Decarboxylation in a pressure cooker

Smoker's Lounge
#1

I grew a cannabis plant and I can assure you that it was very potent. I don’t smoke but I vaporised once in a while. I prefer oil that I buy. I decided to decarb in a jar with olive oil to make cannabis oil and and to decarb at the same time. I cover the bottom of a mason jar with 1/4 cup of cannabis and I covered it with olive oil + about 1/8 of a inch. (I don’t care to eat the cannabis, so there is no straining for me. At 15 PSI, the temperature is about 248 F or 120 C. I cook for 1 heure and it was really not potent at all. I mean really really not potent. The next day I put it back for 45 minutes and it was not better. I am wondering if I didn’t destroyed the THC or if it need some air to decarb. I read an old post here and I will try a small quantity in a one liter mason jar without the oil, maybe at a lower temperature too.

The lower pressure is 10 PSI for most of the PCooker (238 F - 114.5 C), but mine has a 8 PSI (233.7 F - 112 C. I can assure that the cannabis is very potent in a vaporisator with a bag and I am wondering why it failed. I scooped maybe 1\4 teaspoon for a poor result after I tried a drop, then two and eating some at the same time. If the air is the problem, without the oil, the air will still be pushed out of the mason jar. The olive oil will reach the proper temperature with the water around the jar. This is why I suspect the air could play a good part in decarb, what do you think?

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#2

I thought the THCA would loose the carboxylic acid group at 115C, interesting. I came up with an idea of juicing raw cannabis bud and cooking the drink in jars in a pressure cooker, but maybe it wont work after all. That would be cool to sell small shots if it worked because for me 100mg of decarboxylated cannabis used to get me very high. Or maybe all that green drink needs from fresh leaves is a bit of heating…

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#3

So, you don’t think it was overheated at 120 C (248 F) ?

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#4

No i dont think 5C would matter too much to be honest. I thought it should work, but maybe the pressure component is preventing the carboxylic acid from leaving THCA. Also maybe a good test would be to make that green drink from the leaves that you juice and if you get high after drinking it when you heated it in the pressure cooker, you know it worked. Something I have to test out anyway…

Might want to compare with a crock pot.

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#5

At that temperature you should only keep it in there for about 35-40 minutes. Decarboxylation is both a product of time and temperature. The heat will not only convert THCA to THC, but also turn THC into CBN. It sounds like you went too long. Check out the graph below:

DecarbGraph.jpg595×600 285 KB

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#6

You could also try with a control. A small jar of un-oiled flower. See, after cooking, if the flower retained its potency. It should, mostly, after decarb. Not so much if it went long and not at all if it vapes away in the cooker.

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#7

I read somewhere, not long ago, that this graph was somewhat misleading, though looking at it, it could make perfect sense. I could try to cook it at 248 for 27 minutes but since a lot of people decarb at 220 in the oven, I prefer to play safe to not lose too much cannabis. I can select 8 PSI which would give me 233 F, and I could add a 3 to 5 minutes. I am still wondering if the air affect the decarb. In the note below the graph, it says “open reactor”. What is open reactor? Does the cannabis is in contact with fresh air? I will simply decarb in the oven, I know it will work. I don’t have a lot of cannabis left to waste. I will eventually move, and I would be willing to test if I am in a place where I can grow a big plant.

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#8

I was also thinking doing so with less time. It could be at 248 F for 7 minutes if I look at the graph or a longer time at 233 F. Still, it think it would be better to put the oil in the jar. With the cannabis I have left, I will play safe and I will decarb in the oven. I would be willing to experiment later if I can grow my own plant. It would be nice to make cannabis oil in one step, in a jar with the oil already in.

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#9

I would pull out at 10 minutes at that temp. It really doesn’t take much and depends on how much there is to convert in the first place.

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