BHO Extraction - Skunk Pharm Research LLC PDF

BHO Extraction | Skunk Pharm Research LLC
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BHO Extraction
Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC.
Butane Honey Oil, or BHO, is the essential oil from the cannabis plant, extracted using n-Butane as
a solvent. If it is extracted from fresh material, it is a Concrete, and if from cured material, it is an
Oleoresin. A concrete or an oleoresin that has been winterized to remove the waxes, lipids, and
fats, is known as an Absolute.
(hp://skunkpharmresearch.les.wordpress.com
/2012/03/polished-extract.jpg)
Butane Honey Oil extraction refers to the method used to extract the essential oils from cannabis,
and there are multiple theories on the best way to accomplish this, as well as what material is best
to use.
Perhaps the rst question is why use a BHO technique to extract the resins, instead of just boiling
the material in alcohol to get the greatest amount of extracted material?
The answer to that is that because butane is relatively non polar, it doesnt extract the water
solubles like chlorophyll and plant alkaloids. Butane produces one of the cleanest extractions, albeit
typically at a lower yield than polar alcohol.
On average we have extracted about 18% oil by weight from bud, but as low as 5.7% absolute and
as high as 25 absolute%.
The rst wash will usually extract 75 to 80%, leaving the balance for the second after repacking the
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column. The second extraction will be more sedative and less heady. If you use a hand microscope,
you can easily see when the trichome heads are gone and the stalks look like wet fur.
Weve only tried a few processes here at the pharm, so I will cover only simple ow through
columns, a thermos bole, a pressurized system, and a closed loop one.
We currently use a closed loop system for BHO, and as I am covering that process on a separate
thread named The Terpenator, where I will detail building our second generation automated
system.
Prior to using our DIY closed loop system, we did our BHO extractions using single pass ow
through packed columns, and experimented with a thermos and a simple pressurized system to
soak at ambient temperature. I will cover simple columns and thermos boles separately, as the
techniques are dierent and I need to make some more pictures for the laer.
Before we discuss how to extract the essential oils from cannabis, let us talk about the plant
material to be used. That immediately brings to mind the qualifying question, What do you want
to use it for?
Oil that is to be vaporized, is normally treated dierently than oil that is used orally or topically,
because it doesnt need to be decarboxylated. For cannabis concentrates to be orally and topically
active, it does require that the THCA and CBDA be converted to THC and CBD, by a heating or
drying process. I will cover that issue under a separate thread on Decarboxylation, so as to not
cluer this post.
Terpenes:
Besides the cannabinoids, which are Di-Terpene alcohols and di-alcohols (diol), there are also other
terpenes in cannabis essential oils, which add to its smell, avor, and medicinal entourage eect.
Some of these terpenes are highly aromatic alcohols, phenols, ketones, aldehydes, ethers, and
esters, which are aromatic because they freely give o molecules at even ambient temperatures.
Heating the plant material or the oil to decarboxylation temperatures will evaporate o most of
these smaller aromatic Mono-Terpene and Sesqui-Terpene molecules, before the larger and heavier
cannabis Di-Terpenes are aected. Decarboxylated oil is smoother to the taste, but basically tastes
like hash, with the oral undertones gone.
Gone also are the medicinal and entourage eects from those terpenes. The price we pay for
decarboxylation, so we shouldnt decarboxylate casually, and should rst consider the end use
before picking the process.
One of our process limitations, is that though non polar, n-butane has slight water solubility. At
20C/68F, it is only 0.0325 percent by vol/vol, but not zero and is still enough to pickup undesirable
water solubles. 1 liter, or 1000 ml X 0.0325 = 32.5 ml of water.
With water, comes water solubles, which includes chlorophyll and plant alkaloids, that detract
from the taste, so the dance is to maintain the volatile terpenes, while studiously avoiding the
water solubles.
Freezing the water is one method that works well, but it is important that the material be dry when
it was frozen and that it is not exposed to high humidity while frozen, or ice will form over the
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trichomes, preventing their extraction.

Another method is to simply remove most of the water. This will produce pristine extractions, but
doesnt preserve the terpenes. If the material is to be decarboxylated anyway, that is of lile
concern, because we will lose them anyway.
We also have the issue of purging out the remaining butane, while preserving the terpenes. Again,
there are a number of ways to do that, but I will address only a few of the ways that have worked
for us here. Those are light heat, high heat, and thin lm vacuum.
So, besides decarboxylation, what are some of the things to consider selecting a process and how
should the plant material be prepared?
In our experience, for best avor and taste, freshest material works best, whether it is fresh frozen
material or dried. Older cured material loses the nuances of the oral undertones and just tastes
like hash. That means that the degree of drying and curing is also critical, if your goal is to
maintain maximum terpene content.
Oil from buds is tastier than oil from even sugar trim, because most of the terpenes are produced
by the buds, and that is where they are the most plentiful. Tasty is usually not a word used to
describe oil from fan leaves or stems, though eective may be.
The absolutely most avorful BHO extract to me personally and to the test panels thus far, is fresh
picked buds, that are immediately frozen to tie up the water, and extracted while still frozen. It
produces an oil that abounds in whimsical avors darting about and the word most often used to
describe it by panel members, was the word fresh.
Next most avorful, from a BHO standpoint, is material that has only been cured 5 to 7 days, and is
at the small stem snap stage, where you might jar it if you were curing it to smoke.
Part of the formula is of course the degree and methods used to purge out the remaining butane.
While there are a number of ways to do that as well, I will address only a few of the ways that have
worked for us here. Those methods are low heat, high heat, and thin lm vacuum.
Butane supply:
Lastly, selecting a suitable butane source is a key step, in that all butane sources arent created
equal. n-Butane (normal butane) is a simple alkane, with four carbon atoms linked together in a
row, with the remaining possible carbon bonding sites taken up by hydrogen atoms.
The simple alkanes all are gaseous at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. They are
removed from crude oil before it is further processed, by simple heating. The simplest is Methane,
which is only on carbon and four hydrogen atoms, followed by Ethane with two carbons, Propane
with three, and Butane with the four.
Pentane is the next simple alkane, the rst to be liquid at room temperature and the rst to have
zero water solubility. From Pentane on, the simple alkanes are named from the Greek alphabet,
and are Hexane, Heptane, Octane, etc, on through the light naphthas, oils, waxes, and asphalts.
The formula for all simple alkanes, is the number of carbon atoms times two, plus two, because
each carbon atom has four possible bonding sites. A mnemonic device for remembering the rst
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four alkanes, which were named before the Greek system was applied, is Mary Eats Peanut Buer.
After removal from the crude oil, the gases are typically de-sulfurized using steam and a catalytic
reactive bed, and fractionally distilled into the four basic gases. As fractional distilling separates
the gasses by specic gravity, the principal contaminants in n-Butane at that point, will be
Iso-Butane, a branched molecule isomer of n-Butane, as well as n-Propane, and Cyclo-Propane,
plus low levels of heavier, longer oleaginous alkane wax chains.
Neither of the butanes or propanes are particularly toxic at any sort of reasonable levels. The
following for instance is taken from a typical MSDS sheet for n-Butane. The Rat LD-50 (50% dead)
is 658000 mg/m3 4 hours. That is breathing a 65.8% pure butane atmosphere and asphixiating.
MSDS info:
Section 11. Toxicological information for n-Butane; Diethyl; Freon 600; Liqueed petroleum gas; LPG;
n-C4H10; Butanen; Butani; Methylethylmethane; UN 1011; UN 1075; A-17; Bu-Gas.
Specic eects
Carcinogenic eects No known signicant eects or critical hazards.
Mutagenic eects No known signicant eects or critical hazards.
Reproduction toxicity No known signicant eects or critical hazards.
No specic information is available in our database regarding the other toxic eects of this material to
humans.
Chronic eects on humans May cause damage to the following organs: central nervous system (CNS).
Other toxic eects onhumans
Toxicity data
Butane LC50 Inhalation Vapor
Rat 658000 mg/m3 4 hours
Product/ingredient name Result Species Dose Exposure
Products of degradation: carbon oxides (CO, CO2) and water.
Section 12. Ecological information
Products of degradation :
Environmental fate : Not available.
Environmental hazards : No known signicant eects or critical hazards.
Toxicity to the environment : Not available.
Aquatic ecotoxicity
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Not available.
The MSDS LD-50s on Iso-Butane, Propane, Cyclo-Propane, and oleaginous waxes are as follows:
n-Propane; Dimethylmethane; Freon 290; Liqueed petroleum gas; Lpg; Propylhydride; R 290; C3H8; UN
1075; UN 1978; A-108; Hydrocarbon propellant. LC50 Inhalation Gas: Rat >800000 ppm 15 minutes
Cyclopropnane; Trimethylene; Trimethylene (cyclic); UN 1027; No LD-50 established;
Iso-Butane; 2-methyl-; Trimethylmethane; 1,1-Dimethylethane; 2-Methylpropane; isoC4H10; i-Butane;
Isobutane mixtures; UN 1075; UN 1969; R 600a; tert-Butane; A 31;Methylpropane; Propane, 2-methylisobutane LC50 Inhalation Vapor Rat 658000 mg/m3 4 hours
Oleaginous Waxes- Paran, no notable toxicity or LD-50 available
n-Butane is used for any number of things, so it is processing beyond this point, or sharing storage
tanks with other contaminated sources that may create health concerns. While n-Butane is
non-toxic enough used as a food propellant, if it is to be used as a stove fuel, it will in most cases
have an odorant added for leak detection, as n-Butane has only a very light sweet petroleum odor.
Ethyl Mercap is most often added for that purpose, and is the familiar roen egg smell is
detectable at the astonishing low concentration of under 3 parts per Billionth! Hexane (Gasoline)
by comparison, has an odor threshold of around 30 parts per millionth, or about 10,000 times more
is required for us to smell mercaptoethanol.
The MSDS for Ethyl Mercaptan shows 4420 ppm/4 hour(s) inhalation-rat LC50; 682 mg/kg oral-rat
LD50, with the target organs being the central nervous system. Not super toxic, but tastes and
smells of roen eggs, so that point may be mute.
Butadiene may be added to stove fuel as well, and is of serious concern. While the following
typical MSDS example shows relative low toxicity, take a look at the carcinogenic eects.
LD50 Oral Rat 5480 mg/kg -LC50 Inhalation Vapor Rat 285 g/m3 4 hours
LC50 Inhalation Vapor Rat 285000 mg/m3 4 hours
LC50 Inhalation Gas. Rat 128000 ppm 4 hours
Mutagenic eects No known signicant eects or critical hazards.
Reproduction toxicity No known signicant eects or critical hazards.
No specic information is available in our database regarding the other toxic eects of
this material to humans.
CARCINOGENIC EFFECTS: Classied 1 (Proven for humans.) by IARC, 1 (Known to
be human carcinogens.) by NTP, + (Proven.) by NIOSH, 1 (Proven for humans.) by
European Union. Classied A2 (Suspected for humans.) by ACGIH.
MUTAGENIC EFFECTS: Classied 2 by European Union.
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May cause damage to the following organs: the reproductive system, mucous membranes, upper respiratory
tract, skin, eyes, central nervous system (CNS).
n-Butane may also be further rened to increase its purity, or to make it suitable for use in butane
lighters. R-600 Refrigerant and Instrument grade n-Butane are examples of higher purity n-Butane
suitable for extractions, and are distributed by suppliers like Matheson and Airgas.
Lighter Butane:
As those sources are expensive and not usually available to non commercial customers, in support
of federal guidelines listing it as a controlled substance used in the manufacture of illegal drugs,
most folks use butane made for butane lighters.
Each manufacturers blend is slightly dierent, with n-Propane usually added as a propellant,
because below the freezing temperature of water, butane is a liquid instead of a gas.
They also further rene the n-Butane to remove more of the low level oleaginous waxes, which
clog the small orices in expensive butane lighters. This is often shown on lighter butane cans as a
number followed by an X. IE: 5X.
The common name for Oleaginous Waxes from petroleum, is Paran, which is non-toxic enough to
have no known LD-50 data and be used to seal jelly jars, so they are of low concern when
extracting.
Here Madison Avenue has goen a foot hold, and even 7X butane is available for even more
money, though there is no advantage over a good 4X for the purpose of extraction.
One rener has started labeling the brand names that they produce, Near Zero Impurities,
guaranteeing under 50ppm impurities. An independent test showed that they in fact are under 50
ppm, and even under the 15ppm testing cuto, as were competitors brands not touting near zero
impurities.
If using lighter butane, the safest course is to use tried and proven brands, but if forced to
improvise, rst obtain a MSDS sheet from that specic manufacturer, showing the contents. Reject
any containing mercaps or Butadiene.
Ingredients less than 1% need not be shown on the MSDS sheet, unless they present a health risk at
the levels present, so they are not all inclusive, but a good place to start.
If the MSDS looks OK, spray a ve second burst on a mirror or clean glass pane and let it
completely evaporate. Check for residue. Smell it for mercaps; you cant miss them.
Each brand extracts slightly dierently, because the mixes are slightly dierent. Adding propane
for instance, increases water solubility and the propensity to pick up water solubles.
Here are some brands that weve tried and work well, as well as being tired and proven brands by
others. This list is by no means inclusive:
Colibri
King
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Lucienne
Newport
Vector
Safety:
Butane is highly ammable, so let us next talk about safety. First and foremost, always perform the
extraction outside in a well ventilated area. Have a re extinguisher handy, as well as a blanket to
roll up in, should the unthinkable happen.
It goes without saying that smoking around a butane extraction is asking for a disaster, but I have
literally grabbed the hand of folks starting to light up because they forgot where they were at
and what they were doing. May I suggest that you leave your lighter and smokes somewhere else
when you are doing extractions.
Same with your cell phone!
Wear no synthetic fabrics, including your socks, because static electricity sparks probably ignite
more butane unintentionally than bone headed smokers.
We use a fan to disperse the butane rapidly so as to keep it from pooling. Butane is heavier than air
and will collect in low spots given its own devices. We use a plastic fan so that no sparks are
created by a piece of gravel or other hard material passing through the fan blades.
In dry cold conditions, we add a grounding strap to our cans, so as to not draw static electricity
sparks between the can and the column.
Material Prep:
Material prep will of course depend on the application, so lets cover that subject generally.
Fresh buds should be dry of standing water and cut into small pieces, before being stued into a
column or thermos and placed in a -32C/0F freezer for 48 hours to solidify. Fresh frozen buds
produce the most aromatic extraction.
Second best for for maximum terpene retention are buds ground up after 5 to 7 days hanging, or as
soon as the small stems break freely. They should be jarred immediately to retain freshness and
run as soon as possible to prevent molding.
When extracting dried buds for vaporization, or bragging rights, the material is broken up just
loosely enough to extract, but not enough to expose excessive broken cell boundaries. That can be
done by hand, or with a nugget buster. Here is an example of a nug buster design that I scored o
Roll It Up forum, but alas I cant remember the author: The wire cloth can be obtained from
Howard Wire at hp://howardwire.com/square_mesh.html (hp://howardwire.com
/square_mesh.html)
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Buds for decarboxylation and most pristine appearance, should be placed on a coee sheet and
baked in a 94C/200F oven until just frangible, when rolled between the nger and thumb. They can
then be ground or scrubbed through a pasta strainer to remove the sticks and stems. They should
be jarred after grinding, to keep moisture pickup low.
The material shouldnt be bone dry as it will become too frangible, nor should a coee grinder be
used, because of the nes that it produces, that have to be subsequently removed.
We also dry our trim and leaves until frangible as above and scrub ti through a pasta strainer, using
a leather gloved hand and rm pressure, so as to minimize the amount of ne particles generated.
/2012/03/drying-leaf3.jpg)
(hp://skunkpharmresearch.les.wordpress.com/2012/03/sieving-leaf3.jpg)
So now that we have covered some of the basics, lets move on to the dierent processes:
Simple Flow Through Column:
One of the simplest methods of extracting using butane, is a packed column. A column is a long
narrow containment that allows a solvent to be passed though it using either gravity or pressure.
The column is packed with plant material to be extracted and the essential oils are dissolved by the
butane and carried out the lter in the boom of the column, into a collection device.
Column materials:
Columns may be made from any number of dierent materials, but not all are suitable for butane
service. hp://www.coleparmer.com/Chemical-Resistance (hp://www.coleparmer.com
/Chemical-Resistance) is an excellent site to check material compatibility with the various solvents.
You do however have to read between the lines, and for medical use, stick with those materials
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listed as excellent.
Using those guidelines, a quick check reveals that Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC), Acrylonitrile
Butadiene Styrene (ABS), Low Density Poly Ethylene (LDPE), for instance, are not suitable, even
though listed as good to fair, because the butane leaches out the constitutes, so they will end up in
the meds.
They list copper as fair, not because the butane aacks it, but because of sulfur compounds and
water that may be present in the butane, which form sulfuric acid and aacks the copper. Dry low
sulfur butane doesnt present the same issues, but copper columns have to be kept meticulously
clean of oxides, as for instance, welding copper without adequate respiratory protection, produces
a medical condition known as fume fever. If you do not have the time or inclination to keep the
extraction column pristine, glass or stainless is a beer choice.
Poly Propylene (PP), Poly Vinylidene Fluoride (PVDF), Polytetrauorethylene (PTFE=Teon), are
listed as excellent, and High Density Poly Ethylene (HDPE), Ultra High Molecular Weight Poly
Ethylene (UHMW), or Cross Linked Poly Ethylene (XLPE) may be, but are not listed.
Glass and borosilicate (Pyrex) work well, as does 300 series stainless steel. Neither are dirt cheap,
but our local cost for borosilicate columns from the local scientic glass blower is only a buck an
inch, plus ve bucks to are one end and close to an orice on the other end. 1 Stainless schedule
10 pipe was only $6.20 a foot, last time I checked, but prices vary considerably, so you should check
local sources for pricing.
I dont recommend single pass columns with a larger ID than 1, as extraction eciency drops
rapidly above that size. Primarily because the material near the injection end is inadequately
weed, and because the larger the column, the easier it is for the butane to just nd an easy route
through, and continue to follow it.
The absolutely cheapest stainless column that Ive found is one made from a stainless turkey baster
from Bed,Bath, and Beyond for $7.99. Throw away the bulb and pull the press ed needle out of
the threaded adaptor, and you are good to go.
/2012/03/stainless-turkey-baster-column.jpg)
Ive made a number out of copper, usually with a union near the injection end, so that it could be
easily opened and cleaned. I also made a copper one with a can holder at the top, using a
contractors size caulking gun, and my rst experiments with pressurized butane extraction, were in
a copper test sled.
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In the laer case, we also added vibration and as we try to use free donated material where at all
possible, I draw your aention to the gold plated personal vibrator used for that action and give
thanks to the donor, whom wishes to remain anonymous.
(hp://skunkpharmresearch.les.wordpress.com/2012/03/bho-injection-
can-holder-1-1.jpg)
/bho-pressurized-and-vibrated-1-1.jpg)
(hp://skunkpharmresearch.les.wordpress.com/2012/03
/2012/03/borocarbonate-tubes-1-1.jpg)
(hp://skunkpharmresearch.les.wordpress.com/2012/03/borosilicatetubes-001-1.jpg)
A stainless column can be made by screwing a cap on one end and screw radiator clamping a
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double coee lter over the other end. Drill a 1/8 hole in the cap for the butane nozzle, and after
thoroughly cleaning the insides by washing out with alcohol and boiling in hot soapy water, it is
ready to go.
You can also stick a one hole Neoprene cork in the top of the column, instead of using a cap. It
works well enough, though more sensitive to blowouts.
We have our borosilicate columns made and some development was required to stop breaking
them in cold wet weather. What was required to stop spalling o conchoidal divots from the
injection port in frigid weather, was to make the closed end a smooth even radius of uniform
thickness, so that stresses from uneven expansion and contraction were not an issue. You also need
to insure that the column is annealed after forming, to relieve all residual stresses.
We add a are to the ends of our borosilicate columns, to make lter retention easier, so as to
reduce blowouts.
(hp://skunkpharmresearch.les.wordpress.com/2012/03/ared-end-1-11.jpg)
(hp://skunkpharmresearch.les.wordpress.com/2012/03/closed-end-arch1-1.jpg)
A blowout, is where the lter at the end of the column ruptures and blows the column contents
into your collection vessel, or the lter blows o entirely, doing the same thing, or when using a
cork in the top, it blows out during injection.
You can guard against lter rupture, by backing the coee lter with stainless mesh, or cloth.
Preventing a blow o gets trickier with glass tubes, in that you cant just crank down harder on the
radiator clamp, without breaking the glass. Alternatives that work beer with glass, are twine
wraps, zip locks, or rubber bands. We mostly use rubber bands, and stretch them tight.
Column Loading:
When loading the material in the tube, we use a wooden dowel to keep it uniformly and rmly, but
not tightly packed. A dowel close to the ID of your column will make even packing easier.
Before loading the tube, we wad up a coee lter and stu it in the injection port end, to diuse the
butane as it enters and so that no plant material blow back out into our extraction, should for any
reason we need to release butane pressure in the middle of the process.
We cut the top out of a water bole to use as a funnel, and pack the material as we load it, stopping
about every foot to compact. When the column is full of plant material, we double a coee lter
over the end, and then cover that with a cloth patch, securing both with multiple tight wraps of a
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heavy weight rubber band.

We also scissor trim away all extra lter material, so as to minimize the oil soaked up during the
process. I nd that if I am careful removing the lter after an extraction, that I can reuse it multiple
times, so as to further minimize losses. We also wash out our lters in alcohol, to recover any
essential oils soaked into them.
Skunk pharm use of a column is common general practice, though our collection and processing
techniques deviate from the norm. We simply support the column full of pulverized plant material
over a collection vessel and inject butane through the top port in the column, and let gravity carry it
through the column.
As the butane passes through the material in the column, it dissolves the trichomes, and conveys
them out the end of the column, into the collection vessel. The butane subsequently evaporates o,
it leaves the extracted cannabis oil behind.
When the stream of solvent running out of the boom runs clear, we cease injecting butane and
insert a basket ball pump needle into the injection hole and blow out any remaining liquid. A
modied butane can nozzle adapter will adapt the needle to seal the hole.
(hp://skunkpharmresearch.les.wordpress.com/2012/03/blow-down-pump-
tip.jpg)
blow-down.jpg)
(hp://skunkpharmresearch.les.wordpress.com/2012/03/extraction-
Examination with a microscope will tell you when the trichomes have been dissolved away, and
looks like wet hairs lying down, with the capitate heads missing. Our average yield at this point
was around 17 to 18% by weight, but weve yielded up to 21.6% by dumping the column,
repacking it, and making a second run.
This second run will be less heady, and of lower viscosity, with more sedative properties, so we
keep it separate from the rst.
Collection vessels:
How we are going to use the oil, to a large degree dictates how we collect it, so lets look at some of
the methods weve found eective.
Pyrex Pie Plate:
The rst that I tried, was collecting in a 10 Pyrex pie plate, siing in a larger Pyrex dish full of hot
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tap water. That works well and the key is the hot water that it sits in, in at least this neck of the
Pacic NW rain forest, where we often have high humidity. If we dont set it in hot water, ice
forms at the edge of the evaporation pool, adding considerable water to the mixture.
The hot water also rapidly boils o the butane, until all of it visibly gone, although some remains
un-purged and in solution with the oil. Techniques for purging the remaining material vary, so we
will cover those steps as a separate issue.
This technique is suitable for any process, with certain precautions and subsequent processing.
(hp://skunkpharmresearch.les.wordpress.com/2012/03/xk-1000-bho-tube-
suspension-1-1.jpg)
/bho-in-pie-plate.jpg)
(hp://skunkpharmresearch.les.wordpress.com/2012/03/butane-bubbles-
11.jpg)
/bho-evaporating-1-11.jpg)
Stainless Bain Marie:

Even beer in this land of the midnight rain, is a deep stainless bain marie container, siing in a hot
water bath. The deep vessel lls with butane fumes, which oats away the atmosphere, so that no
moisture laden atmosphere is anywhere near the evaporation line of the butane. That is how we
processed most of our oil, when using single pass columns.
The real advantages to using this type of collection, are that it can be wiped dry on the outside and
the pot set directly into a hot oil pot for a rapid purge and decarboxylation, followed by
formulation in the same stainless vessel, so that nothing is lost to lms left behind in transfer pots.
We have the tare marked on each of them, so that we can weigh the material while still in that pot,
to establish yield, and the quantities for the rest of the ingredients.
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This system works well for decarboxylated and formulated meds, but presents a challenge to
remove the oil afterwards, if you are not, and has less surface area for evaporation if you arent
planning to hot purge or wash it out with alcohol and do thin lm vacuum purging. Absolutely
the best method weve found overall, subject to the above limitations.
(hp://skunkpharmresearch.les.wordpress.com/2012/03/extraction-
components.jpg)
/borosilicate-tubes-001-12.jpg)
(hp://skunkpharmresearch.les.wordpress.com/2012/03/bho-injection.jpg)
Purging:
Butane is relatively easy to purge from cannabis oleoresins or concretes, as it has a boiling point of
around -.5C/31.5F, or right about the freezing point of water. Given enough time just siing
around, it will purge below our 5000 ppm smell sensory threshold, and even our far more acute
sense of taste, either of which is a small percentage of the 658, 000 ppm, that the MSDS LD-50 tells
us it took to asphyxiate 50% of the test rats in 4 hours.
We can speed up that purge, by using a dish with a large surface area, relative to the depth of the
pool of oil. Usually small extractions, so as to keep the pool depth thin, are the easiest to purge.
Typically, the thin lm is scrapped and stirred periodically, to speed up the process, and a ame
may periodically be lightly run over the surface, to warm it and determine if the bubbles exiting are
butane and terpenes, or CO2. Some care needed here, as THC, CBD, and CBN are di-terpene
alcohols, and are ammable themselves, as are the other terpenes present.
Air movement over the pool speeds up evaporation, by whisking away the saturated boundary
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layer and providing the extra energy for the molecules of butane to escape the surface of the oil, as
it is ricocheting about in the pool. Care must be exercised here, as any dust or lint in the air will
end up in the oil, so usually a cheese cloth or similar porous cover is placed over it, before blowing
over the top with a fan.
We can also speed it up with the application of heat. Any heat will speed up the evaporation, and
one line of thought is to keep the heat low and around 60C/140F, using a hot pad after the hot
water bath and scraping and popping any bubbles with a razor blade. A typical purge might take
an hour and provides maximum terpene retention.
When adding boom heat, you can also add a loose ing lid, which will speed up the purging
and keep out lint and dust.
For a faster purge, the temperature can be raised to above the melting point of the cannabis
essential oils, or around 82C/180F, to give the butane molecules maximum mobility.
Instead of heat, vacuum may be applied to speed up the purge process. That is the process that we
use when we wish to maintain the cannabinoids in their carboxylic acid forms.
In thin lm vacuum purging, we place about an 3/16 of the oil in a 6 Pyrex Petri dish, and place
that in a vacuum chamber, which also contains a hot plate. That allows us to manipulate both the
temperature and atmospheric pressure, so that we can achieve boiling at very low, or even ambient
temperatures.
While we use 180F to vacuum purge a raw oleoresin, adding heat isnt necessary when thin lm
vacuum purging raw oleoresins redissolved in ethanol. The alcohol will boil away under 28.5Hg
at ambient temperatures, as will the water that is left behind, even without adding any heat.
(hp://skunkpharmresearch.les.wordpress.com/2012/03/vacuum-purge-
setup-11.jpg)
/bho-absolute-ready-for-purging.jpg)
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/2012/03/thin-lm-vacuum-purged-bho-absolute-31.jpg)
For our oral and topical meds, we exclusively used the bain marie collection vessel, and simply
wiped the water o the outside, following the hot water purge, and set it in an electric fondue pot
full of hot 121C/250F Canola oil.
The residual butane will boil o rst, exiting in larger, multi sized bubbles, followed by the smaller
equally sized CO2 bubbles from decarboxylation.
Depending on the use, we remove it from the hot oil when the bubble activity suddenly slacks
dramatically o, indicating the 70% peak of the decarboxylation curve, or when it becomes
quiescent, if we are looking for maximum sedative eect.
(hp://skunkpharmresearch.les.wordpress.com/2012/03/quiescent-
oil-1-1.jpg)
/purging-in-hot-oil-bath.jpg)
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/2012/03/94-5-gram-bho-run-1.jpg)
Hot oil Pots:
We use electric fondue pots for decarboxylation and I prefer the Quisinart, for their sensitive
controls and narrow dead band. We also have a couple of Rivals, which work well too, but whose
controls arent as sensitive.
Some fry cookers may have sensitive enough controls, but most are designed to primarily run at
375F, and lack control sensitivity, as well as have a large dead band at 250F.
It is important to make sure that the container is siing on something that suspends it up o the
boom of the oil pot, to eliminate direct transfer hotspots. We keep several jar lid rings in the
boom of our electric fondue pots for that purpose.
We never trust any controls however, and use a good mercury lab thermometer, a digital, or an
infra red optical pyrometer to establish and control temperatures.
/2012/03/hot-oil-pot.jpg)
Thermos extraction:
Thermos extraction is a technique allowing an extended soak period at atmospheric pressure. At
sea level, n-Butane boils at approximately -0.5C/31.5F, so unless the local ambient temperature
happens to be under that temperature, the butane will warm up enough to return to its gaseous
state.
In thermos extraction, the prepared material is loaded into a stainless steel thermos bole and
frozen before having pre-chilled butane added. The thermos acts as a Dewar to keep the butane
temperature low enough to keep it in its liquid state.
Dropping the temperature will of course also slow down the extraction rate, so the resident soak
time must be increased to compensate.
An advantage of keeping the temperatures low, is that it allows you to run fresher material, as the
water will be tied up in the form of ice.
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Butane has the very slight water solubility of 0.0325 vol/vol, or about 32 milliliters per liter. That
means if there is any water available, some of it will come along and bring with it undesirable
water solubles, such as chlorophyll.
Tying the water up as ice, allows a longer soak resident time, without picking up those water
solubles. Operating at 50F outside temperatures locally, an optical pyrometer showed the butane
in the thermos to hover around +8.7F, with mild bubbling action and minimal loss of liquid.
Because of the low operating temperature, you can run either fresh frozen or dried material equally
well and can therefore control a wide range of avors, by simply controlling the pre extraction state
of drying, and evaporation of aromatic terpenes.
A fully cured material will produce hashy tasting oil, and fresh material will produce oral oils,
and the rest of the avors will be in between. The avors besides cannabinoids, are the lighter
mono and sesquiterpenes, which are the aromatic alcohols, phenols, ketones, aldehides, and esters.
Equipment required for this process are minimal. I scored a gorgeous lile stainless steel thermos
at the local Goodwill for $4.99 and my only alteration was to drill three holes in the cap. One to t
a lighter butane can nozzle, and a couple to allow venting during injection. I tossed the inner lid,
as the gasket was unsuitable for butane.
After soaking one hour, we pour the butane through a strainer suspended over a bain marie catch
vessel, but we also subsequently winterize, so if you arent going to, you can rubber band a coee
lter over the opening and dump through that.
A second soak in chilled butane may be used to extract any remaining essential oils. Jump, one of
the developers of the process, reports using a 30 minute rst soak, and a 2 hour second soak, with
pictures showing pristine quality from both extractions.
Once in the catch vessel, the extract can be purged any number of dierent ways, like any other
BHO extraction.
Notice in this case, we broke up the buds and removed the stems in a harvest box, which we
subsequently harvested the kif out of for our pipe while standing around.
(hp://skunkpharmresearch.les.wordpress.com/2012/03/bud-in-harvestbox-1-11.jpg)
/2012/03/prepared-bud-in-harvest-box-1-11.jpg)
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(hp://skunkpharmresearch.les.wordpress.com/2012/03/chilledand-ready-to-roll-1-12.jpg)
/2012/03/goodwill-thermos-drilled-1-12.jpg)
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GW
675 responses to this post.

Posted by Lmo on November 20, 2014 at 7:18 PM
Hey there, Im considering trying out the thermos method, but using cold water hash as my
material. There are just a few points I wanted clarication on. First, in regards to the thermos
you found at goodwill, you say you tossed the inner lid as it wasnt suitable to come in contact
with butane. What did you replace it with? Second, I pitched this idea to a friend who does pass
thru open blasting and he warned of saturating the butane to the point it wont absorb any
more oil. I know to remedy this problem I can simply repeat the soak with the same material
and new gas to get whats left, but could you point me in the direction of a good starting point
as to what how big of a thermos Ill need/how many cans Ill have to use/how long of soaks and
how many it will take if I want to extract from roughly 3oz bubble hash? Ill be using just about
every grade/bag I get with the possible exception of the rst after workbag (160u) if that info is
pertinent. Im looking at a thermos brand 32oz bole that looks very much like the one pictured
in your explanation of the process as my vessel for the job. Do you think 32oz is a sucient
volume to be able to run the 3oz bubble without having to soak more than twice, or should I go
for something bigger?
The other thing I am pondering and would appreciate some help on, is dewaxing the resulting
solution IN the butane (not winterizing with ethanol). I was wondering if to do this I can use
the following method- dump through wire strainer to bain marie post soak as u do, but have
that bain marie siing in a larger one with dry ice, allow waxes to precipitate, strain through
buchner funnel with lter paper, reduce and vacuum purge from there?
Id greatly appreciate on what if any of this sounds like it could work, or what could be altered
about the process
thanks
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Posted by rawb on November 20, 2014 at 10:51 AM
when you de-wax do you do anything with the wax? I was wondering if it was good for
anything.
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Posted by Brand Name Diethyl Ether Polar Or Nonpolar | Home on November 13, 2014 at 5:17
PM
[] BHO Extraction | Skunk Pharm Research LLC Butane Honey Oil, or BHO, is the essential
oil from the cannabis plant, extracted using n-Butane as a solvent. If it is extracted from fresh
material, it is a []
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Posted by Media Misses Real Danger In Hash Oil | The American Cultivator on November 7,
2014 at 7:00 AM
[] are a number of extraction techniques for hash oil; and the dangerous one in question is the
BHO extraction method. Essentially, you use butane oil to help separate the hash oil; and
because butane has a low []
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Posted by Jason on November 6, 2014 at 1:39 PM
Whats a good butane to use? I was thinking about geing lucienne but I saw mystery oil page, I
also saw pure tane and its saw it only n butane, would like to get your take on pure tane
1
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Posted by greg on October 26, 2014 at 9:14 AM
Thank you so much for the great writing! I am a lifelong electronics fella with some helpful
ideas of providing exact heating for your applications, and am geing into the cannaIndustry.
Please drop a note if your interested in the free ideas your electronics guru can put together, or I
can for you to try.
Keep up the great work!!!
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Posted by snowoil on October 19, 2014 at 9:54 AM
This is great info here!! One question GW. The decarboxylation process(when the bubbles are all
the same size), do I stop purging here or continue? I have noticed this before but thought they
were butane bubbles.
Thanks for your help!
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Posted by Nick on October 18, 2014 at 2:59 AM
Hi I was wondering if you could give me a step by step on how to get the oil from my saved up
coee lters.
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Posted by snowoil on October 19, 2014 at 10:00 AM
I would assume you just soak them in a glass of alcohol, remove lter when its clean then
boil it o. Be very careful with alcohol!!!!! When I use alcohol I prefer to let it evaporate
naturally.
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Posted by Maira on October 16, 2014 at 10:06 AM
My spouse and I stumbled over here coming from a dierent
web page and thought I might check things out.
I like what I see so now im following you. Look forward to
exploring your web page repeatedly.
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Posted by ERIC on September 28, 2014 at 2:15 PM
HI I sell Used $5,000 HIGH VOLUME VACUUM PUMPS FOR $500.00
The Pumps are a ALCATEL 2021I
They are in GOOD USED SHAPE 14 CFM
CONTACT ME at STYLEENTERPRISES@YAHOO.COM
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Posted by y f on September 11, 2014 at 2:10 AM
Your calculation for water solubility of butane seems faulty or possibly unclear to me. There is a
percentage, which i dont believe you calculated right.
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Posted by Sam on August 27, 2014 at 7:23 PM
Is there any benet or draw backs to blasting bho directly into 190 proof at room temp, then
winterizing at sub 0 for 24-48hrs, ltering, heat evap, then thin lm vac purge till done? Any
thoughts on this process
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Posted by runcmt on September 9, 2014 at 9:22 AM
One draw back is you can blow yourself up!
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Posted by opteck on October 25, 2014 at 3:14 PM
If you can manage to blow yourself up through the extremely simple and safe butane
11/26/2014 11:40 AM
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extraction of MJ.sorry but you deserve to be dead. Nothing personal, we just do not
want those dumb genes being passed on.
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Posted by Chewy on August 16, 2014 at 8:51 PM
Whats up folks, Could you enlighten me on Live Resin process for BHO? i am semi-savvy
about the process, but a breakdown would be rad. Thanks
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Posted by jason on July 30, 2014 at 5:07 PM
I Just ordered the HeatVac XL heated Vacuum purge kit. First time user for this product, Im
hoping its nice. Long story short, Im using all high grade buds that have been in the freezer for
24 to 48 hours. Im blasting through a two foot glass extraction tube using about two ounces of
product along with Stok butane. Ok, So heres my questions, the kit comes with a 5cfm 2 stage
vacuum pump. With the amount of product Im using, HOW MANY CANS OF BUTANE
SHOULD I USE? HOW LONG DO I PURGE FOR? IS THERE ANY SPECIFIC SIGNS I
SHOULD BE LOOKING FOR? And Last but not least, HOW DO I KNOW WHEN ALL THE
BUTANE IS GONE? Someone PLEASE help me out? MASSIVE LOvE.
~SMiLES
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Posted by pete on August 13, 2014 at 7:30 AM
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I heard 1 can to an oz for nugg runs. For trim i would think half a can. You can also do a dry
ice hash run rst, if you have bubble bags. After you can run just that through your extractor
and use half the tane.
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Posted by BluJay on August 14, 2014 at 11:44 PM
If you freeze the butane you will nd you need less, typically 1/2-1 can per oz. Purging time
will vary; you will have to purge until it makes no sight/sound when dabbed and of a solid
consistency.
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Posted by CC on August 28, 2014 at 3:15 PM
Hey, rst of all I think 3-4 cans of butane should work ne, when the butane and oil is
coming out of the tube look for it to run clear and not be sticky if you get some on your
hand. When doing the rst purge youre looking for the bubbles to stop forming after
puing your dish or whatever you use in the warm water, when the bubbles are small and
there is lile to no reaction to the water the rst purge is done. The vac chamber purge varies
depending on who you talk to as far as length of time. Basically what you are looking for is
for the oil to not pu up when in the chamber, and all the large (butane) bubbles to be gone.
I like a clean product so I prefer to purge it in smaller batches for about 3 1/2 to 4 hours. If
you still cant tell try some out and if it sparks theres still butane in it.
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Posted by Howelly on July 5, 2014 at 12:53 PM

Im a total novice with no experience in this eld at all and would like to prepare for an
extraction in a couple of weeks following a harvest.
I would like to hear peoples views on simple ow vs thermos method. Both of these
method looks straight forward and the materials are all to hand and easy enough to prepare for
a beginner like me.
Im looking to make an oil with less of the sleepiness and preferably pre-decarboxylated for
easy dosing.
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Posted by The Future of Concentrates | Sespe Creek Collective Medical Marijuana Delivery in
Ventura County | on May 29, 2014 at 5:13 PM
[] Hash Oil, has been a controversial topic in the news. While it is certainly possible to use
butane responsibly to produce a safe and solvent-free extract, thats not always what happens
and at this point, the responsible thing for us to do is to []
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Posted by BHO Butane Safety and Precautions | Smells Like Norcal on May 20, 2014 at 10:56
AM
[] butane extraction safety breakdown: This list will be updated as seen appropriate but of
course read as much as you can and do yourself a favor and read Skunk Pharms Butane Safety
Article []
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Reply
Posted by Safe Materials List for BHO Extractions, Butane Chemical Compatibility Resistance
Guide | Smells Like Norcal on May 20, 2014 at 9:19 AM
[] PumpRite chart, PVC is given a rating of A. In general, plastics should be avoided
altogetherSkunk Pharm states in their BHO article, a quick check reveals that Poly Vinyl
Chloride (PVC), Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene []
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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research BHO Extraction | Alaska Thunder Cup on April 29, 2014 at
2:40 AM
[] Read the entire article at: hps://skunkpharmresearch.com/bho-extraction/ []
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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research BHO Extraction | Alaska Hemp on April 29, 2014 at 2:22 AM
[] Read the entire article at: hps://skunkpharmresearch.com/bho-extraction/ []
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Posted by Method 420-s1ing gets waxy - Page 8 on April 24, 2014 at 2:05 PM
[] Thought this article might be useful to you as you draw near to giving this a shot. BHO
Extraction | Skunk Pharm Research LLC []
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Posted by Ron on March 3, 2014 at 11:18 AM
Hey GW,
What about butanol ? Its allot safer! and would it be possible winterize in
that solution?
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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on March 5, 2014 at 4:52 PM
You could use butanol and probably winterize just ne. In a closed loop they are equally
safe.
Joe
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Posted by Waleed on March 1, 2014 at 1:28 PM
Hey GW, ive been trying to nd a good amount on information on thermos extractions ive
been reading everywhere but no one seems to give a good detailed explanation of soak times, i
currently associate with a couple dispensaries and ive been trying to increase yields i have been
using open tube for 3 years and would like to switch to thermos before i get my closed tube. My
question is how long can you soak i understand you have said that your friend does 30 min and
2 hour soaks with both being pristine extractions. which is great but im curious if you do soak
for lets say 4-6 hours could you still get pristine quality and yield more? (also would you i be
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pulling more fats cause of the soak?). I am using grade a trim after about 5 days of drying(small
stem snap). using open tube i get yellow, amber, light colored high quality extracts in general.
not trying to gloat as i have copied the tec from others(including yourself) and the growers have
done everything for me i just would like to know if that color would darken for longer soak
times I also am curious if you have heard of dewaxing it is like winterization but using
butane i havnt read anything on here about it and would like to share the information with you
if you havnt heard of it(i was assuming you are aware but did not post it on here cause it is a lot
more dangerous.) i dont get why people like adding a second solvent when u can remove the
fats with the solvent you are using to extract before the butane evaporates, much easier imo and
you dont have to use another solvent that boils at a much higher temp.
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We encourage everyone to move to a closed loop system. Its extremely dangerous to blast.
One recent explosion was determined to have originated from a neighbor using their toaster.
You could do everything right and a piece of toast might ruin your lifetime.
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Posted by zedmin on July 13, 2014 at 11:47 AM
source?
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Posted by djtohtori on November 14, 2014 at 1:00 PM

I can say that if you do everything outside like you should, there is no change that any
toster ruin your life
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Posted by John nichols on March 1, 2014 at 6:47 AM
Is there a way to (clean) the bho so that it has a nice golden color instead of a pine tar look?
John
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See our polishing extracts page
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Posted by joe rodriguez on February 28, 2014 at 2:06 PM
Couldnt you blow into a parchment paper on silicone pad under bubby hot water til
evaporation, vac for a few, aen to square, then vac for 12-14hours? on 81-84 degrees on the
hot plate, decarbing and purging all the terpenes out? But how do you know what heat for wax
and shaer?
11/26/2014 11:40 AM
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Parchment is generally contains silicone.
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Posted by beereighty on February 28, 2014 at 9:29 AM
Textures of your extracts:?
do all your vaporizing extracts nish in a shaer or hard type state?
Does Trim vs Flowers nish dierent? Or is all truly purged oil hard?
Stretch snap consistency. Familiar with it? Is this a slightly un purged product? Or a damp un
cured product?
Do you nd fresh owers are harder to purge then say older trim? or is it its water content that
makes it seem softer longer?
How long of a low temp purge (120f) is too long? and still never get to shaer?
Ive read it that slightly tacky extracts may have decarboxolized? but isnt your photo of the
decarbed oil described as int hard?
Im baed by the variation I get in a seemingly identical process.
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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on May 11, 2014 at 7:06 AM

It could most likely be water or Pentane that is preventing crystallization. Try heating to
130F to see if that helps.
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Posted by patrick on February 28, 2014 at 2:34 AM
Helo, I just have a couple questions. i have been keaping up with your page for some time now
becuase the whole prosses facinats me and of cours i love wax. but i just started to do runs and
so far it hasent been priy the wax has been awsome though its a perfect amber goo. but back to
my questions, iv ran two times with half Ounce and got prey good resalts with both those
runs lost some wax in the containers but not bad about two grams with blow through turky
baster and in the small thermos run i got 3 grams but when i scaled up and ran 2 ounces
through the blow through i only got 5 maby 6 grams do you think that becouse i ran it 3 seprat
times onto the same pyrx and had hot water under it while i did all three runs i ran each tube
with about 3/4 can butan till it ran clear each tube holds a libit less than an once also i brake up
the bud ne also in all the containers i notice alot of kief after run is this normal to and im realy
trying to perfect this so i dont lose more
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Blow through is unpredictable and unsafe. Please use safer methods in the future.
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Reply
Posted by bongoognob on February 25, 2014 at 1:12 PM
Hey gray..
Running a closed loop system, an active one. Coming across residue.. Just trying to distill my
CP n-tane. A tire smelling amber colored shit. I am running an appion with this system. Is it
possible to pull this residue from the appion? Is my n tane from airgas just dirty? Ive distilled it
3 times with the same residue. Now Im runnig a passive recovery to see if its still there.
Thoughts, opinions?
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High BP petrochemicals. Youll need to recover at low temperature to leave it behind.
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Posted by Joe C on February 24, 2014 at 2:56 AM
Hi Skunk, Ive read in a few places before stumbling on your awesome site that dehydrating or
puing bud in the oven before is beer for BHO extraction i plan to winterize but not
decarboxylate as the end product will be vaporized What are your thoughts on the drying pre
extraction? & any other suggestions greatly apprecited !
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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on February 24, 2014 at 6:09 AM
I prefer material that has been hung for 5 to 7 days, or until the small stems snap. Oven
drying it drives o the monoterpenes.
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Posted by C4h10 on February 20, 2014 at 5:34 PM
Hello again GW Ive been noticing that compared to others peoples concentrates mine seems to
have less taste. I purge at about 105 for 12-24 hours (depending on size of the slab) and ip it
once or twice during that time. Im at just over 3000ft so my vac chamber only hits about -28.
The bud I use is dry but not so dry that it turns to powder when broken up. I always hear that
going low and slow makes for the best stu but Im almost wondering if the long purge is
killing the taste? Would it be more aective to go higher temp for a shorter period of time? I
dont think the buds are too dry but maybe. The concentrate looks amazing (see for your self
here hp://statigr.am/p/653741789863261970_331412092 ) but Im still not happy with the taste.
Thanks for your time
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Try extraction at a lower temperature to extract more Terpenes to begin with.
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Posted by Alex on February 20, 2014 at 8:50 AM
Plan on making my 1st run this weekend. Ive read the forum from top to boom but I still have
questions, or maybe just need reassurance! I bought a Glass essential extractor 15-30 grams and
plan on just making some for personal enjoyment. I live in FL so heat and humidity are an issue.
I will outline the method I plan on employing along with any questions I have. Any and all
feedback would be greatly approcated.
1) I have high quality owers and I plan on breaking these up slightly, but not grinding them
up like I would for regular consumption. These have been fully cured and I keep them vacumn
packed in mason jars. Once packed in the extraction tube should I freeze before blasting?
2) I plan on blasting directly into a pyrex dish in a hot water bath until the butane has bubbled
o suciently.
3) I then plan on transferring the extract to a Oil Slick DUO pad and heating on a hot plate or
heating pad to diuse the remaingin butane as I do not have a vacumn chamber. I want to use
the nal product in my vap. My question here is, what temp do I want to stay below in order to
maximize the potency/eect? From what I gather it is 130-140 , is this accurate? Is this processed
nished once the bubbles cease to develop or become less frequent? Is there adding vlaue to
leing this air cure after the heated purge?
Besides this basic outline I do have a couple of additional questions. Why do some of the videos
that ive watched that detail this process end up with glass while others end up with a dryer
more powdery sustbnace that i guess people call budder? Also I have a food saver and was
thining of rigging up a vacumn of sorts using a mason jar and heat. Do you see any value in
this? Finally, if I plan on vapping do I need to winterize or is this more of a personal preference?
Sorry for the long post I juist dont want to ruin high quality owers that took me a while to save
up for! Again any feedback is greatly appreciated!!!
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Posted by beereighty on February 20, 2014 at 8:49 AM
hp://tiny.cc/d49kbxIts a polypropylene cap with a silicone seal that screws onto mason jars,
wide or regular, spill proof. works AWESOME for mason soaks, self lters to a decent degree
for winterizers, use mesh if just purging. That link goes to the ebay sellers page for the caps.
Stay safe
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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on March 2, 2014 at 9:33 AM
Silicone seal worries me
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Posted by beereighty on March 2, 2014 at 10:14 AM
Agreed. I use the yellow tef tape on the jar. The top is a snap seal.
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Posted by ommp pay it forward on February 19, 2014 at 4:43 PM
SKUNK PHARM RESEARCH, LLC IS NOW ON FACEBOOK.
Join the Skunk Pharm and their friends today.
hps://www.facebook.com/SkunkPharm
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Posted by ThirstyMind on February 12, 2014 at 10:09 PM
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What are the best practices, safety-wise, for thermos extractions?

Im thinking
Since the system (thermos and butane) have been chilled, the butane enters the thermos as a
liquid. This improves safety, right? Its less likely to explode during this step?
Static electricity is a big concern, where I live. Im geing shocked all over the house right
now. There are two critical moments I can think of: (1) when the butane can comes near the
thermos during injection, and (2) after the soak, when pouring the butane from a metal thermos
to a metal strainer/bain marie. How do I mitigate these concerns?
The most dangerous time seems to be when emptying the thermos after the soak, because the
butane starts to boil o quickly. I will have a fan pointed at it (pushing not pulling). Anything
else I should do, besides keep my distance until its done?
How far should I be from possible ignition sources, outdoors? My back yard is prey big, but
not acres big. I know butane expands like 230:1, and is explosive at very low percentage, so is
my entire big back yard made explosive by a 300ml can? For how long?
Trying not to go all OCD on this, but I really dont want to blow up
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Best to just get a closed loop extractor.
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Posted by Elbreo on February 12, 2014 at 12:54 AM
Hello there, I have some questions regarding process in timing and temps.
I have had trouble in the past in geing all the butane out and need help with purging. Using
the double Pyrex boiler method blasting from a glass column, what is the best temperature to
have the water at on initial blast? After the tane runs clear, I stop. But sometimes I blast again
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and see some green come out. Whats the best way to ensure you are extracting the most oil
possible? While leing the solution sit and purge, is it best to increase temp (if so, how high) or
to let it stay the same? I do realize that time is all subjective, but when is it best to scrape or
should I be agitating it frequently? I usually let it purge for a good two hours before collecting it
and placing it on a slick pad, and purging again. Again, I want the butane all out, and
unfortunately I cant aord a vacuum, so any more advice on purging techniques on how to
make the best quality using hot water, toaster oven, lamp, etc will greatly be appreciated.
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We dont recommend open blasting.
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Posted by willbur on February 10, 2014 at 9:03 PM
so, this isnt related to bho but I was curios if water extraction takes out any plant waxes? just a
thought I had thinking about all of those things being water soluable.
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Posted by emusic free trial this here on February 6, 2014 at 12:19 AM
Amazing things here. I am very satised to look your post.
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Thank you so much and I am having a look ahead to contact you.

Will you please drop me a e-mail?
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Posted by So can i do this or is it a waste. on January 31, 2014 at 1:32 PM
[] dont listen to your friend, here are some good links Guide to BHO
hp://skunkpharmresearch.com/bho-extraction/ Guide To QWET (a way beer version of what
your friend suggested) []
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