I've got a small amount of trim from the buds of some female herbs and a bag of fan leaves. I kinda want to do a solvent extraction but I don't have anything I can use for shooting butane through the plant matter and the only place I can do it that's ventilated is my shed which is like 23 degrees farenheit. Will the cold greatly affect the solubility and the evap time? What's a good solvent to use, I have rubbing alcohol but I heard it makes for harsh product. I'm considering acetone but I don't know what it's sold as, other than little bottles of nail polish remover.

The butane shouldn't be too hard, you can get it in cans for lighter refills with a nozzle on the end, just get a bottle, make a hole just the right size for the nozzle on the bottom, poke a few holes in the body to relieve the pressure and poke quite a few in the lid, then discharge one or two cans through it upside down with the trimmings in the bottle .. onto a bowl covered in clingfilm/foil etc and let it evaporate off .. NO sources of ignition at all, you don't want a large amount of butane catching fire ..
And the boiling point of butane is -0.5C, which is 31F, so you'll need a bit of heating to get it to boil off .. putting your bowl into another larger one filled with warm water should be plenty ..

Wouldn't using a bottle cause the butane to leach chemicals off of the lid, and the bottle if it's plastic. And is it worth using the fan leaves or will only the bud leaves be worth it?

its all worth it. use pve tubing. i know you have a local home depot.

Don't worry about the plastic, if buthane dissolved it, the nozzle would clog up quickly, manufacturers tend to avoid plastics that do that.
Put your leaves through a blender first and dry them out a bit (applies?) before extraction.

EDIT:
I was talking about the bottle/can that buthane comes in, not an other plastic bottle.

Stop listening to basically everyone in this thread RIGHT NOW... but start absorbing what I am about to say:

I have been making butane honey oil for several years now... DON'T use a plastic bottle... you won't notice, but the butane will extract chems from the bottle itself that will remain in your oil... DON'T use PVC pipe or any goddamn plastic for that matter. You need steel or one of the "honey bee extractors" sold on the internet.. I have used both and both are equally as good, but the honey bee is just more fool proof, less ghetto-rigging, more safety.

Bringing your stuff outside to do the extraction is fine, I know how cold it is where you are, im an hour and a half away. I have done it before. Infact, butane is VERY VERY cold, it will burn the shit out of your hand if it gets on the skin (wear gloves)

I suggest you do it in small batches as to not pool evaporated butane in your shed, winter tends to cause a lot of static electricity in my house and my coats/clothes can become rather static. to evap the butane safely, just hold the bowl in your bare hands... you will see it bubble and evap. Blow on the piles of bubbles every few seconds as to try and make sure all the oil stays away from the edges of the bowl (it is easier to collect if you pool it all in the bottom)

When gathering it out of the bowl, have a glass vial near by and a straw to run around the edges of the bowl for collecting the oil, adding a small amount of clean hot water will loosen the oil and make it really easy to scrape up... some people get scared pouring warm water into their oil bowl. I have never lost any oil with the method infact NOT using hot water makes for lost product... seriously, you will clean the bowl to the point where you can put it right back in the cupboard so long as you use warm water in the finished oil bowl.

to evap the butane safely, just hold the bowl in your bare hands... you will see it bubble and evap.

that bowl might get pretty cold...

using ISO, acetone, or another nonpolar solvent that cleanly evaporates is way easier, the only plus to butane is the time. acetone as well as a vast number of other organic solvents can be found at your local hardware store. but if you insist on using butane, after the butane evaporates you can redissolve your oil in acetone/other solvent and pour it into your vial and let it evaporate there.

DON'T use a plastic bottle... you won't notice, but the butane will extract chems from the bottle itself that will remain in your oil... DON'T use PVC pipe or any goddamn plastic for that matter. You need steel or one of the "honey bee extractors" sold on the internet.. I have used both and both are equally as good, but the honey bee is just more fool proof, less ghetto-rigging, more safety.
Umm the honey bee extractor is made from plastic ..
Really, what 'chemicals' do you think are going to be extracted from the plastic? Any names? Sources please, or I call bullshit .. Realise that people selling the honey bee etc extractors will say stuff like that for people to buy it ..
Especially with drinks-grade plastics such as bottles, there really isn't anything to worry about .. not going to do any harm in any case ..
And steel isn't exactly very nice either unless you can find some proper 316 stainless pipe to use ..

An easy way to get your final product out is to put foil etc over your bowl, then when it's all evaporated off, freeze it for a bit and then just break the bits of oil off ..

PVC - The Poison Plastic

PVC (polyvinyl chloride) plastic, commonly referred to as vinyl, is one of the most hazardous consumer products ever created. PVC is dangerous to human health and the environment throughout its entire life cycle, at the factory, in our homes, and in the trash. Our bodies are contaminated with poisonous chemicals released during the PVC lifecycle, such as mercury, dioxins, and phthalates, which may pose irreversible life-long health threats. When produced or burned, PVC plastic releases dioxins, a group of the most potent synthetic chemicals ever tested, which can cause cancer and harm the immune and reproductive systems.

One reason not to use PVC.

true, but most of the environmental/toxic effects are caused during production and burning etc, the actual plastic isn't as bad as some people make it out to be, could still be dangerous with a reasonably strong solvent like butane .. anyway I was saying to use a plastic drinks bottle not PVC pipe ..

if you insist on using butane other plastics not to use would be Polycarbonate, as it has been shown to leech endocrine disruptors like Bisphenol A, also polyethylene can be attacked by aliphatic hydrocarbons such as butane...

hmmm sn once advised to the PVE not PVC for a reason ass hole.

I use copper piping, but that's only because I have 15 feet lying around.
Another thing, dont use shit butane like ronson, I didnt notice it at first since I used a vaporizer, but it leaves all kinds of nasty stuff behind.

true, but most of the environmental/toxic effects are caused during production and burning etc, the actual plastic isn't as bad as some people make it out to be, could still be dangerous with a reasonably strong solvent like butane .. anyway I was saying to use a plastic drinks bottle not PVC pipe ..

Still man, have you ever seen anything other than a glass bottle at a bar? liquor (solvent) in a plastic bottle that has been opened will degrade the plastic, I am not hunting sources right now, but this is proven, even water should not be held in a plastic drink bottle more than a few times.

I know this from experience also... I have seen people use bottles, and their oil comes out funky.

if ur real desperate and only wanna use an eighth you can find a metal pen. and ghetto rig it it works pretty well.

I know this from experience also... I have seen people use bottles, and their oil comes out funky.
Interesting, although I guess it could be due to other factors too with a bottle like the size of the holes etc ..
I guess another better way would be to get a glass bottle and drill a hole in the bottom with a dremel etc for the butane ..

Interesting, although I guess it could be due to other factors too with a bottle like the size of the holes etc ..
I guess another better way would be to get a glass bottle and drill a hole in the bottom with a dremel etc for the butane ..

A glass bottle would be perfect, but the chance of an explosion + glass is bad, also the fact that it will be changing temperature in such a short amount of time... I would personally not use a glass bottle, I think steel tubing is the best way to go, it always worked well for me.

Seriously is everyone in this thread except the guy above me retarded? Go get a metal pipe. If you can't manage that you arn't smart enough to safley handle anything flamable.

Metal tube, glass bowl, old fashion razor blaze, small glass vial./thread.

Why does everyone assume it has to be a "straight through" setup?

I am certain i could rig up an effective system using nothing but an old coffee jar, an outboard motor fuel line and a few other little bits and pieces.

^Whats the fuel line made of? Metal?

Some kind of rubber i think... but that doesn't particularly matter as they are designed to have all the lovely ingredients in petrol/gas running through them without degrading.

Some kind of rubber i think... but that doesn't particularly matter as they are designed to have all the lovely ingredients in petrol/gas running through them without degrading.

Car gas isn't butane. I don't know that much about chemistry or the chemical properties of butane but if people are saying it will disolve plastic then I wouldn't use anything similar to plastic.

Not to mention the liquid nitrogen in the butane will cause your rubber tube to freeze, and shatter, if moved.

Seriously, just get a metal pole. Its not complicated, rare, expensive, or hard to come by. Get a pipe, and use that.

Thats my 2 cents. Every time I have made honey oil I used a metal pipe and it worked fine.

Not to mention the liquid nitrogen in the butane will cause your rubber tube to freeze, and shatter, if moved.
LOL
There is no 'liquid nitrogen' in butane ..
It's simply held under pressure in a can, butane has quite a high boiling point of about -0.5C so under pressure it can be a liquid at normal temperatures ie in a can .. When you discharge it through the nozzle the pressure drops, which lowers the temperature below the boiling point of the butane, so you can get liquid butane out at normal pressure but at lower temperature .. as it absorbs heat from the surroundings it'll turn back into gas again ..
It depends on what sort of fuel line I'd have thought, I do know that older fuel lines can be eaten up by even biodiesel, which probably isn't as effective as a solvent as butane ..

LOL
There is no 'liquid nitrogen' in butane ..
It's simply held under pressure in a can, butane has quite a high boiling point of about -0.5C so under pressure it can be a liquid at normal temperatures ie in a can .. When you discharge it through the nozzle the pressure drops, which lowers the temperature below the boiling point of the butane, so you can get liquid butane out at normal pressure but at lower temperature .. as it absorbs heat from the surroundings it'll turn back into gas again ..
It depends on what sort of fuel line I'd have thought, I do know that older fuel lines can be eaten up by even biodiesel, which probably isn't as effective as a solvent as butane ..

Ok. Whatever. The point is butane is fucking freezing when it comes out of the can. It will freeze, and break rubber.

If theres not liquid nitro in the can how does it constantly remain cold? How does pressure = cold?

putting liquid nitrogen on rubber will reduce flexibility, cause of the lower temp. in fact the reason the challenger blew up was because the outside temp was too cold, producing cracks in the rubber o-rings, however I doubt butane would be able to completely break the rubber.

when you have a compressed gas, and lower the pressure, the temp also lowers. That's the reason that liquid nitrogen is cold in the first place. If you take a can of dust-off, and spray it, the bottle quickly freezes from the reduced pressure. If you turn the bottle upside down and spray it, the liquid will come out, instantly freezing whatever it touches because of the reduced pressure. try it yourself...

also, the opposite is true, if you fill a tank with compressed air, the tank becomes warm.

also, the opposite is true, if you fill a tank with compressed air, the tank becomes warm.

Thats paradoxical in nature.

How can compressing one gas make it cold, while compressing another will make it warm?

nah man, releasing/lowering pressure is uncompressing it

So you're saying that compressing a gas makes the temp of the compressed gas higher, and then uncompressing said gas will make it cooler?

If thats what you're saying then I kinda understand. I still don't get how uncompressing gas can cause such low temps to be reached. I understand why it would get hotter, because the atoms would be forced more closely together, but I don't understand why its cold when the pressure is relived... shouldn't it just go back to being room temp?

^^ it does eventually.

For those of you that don't know what i meant by "fuel line" it's just a piece of hose with a squeezy thing on one end that creates a vacuum which sucks your liquid through.

My idea was pretty much: put your butane and pot in a jar, shake and then siphon out the liquid.

so first, the temp will always become the same temp as the surrounding atmosphere.

second, pV/T=k pressure multiplied by volume divided by temp always equals a constant. thus given 3 variables one can find the 4th.

third, the reason the temp decreases is because the kinetic energy is reduced, meaning the molecules don't move around as much, as a result of being in a less confined area'

also, why the fuck not just use acetone or other np solvent? using butane is pointless.

^ this is what i'm wondering. everyone is fixated on butane when ethanol works well also. i don't think efficiency is all that important since he's using crap materials. the simplest method should be at the top of your list.

If theres not liquid nitro in the can how does it constantly remain cold? How does pressure = cold?

lol45

using another solvent will not sacrifice efficiency, unless you can't wait a few hours for it to evap... people have a misconception about how butane is somehow better, but really you're just increasing your chances of starting a fire.

Butane tends to give a clean nice looking product more or less instantly.

Ethanol tends to take a bit of time and not come out so clean.

every time i did the butane extraction i was left with a white, super sticky, solid. super fucking hard to deal with. is this what you guys get? when i use methanol i get tar which isn't that hard to manipulate depending on the quality

lol45

Sorry for not being a physicist.


And butane gives a much clearer product then anything else. Hence, honey oil. Its basically just pure THC. With alcohol you get all kinds of other shit in it as well. Thats why its more tar like.

To the guy above me: That doesn't sound quite right... A butane extraction should leave you with a golden colored sticky goo, not a white sticky solid...

And yes honey oil is a bitch to deal with. I use a razor blade to scrap the bowl then heat it slightly so it falls off the blade into a glass vial.

the reason butane can come out looking cleaner is because it is in contact with the bud for a shorter period of time. however to get max. yields you have to re-run new butane through it, getting a dirtier product each time. of course you could separate each batch, but there is no significant difference in potency between the 'dirty' or the 'clean', whether from butane or acetone. also, one could 'water-cure' your bud for a cleaner product. but that has to be done before it is dried, so...

but to each his own.

also, I've gotten golden goo from acetone

and FFS you redissolve is a small amount of solvent, then pour back into the vial for it to evap (or keep it that way to evap on whatever you want it on.)

Another thought for vessels: what about just an aluminium drinks can washed out well? just drill a small hole in the bottom, fill it with weed and put a filter over the hole where the ringpull is ..

Or copper pipe should be quite easy too :)

the reason butane can come out looking cleaner is because it is in contact with the bud for a shorter period of time

NOT (entirely) TRUE !

Although contact time between solvent and buds is proportional to the purity of oil, it is not the main factor.

Cannabinoids are nonpolar while chlorpohyll and most of the plant's garbage is polar, meaning that you will not be able to get SAME QUANTITY OF SAME PURE PRODUCT from same amount of bud with for ex. ethanol as you will be able to with say hexane for example. WHY?

Because butane, hexane, pentane etc. are NONPOLAR solvents while ethanol, acetone, etc. are MODERATELY POLAR.

Meaning that due to inherit nature of ethanol/acetone you will pull proportionately more "garbage" along with cannabinoids, than you would by using strictly polar solvents.

This is why quickwash with acetone/ethanol is rather wasteful, unless you do multiple washes therefore compromising the purity. Pure honey oil that matches the BHO quality can be obtained without butane by doing something called "quickwash"with an appropriate solvent and medium to high quality buds.

IMO and IME hexane and pentane are far superior to butane in this process due to the ease of adjustment of purity vs. yield ratio - you can observe the extraction and stop when the color of your batch starts getting too dark (impure) for your liking. Not to mention that they are much easier to work with than butane. Therefore:

Hexane/Pentane > Butane > Acetone/Ethanol

English is not my first lang. so be easy on my spelling and structure :)

alright man thanks for correcting me..

but my point, like you said, was that with butane you're just doing more work than you need to.

I wasn't really being solvent specific, but if using a solvent with the same polarity then that would be true.