I have a 12 Tom press and heated plates that I use to make my own wax. I have made lots of wax using the exact same method.. First, heat the plates to 230, then press 4 grams of flower using a small cylinder using a small hand press, next place the pressed flower between folded over parchment paper, and lastly press for 30 to 40 seconds using the heated plates and 12 ton press.. This method has worked perfect every time until today. Today for some reason the wax that ended up on the parchment paper wont lift onto the dab needle like it usually does... It is almost like the wax is staying too wet to lift, if that makes any sense at all.. typically I can use the dab needle to "lift" the wax, then use a very small piece of parchment paper to get it off the needle and store it, or leave it on the needle to use it... However this time, it is not "lifting" very well and it is more like most of the wax is just smearing... I even tried to put it in the refrigerator for a few minutes... Any advice or info would be great
any difference in quality of herb? also, pictures are your best friend when trying to get responses on these sort of questions!! if you can... post pics of some of the good wax you’ve gotten and then some pics of this problem run, pics of the tree used, pics of the set up you use. I hope you get back to getting the good stuff!!!! Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
I am going to do a couple tests tomorrow to see if I can narrow the issue down and see if it is the flower or method is the issue... I have some flower that I have produced excellent wax with.. And I have a different new flower that I have never used for wax before... Hopefully after a few test runs, I will be able to determine what the issue is... Or at least gather more information for the forum. I don't believe pictures will be much help since every aspect looks identical, good or bad...
Take this with a grain of salt as I haven't played with this in a few years but I think that maybe your CB might have gotten older. To get clean shatter that is hard one of the things you need is a fresh product with a lot of THC-A (and obviously purging), the older the product the more THC-A will be turned to THC and then turned to CBN. This could possibly result in something more oily than waxy. I think it is essentially decarbing by age. I've never used your method though, trying to extrapolate what I used to know about BHO to this. This should def be checked with someone more knowledgeable than me. GL
Actually, In my research, I believe the issue is exactly opposite of what @koruptyg described.. The flower is very fresh.. It is just about as fresh as it gets.. In fact, I believe that is the issue.. The flower still had too much water in it, so I ended up with a wax that is a bit watered down... I am testing my hypothesis by making wax with a strain I have used before as my control sample... Then I will take the flower that did not press correctly and press exactly 3g of flower out of the same jar once per week for a few weeks.. If it gets better with time, I will know My hypothesis is confirmed.. If not, I will come up with a different solution.
I've pressed fresh flower (before curing) and it was runny and would not set up like rosin should. I'd let it cure a little first, then see how it does. I think it just has too much moisture in it when it is too fresh. Good luck!
I do this all the time and yes it’s because the flower is still too fresh and you have a bit of moisture in your nuggage. You can stick it in the freezer and wait a little for better handle. 230 is quite a high temperature by the way. You get good results? I’m usually around the 190-195 range on most strains.
@winks00 GJ brother Sorry I wasn't of any help. I'm actually checking out presses now as I've only been doing BHO and QWISO.
I would like to learn other methods.. Do u know a good site with step by step instructions and materials needed?? I am looking to make larger batches and get cleaner wax...
A little disclaimer: I have no clue what the best or most efficient method for making concentrates is today, not saying that BHO is better than a rosin press just because that is the best method I know. A decent rosin press that can handle +10g of hash seems kind of nicer than BHO. It was such a long time ago since I was playing around with this, I'm guessing around 5 years, but I used to love to read Skunk Pharm Research (BHO Extraction | Skunk Pharm Research, Skunk Pharm Research | Research and Development one safety meeting at a time). I read multiple sources and cross checking methods but I used SPR to understand the full process on a more molecular level. But like I said, sadly I've forgotten a lot. By understanding the process, you are also able to adept it. "I developed" my own process for hash that produced wonderful shatter and that was utterly fast and easy. Process gave me about 5-7g clean shatter from ~15g hash in 2h, sadly I can't remember if those 2h included purging time. The time you actually had to spend doing stuff was probably around 20 mins, rest was just waiting time. I highly doubt I was the first one to do it but at that point in time I hadn't read anyone using that process. I wouldn't mind sharing how I did it but I don't feel like doing it in an open forum and until you've read about the dangers and proper handling of butane. Don't want you to blow yourself up When you've done some research, and if it is something you feel like testing, send me a PM. Good part with this method was that 15g took as long in active time as 100g did and the end result was amazing. Oh man, that was cool. The ~700 USD model can process 14g at once which by my standard is enough with a margin. I don't know if presses existed when I was doing BHO but it sure as hell is interesting and new to me. Will keep reading when I have some time, and who knows, might be the next purchase. Also seems to work with hash. Thanks for this thread guys, probably wouldn't have researched this out of the blue. PS EDIT: I also read on SPR that it was quite important to have dried herb, might relate to your issue and research.
I will do some research and see if it is something that I want to tackle... Currently I have a relatively small press that is only able to press a max of about 8 to 10 grams before the pressed flower spreads outside the edges of the plates... Typically I do about 2.5 to 5 grams at a time and that yields from 0.5 to 1.0 grams or wax The process doesn't take long and is is quite simple to do. However, I do think the yield could be better... Thank you for all your help!!