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First extraction - couple of questions

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Igloomis

Rising Star
Hi, first post, first extraction.

I used Willy Myco's STB extraction from MHRB using lye and naphtha. The yield was low (.23g) and the result was kind of sticky (not runny or gooey, just kind of sticky, like shredded cheese). I noticed crystals in the jar of siphoned-off naphtha, so I put it back in the freezer, so I'm hoping to get more yield.

I did an evap test of the solvent and it looks pure.

Question: Is the stickiness a concern? Is there any reason to be concerned about the safety of using this batch?

Any thoughts about the low yield? Should I have left it in the freezer more than 24 hours?

Thanks!
 
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The crystals can sometimes be sticky.

Without knowing how much bark you extracted from, it's impossible to comment on the yield.

The exact composition of your naphtha may affect the efficacy of freeze precipitation. If you're keen to find out whether there's any DMT left in the naphtha after the freeze precip, try a 'mini A/B': back extract into a little dilute acetic acid, base again and pull with a small amount of naphtha.

Sounds like another freeze might improve things already.
 
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Thank you, downwardsfromzero. I used 50g of powdered root bark. I can see crystals forming again, so I'm going to give it plenty of time in the freezer. I waited 24 hours last time. Is it advisable to keep it in the freezer longer than that?
 
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GLTASN said:
If you didnt evap your naptha till it was cloudy, then give it 48at least but i rec 72 hours, make sure frezzer is at coldest setting.
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What do you mean with "evap your naptha till it was cloudy"

Have done my first and second pull but have nevered hear this. Aee you supposed to evap the naptha untill it turns cloudy then put it in the frezzer?

I have evap the naptha down to 20-30g (started off with 100g of naptha) before putting it into the frezzer. Is this wrong? Would be really gratefull for the answer so Ill get it right for my third pull.


Much love
// NL
 
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You can evap it till its cloudy at room temp to get more alkaloids to crash out when you freeze it. If the naptha is clear before freezing it wont all crash (snow) so if you freeze out most you can still evap the last of your naptha all the way to get it all. Good luck!
 
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GLTASN said:
You can evap it till its cloudy at room temp to get more alkaloids to crash out when you freeze it. If the naptha is clear before freezing it wont all crash (snow) so if you freeze out most you can still evap the last of your naptha all the way to get it all. Good luck!
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That's unfortunate. My understanding was that the naptha should be totally clear before the precip freeze. SWIM just did a 300g acacia run and started the freeze an hour ago. For the 2nd run assuming the results of the first pull are disappointing SWIM might decide to allow it to become cloudy before the 2nd freeze precip. Good luck keep us posted.
 
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The Namtha shouldn’t get cloudy. Lots of poor comments on here about the function of an evap test. An evap test is done first and foremost to test your brand or quality of solvent. If the solvent is legit it will evaporate from a clean piece of hot glass leaving behind NO residue or cloudiness. That’s when you know it’s the right solvent. I’m also Not a fan of lye (which is used in the majority of teks)it’s nasty stuff, I would look into the Gordo TEK. Just did my first extraction last night and it came out flawless for my first pull.
 
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HiDef Liam said:
The Namtha shouldn’t get cloudy. Lots of poor comments on here about the function of an evap test. An evap test is done first and foremost to test your brand or quality of solvent. If the solvent is legit it will evaporate from a clean piece of hot glass leaving behind NO residue or cloudiness. That’s when you know it’s the right solvent. I’m also Not a fan of lye (which is used in the majority of teks)it’s nasty stuff, I would look into the Gordo TEK. Just did my first extraction last night and it came out flawless for my first pull.
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There's nothing wrong with evaporating a bit of the naphtha before it goes into the freezer. This ensures it's suitably concentrated to maximise recovery of alkaloids. Optimally, it will still be clear but will just start to cloud up if you blow on the surface, which induces evaporative cooling. There's no need to conflate that with evaporation tests for solvent purity, which most people with a fragment of sense should be able to see serve a different purpose.

If your pulls come off the base soup cloudy, it's hard to tell if they're clean enough for the freeze precip - so that's a fair point.

Sodium hydroxide certainly demands respect in its usage but it's also highly effective. 'Dry' methods using calcium hydroxide also work very nicely. In any case, it's all a matter of understanding the principles of extraction and applying them sufficiently meticulously. Or beginner's luck 😁

Best of all, calcium hydroxide can be used to prepare sodium hydroxide if needed, just as sodium hydroxide can be used to prepare calcium hydroxide.

So many ways to skin that cat...
 
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