Nitrogen Flush / Sealer for Nug Storage

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Myco

Myco

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I'm talking about this situation. I don't see why CO2 would be any more reactive but N. Perhaps I'm missing something though if all the pros are using N...
It's a good question, although I don't think straight co2 would be a good storage/packaging gas, comparing to storage of various products in the food industry.

Nitrogen is most commonly used, when applications call for a totally chemically inert gas (although N can be made to react with certain compounds).

Co2, and mixtures of co2 and nitrogen (and even a bit of oxygen, depending on what exactly is being stored) are used in food storage, but more so in applications where they are trying to keep a 'living' biological sample as fresh as possible (meats, fruits, veggies, etc with different ratios of co2 and N depending on which application), being as how co2 can be 'absorbed' by such, if it contains moisture but not quickly degrade, as would straight oxygen.

I'm actually kind of curious if, for our particular application where we have a sample that does contain a bit of moisture, as well s a drug/compound that is degraded by oxygen, whether or not a particular ratio of N and co2 would be most appropriate. I would think that 100% co2 would be a poor choice because of the moisture aspect... but I'm no scientist, lol.

Cannabis would be sort of unique, because I think it's a combination of long-term storage practices used in the food industry as well as the pharmaceutical industry... to preserve every aspect of quality cannabis...

A really smart chemist sort of dude could probably figure out. But until then, 100% nitrogen makes most sense to me, after reading a bunch of articles concerning 'Modified Atmosphere Packaging' or 'MAP' for short.

Here's a pdf regarding storage of various food products:
https://www.mathesongas.com/industrialgas/pdfs/1957GasMixFoodBevTB416.pdf

And here's a very technical pdf regarding storage of pharmaceuticals:
 
infocus

infocus

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Looking into it they are both inert gases uses in packaging foods. interestingly, co2 is heaver than o2.

Carbon dioxide is produced naturally during the fermentation. It's solubility in water at
atmospheric pressure and 20°C is about 1.69g/L. The gas is heavier than air. Its density at 0°C is
1.52 as compared to the density of air which is about 1.0.

So in theory, if you filled a container with co2 and there was a little 02 left, would the co2 settle and displace the 02?
 
fishwhistle

fishwhistle

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unfortunately nitrogen is only a good investment for big growers. too big an outlay for small timers

I dont think so,nitrogens not that pricey after you pay the deposit or buy the first bottle,i have an account at airgas and i think for the 50 size bottles(which is ALOT)i pay like 30-35 bucks,when their empty you just dump them off and they give you a full one,its cheap enough i probably have 5 bottles in my garage now so i never run out,BTW what i use it for has nothing to do with MJ but i might try it now,lol.I dont think small growers really need it unless there sitting on weight for awhile which little guys usually dont do but it can mean alot for an outdoor guy who doesnt want to sell his product for 1/2 price when the markets flooded or for someone who wants to store longer term.

Infocus,you are correct that nitrogen is heavier than air and will displace oxygen,so like caps link shows it will fill a bucket up and when the oxys gone the flame goes out indicating no more oxygen.I remember when i was a kid our travel trailer actually used butane(they use propane now)for the stove, light and heater and sometimes you wouldnt get the valve turned off all the way and my mom would use a broom to sweep the butane out the door before my old man could come in and spark up a kool and blow us all the fuck up!
 
frebo

frebo

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I dont think so,nitrogens not that pricey after you pay the deposit or buy the first bottle,i have an account at airgas and i think for the 50 size bottles(which is ALOT)i pay like 30-35 bucks,when their empty you just dump them off and they give you a full one,its cheap enough i probably have 5 bottles in my garage now so i never run out,BTW what i use it for has nothing to do with MJ but i might try it now,lol.I dont think small growers really need it unless there sitting on weight for awhile which little guys usually dont do but it can mean alot for an outdoor guy who doesnt want to sell his product for 1/2 price when the markets flooded or for someone who wants to store longer term.

Infocus,you are correct that nitrogen is heavier than air and will displace oxygen,so like caps link shows it will fill a bucket up and when the oxys gone the flame goes out indicating no more oxygen.I remember when i was a kid our travel trailer actually used butane(they use propane now)for the stove, light and heater and sometimes you wouldnt get the valve turned off all the way and my mom would use a broom to sweep the butane out the door before my old man could come in and spark up a kool and blow us all the fuck up!

I am a 24 plant outdoor medical marijuana farmer with six patients on my property. I tried freezing jars of weed this year and was nicely surprised this summer when opening those jars by a nice fresh smelling and tasting herb. I wish I had frozen all of it. Now I want to try nitrogen. A friend of mine was capping his home brewed beer after using a wand in the bottle to evacuated the O2(air).
I bought a small bottle of nitrogen the same size as my small bottle of CO2 for my shop keg(we need to take are of the trimmers) for $79 and the gases place had a regulator for $115. I found cheaper ones on eBay. This doesn't seem prohibitive to me to have fresh weed for my patients and maybe a dispensary or two next summer.
 
We Solidarity

We Solidarity

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pretty sure places just have a nitrogen tank (get them from the same place you get C02 tanks) with a regulator and needle tip (like what you use to fill a basketball), seal the bag with the needle in it and pump it full of nitrogen till air is pushing out then seal the rest of the way.

Dispo's all think nitrogen sealing is a big huge secret, but it's pretty common sense and becoming pretty wide spread in the industry.
 
dorjewright

dorjewright

530
43
I've used these iron paks. They create a vacuum so as long as the cap to the storage jar is slightly depressed your good. Read on:

After food has been freeze dried what else can be done to preserve it?

The freeze drying process removes 98% of the water from food, stopping bacterial growth as well as killing insects and their eggs.

Beyond freeze drying further to preserve food and increase shelf life, oxygen is the main enemy. If the food is stored in a way that it is not exposed to oxygen, the shelf life can reach 25 to 30 years. Shelf life here refers to the food maintaining it's properties of nutritional value, taste, and appearance. It may still be safe to eat beyond this time but the aforementioned properties are degraded. Oxygen Absorbers

Some freeze dried food producers use oxygen absorbers to extend shelf life.

Oxygen absorbers are materials that chemically react with oxygen in the environment they are in, combining with the oxygen and thus removing it from that environment. The most commonly used material for absorbers is iron in the forms of iron powder or iron carbonate. Both combine with oxygen very effectively.

Once oxygen absorbers are exposed to oxygen they will continue to react with it until the material is fully "oxidized" meaning it can not absorb any more oxygen. For this reason they need to be very carefully sealed and stored so that they are not consumed before their intended use.

The application in which oxygen absorbers are used for freeze dried food storage is to place them in the can of food before it is vacuum sealed.

The idea is that any oxygen that leaks into the sealed container over years of storage will be absorbed by it, rather than the oxygen reacting with the freeze dried food and degrading it.

There are two types of oxygen absorbers commonly used. One type, Multisorb Technologies' FreshPax Type-B requires some moisture from the environment it is in to be present to work and is used for moist foods like bread and processed meats. Type-D absorbers contain there own moisture source and are thus suited to dry foods like freeze dried food.

You may remember the old adage Aristotle proclaimed in 350 BC, "nature abhors a vacuum". So any vacuum packed container will over time be invaded, if ever so slightly, by the surrounding air and with it the 21% of air that is oxygen.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1969469
 
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pharmer

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Any suggestions on a set up for buying /using a Nitrogen Sealer for nug storage ?

hear alot about it , searched here and the net in general looking to purchase a Nitrogen Sealer of some sort , and not coming up with anything under the few thousand dollar range .. and even in that price range Id have no idea what a good setup would be ..

Using Boveda 62% packs now , and they kick ass ! But this is the next step

Thanks , DynO

Is there a problem in using oxygen absorbers instead of nitrogen packaging, in addition to boveda 62% packs?
 
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pharmer

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What types of oxygen absorbers do you mean ? Any oxygen degrades the product over time
Like the little packets found in a lot of sealed food bags. Some of them have iron powder inside that absorbs a lot of the oxygen by rusting slowly over time inside the packet.
 
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pharmer

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Like the little packets found in a lot of sealed food bags. Some of them have iron powder inside that absorbs a lot of the oxygen by rusting slowly over time inside the packet.
Has no one tried using oxygen absorbers in long term nug storage?
 
Dynamite

Dynamite

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Has no one tried using oxygen absorbers in long term nug storage?

I haven't , my future plan is 5 gallon buckets , a bottle of nitrogen , and probably my old wore out co2 regulator , drill a couple holes in the lid , one for nitrogen to go in , the other to hold a lighter above , when the flame goes out , cap it up and see how it looks in 6 months
 
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