20 Ton Rosin

ondoogyob

ondoogyob

Well-Known Member
This is the thermal insulation wrap I bought. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N1HVRSJ/ It's ok. Not great. The biggest drawback for my use was, while it's a good insulator, it doesn't stand up to pressure very well. I have the plates with the ram-well sunk into the top plate. I put a couple of squares on the bottom of the well and I squeezed a couple of pieces between the ram and the well wall. Not perfect. But, it helped a lot. My old press ram would heat up, thin the hydraulic fluid, and leak slowly down the ram. So, I really needed it. But, there's also the issue of burning yourself when you're trying to load, adjust, and unload your material.

Given that your plates appear to be held to the cage using allen/hex keys, I'm wondering if you could loosen the keys and slide strips of the material between the plates and the cage.

Cool video. Great choice in music. Rad artwork. Looks like a fun rosin harvest to me..!!

I haven't done much on Instagram. But, I have a few rosin-related pics. My handle is: rosindrop / https://www.instagram.com/rosindrop/
 
Hammerhead571

Hammerhead571

Well-Known Member
You can get great thermal insulation at McMaster Carr. They have many different kinds.

I use this 1 to insulate the plates from the press. Max temp 1000f 23$
Fiberglass Fabric Sheet with Plain Backing, 40" Wide x 0.125" Thick x 1 foot.
 
Jamio420

Jamio420

Well-Known Member
MissyGoddess said:
Yes, the whole cage heats up, as well as the ram. I wish there was a thermal barrier between the plates and the cage but it seems to still work fine, just more costly in electricity to run. I looked at my local auto parts store for that tape but could only find muffler repair tape, not the thermal barrier tape for motorcycle exhaust so I will order some of that online. Thanks for that tip, I will use it.

Had a friend come over to try it out and pressed 1/4oz of t.i.t.s. strain and got 3.7g of some of the best stuff I have ever tasted. Great blonde color and budder consistency. Ran the temp at 95c/203f. I am a happy camper getting 26% return just from sticking a nug between some parchment paper and squishing. This was some top top shelf stuff though so I know not to expect that type of return all the time. I took pics on my friends phone so I will have to get them so I can post, but really the best part about it was the smell/taste. I am used to trim run stuff so getting to taste freshly pressed high end nug was a treat.

Edit: Here is a video my friend put up of us playing around with the press, not sure how to embed it.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BRbf1STAHwy/
Click to expand...
I like those return numbers but was it darker?, less terps flavor in your opinion?
 
Jamio420

Jamio420

Well-Known Member
ondoogyob said:
This is the thermal insulation wrap I bought. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N1HVRSJ/ It's ok. Not great. The biggest drawback for my use was, while it's a good insulator, it doesn't stand up to pressure very well. I have the plates with the ram-well sunk into the top plate. I put a couple of squares on the bottom of the well and I squeezed a couple of pieces between the ram and the well wall. Not perfect. But, it helped a lot. My old press ram would heat up, thin the hydraulic fluid, and leak slowly down the ram. So, I really needed it. But, there's also the issue of burning yourself when you're trying to load, adjust, and unload your material.

Given that your plates appear to be held to the cage using allen/hex keys, I'm wondering if you could loosen the keys and slide strips of the material between the plates and the cage.

Cool video. Great choice in music. Rad artwork. Looks like a fun rosin harvest to me..!!

I haven't done much on Instagram. But, I have a few rosin-related pics. My handle is: rosindrop / https://www.instagram.com/rosindrop/
Click to expand...
Why you guys worried about insulation for plates ? Does it effect anything?
 
M

MissyGoddess

Well-Known Member
Jamio420 said:
Why you guys worried about insulation for plates ? Does it effect anything?
Click to expand...
The biggest reason I see a need for the insulation is what was mentioned above. It heats the ram and the oil in the jack heats up and thins, causing it to leak a little out of the crank part. Just something to be aware of and watch out for with presses that have the jacks above the plates. I would imagine it uses quite a bit more electricity as well since it is heating a lot more metal than just the plates.

I am new to pressing and only pressed once so far, but what I have read lighter rosin usually comes from fresher material. That could mean more terps/flavor but color is also dependent on strain, heat, and time under heat, so you could have a dark rosin that is really fresh and terpy as well. This is what mine looked like.

rosin.JPG

I am used to buying darker trim run bho wax which is almost flavorless when compared to the stuff I pressed. After tasting the fresh stuff I like to describe trim run BHO wax like drinking water vs freshly pressed rosin which is a full flavored wine with all the complexities that go along with that. It is a much more connoisseur level type of dabbing, taking small low temp dabs and trying to describe all the complex flavors, vs just dabbing to get high and not caring what it taste or smells like as long as it isn't reclaim.
 
Hammerhead571

Hammerhead571

Well-Known Member
The plates will heat the press if there touching any part of metal on the press. I'm using a difference press but same issue. My press has large steal plates that touch the heated aluminum plates. The temp on the steal gets just as hot. So there a lot of wasted heat going into the press. If yo can insulate the heating plates they will heat up faster hold temps better. keeps the controller from cycling on/off.. Before I put on the insulation I could not touch the top it was to hot.
 
Jamio420

Jamio420

Well-Known Member
MissyGoddess said:
The biggest reason I see a need for the insulation is what was mentioned above. It heats the ram and the oil in the jack heats up and thins, causing it to leak a little out of the crank part. Just something to be aware of and watch out for with presses that have the jacks above the plates. I would imagine it uses quite a bit more electricity as well since it is heating a lot more metal than just the plates.

I am new to pressing and only pressed once so far, but what I have read lighter rosin usually comes from fresher material. That could mean more terps/flavor but color is also dependent on strain, heat, and time under heat, so you could have a dark rosin that is really fresh and terpy as well. This is what mine looked like.

View attachment 3905166

I am used to buying darker trim run bho wax which is almost flavorless when compared to the stuff I pressed. After tasting the fresh stuff I like to describe trim run BHO wax like drinking water vs freshly pressed rosin which is a full flavored wine with all the complexities that go along with that. It is a much more connoisseur level type of dabbing, taking small low temp dabs and trying to describe all the complex flavors, vs just dabbing to get high and not caring what it taste or smells like as long as it isn't reclaim.
Click to expand...
Wow that looks great ! I my self since the beginning been forced to do low temp squash for me it's around 170f may turn it up a bit !
 
Aeroknow

Aeroknow

Well-Known Member
Jamio420 said:
Why you guys worried about insulation for plates ? Does it effect anything?
Click to expand...
2 things. As said already, the heating up of the ram eventually causes damage. Mine has already gotten a little wobbly.

And then for those of us without a dual controller, there is inconsistent plate temperatures from the top plate heating up different than the bottom plate. With only the bottom plate having the thermocouple and yet being on an even bigger chunk of steel, the top plate will get too hot.
As i mentioned earlier, Levi from lowtemp mentioned to me about leather inbetween the ram and top plate, but he also mentioned putting a piece of ply(i used a piece of 3/4 hardwood veneer) under the bottom plate. The two of them helped allot. But i still touch the plates back together for a short while every 5-6 squishes, to equalize the plates. Gonna upgrade to a dual controller sometime soon here.
 
M

MissyGoddess

Well-Known Member
So I added 2 layers of that $8 Amazon exhaust tape on top of the cage, one layer between the bottom plate and silicone mat, and another layer on the ram itself (so 3 layers on top). MUCH better now. Ram still heats up a little, but only slightly above room temp and I can hold it all day without burning myself. Before I couldn't touch it for more than a few seconds it was so hot.

One good thing about the caged design is the ram doesn't always touch the plates so it has time to cool down between pressings.

Just wanted to say thanks again for that tip and stress everyone should use some type of insulation for the heat issue.
 
doublejj

doublejj

Well-Known Member
MissyGoddess said:
So I added 2 layers of that $8 Amazon exhaust tape on top of the cage, one layer between the bottom plate and silicone mat, and another layer on the ram itself (so 3 layers on top). MUCH better now. Ram still heats up a little, but only slightly above room temp and I can hold it all day without burning myself. Before I couldn't touch it for more than a few seconds it was so hot.

One good thing about the caged design is the ram doesn't always touch the plates so it has time to cool down between pressings.

Just wanted to say thanks again for that tip and stress everyone should use some type of insulation for the heat issue.
Click to expand...
great idea
 
BobCajun

BobCajun

Well-Known Member
What about wax concerns? Isn't rosin a very crude product compared to winterized alcohol extract? How is cruder better? I can see rosin being a convenient way to get a small amount of extract quickly and cheaply, like with a hair iron, if you're a consumer but as a commercial product I think I'd rather accept the few parts per million of residual solvent over a much larger amount of wax.
 
doublejj

doublejj

Well-Known Member
BobCajun said:
What about wax concerns? Isn't rosin a very crude product compared to winterized alcohol extract? How is cruder better? I can see rosin being a convenient way to get a small amount of extract quickly and cheaply, like with a hair iron, if you're a consumer but as a commercial product I think I'd rather accept the few parts per million of residual solvent over a much larger amount of wax.
Click to expand...
I have been smoking weed (wax & all) since 1969.....squishing rosin from buds removes all the leafy carbon..rosin is much healthier than smoking weed with no chemicals used.
 
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indican3

indican3

Well-Known Member
What PSI is everyone reaching on average when using a 20ton hydraulic press? What's the highest PSI you reach (that you'd recommend) and is it with or without air compressor assistance? And how much bud did you press and what size plates are you using?

Thanks!
 
doublejj

doublejj

Well-Known Member
indican3 said:
What PSI is everyone reaching on average when using a 20ton hydraulic press? What's the highest PSI you reach (that you'd recommend) and is it with or without air compressor assistance? And how much bud did you press and what size plates are you using?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
I pretty much give everything 20tons. I do not have a pressure gauge, so they all get full press with a 20ton air jack.....Squish Squish
I squish single large buds 1 at a time, or run small buds thru a kief extractor & load silk screen bags with kief & squish those. I have 5x7 plates
 
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B166ER420

B166ER420

Well-Known Member
doublejj said:
I pretty much give everything 20tons. I do not have a pressure gauge, so they all get full press with a 20ton air jack.....Squish Squish
I squish single large buds, 1 at a time, or run small buds thru a kief extractor & load silk screen bags with kief & squish those. I have 5x7 plates
Click to expand...
:eyesmoke:You always make it seem so easy..squish,squish...done!;)
 
J

j to the c

Well-Known Member
I've got the 20ton and 3x5 plates, I ran dry ice kif from 150, 160,170,180,190, and 200. 170 & 180 produced the best flavor, just can't get it to budder up. I ordered a pre press to make pucks of trim and some 160u bags. I loaded 13g but f trim into 37u bags and pressed 170,180,190,200 and 210. 180 and 190 produced the best flavor, nowI'm going to try higher temps to see what comes out. Maybe st everything's my choice s really goopy. Experiment, experiment, experiment
 
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