Passive Butane Extractor and Reclaimer

[Graywolf]

What if you want to make your own BHO and reclaim your butane, but don't have the money to assemble a Skunk Pharm DIY Terpenator?

What if you have lots of time, but limited financial resources?

A simple system like the Tamisium Essential Oils Extractor comes to mind, but while of quality design and manufacture, they certainly aren't cheap.

I started looking at passive butane recovery, which simply requires that the extraction pot be in hot water, and the recovery pot in an ice bath. I even designed a simple minded system from scratch, so as to get the price down, but alas, local machine shop costs still made it expensive and outside the resources of most maw and pa patients on fixed income.

Hee, hee, hee, a serendipitous order mistake at Glacier tank almost gave me a wet leg, because I had previously asked for 6" diameter sanitary spools, and was told that they were not available.

The spools are 12" long, so one is enough material to make the two tanks required, simply by cutting them in two pieces and welding on new bottoms.

I also grabbed two end plates, and tri-clamps, so that the two tanks will have tops, as well as a 1 1/2" tri-clamp ferrule, and a 1 1/2" tri-clamp to 1/4" female NPT adapter, plus the two 1 1/2" tri-clamps. I grabbed a 1 1/2" spool 6" long for the column, which should about an ounce of dried prime bud, that has been sized and the sticks removed, by passing it through a 10 mesh sieve.

I picked up three 1/4" stainless ball valves at Paramount Supply, along with two 1/4" NPT 304 stainless half couplings.

For bottoms to the tanks, I ordered 1/2" X 6.5" diameter 304 blanks laser cut from plate, and dropped the parts off at a retired friends machine shop to have them machined to shape, as well as mill the holes in the 6" end plates for the 1 1/2" ferrule and the two 1/4" half couplings.

Pictures when those return, but until then, here is my simple minded conceptual:

Taken from: http://skunkpharmresearch.com/passive-butane-extractor-and-reclaimer/

 

[El Cerebro]

very nice. what's you're target for volume of plant material and butane vessel?

 

[Graywolf]

The 6" column is sized for about an ounce, depending on what it is and how it is prepared.

The ratio of the 8.7 cubic inch column volume to the 130 cubic inch collection/evaporator tank, is about 15:1, so a longer column could be used. I would have used a 12" column, but they were out of stock at the time.

A full 6" column, without any plant material, would make a puddle in the bottom of the 5" deep evaporator tank, about .4 inches deep

The ratio of the 182 cubic inch butane holding tank to the evaporator tank, is about 1.4:1.

 

[Graywolf]

Here is the parts list:

 

[Graywolf]

Lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I picked up the parts for the new passive butane recovery system from the machine shop today and will drop them off at the welders tomorrow.



Couldn't resist mocking up some shots of the components stuck together, before actual welding. As you can see from the pictures, the tanks are both made from the same 6" X 12" sanitary spool, which I scored from Glacier Tank. I had them cut into two pieces, to make the wrappers and triclamp closures for both tanks.



The bottoms were laser cut from 1/2" 304SS By BBC Steel in Canby, and were machined by Moody Machining in Milwaukie. Besides a clean up cut on all exposed surfaces, the bottoms were grooved to accept the tank wrappers.



The collection tank lid has two holes cut in it, to receive a 1/4" 304SS half coupling and a 1 1/2" Triclamp weld coupling. The butane recovery tank lid was machined to receive a 1/4" 304SS half coupling.



The rest are all screw together parts! Hee, hee, hee....................



More after welding and a test run!

 

[Ever after]

what needs to be welded so what are the hard parts or a list of the more complex processes's to make this because i would love to make one ASAP

 

[Graywolf]

The bottoms are TIG welded on, and the couplings are welded into the lids.

The 6" diameter X 12" spool piece was parted on a lathe, using a spud and a live center to support the outboard end.

The bottoms were laser cut to shape and then turned on a lathe to final finish, and to install a groove to receive the tank wrappers.

The top plate center ports were bored in a lathe and the one outboard port was drilled on a mill.

The parts list is above and most of the parts came from either Glacier Tank, or Paramount Supply.

BBC Steel laser cut the bottoms, and Moody Machine machined them, and the other parts.

 

[Ever after]

gray wolf couple questions!! is it worth it to just buy a tasmisium extractor instead? i mean this seems like sooo much work like just as much as buying a tasmisium or w/e.


IS THIS Safe enough you can use in your basement or grow room?

if some of us dont know a welder or a person who has a metal shop are we not able to make this?

 

[Graywolf]

gray wolf couple questions!! is it worth it to just buy a tasmisium extractor instead? i mean this seems like sooo much work like just as much as buying a tasmisium or w/e.


IS THIS Safe enough you can use in your basement or grow room?

if some of us dont know a welder or a person who has a metal shop are we not able to make this?

With all due respect, even though I recycle my butane, I don't use my Terpenator indoors, nor would I use a Tamisium in my basement or grow room, just in case something went wrong. I also don't plan to use my passive system indoors, except in a ventilated extraction cabinet.

Having said that, it is as safe and sound as the Tamisium, if that was really the question. If it feels like too much work though, it probably would be and the Tamisium certainly is a nice piece. The article is for those who like to DIY and find the Tamisium overly expensive.

I actually like my design better though, because it provides better access to cleaning out the oil afterwards.

 

[Graywolf]

Lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu lu!!!!!!!!!! Hee, hee, hee, the welded parts are back and Gibson aerospace welding did a gorgeous job as usual!

Once a weld engineer for a metal fabrication company, I was certified as a ASTME Section IX boiler code welder, but with a cataract on one eye, I have no fine depth perception, and eschew welding until I get it fixed.

The collection tank is welded inside and outside, so there are no internal seams or cracks, but the butane recovery tank is welded only on the outside. None of the other welds actually required outside welds, but we welded both sides, to give them a more finished appearance.

Even though Gibson's is not certified to Section IX boiler code, he is certified to numerous aerospace welding specifications that are as restrictive, or more so, and one of the best TIG welders that I met in my professional career. He sure does purdy work too!

He did note that the material welded exceedingly clean and was a pleasure using 309SS wire, to join the two 304 SS components. Lookee at the purdy pictures:

I bolted it all together and will boil the system in hot water and detergent today, to get it ready for when the backordered 6" clamp arrives, so I can try it out. Probably play with the extractor half using a pump until then, snicker, snark, snort.............

 

[Ever after]

is it complete? could i send this thread to a friend so he could make it for me or are you not finished yet?

I have a GLASS 15 inch by 1.7inch tube for bho and i was wondering if that is good enough for me I am just trying to have like an oz of oil every 2 months should i just stick with my cheap glass tubes?

 

[Ever after]

how do you even separate the buds to get high high quality and still get yield? I used to just push the buds in there and i thought i was wasting yield... then i started tripping up the herb in to 1 inch pieces or smaller as in ripping up bud like a blunt to pack the tube

whats the best idea? I know to pack it very evenly...... only how small do i rip up the bud do i grind it not so finely like a joint? or do I pick it upart down to caylx and leaf at a time. also my stuff is kinda dry i left it drying for 3 weeks then trimmed it not sure what to do with all this white S1

 

[Graywolf]

I anticipate no changes and will be finished when I recieve the backorder clamp. I won't really know until I wring it out.

I prefer a internal diameter of an inch or less for single pass columns. They are easier to consistently pack so that the butane doesn't just find the easiest way through.

Assuming a 20% yield, using two runs, you would have to process about 141 grams of material to yield an ounce of oil a month, so side stepping any environmental issues, it gets down to simple ecconomics.

Using a 1" X 36" column, which holds right at 99 grams of bud that has been desicated to about 10% moisture content and sieved through a 10 mesh screen, I would expect to use four 300 ml cans the first pass and two to three the second. That would require around 10 cans of butane, which we can get locally for about $2.29 a can, so say $22.9o a month.

The material costs are about $480, so your simple payback would be just under two years.

On the other hand, you and a friend can do it in under one year, and three people even less. I'm hoping you aren't planning to hoard all that goodness for just yourself!

Hee, hee, hee.................

 

[Graywolf]

how do you even separate the buds to get high high quality and still get yield? I used to just push the buds in there and i thought i was wasting yield... then i started tripping up the herb in to 1 inch pieces or smaller as in ripping up bud like a blunt to pack the tube

whats the best idea? I know to pack it very evenly...... only how small do i rip up the bud do i grind it not so finely like a joint? or do I pick it upart down to caylx and leaf at a time. also my stuff is kinda dry i left it drying for 3 weeks then trimmed it not sure what to do with all this white S1

I will have to experiment with the Little Terp, but with the Mk I Terpenator, we use a packing density of about 3.5 grams per cubic inch. We strip the fan leaves and hang the plant upside down to dry, until the the small stems snap, and then strip the buds and trim off the plants by pulling the branches through our hands.

We place that on a cookie sheet and place it in a 200F oven until the material is just frangible, when rolled between the finger and thumb. Not dry, because that will make it brittle and add too many fines.

At that point we scrub them through a 10 mesh strainer using firm pressure and a leather glove, to size it and remove all the stems and debris.

We immediately bag that to keep it from picking up moisture again, and keep it so until we are ready to pack the columns.

Our record yield using that technique was about 21.6% using two passes, with around 16% on the first pass.

We average about 23% Absolute Amber using the Mk I, and have a record yield of about 27.2% from an outdoor grow. As we remove about 8% waxes during winterization, that equates to about a 25% raw oleoresin extraction average, and a record of about 29.5%.

I suspect the yield will be higher from the Little Terp than a single pass column as well, so some ecconomics may enter in there. We shall see!

 

[hammalamma]

So, if ten percent moisture is optimal for running, What percent moisture is smokable nugs? For reference.

 

[Graywolf]

I usually shoot for around 15%.

 

[Graywolf]

Hee, hee, hee, I talked to Glacier tank, and they have some 6" diameter X 6" long sanitary spools due in later this month. You could use a end plate and clamp for the bottom, so the only welding was the fittings in the lids.

 

[Future]

wow this is beautiful, looks like you're using great material and craftsmanship, after this baby you should try and build a co2 extractor ;)

 

[Graywolf]

wow this is beautiful, looks like you're using great material and craftsmanship, after this baby you should try and build a co2 extractor ;)

Hee, hee, hee, plans for a simple minded one in the works.........

 

[Graywolf]

Hee, hee, hee, snicker, snark, snort, awhooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!1 Ah just loves it when a plan comes together.
Here is the first cleaning run on the Lil Terp, and as you can see, it works slick! I wish I could say I pulled this one out of my nether regions, but alas, I did not. Hats off to the inventor of the Tamisium, for his insight in using passive recovery in this application!

Since this was a cleaning run, after I washed everything in denatured alcohol and then boiled it out in hot water and detergent, we ran donated mixed trim destined for topical application.
I installed the 1 1/2" X 12" column, which held approximately 2 ounces of material, after first packing in two wadded up coffee filters, against the 20 mesh screen at the end of the column, and two more on top of the material, between it and the top 20 mesh screen.
I started out by weighing the collection vessel, which weighed 15 pounds 3 ounces. I then calculated the internal capacity of the 6" diameter X 5" tall collection tank as 141 cubic inches.
I calculated that 141 cubic inches of water at .0361 lbs/inch cubed, times the .601 specific gravity of butane, would weigh about 3 pounds, so an 80% fill would weigh about 2.4 pounds. That means that 2 pounds 7 ounces is a maxim fill, to allow for hydraulics with temperature changes.

Next I pumped the supply tank down to -29.9hg and after soaking it in an ice water bath for about thirty minutes, sat it on a refrigerant scale to establish the 15 pound, 3 ounce tare.

I then connected it by hose to the dip tube of a butane supply tank and filled it to a total weight of 17.1 pounds.
Next I connected the collection vessel to the supply tank by hose, and sat the collection vessel and column in ice water. I held the supply tank upside down and opened both valves, so that the butane flowed through the material in the column, and collected in the collection vessel.
After a couple of minutes, I weighed the supply tank, and it again weighed 15 pounds, 3 ounces, so I shut all the valves and disconnected the hose. A minimal amount of butane was lost when I disconnected the hose.
Next I turned the collection tank upside down, so that the butane again saturated the material in the column, and flipped it about four or five times for about 30 minutes, including the final setting the column upright and letting the it drain.
I then connected the recovery vessel and the supply tank by hose, and sat the recovery vessel in a 109.4F hot water bath in an electric soup pot, and the supply tank in an ice water bath.
I kept track of the temperature of the fittings on top of the recovery tank and the supply tank with a laser pyrometer, and when the temperature of the fitting on top of the collection tank was 98F and the fitting at the top of the supply tank was 31.1F, I again weighed the supply tank, and found it again weighed 17.1 pounds.
Except for the losses when we disconnected hoses, recovery was 100%, and the losses were not measurable by weight. I disconnected the system and opened up the collection vessel, to find the attached scene.
Even though I used trim set aside for topical and it was a cleaning run, after inspecting it for petrochemical contaminants with a black light, I still had to taste some and though the material it was extracted from was aged and dried enough to have little floral undertones, it still had a clean crisp hashy flavor.
There were no contaminants revealed under black light, so looks like the system is clean and tomorrow we will have to get serious with some bud! Hee, hee, hee..................
As far as process, you can hardly find a finer instructional than at Tamisium, which I heartily recommend watching, whether you are going to buy one of theirs or if you are planning to build a passive recovery system yourself. Here are three of their offerings:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvdedWvpUiU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTn5rJ_gBWk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajDkBlw_jYs

One big difference that you may note with our design, is that a co-solvent isn't required to easily clean the collection vessel. That is one area that I perceive Tamisium can improve upon!
Taken from: http://skunkpharmresearch.com/passive-butane-extractor-and-reclaimer/