I know over the years that the forums have shifted into a more industry-centric theme, but there are still plenty of us home growers out there, and I want this to be a discussion for us.
Let’s talk about practical home extraction of concentrates, then, shall we? As the years go by, and the older I get, I’ve decided that concentrates absolutely have their place in my cannabinoid regimen, for a variety of reasons (most of which are subjective). But as a small time personal grower, in my experience it’s been hard to rely on my own extractions to supply my needs fully. I’ve even considered dedicating entire gardens to concentrate. The problem is I then wouldn’t know what the most efficient way to get it all would be, which turns me off of dedicating an entire harvest to such an endeavor. The most I’ll do is a partial harvest of top shelf flowers, but far more often I end up just using trim and popcorn, because I’m afraid of fucking up something or losing an entire harvest.
Mostly I’ve messed with QWISO and QWET. I got pretty good at making these extractions. But I wouldn’t say they are an efficient method. Lots go to waste this way. Then there is the ever-ubiquitous bubble hash, which reigned for years before BHO took off. I’ve never personally owned a set of bubble bags, but I’ve done some water extractions over the years, using coffee filters and silk screens. I’ve often wondered if it would be worth it to buy a set and commit an entire harvest to bubble hash. There is also, of course, dry sift. I believe this is also what dry ice hash would be defined as, right? Basically, mechanical separation of trichomes with no solvents? And now rosin is on the scene, offering another option, so there really should be a handful of methods by now that are efficient for the home grower.
The idea of having a closed loop butane extractor is out of the question for most of us. But having a rosin press, maybe, isn’t. A set of bubble bags isn’t too expensive, but there’s a lot of work involved, with all the grades being collected, right? Same goes for dry sift, I suppose… It’s laborious. QWISO and QWET are effective, but again, not so efficient. Blasting BHO in the garage is dangerous and unethical as fuck…
So what do you home growers do? Anyone dedicating entire harvest to concentrate? Lets talk about this. Share photos of our setups. Discuss labor costs and time involved. Those sorts of things.
Who wants to go first?
