Making tincture- How I do it.

[Ckbrew]

It was time to make some tincture and since there have been several threads on this subject I thought I would show my process. There will be two separate batches with different strains. The process will be the same for each, so I will show just one run. Each batch is a 30 gm load of bud. That will be decarbed, ethanol extracted, concentrated, and adjusted for a final volume of 60ml. (30ml. final volume can be made if being infused into an oil). The tincture can be used as is but needs to be added to food or a drink. The dose is done by drops from a very fine dropper. The final product can also be used to make edibles, added to glycerine for glycerine tincture, infused into an oil like olive, mct, ghee (butter fat), or a meat fat such as rendered bacon grease- a favorite. So if you want to see, come along for the ride.

Decarb bud and heat flasks to drive off moisture. Then allow to cool. Cover flask with foil to keep out moisture.


Crumble bud lightly and put in flask. Approximate volume on left is 250ml. right 300ml.


Prep ethanol jar #1 400ml. jar # 2 n 3 300ml.


Everything in the freezer.


That is all for today. This will cool down and be extracted later. To be continued...

[Ckbrew]

After a freezer issue and a vacuum pump malfunction, here comes the rest.


Set up filtration Add filter paper and saturate with solvent



All frozen, add 400ml ethanol to start extraction 400ml charge enough to cover bud charge. Shake and send to freezer. Soak for 10 minutes, with shaking every 2
minutes.



First wash filtration. Strainer over flask Start vacuum filtration of first wash





Filtration continues Add second charge of ethanol for second wash




Filtration continues All done




After third wash, draining ethanol from bud charge for recovery. This will be added to saved jar for later recovery. Third wash in filtration goes to boiling flask. Wash 1 & 2 combined in large flask. Note the difference in color.

[Ckbrew]

Extraction and filtration is now done. Now concentrate wash by separating ethanol from extracted oil.


Set up heating mantle and add magnetic stir bar- white oval to boiling flask. A magnet in the heating mantle will keep the stir bar spinning in the boiling flask to prevent bumping and increase vaporization rate.


Full set up for concentration. From left to right, clamp stand, heating mantle with magnetic stirrer, 2 neck 500ml round bottom boiling flask, still head, thermometer, 400mm condenser, water feed and exit lines, clamp stand to support condenser, drip leg with vacuum tap, 500ml round bottom flask for collection. Green clips hold glass components together. Vacuum is applied with a hand pump to -15 inHG and maintained. Run process until about 100ml remaining in flask.


While waiting, wash 1 & 2 in warm water bath. This brings temperature up to avoid thermal shock damage to boiling flask when this is added for concentration.


Process running, collecting ethanol on right.


First concentration done.


Heat off, vacuum released. Funnel added to 2 neck flask, add wash from 1 & 2 nd pass.


Second verse, same as the first.


Ready for third wash addition. Third verse, same as the first.


Ethanol recovered from bud charge, about 50ml


Concentration is complete.

[Ckbrew]

Now time to collect concentrate and make final volume of tincture.




Heating mantle removed, vacuum released, starting to cool.




System components removed. About 15-20 ml here by eye. Now is an important step in the process. What happens next can vary. For an oil concentrate, this would be put in a stainless measuring cup and ethanol further evaporated to the atmosphere. Alternatively the concentrate could be added to an oil based carrier like butter, MCT oil, etc. It can be heated to drive off ethanol if ethanol free is needed. Or Glycerine could be added to make glycerine tincture. This batch will go to a 60ml ethanol tincture.


Removing and measuring concentrate with pipette. This is added to brown tincture bottle.


Transfer complete. 14.1ml not bad for an eyeball measurement.


Cleaning washing and remnant recovery. From right to left, 45.9 ml ethanol, small grad cylinder, boiling flask, tincture bottle. The process is 5 x 9ml cleanings of the boiling flask with ethanol. The cleaning ethanol is then added to the tincture bottle. This facilitates a complete capture of the extract into the tincture.



First cleaning of boiling flask. Note color of extract.



Last cleaning. No color.



Completed extract. Potent stuff. The dose is measured by drops. 57 drops per ml, 60ml, is 3,420 drops, coincidence? Typical dose 5-15 drops. Easy to handle, easy to dose, can be added to food or drink. Flammable, caution.



The leftovers. Bud on right, filter paper and keef residue on left.


This is your bud extracted to a tincture. any questions?

[grouchyoldman]

Wow! That's quite a setup Ckbrew. I admire the rigor of your method and appreciate the detailed explanation. Thanks for sharing.

Is your final 14.1 ml of oil clean enough for use in a vape cartridge? With all the processing, I expect so.

[Ckbrew]

The 14.1 volume is a random number as this batch was intended to be a 60ml final volume. So long as it is well below the final volume so there is ethanol volume left to add back to be able to clean the boiling flask. It is a mixture of oil and ethanol, about like watered down maple syrup. I suppose you could use it in a vape cartridge, if vaping ethanol is acceptable. In the past I have continued the evaporation to pure oil, then used the oil in an electric dab chamber or a torch fired banger n bong. If you don't want the ethanol in the vape then I would reduce it down to pure oil then mix it with what ever you want to thin it out. I have not gotten into vape cartridges as I am very wary of the other ingredients and what they may do to your lungs.

[grouchyoldman]

When you mention, "Typical dose 5-15 drops" is that range based on your personal tolerance, or the general "10mg/ml" normal I've seen touted around?

What's your guess as to this 14.1 batch potency in mg/ml, if you care to offer one?

[Ckbrew]

What do you use for a vape? What has been your experience with different vape machines?

[grouchyoldman]

Nope, I don't use vape cartridges at all, but I consider them as the most exacting end point for extraction concentrates. Your method likely produces a refined enough product for that use once you get the last bit of alcohol out of your oil. Most of the folks making extracts for vape cartridges use presses to squeeze the oil out of good bud, but you prolly know that. I'm not sure if anyone is using a QWET extraction to make a concentrate oil that can be used for vape cartridges, and I thought yours might be clean enough to work.

[Puglover1]

grouchy - if you reduce part way then use a fan & pan to reduce the rest down to shatter you can use a little heat and a hemp oil-based thinner to make it vape-able, or to look like vape oil. I'm still looking for someone to press my best buds.

[Ckbrew]

Dose has always been based on titration by the individual and past experience. With out access to a quantitative analysis lab report, concentration can only be estimated.

A hypothetical calculation based on some assumptions: 15% THC content of bud, and 95% process efficiency.

And known 30gm bud charge and 60ml final volume, calculations as follows:

30,000mg bud X .15 X .95 = 4,275mg
4,275mg / 60ml = 71.25mg/ml
71.25 mg/ml / 57drops/ml = 1.25mg/drop
Given the assumptions made in the beginning, I would give the above calculations an estimated accuracy of +/- 15 to 20% (not an ideal margin of error but with out a QA report, best estimate)

The original 14.1ml would work out to 303.19 mg/ml

I need to temper my response by saying with out hard lab data, this all is only an estimate. I can confirm results from experience by the end user. It is just a matter of starting slow and working the dose up to desired effect. What I can say is if you keep accurate records, and are using the same bud source, the results of the extraction can be repeated with accuracy in producing subsequent batches for further use.

[grouchyoldman]

I thought you started with about two ounces of weed, 60,000 mg of bud, @ 15% THC, and that resulted in 14.1 grams of concentrated tincture. That would be very potent indeed. Apologies if I have misunderstood.

[Ckbrew]

I ran 2 different batches, 30gm each. Different strains. Just showed one batch in the post, but started with showing both batches being prepared for freezing.