Vacuum Purging and Processing Tips _ Skunk Pharm Research LLC.pdf

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Skunk Pharm Research LLC RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ONE SAFETY MEETING AT A TIME Vacuum Purging and Processing Tips Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC. Hot damn, ah gots mah vacuum chamber and bodaceously big pump, so where do ah go fum heah? Goooood question, so lets hit on a few key points. There is more to vacuum purging and finishing than just sticking the oil in the chamber, and turning on the pump. Tip # 1 Selecting vacuum levels and pumps. Don’t waste money and cannabinoids purchasing a 2 stage vacuum pump. First lets look at what is going on when you place oil in a vacuum chamber and start raising the temperature. The boiling points of compounds are given at a specific elevation, normally sea level. That is because the weight of the atmosphere at sea level is about 14.7 psi, 760, 000 microns or millibars, or 29.92″ Hg. The weight of that atmosphere suppresses the boiling point, and if you remove that weight, the compounds boil at lower temperatures. That is a good thing in that it allows us to cold boil away solvents with lile heat, but it has its limitations, and one is that the same vacuum also changes the boiling point of the components suspended in the alcohol, that you are hoping to end up with when the alcohol is gone. For instance, here is a chart, complements of Skyhighler, demonstrating what happens when you pull a vacuum on THC. Note that at sea level, Delta 9 THC boils around 157C/315F. Now look at what happens at -29.9196″ Hg, where Delta 9 THC is boiling at only minus -5C or 23F. Whoaaaaa! That sorts of flies in the face of the common perception that nothing but a 2 stage vacuum pump will suffice, when most single stages will pull to below 100 microns, which is about -29.916″ Hg. Vacuum Purging and Processing Tips | Skunk Pharm Research LLC http://skunkpharmresearch.com/vacuum-purging-and-processing-tips/ 1 of 46 11/27/2014 1:01 PM

Transcript of Vacuum Purging and Processing Tips _ Skunk Pharm Research LLC.pdf

Page 1: Vacuum Purging and Processing Tips _ Skunk Pharm Research LLC.pdf

Skunk Pharm Research LLC RESEARCH AND

DEVELOPMENT ONE SAFETY MEETING AT A

TIME

Vacuum Purging and Processing Tips

Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC.

Hot damn, ah gots mah vacuum chamber and bodaceously big pump, so where do ah go fumheah?

Goooood question, so lets hit on a few key points. There is more to vacuum purging and finishingthan just sticking the oil in the chamber, and turning on the pump.

Tip # 1 Selecting vacuum levels and pumps. Don’t waste money and cannabinoids purchasing a2 stage vacuum pump.

First lets look at what is going on when you place oil in a vacuum chamber and start raising thetemperature.

The boiling points of compounds are given at a specific elevation, normally sea level. That isbecause the weight of the atmosphere at sea level is about 14.7 psi, 760, 000 microns or millibars, or29.92″ Hg. The weight of that atmosphere suppresses the boiling point, and if you remove thatweight, the compounds boil at lower temperatures.

That is a good thing in that it allows us to cold boil away solvents with li/le heat, but it has itslimitations, and one is that the same vacuum also changes the boiling point of the componentssuspended in the alcohol, that you are hoping to end up with when the alcohol is gone.

For instance, here is a chart, complements of Skyhighler, demonstrating what happens when youpull a vacuum on THC. Note that at sea level, Delta 9 THC boils around 157C/315F.

Now look at what happens at -29.9196″ Hg, where Delta 9 THC is boiling at only minus -5C or23F.

Whoaaaaa! That sorts of flies in the face of the common perception that nothing but a 2 stagevacuum pump will suffice, when most single stages will pull to below 100 microns, which is about-29.916″ Hg.

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Tip # 2 Install a ball valve between the vacuum chamber and the vacuum pump, so when thepump is turned off, the vacuum line can be closed off, so as to not suck vacuum oil from thepump crank case, into the vacuum chamber.

Be/er yet, install a cross, with the pump ball valve in the straight through port and a vacuumgauge in one of the side ports, leaving the last port for another ball valve, which will allowbackfilling directly from the atmosphere.

We install a filter on this port, so as to not vent dust into a fresh extraction.

Tip#3 The brains of the system is the compound pressure gauge, so get a quality unit andcalibrate it at the start of the process, as well as periodically check it to see that it is returning tozero.

Bourdon gauges have flat partial circle shaped thin walled tube inside, that opens and closes itsdiameter under vacuum, and they take a li/le time to nestle in when new.

We like a Just Be/er M2-250B Refrigerant Compound Gauge ourselves, which has removable frontcover, and a calibration screw that allows zero adjustment.

Never try to turn the adjustment screw under pressure, or you will most likely damage theadjustment screw.

Tip#4 Check your pump oil for color, clarity, and level before starting the process and

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regularly during use, most especially during cold boiling under vacuum.

We prefer a clear, colorless pump oil, so we can see if it is contaminated by looking at it throughthe oil level view window. You can also note the level, as most have an upper and lower limitindicated.

All slide vane vacuum pumps puke oil and oil vapors out the exhaust and are noisy, so it to makea mess where you set it, unless you add a larger filter on the exhaust.

I just saw a cute conversion, that allowed spinning a Fomoco size oil filter on the exhaust, tocontain the mess. If you don’t have such an arrangement, might I suggest you use a metal trayunder your pump where making a mess is of concern.

If you are using the pump to cold boil, and aren’t using an effective cold trap, you must regularlychange your oil as the level rises beyond the safe level and begins to puke out the exhaust.

More on cold traps further down.

Tip#5 Test your vacuum pump by itself, before trying to vacuum test the completesystem.

You can test your vacuum pump to see what level it will achieve in heaven, but simply a/aching arefrigerant hose to the pump and the one to a vacuum gauge.

Make sure that the cord connecting the pump is heavy enough for the pumps rated amperage andavoid using extension cords.

Don’t run multiple motors on the same circuit, because of the high locked rotor amp spike duringstartup.

Turn on the pump and see how far it pulls down. If it doesn’t pull down to its rated capacity atyour altitude, check for leaks at each of the hose connection points.

To adjust for altitude, here is a good chart, taken from: h/p://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/air-altitude-pressure-d_462.html (h/p://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/air-altitude-pressure-d_462.html)

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Tip#6 Vacuum test your complete system by first pumping it down as far as it will pulldown, and turning off the pump isolation valve. There should be no pressure loss after at leastan hour.

Except for losses due to temperature changes, there shouldn’t be any pressure losses overnight. The key point is that the system needs to be hermetically sealed.

Tip#7 To keep the pressure of your chamber within the range that you have selected foroptimum results, open the bleed valve and spill air into the pump line.

If you have both a 1/4″ and a 1/2″ hose connection on your pump, you can install a bleed valve onthe unused one, to thro/le vacuum at the pump.

Besides acting to limit how low your pump pulls the negative pressure down to, injecting dry airat that point, will help dry out the crank case vapors and slow down crankcase dilution.

Tip#8 Regularly close the ball valve to isolate the vacuum pump, and turn it off to give ita rest.

It isn’t necessary to continue to run the pump, once the desired pressure is reached, but it isnecessary to regularly start the pump and open the valve to burp it, so as to keep the atmosphereenriched by the cold boiling solvent removed.

You can also valve off the chamber and introduce a dry gas through the other vacuum pump port,to act as a ballast to dry out the crankcase.

Clearly you can’t pull much of a vacuum venting a dry gas into the intake port, but the valved offchamber vacuum loss is tolerable for a few minutes.

Tip#9 Use a cold trap between the vacuum chamber and the pump when cold boilingsolvent to recover the solvent for reuse, before it dilutes the vacuum pump oil.

To insure that the solvent is recovered in the cold trap, and not cold boiled away there too, youmust control the vacuum pressure at the cold trap, as opposed to the chamber.

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The lower the cold trap temperature, the more efficient. Besides ice water, antifreeze, dry ice andalcohol, and liquid nitrogen are used in cold traps to achieve desired recovery rates.

A trap with more face area to the flow, will decrease velocity and increase transfer time.

A trap with the most surface area will transfer the most heat, at the same velocity and temperature.

Tip # 10 When you first pull a vacuum on a liquid, it will outgas the dissolved gasses andmay boil explosively and violently, until the gasses are expelled.

To prevent making a mess, thro/le the vacuum carefully, while observing the boiling action, untilthe gasses are expelled and the pool calms down.

Tip # 11 When cold boiling, use a glass sheet or equivalent cover over your boiling pan, soas to not blow specks of oil all over the interior surfaces of your chamber or oven.

Even though it may look like boiling has stopped, it is still sublimating, with occasional explosivebumping.

Tip # 12 Before paying good money for cheaply made vacuum chamber, consider makingsomething of your own like the one shown at:

h/p://skunkpharmresearch.com/diy-vacuum-purging-chamber/ (h/p://skunkpharmresearch.com/diy-vacuum-purging-chamber/)

TIP #13 How come I had violent boiling when I first pulled a vacuum, and then the boilingslowed down to a crawl?

The liquid in the chamber has dissolved gases from the atmosphere in it and when you lowerabsolute pressure, they boil out and escape.

If it is boiling too violently to contain, try thro/ling the vacuum pressure back some, until most ofit escapes, and it calms down.

TIP#14 How to calibrate a vacuum gauge without a reference standard

Here is another one from Skyhighler, on how to calibrate a vacuum gauge, accurately enough forour purposes, when you don’t have a calibrated reference standard to compare it to.

Here is a chart showing at what temperature and pressure distilled water boils and some ideas onhow to use it.

If you track the temperature of a pool of water, when you pull a vacuum on it, several thingshappen.

As the partial pressure is pumped closer to absolute zero, the dissolved gasses boil out of the pool.

The water itself starts to boil.

The temperature of the pool of water drops due to the refrigerative effects of the water boilingunder vacuum.

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The boiling slows down because the pools temperature drops to closer its boiling point.

Sooooooooooo, if you were to take distilled water and degas it by pulling a hard vacuum on ituntil violent boiling ceases, it can be used as a calibration standard that is close enough to trackour process.

As it predictably boils at different temperatures at a specific absolute pressures, you can measurethe temperature that the water is boiling at and find the corresponding absolute pressure in thefollowing chart.

If you leave the thermometer or probe in the puddle and pull a vacuum on the degassed water, itwill come to a boil at some vacuum level. Look that temperature up on the chart, and it will tellyou at what vacuum level you are at.

For instance, at -29.5″ Hg vacuum, the water should boil at around 11C/52F after degassing.

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106 responses to this post.

Posted by R3cluse on November 9, 2014 at 10:24 AM

My 2 stage, 8cfm yellow jacket pulls down to 15 microns supposedly, but upon buying a digitalvacuum gauge i notice most of the time it pulls to right around 80 to 100 if I’m using robinairhigh temp oil. If i use black gold oil i get down to about 250microns as it seems to break downat higher temps. Even with these losses, my pump oil appears clear.

Saying a 1 stage pump will cut it is true, BUT only if the correct oil is used with frequent oilchanges (I have to change mine after the initial 4 hour purge where most of the solvent isremoved. At this point my maximum vac is around 400 microns and an oil change is alwaysnecessary, this is why I use my old oil from last batch no to pull the initial bulk of solvent outbefore changing the oil that hopefully gets me through the run.)

It’s scary, the revelations I’m having since incorporating the digital gauge, in reality the oillubricating the vanes in the pump is the main factor in achievable microns, and i’m pre/y sureif I went around checking most people’s pumps, they’d be pulling around 1000 microns max, soyeah, get a one or 2 stage pump, but neither is doing the job if you aren’t constantly monitoringvacuum with a digital gauge and changing your oil accordingly or incorporating a cold trapbeforehand to avoid the issues entirely.

In my tests I’ve found that most pump oils break down at the 4 hour mark of constant pumpusage due to temperature reducing the viscocity of the oil. Once the pump is cooled my micronreadings go back down close to normal again until the oil is heated again. The runningduration is lowered each time, i’m guessing due to degredation of the oil. Robinair HighTemperature Vac oil seems to be the most stable.

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Posted by Josh on November 8, 2014 at 11:28 PM

What would happen if after the warm bath after extraction when oil has stopped bubbling youonly use a vacuum with no extra heat. Would it still take the butan out

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Posted by brent on September 21, 2014 at 12:16 PM

I was use to making consistent sha/er/snap n pull now I just get straight oil but my slab is nowviolently bubbling and won’t muffin at all. All my techniques haven’t changed. Please help? Iuse AI oven

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Posted by Jay on August 28, 2014 at 8:47 AM

I ran at full vac for like 20 seconds a couple of times when vaccing by mistake is it likely to haveboiled off high amounts thc and other terpenes ? there was only sovent bubbles popping thesame as at 29,5 hg just ali/le more violent have i messed this up

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Posted by kyle on July 11, 2014 at 9:59 PM

Hi guys im makin errl for quite a few peeps and think I got my tech down but never lab testedfor ppms. Really concered for healthy stuff.I Work with alot of trim months after harvest. After dewaxing and cp tane diaspates I placeglass dish with oil, undisterbed, in A.I. vac oven. temps at 115ish, purge at 29.5 hg and oil slabno more than 1/16″ as suggested. Now heres my thing, I’ve had my oil lay flat, no bubbles injust a few hours, it cant be done right? I always just let it keep running for 24hrs after it laysflat. Then I transfer to parch, replace in oven again till it lays flat. And I never stir periodicallylike suggested. Cuz to many batches go cloudy/waxes on me. 1. Do i keep purging even though no bubbles? Cuz if I stir it, The bubbles caused by theaggitation show rainbow colors alot of the time and if I stir, itll go cloudy alot of the timeswhich is no good

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2. Is stiring periodically nessasary? Can i just let it keep running in the oven even when nobubbles popping to pull more tane out? Is tane even beeing pulled out at that point? ill get firedif im making cloudy batches and that seems to happen a lot with stirring. 3. Why cloudy? all anti cloudy tips will be great. Ive always been told to never disturb yoursha/er till scraping/ parch transfer. And I know im dewaxing with my buchner funnelproperly. Please I cant stress enough how important it is I make clean product that passes lab testing.Bad dabs=bad karma. If anyone can help its you guys.thanks : )

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Posted by hibbe bobop on June 30, 2014 at 1:29 PM

Important post, someone please provide input. What is the mystery smoke that fills the vacchamber during pressurization? Will mystery smoke be resolved if I switch to solventlesspump?

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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on June 30, 2014 at 2:49 PM

You need an oil-less pump

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Posted by Nick on August 16, 2014 at 10:44 AM

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New ovens do need to be “nuked” before thier first use by running them at their maxtemp for 30 minutes to an hour. This will burn off any residual cleaners or oils in theovens components. This is the likely source for the vapor you are noticing.

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Posted by Bradley on September 29, 2014 at 3:46 PM

what oil-less pumps do you reccomend? thanks ahead of time

-Brad

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Posted by Erl Dabbings on September 26, 2014 at 9:38 PM

If this hasn’t been answered already, I will tell you that it is the gases that the vacuum pullsfrom the dabs. Duuuuuuuh.

This is just an assumption though however. But I feel a lot of you out just need moreconfidence in yourselves and to use common sense. If you do your research and areconfident, then go for it, just record what you learn and let the rest of us know how it went.

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Posted by J.p. Joseph Parra on June 29, 2014 at 10:25 AM

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Hello, Could you go into detail about mentioned “burping”

My product is always amazing sha/er, but never passes the flame test, so in actuality, its not soamazing.

I run the same setup as you explain to the T, Stable temp at about 115, Ive purged everywherefrom 30 min to 3 days with same results.

Thx

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Posted by Erl Dabbings on September 26, 2014 at 9:40 PM

Burping is when you let the built up gases (caused by the gases being pulled out during thevac purge) escape the vac chamber.

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Posted by Bradly on June 23, 2014 at 11:23 AM

I am having very inconsistent results purging different strains. Are there some strains thatwon’t wax up when fully purged or is it something that I am doing to them in my process?Also, I would be very interested in hiring a professional in Oregon as a consultant. I would liketo get my purge times down and consistency up. If you know anyone available, I would love toget in contact with them.

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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on June 24, 2014 at 1:40 PM

Email me at [email protected]

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Posted by How to Winterize BHO • freedom stinks on March 12, 2014 at 11:48 AM

[…] Evaporate liquid from your solution with a Silicone Pad or Pyrex Dish. Over time, it willpurge on it’s own, but you can speed the process up by applying heat (keep it under 120F forthe best results) and applying vacuum pressure. […]

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Posted by dr on March 3, 2014 at 5:13 PM

do you think it would work to put shelves inside of the vac chamber pot ?

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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on March 5, 2014 at 4:47 PM

If you don’t want any heat transfer, sure.

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Posted by Smig Bush on March 2, 2014 at 11:04 AM

I’m running about a HP-P of good trim. After I’m all done about 24hours of vac, I end up withabout 28 grams. I use n butane. I’m going to try dewaxing with dry ice next run. Can anyonegive me input on it? Your advice? Basically from my understanding I’m blasting into a masonjar surrounded by dry ice. Then storing in a cooler for 12 hours at -40 . Then strain and start myprocess?

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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on March 5, 2014 at 5:00 PM

Haven’t blasted in years but it sounds like you have a method.

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Posted by corey c. on August 13, 2014 at 1:50 AM

Kaboooooom!!! -Tek. Seriously, the advise for this post should be. Don’t try this at home. Orwell anywhere really. Get a fucking loop or get the fuck out of the vicinity of other peopleand pets. But anyway, good luck!

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Posted by Smig Bush on August 13, 2014 at 8:33 AM

Your a fucking moron.

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Posted by dan on September 17, 2014 at 2:46 PM

I agree with corey c, and you sir, are the moron!

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Posted by fabian on February 25, 2014 at 1:45 PM

hello so once I put my bho in my my vacuum chamber, at what microns and what tempsshould I leave it on, (with single stage pump)

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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on May 11, 2014 at 7:33 AM

It’s a dynamic, not static, process which takes time and skills to develop. Read up and trydifferent methods.

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Posted by Dilan on February 24, 2014 at 12:44 PM

Hello fellow enthusiasts, I have a few questions. First I’ll cover a li/le background. Have beenmaking bho since high times ran an article in an issue they put out in early 2000 about howbutane was the purest form of extraction and covered some ground on how it was done. Myfriends and I made it that way for years as it was good. After I finished school I made less andless. Then I got into the Volcano and now with the popularity of dabs I got to try someheadband sha/er an I was immediately hooked. Got back into the concentrate scene and soonlearned my knowledge was outdated. I’ve since invested in a vac oven and obtained a yellowjacket 7 cfm bullet. Overkill I realize now but as the cost wasn’t really an issue I don’tparticularly care. Now I’m trying to achieve a sha/er like consistency but I have seen somereally glass like sha/er that really turns into shards and I see that as being a nuisance. As l livein a colder climate a stick and snap consistency would be ideal. So my first question is thereanything wrong with that consistency, what I mean is is it pure?My process is the material lightly fluffed with a coffee grinder after being in the freezer for acouple days. I fill my glass extraction tube bought from shellshock. Was told it is borosilicatethen I place the whole tube in the freezer for another day or two depending on my patience.Buds were destemmed before grinding. I then fill a mixing bowl with hot tap water til thewater touches the bo/om of my pie plate or I use a casserole dish for the water I’m sprayinginto a rectangle. Tube holds 2oz so I only have run two cans through as it seems mostly clearcoming out after that. I spray in my garage with the garage door open a couple feet in shortsand non static shirt. I leave in the garage to evap the puddle of tane coming back out Romanssure water is still warm and no ice is forming on the plate. Once the puddle is gone and the bigbubbles start I take it inside. Once inside and the big bubbles have mainly ceased but it is stillin an oily state I scrape it out of the Pyrex and onto parchment I just scrape it onto it and try toagitate it as li/le as possible. Once I’m happy with whats left on the Pyrex I throw in my ovenwhich I generally have si/ing around 100F -104 and pull it to full vac with my house being2060ft above sea level sits it at right about 700 on my gage on my across international vac ovenand that’s the .9 cubic foot model. Now my other questions are1. At my sea level to get the consistency I’m looking for while retaining most of those lovelyflavours what would you recommend for an initial vac to get the furious bubbling out of theway or should I even be taking it that high at that temperature?2. At that temperature what is my optimal vac pressure. This is what I find a bit confusingtrying to do the conversions as my gage doesn’t measure in Hg but in Torr.3. Is the goal to get as close to the boiling temp of thc without going to far over it? How doesthe vac affect that temp? For instance is one doing damage to flavor running at full vac at thatheat, especially that high above sea level.Anything along the lines of tips and dos and don’ts you can offer would be awesome!! Any andall info would be much appreciated. I’ve learned so much just from reading the forums. Thank

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you guys for all you do to spread knowledge and awareness. Keep up the amazing work!

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Posted by sean on February 20, 2014 at 9:19 PM

Hi , first of all thanks for sharing all these great tips , very generous of u , I just ordered thetvo-2 oven with the high end pump .You say u like115f @ 29.5 … i know u say until bubbles rgone but i would like to set up a soak time on the oven ,, could u give me a rough idea forsha/er ,, 6 , 8,12 hours ?

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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on March 2, 2014 at 9:32 AM

Sometimes as long as 72hrs

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Posted by Ma/ s on February 13, 2014 at 7:04 AM

So I’m new to this vac purging I’m at 6000ft for a/itude my pump only gets to about -22hgwhat temp should I use to get my oil perfect and for long long do I purge?? And should IDewax the oil with ever clear after I blast ?is it beneficial ?

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Posted by Bobis Dros on February 10, 2014 at 10:07 AM

Hello guys, I am trying to compete with big named BHO vendors in Cali. I have most the techdown ( I think ) and im stuck on the last part.. the esthetics.. that clear see through oil with nomarks or bubbles. I’m gonna link my current product, I am trying to get the bubbles out of theslabs for that clarity.

h;p://tinypic.com/r/dy0ynr/8

h;p://tinypic.com/r/z780y/8

i believe the product is done, i’m just afraid to continue adding heat and vac pressure incase anundesired texture/appearance happens. These oils were in the vac oven at 100 for 60 hours, 105for 12 hours. Butane primary solvent then cleaned up with 190 proof grain alch. Thank you inadvanced for your response.

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Posted by Smig Bush on February 9, 2014 at 7:41 AM

When vac purging, how do I keep my temp up? Do I put my chamber in water bath on lowtemp?

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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on May 11, 2014 at 8:57 AM

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Granite tile in the chamber.

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Posted by Alex on January 22, 2014 at 10:14 AM

I believe my backstreaming problem mainly is due to cheap oil as states above.. I read yourarticle on butane unfortunately I am lost I am currently using Newport. From myunderstanding of the article (which my understanding isn’t great) it doesn’t make much of adifference on the number of xxxxx. Which brand would you personally recommend?

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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on January 24, 2014 at 3:25 PM

Short of buying certified butane, we’ve had good luck with Lucienne and it test to be one ofthe cleaner.

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Posted by Alex on January 21, 2014 at 8:18 PM

Hello there.. I’m new to vacuum purging and bought myself a 2 stage pump. It runs at about 31hg (just past the 30hg my gauge reads) I can thro/le it down to 29.5 but it has my pumpscreaming. Can I just lower my temp (115) and run it at full vacuum? Or should I return thispump for a single?Ps I am also having the backstreaming problem (And i OCD over closing my valve before

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turning off my pump) made a catch can that hangs in my chamber works now haha.

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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on January 24, 2014 at 3:30 PM

You can bleed a small amount of air into your chamber to keep your pump from overvacuuming.

At 1000 microns, THC boils at 111F and a two stage pump pulls to 25 microns or so.

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Posted by Alex on January 27, 2014 at 10:07 PM

When I let air in the chamber to bring it down to 29.5 my pump seems to work harderand louder. Should I run it that way regardless or is there a way to vacuum puge at31hg. Also I’m confused about the microns and boiling point of THC. I’m a armature atthis so it takes a li/le longer to catch on haha.. Thank you for your guidance

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Posted by R3cluse on November 9, 2014 at 10:23 AM

My 2 stage, 8cfm yellow jacket pulls down to 15 microns supposedly, but upon buying adigital vacuum gauge i notice most of the time it pulls to right around 80 to 100 if I’musing robinair high temp oil. If i use black gold oil i get down to about 250microns as it

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seems to break down at higher temps. Even with these losses, my pump oil appearsclear.

Saying a 1 stage pump will cut it is true, BUT only if the correct oil is used with frequentoil changes (I have to change mine after the initial 4 hour purge where most of thesolvent is removed. At this point my maximum vac is around 400 microns and an oilchange is always necessary, this is why I use my old oil from last batch no to pull theinitial bulk of solvent out before changing the oil that hopefully gets me through therun.)

It’s scary, the revelations I’m having since incorporating the digital gauge, in reality theoil lubricating the vanes in the pump is the main factor in achievable microns, and i’mpre/y sure if I went around checking most people’s pumps, they’d be pulling around1000 microns max, so yeah, get a one or 2 stage pump, but neither is doing the job if youaren’t constantly monitoring vacuum with a digital gauge and changing your oilaccordingly or incorporating a cold trap beforehand to avoid the issues entirely.

In my tests I’ve found that most pump oils break down at the 4 hour mark of constantpump usage due to temperature reducing the viscocity of the oil. Once the pump iscooled my micron readings go back down close to normal again until the oil is heatedagain. The running duration is lowered each time, i’m guessing due to degredation ofthe oil. Robinair High Temperature Vac oil seems to be the most stable.

Yeah, THC boils off under 100 microns for most of us, but how many of us are actuallyachieving this? I bet less of you than you think, myself included before I got the digitalgauge…

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Posted by Hashishin on January 12, 2014 at 7:35 PM

Have you folks by chance had any experience with a molecular seive trap? And if so what isyour opinion? Thank you

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:/

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Posted by Buck Meow on January 4, 2014 at 12:27 PM

We like 115F at -29.5″ Hg,——–its occured to me that I have only been measuring my hot bathtemp (a large vac container from a sealer kit floating in a hot plated pyrex with water or a largevolume of proper temp water) and not accounting for the internal temperature, even though Ihave noticed that it is a bit warmer than ambient when I open it when si/ing at roomtemperature.

is my understanding correct that if I lower my bath temp 7 degrees, I will be closer to yoursuggested optimum?-thermocoupler upgrade in the works-

extracting is like gravity,we dont really understand it, but we can use it to our best

could you do a condensed version of the art of the process variations that the artist selects thetexture they desire (wax, sha/er or decarboxylated)can you un-automate it

now that I write it, it seems wax is my culprit

I’ve been back n forth the US alot lately and noticed all my sha/ers wax up eventually. Well, allmy “pocket” stashes in silicone. I’m guessing heat and elevation because it doesnt happenwhen I carry at home. Any thoughts? Because I’ve never been able to make an unpurged wax.They all fall out

Thank you for sharing the truth!

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Posted by Hashishin on December 17, 2013 at 9:09 PM

And thank you all again for your time, i truly cant wait to manifest the proper opportunity toa/end your classes and meet you lovely folks in person skunk pharm res. is definitely way upthere on my list if heros

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Posted by Hashishin on December 17, 2013 at 9:01 PM

I would say between 5 to 20hg it is definitely a bit hard to get an exact reading as the needlecontinues to move, and considering i am only using an analog gauge, but at some pressurepoint the pump oil can atomize and contaminant from the forline out to the chamber

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Posted by Hashishin on December 8, 2013 at 11:06 PM

Sorry not oil sealed i ment oil-less or *oil-free vacuum pumps

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Posted by Hashishin on December 8, 2013 at 11:01 PM

I totally dig what your saying, this backstreaming however happens while the pump is runningand only breaks through into the chamber between a specific pressure point, a cold trap woulddefinitely help prevent it however im not sure of the effectiveness based soley on the cryogenicproperties, ive read that a molecular seive trap filled with zeolite would be the best way to goor just to use an oil-less or oil sealed vacuum pump but are quite expensive unfortunately, idont know whats your opinion and thank you again for your time i cant wait to be in theposition to take one of your classes

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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on December 15, 2013 at 8:21 AM

What vacuum levels are you pulling when the mist occurs?

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Posted by CropAndGarden on December 20, 2013 at 10:18 AM

The mist comes fromoverheated oiloverheated pumpalchohol & water in the oilVac oil shouldn’t do that, if it does its bad. Gast & Robinair sell oil & make quality products,they claim their oil is dryer and will not break down to heat as quickly.You can also buy food grade vac oil

h;p://www.grainger.com/product/12G553?gclid=CMK09rmpv7sCFa10QgodyxMAnw&cm_mmc=PPC:GooglePLA-_-Pneumatics-_-Air%2520Compressor%2520Accessories-_-12G553&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=12G553&ef_id=UltEhQAAAW79Cixl:20131220172722:s

As long as you have a good check valve the mist is a moot problem, The vac is created bypulling atm. through the line in one direction, if anything was able to travel the oppositedirection the physics of a vacuum pump wouldn’t work.

It would be like dust traveling east in a wind blowing west.

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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on December 26, 2013 at 9:40 PM

One would think, but interesting things can happen when the pump is running but thereare few to no gas molecules being captured and everything is at the same pressure. I’venever had it happen, but I keep hearing that it has and am still tongue in cheek.

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One issue that jumps out at you, is that pulling to steady state with even a single stagevacuum pump, is too low. At those levels, THC boils at room temperature.

We’re used oil diffusion pumps as the next stage in industry, and Ion pumps

Check valves are good insurance against inadvertently shu/ing off the pump with anopen ball valve, but all check valves have pressure losses across them. I’ve taken thesprings out of them and put them in a vertical position to lessen this loss, but they can besignificant.

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Posted by CropAndGarden on December 27, 2013 at 9:27 AM

Never had it happen either, so I tried & found that unless the pump is running toohot no mist or back-flow occurs using a florescent leak detection additive whichvaporizes before pump oil.Mist was seen after using the oil for only a 3rd time to purge after winterizing. Inever had this happen because I pour the oil out after each use in tall skinny jar let itstratify & siphon the alcohol & water from the vac oil.

Mist or back-flow occurs only if compounds are in the oil that vaporize under thetemp & vacuum you are operating at.

These are average properties of vacuum oilBoiling Point = 760 mmHg (373C) (703F)Vapor Pressure @ 77F = 4*10^-5 or 0.00533289474 pascals.That’s more vacuum than I’ve seen any pump operate at.

I’m a HVAC Tech & already owned the equipment…But for anybody looking for a vac setup should look for peristaltic or lab diaphragmpumps instead they are similar in price, less aggressive & give you the option tofractionally recover terps, alcohol & any cannabinoids in a alternate chamber.They can be used for hydrocarbon recovery in a closed loop extractor as well.

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Posted by Alchemist on August 26, 2014 at 3:01 PM

Can you explain in more detail how that separation of cannabinoids can takeplace with the pumps you mentioned ? Thank you

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Posted by js on November 2, 2014 at 5:50 PM

From what I’ve seen lab pumps are twice as expensive and peristaltic are muchmore. Do you know a good place for cost?

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Posted by Hashishin on December 5, 2013 at 7:34 PM

Thank you so much for the work you all do, i know its busy and i apologize for adding to thechaos i just wanted to inquire what everyones opinion is on pump oil backstreaming, not inany liquid form, but atomized pump oil backstreaming in to the chamber. To myunderstanding theirs not a whole lot of studies on how to prevent it other than from usingsome kind of forline trap but my main concern is investing in a high quality oil sealed rotarypump only to have this happen as a oil free pump may be out of budget at the moment, iasuume that el cheapo harbor freight pumps will go out sooner than say a yellow jacketAmerican made pump but again i just had to ask the experts what you all may think thank youall for your time, much love light and respect

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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on December 7, 2013 at 8:09 AM

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We use a ball valve between our pump and chamber, so that when we shut down the pumpwith the chamber under negative pressure, it doesn’t back stream oil vapors from the pumpcrank case. We close the valve before shu/ing down the pump and start the pump beforeopening the valve.

We also sometimes use a cold trap between the pump and the chamber, so that even if thepower goes off, the pump oil is caught in the cold trap, instead of being aspirated into thechamber.

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Posted by CropAndGarden on December 3, 2013 at 3:23 PM

Just had a thought and wanted to check if you guys have thought of / tried it already or knowwhy it wouldn’t work if done.

I was thinking of se/ing up an apparatus to freeze dry my winterized extracts hoping it willenable me to regain the dry crumbly consistency by avoiding heat.

I also noticed cannabinoids in my cold trap. I cold purge the ethanol from the cold trap andhave an extract of clear cannabinoids.I didn’t get them analyzed but it tastes and smells ofthem. freeze drying is the only process I can think of that would avoid heat or vacuuming offcannabinoids.Is there a resource to a list of cannabinoids and their vapor temps under vaccum ?

I would like to isolate the cbd somehow or separate the thc in order to make an extract to helppeople without ge/ing them high. I wanted to do that using liquid column chromatography ?Ive read about hexane / alumina being used as elutant/media. What elutant / beads have youguys used in your chromatography processes. Is there a media that would work with butane orethanol ?

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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on December 17, 2013 at 7:27 AM

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Dry and and crispy is not a good thang, but it would ostensibly hold on to more of thelighter terpenes. We prefer to extract at around 25% water content, when it is still rife withterpenes and leathery enough to not break up into fine dust.

Not sure what you have in your cold trap, but cannabinoids have very li/le smell. It is themono and sesquiterpenes that provide the fragrance, so you most likely have a gin in yourcold trap.

We find the same thing when we recover the alcohol using a pot still. We end up with aterpene smell to the recovered alcohol, because it contains a bunch of them.

Joe has separated the cannabinoids from the non targeted components of an oil extractusing chromatography, but not the cannabinoids individually. I’ll ask him to chime in onthe last item.

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Posted by Alchemist on August 26, 2014 at 1:04 PM

So what did Joe told you ? How can they be separated properly with thechromatography ?

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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on August 26, 2014 at 5:42 PM

Try Google for a basic understanding of chromatography. Should explain enough togive you an overview.

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Posted by JQC on November 10, 2013 at 7:12 PM

GW thanks first of all for the information already present.

I live in the mile high city, Denver, and I’m having extreme issues with cloudiness in myextract. I start with super dry material and perform a cold extraction.

My maximum pull here at this elevation is about -640mmHG, should I be pulling to this rightoff the bat and holding it for an hour? Also, with my oven set to 120*F my resin is only reachingabout 95*F as I have it si/ing in a pyrex and not directly on the oven rack.

Should I increase temperature? Pull to less vacuum?

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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on November 12, 2013 at 5:16 AM

You will read about 5″ Hg, or about 128 mm Hg low, so I would start at about 750mm, orabout 621 mm at a mile up.

You need 115F at the oil, so I would add a marble or granite shelf to the oven to stabilizetemperatures and bump up the temperature.

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Posted by Tbone Pickens on November 10, 2013 at 2:28 PM

Hey there, I recently got the .9 cubic foot across international vac oven and a robinairvacumaster 8cfm pump. I am at 10500 feet and am having trouble understanding how toproperly vac my extracts. I know that I am only able to pull around 540 mmhg max and waswondering what temp I should run at. Am I able to pull enough vacuum for low tempextractions or would I be be/er off se/ing it up at 5000 feet?

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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on November 12, 2013 at 5:20 AM

We like 115F at -29.5″ Hg, adjusted for elevation. The chart in this thread shows the offsetsnecessary.

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Posted by Phats on November 7, 2013 at 9:37 PM

When you say 23.7 and 29.2 Hg is that at sea level only? I am at about 1600ft above sea level, soI am wondering what those numbers would be for me.

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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on November 9, 2013 at 8:06 AM

Check out Tip 5 above for the chart, but at 1600 feet elevation you are around 28.3 to startwith. That means you have to add 1.62 to your reading to talk apples to apples.

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Posted by AJ on December 14, 2013 at 9:24 AM

Hi, im a li/le confused about the pressure due to sea level, im at about 2500 ft, so mygauge only reads maybe -26.4Hg,but from what im reading, looks like youre saying itsstill at 29.9Hg, its just not showing it? sorry i tried to read everything i could to find thisout, please help

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Posted by AJ on December 14, 2013 at 9:25 AM

sorry meant 3500*

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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on December 15, 2013 at 8:38 AM

The confusion lies with what the gauge says, or PSIG and Absolute pressure. Thedifference between the two, is the weight of the atmosphere.

At 3500 feet, the weight of the atmosphere is going to be 3500 feet of atmosphere less,but the gauge will still read zero before you start pumping. It will still start at zero at250,000 feet.

Once you start the pump and vacuum off the rest of the atmosphere above 3500 feet,the atmospheric weight on things in the vacuum will be ~zero and you will be atAbsolute Zero.

The gauge will however not show the Absolute zero, it will show -26.4″ Hg.

The gauge only compares the pressure on one side of the gauge to another, and thereis less pressure difference possible the higher up you go.

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So cu/ing to the chase, what does the product see? At 3500 feet, it is under 3.62″ Hgpartial vacuum just si/ing around and at full vacuum, your gauge will only read26.3″ Hg (differential), because that is all that is left at that altitude and what ispushing on the other side of the gauge.

Just add 3.62″ to your reading at 3500 feet, to correct your gauge reading.h;p://skunkpharmresearch.com/vacuum-purging-and-processing-tips/

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Posted by D Rock on November 6, 2013 at 4:00 PM

Dear GW,I’ve been reading over the vac purge and vac equipment posts and I have a few questions.1. Currently using a 2 stage robinair vac pump. Since I am purging at 2600 feet is it correct toassume, based on the boiling point chart, that I will not have problems with THC boil offbecause I simply cannot achieve that low of a vac pressure at this altitude?2. I ask the previous question because I’m having trouble keeping my sha/er from changing toa more “budder” state while purging. Once the initial boil off is done and I pull a hard vac onthe product I can see bubbles popping and they are generally individual bubbles which popcleanly as long as the pool of extract is warm enough. My problem is that sometimes, forapparently no reason, a section of the pool will start to boil very hard with many small bubbles,almost looking like foam coming off the extract. I can delay it by relieving the pressure andhi/ing it with a li/le hair dryer heat but eventually it will turn to budder. I’m wondering if thisis THC boil off causing CO2 or some other gas to come out of the extraction? I’ve also noticed ittends to happen more frequently in shallower spots which makes me suspect it had somethingto do with the extract drying out. FYI this is extract scrapped from the extractor with nosecondary solvent. I heat my vac chamber by wrapping a heat mat around it and adgitate theextraction with a standard hair dryer.3. How thick is too thick for the vac chamber? I currently am making 3″x5″ parchment trays byfolding and taping the edges. Generally there is never more than a quarter inch of oil in thosetrays. Even if I vac and heat the extract until it completely stops bubbling I still have residualbutane taste. I suspected the pools were too thick because when I freeze the extract and flip itover, reheat, and pull a hard vac it bubbles like I just took it out if the extractor, even thoughthe same exact product the night before had completely stopped bubbling. Is low heat to blam?If so why does my extract keep wanting to “budder”?

Thanks

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Posted by JRH on November 20, 2013 at 3:51 PM

Would love info on this^ too, please, as I have experienced similar problems. After purging(110-120f), most bubbling has ceased, extract is clear and turns to hard “sha/er’ aftercooling. But over night the extract forms tiny bubbles starting on the surface and after a fewdays will cause the sha/er to be a glass-like foam that breaks to a dry dust when disturbed.If I purge longer or at slightly higher temps (120-130f) the extract will dry out or nucleateand begin to budder either during purge or a few days after. Thanks for any help!

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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on December 1, 2013 at 8:48 AM

What temperature are these at when the micro bubbles form?

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Posted by JRH on December 2, 2013 at 6:32 PM

I have had them form anywhere from 50-80f

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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on December 3, 2013 at 5:16 AM

OK, that is low enough that there shouldn’t be much in the way of rapiddecarboxylation going on and producing bubbles, so I went back and reread DR’spost, to which I made additional comments. In his case it looks like his originalquestion wasn’t answered, and the answer may lie in his vacuum levels and pa/ythickness.

What elevation are you at, what vacuum levels are you pumping to, and howthick are you making your paddies?

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Posted by JRH on December 3, 2013 at 3:44 PM

I’m not much higher than sea level and the bubbles form whether I heat purgeonly, full vac or anywhere in between. I do very small runs (3g-1oz) and spray athin film (usually <1mm) and purge before scraping and transfer to a glassstorage container. I have dozens of runs over the last 1 1/2yrs, trying differentapproaches and tweeks. The ʺbubblingʺ seems to occur approx 90% of the time.There is no residual butane taste, sparking, etc and I am confident the product isfully purged of the solvent. The strangest detail to me is that the bubbles are ableto form and grow even when the product is in a cold, hard-sha/er state.

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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on December 15, 2013 at 8:45 AM

Sounds like it could be decarboxylation.

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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on December 3, 2013 at 5:10 AM

Sorry DR, looks like one one of us went through your question pre/y quick, probably me.

You can boil off the cannabinoids with vacuum, as they see Absolute pressure. As you mayknow, Absolute pressure measurement starts at absolute zero, which means the weight ofthe earths atmosphere has been removed. We call that a vacuum, but it is just removingatmospheric weight.

When we go up in elevation, there is less atmosphere left, hence when a double stage pumppulls to 25 microns (760,000 microns = 1 atmosphere) vacuum or so, the weight of theatmosphere that the objects within that vacuum see, is still 25 microns, even though thevacuum gauge doesn’t see that, because it is not measuring PSIAbsolute, it is measuringPSIGauge.

PSI Gauge has a zero that starts at 14.7 PSI Gauge, because one atmosphere weighs 14.7pounds per square inch at sea level.

If you look at the chart above in Note 5, you will see that the rate of change with elevation isabout .00148″ Hg per foot, so at 2600 ft elevation, your gauge will read about 27.2 when itsees full vacuum, which is about 25 microns for your two stage pump.

At that vacuum level, you are vacuuming off the cannabinoids and many other volatiles, soI recommend that you limit your vacuum levels to about 26.8″ Hg on your vacuum gauge,which would be -29.5″ Hg on your gauge at sea level.

You are too thick for sha/er at 1/4″, but within wax range, so if you are trying to achievesha/er, I would thin out your puddles to 1/8″ or so. You can warm them up enough to bepliable and smash them between two layers of parchment paper to fla/en them out, or heatthem up to about 115F in the oven and then take them out and tilt the trays to spread thepuddle, or chase them with a heat gun, etc.

The object is to get the solvent out in the shortest period of time possible, so as to maintainthe maximum amount of monoterpenes, which are also leaving at a fairly high rate, becausethe are things like alcohols, ethers, aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids, which have highvapor pressures.

My suggestion is to correct your pump pressure, and vacuum purge in a 1/8″ or thinner filmat 115F and -26.8 Hg, and see if that corrects the problem.

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Posted by Phats on December 30, 2013 at 3:23 PM

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So here is the 1 detail missing….roughly how long would you vacuum it at 115F and-26.8 Hg if it was 1/8″ thick to achieve sha/er? Ballpark.

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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on January 19, 2014 at 7:20 PM

Until the solvent bubbles cease escaping, leaving only fizzy CO2 bubbles.

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Posted by bernie on October 20, 2013 at 1:43 AM

I just got and been tinkering with an across int. Vo-16020 With a 2 chamber rotory vane pump.Im a newby and I need pointers or tips on how to make honeycomb. Time, temps, vac in(mmHg) ect. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on December 1, 2013 at 11:34 AM

Making true honeycomb is difficult for me to explain in text. My method is artisanal andtakes a lot of adjustment based on what I am seeing in the moment. I imagine it would besimilar to tempering chocolate, but with changing atmospheric pressure’s to add complextextures. In other words all those times/temp/pressure factors cannot be the same forcomplex mixtures and it takes a trained eye to know how to adjust those factors based onwhat you are seeing.

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We are however working with a vacuum oven manufacturer to build an automated oventhat has a hydrocarbon analyzer to “smell” when your cookies are done. We envision aninterface in which the user selects the texture they desire (wax, sha/er or decarboxylated)and the automation does the rest.

Joe

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Posted by fuzz on January 15, 2014 at 4:53 PM

when will this be ready………..

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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on January 19, 2014 at 7:19 PM

Could you elaborate?

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Posted by fuster on January 29, 2014 at 3:05 PM

yes i was wondering when this vacuum oven will be ready for sale

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Posted by M on October 7, 2013 at 11:00 AM

Hi GW/Joe

Quick question, I am seeing oil swirls on the extracts after purging. I have a big hunch that it isvapor from the pump. I might be pulling too hard of a vac but I got a nice JB Platinum pumpwith an AI vacuum oven.

I was thinking a backstream check valve or cold trap. Not too good at finding parts/fi/ings.Could you recommend something that would stop this from happening?

Thanks!

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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on October 7, 2013 at 11:09 AM

Always close the oven valve before turning off the pump and turn the pump on beforeopening the valve. That should keep any pump oil out of the oven.

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Posted by M on October 10, 2013 at 5:54 PM

Thanks for the response! Only thing is… I am seeing vapor swirls even though I amfollowing those instructions.

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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on October 12, 2013 at 11:00 AM

Add a ball valve between the pump and the oven. Close it before turning vac off.Turn vac on before opening valve.

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Posted by M on October 13, 2013 at 10:42 AM

Let me just explain my previous answer more clearly. I have at least 3 ball valvesand my vacuum pump comes with a check valve. What I am saying is eventhough all the proper valves are closed off, I”m seeing what looks like pump oilge/ing left on the product. I’ve looked this up and found out that lube oil does“backstream” from the pump in scientific applications and I was reallywondering if anyone has had this issue.

Obviously the proper valve operation is what it is. That is not the issue.

A vacuum, vapor or cold trap is what is what is typically prescribed forbackstream of vacuum oil. If you are not familiar with this issue, that’s ok. I’mjust looking for solutions. I’ve found traps like Visitrap for smaller CFM anddesktop vacs that don’t deal with the large vacuum hose fi/ings.

Across Intl is planning to sell a cold trap with ball valves to protect frombackstreaming and contaminating vac with solvent. But that’s in a few weeks andcosts over $2000. So…. just looking to my main source for some ideas.

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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on October 13, 2013 at 2:37 PM

We use a cold trap to protect the pump from solvent that we are cold boiling. Itwill also protect the chamber from the pump, but so will a simple ball valve.Regardless of what the pump may do, if there is no open connection between thepump and chamber, the pump can’t affect the chamber.

When we start the pump before opening the valve and close the valve beforeshu/ing off the pump, we get no pump oil contamination in the chamber.

Check out the following link for a cold trap design.

h;p://skunkpharmresearch.com/1845-2/

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Posted by Mike on October 3, 2013 at 10:02 AM

Thanks for all of the information. If I was trying to get a temperature reading on my chamber,would I have the chamber open and raise it to the proper temperature (115-120) on the surfaceof the interior and then close chamber and turn on pump?Or would you need to draw thevacuum and then slowly raise it to temperature, by using IR readings, and if so pointed directlyat bo/om of chamber? Also would a digital probe thermometer work sufficient for a surfacereading of my heat pad and my stainless chamber? because I do not trust the accuracy of my IRthermometer.

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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on October 6, 2013 at 9:12 AM

I infer internal temperature of a stainless chamber on a heating pad, by shooting the bo/omof the chamber with an IF thermometer, and adding 7F, but it is a guess from opening andclosing the chamber to measure. The best control that we’ve found, is mounting a Type Kthermocouple directly on the surface that is being heated.

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Posted by Kevin Seabrook on October 2, 2013 at 8:37 AM

How do you get rid of this sign up sign?

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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on October 2, 2013 at 12:30 PM

Could you elaborate?

GW

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Posted by step on September 26, 2013 at 12:32 AM

Wow great info. Much appreciated.

I was wondering if you could elaborate a li/le bit on tip 7.

I can’t seem to find many results on vacuum bleed valves online.. Do you source them fromParamount?

Also, when you say “spill air into the pump line,” what does that mean? I just picked up my 2″acrylic slab today and am very new to this whole process!

Thanks for your time.

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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on September 26, 2013 at 5:34 AM

We hook our chambers up with a Schedule 40 cross. One leg to the pump, one to thevacuum gauge, and the third leg to a back fill valve, replete with filter.

We just slightly open the back fill valve, which allows filtered air to be drawn in fromatmosphere.

We get our plumbing from either Paramount Supply, or RSD refrigeration.

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Posted by Kc on September 17, 2013 at 9:43 AM

Hey skunkpharm! So I just got an across international vacuum oven and jb platinum 7cfm, 2stgpump rated for 15 microns. I currently have my oven set at 100 deg f. Which I keep consistentthroughout entire purging process, which is typically around 12-24 hrs depending on size ofrun. In reading this thread, I’m thinking that is too hot under -29 hg? Would it be beneficial todo initial “first violent purge” at ambient temp, then move into oven set at around 50 deg f, tofinish the purging process? In that example, would all terpenes/cannabinoids be preserved, andbutane etc properly purged? What is your opinion on what temp the oven should be set at?Any info is greatly appreciated! Thank you. Peace and respect

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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on September 18, 2013 at 9:06 AM

Try the method I explained above . Works great in my across and it should for you as well.

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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on September 20, 2013 at 4:17 AM

We like 115F and -29.5″ Hg for a fast purge, that leaves enough terpenes intact, for theextract to smell exactly like what it was extracted from.

At 100F, the bubbles were not readily escaping in our oven, because the puddle was toosolid.

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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on September 20, 2013 at 5:01 AM

But for speed and still damn good terp preservation 160F@ 23.7″ Hg for a few minuteshelps dry stubborn extracts. Then to 115-120F@ 29.2″Hg until it is dry. I regularly dry aquarter-half pound to wax in a few hours with this protocol. Where it takes most peopledays.

Joe

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Posted by Veg N Out on September 25, 2013 at 6:24 PM

hey joe what se/ings are you using on your oven and what do you think aboutchanging out the wire rack shelves for fibrament?

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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on October 1, 2013 at 12:38 AM

145-155F and I use a granite slab on the shelf. It helps maintain a less than 1degree variation in temp.

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Posted by Veg N Out on October 1, 2013 at 12:30 PM

I was more referring to the P , I , D and SC2 values in the PID controller.

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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on October 20, 2013 at 9:05 AM

I checked with Joe, and he hasn’t a clue on the PID controller values, as he is justanother pre/y face when it comes to electronics, and he didn’t program the oven.

Pete programed ours, and I can maybe get that information from him, but it is fora completely different controller and thermocouple.

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Posted by Daniel on September 15, 2013 at 6:46 PM

I recently purchased a 6.2 CFM vacuum pump off amazon along with a 3 gallon vac chamber.Ive made a few runs using them and it always seems to take over 24 hours to get most of thebubbles gone and even at that time there is still a decent amount left (even my first run with itwhich was only about 1.5 grams). I was using heat starting at 110 and had it turned up to even125 at one point and it still doesnt seem to be ge/ing the rest of them to pop. Do you have anyadvise on what I should do?

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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on September 16, 2013 at 1:13 PM

If you bring the temp up to 160F briefly; under mild (less than 600mm Hg) vacuum, thencool to 120F under hard (740-760mm Hg) vacuum, you may have be/er results. This willhelp dry the extract quickly without much decarboxylation.

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Posted by Daniel on September 16, 2013 at 2:22 PM

This might be a stupid question but how do i know when it reaches that on my pump? Iusually just go to the -29.5 idk how to read 600mm or 760mm…I currently have a batchin my purge that ive been working on for about 24 hours again id really like to get thisdone right this time..its becoming annoying lol

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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on September 16, 2013 at 4:30 PM

Sorry the oven I’ve been tinkering with lately has a mmHg/tor gauge. The conversionis 23.7 and 29.2 inHg respectively.

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Posted by Daniel on September 17, 2013 at 4:01 PM

When my pump is off my gauge doesnt go all the way down to 0 it stays at about10 does that mean its calibrated wrong and that might be where my problem is? Ihave 3 input valves and when the 2 other are completely sealed my pump goesWAY past 30 all the way to the end of the gauge when i hear people haveproblems ge/ing to -29.5

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Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC on September 18, 2013 at 9:03 AM

I would say it needs to be zeroed with the hose disconnected.

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Posted by Chij on September 9, 2013 at 6:58 PM

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Fantastic information and findings on your site. Keep up the good work brother

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