Rso Purge/decarb

[RCfarmer]

I've made a few RSO batches for the purpose of making vape juice and I feel I'm getting the hang of it but I'm open to critique from experienced people. Twice I've used ethanol but the cost has led me to try isopropyl. I used iso to dissolve and winterize my first batch of RSO and was able to clean a lot of trash out of the oil. I purged the iso in a pyrex bowl on top of a hotplate outside. After an hour or so I could no longer smell the iso. There were many tiny bubbles so I kept the purge going while stiring the oil until the bubbles were gone. This batch of RSO had previously been decarbed in an oven but I wonder if the oven is even necessary to decarb the oil if I allow the purge on the hotplate to continue until the tiny bubbles stop forming?

 

[Cyclopath]

If you're decarbing your oil on a hot plate, there is no need to decarb the starting material.

If you are seeing CO2 bubbles (small, and even in size) when "purging" on the hot plate, you didn't get the decarb step in the oven complete.

If you're making oil to vape, then you might want to try a short cold wash (QWET or QWISO) rather than the long warm soak traditionally associated with "RSO".

Take a look at GT21's thread on the subject

 

[RCfarmer]

If you are seeing CO2 bubbles (small, and even in size) when "purging" on the hot plate, you didn't get the decarb step in the oven complete.

I thought that was the solvent evaporating?

 

[Cyclopath]

Solvent bubbles are larger & uneven in size. CO2 bubbles are uniform in size and smaller.

Gray Wolf will tell you to go until they slow, rather than stop so as not to degrade your cannabinoids.

I can't find the info here, and would point you at Skunkpharm.

 

[RCfarmer]

Solvent bubbles are larger & uneven in size. CO2 bubbles are uniform in size and smaller.

Gray Wolf will tell you to go until they slow, rather than stop so as not to degrade your cannabinoids.

I can't find the info here, and would point you at Skunkpharm.

Ok. I'm good then. The last bubbles I saw were thousands of tiny bubbles that I continued to heat and stir until nearly gone. I'll experiment with when I want to stop the process. Thank you for your input and the links.

 

[Graywolf]

Ok. I'm good then. The last bubbles I saw were thousands of tiny bubbles that I continued to heat and stir until nearly gone. I'll experiment with when I want to stop the process. Thank you for your input and the links.

Hard to tell how you are doing in an oven, but easy with oil by watching bubbles. Attached is graph showing approximate time, followed by a picture of butane bubbles, followed by mostly decarboxylation bubbles, and then quiescent oil. I stop at the top of the curve, which is about 70% decarboxylation and is where CO2 bubbling activity suddenly slows to a crawl.

 

[str8smokn]

So if your vaping this do you really need to decarb it.
I thought that process was for edibles, just to activate the THCV to THC.?
STR8

 

[Cyclopath]

So if your vaping this do you really need to decarb it.
I thought that process was for edibles, just to activate the THCV to THC.?
STR8

You are absolutely correct that vaping does not require the concentrate be decarboxylated first

However, OP uses the term "RSO" which generally implies a decarbed product (per Rick Simpson's recipe).

Decarbing also reduces the viscosity, which is generally considered helpful when trying to make "vape juice".

There is also data to suggest that vaping THCA doesn't convert ALL of the THCA to THC (same is true when you set your flowers on fire).

I don't have a link to that data, but just looking at the graph Graywolf posted above, you can see that it takes 7 min at 145C to reach "peak THC", and it's not too hard to imagine that it might take more than 10 seconds to achieve that in a pen or on a nail (at 230-375C).

so...being fully decarbed might be one reason distillate gets you stoneder :)

 

[DemonTrich]

The reason "distillate get you stoner" vs other ways is most properly made distillate is 90%+ thc vs all other forms. Distillate is also decarbd due to how it' processed.

I vape 2g distillate a week, plus 2-3 .5ml vape carts I make.

 

[Cyclopath]

The reason "distillate get you stoner" vs other ways is most properly made distillate is 90%+ thc vs all other forms. Distillate is also decarbd due to how it' processed.

I vape 2g distillate a week, plus 2-3 .5ml vape carts I make.

Ideally we need to do a bioassay or twelve to settle that one: sit down and compare high 90's distillate to high 90's crystalline THCA (making sure to account for the Molecular Weight differences).

Comparing 89mg of distillate to 100mg THCA is close I think.