Best hash method for large quantity?

[RobertInAZ]

I recently discovered that a hermie infected my whole crop, so I harvested everything yesterday with the intention of turning it all into hash. I would welcome any advice you could offer, and here are some specific questions I have:
1.) I have all the plants hanging and in a dark room with a fan going. I have removed all of the big fan leaves. Can I speed up the drying process, say, by using cookie sheets in the oven with the door open on low heat? I'm thinking this would be OK since I no longer care how smooth the smoke is, but I don't want to degrade the THC, and I'm wondering if that might do it.
2.) My crop was fairly big -- 8 plants that were tall enough that I had to use a step stool to get to the tops. So I would like to be sure that hash is the best way to go, rather than honey oil, or something else. And, since there are several ways to make hash, what would you suggest is the best way for the large amount of bud/trim that I have?
3.) It is my understanding that the ice hash method with graduated strainers basically just captures the trichomes that fall off the dried plant material, but doesn't capture any cannabinoids that are in the material itself. Is that right?
thanx again, bob

RobertInAZ Reviewed by RobertInAZ on 03-30-2011. Best hash method for large quantity? I recently discovered that a hermie infected my whole crop, so I harvested everything yesterday with the intention of turning it all into hash. I would welcome any advice you could offer, and here are some specific questions I have: 1.) I have all the plants hanging and in a dark room with a fan going. I have removed all of the big fan leaves. Can I speed up the drying process, say, by using cookie sheets in the oven with the door open on low heat? I'm thinking this would be OK since I no Rating: 5

[Rusty Trichome]

Whichever method you use, do not do it all at once, as there may be a learning curve. Would hate to see you lose it all to a rookie error.

But for quick drying, I use my toaster oven on the 'dehydrate' setting. I break-down about an ounce worth (dime-size) in a pie tin, dehydrare in 10 minute intervals. (check and 'fluff' every 10 minutes) Takes between 2 and 3 - 10 minute cycles to dry enough for smoking. Should also be fine for stripping trichomes.

As far as method...I'm sure you can find your answers in a search of the subject. Some med users in here prefer the oil extraction, or canna butter...but they all work fine if done properly, lol.

[DenverRelief]

I recently discovered that a hermie infected my whole crop, so I harvested everything yesterday with the intention of turning it all into hash. I would welcome any advice you could offer, and here are some specific questions I have:
1.) I have all the plants hanging and in a dark room with a fan going. I have removed all of the big fan leaves. Can I speed up the drying process, say, by using cookie sheets in the oven with the door open on low heat? I'm thinking this would be OK since I no longer care how smooth the smoke is, but I don't want to degrade the THC, and I'm wondering if that might do it.
2.) My crop was fairly big -- 8 plants that were tall enough that I had to use a step stool to get to the tops. So I would like to be sure that hash is the best way to go, rather than honey oil, or something else. And, since there are several ways to make hash, what would you suggest is the best way for the large amount of bud/trim that I have?
3.) It is my understanding that the ice hash method with graduated strainers basically just captures the trichomes that fall off the dried plant material, but doesn't capture any cannabinoids that are in the material itself. Is that right?
thanx again, bob

All hash extractions and concentrates whether water extracted, C02, or butane, are typically high in THC and low in the other cannabinoids such as CBD.

CBD is in the plant material itself.

So long as your oven isn't hotter than 350 you wont be harming the THC, but you may be decarboxilating it (if it reaches aprox. 175 F) which means you could just eat the dried bud as the THC has been activated by the heat, or make a tea.

You do not have to dry the bud to make hash either. We have tested it and returns from wet flower and dry are about the same for water extracted hash. The wet material tends to make a gummier more flexible hash and dry material makes a powdery grainy hash.

[rudy2010]

I just visited a friend yesterday who was making bubble hash from 15 lbs of trim. He pointed out something that I had been missing and plan to try in the future. After he runs the drill in the mix and lets it settle he removes the first bag and saves the mixture. Then he gathers the hash from the rest of the bags in the usual manner. After this he takes the mix he saved and redoes the process with a new batch of ice in a new can. He goes back and forth a total of 10 times and each time he gets more bubble hash out of the bags.
I had been tossing the trim and ice in the garden after the first mix and settle period. Now I will save the stuff and run it several more times. Just thought you should know this if you use the bubble method.

Honey oil is not that hard to make using butane but it is hard to handle. If you do make butane oil be sure to get the R6 or R7 butane that has been refined extra times to remove the impurities. Also there is a thread somewhere that explains how to clean the honey oil after it is made.

[Graywolf]

[attachment=o274163]

Yes you can speed dry the plant material, but it will volatize more of the turpeens and accelerate decarboxylation rates more than a standard cure.

I will post a decarboxylation graph that shows decarboxylation and THC conversion to CBN are very close to the same low rate at temperatures under 176F.

The latest research that I've seen pushes aside many old assumptions, including some that I personally held, and proffers that both THC and CBD both come from the same CBG precursor and it happens exclusively in the trichomes.

You can never get all the trichomes using dry sieve or bubble techniques, without beating so much green plant material into it, as to make it harsh and unpalatable by conventional standards.

Solvents will remove most of it, without doing so and is how we process large amounts of material to supply oil to cancer and terminal patients attempting a gram a day for 60 to 120 day cures.

If your heart is set on hash, we typically dry and freeze the material that we wish to harvest intact trichomes from and run it through our home made vibratory sieving unit, for 3 to 5 minutes, until it removes approximately 10% trichomes by weight, and then extract the remaining cannabinoid resins using butane or ethanol.

We also make oil or glycerin tincture using the partially spent material.

For bubble hash, we also freeze it to -32C/0F and pre chill the ice bath before a 20 minute run in a mini washing machine.

Almost all of our extraction is from cured material, but you don't have to dry your material to remove the trichomes by dry sieving or ice water extraction, if you freeze it first and keep it that way during processing.

The same is true for using a non polar solvent, as long as you also keep the solvent at low temperature also.

[rudy2010]

[attachment=o274163]
You can never get all the trichomes using dry sieve or bubble techniques, without beating so much green plant material into it, as to make it harsh and unpalatable by conventional standards.

If your heart is set on hash, we typically dry and freeze the material that we wish to harvest intact trichomes from and run it through our home made vibratory sieving unit, for 3 to 5 minutes, until it removes approximately 10% trichomes by weight, and then extract the remaining cannabinoid resins using butane or ethanol.

For bubble hash, we also freeze it to -32C/0F and pre chill the ice bath before a 20 minute run in a mini washing machine.

Almost all of our extraction is from cured material, but you don't have to dry your material to remove the trichomes by dry sieving or ice water extraction, if you freeze it first and keep it that way during processing.

I haven't really seen any harsh and unpalatable traits in the bubble hash that myself and others have been making. I find the butane or ethanol products to be harsh and unpalatable. Some folks are cleansing the products created in this manner to make them more palatable but it is another complicated chemical process that removes most of one kind of impurities while leaving another supposedly more benign behind.

You appear to have a lot of technical information on the subject but I don't know how you came up with such a bad opinion of bubble hash.

[WashougalWonder]

Of course you could do it the way the old kings did in the motherland. They had naked virgins run through the plants, getting the trichomes on the groin hair. With the use of special combs they material was combed out and the added female....um .... touch ....was supposed to make it by far more potent.

I would think there would be a lot of material loss in this method, but it WAS the original. Have a great day

[Graywolf]

Ummm, not sure where I said anything against bubble hash bro, other than if you push it or dry sieve to get 100% trichome yield, you will also pick up a lot of green plant material.

If that statement is incorrect, I invite your study that shows it invalid.

Our bubble hash doesn't have any harsh or unpalatable traits either, but as I noted, we don't push it beyond 10%.

My point is simply that best quality making dry sieve or bubble and best yield are not the same.

Sorry to hear that you find the extracted oil that you have tried unpalatable. So far no one on our volunteer patient test panels have felt the way about the extracts that we have produced. Thus far it is more of an issue of which paient likes which type of extraction better, sort of like the argument about which is better, a Chevy or a Ford.

Personally I like them all, some better than others. Perhaps if you attended one of our classes, where we demonstrate the 7 different common forms of oil extraction, and joined in the sampling afterwards, you also might feel differently.

[Graywolf]

"Of course you could do it the way the old kings did in the motherland. They had naked virgins run through the plants, getting the trichomes on the groin hair. With the use of special combs they material was combed out and the added female....um .... touch ....was supposed to make it by far more potent.

I would think there would be a lot of material loss in this method, but it WAS the original. Have a great day "


Good point! How can you argue with success?

[sunbiz1]

Of course you could do it the way the old kings did in the motherland. They had naked virgins run through the plants, getting the trichomes on the groin hair. With the use of special combs they material was combed out and the added female....um .... touch ....was supposed to make it by far more potent.

I would think there would be a lot of material loss in this method, but it WAS the original. Have a great day

ROFL!