Extraction DabPress Tips and Tricks

[briman]

Hello AFN, thought I'd help anyone that may have some questions with wanting to know more about rosin pressing and tricks of the pressing game, to help you make a educated decision on how to go about pressing out some great, solvent-free concentrates for your canna arsenal! Once you get a press, you will ever be smitten to buy flower or concentrates from a dispensary again!
First, hit the DabPress site at www.dabpress.com and see their plate kits and rosin presses and see if you want a complete system, ready to go, OR build your own if you are a DIY kind of person.

How To Choose the Right Hydraulic Press to Pair dp-rp33?
How To Choose the Right Hydraulic Press to Pair dp-rp33?

"I have shared that with the world already, if it will help future rosineers feel free to post it."
By @Psychonaut
I've been looking around at a suitable pairing for the dp-rp33 3x3" plates I have, man those arbor presses are not cheap, I thought maybe a 2-ton would work out well for a small 3.5-7g squish using bottle tech with a 3.14 sq/in footprint. These 2-ton arbor presses cost more than a shop press.

Here's some links to some of the affordable presses available in the US. Some of these go on sale regularly for $50+ off with free shipping so keep checking back if you're still laying out your build

20-ton H-frame floor standing (with seperate pump and gauge) - $439
https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200641795_200641795
20-ton H-frame floor standing - $189
https://www.harborfreight.com/20-ton-shop-press-32879.html
12-ton H-frame floor standing - $129
https://www.harborfreight.com/12-ton-shop-press-33497.html
12-ton H-frame bench top - $199
https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200641863_200641863
10-ton H-frame bench top with seperate pump and gauge - $289
https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200641793_200641793
6-ton A-frame bench top press (consider 12-ton H-frame for more durability) - $77
https://www.harborfreight.com/6-ton-a-frame-bench-shop-press-1666.html
2-ton Arbor Press - $255
https://www.grainger.com/product/JET-Arbor-Press-42W945
Calculate your plate surface area:
For square/rectangle plates L" * W"
or
if a circle, Radius * 3.1416.
1 ton = 2000lbs

To find the max PSI divide the max tonnage by the surface area of the plates (the surface area of the actual puck itself, will reveal the true PSI), for example 6-tons is 12000 lb's, divided by 9 sq/in (3x3" plates), 12000/9 = max PSI 1333 (maxing out a press's capability is not advised)

 

[briman]

Dry Ice Sift and How to Make It


Dry Ice Sift and How to Make It

Dry Ice Sift is a concentrated cannabis product similar to dry sift or water hash. It can be graded by using different micron sized bags or timing your agitation and separating the sift into their own timed/graded piles. The finished product is very loose and fluffy, it should be blond to yellow in color with little to no green coloration to it.

Dry Ice Sifting is one of the fastest ways to extract resin off of flowers. As the flowers are agitated with the dry ice, the sub-zero temperatures cause the trichomes to break away from the stalks and fall down through the screen to the workspace below.

Before you begin, we need to discuss safety and purchasing of Dry Ice. Dry Ice is extremely cold, generally around -100F/-78C. Care in handling is necessary.

• Advisory – Dry ice must be handled properly, it is advised to use either tongs to pick up the dry ice chunks to add them to your bags, or wearing suitable thick leather gloves. Failure to protect your skin from dry ice contact can result in considerable injury similar to a burn.
• Purchasing/Transporting – Dry ice can be purchased at many big box grocery stores and warehouse clubs. Dry ice should be transported in an insulated cooler.

Dry Ice Sift is produced by placing dried, cured cannabis flowers along with dry ice chunks, into a bubble hash bag and agitating them over a clean flat workspace such as a glass table top or mirror, in which you can observe the sift collection below.

The longer you agitate, the lower the grade of material becomes as you progress. It is advised to have a large workspace available to move your piles and check for color changes. As you start the color will be a pale cream to blonde color. As your agitation continues, you may begin to notice the sift on the workspace to take a green hue. This is when you are introducing more contaminant and plant material, so it is advised to sift that into a separate pile or decide that the dry ice extraction is complete.

Tip: Freezing your buds prior to dry ice sift extraction will help speed up the sifting process as the resin will be more delicate due to frozen temperatures.

Many sifters will grade based on time. They will agitate gently for 1 minute and consider that their top-grade sift. Followed by another 2 minutes in a separate pile, that will be their mid-grade sift. Finally, a more vigorous 2 minute agitation to finish off with a low-grade sift or kief like product.

As for grading your sift with individual bubble hash bags. Agitating in a 73 micron bag will yield the highest quality sift comprising of mostly resin heads. The 160 micron bag will give you a mix of resin heads and some contaminant. The 220 micron bag will give you the best yields with the most amount of contaminant mixed in with the resin heads.

Notice: Water is not used in the dry ice sift extraction process.

Dry Ice Sift can be vaporized in many dry herb vaporizers, especially when capping flower bowls. It can also be used to squish into rosin.

Why would we squish sift into rosin when we could have just squished the flowers to begin with? One of the benefits of squishing dry ice sift versus flowers is that you can press your sift at a much lower pressure than flowers with a much lower temperature. The finished product often times has a different consistency such as a budder or wax instead of a sap or shatter.

Enjoy fast resin extraction using affordable dry ice for sifting!

 

[briman]

What to Do With Those Pressed Pucks After the Rosin Extraction?


What to Do With Those Pressed Pucks After the Rosin Extraction?

Every time you press rosin, you are left with a puck or squished filter that still has some uses. You may notice there is some residual rosin left on the filter, and sometimes on the puck of buds. That means there is still some oil left to extract.

Sometimes you want to further extract more vapable rosin, other times you want to make cannabutter for edibles. We will discuss both!

For vapable rosin, the pucks can be re-pressed. Re-pressing your pucks can yield some worthwhile rosin, especially if you press at lower temperatures on your first squish. This is a common practice for many rosineers as they want the best product on the first run, allowing a second squish of that puck for a second grade of rosin. You can repress the puck on a second run at 220F, which is the maximum we suggest if you are wanting vapable rosin. You can also repress at 250F to maximize yields, forgoing terpene preservation. To repress your rosin pucks, simply fold them in half over themself and squish the folded puck as you normally would except this time using higher temperatures and pressure compared to the initial press. Repressing pucks does have a risk of getting more contaminant into the rosin, so please keep this in mind if you are looking for dabable rosin.

For edibles, there are a couple of methods. One uses your rosin and the other uses your pressed pucks.

If you want to make quick edibles with your rosin, You can simply place the rosin into a oven safe dish such as a pyrex baking pan (tip: you can line the pan with parchment paper for easier collection). Then insert the pan into a 275F preheated oven and set the timer for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes in the oven, visually inspect the melted rosin for bubbling activity. If it is still bubbling, allow some more time for decarboxylation to complete. Once the bubbling has stopped the rosin is now active and ready to infuse into your edible recipes. We suggest to simply add 1 gram of decarboxylated rosin to 1 or 1-1/2 sticks of melted butter (potency depending) and 1 tsp of sunflower lecithin and wisk together to incorporate completely. We suggest adding your melted butter or oil to the decarboxylated rosin in the pyrex dish to infuse easily. Now you have quick rosin infused cannabutter ready for storage in the fridge or added direct to your recipe as butter is called for.

You can also extract any remaining rosin in the pucks or filters for edibles by boiling the pucks in water with butter. During this process the remaining rosin in the pucks will be heated by the boiling water to release the rosin into the butter. The extraction method is fairly straight forward. We recommend that you weigh your rosin pucks first, and use about 1 ounce of rosin pucks per stick of butter. You will want to take a pot of boiling water (190F), add 1 stick of butter and allow it to melt. You should see that all of the melted butter is now floating on top of the boiling water. Place your rosin pucks (preferably inside of a tied shut filter) and allow the rosin pucks to boil in 190F water for at least 1 hour but up to 2 or longer depending on desired effects. Keep in mind the longer you are decarboxylating and boiling the rosin pucks while infusing into butter, the more sedative the cannabutter will be.

After the extraction is complete, simply allow the butter/water mixture to cool then place in the fridge until the cannabutter layer is solidified completely. Once the cooling is complete, you can take the cannabutter from the water, and move it into it’s own container. Discard water. Your cannabutter is complete! To help increase bioavailability of the extracted cannabinoids it is recommended to melt your cannabuter gently on a stove over low heat (microwave is not recommended), then add in 1 tsp of sunflower lecithin and wisk to incorporate completely. You can now store the cannabutter in the refrigerator or freezer, or add it direct to your recipe as butter is called for.

*Advisory - It is recommended to test the potency of your cannabutter with a small sample such as on a piece of bread. If the cannabutter is too strong for your liking, you can always use only a portion of butter required in the recipe, as cannabutter and then use regular butter for the remainder.

There are other methods of extraction for rosin however they would require the use of solvents such as Ethanol. These solvents should be fine to use for edibles, as they will evaporate and purge during decarboxylation. For dabable rosin we prefer that it come straight off the plates!
Enjoy a variety of methods to reduce waste and maximize yields!

 

[briman]

Rosin Filters - Which Ones to Choose? When and How to Use Them?
Rosin Filters - Which Ones to Choose? When and How to Use Them?


Rosin filters are necessary in a some instances, and unnecessary in others.

Rosin filters must be used with very loose material like sift, hash, kief, trim, leaf and even already pressed rosin. The reason filters must be used with those types of material is because it will not hold it’s form such as a whole bud and many times there is too much risk of contaminant entering into the rosin, so we need to filter the material. Rosin filters should also be used when pressing large amounts of flowers, such as using a pre-press mold to maximize the amount of material per squish. This will help to insure that your pressing is a success.

There are times when a rosin filter is not necessary. When squishing small amounts of material (1-3g) or single buds (large or small), you can press without a filter if you prefer. The yield will also be better versus using a filter, but there is always a risk of plant material (contaminant) entering rosin from the unfiltered flower so it’s fairly easy to clean out the contaminant if this occurs. You can simply use a needle to pick out the piece as you see it during collecting. Now you have clean rosin without any filters!

Filters come in a variety of different micron sizes. You can experiment with them and see what you prefer. Generally you want to use 25-115 micron filters for your loose material such as hash, sift, kief, trim, etc. For more delicate material like higher quality hash or sift, use the lower microns such as 25-72, for the trim and loose shake you can go between 90-115 microns. For flowers, you can use between 90-160 microns as all of your plant material will stay within the bag.
You will also need to match up your bag to your plates. The length of the bag can always be trimmed but you want to make sure the width of the bag is not going to overextend out of your plates. So if you are using dp-rp37 Rosin Cube Kit with 3x7” plates, and you are wanting to maximize your yield and capacity of the press, you will want to choose a rosin filter at least 2.5x8”. You can also use two different filters, so 2.5x4” filters would work just as well when pressing two filters at once.

There are other methods of using rosin filters such as creating a package like a present with your buds, not packed in very hard, but just enough to form the solid package. This is known as bottle tech and utilizes a vertical build of material within the filter versus horizontal. This allows the buds to squish out rosin with less pressure and release rosin with great yields. The resulting puck will have a smaller footprint. Because of the smaller footprint, this method can be used with multiple bags as well. So, buying exact size bags are not necessary, you can choose smaller bags as well. Just be aware, if using larger bags you may have to cut them down and need to be folded properly as to avoid blowouts.

Blowouts can occur if your material is pressed too hard and too fast, such as with very loose and fragile material like sift. It can also occur if you have your buds not packed properly in your rosin filters. One of the reasons we like to recommend 160 micron filters for flowers is they really have the lowest risk of blowouts.
Enjoy your pressing!

 

[briman]

My Rosin at?
What Temperature Should I Press My Rosin at?

When it comes to pressing your own rosin, choosing which temperature is best to extract with may be the most widely debated variable in the rosin community. The first step to selecting the right temperature to perform your rosin extraction will depend on your starting material. Dried flowers generally yield the best results when pressed between 180-220F. Lower temperature extractions frequently result in a more stable consistency, such as "budder" "crumble" or "batter," while pressing at the higher end of the temperature spectrum may result in "sap" "shatter" or "taffy."

There are no hard rules when it comes to choosing a temperature, but just to generalize, when pressing flowers, lower temperatures will result in a more flavorful, terpene rich extract, at some relative expense of overall yield. Terpenes are the aromatic oils responsible for the incredible spectrum of flavors in your rosin, and part of what makes squishing your own extracts such an enjoyable process.

There are two trains of thought when it comes to pressing rosin, some prefer to use lower temperatures over a longer period of time, while others opt for higher temperatures with quicker pressings. We feel that the terpene profile tends to most noticeably degrade above temperatures of 250F, but as always, experimentation is highly encouraged! It's always suggested to double check your plates temperature in comparison to the PID for the most accurate extraction. A common cooking probe thermometer, or K-type thermocouple works well for measuring this.

Pressing a few smaller samples of flower, perhaps one gram at a time, at various temperatures, is a quick way to compare the different qualities of rosin samples before committing to a larger extraction. This makes it easy to check for flavor and yield, as each unique phenotype will have its own nuances just waiting to be concentrated into beautiful rosin.

Because temperatures can heavily affect yield, higher temperature extractions, around 250F are excellent for producing oils to be later prepared for edibles, as those terpenes would be otherwise lost during further decarboxylation of the oil.

When it comes to rosin pressing dry sift and hashes, these products have already been pre-processed and concentrated, which means pressing these materials can be achieved with lower temperatures than those used for flower rosin, as the oil does not have to navigate through as much plant material.

When pressing sifts or various types of hashes, 140-180F is a good starting point. The highest quality starting material may be pressed at even lower temperatures. It's important to experiment with PSI, temperature, and duration of extraction to find your ideal balance when pressing hash rosin. Keep in mind that like flower rosin, when pressing hash the end products consistency will change based on the temperature used during the extraction and the duration of the extraction. You can again expect a budder consistency with a lower temperature squish, and other consistencies are likely to auto-budder after a few days.

We hope this helps you achieve some great quality rosin to enjoy, and as always, keep on squishing

 

[briman]

How Do I Know If My Buds Are Best Suited For Rosin?

How do I know if my buds are best suited for rosin?




So we know that pressure and heat are the two biggest elements to get the oil off of the flowers, but what else is essential?

The humidity levels of your buds play the next biggest role in regards to yields when pressing rosin. Buds that have been left out in the air to dry often times will be well below the optimal levels for squishing rosin. This is dependent on the relative humidity of the environment. This is why we like to take our buds and store them in an air tight container with a two-way humidity pack to maintain a humidity level that is proper for squishing rosin. What we are finding is buds that are stored with a relative humidity (RH) of at least 55% but up to 65% produce the best yields, with the better yields at 62 or 65% RH. Buds stored with a RH above 68% is at high risk of growing mold. Once your buds have mold, they are unusable. Please be sure to always store your buds under the proper humidity levels (55-65%) for safest consumption. If you need to dry your buds out a bit to vaporize, simply take them from the jar for 15 minutes and let it air dry then it is dry enough for fast vaporization.

Trichomes are the other element. It is a simple fact the more trichomes that are present on your buds, the more rosin will be generated. The best way to identify the trichome density of your material is to use a jeweler’s loupe at least 30-60x, a digital microscope can also be used for even higher magnification. If you do not have a way to see the trichome coverage, the other test is to squish a nug in-between your fingers and release it, now if your fingers stick good when you press them back together, there is likely good trichome density and expect at least average to high yields.

The age of your buds also matters. Freshly harvested and dried buds will likely have a good mixture of clear, cloudy and amber trichomes, so the end result can vary from a pale cream to yellow depending on the strain. Older buds that have been curing for a while will have undergone some form of decarboxylation. Decarboxylation is a natural process that occurs with cannabis as it is exposed to oxygen in the environment, the trichomes continue to mature and darken. The rosin harvested off of older buds will generally be darker in color. It should be stated that darker rosin is still wonderful if the starting material is good and the technique correct!

What about live plant material? Well, live plant material has a lot more moisture content in the buds than we want when squishing rosin, so the most effective method for making live rosin would be to first harvest the trichomes from a live plant in the form of hash.

Enjoy your pressing!

 

[briman]

Why Should I Buy Caged Cube Kit Instead of Plate Kit?


Why should I buy Caged Cube Kit instead of Plate Kit?

With the two different types of DIY Hydraulic and Pneumatic Rosin Press configurations we offer a Caged Cube Kit and a Plate Kit.

The Caged Cube Kit is an advancement in design over the Plate Kit in a number of ways.

A caged frame with top and bottom stainless steel plates, hardened bolts, bronze bushings and heavy-duty steel springs encase the dual heated, fully anodized rosin plates. This configuration is available in sizes ranging from 3x5” – 3x7” single pair plates, and also dual pair plates at 2.5x7”. All of the hardware in the caged frame is made of long lasting, durable food grade metals. This is a solid construction ready for a lifetime of duty!

Because of the frame, the Caged Cube Kits are able to keep the plates in perfect alignment while operating your shop press. The spring-loaded bolts that hold the Caged Cube kit together are the key to proper alignment every squish. In contrast, a Plate Kit does not have this frame, so each time you are preparing your squish, you must make sure the plates are in perfect alignment. Without the caged frame, it is possible misaligned plates can cause the parchment paper to crumble or tear or the buds can get pressed unlevel, which may hinder the extraction process. Additionally, it’s possible that the top plate which mounts to the ram through several bolts may come loose and no longer make flush contact with the plate below. This will seriously hinder your extraction process and can also cause damage to your plates.

Your hands will be free to operate the shop press without needing to focus on the plates alignment, or other needs focused at the plates. The Caged Cube Kit will handle that so you are now available to attach magnets to pin your parchment in place or help navigate the flow of rosin off of the plates. Less busy hands mean less stress!

Dual plate sets under one cage! This is a marvelous way to have different plates to run different strains under each individual plate set. With a Plate Kit, this is not possible without some handy DIY manufacturing. You would need two hydraulics, so this is a huge money saver and also requires less labor because you only need to operate one shop press to run 2 plates.

Somewhat of a minor advantage at first thought, the Caged Cube Kit doesn't have to be attached to the top ram, thus drawing less heat from the plates onto the press. With the plate kit, there is not a solid way to create an insulation barrier between these parts so you must deal with a less efficient DIY Rosin press. With the Caged Cube Kit, you have a strong flat surface on top and bottom made of stainless steel in which you can rest or rest upon bamboo or other appropriate insulation. In contrast, the Plate Kit can be applied to a customized DIY press configuration for the handy rosineer.

Overall, the Caged Cube Kit is the best option if you are looking for perfect alignment with consistently flush plates, hands that can perform other duties like operate the shop press without worry. It will create a durable and solid DIY Rosin Press. You can always choose a Plate Kit, but you will find that it is worth the money for the upgrade to a Caged Cube Kit.

Choose perfect alignment and durability, choose Caged Cube Kit!

 

[briman]

Explain Why Can't I Use Dabpress' Temp Controller Box for E-nail?
Explain Why Can't I Use Dabpress' Temp Controller Box for E-nail?

5-Pin XLR Type Connectors Used In Temp Controller Box Could Easily Be Broken, Why?

- We have tested it many times: it’s easy to be broken after shaking tens’ of times. Usually, we put the temp controller box on the top of a hydraulic shop press. It is at risk that it may drop on the floor accidentally. No connector of cable & un-plug design from dabpress temp controller box could avoid the risk of breaking, so we use a connector that is more flexible and less likely to break.

- Welded cable design
Just like iPhone charger, the cable is easy to break at the connecting point near the charger. XLR connector is welded, it will break off easily just like iPhone charger when it gets excessive force upon it.

- We have to choose thick wire for safety.
Normally, 5-pin XLR connector of temp controller made in china chooses 3-5A current, that is not enough to meet the current requirement of Dabpress temp controller box.

- Why to choose 5 pins XDL?
Two pins for heater, two pins for probes (heat sensor). It means the heater and sensor have to stay in the same stainless steel case. How could it be able to detect accurate temperature?
It may be a smart design but not for us. We have to abandon the benefits E-nail/XLR 5-pin compatibility offers to provide the most durable design for our Rosin Control Box.

It doesn’t mean dabpress’ quality is the best. What I am trying to say is “good customer experience is the first thing we bear in mind”. We push ourself to become better and better, and a focus on quality first and foremost.

Now let me answer the important question.

How to replace the heater once it doesn’t work in future?

• Heater has its own working life, usually about 6000-8000 hours.
• For rosin press plates, aluminum plate and frame are solid and sturdy for long-term use, but heat rods and temp controller box could fail as any electronics.
• Unplug-design guarantees long life of temp controller box. That's why dabpress abandons the benefits E-nail/XLR 5-pin brings.
• It is simple to replace cables for home/on-site repair.
• You can get discounted new temp controller if your temp box no longer works. We don’t sell our temp controller individually unless you bought rosin press kit from us.

Whether it is made in the United States, China or anywhere else in the World, You always can obtain respect once you take care of the customers needs and requirement.