fade.. with all the new systems coming out.. do you believe this is the route i should pursue ? i am now really interested in the closed system, along with the recovery factor..
i want to put my funds in the right direction though. ive had fun with my 1/4lb borosilicate tube, but the open system, along with the cracked tubes are starting to make me feel like im stuck in progress..
im looking into the MKIII/V systems, along with a cold trap.. do you think im sailing the right way? Opportunities are starting to open up, and your advice would really help me make my investment. i want to produce good oils, nothing less :]
It would be hard to beat the utility and price of the Mk IIIA, because I designed it as a ma and pa unit that was affordable in kit form.
Last I checked, the Mk IIIA kit was still selling for under $1K from Specialized Formulations, though the component prices from Glacier Tank continue to climb, so ostensibly SF's price will follow. SF passes on the Glacier parts at the same price as Glacier, to keep the price as low as possible, as part of their agreement with us.
The larger units are more oriented towards larger growers or processors and more expensive to build. A lower tank on a Mk IA or II for instance, sells for more that the complete Mk IIIA kit, and an automated Mk V will cost about ten times that much money just to build.
Cost aside, the bigger question may be how much you wish to run at one time. A 24" column on the Mk IIIA holds from about 135 grams to 203 grams, depending on whose packing what, but I pack about 150 grams of prime bud at about 15% moisture content, into that column.
While I designed the Mk IIIA as an affordable ma and pa unit, the larger units are more oriented towards larger growers or processors and more expensive to build. Last I checked, the Mk IIIA kit was still selling for under $1K from Specialized Formulations, though the component prices from Glacier Tank continue to climb, so ostensibly SF's price will follow.
SF passes on the Glacier parts at the same price as Glacier, to keep the price as low as possible, as part of their agreement with us.
A lower tank on a Mk IA or II for instance, sells for more that the complete Mk IIIA kit, and an automated Mk V will cost about ten times that much money just to build.
A Mk IA & II on the other hand, hold up to about 900 grams and a Mk V will hold about 2265 grams under the same packing density.
We've put out that much partially decarboxylated oil for oral consumption in less than a day using a full throttle Mk IIIA. At full throttle in 212F temperature in the hot water pot, the Mk IIIA runs three flood and recover cycles in about 15 minutes, so it can process up to 600 grams per hour
Alas, it runs you to death at that rate, because about the only time you are able to do anything besides watch the gauge and turn valves, is during the final end cycle pump down from when you dump the lower valve, until you hit -22" Hg, and switch to high vacuum.
The product will be also partially decarboxylated, and if your are harvesting carboxylic acid by running a cold pot, it takes about four times as long to cycle, so the output would only be from only 150 grams per hour, to produce light blond shatter of cotton candy consistency.
All of the Terpenators thus far have averaged around 20% yield from the prime bud we extract, and about half that for trim. ~150 grams of bud, has produced about 30 grams of BHO Absolute, and about 8% more measuring the raw oleoresin before winterization, with the plant waxes still present.
All of the larger Terpenators are slower to cycle, but are larger capacity so that you can do something else while it is cycling.
The fully automated versions are the best from a labor standpoint, as they take care of themselves, except for loading and unloading, but it significantly increases the cost to build, because of he need for explosion proof valve operators, all the extra wiring and plumbing, and the electronics themselves. It adds about another $5/10K, depending on how elaborate you want to go.
Our electronics genius is working on an Arduino control package using a pressure transducer, which will be cheaper than the current $840 to build, using a Panasonic controller and pressure switches and should be ready for test soon. Arduino is an open source system for the hobby folks, so I expect lots of bright improvement ideas from the users, once it gets going.
