Rosin Collection

[NezA]

Hey everyone,

 

I don't frequent this section of the boards very much but I'm starting to get into extracts and I built myself a DIY rosin press a while back. I used it to press some old trim I had laying around when I first built it just to get a feel for it the material was very very dry and old and yielded some very dark rosin it dabbed just fine but didn't look the nicest.

 

I've just finished a run of Disco Biscuit and the flowers have been drying for around 8 days, I trimmed the buds and took all the popcorn and I'm working my way through it in batches trying different settings to see how it comes out.

 

The first run I did came out a lovely golden honey color it was slightly runny compared to my early attempts but I was able to collect this just fine after sticking it in the freezer for a while. So I did a slightly larger run where I packed the bag a bit more. Now this may be where I've gone wrong but I chopped the buds up a bit to get the bag nice and evenly full with no gaps not ground up just chopped into smaller chunks. This second run definitely has a green hue to it so I know it contains a considerable amount more contaminants than the first batch.

 

However the real issue I'm having is collecting it. It's just a nightmare I've left it in the freezer overnight and it hasn't made a jot of difference it just doesn't want to firm up enough to be collected. 

 

The question is, have I fucked it or can this be salvaged? Any hints or tips on collecting this I've managed to get a small amount of it collected but it really is a nightmare to work with and I'm struggling.

 

So over to the hive mind of UK420 please tell me what I'm doing wrong.

 

Many thanks in advance

[Arthur Mix]

Have you tried doing it on a frozen tile ?  Non stable can be caused by bits of stems , seeds or sometimes just needs a different temp . 

Edited May 12, 2021 by Arthur Mix

[beep]

the green means that the bud was not quite dry enough - that can be tricky, you want the water mostly gone, but not the terpenes (which are the solvent which drags the cannabinoids out of the plant material when heated and pressed)

 

Terpene saver packs can help get the RH just right, takes patience of course - if you rush the drying, you will end up with much less THC, CBD etc in the rosin, because the terpenes will be evaporated off too

 

to solve...

 

I would first probably try to warm the paper, rolled up inside a very small measuring beaker (scientific boro glass), and see if it becomes runny enough to pool in the beaker by itself - careful with the temps obviously, i wouldn't go above 80C in the oven for that (allot of ovens cant even go that low, def check in advance with a good thermometer)

 

if that didn't work, i would then look at decarb temps, which also evaporates the water, along with removing CO2 - that should then produce something stickier/more viscus that can be collected with a dab tool, or go back to the freezer for crumbling

 

can't guarantee this will work, just the next steps i would take

 

also bare in mind, your hands will warm up the rosin thru the paper very very quickly, handle it as little as possible; maybe use gloves

 

 

(of course decarbed rosin will oxidize/breakdown much more quickly, store it in the fridge in a dark container, unless you don't mind the unconsciousness of CBN)

 

 

Edited May 12, 2021 by beep

[beep]

all above depends how much rosin we are talking about too - if its only 500-1000mg, i would probably just patiently scrape it off, and then try to avoid the issue next time

[M Pamplemousse]

What temps, pressure, time and bag micron....?

 

I can't see breaking up the bud would lead to more contaminants. I do similar when packing.

 

It may just be strain related. I press using same tech, temp and pressure and find different varieties give me very different outputs. Some are very waxy and others very runny. But freezer has always enabled me to collect....

 

Sometimes, just leaving the rosin for a day or so to cure can change the texture dramatically.....

 

Maybe ping some of the other gurus....

Edited May 12, 2021 by M Pamplemousse

[NezA]

@Arthur Mix

I've put it on a metal tray in the freezer this time to see if the cold surface helps at all

 

@beep

I'm not sure there's enough there to make the oven trick worthwhile the material itself is pretty dry but not completely, so perhaps it's too much water but I don't know it's hard to say because I've only pressed rosin about 5 times so this is all part of the learning process for me. The thing is if it was the material then the first batch would have suffered the same issue no? This is why I'm leaning towards it being an issue with the way I'm processing.

 

@M Pamplemousse

First press was 2 mins at 85c gradually building the pressure up to 6 tons bags are 90 micron I believe, although they might be 120 but I'm pretty sure they're 90

 

That yielded this: 

 

Which was runny but I was able to collect just fine after an hour in the freezer.

 

The next batch was quite a bit more material about 10g of trim and popcorn with the chunkier stuff chopped up.

 

The only difference was, I pressed for just over 2 mins maybe 2 mins 20, but kind of had to due to the extra material in the bag. That yielded this: 

 

 

It definitely has a green hue to it but should be absolutely fine if I could collect the bloody stuff.

 

Appreciate all the advice peeps this extraction business is a whole other ball game entirely!

Edited May 12, 2021 by NezA

[Arthur Mix]

Is that a silicon based parchment you using ? If you care brand is ace it’s what I use 

[NezA]

The brand is Caterserve not sure whether or not it's silicone based.

 

I'll get some if you care ordered and give it a whirl.

[NezA]

Cold tile (baking tray) has done the trick @Arthur Mix

[Minion00]

Sounds like you’re terps have separated and that why it’s so hard to collect, and if you really want to get into concentrates just make hash first and that’ll make it easier to run and a better quality product 

[FarmerPalmersNT]

Few things here that just aren't true or are very, very, very bad advice tbh.

 

Drying improperly will not impact THC or CBD. Terpenes yes.

 

Humidity packs (terp packs??) are not great for your flavours. Do a side by side if you don't believe me.

 

Ffs don't put it in the oven. Especially at 80c. This is a terrible, terrible idea unless you have a sealed jar cure technique in mind.

 

There is very unlikely to be any significant amount of water in your rosin unless you pressed wet flower. Heating it for a while may make it less runny but because you are removing more volatile terpenes. You don't want that.

 

Some presses are runny. It's not resolveable on the paper without crazy low temperature. Whipping in a jar or sealed jar sous vide curing can create other consistencies. Lots of techniques out there for that.

 

I use a razor or Stanley blade angled carefully and smoothly to avoid picking up paper fibres for really runny ones. They are often (not always) the loudest too, so it's not a bad thing. You may find once jarred off the paper it isn't as green as you think. 

 

 

 

[Arthur Mix]

Glad someone else said there’s lots of miss info here. 

[beep]

22 minutes ago, FarmerPalmersNT said:

Few things here that just aren't true or are very, very, very bad advice tbh.

 

Drying improperly will not impact THC or CBD. Terpenes yes.

 

Humidity packs (terp packs??) are not great for your flavours. Do a side by side if you don't believe me.

 

Ffs don't put it in the oven. Especially at 80c. This is a terrible, terrible idea unless you have a sealed jar cure technique in mind.

 

There is very unlikely to be any significant amount of water in your rosin unless you pressed wet flower. Heating it for a while may make it less runny but because you are removing more volatile terpenes. You don't want that.

 

Some presses are runny. It's not resolveable on the paper without crazy low temperature. Whipping in a jar or sealed jar sous vide curing can create other consistencies. Lots of techniques out there for that.

 

I use a razor or Stanley blade angled carefully and smoothly to avoid picking up paper fibres for really runny ones. They are often (not always) the loudest too, so it's not a bad thing. You may find once jarred off the paper it isn't as green as you think. 

 

 

 

you misunderstood what i said about drying - terpenes are the solvent which allows the cannabinoids to be drawn out - when the flower is too dry, esp if dried quickly with heat, the terpenes can be significantly reduced in concentration, which can reduce the amount of rosin (ie the cannabinoids) you get out of the press (i have tested this with various stages of drying, the drop is not insignificant)

 

THC converts to CBN with time, oxygen, light and heat; increase one, and this will change the cannabinoid profile to different degrees

 

I only use packs for RH when there is an issue with moisture content - if you are dealing with a good starting product, then obviously you don't need them

 

and again regarding heating, obviously if the end product is good, you don't need or want to do this (unless you plan on decarb)

 

i decarb all my rosin for use in vape pen, and of course that is much higher temp than 80c - putting it into a sealed jar is claimed to reduce evaporation, but it depends how much rosin you have and how small the container is - however - terpenes will oxidise very quickly, especially as the temps increase, keeping them trapped in the jar wont prevent this - i have never been convinced of the sealed jar method because of this fact of chemistry - my rosin gets decarbed in an open boro glass beaker, i've never looked back since starting

 

i press virtually everything i get, have done for a long time, experimented with lots of methods for solving problems - reality is, if you have a problem to start with, no solution is going to give you a perfect product

[beep]

6 hours ago, NezA said:

@Arthur Mix

I've put it on a metal tray in the freezer this time to see if the cold surface helps at all

 

@beep

I'm not sure there's enough there to make the oven trick worthwhile the material itself is pretty dry but not completely, so perhaps it's too much water but I don't know it's hard to say because I've only pressed rosin about 5 times so this is all part of the learning process for me. The thing is if it was the material then the first batch would have suffered the same issue no? This is why I'm leaning towards it being an issue with the way I'm processing.

 

@M Pamplemousse

First press was 2 mins at 85c gradually building the pressure up to 6 tons bags are 90 micron I believe, although they might be 120 but I'm pretty sure they're 90

 

That yielded this: 

 

Which was runny but I was able to collect just fine after an hour in the freezer.

 

The next batch was quite a bit more material about 10g of trim and popcorn with the chunkier stuff chopped up.

 

The only difference was, I pressed for just over 2 mins maybe 2 mins 20, but kind of had to due to the extra material in the bag. That yielded this: 

 

 

It definitely has a green hue to it but should be absolutely fine if I could collect the bloody stuff.

 

Appreciate all the advice peeps this extraction business is a whole other ball game entirely!

the second one just looks a touch more "cooked" than the first to me - but also if the first batch was more flower, and the second more trim, and both with different settings, then you would end up with a slightly different end product

 

i do agree with above, viscosity varies significantly between presses of different material - i was imagining a dark green watery product from your description; had that happen before now - but your pics don't look outside normal really (cant tell the viscosity from a pic ofc), i'd have gone with my last suggestion of carefully scraping it up

[Arthur Mix]

If you use a cold tile no need to scrape, scrapings a bad bad idea due to parchment fibres  . Tacking yes scrape nope

 

Edited May 12, 2021 by Arthur Mix