Bho & Iso Oil

[grobag]

I've mentioned my prefered methods on the other thread I started 'Oil Production: IMHO' but in a hap-hazard and jumbled fasion so I thought I'd do a couple of posts on how I like to make my oil. Sorry I don't have a camera but I plan to borrow one and post a few pictures at a later date, if poss.

Firstly BHO (Butane Honey Oil):

This is dangerous so do it outside and do not smoke.

Many say that you need a decent pure Butane (Calibri, Newport etc) and while it would be best to if you can, the more common brands work just as well (Ronson, Swan etc) and don't leave a visible residue in the oil, although a sprectrometre may prove otherwise.

You will need:

Trim/bud (frozen)

2 cans of Butane lighter gas

A cafatierre coffee pot (one with a plunger) Pyrex.

Coffee grinder (electric)

2 X Paper coffee filters (unbleeched)

4 X Wooden clothes pegs

Wire coat hanger

Pyrex collection dish

A slightly larger bowl the pyrex dish fits into.

Bend the wire coathanger to form a circle with a handle. The circle needs to be the size of the coffee filters so that you can put one inside the other and peg it to the circle to form a filter the you don't have to touch when pouring something through it.

Grind the trim/bud up in the coffee grinder and put it in the coffee pot until the pot is a quarter full.

Unscrew the stem from the coffee pot lid so the lid can be placed on the pot with a hole in it. You'll need to reatatch the stem later so keep it handy. Unpop the nozzle from a lighter can lid that fits neatly into this hole in the lid. Keep a thick bit of material handy to cover the pouring hole on the coffee pot or freezing gas will escape through it.

Now for the bit in the garden, the build up of fumes can cause an explosion if ignited. Squirt both cans of gas into the coffee pot and it will condense into a liquid and cover the trim/bud. Do not touch the pot itself at this point as it will be freezing. Replace the stem back into the lid of the pot and push the plunger down to just above the level of the butane, with the lid on obviously. This slows evaporation and you can filter the main plant matter from the oil. After about ten minutes swill it about a bit, plunge the filter and pour through your DIY filter into the pyrex collection dish. Always being carefull not to touch the pot or the filter, or splash any liquid. As it touches the dish it start bubbling an evaporating, once it's all poured through the paper filters it's ready for evaporaring. The matter in the coffee pot and the crap in the filters can be discarded once they heat up a bit. It's mad all the ice on the pot and the filters, shows you just how cold it is.

You should now have a dish of bubbling yellow liquid with no bits or lumps in at all. Fill the bigger bowl woith hot water and place the pyrex dish in it. It will now evaporate in minutes leaving a layer of pure butane oil for scraping.

[Bu]

Nice one Gro!

Bu.

[grobag]

Final Purging of Solvent:

There are various methods for purging the last traces of solvent from your oil once you've evaporated off all that you can.

Firstly, redissolving the oil in IPA (Isopropyl Alcohol), apart from being an easy method for retrieving the oil from the evaporation dish, is a good method of purging. Once the oil has been redissolved in IPA then the IPA evaporated itself, what remains is a purer form of oil free from any remaining solvent.

Another method of achieving this without the use of IPA or heat is to freeze the collection dish containing the evaporated oil. Place the collection dish in the freezer for 10-20 mins until frozen, then remove and let it warm up naturally back to room temperature. Repeat this method another two times. When the oil has been frozen and returned to room temp. three times, all of the remaining solvent will have been purged from the oil.

The third method I might employ is the most crude but this is also a method I use for smoking it. Each batch of oil I make I usually keep inside a folded wrap of strong plastic eg a square of descent carrier bag. This I keep in the fridge so that the oil has a hard glassy consistency. Then with a buttering knife I tack a bit off along the length of the knife the size of a joint. When the knife is heated gently from underneath, the oil will go runny but be careful not to let it bubble. This not only removes any remaining solvent in the oil but you can also then spread it like butter into a joint of weed/ backy.

[grobag]

My ISO Oil:

This is my jumble of other peoples' methods into what works for me.

With extractions using alcohol as the solvent like this one using Isopropyl Alcohol, the problem is that is is not as selective in what it takes out as butane. Along with the THCs and Cannabinoids you're also extracting chlorophyl, tars, waxes etc which are contaminates that make the oil darker and make it taste and smell awful. The reason behind this method is to extract as many pschoactive compounds as possible with as few contams with them.

You'll Need:

finely chopped (scissors) trim/bud to 1/third fill the jar.

A glass jar with metal lid.

Enough Isopropyl Alcohol (99%) to 2/thirds fill the jar.

2 x Paper coffee filters.

Wire filter holder & pegs (see above post 'BHO').

Pyrex collection dish.

larger bowl that Pyrex dish fits in.

Coffee pot (with plunger) for water wash.

Method:

I first prepare the trim/bud for the Iso extraction with a water wash and redrying. The reason I do this is to reduce the number of available contams that could end up in the oil. Many of these contams are soluble in water whereas the resin is not.

For best results I find chopping the trim/bud with scissors works better than grinding as the larger surface area with grinding speeds up the reaction to quick.

Place the trim/bud in the coffee pot and fill with warm water give it a little stir and replace the lid and plunger. The resin glands naturally sink to the bottom but the plunger and filter helps keep everything in place and contained. I pour the waste water out through my smallest bubblebag to make sure that I'm not losing any trichomes but none ever come out. The water that first comes out is dark brown with water soluble contams and stinks. Repeat this another once or twice until the water runs cleanish. Redrying this washed trim/bud is a bitch, it takes a while (day or two), I do it on the rediator in a steel dish stiring occationally.

When the trim/bud has dried and been frozen place it in the jar for a QWISO (Quick Wash Isopropyl Alcohol) extraction. Again remember to do the evaporation outside as the fumes are flamable and explosive. With the trim/bud in the jar pour in the IPA and replace the lid. Time yourself and shake the jar for no longer than 1 minute (30 secs is best) then remove the lid. Outside, pour the mixture through the coffee filters into the pyrex dish. When it has all drained through to the dish it is ready for evaporation. Again I like to do this quickly so put hot water in the larger bowl and place in the pryrex dish. You'll see the solvent boiling and it will again evaporate in minutes but takes longer than butane. When all of the solvent has evaporated and been purged (I like the freezing method, see above post) you will be left with a nice oil which is more solid and workable than BHO type oil.

Edited March 5, 2008 by grobag
To ammend exposure times ;)

[grobag]

Cheers Bu ,

Gro.

[Bu]

Bloody marvellous!!

When I get my arse into gear this thread will save me checking elsewhere if you know what I mean!

cheers,

Bu.

[grobag]

Cool Bu, If you give it a go, could you post up some pictures

I'll try to get some up to next time I make a batch, I'm waiting for a crop to finish before I get another batch of trim. Then I'll borrow a mate's camera, he's said it'll be OK. Anyone else feel free to post your pictures of oil.

I could talk about this for hours but I've tried to get to the point without waffling;

But if anybody has any questions, want me to explain something a bit more, have a comment or suggestion for improvement etc, I'd like to chat about it.

Cheers, Gro.

[grobag]

Just thought I'd update my current thinking.

Recently I have mostly been making BHO. This is for various reasons.

Firstly, and foremost, for the buzz. Making oil with Butane gives a smaller yield than ISO and I currently am of the opinion that this is because it is that much stronger/ purer. Smoking a joint of pure weed and a spread of BHO down the middle sends me soaring. A literal 'trippy' buzz; or the closest you can get with cannabis.

Secondly, there is the time aspect. I am very impatient and vapping butane takes a fraction of the time of ISO. Plus there is the angle that it doesn't matter how long the trim is in the solvent with Butane. It doesn't strip contams no matter how long it's in there - a wider margin for error. Ensuring perfect oil every time.

When I make BHO I also like to redissolve the oil in ISO for both collection and a final purge of solvent through vapping (see above). This I think produces the best quality BHO and after it has been kept in the fridge, man it's perfect. This has been mentioned on here already (ie Sun Tzu's thread and all that tried it) and I am merely reinforcing the idea.

Like I say, this is just an update of my current preferences but that will probably change again next month

Gro.

[HydroNaut]

Hi

Make sure when making BHO you use low impurity Butane!!!

Cant stress this enough!

[grobag]

Hi guys,

Sorry Gollop, I cannot post any pics of making tinctures at the moment. Mainly because I don't have a camera but also because I would have to make one to, so that I could take the pics. But I already have about a litre left myself at the moment and don't need to make anymore.

I'd be glad to run through making one though, I love tinctures. I love making Laudinum to, an opium tincture.

HydroNaut, why does it need to be low impurity butane? Yes if you squirt a can onto glass, it leaves a white residue. But if you make BHO with it there are no residues left in the oil. I was very surprised myself. If you are aquainted with overgrow, check out posts by Phife, he has looked into this in great detail and has concluded that it would take a spectrometer to determine if there are any impurities left in the oil.

[loveweed]

Excellent info growbag...

I've always been too much of a pansy to try this, althopugh i smoke a fair bit.

Maybe I'll be inspired now...

top stuff grobag!

[grobag]

Cool Loveweed, have fun experimenting, but stay safe. Explosive business.

Gollop: Just thought that I'd better mention, don't go drinking isopropanol un watered down eh. I don't know about Salvia Divinorum tinctures, so I don't know the process, but take care.

[grobag]

Rather than go back and edit what I have already posted in this thread a few years ago, I thought that I'd make a couple of extra comments with hindsight and my current ways of doing things.

Firstly, with the QWISO oiling method, I previously state to wash no longer than 2 minutes. This I would now revise to 30 seconds to 1 minute. You can always do a second wash to catch anything you missed - or even better do a butane wash then you'd only get what you missed.

I haven't had any IPA for a while now but next time I make some BHO I will definately be collecting it and purging it in a few drops of IPA. I haven't done that for a while but it works a treat.

Also a note on the butane: I always now use near-zero impurity butane as Hydronaut says in this thread. Keen-Newport aswell, as his link leads to (London refills are the brand name I use). I still stand by what I said before but to be on the safe side, you know you'll not have any impurities with the right butane - you never know what Swan and Ronson may leave behind, even if you can't see nor smell it.

Happy oiling everyone.

PS Ignore my comments to Gollop as it appears he was modded out of the thread. I wasn't a mod when I posted this topic so haven't a clue what happened but for the same reason as above - I'll not go back editing it all now, as it has been here for ages. Plus there's not much about making tinctures on the boards.

[Leprechan Sweet Leaf]

Top thread Gro.

Any good tincture threads? I like the idea of that, like a rescue remedy made with lot5 or something!

[grobag]

Top thread Gro.

Any good tincture threads? I like the idea of that, like a rescue remedy made with lot5 or something! :wink:

This is just a fraction of the main thread I started after this one, check out the link in my signature. :wink:

As to tinctures, no I've not done a proper guide yet with pictures and a run down on the various ways and means to get different tinctures. I'll be cropping again within the next month and will start another round of guides then including IPA oil, tinctures, sprays and isomerisation.

But basically mate, if it's a rescue remedy type tincture you are after, ie. only a few drops needed to do the trick, then it will effectively be the same thing as Sativex and could also be used as a spray for under the tongue. The main ingredient needed for this, however, is ethanol and that is quite hard to come by in Britain. I'll try my best to get hold of some again by the time I crop and then I'll be able to write up a few good guides with step by step pictures.

I've written posts and threads in the past on here on all the methods I've mentioned above but I will endeavour to put them all in one place (ie my hash thread) with proper step by step guides.

Gro