Decarbing bud question/methods?

Hey blades, been lurking for a few months and know you guys can help me out. I'm lOoking to make green dragon for the first time and I've got the bud and some 151 all set right...? But here's my problem I'm 19 and still at home for the next few months so smell is a bit of an issue. Now every good tutorial I've read suggests decarbing the bud first so that's what I intend to do. So to the experienced chefs here what have you found to be the least smelly way of decarbing the bud? Hows the microwave method compared to an oven? On a side note Im planning on using about an 1/8, would 4ounces of 151 be a good ratio?

mason jar with a brand new lid and in the oven at 220-250F for 30 minutes (or for more THC and a larger loss in terpenoids, go for 2 hours)

less smelly but more obvious" boil the mason jar on the stovetop for 30 minutes. This decarbs less cannabinoids though.

Thanks sounds easy enough, As far as smell goes what should I expect with the mason jar in the oven method, will the kitchen smell like straight bud or more of the smell when vaping and how long does it take to dissipate from the kitchen? Also anyone know if ozium is as effective for covering the smell as it is for smoking? Sorry for all the questions just wanna make sure I do this right.

At 220F it takes longer for the smell to break out of the tiny cracks in the mason jar and be noticable. Mason jars should be sealed as close to 100% as possible. if it starts to smell you can cook anything else (from bacon to brownies) and itll mask the smell.

When I dont have time and need to decarb fast I decarb at 250 for 25 minutes (+5 minutes cooling down)

when I have time I go for 220F for at least an hour and a half to two hours

At 220F it takes longer for the smell to break out of the tiny cracks in the mason jar and be noticable. Mason jars should be sealed as close to 100% as possible. if it starts to smell you can cook anything else (from bacon to brownies) and itll mask the smell.

When I dont have time and need to decarb fast I decarb at 250 for 25 minutes (+5 minutes cooling down)

when I have time I go for 220F for at least an hour and a half to two hours

Thanks man you've been a ton of help I'll likely go with the above method. Have you or any one else ever use the microwave method how's it compare?

DUDE!!!! you are soooo awesome
thank you! for being in this thread at the right time
see, i'm a little fucked up, haven't toked in months and i just hotknifed half a bowl of medical shit and it may have taken me HOURS to find this thread otherwise
THANK YOU lol

DUDE!!!! you are soooo awesome
thank you! for being in this thread at the right time
see, i'm a little fucked up, haven't toked in months and i just hotknifed half a bowl of medical shit and it may have taken me HOURS to find this thread otherwise
THANK YOU lol

Lol youre welcome man always happy to help. Thank oracle for providing the great info. Just got out of work myself and about to join you in space haha.

Check out

http://forum.grassci...nnabis-oil.html

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How about this:

-boil a container of water,
-toss in a mason-jar of bud,
-put a lid on the container of water, & put outside/in garage/etc
-wait 2 hours
-done

that would help with odor issues.
How would it work?
Boiling is 212*F, so it's less than 220*F, and the temp would cool off with time, how much depending on the type of container and insulation.



got the idea from
The potency of marijuana can be increased by about 50% simply by simmering a water slurry of the material for 2 hours. Add water as necessary to maintain the level. Cool and filter the mixture, and refrigerate the aqueous solution. Dry the leaf material at low heat. Drink the tea before smoking the marijuana. The effects are much more intense and last longer than those from the untreated leaves. The boiling water treatment isomerizes the inactive CBD, and decarboxylates THCA to THC.
Robert A. Nelson: Hemp Husbandry ~ Cannabinoid Chemistry (Ch 6)

That will work bro. However make sure two things because this happened to me.

1. youre still going to want to oven toast your bud at about 200 to 220 for `10-15 minutes to remove moisture. If you smell terpenes its cool, dont fret. Thats supposed to happen. If you bud doesnt give off an aroma while youre prebaking (to remove moisture) you are doing it wrong. The terpenes can be lost in this process because the end result is such an increase in thc that the terpenes arent really that valuable and are in fact negligible.

2. Once the bud is tried out at 200-220 (uncovered obviously) take it out and let it cool off as to finish removing any moisture that mightve seeped back into the plant matter from the oven space. If youre going to do the boiling method you have to use a fresh mason jar lid that will seal during the boil as to not let water back in and wet your product, which can severely affect the decarboxylation process. As soon as the time limit comes up you have to take the mason jar out and not let it cool in the water because water might be able to seep in and ruin your product. I've had this happen when I reused a lid that had already been sealed and opened. The good thing about the oven is that it's easier then boiling, IMO safer, and you can reuse lids and dont have to watch water or watch a stove. That , and you can go up to 250 and get things done in 45 minutes if you are in a hurry and do this all the time like me.

Cook some Thai food or curried rice as you decarb- you want some nice smelly exotic spices for the cannabis odor to blend into!

I decarb late at night, preferably during a storm- so folks are more interested in getting inside, rather than figuring out what and where that smell is coming from!


Granny

Decarb is for getting all the moisture and co2 out

Is it correct that decarboxylation only requires adequate heat and time?
.. so the moisture level wouldn't matter?

I'd like to avoid using any indoors heat (oven, microwave, etc).

And if it does need to be dry... then a fan or dehumidifier can do that also. No need for an oven. K.I.S.

One benefit of the water heating is that the heat will be more uniform throughout the material. In an oven, the outside will be hotter than the inside. And also to conserve some moisture in the buds.

Moisture level matters. Moisture (water is present in the bud, you cant remove it all) decreases the amount of decarboxylation that occurs.

Oven is the best method to decarboxylate. Although if you're boiling your cannabis (in a sealed bag I presume) long enough (half an hour minimum, more like an hour, up to 2 hours in my opinion) then you're getting nearly the same results as slightly higher oven rates.

I've read in liturature about using ovens at 170-200F to for 15 miunutes to remove excess moisture so I try to replicate that.

As to which method smells more, oven smells more then microwave (3 sets of 1:30 to 2 minutes) but also is less efficient, but efficient enough in my opinion (if you do paleos microwave method).

Edited by TheOracle, 11 October 2011 - 03:51 AM.

I promise I am not picking on your threads. I just want to make one quick statement. Just be careful heating mason jars. Don't heat them too quickly and don't cool them too quickly. Definitely don't submerge hot glass in cold water. Also, be careful heating a sealed jar. Pressure buildup could cause a glass jar to explode. Nothing wrong with safety.

Mason jars are made to be boiled and cooled safely. Especially if you know how to use them and do research, which you're supposed to do. Oven heating doesn't run a risk of breaking the jars like water boiling might. Breaking a mason jar during a normal heating and cooling process is about the same calculated risk as dropping a bowl onto the ground when you're eating pasta. Cause to break a mason jar (they are made to withstand this lol) you practically gotta drop it. My grandmother has used mason jars and used the boiling method for 40 years + with no accidents.

Edited by TheOracle, 11 October 2011 - 05:30 PM.

I purposely refrained from disputing anything you are claiming because I don't want to get into it like in that other thread. I was simply stating, for people who might not know, that it is best to practice safety when heating and cooling glass. Even mason jars can be damaged if this is done without care. This is not an attack on you, it is a statement on safety to supplement your information. Not everyone does the research you are suggesting. Some people jump right in.
Peace

Absolutely right. If people can't handle mason jars (or wish not to do research) this method can be done with the same steps, times and temps, replacing jars with a plate and lid or bowl as a lid, as to not create a pressurized seal. This creates more smell during the process. I just did a batch today and went ahead with 250F for 1 hour (ovens vary) sealed and unsealed (uncovering the mason jar, putting it back into the oven, and waiting) 50/50 of the time. Smells a lot but is easy and simple enough.

all of the recipes i see do not include a note to use decarbed weed... including the sticky for cannabutter. does that mean decarbing is not necessary?

It means its a new technique that wasnt known when the stickies were done. No one is forcing you to do it but it will make your bud several (6x if you do it right according to a team of chemists that are credible) times more potent.

thanks oracle... i'll give it a try next time.