hello everyone, complete and utter novice here!

[ozora]

i should really start by saying my first post on here is probably more a combined introduction and plea for help so i hope i'm using the correct section of the forum.
i've been reading quite avidly now as a guest for 3 weeks and despite being fascinated by the amount of knowledge on offer i have to confess i've probably fallen into the trap of information overload!

a short introduction...

i'm getting on a bit now, i made my debut with psychedelics some 30 years ago with the good old british liberty cap and have been a enthusiastic (although sporadic) traveller ever since, predominately i suppose with my good friend albert hofmann. i also went down the probably well worn path of party 'stimulants' during the late'80s/90s but grew bored with them a number of years ago. i've been aware of dmt for a long time but for whatever reason the opportunity to experience it alluded me, odd really considering my love of psychedelic trance festivals, maybe i've been wandering around with my eyes closed for years?!
all this however changed last month in hungary. i fell in love, not with any of the many beautiful women from all over the world at the festival but with changa. it literally blew my mind! i genuinely cant think of enough superlatives for the experience, i dont doubt though that you all know what i mean!
for the last month or so i've been on an almost obsessive quest for knowledge on the subject and despite being absolutely useless at chemistry at school (in my defence i had no interest in it whatsoever, i had to take a science subject to take metalwork!) i've decided i'm nearing the time to start experimenting again with renewed enthusiasm!

S.W.I.M. has been slowly gathering together the information and materials required to attempt a first extraction. his intention is to use the method highlighted in the DMT HANDBOOK (pdf download file), but is obviously short of experience and one or two ingredients. S.W.I.M. also would like to know if he has correctly sourced parts of suitable quality.

S.W.I.M. obtained 2.5L of 85% phosphoric acid which he assumes will probably last forever?
S.W.I.M. obtained 1kg of MHRB from here... http://www.mimosahostilis.co.uk/ .... is this a good supplier?
S.W.I.M. has got his hands on 1L of quality acetone.
S.W.I.M. has been completely unable to source any of the 'shellite' recommended in the DMT HANDBOOK in the U.K. and having read the forum is now totally confused as to what is a suitable naphtha? S.W.I.M. has so far been unable to source any coleman fuel in the U.K. and is now very worried having read conflicting reports on the suitability of various lighter fluids. which one is the best?
S.W.I.M. is wondering if this is prudent source for sodium hydroxide .... http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Sodium-Hydrox...s_ET?hash=item35a2f9d164&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14 .... and whether or not it is of suitable quality? S.W.I.M. would be happy to learn of alternative suppliers.
S.W.I.M. is concerned about the seemingly vague description in the DMT HANDBOOK of waiting for a 15-20 minute period before starting the 'basify and extract' step and adding the caustic soda solution to the bark tea. if as stipulated 'temperaure is critical to efficient extraction' shouldn't the above description be more precise? should S.W.I.M. obtain a thermometre?
S.W.I.M. invested a massive £12 for an 11 litre stainless steel stockpan from ebay after reading alluminium was unsuitable due to oxidising. S.W.I.M. has since delved quite deeply into the properties of phosphoric acid and has learnt that it attacks stainless steel too. should S.W.I.M. have bought a better quality pan?

and finally (you can all draw some relieved breaths!)....

is S.W.I.M. being profoundly naive in thinking that despite the above concerns, the step by step guide in the DMT HANDBOOK makes it all sound relatively simple and that he'll soon have the freebase dmt needed to make the beautiful changa? is he therefore being nothing short of stupid in attempting to use 1kg of MHRB for his first extraction?


thank you all for taking the time to read this. i apologise profusely for the length of this post and appreciate you've probably all read something very similar to this before. fingers crossed though in eager anticipation for some answers to the above questions!

peace and love to each and every one of you.

 

[Macre]

Phosphoric acid is a good acid to use...I think it works a lot better than vinegar.

I have been contemplating my acid for a little while now, I was going to use vinegar. Would I be better off with citric or tartaric acid?

Also, I managed to source some pH down which is 81% phosphoric acid. Would this suffice, or should I look for something more concentrated?

Peace and Kind Regards,

Macre.

 

[ozora]

ok another update, and a cry for help!

i finally decided i'd expired my original extraction of the 1 kilo of mhrb when the final naphtha pull only yielded .3g, a combined total of about 8g altogether.

however bearing in mind acolon_5's kind and detailed response earlier in this thread in which he stated this was infact a low yield i decided to go hunting again with the mhrb i'd retained.

so yesterday i stuck it back in the pot and boiled it up two times, each for an hour and half using phosphoric acid at ph4 and reduced the combined bark tea down to 1 litre and then basified with 100g of sodium hydroxide.

then i appear to have messed up!

instead of adding 150ml of new naphtha i accidently picked up the tin with old stuff i'd used previously on the original pulls, shook it up in the jerry can containing the still hotish basified bark tea, did a pull and got this...

it was instantly milkyish in colour but with odd waxy looking yellow bits in it and even some white strandy bits. i'm guessing there's goodness in there too though, or hoping!

anyway, realising my mistake i did another two pulls using fresh naphtha one of 150ml and the last one of 200ml, these two combined can be seen in the bowl on the left...

i stuck both lots in the freezer thinking it would be interesting to see what happens after a freeze precip.

my curiousity however has got the better of me and i've just had a peek in the freezer and it would appear there's very little forming in the bowl with the fresh naphtha pulls. it's almost as if any dmt which was in the basified solution had immediately migrated into the pull with the tainted and old naphtha. looking at this one (it's now in a bowl rather than the wine glass above) it appears to have seperated into two layers...

a clearish layer at the top and at the bottom is a layer of yellowish/white stuff which is consistant right round the bottom of the bowl. without disturbing it i cant tell of this has solidified or if its still a liquid, it certainly doesn't look anything like the nice white bits i've seen forming on the side of the bowl in previous succesful attempts!

so....

have i messed up completely?

is it the fact that i used old naphtha that's caused this profound affect?

is what i've got saveable at all and should i continue with a freeze precip of it over the normal course of 3 days or would it be a waste of time?


here's hoping for some answers, regardless i'm more than a little intrigued to see what materilises out the freezer come wednesday!

thanks once again for putting up with my ramblings, take it easy one and all!

 

[Noman]

I'd say just evap all of the used naptha and clean that up from there, and add as much salt as the remaining aqueous will dissolve and extract once more with new naptha or, even better, toluene.
Then you're done.

 

[Noman]

Phosphoric acid is a good acid to use...I think it works a lot better than vinegar.

Also, I managed to source some pH down which is 81% phosphoric acid. Would this suffice, or should I look for something more concentrated?

That should work fine.

 

[ozora]

I'd say just evap all of the used naptha and clean that up from there, and add as much salt as the remaining aqueous will dissolve and extract once more with new naptha or, even better, toluene.
Then you're done.

once again thanks very much your help mr Noman, both in this thread and via pm, it's very much appreciated!

i've took the bowl out of the freezer now and decanted the contents back into the big wine glass to evaporate, i'm guessing this will take a little while, but i'm in no hurry, although i am keen to try and salvage something from this if for no other reason than to gain further experience. tne contents which have settled at the bottom are hard to describe, but i'll try! they appear to be a congealed mass of waxy/fatty type stuff but also with a 'silty' appearance too. for what it's worth it might also be worth noting that in the 24 hours or so it's been out the freezer the dirty naphtha has evap'd about 4 or 5mm down the glass and has left a very fine but inconsistant layer of 'yellowish' coloured powder behind. maybe contaminated goodies?? gonna be interesting to see if the stuff at the bottom solidifies once all the naphtha has gone.

onwards and upwards!