Is Anyone Using Oco Labs' Superc Co2 Extraction Machine For Cannabis?

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CannaOilGirl

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Hope I'm not too late to this party. I was so happy to find a thread on this particular machine as I believe it is the only somewhat affordable table top co2 extractor out there? (I could just be old too..)

Are you guys getting consistent, repeatable results? Still feel like it was a solid purchase?
I am really enjoying my machine. I have had the SuperC for about five months. It takes me between 3 and 4 hours to do a run of around 25 grams (equipment prep, bud-cleaning, extraction, start to finish). I usually get around 4 grams of oil each time. I'm not adding or subtracting anything from the oil. I extract the terpines and other cannabinoids from the plant to keep them together. I am not winterizing, so I'm mostly getting cloudy oils, but they are really tasty and powerful. Others reported clear oils, but I don't think they are preserving the terpines.

If you are asking whether I'm happy with my purchase, then the answer is a firm yes. In fact, I'm trying to figure out how I can afford to buy the expansion rack. Lol -- I like it so much that I want to be able to do larger batches.
 
Beardau

Beardau

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Thank you CannaOilGirl for starting this thread. I will be using a Super C for R&D to help me figure out parameters of things I want to do on a larger scale. This thread has been very informative, so thanks to everyone who has contributed. Keep up the good work and when I start really digging in, I'll share my results.
 
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CannaOilGirl

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Hey Beardau, I'm ready glad you found it helpful. I hope to keep this thread active, until we all feel like experts. :) This whole thing has been a wonderful learning experience for me. I live to learn, and this is all new to me -- I've been walking on cloud nine... Or, perhaps, "chillin' on cloud nine" is a better description. LOL

So far, each extraction I do gets a little bit better... nothing beats a good scientific study. I've logged every extraction and made controlled adjustments to learn the effects. I have an active hypothesis as to why my extracts are often cloudy.... and my notes indicate a test I need to run for more evidence, one way or the other. I recently got 2 ounces of the same material to make two runs, changing one variable to measure the effect.

This hypothesis came out of getting these results in a recent run (see the image of the output -_- this shows the output quantity, excepting I couldn't wait and pulled off a not-pictured 1ml. The first thing i noticed was the clarity, and then i noticed the quantity (the cartridge is 1ml and there is an additional 1ml. This is a beautiful, clear oil. The most oil I've ever gotten in one ounce run. Four point three mililiter (4.3ml)... and the clearest oil I've gotten. The problem is I lose the terpenes in this new process. As soon as I confirm that I have found an improvement, I plan to figure out how to do the same thing, but while preserving the terpenes. I'm going to try to reproduce my results with a test group and with a control group for correlation. If that's successful, I'll work on finding the causation with a starting point.

I'd love to learn more about your process, and incredibly interested in any commercial operation you can share (here, or privately). I have lots to learn about this extraction process, and I'd love to learn more about others techniques. Particularly the commercial processes, and that really excites me -- product suppliers certainly know more about this than anyone because they are trying to maximize their output for bigger profits.

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I wish you all the success. Cheers.
 
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CannaOilGirl

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Winterizing will remove the waxes. It's a pretty simple process. ... Then evaporate the ethanol. Ok, maybe not that simple :).
Hi Robsanhi, I'm still on the fence about whether I should winterize, or not. I've used ethanol for extraction before, but never get terpenes doing that. The CO2 pulls terpenes, but wouldn't the ethanol destroy them? I'm really trying to find a solution to my cloudiness that will preserve the whole plant goodness. :) Cheers.
 
Beardau

Beardau

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I don't think it's a matter of the ethanol "destroying" the terpenes as much as it is just removing them. Keep in mind every time you refine your extract further, terpene loss will be higher. I'm actually not sure there is a perfect line where cloudiness is gone but "whole plant goodness" is intact. It seems at this point to be a matter of choosing what point you desire on the spectrum of more of one and less of the other.
 
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deliverance6

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Thank you all so much for the replies. I was pretty excited to find a thread with actual results in it.
As I am in Michigan and we just went recreational my original plan was to do mobile BHO extractions. You see...While I love to grow I dont believe there is a future for craft cannabis following the big ag businesses mass producing what are likely to be pretty dang decent products (for the masses).

I then became more interested in solventless extracts (ICE) but the purity isnt there and I literally have never seen straight hash in a dispo. So I then began to consider a rosin press and bubble hash...but then Im adding heat and that turned me off a bit.

I didnt think there was such a thing as a CO2 unit that I could even begin to afford. Then the SUPER-C!

So now my plan is the same but my intent would be to just get the smaller 1oz unit and run water hash through it so I can maximize productivity. My belief is that if I can take all the gear to someones house, make bubble hash with them, then make the CO2 extract with them, that it may be enough to have a business basically just renting the machine to recreational growers who are looking for the best extracts they can get from their own product.

Is that reasonable?

Im really doing my best for this business to work. It kind of has to. Im mostly homebound these days after a car wreck and having to quit my career as a homeless outreach worker.

So thats the dream I have to make happen...or Im just buying a van to live down by the river.
 
Beardau

Beardau

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Yesterday, I ran separate fractions (on the Super C) at some of the set points you guys have mentioned and noted what each one produced. Very interesting differences in color and consistency. I'd love to have each individual fraction tested.

Today, I ran a couple of terpene runs with some Black Cherry Cheesecake. I ran about 42-ish grams of material and yielded somewhere around 0.5ml straight terpenes. The smell from that jar is just plain insanity.

I ran the terpene runs at 45C@1500psi. Then, (unlike yesterday) I just ran the rest at 58-60C@2800-3200psi (ramped up more toward the end). Some very interesting colors/consistencies, though of course it doesn't smell good. Seriously.. I wish you all could stick your nose in this jar with just BCC terpenes in it.
 
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kjlonghill

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Hi Robsanhi, I'm still on the fence about whether I should winterize, or not. I've used ethanol for extraction before, but never get terpenes doing that. The CO2 pulls terpenes, but wouldn't the ethanol destroy them? I'm really trying to find a solution to my cloudiness that will preserve the whole plant goodness. :) Cheers.
 
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Ricwrench

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New to the site, ordering my oco this week! I have read 300+ pages on the subject, lots of info to take in. Old hippie weed grower, now into new tech. Cannagirl, excellent thread, thanks. Love all the real world data, math runs the world! (and makes for precise runs)
 
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kjlonghill

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I've done a lot of reading on winterizing and de-waxing, and tried freezing for several days, then tried heating and filtering but ended up wasting half of my yield. Anyone found a simple method for small (tiny) production winterizing that doesn't involve buying a lot of expensive equipment?
 
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Jester22

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I’m very happy to have found this thread. There are lots of good nuggets here. Now let me explain my issues and see if someone can help. I’ve Had my extractor for about a month now, I have ran three runs with flour and I can’t get over a gram gram and a half of product. What is the best temperature and pressure to extract THC and time
 
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TriCanna

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Anyone found a simple method for small (tiny) production winterizing that doesn't involve buying a lot of expensive equipment?

Thats the problem with the entry level extraction/C02 game. Most people want to make extracts, but most people don't realize that any type of concentrates will greatly reduce your mass/volume from start to finish. Understanding this loss and knowing that the amount of variables that go into someone getting a higher yield comes down to a list of things. There is no easy one fix solution that will add 20%+ to your yields. Start with higher grade flower that has been harvested and cured within 2 weeks. The more immediate you extract after harvest/curing the higher grade terpenes/trichomes you will able to extract.

I haven't seen anyone mention that extracting the terps at a subcritical run first may benefit a lot of you worried about degrading the terps. With your product, test out what temp/pressure you like to run your subcritical runs at to yield the best terps. Keep in mind that you will still have to filter these terps as you will be extracting most of the moisture/water content in the flower/material as well. Filter your terps and then save them in a colder temperature. After you've done your first pass as subcritical, bump up your heat/pressure to put you in the supercritical C02 stage. Again, quality of bud will greatly affect your yield/concentrate. This will also double most peoples run time as most people do one run (supercritical) and don't take the time to extract anything at a subcritical level.

By doing this 2 step extract you are able to save some of those light terps ahead of time and then reintroduce later on if you plan on winterizing/refining your oil further. Just remember that winterizing your product is only going to create a cleaner product with less plant matter/fats in it. Your volume will decrease but your quality/cleanliness will increase.

IF you plan on using this Super C as your business model for others to use and profit off of, then you may want to do some research on bigger extraction methods. To extract an entire farm/seasonal crop, (1/2 to 1 acre) you'd be running this machine the rest of your life. Ditch that business model and just keep learning as much as you can for the time being.
 
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CannaOilGirl

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Hi everyone. I hope your end-of-year festivities were wonderful and I wish you all a fantastic new year.

My cloudy-extract problem is solved. I stopped following the rough instructions included with the unit. Decarb'ing at the end fixed that. Enough said (I'd rather just move on...).

I found some pretty nice set points for wide-spectrum extractions (a little of each medical compound). I don't have time to write a long post, but thought I'd give you all a quick summary and share pictures of my results, in no particular order.... (Each extract photo is a distinct extraction. The ones showing the syringes are there to show total extract amount.) I'm able to access all of the cannabinoids present in the plant (what is present determined by strain, grow, nutrients, etc...). I'm pulling amazing terpenes (the flavor and aroma are amazing). I'm starting to experiment with increasing the THC percentage, but I'm getting around 5ml oil (consistently around 40%) from each 1 ounce of plant (total depends on percentages present of each compound in source).

I've been quite systematic with my efforts and even used some control tests. I'm getting consistent results and beginning to make successful predictions (I'm actually developing formulas for expected timings and quantities).

I'm essentially out of funds for testing, for a while, but I have made enough progress that I can afford to sit back and enjoy it for a while. :)

Everyone seems really interested in set points, but it's a lot more involved than that. The rough directions that came with the unit is a good starting point, but the timings are also very important. If you just want a small amount a really potent THC oil, then hit 60C@3200psi for 60 or 90 minutes. I'm going fora more complete plant profile, so I'm adjusting timings to get more of the other compounds (the amount of THC reminds the same, but I get more of the other components, causing the percentage to go down). Your results will vary.

Enjoy this collection of results (getting these results is the only way to validate that it really does work).
 
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CannaOilGirl

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I haven't seen anyone mention that extracting the terps at a subcritical run first may benefit a lot of you worried about degrading the terps.
How else do you extract them? The only way I know how to get the terps is to do a subcritical run first. The degrading of them that I'm aware of occurs during the subsequent extraction/processing steps. I don't know how else but to remove the terps from the field after extraction, and keep them separate from the rest of the extracts. Add them back in as the very last step.

IF you plan on using this Super C as your business model for others to use and profit off of, then you may want to do some research on bigger extraction methods.
I fully agree with that. If someone is trying to produce the quantity from a dispensary, then there's no substitution for the $80k+ units. I am, on the other hand, only allowed to legally possess a couple of ounces at a time, so the big machine seems a bit overkill. :)

I can imagine ways that this could a part of someone's business plan, but if one is planning on just producing quantities of extract, then this is probably not your best choice of hardware (not even with the expansion rack). This is really for personal use. The process is very slow (time consuming). But the rewards can be incredible. People always want to know what dispensary I get my extracts because they've never had anything so tasty. They've also commented on how much better they feel after using this "hand-crafted microbrew" than a dispensary extract. <snicker> (I haven't come up with a better description... "hand-crafted microbrew"... please help. Lol )
 
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CannaOilGirl

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(Sort-of continued from yesterday)

Here are my current extraction set points. The time I spend in each space depends on the flower-lab-test-results (if available from dispensary at time-of-purchase) and how the extraction output "looks" as the extraction continues (this just took time for me to "get-a-feel-for-it"). I'll include my average "cook" times here, but these do change during each extraction, so adjust as your experience sees fit.

In this order (remember, always start low and increase in stages), these set-points are each run for 30 to 45 minutes:
Subcritical:
45C@1,400 psi Terpenes
(I pause the pump for 10 minutes, while the temperature ramps-up and so I can remove the extract from collection vessel for later reintroduction)
Supercritical: (skip these next three points if you are only interested in THC)
53C@2,300 psi (I leave it running between these temps) (CBN - I think)
55C@2,500 psi (CBD - I think)
55C@2,700 psi (CBG - I think)
(At some point in those steps, the CBC is released also, but I don't know when)
Then I do these last two in this order, for the indicated various times:
(I pause the pump for 10 minutes, while the temperature ramps)
60C@3,000 psi for 60 to 90 minutes (if only interested in THC, shorten this step)
60C@3,200 psi for 30 to 60 minutes (sometimes I reverse the tube)
Last big step is that I place the collection vessel in a 210F oven for 30 minutes. (Decarb)
After the oil cools down from the oven (being cool here is really, really important), I mix the terpenes (from the sub-critical step above) back into the cannabinoid extracts.

I usually extract about 5mls of cannabis oil from each ounce of plant material using these steps, but it's only about 40% THC. If I did fewer steps, and shortened the THC extraction times a little, the same amount of THC would come, the concentration would be higher, but you'd only have about 2-3mls and few, if any of the other beneficial compounds. (I hope that made sense....)

Now, I think I finished the post I started yesterday. Did I leave anything important out? I hope these ramblings help someone else get started with more ease.

Here are my questions I have about what I am doing, and I'm hoping you might have some input for us that can help us all get better at this. Do these steps make sense to you, based on your experience? What do you know of set-points I am using (the good, the bad, the unknown)? (I'm asking because I sort-of made them up while trying to combine and corroborate lots of work done but others before me [big thank you to them!]. Each of those tests I attached above were targeted-runs to help me find the "right" numbers. In other words, I am guessing, testing, and guessing again.) Am I the only one trying to get, "the whole plant"? Does anyone have any other set-points they prefer? Tell us why?
 
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Ontariogrowr

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Hi everyone,

I am hoping to find other users of the OCO Labs' SuperC extractor to share ideas, tips, tricks, and whatever else comes up.

I have had my unit for a little more than a month, and I'm loving it. I get a nice oil that goes straight from collection vessel to vape cartridge, after a few trials-ending-with-errors. :) I'm waiting for my lab results, but I've sampled this batch and it is, of all of my runs, "Max Flavor and Max Potency." (If you read the included "Quick Start" guide, that phrase might sound familiar to you. Lol)

Let's connect, if you want to share experiences with other SuperC Users, WOW us with your fantastic extraction run stories, make us laugh at funny happenings, and let us cry with you when you learn what not to do. Tell us about your experience with the unit, ask for help if you need it, and answer questions if you know it. :)

Cheers,
CannaGirl
My super c and expansion rack was delivered today!
Reading over all the amazing information you've got down. I will definitely add to it, as soon as I do a couple of flower runs. Today we did two runs with trim. In a few weeks I'll have plenty of quality bud to experiment with.
Thanks
 
Jimster

Jimster

Supporter
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By finished oil, I mean winterized, then adding back 8-12% of terps and flavors to get a 1 gram cartridge. My patients love the product, people from other parts of the country have said its some of the best they have had, hella smooth, great flavor, and a kick. I am using Extract Consultants and Denver Terpenes for the terps and flavors.
I have noticed a difference in the effects of the CO2 oils that I have been getting, compared to flowers. I am somewhat skeptical of the terpene profile, since none of them taste anything like a full extract (like BHO or an ethanol extraction). The tastes are very strong, some like pine sol. I enjoy the oils but I find that they just don't give me the same effect as smoking flowers. The oils I have been getting don't help with nausea nearly as much or as quickly as flowers, regardless of the strain. As a oil extractor, does this sound like a common problem with the terpenes just being added back like a recipe. I haven't noticed any difference between the flavor of batches, other than them being strong. Is there anything that isn't extracted in a C02 run that would explain the difference in effect?
 
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Ricwrench

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I also, after several weeks of research, realize that small small batch extraction is a labor of love. Not a cash generator. That is the reality. My deal is for myself and very very few others. MI has legal weed, supply not an issue. If you cannot accept the cost/yield/time/learning curve, this ain't your rodeo! Just my 2 cents. Cannaoilgirl, you have the drive and discipline to strive for. Happy hits to all! R
 
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CannaOilGirl

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My super c and expansion rack was delivered today!
Reading over all the amazing information you've got down. I will definitely add to it, as soon as I do a couple of flower runs. Today we did two runs with trim. In a few weeks I'll have plenty of quality bud to experiment with.
Thanks

Very cool! I am looking forward to reading about your experiences. The first several extractions I ran with trim, also. I used the cheaper material to learn the system, but got a lot of chlorophyll, so I switched to buds once I felt comfortable that I wouldn't destroy a batch. :)

Have fun with it.

COG
 
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CannaOilGirl

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I have noticed a difference in the effects of the CO2 oils that I have been getting, compared to flowers. I am somewhat skeptical of the terpene profile, since none of them taste anything like a full extract (like BHO or an ethanol extraction). The tastes are very strong, some like pine sol. I enjoy the oils but I find that they just don't give me the same effect as smoking flowers. The oils I have been getting don't help with nausea nearly as much or as quickly as flowers, regardless of the strain. As a oil extractor, does this sound like a common problem with the terpenes just being added back like a recipe. I haven't noticed any difference between the flavor of batches, other than them being strong. Is there anything that isn't extracted in a C02 run that would explain the difference in effect?

I would think the BHO extraction is not extracting everything, or is destroying something important (because of its toxicity). BHO is poisonous to life, so I like to avoid it.

As for the different effects from methods, I have read that the various cannabinoids interact with each other, so getting more compounds with CO2 can affect the way we experience the whole of it. For example, I read that CBD, CBDA, THC, and THCA all interact to give the patient a moderated experience, with all of the medical benefits. The combination of all of them change the perceived effects of all of them. If you want strong THC, don't use an extract with a lot of CBD or CBDA, as I have read that they temper the effects of the THC (reduce its psychoactive effect). I think it all boils down to what effects you are looking for, how the extract was produced (solvent used, stripping all or targeting some compounds, etc...), what compounds the strain contains, and what compounds are targeted for extraction.

I love this machine for just that reason. I can customize each batch for the particular needs of each patient -- giving them the components that will help them the most, excluding the components that cause the patient problems (THC for example), and by extracting the plant's own natural tempering compounds along with the active ones.

I haven't figured out how to do that with BHO or ethanol. I can customize each CO2 extraction.

As for terpenes, BHO/ethanol destroys them completely. With CO2, you can get them in very small (short extraction times), weaker amounts or very large (longer extraction times), powerful amounts, depending on length of time targeting terpene-extraction. Once you figure out how much Terpene is "enough" for you, you can get that amount by monitoring the time of extraction during the Terpene-phase. Most BHO extractions add an arbitrary amount of terpenes back, probably not even extracted from the same plant as the medicine. My CO2 process starts by extracting just the terpenes and if the extract is too flavorful, I can reduce Terpene extraction from, let's say, 45 minutes to 15 minutes and the result will be less flavor. (I've noticed that the dryness of the source material also affects the quantity of the terpenes. If it starts dry, there are less terpenes available, but if it's wet, I'll get a lot of terpenes, but then the cannabinoids don't come off as well [water interferes with the later CO2 extraction-phases, I am told]. This is my ongoing challenge, for now.)

Gosh, there really is a lot involved in doing this, huh? :)

Cheers,
COG
 
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