I wonder if dry plant matter crumbles more easily and mixes with the rosin causing a cement like reaction, while a slightly moist bud prevents that from happening.
It’s true that hash and flower don’t seem to work the same way.
5 Likes
All I know is it is FACT that low humidity Bud will not press with a high % of return, no matter how good the Bud is .
I pretty much like the owner of Nugg Smasher, and trust his judgement. I use his bags, and his methods, and if I ever buy another press, will buy one of his or copy it anyways. He is where I learned about needing higher % for better results. When I saw him say that, I of course had to try it. There was no doubt he was correct. They also taste different and collect differently too.
7 Likes
I’ve been wanting to do some live rosin from a hash press but I’ve never done hash before so would need to learn that process 1st. This rosin had a very similar texture to half dried hash so would be nice if I could replicate it seeing as I can’t make bubble hash. Your theory about the cement like reaction might be it which could mean that there’s extra waxy plant bits in there. Maybe not pure for the lungs then.
@Jetdro I watched a bunch of those Nugg smasher videos before I started using my dinky home made press. Even without their equipment the info is rock solid. I don’t have a pressure readout, it’s just a bottle jack but I follow their general temps and time.
6 Likes
I have a cheap 4 year old MANUAL 1 ton press, lol…with 3 inch round plates, but it works great, with small press’s.
3.5 grams in a 120 micron bag is my BIG smash with her, LMAO!!! I have no gauge either, but need more pressure. I re adjusted the lever on my press , and actually LAY ON THE HANDLE to give it max power, lol!!! I need a bit more psi, but for what it is, it works great.
I like his 207(notice EVERY video he does he is set at 208/207 on any of the machines) temps, and the KEY to it all is THE SLOW PRESS INTO FULL PRESSURE. That is the best thing I learned from him. Here, on my little manual, I take a good minute to get to full pressure, then hold that another 1:30
7 Likes
As far as getting a batter like consistency, I find fresher bud and higher terpenes are the key. THCA will crystallize and make that consistancy, older stuff is generally more sappy.
4 Likes
Testing time:
The strain is Hanibiko Hill (space monkey x blues bred by SunValley). All bud was air cured at 55% humidity and temps from 20 - 28C for 7 days. I took 3 buds and cured them separately for 2 days.
bud 1 - Kept right next to dehumidifier with warm air hitting it. 55% humidity
bud 2 - Cured in the air at 60% humidity with slight breeze
bud 3 - Kept bottled at 62% humidity
All buds pressed at 80C for 2:30 minutes
Came out pretty similar. Outside cured one was a bit more waxy. Going to try another batch where I cure them all differently from the start
8 Likes
Been looking at the budsmasher, looking at plates and presses it seems that building one would cost nearly as much as their setup, and with the bags and stuff thrown in I was thinking of dumping half of my STIMULANT CHECK ( that is what it’s supposed to be used for right?) I’ll promise to only press Sativa heavy X’s in it…
Just rigged this up for taking RU down to 60% before jarring and never having anything get “crunchy”, all in dark all sealed. Did in 7 days what usually takes me 2 weeks trying to avoid killing the cure in a open hang
below 55. By far the Dankest bud I have ever grown. Only thing I need to add is a tray for the Kif, I rub a hand on the bottom and it like having glitter on, love to do some hand roll hash…
9 Likes
That’s a great looking setup man, wish I had the cash for it. I’ve seen some other guys also saying that they are doing faster cures for the rosin
1 Like
Any old fridge will do, potentiometer will not let you keep it between 50-65 so I put a timer on fridge for 30 minutes ever hour, cheap remote weather station so I can watch it from my lazy boy, and small fan. Had all the shit laying around the shop. Never lost density, smell, smoke a joint at 55 and it black halfway through and dripping sweet clove honey resins. Dankest smell and silk smooth smoke. Dries like broad leaf cigar tobacco.
5 Likes
Nice, I built a box in my flower room where its always 55% and that’s been good so far. About the best I can do for now.
2 Likes
Can spend 16 weeks ripening a plant and ruin it with a bad cure. Difference between dispensary pot and top shelf in my book is stabilizing at 60 in jars and they will taste better the older they get like wine. Under 55 and you stop that Curing and lock it in.
4 Likes
Yup, cure is where it’s at
1 Like
Any recommendation on presses, I found this, looks like a good deal with good reviews.
I’v got a home built press so not really sure about any units you can buy. Just start a thread on it, lots of people on here do rosin so they’ll be able to help.
This thread has some info on presses but it’s quite a lot to go through to find it: The Press Room: ♨ - #4 by ReikoX
Picked up a Dake 10 ton bench model with gauge. Also ordered 4x7 dual heater heads, dual controller, dual thermostat. 2x4 pre-mold and various bags. All in for under $450.
3 Likes
Hey Instg8ter
I have been running a very similar setup for the past year solid (4X7, 600w, PID controlled from China on a 10t bench top press) and they are very effective. I have run a variety of tests initially to find the right combination of Temp, Pressure, Mesh size and Input for my setup and have to slightly refine or adjust for the input on a batch by batch basis.
I was hoping to start a topic soon surrounding the culmination of a concentrated * few years of hands-on testing and the research that was and continues to be applied on a sub $1000 initial build and has provides commercially viable yields and full terp profiles of the original input.
The tool does not a craftsman make… or something like that but with the right knowledge and parameters literally any press will do!!
Happy to answer any question you or any other members have about producing, processing, storing or anything Rosin/Solventless Extraction related I likely have had to learn or overcome similar challenges in the many years I have been concentrating cannabis and happy to help!!
1 Like
Yes Ideally if you have the ability to control the cure this is the best-case scenario. Pressing Fresh from initial cure (14 days or less from the flower reaching below 75%) in your typical drying setup has proven again and again in our setup that it will result in clearer, terp rich, and light-colored rosin.
The fresher the product the better the results however the color isn’t only determined by how old the input is, factors such as the distance the resin traveled within the material to land outside of it and on parchment as well as vegetive matter passing through the mesh (contamination) can also sway color. The physical properties and variation of the input can impact the color of rosin - the same batch of bud even from the same plant will have specific properties to each nug that is expressed in the amalgamation of various terps, trichomes and in some case vegetive fats, chlorophyll or worse in the resulting rosin. Aging the rosin can also impact the color, taste, texture and potency of rosin for better or for worse.
The texture of the resulting Rosin is a whole other topic that is a bit too in-depth for a response here however there are factors at play there too that have nothing to do with your input and more to do with your process!
As far as curing is concerned well above 64% RH is ideal for Rosin below if better for your dry sifts and bubble extractions IMHO.
Happy to answer any questions to the best of my ability anyone may have or share findings with anyone who is trying to improve their rosin game!!
2 Likes
Thanks @TerpSneeze I appreciate it. I for sure will take you up on it once I get it assembled. A thread would be great on your journals I have been following along on a few threads and was going to just buy the small nug masher combo at around 700. There’s no guarantee when the will ship, was looking at HF 20 ton but preferred the separate pump handle and option to go air. Also wanted pressure gauge for larger plate size. Used to do a lot of pressing when I ran a few Screeprint shops. Fab, jig making, brakes and shears. This will be a final step to separate my wallet from the dispensary and concentrate my main pain medicine for daily stealth.
Have my cure down, tops and mids get locked in at 60%RU, lowers depend on what I am doing with. Just rigged this so I don’t have to play burp the jar all the time to bump them down. Never gets “crunchy” air dry, always dark and between 50-65 degrees, smell sealed in. Remote station inside. Done in under 2 weeks store and cure Indefinatly. if it’s not
opened.
5 Likes
Can you share a bit more about your extraction process and I might be able to tell you what might be up? Also not sure if you are homogenizing your rosin harvest, harvesting materials at room temp or chilled and how you are storing your rosin after which are all huge factors on how your rosin turns out texture-wise.
-Prepress size shape and pressure?
-Heat settings?
-Mesh size?
-Squish duration?
-Chilled or Room (rosin) temp when harvesting
-Storage practices
Typically if some rosin sugars up over time it is due to improper storage, volatile oils are evaporating and or escaping as well as impacting the consistency of the affected rosin through drying. If your rosin is coming out of the press seemingly like wet, dry shift and accompanying liquid this is not a bad thing, in fact, this is ideal.
I like to think of the dry sift component of my rosin as the primo - this is where pressure and temp were at the best possible for extraction, the darker liquid that follows is the same great goo but has traveled further through the material at a higher temperature allowing the resulting liquid to pickup added color/contaminates (vegetive matter, chlorophyll, etc)
If sugaring due to storage issues or you have a banger of a squish and it comes out sorta chunky I typically place the affected rosin on a fresh piece of parchment and work it in my hands by folding it in on itself. Over time the heat and pressure from your hands will start making it more viscous as you fold it again and again. Once its homogenized (consistent color and texture, when it sticks to both sides of the parchment and creates even pleats/ribbons when you separate it) its time to adhere parchment to the entire surface of the rosin by pressing it as flat as you can, folding up the edges of the parchment back on itself again before putting it in an airtight ziplock freezer bag and immediately into the fridge for longer storage. Closer to time of consumption, I will take smaller sections of that processed rosin, and repeat that process except leaving store in the same way but at room temperature. This helps the flavor become much more prominent and consistent as well as a super silky texture.
Hope this helps!
2 Likes