don't know why people have not caught on to those yet. Way cheaper than a hair press and they work 10x better. I use the 110volt model and just plug them into a power strip. In fact, the PTC ceramic heaters are exactly what is used in the hair straighteners. Why buy all the plastic just to remove it or break it. The PTC heaters are a couple dollars each. SF mentioned that they didn't work well for large scale production but for us little 1 gram pressers, they are great. And... you can choose your own size and type of material to use as plates. I currently use 5"x5"x.25" aluminum but I am experimenting with different materials.
I really like them. Very versatile.
EDIT:
Has anyone considered mold heaters?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/High-densit...156?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item233b07206c
I think these are similar to the ceramic heaters except they are round. Which really gives me a boner because you can drill a 3/8" hole in whatever plate or mold you want to use and instantly have heated plates. Pretty sweet. I am going to order a few. I'll let you all know how they work out.
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thanks for the response. just wondering if you have a good source for different sized ptc heaters? DHgate doesn't seem to have too much in the way of selection. How easy is the temperature to control on these?
going to try out a new clamp style in the coming days. I'll let you guys know how it turns out.
the first hair straightener i mangled has the perfect size pads for these clamps. I just need to rewire a capacitor off one of the pads and rewire the pads with new wires for easier use. Might drill a hole and add a pry bar to the clamp handle to get the proper 1500pounds of pressure if I cant muster it by hand which seems to be the case from actual tests averaging about 900+- pounds with hand tightening.
Hopefully the clamp is able to handle a proper 1500pounds of pressure like advertised. From personal use of these clamps for work I think they will be great for our use here as the pads are very well aligned and the travel of the clamp while twisting the handle is about 3/16" per rotation so it will be easy to tighten down quickly or at a more moderate speed gradually applying the pressure to the material being pressed.
Ebay, Ebay, Ebay. LOL
I get them from China sellers and the are real cheap. Watch for voltage. Some are 220v. Some are 110. Others are 12 and 24.
I use the 110v versions.
I have not needed to control mine yet. They seem to maintain a pretty constant 220F - 240F in my setup, which is what I have always used. I have not really pressed enough to experiment with different temps yet. Mostly been experimenting with technique. When I start experimenting with different temps, I'll probably copy the circuit the hair presses use. They don't actually have a thermostat or anything that measures the temperature. The circuit simply has a step down device and the temperatures are calculated, not actual. Range is probably determined by the pull down resistor. TBH, I have not looked that closely at it yet.
I tried the silicone (Oil Slick) pads tonight and was very disappointed at the initial results. I'll give it another try later.
I did a different strain (Delicious Seeds Critical 2.0+) and got a very golden, almost bronze or copper rosin. Super tasty. It seems color and taste are very strain dependent. Consistency still seems to be duration (and temp) based. I hope the big guys figure out how to get away from this parchment, because collection is a pain in the ass. And, I am definitely loosing something to the paper. I think I am using too much pressure. I am going to back off next run and see if collection is any easier.
I did 1 press per bud. Buds ranging from .5 to 1.0 gram. Temp about 220 -240F and duration was about a full minute. Longer than I usually go. I pressed 10 grams and got about 1 gram back. 10% sux but it seems to be my regular return lately. I need to tweak my setup.
I'll post a pic later.
EDIT: Here are a couple pics. Smoked a bunch of this and it is super tasty. I was comparing it to the Landrace Afghan rosin and it is totally different in taste and color and smell. Yet, both were pressed the same way with the same setup.
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GanjaPharma
Member
Remember to Jack up the temps when using the slick pads. Buffers the heat a shit load more than parchment.
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Thanks for the info. Really nice looking presses by the way.
As for the silicone pads. I am just wondering what you are using for pressing? I am using one of the irwin quick grips atm but am stepping up to more pressure to see if it helps with 4 layers of silicone. with the 4 layers of silicone on the irwin I had to keep the handle compressed to get max pressure, maybe that will help you out if you are using an hmk style press? My temps were around 220 or so on the first silicone layer right on the heating pads. I was more surprised by the light color produced by pressing with more pads. Did your yields go down with the silicone? I found they stayed a little bit higher than with the parchment, but I was doing 2 full presses on the nugs at the time.
hashmasta:
Fresh frozen is when I press fresh frozen hash..
Fresh off the plant, is take bud from a droopy plant that is just dripping in resin, roll into snake....then press slowly (someone above mentioned this also, tho I don't have to press, then re-press mine.
I will say it is the tastiest extract I have made to date...
Fresh frozen is when I press fresh frozen hash..
Fresh off the plant, is take bud from a droopy plant that is just dripping in resin, roll into snake....then press slowly (someone above mentioned this also, tho I don't have to press, then re-press mine.
I will say it is the tastiest extract I have made to date...
GanjaPharma
Member
Silicone pads also spread the pressure some...would not use more than 2, i doubt much heat will get through.
here is an irwin clamp in action (directional PTFE squish)
here it is again....this time with fresh bud just harvested.
every time i try a fresh bud i get hardly anything, but i agree, the flavors and smells are amazingly good. need a different type of resiny bud i guess.
gangapharmer:
Nice fresh press, def has more moisture in the Rosin from the fresh bud, but the flavors can be so much more intense..
Nice fresh press, def has more moisture in the Rosin from the fresh bud, but the flavors can be so much more intense..
am i maybe going too low temperature maybe? tried again and didnt get anything pretty much nothing. would have got a couple decent dabs from the same stuff if it was dried out though. i even tried pre-ringing the bud out in parchment, got a lot of green water out, but the press was still mainly more water. second press as well, by then a tiny bit of green stain was sticking on the paper. i have never got more than a tiny tiny bit from fresh presses. Since i tried it just now again and it sucks i wont waste any more buds doing it, unless its maybe like i said, too low temp?
H
Hash-Head
Those presses look great. I have been pressing using my body weight for 5-10 seconds. Getting around 3 presses before the quality diminishes. Heat at 130c or 270f
Northern Lights 5
Northern Lights 5
I get off on saving people money and spreading the knowledge.
Ok, prove it! What are some of the faults in what I have claimed? Would be crazy if what I see happen right in front of me with the equipment I personally fabricated were an illusion and you, from where ever you are, with out seeing my experiments, somehow knew better about the results.
Lmfao how much money? And just so you know I'm not a complete hater, turns out 2 controllers and SSR are actually better for many reasons although it's not the most economical. I'll be putting them in one box though. The dnail press is from a company in china which I have found out who (it's not hard to figure those things out). They just took an existing model and slapped a second box on the other side because their production is already set up for just one controller in one box. That's where you find the most cost, it's in reconfiguring all the production equipment. Which is why they have the price so low. Despite what you think, I commend dnail as I said going with 5x5 plates was a great idea! I even contemplated seeing if they'd like a west coast distributor to split larger quantity orders but really there's no patent and china loves selling other people's designs. However that's not my cup of tea and I'm not desperate for money. I have very little free time and that will spent on other things.
But seriously, on a scientific level, all ego aside, I'd love to hear your criticisms as far as faults in "a ton of stuff" that I've said is concerned but please do provide evidence and explanations for that evidence in relation to the points you make.
Ringo - ok ok I'm a liar now but oh well hopefully you don't mind hehehe!
vitamingreeninc
Member
A guy I follow on IG just did Qwiso with 32 grams of "rosin chips" the color of the extract is gold good looking. Will obviously take him evaping it, but obviously we are not getting all of the Trichomes out...I feel like at the least, the chips would make a decent edible ingredients?
how much did he get though, thats relevant. when i did one bho extraction on chips, the yield was quite low, dark and weak.
GanjaPharma
Member
dunno if this will help but i have found that a VERY TIGHT ball of screen is the key.
fresh press is more of a fun thing to do with nugs that int ready...than a long term production thing,
The oil halo is delish but all that water (if you collect it) dries up to be some VERY UNSMOKEABLE GARBAGE looks like shatter...tastes just like dewax (the filtered waxes i mean)
my hunch was right about using too low temperatures to press fresh buds. i press at what i think is around 230-225 usually, so i tried another iron that sits at 265, and i can extract not too badly from fresh flower now with that.
