Why not ethanol??

[EkToTeen]

I was wondering if anyone has had any experience using ethanol as a solvent with extraction equipment normally used for butane as a solvent???

Seems to me that I should be able to do it but there's a lingering thought in the back of my head that says I may want to get a few more opinions other than my own on weather or not its possible.

 

[EkToTeen]

picture might help ey....

Its a closed column pressurized extractor normally used with butane...

 

[EkToTeen]

Awesome thread bigsur51....I've read through the entire thing.

I use a method that is very similar to the one Graywolf laid out in his original post...wash, filter, and reduce.

Differing in that I do three separate washes about 60-90s each and I only reduce the solution down once. Works out that I get about 13-17% yield depending on the starting material and usually tests out above 80%.

:woot: excited about the positive feedback so far...can't wait to give this new setup a try.

 

[EkToTeen]

Bigsur51....

I feel your pain brother! I went through many trials and tribulations in my attempts at a do it yourself still. Quite honestly, its more of a headache than its worth dealing with. If you happen to be in the Maine area I have what's called an airstill that you can have for free...allows you to reclaim 90%-ish or more of your solvent

https://www.amazon.com/Still-Spirit...=UTF8&qid=1532359202&sr=8-1&keywords=airstill

If you're not in the area you can order it right on amazon...make sure you get the model that runs on 320w and not the one that runs on 500 something watts or you'll run the risk of easily burning your oil.

Also....

http://www.lilgreenoilmachine.com/

Little pricier but definitely a higher quality. Used one and was impressed with the difference in efficiency.

Just a couple of options for you to look into and either one is well worth the investment in the fact that the price of solvent can really add up if you're unable to reclaim and reuse it.

Best of luck to you!!

 

[the joker]

Where are you buying ethanol ? What I’ve seen online is fairly expensive.

 

[Graywolf]

Sorry, not sure how I missed this the first time around. Some new stuff since the SPR article was published.

The first is that if you mix dry ice with your ethanol and drop the temperature below -50C, the soak time can be increased to 10 minutes or so without picking up chlorophyll.

As far as a still, we made our first using an asparagus steamer for the still and made the condenser out of copper tubing in an ice bath.

We've also used a Megahome still, an ISO-3 and 4, and a Extract Craft Turbo, as well as a Hiedolph rotary evaporator. All of which worked well.

 

[Graywolf]

Here are some pictures. Note the second one showing a chilled head on the still for refluxing.

 

[Graywolf]

The Megahome alcohol still and Heidolph rotary evaporator

 

[Graywolf]

Here are a couple larger scale commercial extractor designs:

 

[EkToTeen]

Here are a couple larger scale commercial extractor designs:

Thanks for all of the info Graywolf...

I like the closed cell neoprene idea. How thick would you recommend going?

Also, looking at that second diagram I see that you have a nitrogen going into the system at 25psi... Is that based specifically on the size of that particular apparatus? Or is would 25psi be good in general? and would a regulator or a flow meter be best to use when feeding it into your system?

Apologies for just rapid firing questions...just been looking for some definitive info to go by in regards to the whole nitrogen thing for longer than a little while. Its been briefly described to me as being a good thing to do but the specifics seem for some reason to be some kind of secret....anyways.

Awesome stuff in your QWET thread btw....been using ethanol to extract cannabis oil for a few years now. Spent hours on Skunk Pharm in the process too...found a ton of super useful info that help me along the way. Just want to say that the pillar you've established in the community is much appreciated

 

[EkToTeen]

Where are you buying ethanol ? What I’ve seen online is fairly expensive.

It most certainly is... Which is why, If you have not already done so, it is wise to invest in some type of still and be able to reclaim most all of it to reuse over and over.

I buy mine locally from couple of different sources here in Maine. Still it down and use it over again and again. 5gal=$400 but it lasts for a very long time.

 

[the joker]

It if it’s Everclear... the good stuff is illegal in California. I think meth head use it. What else can I use? Everclear 151 May be available but it leaves a taste.