Rosin press

[thefullspectrum]

It's going ok just waiting till I get through the carts I made from the last pressings I done. Still got some refining to do though

Hows that Ebay press holding up mate.

VERY keen to grab a press from somewhere, ideally discounted for 4/20 sales. Budget about $1000.

from Aus ideally but not to fussed if postage is right.

Any advice anybody can give that they wish they'd knew before getting one?

I read @veritas629 state get one with a pressure gauge. That sounds like a good start. Seems hard to improve the techniques without any idea of pressure.

Thanks.

 

[Indy]

Hows that Ebay press holding up mate.

VERY keen to grab a press from somewhere, ideally discounted for 4/20 sales. Budget about $1000.

from Aus ideally but not to fussed if postage is right.

Any advice anybody can give that they wish they'd knew before getting one?

I read @veritas629 state get one with a pressure gauge. That sounds like a good start. Seems hard to improve the techniques without any idea of pressure.

Thanks.

I'm pretty keen on one myself, but i'm going to make my own up, and have it in a cradle so i can tip the whole show on it's side for ease of harvesting and minimise a mess. There's a few there under 1k but 2/3's of them are shoddy builds.

But yeah, the point of my post is it'll probably be worth to watch a few video's on it first and see whose doing what to get their results. Reason being after watching some vids. It appears folks are using different heat settings and pressures. So that might be something you may want to factor in before you make a purchase, mate.

There's a bit more to it than what i initially thought.

 

[veritas629]

I've found not having a pressure gauge a bit limiting. My rosin is good enough for me, but I've never tasted any made by somebody else! I'm sure my rosin could be improved, but not knowing the pressure I'm using makes it hard to tweak the process.

A tip to learn from my mistakes. A couple weeks ago I tried coarse grinding the buds, rather than my usual finger picking them apart to about chickpea size. Do not make this mistake, a waste of buds! Full of chlorophyll and harsh as hell. Its slower to pick apart by hand, rather than use a grinder, but the time is very much worth it.

 

[Porky]

I've found not having a pressure gauge a bit limiting. My rosin is good enough for me, but I've never tasted any made by somebody else! I'm sure my rosin could be improved, but not knowing the pressure I'm using makes it hard to tweak the process.

A tip to learn from my mistakes. A couple weeks ago I tried coarse grinding the buds, rather than my usual finger picking them apart to about chickpea size. Do not make this mistake, a waste of buds! Full of chlorophyll and harsh as hell. Its slower to pick apart by hand, rather than use a grinder, but the time is very much worth it.

Most of the stuff I've seen with presses they just use the bud no chopping or pulling apart just the whole bud!
Seen a few where they use wet bud and it seems to produce more!!

 

[Indy]

Yeah, cbfd'd logging in to youtube. But from what i've gathered. Whole bud in a microscreen pouch first, slightly pressed in pre-pressed mould before removing and fitting that between parchment paper in the press. And go for it.

Even though i haven't done it yet. i'd be inclined to side with those guys that go with a low heat press. As to not damage the THC and Terps. And eventually build up the heat before i get to that point, with trial 'n error. But yeah, i'm not at that stage yet to know.

 

[Indy]

Another bonus i seen with the spent bud in the pouches. Is drop the whole lot in a slow cooker with MCT Oil, and make yourself up a batch of oil with the leftovers

 

[veritas629]

More heat = more yield. But, more heat also = more terps floating away. My Goldilocks zone seems to be 82C with longer presses. (Note: I'm not in front of my press to check, so that 82C figure is from my stoner memory).

Regarding using whole buds vs broken up buds, I tried whole buds and it didn't seem ideal. The whole buds were obviously quicker to prep, but they don't perfectly fit my mesh bags. When my bags (yours might be different?) aren't completely full of buds edge to edge, I lose a lot of yield to the bag itself and leftover bud. The rosin just kinda sticks in the mesh or bud and gets wasted. I could be doing something wrong here, I've never personally watched a very experienced person do the job...

 

[veritas629]

Another bonus i seen with the spent bud in the pouches. Is drop the whole lot in a slow cooker with MCT Oil, and make yourself up a batch of oil with the leftovers

That is a good plan and I haven't tried it. I've been saving mine in the freezer and when I have a dozen or so, I stack them together and repress them. Lower quality, but I'm not a snob ... yet!

 

[thefullspectrum]

Its a bit confusing trying to work out what I need, not much of a market in Aus. All the info online is American. I think the pressure/heat ratio is all relative to the size of the plates and the amount of bud pressed in one hit. More pressure used = less heat needed = less terp loss apparently.

Thinking 5t hydraulic (replacable jack) less shit to fuck up. 70mm plates... minimum

This is all on the proviso that any of my bud is even worth pressing. Probably be in for a huge shock!

Only press 3g or so of flower at a time... I think. NFI really just dont want to buy a piece of shit as I wont know any better when using it. I want to Dabble (pun intended) in pressing some dry sift too

 

[Indy]

AliExpress: Rosin Press

Not the preferred option, but a option nonetheless.

EDIT: This is what i'm getting from there. Then purchase the rest here in Aus 'n slap it together. Well, i'll get the pre-press and pouches from there as well.

 

[Hudo]

Hows that Ebay press holding up mate.

VERY keen to grab a press from somewhere, ideally discounted for 4/20 sales. Budget about $1000.

from Aus ideally but not to fussed if postage is right.

Any advice anybody can give that they wish they'd knew before getting one?

I read @veritas629 state get one with a pressure gauge. That sounds like a good start. Seems hard to improve the techniques without any idea of pressure.

Thanks.

It's going good except I can't seem to find decent parchment paper that the oils don't penetrate. I cand get the rosin to peel off with the fast rip technique with the ozzy brand parchment paper. The stuff that came with the press was good but the sheets were tiny barly get a gram in them. So I'm thinking I might order some proper stuff from nugsmasher or somewhere

 

[Hudo]

Thinking 5t hydraulic (replacable jack) less shit to fuck up. 70mm plates... minimum

This is my one it's 4 ton and this is what a Q of bud turns into

 

[veritas629]

It is definitely a learning curve and I was in your spot about a year ago. Regarding the

More pressure used = less heat needed = less terp loss apparently.

This is a balancing act. What you say is definitely correct. But, more pressure also equals more chlorophyl, lipids, and other stuff in the final product that are undesirable. These "impurities" make the vapor harsh and dilute the taste/aroma. Think of it like a triangle with Heat, Pressure, and Time as the corners. If you change one, it affects the other two. I've settled on low temp, low'ish pressure, and a relatively long (pressing) time. I can measure temp on the press, I can measure time with my watch, but I can't measure pressure on my press. This is why I recommend everyone get the presses with pressure sensors and avoid my situation. 20/20 hindsight in action here...

And to add another factor, every strain is different. This taught me that my favourite way to do rosin is actually to mix strains in one bag. Every batch is a new flavour and effect. Not something that would be good on the wider market, but fun for me at home.

In the end, you will find your own process that works for you. I'm still figuring mine out, but I've only had one batch that was truly shite and I'm going to dump that in some edibles. Some better, some less so, but all are much better than nothing!

 

[Hudo]

What paper do you use mate . I'm finding it's going through and the plates are getting sticky or is it to hot temp

 

[veritas629]

I use something called Rosin Press Paper. Looks like waxy baking paper and sold the in same places the mesh bags are sold. I'm not sure if it is different than baking paper, but I got a bunch free with my press. I fold it once on the long edge to make a taco-shape. Saves paper rather than using one on top and another on the bottom, plus it prevents rosin leaking out the back.

 

[Hudo]

I use something called Rosin Press Paper. Looks like waxy baking paper and sold the in same places the mesh bags are sold. I'm not sure if it is different than baking paper, but I got a bunch free with my press. I fold it once on the long edge to make a taco-shape. Saves paper rather than using one on top and another on the bottom, plus it prevents rosin leaking out the back.

View attachment 34237

Mine came with the same paper but the squares were tiny and when folded in half you could barely fit anything It I'll have to order some big sheets

 

[veritas629]

They do come in a variety of sizes. I suggest you get paper that is wider and deeper than your heat plates. Wider and deeper after you fold it. That extra paper hanging out the sides of your heat plate will catch rosin that wants to drip away. I think my plates are 3x5" and the folded paper is about 5x7". The larger paper cost is negligible, but even a few drips of valuable rosin is worth saving!

 

[Indy]

Baking paper is no good (imo). It wept through that as well when I done a test run with a hair straightener just recently.

 

[Kloud9]

Baking paper is no good (imo). It wept through that as well when I done a test run with a hair straightener just recently.

Has to be the brown baking paper, I found works

 

[Indy]

Ahh OK, any particular brand, mate?

I used the woolies one. It was of a light tan colour.