Troubleshooting making, pressing bubble hash

[iriea]

ok, couple questions after making my first & second batch of bubble hash...

I put in 1/4oz of trim and only got 2.5 grams... why so little?

it dried for a week, then I pressed it, then smoked a little - it's not bubbling like it's supposed to be so famous for (what am I doing wrong?) and it doesn't stay lit when smoking it - you have to keep relighting it (again wtf am I doing wrong??)

background info - I"m using the 4 bag system of bubble bags, 5 gallons, plenty of ice, a paint mixer attached to a drill to mix. mixing for 15 minutes (I did it for 25 minutes the first round & I think ended up with too much plant matter in the final product), letting settle for 1/2 hour. letting sit on cardboard for 5-7 days, then putting in cellophane bag & smushing with a glass jar of hot water - rolling & pressing til shiny black & all smushed together. the final product is black & pressed but hard - not bendy...

what am I doing wrong?? HELP!

 

[Seamaiden]

ok, couple questions after making my first & second batch of bubble hash...

I put in 1/4oz of trim and only got 2.5 grams... why so little?

it dried for a week, then I pressed it, then smoked a little - it's not bubbling like it's supposed to be so famous for (what am I doing wrong?) and it doesn't stay lit when smoking it - you have to keep relighting it (again wtf am I doing wrong??)

background info - I"m using the 4 bag system of bubble bags, 5 gallons, plenty of ice, a paint mixer attached to a drill to mix. mixing for 15 minutes (I did it for 25 minutes the first round & I think ended up with too much plant matter in the final product), letting settle for 1/2 hour. letting sit on cardboard for 5-7 days, then putting in cellophane bag & smushing with a glass jar of hot water - rolling & pressing til shiny black & all smushed together. the final product is black & pressed but hard - not bendy...

what am I doing wrong?? HELP!

That right there is your problem. Next time use something like a wooden spoon, mix GENTLY, and cut that agitation time in half.

Oh yeah, it's taken my first hash run a few months to cure and become pliable. Doesn't smoke like I'd like, but it's become nice and pliable.

 

[iriea]

thanks for the reply seamaiden.

so I'm agitating it too much? or too violently? how will stirring less get me more trichomes?

also, another question - so am drying out the stuff left at the bottom of the bag on a piece of cardboard. I see pictures online of people pressing powder into a hash ball. For me, what dries on the cardboard is too hard to break into powder. am I not waiting long enough for it to dry or what? can I press the dried blobs directly into hashballs or do I need to turn my dried blobs into powder first?

 

[Seamaiden]

Stirring less will get you less plant material. Freezing well will ensure you get as many trichomes as possible.

I had the same problem, but I left mine on a plate and it dried out overnight. So, I scraped it off, then put it into a good, thick freezer ziploc bag, and heated up some water to just almost steaming, not simmering or anything like that. Dipped in the bag, worked the hash until it could be pressed together, then rolled it into about a golf ball-sized ball (shoulda probably made a brick or a puck), wrapped it in unbleached parchment paper, and have ignored it for a few months.

Since I rubbed the plant material really, REALLY hard (think: rubbed sage) before I made my hash, I got a lot of plant material in it and it doesn't bubble the way it's supposed to. Look up Blaze's hash tutorial, I've seen him do it, he uses a boat paddle (he does 20gal runs) and agitates for no more than 8 minutes, if I recollect correctly. He's very, very gentle about it and gets a superior product.

 

[motherlode]

you said your using a 4 bag system - which one are you smoking?

not all the bags with be full melt even if you dont overmix

above 160 = garbage
120/160= food grade hash
70/90 = yummy full melt
25/45 can be good depending on the strain, but not as melty usually lots of the broken bits of trichs in these bags

strain and how hard/long you mix it will vary the result

I leave mine in keif form because I think smashing it loses the flavor over time.

and 2.5 grams of hash off 7 grams of trim is ridiculously high. 10-12 grams per 100 grams is usually what you get of good quality hash.

 

[iriea]

mother lode - I'm smoking the last bag - the smallest holed bag's results.

I'm putting in 1/4 ounce of trim per batch and the results are about 3.5 grams per batch which seems so low.

I'm trying to figure out how much to mix the trim plus ice so the trichomes break off but I don't mix so much that plant material gets in there... the first batch I mixed waaay to long with a paint mixer. second time I mixed 9-10 minutes with a mellower paint mixer and got way less plant matter but still not all that much hash (3.5 grams for 1/4 oz). I'm doing another batch today & am wondering if I should try just a wooden spoon & not an electric mix.

I'm also curious about using a washing machine as I have an extra one in the garage - anyone try this method?

Question - so the bubble dries on the cardboard into a lump. Do I need to break that down to powder before pressing into hash or can I press the lump directly and skip the powder step?

 

[opt1c]

fwiw it's all strain dependent; i had some killer 190u from a deepchunk x goo batch i just recently ran; way more than my other bags

i use the 5gal washing machine and 8bag set

i'll let it dry in a lump overnight and then i chop it up real fine and let it dry another day... sometimes it's too hard to break up the lump into really small parts when it is still wet

i've done 5mins with a wooden spoon followed by a second run with 10mins of a mixer; got the vast majority of my hash from the first run... use the washer now for a 6min cycle

if u want it to bubble wrap a bit in some plastic wrap; put it in your shoe and walk on it for a day; take it out and see what happens ;)

 

[iriea]

sorry guys - I just realized I mispoke... I meant a 1/4 lb of trim (not oz :) to each 5 gallon run. 10 lbs ice, maybe 1 gallon water. I'm getting about 2.5-3.5 grams of hash per batch. feel like I should be getting way more.

 

[Blaze]

OK, first of all stop drying on card board; it soaks up a lot of the oils and deteriorates the hash. Dry on a pyrex plate or something similar that is inert and will not absorb anything from the hash.

Second, you are probably drying it for too long. You want a very slow, gradual dry. Drying it too quickly also causes it to get hard and crumbly. When it gets over-dried it becomes crumbly and hard and will not bubble very well. It takes a while for it to cure as well - you need to be patient. As it cures it will usually become more sticky and pliable. The first 24-48 hours are absolutely critical when drying and curing hash so watch it closely.

Third, getting 2.5 grams of bubble of of 7 grams of trim is a suspiciously high return. I would guess that at least half of what you harvested was plant material, and not trichromes. About the highest ratio I've seen for good, melty hash, is about 8-1, which means a harvest of less than a gram of hash from a quarter oz. You also need to mix less and not use a paint mixer; this will help keep excess plant material out of the finished product.

Fourth you do not need to break the hash up into a powder before pressing it. IMO doing this actually deteriorates it some. Also be sure not to over-press it. Excessive pressure ruptures the gland heads of the trichromes and deteriorates them. This is why I never use a mechanical press for my hash - a light hand press a few times through out the drying and curing process is all that is needed. Plus, if you got good quality hash to begin with, it should be nice and sticky and not need much, if any pressure in order for it to be pressed together.

It takes a while to get the hang of making good bubble hash so the best thing you can do is to just keep making batches. Good luck on your next run!

 

[iriea]

sorry guys - I meant 1/4 lb. gets me about 3.5 grams hash...

 

[iriea]

ok, so I think since I'm new here my posts don't show up right away...

just did batch #3 today - gotta get better with practice right? :)

used 1/4 lb trim, 10 lbs ice, little under 1 gallon cold water. stirred with a spoon instead of mixer. looks I got more to me & it looks way sandier in color - not dark and not green which I think means I'm on to something :) we'll see what it is once it dries a little.

I was so worried about pressing the hash when still too damp & it getting mold while curing which is why I've left it out to dry for 5 days before pressing. I'm glad I don't have to chop the dried blob into powder before pressing cuz I felt like I was crushing it too much. So do you just crumble it more while it's drying & then just press all the crumbles? I put all my crumbles in cellophane, then covered with thin towel & rolling with jar of hot water. seemed to work pretty well - went from crumbles to nice shiny blackness pretty quick. this pretty blackness seemed hard - not bendy at all but it sounds like that will change perhaps while curing.

thanks all for all your tips! I'm flying off common sense & trial & error - advice from people already doing this is much much appreciated!

 

[motherlode]

^^^ what he said!

 

[Blaze]

Ah, OK, 3.5 grams of hash off of 1/4 lb of shake is not very good; you should be getting more like 10-15 grams of hash off that much shake, unless you are running a bunch of fan leaves. Try using more water - 1 gallon is probably not enough. I usually use about 10-15 gallons of water for 1-1.5 lbs of shake with my 20 gallon set (enough to fill my mixing bucket half way). If you've got too much ice and shake in your mix and not enough water not all the trichromes will get extracted. Also be sure to freeze your shake first - that helps a lot.

 

[Tripsick]

lol i was going to say that was some frosty trim if your getting that kind of return.
But 112 grams to 3.5 seems about right depending on trim that was used.

Quality will melt when you get it right dry or not.. Heat should melt it together.

I think you can use wax paper to set it on to dry. I have seen some people use plates and even a few cardboard. Finding a method that works for you is always fun. There are some good tutorials out there. and some highly experienced users on this site...

I forget there is a "ratio for different extraction"
its not perfect but they did multiple runs with the same amount of trim... I think Bubble was close to 10 - 8 % of total weight.. and Butane and others where a little lower and some thing like Acetone was 12-16%...

 

[iriea]

thanks everyone! after batches 3, 4, 5 & 6 over the weekend I feel like I'm getting the hang of it & getting more out of it. I'm running it through the process 3 times per batch and getting more than before by taking my time & stirring, etc. thanks for all the tips.

once it's all dry & pressed into a lovely black shiny flat circle - what next to cure? I was thinking inside small cardboard jewelry boxes on a little piece of cellophane. covered & enclosed but still can breath... will that work?

 

[Seamaiden]

I use parchment paper and wrap it up like candies.

 

[Blaze]

Your suggested method would probably work too (I also use parchment paper but may be changing that soon). Just be sure it is not in a total air tight container at this point - you want it to be able to breath just a little bit to prevent mold form forming.

 

[iriea]

got it. thanks.


so after a couple batches I feel like I'm figuring it out but not sure if this is all worth it. am I still missing something here to get a higher yield? started with about 600 grams frozen trim, ended up with 30 grams hash total. WTF?? feel like I'm still only getting 1/2 the yield I should.this is the 3rd strain I've tried now. the only strain I ended up with a high yield of was from nugs, not trim... can't figure out what I'm doing wrong.

 

[Seamaiden]

Do you want weight, or quality? You're going to have to choose between one or the other. Also, I think greenthumbdanny pointed out that some strains are great for making hash, others not so much. I wouldn't know much about that.

I need a vape or something to smoke my hash with. I'm just about out of bud and all I have is about 40g of hash.

 

[Rabbi]

That 4 bag set may be the issue, if its similar to the one sold at BPG buy new bags.

Bubblebags are expensive but turns out better product.

just cant remember the 4 bag makers name.