I'm out of supplies for right now but I'm not given up because I know this is sound and proven science. That means if it's not working, as much as I'd hate to admit it sometimes, it HAS to be my fault... I'm certain the problem is the toaster oven. I bet it gets up to temp just fine, but as soon as the temp drops those coils fire up again until the thermostat inside matches the stt temperature on the outside of the unit. Unfortunately, I'm going to bet that the coils aren't programmed to come on at a partial power setting when this occurrs so I'd bet they just come on full power at 1000watts or whatever, and once the inside of the oven heats up to temp they shut off. It wouldn't surprise me if this causes the inside temperatures to surge over the vaporization point intermittently and cause a dramatic loss of potency. I need to either get a crock pot or find something else.

Speaking of something else, I had heard of others using coffee mugs for the oil and placing them in shallow water inside the crock pot. Had anyone thought about Keeping the coffee mug and losing the crock pot? You could put the oil in the coffee mug and use a coffee mug warmer plate like this one? http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/602-5808638-9820638?ASIN=B000CO89T8&AFID=Froogle&LNM=B000CO89T 8|Mr._Coffee_Mug_Warmer__MWBLK&ci_src=14110944&ci_ sku=B000CO89T8&ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001 I'm trying to find out what temperature range these things operate at. I cvan't find specifications posted for the 102V 'Mr. Coffee' model, but their are a bunch of models which plug into USB which operate on 50-60C. I'm pretty sure this isn't hot enough but I'm also assuming the units which are powered by a wall socket will get hotter because the USB models are limited by the 5V rating of the bus, and the low current levels it is capable to deliver. Remember- a USB port is not a 'proper' power supply.

All these issues about temperature have caused me to ask this question of anyone ho can give me a reliable answer: What is the acceptable temperature range for simmering? My understanding is that it only needs to meet two criteria: Stay below the vaporization point (275F) at ALL COSTS and remain warm enough to keep the oil in liquid state. Is this correct or does the oil need to melt, AND reach a higher minimum temperature, or is the MINIMUM temperature at which this extraction point will work the same or below the melting point of the oil?

Since the magic number for this recipe seems to be 90C or 200F I figured the coffee warmer plate would be perfect because it is designed to keep a beverage which begins at 212F close to it's original temperature, but such a device is also exclusively designed to NOT boil the beverage placed on its surface...

Anyone know what the MINIMUM temperature is to get this to work?