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To decarb or not to decarb that is my question

Wolfe0420

Wolfe0420

New member
Ok so I always thought you need to decarb your bud before making oils and edibles ect. Or so I thought. So I’ve been researching how to make shatter or distillate. I have got 99.9%ISO medical grade tho no heavy metals in it. I’m going to be using 2 oz of bud after I crop and cure. Do I need to decarb bud first ?? I am going to use it in a vape pen but also plan on making gummies. I assume you do not need to decarb with the vape menthod but how would this work for the edibles ?
 
Ok fair, so maybe no good for the gummies? I could be wrong I was under the assumption that since it was 99% it would be evaporated and gone? I am also not a expert, I mean I’ve seen ppl make BHO and their using butane. Is the evaporation method safe?
 
Xena So for edibles I may just do the coconut oil route and decarb first. As for the shatter is decarb crucial? Also thanks for the reply
 
Man I honestly don’t know, I just know I’ve read from a bunch of different places never use iso when you’re gonna ingest something if it’s going in your body use 190 proof alcohol that’s made to drink.
 
Simple chemistry and pharmacology. You need to heat it to de-carbohydrate THC-a to active THC (and other compounds). If used in a vape pen, that will decarb it. If used in an edible, must be heated to decarb first. Keep in mind, it appears that you are doing an extraction, and when you remove your isopropyl I assume you are evaporating it off with heat. That may provide enough heat to accomplish your goal. If you make gummies, that process involves heat. The question then becomes was it heated enough to convert all the compounds. You can judge that subjectively or have it tested in a lab. But if you want to be sure, then decarb it. Use this chart to plot time and temperature. does not need to be exact, but here is what the science says. I use the 122 *C and 27 minutes and have always had good success. This chart was developed for large industrial processes and is meant to guide that process based on energy and time costs. Hope this helps. BTW I prefer 95% ethanol as cold as you can get it for a solvent, imho.
 

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Isopropyl and butane can both be used. You need to purge your product to remove all solvents. Heat and/or vacuum chamber. Personally, I would not touch butane due to the extreme fire danger. If you miss removing some ethanol from your product, at least it will not kill you.
 
Never assume anything involving solvents that may affect what you ingest. The original concentration of isopropyl is irrelevant to the completeness of the solvent purge. If you use a toxic solvent, it must be purged from your product.
 
I went with medical grade because I researched about how the do not use heavy metals in the medical grade. So could I let this air evaporate and heat purge the end product to remove the remaining solvents ?
 

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Isopropyl must be purged with a vacuum chamber. Theoretically you could do it with heat, but then you are risking destroying desired compounds, and it is difficult to know when to stop. With a vacuum chamber, you let is sit until bubbling stops, then another 24 hours, with no overheat concern. Just because the isopropyl is pure, does not mean that the isopropyl itself is non toxic.
 
Ok so I ordered a Vac pump and chamber not to bad it was $180 for the combo on Amazon. I assume the alcohol is supposed to evaporate then I scrape that onto the wax paper and then place that into the vac chamber and purge until it stops bubbling?. How long does it take to stop bubbling? And can you over purge ?
 
2 decarb or not 2 decarb....
OK...so the first thing to know is that the glittery crystals that you see ON your bud is only about 30% of the chemical goodness you seek. The other 70% is still INSIDE the green material of the bud. Not decarbing means wasting a lot of THC.

Hope that helps :)
 
Wolfe0420 said:
Ok so I ordered a Vac pump and chamber not to bad it was $180 for the combo on Amazon. I assume the alcohol is supposed to evaporate then I scrape that onto the wax paper and then place that into the vac chamber and purge until it stops bubbling?. How long does it take to stop bubbling? And can you over purge ?
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After you make your solvent extraction you need to concentrate it. Are you planning on recovering the solvent or just releasing it to the atmosphere? If releasing it make sure you are outside when heating it. Extreme fire danger. Do not use an open flame heater. No smoking! If you are recovering the solvent follow instructions with the equipment you have. Reduce the volume down to about 60 to 30ml then let cool. Depending on the initial volume of your extract you may want to reduce the size of your concentration container as the volume is reduced. Rinse the larger container with some warm solvent then place this in the smaller container. Then keep reducing. Don't let it go dry. So long as there is solvent in your evaporator the temperature will not exceed the boiling point of your solvent. If it goes dry and the temperature spikes you may loose product. After it is cool, place in your vacuum chamber and draw vacuum on the system. As the pressure drops the solvent should start boiling at room temperature. During this step sometimes the mixture will bubble over and spill making a mess to clean and salvage. If this happens just release the vacuum and the bubbles should collapse. just slowly build up the vacuum again. Let it go until the bubbling stops, then 24 hours under vacuum. You can not over purge it. If you are using isopropyl you want to make sure it is all gone. After that, open, scrape into storage container and enjoy.
 
The only thing I use iso for is cleaning the pipe and bowls. Be careful making vape juice please. Absolutely decarb for edibles! I've got a Levo for infusing coconut oil which goes into a gummy recipe from their website. I use silicone molds to make Yodas and R2D2s and such. My housemate love them. You could also consider making hash or getting a rosin press for safer ways of making concentrates. I've tried the hair straightener method and it is a pain, honestly. Making bubble hash is work but the rewards are worth it. You can even go traditional and make dry sift if you have much more flower than you know what to do with.
 
Just in case I have not expressed my opinion, I prefer 95% ethanol for this process. More expensive, but safer.
 
So I do want to use everclear problem is I live in Canada and I’m sure some parts you can get ahold of it but not where I am.
 
In the land of freedom to use weed you can not have 95% ethanol? Weird. Do you have the means to set up a still? A lab still, not a moonshine still. Starting with 40% (80 proof) cheap vodka I can get 93% with the first pass. That is close enough. Getting that last 2% with a still is time consuming but can be done. In the US I can order on line 100% lab ethanol, just a little bit more $ than everclear. It will dilute itself down to 95% once you open and start using it. Next best alternative would be 151 proof rum. If you were planing on recovering your solvent, that equipment is most likely a still of some sorts that could possibly be used to increase your %. If you are not recovering your solvent, ethanol will get expensive. I don't know how much it is taxed in Canada, but if it is like the US it will add up fast. If none of this is an option, you can use the isopropyl, just make sure it is well purged. I know of some people who use naptha as a solvent and then purge.
 
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Yea I know it’s frustrating not being able to get the grain alcohol in over proof the only product I would be able to get is Gosslings 151 and even then I would need to ask them to order it for me at like $90 a bottle. It’s beyond me how I can get 99.9% iso but nothing overproof at the lcbo. Wray and nephew is the strongest they carry around me. Setting up a entire lab for a few grams of personal shatter sounds like way too much for too little although I appreciate all the suggestions. This community has really helped so from what I learned I am going to use a hot water bath outside to try to get the evap started quick, then I will cover it with panty hose and put a fan on it for as long as it takes (by a open window of course). I will scrape up the residue and place on wax paper and smush together then put that into the degas chamber for as long as it takes to stop bubbling then prolly do it once more for good measure. I will make a thread when this happens still a few weeks away from cropping and then I need to cure and dry. Looks like a project for the new year.
 
$90.00 for a bottle of goslings? That is outrageous. We get it here for about $40.00. Everclear is about $25.00 for 1.75L. You can not use isopropyl to get drunk on, that is why you have availability on that. Yea, I see why you are planing to use isopropyl. Above is a good plan. Use electric heater with water bath. I still would recommend outdoors, or at least in the garage with the car door open if you have. The alcohol vapor coming off that will be very flammable and possibly explosive if the correct ratio of oxygen gets mixed in. Not worth burning down the house. You might want to consider a small 120ml mason jar for your concentrate in the degassing chamber. I find it easier to clean and keep the product contained to a small area. Hold a vacuum on it for 24 hours after bubbling stops, you should be ok. Good luck and post your results.
 
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