Solvent extraction with solvent recycling system

[MJmadscientist]

Hey guys hope everyone is having a great weekend and thanks for the community support as always!
So I end up getting a lot of trim from friends for helping trim their end of season harvests. Bubble hash was tried and it went ok but was labor intensive with the small 5 gallon bags I have.

Anyway my wife and I really like live or cured resins and rosins. There is a company that has some killer prices in Michigan and its has always been very top shelf quality regardless of the price tag.
So I asked them what they were using for their extraction process. I was told they used butane for their process and was surprised due to not liking a lot of butane extracts I had tried in the past. Flavor was off. It got you high but it should be just as wonderful as the buds when you crack it open.

Is there a simple and affordable way to make a closed loop system that I could run volume through? One that reuses the butane and only requires minimal topping off of the solvent?
I’ve seen the vacuum pumps on vevor but not sure which ones to use and how the whole system needs to be laid out.
Cost is important factor as it’s only used during 1 month of the year.
Let me know how much of investment I would be looking at.

 

[dankstranger]

There's no cheap or easy way to do proper hydrocarbon extraction at home man. If you're only running once a year I'd go solventless - way less headache and still gets you killer rosin.

The good BHO you've had tastes amazing because it's done right - closed loop system, clean cold solvent, proper purge in a C1D1 rated room. That nasty butane taste is usually from crappy purging or contaminated material, not the solvent itself.

But to do it right at home you're looking at serious money. A small closed loop setup is gonna run you at least 2-3k for the extractor, another couple grand for explosion proof pumps and vacuum ovens, then you need a C1D1 booth which is like 30-60k minimum. Plus most states won't even let you do hydrocarbon extraction in a residence anyway.

For what you're doing I'd go this route instead:

Get a 20 gallon bubble hash washer for like 350 bucks, some micron bags, maybe a freeze dryer if you want to get fancy with live hash (those run about 2-3k), and a decent rosin press. You can get a good home press for under a grand or go bigger for 2-5k if you want something more commercial.

Whole setup would run you maybe 3-7k total and you can make some really tasty rosin without all the fire code BS and legal issues. Plus it's way safer - no explosive solvents to worry about.

I've been doing this for 30 years and honestly the solventless stuff has gotten so good it's hard to justify the hydrocarbon hassle for home use. The flavor on good live rosin is right up there with the best BHO.

How much trim you usually running in that month? I can help you size the equipment right.

 

[MJmadscientist]

There's no cheap or easy way to do proper hydrocarbon extraction at home man. If you're only running once a year I'd go solventless - way less headache and still gets you killer rosin.

The good BHO you've had tastes amazing because it's done right - closed loop system, clean cold solvent, proper purge in a C1D1 rated room. That nasty butane taste is usually from crappy purging or contaminated material, not the solvent itself.

But to do it right at home you're looking at serious money. A small closed loop setup is gonna run you at least 2-3k for the extractor, another couple grand for explosion proof pumps and vacuum ovens, then you need a C1D1 booth which is like 30-60k minimum. Plus most states won't even let you do hydrocarbon extraction in a residence anyway.

For what you're doing I'd go this route instead:

Get a 20 gallon bubble hash washer for like 350 bucks, some micron bags, maybe a freeze dryer if you want to get fancy with live hash (those run about 2-3k), and a decent rosin press. You can get a good home press for under a grand or go bigger for 2-5k if you want something more commercial.

Whole setup would run you maybe 3-7k total and you can make some really tasty rosin without all the fire code BS and legal issues. Plus it's way safer - no explosive solvents to worry about.

I've been doing this for 30 years and honestly the solventless stuff has gotten so good it's hard to justify the hydrocarbon hassle for home use. The flavor on good live rosin is right up there with the best BHO.

How much trim you usually running in that month? I can help you size the equipment right.

Shit it’s probably like 7 pounds. It’s not all sugar leaves though. It’s a conglomerate of all the leftover leaves at harvest, the sugar leaf bud trim, and all the scraggly buds on the bottom. So it’s a few black trash bags worth.

Again this is all the waste product otherwise and it’s supposed to last 4 people through the whole year.