Ardent Lift/Nova Reviews

Check out Another Tincture thread in edibles. PsycheledicSam and Budford had lab tests done on cannabis decarbed in the Nova and the results are toward the end of the thread. The Nova got a thumbs up from P'Sam which is high praise indeed. So the word from a forum member (P'Sam)who had tests done on the decarbed material is that it's a good purchase. It does decarb perfectly.It is also recommended by some other folks with considerable cred on the forum.Hopefully they'll chime in. I would buy one if I had the cash.

 

Sam and Budford start discussing it here....then decide to do the experiments as you read further along with lab results....

 

Best cannabis appliance I own.
Fill a small container, press a button, and about 1:45 later you've got perfectly decarbed herb.
No smell during decarb, but upon opening the container, it reeks.

The only downside is that LIft's capacity is only about 1/2 oz flower.

The Ardent recommended infusion method also works very well, so Lift can be viewed as a decarber and infuser.

 

There is no difference between my oven decarb and and the Nova when it comes to activation but I've been doing it a long time and have the advantage of lab testing. However, most people don't have that option and have to trust they're getting it right. The Nova takes any guesswork or doubt out of the equation and gives the confidence that everything will turn out right and if it doesn't...well, it's not the decarb's fault. That confidence can make a big difference in how you relate to your edibles, one less thing to worry about.

It decarbs flower without grinding and trim with the same efficiency as well as concentrates. It infuses but I've no experience with that function. If you have the cash and distrust the oven or other methods then this would be a wise investment.

There may be another realm where it might even be better than an oven decarb. Next week I'm going to test for terpenes to determine what's left after the Nova decarb. Temperatures are going to be a bit lower which might just save some terps.

 

I called Ardent about a year ago to ask about Lift's internal temps.
I was told then, if I remember correctly, that temps don't exceed 218 F.

 

Hoping they end up having a decent sale on them this week for 710, they had a great sale around 420 but I found out about it too late, if they have a similar sale though I will be buying one this week.

 

Just ordered my Nova..Looking forward to making edibles and capsules more often going forward

 

Hi y'all, I've been using the nova,(actually called the lift?) for about 2 years, it works very well but if you do a whole bunch of half ounces in a row it gets too hot and the outer purple casing cracks, I wrapped the whole thing with one big piece of patch and seal tape. I've also been saving the drops of moisture ,oil under the lid of the lift, does anybody know if it's anything worth saving?

 

I believe it's just leftover water from the herb, and not worth saving

 

darn, i was hoping youd say they were terps,it smells so good! oh well thnx 4 the info

 

Mine was an opinion , and I've not really investigated it.
But the less dry my original herb is, the more water seems to happen.

 

So is the consensus that it is worth it for someone just getting into tinctures/glycerites?

I could hook a toaster oven up to one of my temperature controllers to get less temperature variation, but this seems more convenient and takes away the guess work.

 

yes its nice to set it and let it go,but, give it time between decarb sessions,mine stayed too hot and the outer shell cracked,taped it up ,still works.

 

The most overpriced, poorest quality essential tool in my apothecary cabinet. I wouldn’t be without it!

Very disappointing results as an infusion device, however.

I’ve recently seen a couple of references that the temp didn’t exceed 218 degrees but I remember seeing results a couple of years ago to the contrary. A member of another forum inserted a probe with a graph display that showed a very stable 250 degrees (I believe) with only 5 degree variance. I’ll try to ferret that out again.

 

I've had better luck with infusions using Ardent.
But I don't use it for that anymore, because a toaster oven is easier, and reproducible.
Also, the average temperature inside Ardent during infusion might depend on quantity of contents.

I might be the one whose post you read saying that Nova/Lift's max temp is 218.
That's what they told me when I called them and asked.

I'm skeptical of that graph because 248 F for over an hour, instead of 1/2 hour, would lead to noticeable thc destruction.
I haven't noticed that, and it doesn't show up in Ardent's published test results.

My experience with Ardent tells me it does decarb well.
I suspect something was wrong with the probe used to get the above graph.

 

Had a small issue infusing in my ardent yesterday, didn't look at the exact time I turned it on but know it was running for at least 2.5 - 3 hrs trying to infuse a stick of butter to a quarter ounce decarbed flower. I saw some water come out the front, it created a crazy amount of steam to the point where there was water on the front and under the metal cup. I had to turn it off manually, butter seems fine and not burnt or anything. Made cookie dough bites with them, trying them later to see how they came out but it definitely was weird. Gunna just decarb a g in it later to make sure it is functioning ok

 

Yes I also had a couple of runs like that, got too hot to pick up! Maybe the exterior temperature has something to do with it? I sent Ardent an email with questions, no reply though, thinking about it, how accurate can the heat be when it's not even sealed,?

 

Glad to hear you got better results with the ardent. Did you use their silicone sleeve or an inner jar or just plop it into the aluminum canister?

The graph I shared was with “almost nothing in it” in his words. He did a second run with with 12.5 grams and the results were very consistent. I had no expectations of a differential of temps but I was a bit surprised that the times were very similar.

Defective equipment; always a possibility, who knows?!?

The utopian decarb formula will always be a point of controversy. I’ve seen far too many lab analysis with excellent results using a wide variety of time/temp combinations. I’m of the opinion that acceptable decarb results fall within a much wider parameter than most think. A good example of this thesis is from a patent held by GW Pharmaceuticals for a decarboxylation. An excerpt from that patent explaining a two step process:

“Preferably the first step is conducted at a temperature in the range of from 100° C. to 110° C. for 10-20 min. More preferably the first temperature is about 105° C. and the first time period is about 15 minutes.

Optimum times and temperatures for the second step may vary depending on the nature of the plant material, and more particularly on the cannabinoid which it is intended to isolate from the plant material, and may be easily determined by routine experiment. Suitable conditions may include, for example, a temperature in the range of from 115° C. to 125° C. for a time period in the range of from 45 to 75 minutes (typically 120° C. for 60 minutes), or a temperature in the range of from 135° C. to 145° C., for a time period in the range of from 15 to 45 minutes.

If the plant material is derived from cannabis plants having a high THC content (defined as >90% THC as a percentage of total cannabinoid content), the second temperature is preferably in the range of from 115° C. to 125° C., typically 120° C., and the second time period is preferably in the range of from 45 minutes to 75 minutes, typically about 60 minutes.“

Irrelevant of what the actual temp inside the Ardent is, it works for me so color me HAPPY!!