what is a terpenator?? o_O I usually get 10-13% return... I always run the can til I see it coming out clear then stop.. You shouldn't need bulk butane, I used to run like 3 or 4 cans through an oz. of trim because I was following instruction from my friends who had NO idea what they were doing and got no more return than if I had done it the right way.
A Terpenator is a BHO extraction device, invented by Moi, based on work done by FOAF, that recovers and recirculates the butane, . There have been several designs, with the current test sled under construction being a Mk IV. All are manual units, except the Mk II, which is run by PLC.
Others who have followed my FOAF and my experiments, have build a number of interesting other configurations.
Here is a Mk III, which processes about 600 grams an hour, with a 20+% yeild on prime bud . Here are also pictures of the Mk I, IA, the full automated II, & IV
Yield on mixed trim usually falls in the 10/13% range, so we may be on the same page. The last Mk III run was donated sugar leaf and popcorn, which yielded 12.3%.
My record for two runs using an open single pass column on prime bud, included a repack, and was 21.3% on God Bud. Our record using the Mk I Terpenator was over 27% BHO Absolute Amber, from an outdoor crop grown by a local doctor that we extract for. On average, we yield just over 20% on our own indoor plants, extracting all the trim and bud together.
We also size the material to 10 mesh and remove all the lumber, after reducing the moisture content to about 10% before running, so my packing numbers and yours are not apples and oranges.