DIY DIY THC oil Appartus. Ethanol THC oil method.

[pyewacket]

DIY- How to build an essence oil extractor that will safely produce highly concentrated THC oil

DIY- How to build a boiler for the essence oil apparatus.

DIY- How to process buds that will be used in said extractor.

I assume that if you are growing your own medicine, you are a DIY type person. I would like to share some ideas regarding safely producing your own THC oil concentrate. If I were to rate the difficulty of this project, I would rate it moderate/high. The main reason it is challenging is that it requires working with copper and stainless and having the ability to solder these metals together. To be blunt, it can be extremely dangerous if you do not take care and learn every aspects of properly building and running such an apparatus.

Some basic common sense before attempting:

You will be building something that is designed to boil alcohol and water producing vapor. Vapor is a gas, and this gas will continue to be produced so long as an adequate heat source is applied. Meaning, gas will expand and fill an enclosed space building up pressure. This will continue until something gives. A seal might break, or the entire apparatus might explode. You never build something that closes itself off to the environment. You always have it vented. If you do not understand every aspect of the apparatus, do not build it.

Alcohol is an amazing solvent. It is good at dissolving many things. It will dissolve THC oil and it will also dissolve many synthetics. You should NEVER use synthetics in the construction of your apparatus. Silicone, plastics, rubber are ALL out of the question. Here are 4 things that can come in contact with alcohol and is considered safe: Copper, Stainless steel, lead free solder, Teflon. Using synthetics while working with 95.5% alcohol at high temperatures will leach nasty things into your final product. You can go on youtube and find many people using plastics in producing their Ethanol THC oil and it should make you cringe. The only synthetic that I know that has been shown to be safe is Teflon. Teflon appears to not react to alcohol even at high temperatures.

NEVER boil high percentage alcohol anywhere near an open flame. No smoking near high percentage alcohol. You will be boiling this stuff and it is roughly the same as boiling gasoline.

You should use this outside.

NEVER run your apparatus unattended.


Some building skills you will be utilizing:

Drilling, grinding, and cutting copper and stainless
Soldering copper to copper, Soldering copper to stainless


You should be able to purchase everything for the essence oil apparatus at the big box stores, like homedepot/lowes; the copper, solder, and various tools etc. You will need to purchase a special type of flux that is capable of allowing you to join copper to stainless.

The apparatus: This is essentially a still head. It is fitted above the boiler and its job is to convert the vapor back to liquid so that it can be safely collected. You will find many people forgo this step because they lack the knowledge/desire and are ok with letting the alcohol vapors escape to the environment. I think this is dangerous and wasteful. I recommend using a food grade alcohol such as 191everclear. This is not cheap, so you will want a way to collect and reuse it.

My favorite apparatus to construct is called a concentric still head. This is compact and relatively easy to construct. This is a one inch design allowing for less expensive materials to be used. The copper tube can be found at homedepot as well as all the copper fittings. Copper is not cheap, but you should be able to put this together for roughly 60 u.s. dollars. I am going to do my best to provide a parts list within a diagram.

Here is an over simplified explanation of how this apparatus works. The name concentric means ring inside a ring. The outer most ring is the outside of the water sleeve. Water flows between this outer sleeve and an inner sleeve. This is what rapidly cools off the vapors as they try to escape out of the VENTED top of the apparatus. You want this water coming from a cool source. Ok, so far we have an outer tube and an inner tube of copper, between these two tubes water is flowing; I connect an intake from my sink's water sprayer - I then connect a drain line that dumps back into the sink. So imagine the vapors boiling out of your boiler, they are rising up and being cooled off and converted back into liquid. The apparatus has another tube on the inside that creates a well where the liquid (alcohol distillate) collects. A take-off 1/4 inch tube drains this well so that you can collect it. You will run a 1/4 inch copper tube back to a collection vessel. This is how you will reclaim your alcohol. Essentially, you are collecting your alcohol solvent to be reused -- boiling off the solvent leaves behind the THC oil that you are making. Here is a picture so that you have a basic idea.


This is an overview. I plan to reserve 3 Posts after this one and fill them in with detailed information. Please know that I consider this an essence extractor. Your state/country may consider it a still. Construction and/or operating such a thing could be illegal! If the moderators do not wish me to post this, I completely understand...so feel free to delete this post. Heck, I am not sure people on this forum is interested in such things. I do know that a lot of people are producing Ethanol THC-oil in dangerous ways. I figure adding my 2cents wouldn't hurt.

 

[pyewacket]

Apparatus Construction:

Some random things you will need:

Solder - Lead free only. I use http://www.homedepot.com/p/Oatey-H-...Safe-Flo-Solder-506912/202515582#.UZ1SnJxsCcM ...Please stay clear of the electronics section when purchasing solder. The above kit comes with flux that will work just fine for copper to copper joining.

Sand paper or emery cloth. You can find emery cloth rolls in the soldering section at Homedepot etc.

Stainless steel wire brush. Again, you will find this in the soldering section.

Various drill bits, including 1/4inch

Propane Torch kit

Hack saw. Or some way to cut copper
***not needed, but a Dremal rotary tool is awesome to have. You will need a way to do some grinding.

A) 2 X 1"x.75" Copper reducer
B) 24" section of 3/4" copper tube
C) 20" section of 1" copper tube
D) 1 X 3/4"x1/2" Copper reducer
E) 1 X 1"x1/2" copper reducer
F) 3" section of 1" copper tube
G) 3" section of 1/2" copper tube
H) Roll of 1/4" soft copper tube you only need a few feet of this.
I) 1/4" to 1/4" compression connector brass lead free (OK, so this is not the best solution...but an acceptable metal to use if you can't find a stainless version...GET lead free)



Here is a very crude MSpaint schematic. This is not to scale, but it should do an ok job at helping you understand the apparatus. Read the copper parts list. I have assigned each a letter and have labeled the drawing and photos to help you make sense of the different construction aspects of this still.

In the drawing, I colored the center in pink. This is to represent the 3/4" copper pipe. It is also showing you the vapor path. Basically, you have the outer copper pipe, that is 1", and the inner copper pipe that is 3/4". Vapors rise up from the boiler, and when you are running water through the space between the 1" and 3/4" it chills this space. The vapors are forced back into liquid form. Beads-drops of liquid (distillate) roll down the inside walls of the 3/4" copper. Follow that down to the label "alcohol well". Look closely, you will see that the 1/2" copper tube extends up into this fitting. This creates a space, where alcohol will fill. As the distillate fills the well, it will run to the lowest point -- see the label 1/4" alcohol take-off. You will have a 1/4" line connected to the brass compression fitting. The line will lead to the collection jars so that you can reclaim the alcohol to be reused; you MUST extend that 1/2" copper tube through the stop in the reducer if you do not distillate will just drop back into the boiler-- I have made notes regarding this on the photos.


I have some photos that are labeled that show the pieces and a basic idea on how they come together. I am placing a photo of all the soldering joins that you have to create. As I edit, I will try to include informative resource links on proper ways to solder copper. When we get to the copper -- stainless joins, I am going to have to show you some specifics -- there are plumbers that do not know that you can solder stainless steel and copper together.

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[FONT=&quot]Here are the parts cut and ready for dry fitting.[/FONT]
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Putting the pieces together:



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[FONT=&quot]This is what you should end up with once the pieces are dry fitted. Notice I have included the 1/4" soft copper attached. Please read the description on the photo that shows the soldering joints below.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Now dry fit the two parts of the still together. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Solder joins:[/FONT]
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Soldering copper plumbing may sound intimidating to those that have no experience, but with a bit of practice even a novice can have good success. With this project, you will be working with 1" copper pipe max. Since copper becomes increasingly more difficult to solder the larger the size--1" is a good size for the first timer. Be safe when soldering, work in a clean space with protective eye-wear and gloves. Copper will tempt you to pick it up and touch it, especially right after you had the torch on it. Burns suck!

Here are some general tips regarding the soldering procedure:

This video shows basic copper soldering techniques. Notice that he keeps the hot part of the torch away from the seam and he lets the heat create the capillary effect drawing the solder into the joint.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B35P2ABDWUA

This is another video that shows some prep-work and the application of flux. This individual uses his finger to apply the flux -- I would use a brush and would not hesitate to apply more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPMHJOgm76M

Clean your copper well. Use the emery cloth/sand paper/steel wool to clean/score the area that you will be soldering. If you are soldering into a fitting, this means cleaning the inside of the fitting not just the copper tube. Copper gets very shinny when cleaned/sanded get all the tarnish/dirt/grime off all surfaces that are to receive the solder. I follow up with a stainless steel wire brush after I sand. This removes some of the grit that may have been left behind while sanding.

Apply the flux. This is water based flux, so it cleans up just fine. You have just finished mechanically cleaning your copper, flux works to chemically clean the copper surfaces. It is better to over-due the flux than under-do, so be generous with the flux. It is a paste like substance that you can easily spread on all surfaces that will be receiving solder; Solder brushes are cheap and can be found in the solder section of your hardware store.

Once the flux is applied, put the copper pipe in the fitting. Prepare your solder by uncoiling a considerable length. You will want distance from the flame and the hand that is feeding the solder.

Ignite the torch. A basic propane torch works fine. Apply heat trying to stay away from the solder you are feeding and the joint seam that you will be applying the solder to. Keep the heat on the side of the fitting where you want the solder to flow. Solder is drawn to heat. You never apply flame to the actual solder. You are heating up the copper, and it is the heat from the copper that melts the solder. If you get the joint too hot, you will burn the solder. It will turn dark-brown/black. Once this happens, you will have a tough time getting the solder to flow-- You may have to stop and re-clean everything and start over.

Solder joins works through a capillary mechanism. You get the fitting and tube hot enough, the solder will suck right into the fitting. If adequately heated it continues the capillary action and spreads all around the inside of the fitting. Making a firm seal.

Once again, don't put the torch directly on the seam. Touch the uncoiled solder tip to the seam. If it is hot enough it will melt, and the capillary effect will be evident. If it doesn't melt, apply more heat. Work the solder around the joint a bit to ensure the capillary effect has spread the copper on all surfaces inside the joint.

Here are a few specific soldering tips regarding this project:

Follow the general concepts of soldering.

With this project, there are a lot of joints in relatively tight spaces. So, when you heat up one join you are likely heating the join below. This could cause a problem and disrupt an already soldered connection. You can use a wet wash-cloth and wrap certain joints to keep it cool. you are better off:

Planning ahead. Meaning, clean and prepare two+ joins at once so that you can solder them both at the same time. See below example:

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THIS POST WILL BE EDITED**** I will need to read this a few times...maybe answer questions so that I know when I am being way too vague. I will also need to add some soldering pointers/resources. I am sure there are a ton of grammar and spelling errors.

 

[pyewacket]

Boiler construction:
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As the name implies, a boiler is responsible for boiling. In this case, it must be large enough to meet your oil production needs. I decided to make a 2 gallon boiler for this project because I never plan to make more oil than what I can get from 6-8onces of bud at a time. That amount would require approximately 2 gallons of solvent (boiler capacity). You could, of course, make the boiler as large as you like. The only limiting factors would be the heat source that would be required to heat a very large boiler. For example, going larger than 5-7.5 gallons pushes the limits of small hotplate style electric burner (approx. 900-1000watts). It would take roughly 2-3 hours to boil off and reclaim the 2gallons of alcohol. 7.5 gallons on a small burner would take the better part of a day.

The concept is simple. Stainless steel pot, with a stainless steel salad bowl inverted on the top. You want a salad bowl so that you have plenty of head space for the vapors to accumulate before rising up and into the apparatus. The salad bowl makes a nice dome. So if you use the lid or something flat instead of the salad bowl, and you plan to fill the pot to capacity, you could get some coughing and choking as the boiling liquid rolls into the bottom of the still head.

I use inexpensive stock pots like this one I purchased from Big Lots here in the states:

You can get this one on sale for under $10. I purchased the stainless steel bowl from Target. You have to match up a stock pot to the salad bowl so that the rim of the pot makes good contact to the rim of the bowl. You should be looking for a bowl and pot with nice flattened rims.

There really are only three main things that must be done to construct this boiler:
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1) Solder an inverted 1" copper cap fitting to the center top of the inverted salad bowl. And then drilling several 1/4" holes through the cap -- straight through the stainless steel salad bowl -- so that vapors can pass up and into the apparatus.

2) Drill a 1/4" hole that a thermometer port can be pushed through. Cutting a length of 1/4" soft copper and solder/seal one end. Insert this thermometer port through the hole you created and solder it in place.

3) Create a PTFE gasket. Easily constructed gasket that is safe and provides a seal that can be re-used many times. Some people claim theirs have lasted over a year of consistent use.


You will need to purchase a special flux for this job. I use: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001HWE9A2/ref=biss_dp_t_asn
LA-CO M-A Liquid Stainless Steel Flux Liquid, 4 oz

This flux is essential (or a flux like the above). You cannot solder copper to stainless without it.

Some tips when soldering stainless steel to copper.

This is a huge departure from what you know about soldering copper to copper. Stainless steel requires a large amount of cleaning. So you will need to sand and/or use a stainless steel brush, stainless steel wool to get ALL corrosion off the metal. You should never touch the stainless steel soldering area once cleaned. The oils from your fingers will prevent the solder from binding. You will also need to make certain that all sanding debris is brushed off the steel. If you used permanent marker to mark anything on the steel, it must be sanded off before you solder.

This flux is different. It is not a paste. It is a liquid acid based substance. You will use a clean brush to apply on both the stainless steel and the copper. Do not use any paste flux when joining copper to stainless.

Apply the flux where you want the solder to go. This is not a capillary situation. If prepared properly, the solder will pool and make a strong bond to the stainless. I will show you a photo of my stainless soldering and you will see that plenty of solder is used as it pools on the surface and binds to the copper.

Never put the torch flame on the stainless. Heat the copper and let the heat transfer to the stainless steel. Stainless steel scorches at high heat, so keep that flame away. In actuality, the stainless is so thin that it heats up rather fast--even conducted from the copper. In fact, you can use a 100w soldering iron to push fuse solder on the surface of the stainless steel. Although not needed for this application, you can also use a soldering iron to solder two pieces of stainless together.
<<Insert Photo's, thermometer port installation, cap soldering, PTFE gasket how-to>>
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[pyewacket]

Third post reserved****

 

[lilmonk]

Will be following this.. I already have a moonshine still that is based on the above picture..

 

[blue]

Damn my DIY skills - that machine looks serious!
I got freaked out making QUISO, although i'd love to try this THC oil!

very clever stuff Pywacket

 

[pyewacket]

I already have a moonshine still that is based on the above picture

Using paper clasps to secure the stainless steel salad bowl, inverted, onto the pot, is a tried and true method. I have been working on the concentric design for about a year, so you may be interested in the details of this particular still. It is a concept that started a few years ago as a typical pot still. A few of us made some modifications and came up with a safe still that performs extremely well. In fact, this little still head can be used as a reflux. It makes a nice and simple compact design for the DIYer. Since you are familiar with stills, think of this as a vertical Liebig...with a special distillate trap.

 

[wg]

When's the rest of the how-to coming!?

 

[lilmonk]

Pyewacket... I used to have trouble with leaks at the pot/salad bowl... Went to the farm store and bought 5 ft of surgical tubing in the animal health dept. cut a slit down the tubing and fitted it to the pot.. Put salad bowl back on with the binder clip and rock and roll... only had to make a little flour paste to use where the tubing ends meet... WORKS SWEET. I dont make moonshine to drink, I use in my lawn equip. LOL.. Lots of corn to make corn sour mash in this here neck of the woods

My pot still doesnt have the colum like yours, mine has a copper worm

 

[pyewacket]

I like to stay clear of all forms of synthetics. Flour paste may or may not be an issue here, but I would hate the idea of flour dropping into the THC oil. For making moonshine the stuff is awesome! The old timers know their stuff! I will discuss making a PTFE gasket, using the Teflon tape method to produce a safe gasket. There are some very inventive people at home distillers forum...PTFE gasket is one such invention.

Lilmonk, sounds like have a nifty traditional still!

I am going to post some info soon...First installment that I am sure I will have to edit the heck out of.