thinning bho with propylene glycol to make flowable oil for pen vaporizers

[endora]

Does anyone know specifically how to do this? For example, the rough ratio of bho to p. glycol?

I'm told (a bit too vaguely) that you make your bho as usual, then winterize for 48 hours, then filter off the solids. The ethanol is then evaporated off and the remaining bho is thinned to a flowable consistency with propylene glycol.

I honestly thought that this info would be one of the top stickies here since these pens are everywhere now. Atmos, eGo, etcetera. Dabs are great, but flowable pen vapes are sooo much more convenient than top-load globe-style pen dab cartridges IMO.

(I did see a thinning-with-glycerine question. P. glycol is different, and is used everywhere for flowable oils and e-ciggies. Glycerine isn't.)

A second key question would be: can you add the p. glycol while some of the ethanol is still present (this seeming much easier than dissolving dried bho into the p. glycol)?

So much great information here, thank you guys for sharing your experiences!

 

[Seamaiden]

I'd contact Gray Wolf for all of these questions, endora. :)

 

[ftwendy]

https://www.thcfarmer.com/community...anted-to-fill-your-own-ecig-cartridges.53959/

That's a good start. Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[endora]

Thank you! Just what I was looking for. It was the word 'tincture' that made me overlook this post.

 

[Ohiofarmer]

Thank you! Just what I was looking for. It was the word 'tincture' that made me overlook this post.

you may also want to look into thinning your oil using D-Limonene which is an essential oil from citrus rind. I just made oil for my Cloud and used purged bho re-constituted with d-limonene; however it does give the oil an awesome tropical orange flavor, so if you want your oils flavor to go un-tinged then p. glycol is the way to go

 

[endora]

you may also want to look into thinning your oil using D-Limonene which is an essential oil from citrus rind. I just made oil for my Cloud and used purged bho re-constituted with d-limonene; however it does give the oil an awesome tropical orange flavor, so if you want your oils flavor to go un-tinged then p. glycol is the way to go

Hmmm: interesting! I'm a real flavor purist, but this sounds like it's worth trying, too.

 

[endora]

Hello again. I will have some more specific information about this in a couple days, specifically the exact mixing ratios using propylene glycol. Different pens require different viscosities. My initial tests indicate that this is very easy to make, though.

 

[ftwendy]

Many pens have different voltages, and many cartomizers have different resistance to that voltage. Matching the two is key. The .3/7 recipe I shared is for 3.7v pens and 1.5ohm resistance cartos... others will work fine too. fyi, fine tuning your recipe is the best part... if you have time to spare. :)

 

[endora]

Just wanted to follow this post up and say that the quantity of propylene glycol varies widely depending upon the plant strain and the viscosity of the bho used. But it definitely isn't 7:3 or anywhere near that for 510-threaded oil cartridges. ftwendy must be using an entirely different pen/cartridge. The eGo and Atmos pens do well with a much thicker oil.

The finished winterized bho (absolute) is dropped into a 50 ml beaker or a shot glass partially submerged in 140 degree water. After 10 minutes the glycol is added and stirred in with a dab tool or similar. It mixes very easily and can then by loaded into a fat-bore syringe and injected into the cartridges.

I would say start with 1/2 ml propylene glycol per 5 grams of bho, or 1:10 p. glycol to bho ratio. You can increase the fluidity from there but I don't see any point in going much thinner. It still flows well and provides maximum potency. That said, less viscous (more fluid) oils also do fine in these cartridges. I haven't had any leaks.

Very easy process! I am personally done entirely with dabs now, as these pens/oil cartridges are so hassle-free and the potency is still there. The mess and hassle of dab consumption is a fun ritual for some people, but it's just not my thing.

 

[ftwendy]

510 is the thread size of the cartomizers. Standard EgoC batteries at 3.7volts were paired with Smok brand dual coil high capacity, low resistance 1.5 ohm cartomizers.

When I was fooling around with the recipe I found that the high/smoking results from the 0.3g bho : 0.7ml pg ratio were very similar to smoking flowers. I imagine your recipe is more similar to dabs... lots of bell-ringing hits at that high concentration. I guess my recipe is for lightweights. I'll have to try that hyper concentrated recipe for myself some day. Sounds like a spicy meatball! :)

Have fun E -- stay safe

 

[endora]

Hi Wendy - thanks for the input. I'm mainly trying to duplicate what is being offered in local clubs for my patients. All '510 cartridges' here (as the clubs call them) have really thick oils in them; no thin ones. But I think you could go anywhere in between our ratios and have a good final product. Thick oils work great with the standard eGo batteries FWIW.

 

[THriveSeeds]

What Pen brands have worked good for u ?
I tried a brand called 9m off ebay died first day :(
Do u have a favorite site to buy these supplies from ?
thanks for any input..

 

[endora]

I strongly prefer the eGo and Atmos batteries. The charge lasts for a week or more. There are a number of cartridges available to fit them. Oil can be thick/more concentrated with cartridges like these:

eBay is the best source I have found.

 

[ftwendy]

Joyetech eGo C batteries work well... use their website to find a local dealer...careful about knock off batteries. Their fine, just not the same quality as genuine article. That said, almost any battery will work.

The cartridges are called cartomizers, and I use smok brand (mentioned that above tho its sorta cryptic, apologies)

 

[hrlfuhr]

So this is my first time trying to dissolve some bho and I am in a rush bc i leave for vacation in the morning. Obviously my knowledge on this subject is mediocer at best. Totally jumped the gun and I have .5 a gram sitting in about 4 ml of propylene glycol and it pretty much bunched up. Tried letting the little tube I'm using sit in some hot water but no help. Any advice would be incredibly helpful!! I am on a budget and would hate to see this go to waste.

 

[urbanfog]

So this is my first time trying to dissolve some bho and I am in a rush bc i leave for vacation in the morning. Obviously my knowledge on this subject is mediocer at best. Totally jumped the gun and I have .5 a gram sitting in about 4 ml of propylene glycol and it pretty much bunched up. Tried letting the little tube I'm using sit in some hot water but no help. Any advice would be incredibly helpful!! I am on a budget and would hate to see this go to waste.

heat, shake/stir........ repeat, repeat repeat etc

 

[hrlfuhr]

heat, shake/stir........ repeat, repeat repeat etc

I will keep at it then. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

 

[Mr. Molecule]

Hi everyone. Sorry to drag this thread up from the grave, but it addresses the exact subject that I'm currently trying to research (and having great difficulty finding consistent info on).

I'm about to get into the whole e-cig thing as a vehicle for dosing BHO as described in this thread (meaning dissolving it in PG or PG/VG... not e-cig as in any kind of hot oil atomizer device. That's what I'm trying to get away from actually).

I'm having trouble finding solubility info about BHO in PG and/or the PG-VG combo. What I read above about 10:1 (BHO to PG) seems to me can't possibly be right. I would expect something closer to the opposite---10:1 PG:BHO! I hasten to add though that I'm talking about solubility at room temp (as it sits in an e-cig tank), not solubility with heat applied when initially mixing... naturally, the BHO's solubility will be way higher when both substances are hot. What I'm interested in knowing is how much PG it takes to keep BHO dissolved once the mix has cooled down to room temp.

The BHO I'm using is well purged and quite pure, but I'm willing to winterize it if I have to in order to get it to be at all soluble in PG. Thanks for any info!

 

[endora]

10:1 bho to pg is admittedly a bit too thick. That was early on in my experimentation. Based upon direct experience now and after testing in multiple types of cartridges, anywhere from 8:1 to 4:1 bho to pg works great. Going thinner seems pointless to me unless you are purposely trying to lower the potency level for some reason. It serves no purpose functionally.

Wicked cartridges seem to do well with thicker oils. If a bottom-coil cartridge without external wicks is used it will need to be thinner, though. 6:1 is a great balance IMO.

I try to use as little PG as I can to maintain a higher potency level. Obviously you will need to warm it up a bit before injecting into the cartridge; I get it up to about 130F or so. But yes, it definitely still flows quite well at room temperature.

So: I've now settled upon a basic starting ratio of 6:1 for thinning most well-cured and fully winterized bhos. It will vary slightly depending upon the strain used.

The problem with VG is that it eventually stratifies with the bho. I've abandoned testing with it for this reason. PG does really well in all ways and no stratification happens, even after a month or more.

A few tips after my heavy experimentation with this:

1. Make sure you winterize your bho. You need to remove the fats, lipids and waxes for a flowable oil.

2. If you aren't going to be using a vacuum to purge, be sure to spread your bho out in a very thin film and allow it to cure. I wait a full week. I then warm the pyrex that it is spread out in and scrape it up. Creates shatter usually. Your final bho prior to thinning with PG should be fairly touchable; it shouldn't be oily, but more like a jolly rancher at room temperature.

Why? Because if you thin it immediately after a good purge but with no cure it will start to congeal in the cartridge after a few days. Remember how I originally thought 10:1 was ideal? That's because my bho was much more fluid at that point, with no curing process. I'm sure all the butane was long gone and the alcohol was likely all gone, too - but everclear has 5% water in it. My theory at this point is that water is actually what gets removed in the final curing process. That would explain the weird congealing. Subsequent batches that have been cured well all look great. I had to throw out the early batches. A vacuum would greatly speed the curing process! I need one.

3. Be careful when choosing which cartridges you select. (Cartomizers, clearomizers, whatever.) The disposable ones are all highly prone to leaking. You can go to an eciggy forum and read all about this, I was a bit surprised at how common it is. And ecig users fill their cartridges daily. What a hassle.

I have tried Vision Nanos, CE4s, CE5s, iTaste 10, iTidy, iTaste 10s, etc etc etc. They all leak onto the battery. You would assume that thinner oils would leak more; that is not the case in my experience. Eciggy juice is very fluid and will often leak, but so will the 6:1 dilutions. I've concluded that it's more about the cartridge design than the oil viscosity. The main problem is that you can't get inside to adjust the wick/coil and stop the leaking.

I highly recommend the Kanger Protank and Mini-Protank re-buildable tanks. I am also testing out oils in several Smoktech Tumblers (which are re-buildable and use Kanger coils), and these are awesome. No leaks, great air flow and massive vapor! Best part about these is that if you get a leak you can open them up and check/adjust the internal wick/coil without losing any oil. The leaking almost always happens at the wick with bottom-coils.

Hope this helps. Feel free to ask any questions.

 

[Mr. Molecule]

Thanks again for your help. Yes I plan to use a Protank3, unless a more compelling candidate emerges.

I still can't get over that you're saying that you could dissolve 10 grams of BHO in about one milliliter of propylene glycol! Just visualizing it, it doesn't work. What am I not getting? Probably just the fact that since BHO goes liquid under heat, I guess almost any ratio is doable with heat. But when it cools again, that's a different story.

Here's the thing though... I am looking to dilute the BHO far more than that. At least 1:1, maybe even 3:1 (PG to BHO). That puzzles you, but here's why I want that. BHO is very, very harsh on my throat. I'm way more sensitive to it than most. So I see this whole e-cig thing as a way I can, at long last, finally dilute this stuff so that it doesn't assault my throat the way it does (even the very cleanest stuff does). I'm also hoping that the mixing with PG vapor will cool it.

PLUS, I'm very into trying to mix some flavorings with it. Some purists might find this silly, but you known what, I've been using hash oil off/on since 1976... that was the first time I came across it (and boy was it great back then, but I digress). So, I've had plenty of opportunity to get to know how it tastes. It shouldn't be seen as some sacrilege for me to mix a nice mango, green apple or maybe caramel flavor with it, amiright?